Originally printed in the May 20, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News One sure sign of spring, which some people anticipate, is the arrival of Turkey Vultures to the Illinois Valley. Though not quite so romantic, or as regular, as the swallows returning Capistrano, but still a natural indicator[Read More…]

Originally printed in the May 7, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News During World War II, three of the Japanese attacks on mainland USA affected Oregon.The first was June 21, 1942 when a single submarine fired shells near Ft. Stevens at the mouth of the Columbia River. This caused[Read More…]

Originally printed in the April 30, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News Each spring, I look forward to the marvelous display of wild flowers that seem to be choreographed to appear at the right point in the show. Buttercups and shooting stars are usually at the introduction, and now[Read More…]

Originally printed in the April 23, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News. There are few people in the United States today who are not grateful that Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and other national parks have been protected as much as possible. It was small groups of conservationists and environmentalists[Read More…]

Originally printed in the March 26, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News There are many people who have moved to southern Oregon because of the small town atmosphere. Small towns frequently have people who have to work closely together to solve the problems which occur. Selma is one of[Read More…]

Originally printed in the March 12, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News With the recent warmer, dry weather, some plants are coming out of their winter dormant periods. Some people, like me, are beginning to think that it’s time to start digging in the dirt to start the new[Read More…]

Originally printed in the March 3, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News The Indians who lived in the coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest had a few advantages over the Plains Indians. They did not have buffalo, pronghorn antelope, or horses. They did have salmon, which they did not[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Feb. 26, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News Before the invention of telescopes, astronomers were aware of five objects in space which did not move the same way as stars. They called these objects planets, from the Greek word “piano” which means wandering. Mercury, Venus,[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Feb. 12, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News Before the invention of telescopes, astronomers were aware of five objects in space which did not move the same way as stars. They called these objects planets, from the Greek word “piano” which means wandering. Mercury, Venus,[Read More…]