By Melissa Wagoner
Kathy Eder-Deshon has been caring for the Mount Angel fountain for over 25 years, strictly on a volunteer basis, at no cost to the Chamber of Commerce. Now – although she recently retired from the task due to health issues – she is getting the recognition she so greatly deserves in the form of the 2017 President’s Award.
“It’s an award for someone who’s done exceptional service just for the Chamber,” Mount Angel Chamber President Pete Wall explained. “I had more than one person say it should be given to Kathy Eder-Deshon.”
Eder-Deshon, who grew up on the very land on which she now lives, was a farmer’s daughter and she thinks that may have something to do with why she still loves taking care of the land.
“I love different plants and learning different things about what’s out there,” she said. “Gardening to me is my release.”
In the ‘90s Eder-Deshon and her sister-in-law, who also had an affinity for plants, became members of the Mount Angel Garden Club.
“It was some of the sweetest ladies and so full of knowledge,” she remembered. “One of my favorite things was we would bring in our greenery and make wreaths to give to the shut-ins around the area.”
At that time one of the club’s main responsibilities was taking care of the space that would eventually house the fountain.
“It was a lot of weeding, trimming and – when the Garden Club was doing it – we planted annually,” she remembered.
“That got to be quite an expense.”
With the installation of the fountain the planting needs became less but the area still required a good deal of maintenance.
Eventually the club, whose members were mostly elderly, disbanded, donating the final balance of their account to carry on the work of maintaining the fountain. After that the Friends of the Fountain Club was established but that only lasted for a handful of years before it too died out. That’s when Eder-Deshon quietly decided to take on the task alone.
“I enjoyed it,” she said.
“The satisfaction of looking at it when it gets cleaned up and groomed – it just looks pretty, especially in the spring. It just brightens things up and the fountain itself is so pretty.
Eder-Deshon is no stranger to volunteerism. A member of the Catholic Daughters, St. Ann’s Altar Society and St. Joseph Shelter she helps out with annual dinners, works in Oktoberfest booths and helps with general fundraising.
“I like to help people,” she summed up. “That’s part of my job at work – I used to be a claims adjuster. I just love doing things for people.”
Eder-Deshon also has a deep love for the city of Mount Angel, of which the fountain is a focal point and symbol.
“Mount Angel is just a neat little town,” she said with a smile. “You can’t walk through it or drive through it without seeing someone you know. It’s where
my heart is.”
