Originally printed in the Oct. 23, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Humans are good at grouping things, words, and even ideas into categories. Doesn’t every household have a silverware holder to keep the spoons , forks, and knives in separate compartments? There are good reasons why we do[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Oct. 9, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Peanut butter has been my most reliable bait for my live animal trap. Using peanut butter I have caught skunks, opossums, raccoons, and gray squirrels and one fox. Even a scrub jay or two has been tempted[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Sept. 16, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News For most pioneers Oregon City was the end of the Oregon Trail. Those who came by raft down the Columbia River from The Dalles stopped at Fort Vancouver to rest but then traveled up the Willamette River[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Sept.18, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News The part of Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains is a complex mixture of geological treasures. In the NE corner are the Wallowa Mountains which are geologically similar to the Siskiyou’s. Between the Cascades and the Wallowas is[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Sept. 2, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Today, as I write this article, it’s a beautiful sunny blue sky day. A wonderful respite from the smoke of previous weeks. It brings to mind the hectic days when the Illinois Valley was under the threat[Read More…]