News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 189
The Santiam Wagon Road was originally built in 1866 to collect tolls, but the road’s owners also convinced Congress to give them a huge land grant if they extended the road to the Idaho border. While some claimed they never actually finished the road, they ended up getting more than 861,000 acres of federal land. Fifty years later, most of this land was in the hands of two Minnesota businessmen, Watson Davidson and Louis Hill. Hill was the son of James J. Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railway, and he was wealthy e... Full story
Happy holidays, y’all! Here we are in beautiful Sisters Country, awaiting snow and hoping there’ll be enough for a New Year’s Eve party at Hoodoo. Awaiting the first night of Hanukkah, which falls on Christmas Day this year. Awaiting prezzies and family dinners, Santa Claus and Midnight Mass. Awaiting song and candles. Awaiting whatever traditions we’ve inherited or created for ourselves, with our biological families, adopted families, or families chosen in adulthood. Persona... Full story
Winter solstice is an ancient celebration, evidenced by sacred sites such as Stonehenge in England and Newgrange in Ireland. Immense stones were aligned to illuminate the sun as it rose for solstice, and are still used as ceremonial sites on this special day. Candles and fires characterize winter solstice and related celebrations of light in darkness. Sisters Community Labyrinth organizers will light a contained fire at the large boulder in the labyrinth's center the evening o... Full story
The Santiam Wagon Road was originally built in 1866 to collect tolls, but the road’s owners also convinced Congress to give them a huge land grant if they extended the road to the Idaho border. This made them eligible for 861,512 acres of federal land. In 1871, they sold the wagon road (which, in the Cascade Mountains at least, was still producing toll revenue) and the land grant for $160,000 (about $4 million today) to two Californians, H.K.W. Clarke and Alexander Weill. Clarke paid $20,000 and Weill, acting as a r... Full story
After bundling up against the cold, one of the best times to stargaze is on frosty December evenings when the sky is clear, and the stars are bright. Cassiopeia is a prominent wintertime constellation that is easy to recognize because five of its primary stars are arranged in the shape of a "W." Using Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) to locate the North Star (Polaris), extend an imaginary line from the dipper through Polaris to an area of about 30 degrees on the other side of the... Full story
Festive, cheerful, joyous, and celebratory — these are the emotions we often associate with the holiday season. Yet for those grieving the loss of a loved one, this time of year can evoke vastly different feelings. Words like dread, fear, anxiety, and loneliness emerged during a recent seminar here is Sisters that focused on helping people cope with grief during the holidays. Although grief is felt every day of the year, the empty chair at holiday gatherings can amplify the sense of loss, especially for those facing their f... Full story
Most residents of Sisters Country have heard of the Santiam Wagon Road and many have hiked or driven on parts of the road. What many may not know is that the Santiam Road is only part of a much longer road, known as the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road, which was supposed to stretch from Albany to Idaho. In reality, this road was mainly a way to scam the federal government out of more than 860,000 acres of land. This scam greatly enriched a few people, yet it isn’t even clear that the road was ever built. T... Full story
Northern Goshawks are found throughout the mountains and forests of North America and Eurasia. In North America they range from western central Alaska and the Yukon territories in the north to the mountains of northwestern and western Mexico. They are typically not found in the southeastern United States. Northern Goshawks can be found in coniferous and deciduous forests. During their nesting period, they prefer mature forests consisting of a combination of old, tall trees wit... Full story
Thanks, y’all, for the feedback on my last column, a light ‘n’ snarky one about women’s mid-life changes. People seemed especially pleased that I encouraged men to read. Keep reading, folks of all genders! I mentioned an upcoming talk at the library. I went, despite the grim weather, and enjoyed open, nonjudgmental conversation with local ladies of various ages. At the podium stood doctors Erin LeGrand and Sarah Hellmann, both OB/GYNs with St. Charles Medical Group. OB/GYNs... Full story
It is fashionable to suggest that violence doesn’t solve problems, although the history of the world suggests otherwise. It might be better to say that violence doesn’t always solve problems, because it was only violence that cemented the American Revolution, it was violent resistance that carved out what little indigenous Americans have left, it was violence that finally solved Hitler, and at least for a little while it allowed schoolgirls in Kabul to learn how to read wit... Full story
Suppose you’re in your late 30s. Or well into your 40s. Or, heaven help you, mid-50s. Let us also suppose you have a uterus and ovaries, and you’re still menstruating. Even if you don’t have that apparatus, or you’re freaked out by the word “menstruating,” keep reading. What follows may help you navigate a world that’s composed of over 50 percent women.* There’s this wild, destabilizing thing that happens around mid-life. Our hormones go absolutely wild. It’s called per... Full story
There are events that occur over the course of one’s life that have the potential to cause depression — going through a painful divorce, adjusting to widowhood, living with chronic illness, becoming a caregiver for an ill parent or life partner, losing your job and struggling to find another. Sometimes depression takes root, not as a result of an external event but from biological changes within one’s brain. But we are so used to looking within our life circumstances for the cause of our depressed mood that we may ignore the... Full story
