News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 85
In my role at the front desk of The Nugget I get to handle a wide variety of tasks, from managing databases for subscriptions and classifieds to designing the weekly Announcements page and even a bit of display ad design. But there is no aspect of my job that I enjoy more than interacting with the people of Sisters. Some folks just come in to The Nugget to visit one of the staff members and others bring news in need of reporting. Some people stopping by the office are...
When I started with The Nugget almost six years ago, the term sales was on the display advertising employee’s card. Generally speaking, through the many sales and marketing jobs I have held for 45+ years, I have always shied away from the term sales because, in my view, I don’t sell, I help people make buying decisions. So I asked that my title be changed to Community Marketing Partner because that is exactly what I hope to be. My goal is to come alongside businesses to help them grow. Whether big business or small, each has...
It takes a bit of doing to get The Nugget into your mailbox on Wednesday morning, and to the businesses around town. We print The Nugget in Wenatchee, Washington, on one of the few remaining presses in the Pacific Northwest that can print in the configuration we've had for years, with color on every page. For many years, we printed at The Bulletin on Tuesday afternoon, and I hauled it up from Bend. When The Bulletin sold its facility and decommissioned its fine German press,...
When Adora Hitchcock looks out her window in her quarters at The Lodge in Sisters, she can just make out the roof of Conklin's Guest House across Barclay Drive to the north. When she sits in The Lodge's library, she has an even better view. And that view takes her back in time and brings her 82 years of life full circle. Hitchcock was born in 1941 in Bend and adopted by Philip and Sally Wyatt Hitchcock. The Hitchcocks were pioneering lumbermen in Sisters Country, and Philip's...
When volunteer Meals on Wheels driver Connie Hatfield pulls up for a delivery, she can't help but smile. She knows each person she serves well, and enjoys catching up on what happened over the prior week, how they're doing, and if she can help them with anything they might need. Hatfield, herself in her early 80s, delivers food to homebound seniors every Tuesday. She prefers her remote route that takes her over 60 miles. She loads up the back of her Subaru with meals, then...
Oregon Adaptive Sports (OAS) volunteers Mark and Bunny Thompson, who live in Tollgate, came to Sisters in 2001, after traveling seven years over 40,000 miles on their sailboat, sailing from South America to Newfoundland. Prior to that they both worked with NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. As an engineer and Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) specialist, Bunny helped design the original space station and worked with the astronauts. Mark, also an engineer, had a second...
Pat Mostek met her husband Stephen in high school when she was 14 years old. He was 15. Stephen was sitting behind her in study hall, and one of Pat's friends commented on how good-looking the boy was. Pat pulled out a makeup mirror and took a look for herself. "Our eyes met - and that was it," she recalled. She knew this was who she was going to marry. "No doubts," she said. Marry they did - and that marriage lasted 65 years, until Stephen's passing a couple of years ago. Now...
When Tillman Glaze built his cabin at the base of Black Butte in 1881, he chose a remote and peaceful place. The homestead had 160 acres of meadow on the edge of a forest of huge ponderosa pine, Indian Ford Creek, and mountain views of the snowy Three Sisters. Till, as he was called, was a man whose life seemed to revolve around making music with his beloved violin, racing horses, playing cards, drinking, and violence. He had moved his family from Dallas to Prineville after...
I was out on a long ramble through the woods west of Sisters a few weeks ago when it hit me that I'd been doing this particular hike for 30 years. Against my will, that led to taking an inventory of the difference between 28 and 58. The good news is, I'm still getting out there, and I can still cover the miles. The less good news is, I'm wearing sleeves on barking knees, and it takes a couple of days to recover from those miles. Sometimes going hard at it leaves me sore and...
How's that New Year's resolution coming along? As I write this, we are just over a week into 2024, which means according to researchers, it has been long enough for 23 percent of us to have not maintained our 2024 aspirations. Still going strong? Kudos to you, but if February rolls around and that resolution has taken a back seat, you are still in good company alongside an estimated 43 percent of folks who shared your month-long resolve. If that resolution happens to stick,...
The foundation of the body: The foot. The human foot consists of 19 muscles, 26 bones, 33 joints, and hundreds of ligaments and tendons. That is all in one foot! Each day, we stick little coffins, more commonly known as shoes, on these complex body parts: Snowboots, high heels, tennis shoes with orthotics, and more. We don't give our feet much thought unless they start to hurt. As we age, feet are the first body part that loses function. We take care of our bodies with diet,...
London Lee "L. L." Noonchester was an enigmatic character and the star of the craziest gold rush story in Sisters Country. A dealer in coyote fur, he set up shop in Burns around 1912 and quickly become embroiled in a wave of legal and ethical situations. L. L. was an accomplished promoter and peppered the Burns community with offers to pay more for "coyote and cat hides than any buyer in Eastern Oregon" despite signing a non-compete contract. During World War I he splashed...
