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…]

Originally printed in the Feb. 12, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News Animals have some unique methods of communicating with other animals, particularly within their own species. It may not be as precise or complex as human speech, but animals can share large amounts of information. Most people know[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Feb. 5, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News On January 22, 2003 Josephine County had a birthday. There was no big celebration because it has only been 147 years since the county was formed. But it is still older than the State of Oregon which[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Jan. 29, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News The town of Kerby has a long and energetic history. It began in 1855 when James Kerby settled on a Donation Land Claim. Together with Dr. D.S. Holton, for whom Holton Creek is named, Kerby founded the[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Jan. 8, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News All matter is made of atoms, according to modern scientists. Atoms are made of a nucleus, and electrons which move around that nucleus. The nucleus is made mostly of protons and neutrons with many other particles which[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Dec. 11, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News The coast of Southern Oregon is a very scenic location. The rocky coastline with small offshore islands, waves crashing on the rocks and small beaches, and the trees growing almost to the water make a very picturesque[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Dec. 4, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News The Illinois Valley has been invaded again. Instead of firefighters or travel trailers, we have been invaded by birds from the north. We are not on a major flyway for waterfowl but we do have some songbirds[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Nov. 27, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Sometime in the summer of 1831, four Indians arrived in St. Louis, Missouri from the Pacific Northwest. Three of them were Nez Perce and one was from the Flathead tribe. They wanted to see William Clark who[Read More…]