Earlier this summer, I stopped by The Fly Fisher’s Place, and asked the employees what drew people to the fly-fishing game and what pushed them away. Shop employee Gavin Ferguson, of Camp Sherman, said, “Fly fishing appeals to people with a scientific outlook.” He went over to a shelf and took down a book. “Here’s a hatch guide filled with information on flies and nymphs and where you expect to find them in the river. Do you pay attention to things, or do you just stumble through life?” Jeff Perin, the store owner, said... Full story
Greetings friends, from Cefalù, Sicily. In honor of the idea that life is short but wide, my husband Rod and I are spending a couple months going to Italian school and exploring. At first glance, it may not seem that Sisters and a town in Sicily have much in common. But there are some striking similarities. Cefalù on the north coast of the island, is a tourist town just like Sisters. It has only 14,000 permanent residents, but millions come each year to enjoy the white s... Full story
The Sisters community is gearing up for a public discussion on Sunday, November 17, “Are the Kids Alright?” What about the parents? I’ve read loads of articles about raising kids. Most of them in recent years question or scoff at hands-on, close, attached parenting styles. Why do the kids—particularly middle-class and upward, often white kids—not jump on their bicycles and spend all day running around like back in the olden days? When we didn’t wear helmets or bring water... Full story
I looked out the window and there was a smallish black-faced critter just peeking over the slight hill in our backyard. For just a moment it looked like a black bear cub, causing me to immediately look for the mother. Then I realized it was Ernie, one of the new Scottie pups. It is funny what the mind can do. The cool fall weather and leaves blowing around had changed the world of bright skies and summer flowers so much that my mind went to darkness. I saw a bear cub rather... Full story
It has been a long week. I provide care for patients on all sides of the political fence and some who are hoping to avoid the fence altogether. Inevitably, mental health and policy are intimately connected. Patient opinions are frequently shared and I, trying my best to remain neutral, listen. We are all entitled to our own definition of safety and progress. From what I gather, votes on all sides were cast mostly on positions of frustration and fear — not hate. For some, t... Full story
Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Regulus calendula) were first described in 1766 by Linnaeus, and its generic name is latin for little king. They are very common now, flitting and hanging in the air gleaning small insects from trees and bushes. They live in mixed woods, isolated trees in meadows, coniferous and deciduous forests, mountain-shrub habitat, and floodplain forests of oak, pine, spruce, or aspen. These tiny birds nest high in trees, and so prefer older, taller, and denser... Full story
With so many of us newbies, me included, I'm always delighted when I learn a tidbit of Sisters history. Of course, The Nugget is chock full of much of what you might be curious about. You may not know how much of a historical library The Nugget is. Heck, many of you may not even know that The Nugget has an online edition - nuggetnews.com - where in addition to getting the latest news about Sisters Country you can go to that amazing little magnifying glass icon to the right,... Full story
While there are many different constellations that are visible in November, this month's is a challenge to locate because, 1) it skims about 15 degrees above the southern horizon, and 2) its brightest stars are still faint. Sculptor is interesting because it is home to several impressive galaxies, as well as the South Galactic Pole. The best way to find Sculptor is to start with Fomalhaut, a first magnitude star situated near the eastern border of the neighboring... Full story
In the lead-up to the election, Sisters area residents are even more vigorous in expressing their opinions than usual. This I believe to be a good thing. Publications such as newspapers balance a variety of agendas and necessities. The editor acts as a filter and gatekeeper, helping writers understand the larger context and audience for their work. The editor typically influences their community and is influenced heavily by it. In a geographically based publication, the... Full story
It is a delightful day indeed when an angry reader writes in — exercising the First Amendment — to attack a column or, more to the point given the nature of the language, the columnist, written in defense of the First Amendment. It’s delightful for several reasons — not least of which is that when you are taking flak from a sandbagged position on the ground it is a certain indication that you are flying over the target. Lawyers and judges, though they are often slow to admi... Full story
In my email queue, I get lots of emails from Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the politician representing our oddly shaped, wiggly District 5 in U.S. Congress. In my physical mailbox I receive a boatload of shiny flyers from her campaign and supporters. Chavez-DeRemer appears to be as wiggly as our newly shaped district itself. In debates, Chavez-DeRemer positions herself as a bipartisan, non-extreme centrist in an attempt to gain the votes of District 5 NAVs like me, the non-affiliated... Full story
Something in the American mind has been hacked, and while the meat of the case rests on the erosion of barriers between citizens and government, one excellent lead to follow might be burgeoning threats to the First Amendment by the very people charged with preserving it. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is a good example. By suggesting, during his debate with Senator JD Vance, that it is illegal to shout “fire” in a crowded theater he did two things. First, he lied. It is not illeg... Full story
In which the writer continues to contemplate and blather upon the subject of joy, inspired by a writing prompt in musician and writer Nick Cave’s column “The Red Hand Files.” Mr. Cave seemed to advocate seeking out joy, treating joy as a decision that one makes. Here’s where we left off last column (Click here to see previous column.): We can court joy and look for it. We can imagine it is within our control. Or we can turn our back and wait for it to tap us on the shoulde... Full story
