America, Encapsulated

I took the image above during the town parade on the 4th of July. There were a lot of flags in the parade, both big and small.

I'm aware some folks outside of the United States are curious as to why we Americans are so fond of our flag. Each part of the flag means something -- the 50 stars represent the 50 states in our country, the thirteen stripes represent the original thirteen colonies, and so on -- but what's more, it's a symbol of our national pride. It's not an easy thing to explain, and it's not based on conceit or elitism or ego (it may not seem like it at present, but it is true). It's just a very basic part of who we are as a nation.

The U.S. isn't perfect, and we have things in our country's history of which to be ashamed, but overall, I think we do pretty well. And I am proud to be an American.

Thus concludes my random tangent into patriotism. We now resume your regularly scheduled photo blog. ;)

Lead On

This is my alternate photo for yesterday's city daily photo theme day, which was "what your city is known for." My first instinct was to go with the Stayton-Jordan Bridge (pictured above), but the cannery I featured yesterday has been a part of the community (1924) much longer than the bridge (late 1980's). And I'd posted a photo of the bridge for a theme day a couple of months ago, so doing it again might have been a bit of an overkill.

But I love the bridge, so I tend to gravitate to it a lot. In my mind, when I think of Stayton, I think of the bridge. A bit of history can be found on Oregon.com

American Star

I've posted a photo or two (okay, three) of the neon sign on the Star Cinema before, but it's so cool, I'm doing it again. The flag behind the sign is at the police station, which sits right next door to the Star.

I really need to go back at night when it's lit and take more photos. I shall do that someday soon, when it's not so cold at night.

Other photos I've posted of the Star:

• Star Cinema
  
• Going To The Movies
  
• Nighttime Star

Larwood Bridge

The Larwood covered bridge is another covered bridge outside of nearby Scio (see also: the Shimanek Bridge from yesterday's post). Built in 1939, it spans Crabtree Creek, right near where it merges with the Roaring River. There's a small park next to the bridge with picnic benches and BBQ grills. It's a beautiful area.

For more information about the bridge, please visit:

• Daytrails.com - Larwood Bridge
  
• Travel Oregon - Larwood Bridge

Click here to view a very brief video of the bridge and surrounding area, as shakily taken by me.

Shimanek Bridge

I get asked from time to time if I've ever taken any photos of the Shimanek covered bridge outside of nearby Scio. I finally got the chance to do so a couple of days ago thanks to my friend, Steve.

The site of the bridge has had five iterations, possibly dating as far back as 1861 (Oregon.gov has a Acrobat PDF on the bridge's history). This most recent version was built in 1966, and is one of the newer covered bridges in Oregon.

The bridge is located on Richardson Gap Rd., and spans Thomas Creek.

Tomorrow I'll be posting a photo (or two) of another covered bridge, Larwood Bridge, which resides not far from Shimanek.

2007 Independence Day Parade

It was a hot one here in Stayton on the 4th... a reader board on 1st Ave. said it was 91 during the parade. But it was worth it.

One of the co-grand marshals, Brunk Conley, was a student-teacher of mine when I was 9th grade, and teaches at the high school when he's not off in the middle east. Hats off to both grand marshals and anyone else who have or are serving in our military.

For more photos from the parade, please visit the Flickr photoset I've created. It has giant frogs, smoking airplanes, Marines, cute children, a guy stuck upside-down in a washing machine, and much more.

Long May She Wave

Today's photo is of the American flag which flies above the police station on 3rd Ave. I tend to take a lot of photos of the flag, since it represents this country, with every part of the design full of meaning.

Plus it's pretty.

Red, White, Blue, Green, and Yellow

This is one of the many American flags which can be found around town. I've posted this photo in honor of Memorial Day, 2007, and all that it means. This flag flies above Pioneer Park.

America

Today is Veterans Day here in the United States (and Remembrance Day in Canada... other countries also have variations on or near this day). It's a day to honor those who have served in the military.

Today's photo is of a simple display of patriotism on the front of a house here in Stayton. Thank you to all who have served or are serving. Politics aside, your service is greatly appreciated.

