The Brown House Open House

Yesterday I posted a photo of a woman who was born at the historic Charles and Martha Brown House during its time as a hospital in the 1930's. Today I'm posting some shots of the house itself, which I took during an open house on Saturday.

I'll let the Brown House's official web site explain the history and purpose of the restoration currently underway at the house.

The photo above shows the current state of restoration on the outside of the house. It's really gone through some changes since they started renovating a handful of years back. I've taken a couple of photos of it in the past -- one in June, 2006 and another in September, 2007.

The photo at right is an old wheelchair I spotted sitting in one of the rooms on the main floor.

Click on the thumbnails below to see more photos of the house (plus captions), plus some of the volunteers who are working on the renovation. I kind of got creative with the processing of some of the shots to give them an aged feel. It seemed appropriate for the setting.

I want to thank everyone at the open house for being so kind to me. It is very much appreciated.

Illuminated Learning

I don't think I've taken a nighttime shot of the library since its expansion construction was completed last summer. Plus I bought a new tripod, so I had to try it out on something. This seemed like a good choice.

Stayton Fire Stayton

The fire station on Ida St. is district headquarters for the Stayton Fire District. The district encompasses 107 square miles and has four fire stations. All the stations are volunteer-based -- in fact, both of my brothers were volunteers at the Stayton station when they were younger.

The above info came from the Stayton Fire District web site. Well, except for the part about my brothers. That I already knew. :)

Lighthouse Farm Animal Sanctuary

Guest photographer Danni K. has provided us with some rather awesome photos from Lighthouse Farm Animal Sanctuary in nearby Scio. Her description of the farm:

Just down the road from the Shimanek Bridge on Richardson Gap Road in Scio is a most amazing place called the Lighthouse Farm Animal Sanctuary. This non-profit sanctuary was created after it became clear that farm animals (horses, cows, llamas, sheep, goats, pigs, etc.) taken from abusive or neglectful situations rarely had a safe place to go. This fact often prevented them from receiving the help and care they deserved. With the goal of providing a safe haven for these beautiful creatures, Wayne Geiger established the Lighthouse Farm Animal Sanctuary. Just last spring, the farm relocated to this new location on 52 wonderful acres and now provides refuge to about 160 animals.

The farm welcomes volunteers on work party days (be sure to bring apples and carrots!) and many visitor events are planned throughout the year. Be sure to visit the farm's web site (lighthousefarmsanctuary.org) if you'd like to help or want learn more about this great place.

More photos from the farm:

 

Be sure to visit Danni's blog, On the Way To Critter Farm, for more animal photos and more.

Thanks again to Danni for sharing her photos!

Photos are copyright © CritterFarmGirl. All rights reserved. Do not copy or reproduce in any way without permission of photographer.

Holiday In Library Land

The public library has a lot of nifty holiday decorations on display, which made it rather difficult to choose just one photo for today's post. It required me to think, after all, and that never goes well. So I decided to just go with a mosaic.

To see each photo individually (the mosaic cropped the photos to a square format), please use the links below:

1. Elf's Lament, 2. A Home In The Village, 3. The Requisite Self Portrait In A Christmas Tree Ornament Shot, 4. The Requisite Self Portrait In A Christmas Tree Ornament Shot II, 5. Bears Can Read, 6. I'm Not Sure, But I Think Santa's A Little Off Kilter, 7. Onward, Horse, We Must Get This Whiskey Home, 8. The Requisite My Arm & Head Are Attached To Frosty's Backside Shot, 9. Sweet

Scenes From A Christmas Bazaar

Yesterday I attended 35th Annual Christmas Bazaar at Stayton Middle School. I bought some great pumpkin bread, bought a Christmas present or two, and took some pictures. The above mosaic shows some of the items for sale from the various vendors, and a popcorn machine. Because it's cool.

If you want to see any of the photos individually (the mosaic cropped each photo to a square format), here are the links:

1. Soft, Furry, And Well Dressed, 2. Capturing Snow In A Box, 3. Fractured Illumination, 4. Rush Hour, 5. Time For A Sleigh Ride, 6. Santa And The Egghead, 7. The Gift Of Light, 8. A Modern Girl About Town, 9. Mr. Frosty T. Snowman, At Your Service, 10. Santa's Cookin' Up Supper, 11. Wild Berry, 12. Be There With Bells On, 13. Pop Corn

Scenes From A Radio Station

Yesterday I featured some photos from Cartwright's Music. Ken Carwright, owner of the music shop, also runs a new community-based radio station, KENC (AM 1620) in a room next to the shop. He let me poke around in there and take some pictures.

