Saturday, November 12, 2016

Canyonville Echo Fall 2016


THE CANYONVILLE ECHO
South Umpqua Historical Society

Fall 2016                                                                        Volume 12 No. 4
The South Umpqua Historical Society had its quarterly meeting on August 7, at the Museum in the Pickett building. I heard it was very hot.It was reported that our general meeting  will be held on November 6 in Azalea at the Heaven On Earth Restaurant at Quines Creek.The owner, Christine Jackson, said she will provide meals, from the menu, at a discounted price. This would normally be a potluck in Glendale, but there isn’t a place to hold the meeting. We will begin at 1:00.
The electrical wiring is being worked on in the Pickett building. But, our grant for the solar project from the Pacific Power Blue Sky was not funded, boo hoo!
We all need to support our museum. Think about an ‘end of the year’ or maybe a ‘beginning of the year ’donation or a pledge of so much a month or year. The Cow Creeks  just awarded us with $4000 for our 2017 utilities, but we need another $4000 to pay the bill. We really could use the help.
The Cow Creeks are also helping us with the funding for our wonderful receptionist, Ruth Ann Shuman. She’s great and we wouldn’t be open without her. They built for us, from scratch, the Plank House, which is one of the favorite displays at the museum, especially with the younger set. THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH, Cow Creeks. We really appreciate your help.
Let’s Take a Journey
Our book of pictures, games and info about Oregon are for sale at $5 with a box of crayons. So far we have sold about 20.
So, What Else is New!
The new exhibit of old’ switchboards’ is on the main floor. These original telephone switchboards were used by the City of Myrtle Creek. Marvin Cornutt was the early operator. The switchboards were donated by Jim St. Onge. There is also a picture of our member Joan Barnes when she was a switchboard operator in Portland about 1953, along with some instructions on how it worked.
Another new item is the ‘Flour Dresser’ in the Matthews building. It is a mechanical device used in grain mills for bolting. Bolting is the process of separating the finished flour from bran and dust after milling , using a centrifugal reel or flour dresser.
IT WAS THE FIFTIETH
The fiftieth Pioneer Days has come and gone, but it was great. Our princesses looked so good riding on Lonnie Nichols’ old hay wagon. Our royal court for 2016 along with our Pioneer Mother, Sue Shaffer, was Tracy Briggs, Kathy Ronan Brown, Diana Dailey Denton and Christine Deaton Morgan. What a great looking court!
We have the Pioneer Days book at the museum for this year and next year will by The Book’s 50th Year. If any of you have a good idea for an article, just let us know. This will be a special edition.
The South Umpqua Historical Society’s next membership meeting will be SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 at 1:00 pm in AZALEA at the HEAVEN ON EARTH RESTAURANT. We will chose from the menu, it will NOT be a potluck.
Happy Birthday Old Girl
And I thought I was getting old!
This newsletter will be mailed on October 28, 2016 which is the 130th birthday of our own Statue of Liberty, Liberty Enlightening the World. Is that possible? Yes, on October 28, 1886 as many as one million people went to Lower Manhattan in New York harbor to be there at the unveiling of the statue, with Pres. Grover Cleveland presiding. This copper statue was designed by Frederic Bartholdi, a French sculptor and built by Gustave Eiffel. It was a gift to the United States by the people of France. Fundraising was difficult, some work had to stop. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer started a drive for donations and there were more than 120,000 contributions, most giving less than a dollar. The work was completed and it would have cost $10 million today. Boston and Philadelphia really wanted the statue and would have paid for the whole thing. She stands 305 feet, had 354 stairs to the crown with 25 windows. She wears a size 879 shoe and has a 35 foot waistline. She functioned as a lighthouse from 1886-1902 and in 1944 the lights in the crown flashed dot-dot-dot-dash, which is Morse Code for V. Victory in Europe…..cries with silent lips “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…

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