Technorati tags: stayton / willamette valley / oregon / daily photo / photoblog

Afternoon at the matinee

Last weekend I took my niece to see a matinee at the Star Cinema in Stayton. We arrived early, so I took a couple photos of the theater. The one above is of their nifty matinee sign, which was made by a local artisan out of wrought iron.

There's a railing inside made by the same artisan (wish I could find his name) which also has the movie reel theme and is truly beautiful. The Star's history page on their site has a couple of photos of the railing... scroll down to the bottom of that page to see them.

At right: since I've already posted a photo of the front of the Star (more than once), I'll just include my latest as an extra. Click on it to see the bigger version on Flickr.

Hey look -- today's photos don't have autumn leaves in them! I can't make any promises about tomorrow, though. Consider yourselves warned. ;)

Technorati tags: stayton / willamette valley / oregon / daily photo / photoblog

Book sale

I meant to post this yesterday, but I got all sidetracked with the post office box photos. I'm so easily distracted.

Anyway, the Friends of the Stayton Public Library group holds a used book sale twice a year to fund projects at the library. So, twice a year I go to the sale and end up bringing home more books than I could ever read. It's tradition.

I would have taken a photo inside the sale, but I knew once I went in, I wouldn't come back out unless I had more books than I could carry... which meant no room for a camera. Sometimes, one just has to make sacrifices. ;)

Technorati tags: stayton / willamette valley / oregon / daily photo / photoblog

Bygone bicycle

Downtown Stayton on 3rd Ave. has an older feel to it, as some of the sidewalks and buildings are pretty much as they were during the early part of the last century. The bicycle in the photo seemed to fit right in with the "retro" feel of the area.

I found it sitting next to a retail bakery called The Lovin' Oven. I've never been in there, but I have to say I love the name.

Technorati tags: stayton / willamette valley / oregon / daily photo / photoblog

Chevy DeLuxe

The car above was parked outside a house in Stayton. It's an early 1950's Chevrolet DeLuxe (possibly a 1951). I think it's great to see things like this -- it's a nod to the nation's past, in a way, since cars are tied to a lot of our country's way of life, especially during the 50's.

Speaking of looking back, I want to thank Janean of the J D's Daze blog for her request to post one of my photos, which was featured here back in June. Her post touches on a similar "looking back" theme.

Technorati tags: stayton / willamette valley / oregon / daily photo / photoblog

Americana

This house in Stayton just struck me as being very idealistically American, with the white house, American flag, and manicured plants. It's right by two elementary schools and a church on a quiet residential street in a small town. I don't think it had a white picket fence, though. Perhaps I should go back to the house and tell them they should get one. ;)

Technorati tags: stayton / willamette valley / oregon / daily photo / photoblog

Oregon Covered Bridge Festival

This weekend is the Oregon Covered Bridge Festival at Pioneer Park in Stayton, put on by the Covered Bridge Society of Oregon. People come from all over to visit the park's own Stayton-Jordan Bridge, take a covered bridge bus tour, learn more about the history of Oregon's covered bridges, and so on. The photo above shows an antique Dodge sitting in front of Stayton-Jordan Bridge.

There were facts about covered bridges posted throughout the festival, so I thought I'd share.

• Oregon once had 600 covered bridge, and now only 51 remain
• As late as 1959, Linn County, Oregon, had 15 covered bridges. Today there are only eight.
• The Stayton-Jordan Bridge weighs 160,000 pounds (72,727 kilograms).
• The longest covered bridge is 1,242 feet (378 meters) long in Hartland, New Brunswick.
  

I'll be featuring another photo from the festival tomorrow. In the meantime, check out the Flickr photo set I've made of the event.

Technorati tags: oregon covered bridge festival / stayton / willamette valley / oregon / daily photo / photoblog

Community garden

Stayton has a nifty community garden where folks can sign up for plots they can plant in, complete with a built-in watering system. The two-sided bulletin board has articles posted with helpful tips on growing various things like tomatoes, and information on how to sign up for a plot for next year.