It's a nice setup, complete with a large window facing 3rd Ave. so passersby can look in and see what's going on.

If you want to see the photos individually (they've been cropped to a square format for the mosaic), please click on the links below:

1. Mic Check, 2. Compressor Delay, 3. One Track Mind, 4. Cover Your Ears And Listen, 5. Nerve Center, 6. There Is Truth In The Sound, 7. Master, 8. Right On Cue, 9. Stupid Hurts

A Community In Need

I've heard recently that the Oregon area food banks are in desperate need of donations right now, so I thought it a good time to highlight Stayton's food bank, just off of 3rd Ave., on E Ida St. It's a worthy cause -- we all have to eat -- so please consider donating to your area food bank.

For Which It Stands

I'm posting this image of an American flag in honor of the 6th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, tragedy.

May we never forget what happened, and may we remember those who gave their lives that day.

Ambulance

Continuing my emergency vehicle theme from yesterday, here's an ambulance from the hospital. It's one of those vehicles we're thankful is around when we need them (and those their accompanying workers), but we hope we never have reason to need.

2007 Santiam SummerFest

Yesterday was the annual Santiam SummerFest, a popular street fair held in downtown Stayton. The adorable girl above was having fun at the petting zoo.

I've posted a Flickr photoset of the event, where you'll find photos of babies, dogs, people, cows, a giant red key, cheerleaders, and random other things.

One of the photos is of Dave from StaytonEvents.com, who was standing in the back of a truck taking pictures of folks trying to dunk some cheerleaders. It's a tough job.

UPDATED: Dave has posted his photos from the SummerFest (including the cheerleaders). Check 'em out.

Stayton Library Expansion Update

I've been posting photos here and there over the last handful of months, documenting the expansion efforts at the Stayton Public Library.

This is the latest, taken a few days ago. I was surprised to see so much progress since I last posted a photo of the library back in February. It looks good.

The Town Tree

I finally managed to get a photo of Stayton's Christmas tree when the lights were on. I think it looks rather pretty sitting next to that gazebo. The star on top of the tree is tipped over... probably a result of the high winds the other night. The tree itself is tied down, and I'm glad it didn't fall over.

Speaking of holidays, I want to wish a Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate it.

Lonely little Christmas tree update: the tree I bought was finally moved inside the house today, where it stayed for about 10 minutes before it had to be moved to another room. It aggravated our allergies something awful. We might have to move it to the patio and look at it through the glass door.

Christmas Trees For Sale

The above is from the local Boy Scouts Christmas tree lot, which is being silently and ardently guarded by Mr. Frosty T. Snowman. If you don't pay, he bonks you on the head with his cane. If you're rude -- bonk. If you look at him funny -- bonk. Don't mess with Frosty. Hey, it's all for a good cause.

Tune in tomorrow to find out what Frosty does in his off time.

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

Presents And Pictures

Yesterday I attended the 34th Annual Friends of the Library Christmas Bazaar at the Stayton Middle School. The photo above is from one of the booths which sold decorative lighted Christmas "presents" and framed picture mirror things. The thumbnail at right (click on it to see the full version) is from another booth with beautiful lighted containers. Very pretty stuff.

I went looking for presents for others, but, as always, I found it hard to not buy things for myself. I did restrict myself to spending only $3.25 on me. I'm so proud. ;)

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

Mountain man at the Oregon Covered Bridge Festival

I thought I'd throw in one more photo from the festival before we moved on to other things. Today's photo is of a "mountain man" who demonstrated what it was like to live off the land. It was his mules featured in yesterday's photo.

The man, Tom Marquette, definitely looked the part. Looking at him, with his grizzled beard, old fashioned clothes, etc., was like looking at another time. His setup was right across from a man doing wood carving, and another making arrowheads out of obsidian.

There's just something rather nifty about going to something like this. That, of course, is the great food you can get (like the grilled brown sugar chicken I had), but the other stuff is good, too. ;)

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

Sister Mules at the Oregon Covered Bridge Festival

Here we have another photo taken at the 5th annual Oregon Covered Bridge Festival, which wrapped up yesterday. These two mules were part of a "mountain man" display, with old fashioned gear, tent, pelts, etc.

The mules' mother, a Belgian draft horse, was also there, but didn't seem inclined to pose for the camera -- you can see just a bit of her in the background of the photo.

I've uploaded more photos to my Flickr photo set of the event, if you're interested. There you'll find classic car photos (including a nifty Amphicar, which can go on water) and a miniature horse buggy, plus the photos I posted yesterday. Those include Harley Davidson motorcycles, birds of prey, a mountain man, etc.

