Inner Peace: Soulful suggestions for the season
These winter months and holidays have always been a challenge for me. I start noticing a slight dread in October that grows as November and December quickly accelerate — with the shortened days of...
View ArticleMocha Musings: Aghast at Senior Center changes
“But how can that happen?” my friends who don’t live in Ashland are asking me. “That’s not the Ashland we know.” They are referring to the recent “recommendations” by the Ashland Parks & Recreation...
View ArticleMocha Musings: Falling in line not always the safest response
The wildfire smoke has cleared up, and the cooler tinge in the air means autumn has arrived. The view of the surrounding hills is beautiful in the morning light as I walk down the street toward a...
View ArticleQuestioning parks' priorities
The last of the leaves still cling to the trees in Lithia Park in their beautiful hues of red, gold and ochre. Yesterday, I strolled down the paths stopping now and again to take in the magic of this...
View ArticleMocha Musings: The rush of time halted by a koi look
Are you as surprised as I am that it is December already? Whoosh. There went another year, or so it seems. I am coming to the unsettling conclusion that it is, indeed, true that the older we get, the...
View ArticleAging Happens: Good to know — A guide to 'Living with Dying'
“Living With Dying: A Complete Guide for Caregivers.” If you saw a book by this title, you might think that this is not anything you either need or want to read about. You’d be wrong on both counts,...
View ArticleThe pros and cons of multi-generation living
What would you do in this situation? Here’s the scenario: As an aging adult, you’re living on your own here In Ashland. So far, you’re doing fine, but as you know, there is a good chance that things...
View ArticleAging Happens: New hospice resource coming to area
When we receive the diagnosis from which we will not recover, we are in a completely different phase of life. Hospice services are hopefully the support that most people will reach for at this time of...
View ArticleAging Happens: It can happen here
If you think it can’t happen to you, join the club. Most people, when asked, say they are sure they are not vulnerable to being financially scammed or abused as an elder. We all want this to be true,...
View ArticleAging Happens: How are your loved ones doing?
If you’re visiting friends or family this holiday season, you might notice that some things have changed. No surprise there, but when these changes have implications about a person’s well-being, it’s a...
View ArticleSisters of Providence overcame obstacles to open hospital
Making ends meet in the health care system is not a new problem. It was a way of life for the Sisters of Providence, a handful of resourceful Catholic nuns who, in 1912, opened Sacred Heart Hospital in...
View ArticleAs It Was: Early agriculturists experimented with almond trees
Almonds are among the first trees to blossom in Oregon’s Rogue Valley, often blooming while snow still coats the surrounding hills. Ethnobotanist Donn L. Todt and anthropologist Nan Hannon have written...
View ArticleAs It Was: SOU president set cultural diversity as a goal
In 1968, one of the goals of Dr. Elmo Stevenson, president of Southern Oregon College, in Ashland, Oregon, was to bring cultural diversity to the school now known as Southern Oregon University....
View ArticleGold Hill's Centennial Bridge lives on
The wooden Centennial Bridge located upstream from the railroad bridge south of Gold Hill lasted for 35 years. Constructed in 1876 by Thomas Chavner, the founder of Gold Hill, the Centennial continued...
View ArticleAs It Was: Indian agent sees reservation improvements in 1897
In condescending, racially tinged language typical of the times, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in 1897 how the federal agent in charge of the Klamath Indian Reservation, Maj. C.E. Worden, was...
View ArticleAs It Was: Owners closed landmark Upper Rogue lodge
The owners closed the Rogue River Lodge in November 2015 to convert the main building into their home and to remove the parking lot. Anne and Lee Kimball are the eighth owners of the lodge, a 78-year...
View ArticleGhost stories haunt Oregon Caves Chateau
The chateau at the Oregon Caves National Monument east of Cave Junction is a six-story, rustic building dating to 1934. It spans a canyon with a stream running through its dining room. Like most old...
View ArticleAs It Was: Horse-drawn trolley served Klamath Falls
Before Klamath Falls had paved streets, the city offered a railway franchise to the first of two companies to lay the track for a horse-drawn trolley along Main Street. The Klamath Land and...
View ArticleAs It Was: Hannah Pottery provided pioneer essentials
Handmade pottery, popular today for its decorative value and craftsmanship, is not the household necessity it was in Josiah Hannah's Day.Josiah Hannah brought 20 years experience working in a Missouri...
View ArticleAs It Was: Steamer Winema reigned as queen of Upper Klamath Lake
The largest boat ever to sail Upper Klamath Lake north of Klamath Falls, Ore., was the $10,000 Winema, a 125-foot long stern-wheeled steamboat with a 22-foot beam. The steamer, known as the Queen of...
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