Nature teaches us about the most important part of Life itself: Awakening! Spring is a time of rebirth and transformation as we step out of the darkness of winter into the light and colors of spring. Within our hearts lies the desire to live a meaningful, fulfilling life. Our inner spirit […]
They say things change the more they stay the same. Sometimes this is reassuring, but more often than not is just depressing as hell.
I’ve been going through about 60 pounds of cards and letters that I wrote to my parents during college and my post-grad years. Reading through my collegiate musings reminded me of some […]
There’s always been a need to illuminate the darkness, to bring illumination into one’s dwelling. Fast-forward through time, past oil and wick, past whale oil, past Edison’s invention of the incandescent light bulb and the nearly simultaneous invention of the Aladdin Industries mantle lamp that glowed brighter than anything yet […]
For each petal on the shamrock this brings a wish your way. Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day. ~Irish blessing
According to my family tree, I’m one-sixteenth Irish. One day, I’d like to visit the “land of my people;” however, until then, I’ll wear green and […]
The trails in the Jacksonville Woodlands and Forest Park are beautiful this time of year. “Misty,” “rainy,” “snowy,” “windy,” “muddy,” and “damp” are all great ways to describe them as winter makes it way to spring. There are a few simple things you can do before heading out to […]
Our grown daughter sent me this the other day. She said it reminded her of me…Love you, Dad! That’s pretty funny but not really. Her teen years were foggy days for me. I was sick as a dog for that particular time in space
We were blessed with a very beautiful daughter although I could make […]
After a ten hour red-eye flight from Salt Lake City, we arrived in Paris in the middle of the day. Getting through customs and walking through a packed airport during the Christmas holidays can be overwhelming, but a packed airport where few speak English is even more overwhelming. You […]
Downton Abbey has ended. We knew it must. One of the most watched series in television history, it carved out a special niche in the hearts of its audience… one that will be difficult to ever duplicate. Even its cast may never again see a production as […]
Hanley Farm is excited to host the Family Nurturing Center’s “Farm and Food Program” for its fourth consecutive growing season! The Farm and Food Program is an outreach component of the Family Nurturing Center, Jackson County’s Children’s Relief Nursery. Families visit Hanley Farm in order to grow, harvest, prepare […]
Support the Arts ~ Support Your Community!—The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble and inspire us, fostering creativity, goodness, and beauty. The arts help us express our values, build bridges between cultures, and bring us together regardless of ethnicity, religion, or age.
University of Pennsylvania researchers have demonstrated that a high concentration of the […]
We first noticed it in October of 2014. Singer Paul Revere, of Paul Revere and the Raiders, died at age 76. The band was internationally known, but he’d been born in Idaho, and shared the stage with Eugene, Oregon native Mark Lindsay, so to us it was a local story.
Three […]
While all of the concerts and programs that we present are important, the Britt Orchestra holds a special place as the artistic core of our organization. The Britt board and staff are collectively committed to making sure the Britt Orchestra thrives, and we were recently able to celebrate the […]
Winter finds Forest Park subdued and enticing. The crackling crunch of summer’s madrone leaves, followed by the deep rustle of ankle-deep big-leaf maple and oak leaves is a distant echo. Blooms of the forgotten spring sleep under a carpet of forest litter and snow, yet swelling […]
As I was creating my year’s plan and scheduling classes and events, I was amazed at the amount of planets going retrograde every month until this fall. If you are in a hurry to make certain things happen fast in 2016, you could experience frustration. Although the astrological weather doesn’t create […]
Warning: This column has nothing whatsoever to do with Valentine’s, the Lunar New Year, or other such niceties. You may find it helpful, however, if Life has thrown you a few curve balls or wicked sinkers lately, which it has to me.