When the human body feels stiff, sore or in pain, we tend to treat it with rest. If it gets bad enough, we may seek the expert opinion and help of a massage therapist, physical therapist or a physician. There is one part of our body that may be the root of most diseases, ailments, injuries, and pain: Our fascia. Fascia is a three-tiered layer of tissue that encases all our muscles, arteries, joints, veins, nerves, and organs. Think of it as a spider web. If you pull one end of...
A friend called me recently, distraught, tearful, and saying there was a letter in her mail when she returned from her holiday trip revoking her driver's license for health reasons. The hurt and dismay were palpable, and I felt helpless to my toes. None of us expect or want such news, but it happens. One minute my friend could drive to the gym and the next she could not. She could go see friends, then she was home alone except for her aging dog. Before the letter, she could dr...
Every once in a while, you meet someone who draws you in like a moth to a light. The exact chemistry is a mystery but there is something about the spring in their step, engaging smile, and funny patter that brightens the day. When I started teaching chair yoga to seniors at The Lodge in Sisters, I couldn't help but notice Tillie Hollar. She became one of my most faithful students, a friend, and my teacher in the art of joyful living. Born Matilda Pearl Pittullo, Tillie was...
Whether you're a local or a visitor, there's nothing more enjoyable than setting aside a day or two here and there just to take in the sights. Spirit of Central Oregon offers here a couple of off-beat opportunities to touch Oregon history. Riding the Rails There's something about climbing aboard a historic train that slows the world down, providing the opportunity to truly enjoy the scenery along the rails. Not far from the High Desert is just such an excursion, on the Mount...
When Sanoma Blakeley and her horse Goober crossed the finish line in the grueling Tevis Cup Ride endurance race in 2019, she fulfilled a dream she'd held since childhood. Recounting the dramatic tale of that exceptional victory has opened up other trails and other adventures to the Terrebonne equestrienne. Blakeley was 18 years old when she won the 100-mile Western States Trail Ride endurance race that starts in Tahoe and climbs over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to end in...
Central Oregon is well-known for its multitude of outdoor activities - hiking, camping, snow sports, fishing, river rafting, biking, horseback riding. A newer, less-well-known attraction is agritourism, with local farmers and ranchers opening their properties to visitors and offering a wide variety of locally grown products and crafted wares. The High Desert Food Trail is a year-round self-guided adventure designed to be taken at your own pace through the awe-inspiring landsca...
The Metolius River is a wild and scenic place that holds many memories for many people. The river that runs through Camp Sherman is the centerpiece to an area filled with rich history and no shortage of places to escape into the forest. Camp Sherman, 14 miles west of Sisters, got its name from Sherman County farmers who trekked to the area to relax, hunt, and fish after a long season's harvest. It was settled between 1917-1918. For many families, it has been a fishing and...
"No kid sleeps on the floor in our town!" That's the slogan for Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP), a 10-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit with 330 chapters in 45 states including one in Bend, helping children in need sleep better. SHP is a Platinum-Level GuideStar charity. They believe that a bed is a basic need for the proper physical, emotional, and mental support that a child needs. All children deserve a safe, comfortable place to lay their heads, SHP says. Across the U.S. too many...
"Blessed beyond what I deserve," is the way retired KTVZ meteorologist Bob Shaw describes it. After 24 years in front of the camera, 21 as the "Most Popular TV Personality in Central Oregon," Shaw plans to do some traveling with his wife, Cheryl, and some teaching. His is an engaging story that began in Anchorage, Alaska, expanded across the U.S., and came to rest here in Bend, Oregon in 1983. Weather wasn't always Shaw's forte, and his worklife has been full of variety. Born...
Hank Minor is a master falconer. While he understands the mythical lore and occasional romanticism of falconry, he is very clear what the sport is all about - capturing and training a bird to hunt and kill other animals. Falconry has been practiced for 3-4,000 years - maybe longer - and was, and is, often the sport of nobility especially in the Middle East. Originally, a falconer only flew a falcon, primarily the peregrine falcon, and those flying hawks were "hawking" or...
Nugget Special Publications Leith Easterling is the longest-serving member of The Nugget team, with more than three decades in a variety of roles at the newspaper. Currently, she handles bookkeeping, designs ads, and platoons with Jess Draper on layout of the newspaper. She is the project manager and designer of the annual Sisters Oregon Guide. Forty thousand copies of what we call SOG go out across the region to act as a guide for tourists, long-term visitors and prospective...
Hello Nugget supporters! I'm Jess Draper, creative director here at The Nugget. I've been laying out our beloved newspaper for the last 18 years! Over the last year I've been blessed to share the task with my stellar co-worker Leith Easterling (who handled the task before I joined the staff), allowing me some space for special projects like Spirit of Central Oregon (which, by the way, is hitting the streets as you read this). Going from a blank template to a newspaper filled...
Dr. Bonnie Malone, longtime Sisters chiropractor, is retiring and closing her clinic as of November 27, 2023. For 42-1/2 years in Sisters, Malone has been deeply engaged in the life of the community, well beyond her chiropractic practice. She is a walking encyclopedia regarding the people, places, organizations, history, and fun stories of Sisters Country. Malone, her dog, Morgan, and her horse, Caesar, arrived in Sisters in late May 1981, when the population was around 800...