When I was there, a nice woman at a nearby house told me to be sure to get a photo of the artichokes because they were pretty. I didn't tell her I wouldn't know an artichoke if it came up and bit me in my tomato, if you know what I mean. I just walked around taking various photos, hoping at lease one of them involved the fabled vegetable. Provided it is a vegetable. I really wouldn't know.

Technorati tags: wood carving / pioneer park / stayton / willamette valley / oregon / daily photo / photoblog

Two flags, one spirit

These two flags fly together at the public library in Stayton. The top, obviously, is the United States flag, and the bottom is Oregon's. Our flag is actually two sided, with an image of a beaver on the back (seen at right), since Oregon is the beaver state.

For those inclined to joke about our state nickname, trust us, we've heard 'em all. :)

50states.com has some interesting info on the Oregon flag, and includes the graphics used on both sides of the flag.

Just hanging out

The Jordan Bridge at Pioneer Park in Stayton is a great place to hang out. Weddings are held there, as are bridge card games, picnics, etc., and the Annual Covered Bridge Festival. To me, though, it's just a nifty place to stand and look out over the park or the water. It's also a lovely place to photograph.

Bicycling to the park

This man has the right idea, riding his bike to the park on a sunny day. I take my bike most places I go. Of course, my bike has a motor since it's technically a scooter, so I don't need to pedal. I don't exert myself at all, really, beyond turning the throttle and steering to make it go. Still, it has two wheels, so close enough.

The picture was taken at Pioneer Park in Stayton.

A reminder: if you have any nifty Willamette Valley area photos you'd like to share here, feel free to send 'em on over. Check the right-hand side for contact info. You can email the photo or send me a link. Thanks!

Whose broad stripes and bright stars...

This American flag flies next to the post office in Stayton on 2nd Ave. When it's windy, the flag's rigging bangs against the poll and makes quite a racket. I occasionally find myself getting annoyed by the noise if I'm near it, but then I stop and remember what's causing the noise and what it represents. The United States has its faults, but I am still very proud to be an American.

Going to the movies

The Star Cinema is Stayton's sole movie theater, with one screen. It's run by a family who has made it very community driven, holding fund raisers, concerts, old movie night, local sports on the big screen, etc. They get first-run movies as a matter of course, which is pretty darned nifty for a small town movie theater.

The theater has quite the history, having been around for most of a century in one form or another. If you're interested, head on over to the Star Cinema's web site.

Not exactly important and vaguely related fact: I saw the midnight showing of Star Wars Episode III at the Star last year. You haven't really lived until you've been in a theater in the middle of the night with 300 somewhat groggy strangers singing along with Weird Al Yankovic's "The Saga Begins," which was played before the movie started.

Other views of the theater: at night, matinee sign

Flags on display

This was taken inside the lobby area of Stayton's City Hall. It looks out on 3rd Ave. The flag on the right is the Oregon state flag, and the one on the left, obviously, is the United States flag.

If you have really good eyes (and click on the picture to get the big version), you might notice the window across the street, between the two flags, has a Blazers (Oregon's basketball team) window covering.

You might also notice my purple scooter on the left side of the photo. It's affectionately known as the Purple Plaything. It says to tell you "hello."

Classic car show

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Stayton has a "cruise in" for classic car enthusiasts twice a month. I happened by the one last night, and I snapped a few photos from the street. I wasn't able to get a closer look, but I'm going to try again next month.

This was taken at the A&W restaurant on Washington St. in Stayton.

Here are a few bonus shots (click on each thumbnail for a bigger view):

Classic cars on parade

This was taken on 3rd St. in Stayton a few years back, during the annual 4th of July parade. I won't attempt to identify the makes and models of the cars, because I simply have no clue. I do love the colors and the styles, and the obvious pride the cars' owners take in their vehicles.

There are a lot of classic car enthusiasts in the area, and it's pretty common to see one or more driving down the road in a classic car on any given day. Stro's Tire Factory holds cruise-ins and other related activities throughout the year.