Last year did not end well. I was besieged by […]
You can picture yourself sitting on that sandy lakeshore while the elegant white swans swim freely on the deep blue water, the majestic snowy mountains loom in the background. The swans have an insatiable appetite for bread chunks that are tossed into the murky water. […]
“Plants and flowers aren’t simply pretty things to look at. They also have the ability to arouse our senses. They can be incredibly exciting – and erotic.” ~Sonia Day, The Untamed Garden, 2011
February we celebrate Valentine’s Day, le jour de l’amour, so perhaps there’s no better time for gardeners to […]
I studied economics in college. Almost every macro-economics professor used the Great Depression as a model in explaining modern theory. Today, honest analysis tells us there isn’t much difference in real market and index markers than during the worst financial crisis in this nation’s history. The only reason why […]
Last month, a friend complained to me about reading newspaper headlines declaring what a bad year 2016 will be. Her reaction was to avoid reading these columns all together… and who could blame her? We seem to get enough bad news without some writer trying to tell […]
When William Hoffman arrived in Jacksonville in the fall of 1853, he brought his own gold—six marriageable daughters, a treasure indeed to the many bachelors who had been lured to the Rogue Valley by its promised riches of mining and free land. Unlike these young adventurers, Hoffman was not a fortune […]
Remember the slogan, “Don’t trust anybody over 30?” It was a centerpiece of the “generation gap,” that sprang up in the 1960s.
Well, a variant of that slogan has come back to haunt us: “Don’t trust anyone under 30.” And we’re hearing it, surprisingly, from music fans.
In the ‘50s, listeners, young […]
Is it possible to maintain a home garden in a way that is low-maintenance, conserves water, and meets the nutritional needs of a family living in the Rogue Valley?
The Hanley Farm agricultural program plans to conduct a research project during the 2016 growing season, seeking to answer this question […]
Naked Art: No Mats ~ No Frames ~ Great Deals—Our Naked Art exhibit continues through February 28. This is a great opportunity to collect art from your favorite artists. Unmatted, unframed, and offered at a great savings, all artwork is available to take home upon purchase. A retrospective of the unframed works of Elaine Witteveen […]
2016 is going to be a year of exploration for Britt. Simply put, we are going to try new things. First, we will kick off the New Year with the much-anticipated Valentine’s Gala featuring China Forbes, of Pink Martini, with Music Director Teddy Abrams on Piano, […]
It’s the season for us to celebrate and evaluate the year that is about to close. How many things from your list of “intentions” for this year did you accomplish? If you feel disappointments or frustrations, those are clues that something needs your time and attention. I often hear people […]
Let me start by introducing myself! My name is Omer Kem, husband/dad/business owner in that order. My wife, son and I recently moved back to Jacksonville after spending two years away living in Ashland. We are so very excited to be back in what we feel is “trail heaven.”
My commitment […]
Healing is a glimpse of heaven. Those sick, in pain or severely depressed can appreciate the depth of the metaphor. Spiritual life reveals much about what we don’t understand and the joy of heaven is real to those with faith to believe. In this world, however, there is […]
One of the most difficult things in the world is to know who you really are. I’ve spent half my life now getting to know who my Self is: the good, the bad, and the ugly. For over two decades I’ve followed the Greek maxim inscribed at the Temple of […]
Every so often when my children were growing up, I would declare a HANDMADE ONLY Christmas.
The gifts to each other had to be made by hand by them.
I made my sewing area off limits by putting up sheets to hide what I was working on. A couple of quilts […]
Year end approaches and so does Christmas. For some, it is a time of giving and perhaps not much more. This act of giving, which most of us engage in, began a long time ago when the Magi brought gifts to celebrate the birth of the […]
In 1605, a “…tree in Strasbourg…was brought indoors and adorned with paper roses, lighted candles, wafers, nuts and sweets.” Throughout the centuries decorating for the holidays continued, and in the 1880’s, F.W. Woolworth began importing German ornaments. On December 27, you have the opportunity to travel back in […]
Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery News – Dec 2015/Jan 2016
It was an amazing 10th-Anniversary program with tickets selling-out two weeks before the event that took place on October 9 and 10. Working from a standby list and finding spots for people who showed-up at the event, we were able to accommodate most requesting to take the tour. […]
For more than a year the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA) staff, students, and community volunteers have been using this column to highlight the importance of artifacts recovered from archaeological sites across Jacksonville. While it is relatively easy to show the importance of a single artifact, explaining how […]
From 1843 to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, some 500,000 emigrants traveled the Oregon Trail to the “promised land” of the Oregon Territory and California in search of land, riches, adventure, and better lives. Independence, Missouri, was the main starting point for the 2,000 mile journey to […]
As 2015 comes to a close, we look back at the year in real estate for Jackson County and Jacksonville and take a stab at predicting home sales in 2016.