Technorati tags: oregon covered bridge festival / 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

A movie under the stars

Last night I attended a "movie under the stars" sponsored by The Stayton Public Library and Star Cinema. They showed the perennial classic, Grease, on the side of the Mason lodge in Stayton. Jeff Mexico, owner of the Star, graciously agreed to let me take his picture while he set up the projector.

Several people came, complete with lawn chairs, blankets, and munchies, and the weather was perfect for an outdoor movie. It was fun to watch young kids discover the movie for the first time, and to hear at least a couple folks sing along with the musical numbers. One young boy was even wearing a leather jacket similar to what John Travolta wears in the movie. He was adorable. I wish I'd been able to get his photo.

Technorati tags: 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

That's a Big Elephant Ear

Another photo today from Saturday's Santiam SummerFest in Stayton. The guy in the photo just bought an elephant ear (it's made of fried dough, for those who aren't aware) and looks perplexed as to how he's going to keep it on the plate, let alone eat it all.

But that's part of what festivals and fairs are for, aren't they? You eat food you wouldn't otherwise eat, in quantities that would feed remote villages for days.

Don't forget to check out my Flickr photo gallery of the event.

I also created a Cars, Car, and More Cars photo gallery because I seem to have amassed a fair amount of photos of them. I can't identify them unless they explicitly say what they are, since I know virtually nothing about cars. If anyone can offer up info about the cars in the set, please post a comment on there to help me out. I'd really appreciate it.

Santiam SummerFest

Yesterday was this year's Santiam SummerFest in Stayton. I went with the express purpose of taking photos to share here. Okay, and to eat some curly fries. And to buy my mother a Buddha statue. And I had the best strawberry smoothie in the world.

But, really, it was all about the photos. To that end, I've created a Flickr gallery of the event for your viewing pleasure. There are classic cars, dogs, people more classic cars, more dogs, and various other things.

I'll probably post one or two more pictures from the event here on the blog over the next couple of days.

By the way, I want to send a big thank you to everyone (and there were many) who saw I was taking photos and kindly stopped before they walked into the shots. I really appreciate it.

Parading about town

Yesterday was Stayton's rather nifty 4th of July parade. Once again I was dealing with an ailing camera, so I created mosaic out of the decent parts of the pictures. Click on it to see it full-size.

Be sure not to miss the giant cow and frog. You won't forgive yourself if you do. Or maybe you will. But, really, why risk it?

Charity concert

As I mentioned yesterday, I went to a concert in Stayton which benefited prostate cancer awareness. There were four very good artists/bands, and it was fun.

What wasn't fun was my digital camera, which decided to work only sporadically, and the pictures could be much better. I had to use the auto settings and then point and shoot as quickly as I could, so I could take pictures in between it shutting itself off and not turning back on.

Here are the bigger shots of the photos in the montage above (click on each thumbnail to see the full-sized versions):

Vin Thomas	Impossible Tuesday
Second Best	Drift

Incidentally, I'm getting a new (well, refurbished) digital camera later in the coming week. My current one is 6 years old, so I guess it's time it gives up the ghost. It really could have waited, though.

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):

Sign of the times

This city center sign (look for the red rectangle above, or click the photo to view the bigger version), on the corner of 1st Ave. and E. Marion St. in Stayton, is a recent, yet old, addition to the town.

This sign stood for many years, until it was taken down in 1980 due to deterioration. Some local folks saved it from the scrap heap and, with community support, were able to restore it and put it back up earlier this year. It's a great piece of Stayton's history.

Information source: The April 2006 newsletter of the Stayton Sublimity Chamber of Commerce. Look in the 'past newsletters' section and click on April's newsletter for the full story of the sign.

Book learnin'

The library, located on 1st Ave., in Stayton sits next to the Brown House (see the How Now Brown House entry). Funds are currently being raised to expand the library.

This is actually the town's second library. The first one was about the size of an average hall closet. The current library sits where the old fire department was. The old library location was turned into a museum. I think it was a ladies' clubhouse before it was the library.

That's Stayton -- a municipal game of musical chairs.

Amusing note: as I recall, not long after the sign was installed, someone stole the 'L' in 'public.' It was replaced fairly quickly, for whatever reason.

How now Brown House

The above is called the Brown House, or more precisely, the Historic Charles and Martha Brown House, located on 1st Ave. in Stayton. It's probably the most unique and historic home or building in the area. It has quite the history, including being Stayton's first hospital in the 1930's.

The house, which is next to the town library, is presently being restored by the Santiam Heritage Foundation, and they hope to eventually use it for community purposes, which would be rather nifty. Whatever they end up using it for, I just want to go inside and take pictures.