Jackson County—Great news for all homeowners as the median price of homes sold in Jackson County is up 6.44% […]
A few weeks ago, on Halloween night, we found ourselves standing in the middle of Jacksonville’s historic cemetery.
It was quiet up there, and very dark. The outlines of nearby tombstones were clear, but we couldn’t read the names on them without a flashlight. Reading, however, wasn’t what we were […]
Small Treasures is back! Showcasing small works of fine art created by local talent and priced for gift-giving, this show is your opportunity to shop for one-of-a-kind artistic treasures to give to the art lovers on your list. Artwork purchases from this exhibition can be taken home […]
Does Britt Music and Arts Festival matter to the future generations of Jacksonville and the Rogue Valley? In recent years, many Britt supporters have informed me of their intention to include a designated gift to Britt in their wills. I am pleased to say that over the past […]
For 2015, it’s my sincere privilege to name and honor Rob Buerk and Steve Casaleggio as the Review’s Volunteers of the Year! Rob and Steve are driving forces behind the continued success of the Jacksonville Boosters Club and formed the leadership team that oversaw the restoration of the Peter Britt Gardens. In addition to club […]
One thing that I find extremely attractive in a home is a well-stocked book shelf. I hope not to be rude when I saunter over and read the spines of your tomes. Whether you have read them or not, beauty is foremost in collecting and design. You can turn simple […]
I remember, as a child, being struck by the Greek mythological fable of Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demetra, who was abducted by Hades and brought into the underworld. Demetra, whose task was to bring fertility to the land, became so depressed she renounced her divine duties, […]
As the days get cooler, shorter, and darker, it is a good time to reflect on what it must have been like to live in Jacksonville pre-electricity. There were no switches to flip to illuminate the kitchen while you made dinner, or the living room as you cozied up with a […]
California and the Oregon Territory seemed like the “promised land” to individuals in the eastern half of the United States dreaming of riches, adventure, or better lives. But first they had to get here. There were basically two routes—by land and by sea. Jacksonville pioneer Cornelius Beekman chose the latter and […]
Finding Meaning in Life through Art—Have you ever wondered what the purpose of your life is? How to make sense of the seemingly random things that happen? Questions like these can keep us up late and make us feel unsettled as we move through our daily routines. Bizarre events can throw us out of balance, […]
Cemetery Clean-Up Days – Thank You From The Friends—Our sincere appreciation to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for all that they accomplished in helping to clean-up the cemetery grounds on Saturday, September 19. Volunteers painted, pruned, picked-up branches, raked and bagged leaves. There were close to sixty people, many family members, who […]
On a bright Monday morning, Whit asked if I would write an article on gratitude for the November Jacksonville Review. My reply, “Not feeling grateful right now. Check back with me on Thursday.” I was having a difficult day. People were behaving badly. I was not high on humanity. I needed more time to grumble […]
I want to share a “magic cure” to help you and your body feel younger and healthier right now. As my Thanksgiving gift, I’m giving you an opportunity to experience it from the comfort of your home. Let me help you experience what studies by numerous researchers suggest can help slow […]
Last Christmas Eve was joyously spent at the Jacksonville Inn. A week later, our family celebrated at the Bella Union. Our grown kids look forward to this every homecoming because these places represent home to them. We have no memories of Jacksonville without Jerry Evans and Jerry Hayes and […]
In the the winter of 1849, Amelia Bloomer published her first edition of The Lily, a newspaper devoted to women’s issues in which she advocated for less-restrictive female garments. More than three decades later, members of the Rational Dress Society daringly suggested that no woman should have to wear more […]
Over 36% of all single-family homes in the United States are rental homes and that number is climbing. Home ownership was at an all-time high in 2004 with 69.2% of single family homes occupied by the owners; but, that number has fallen to 63.5% and is expected to continue […]