By Melissa Wagoner In the eyes of Marianna Davis, Todd Ferrell is an absolute angel. “One definition of a person who is angelic is someone of exemplary conduct and virtue, someone with outstanding qualities and abilities,” Davis said, adding that, in her opinion, Ferrell fits the bill. Originally from Southern California, Ferrell moved to Silverton with his wife, Ann, in 2007 and […]
By Melissa Wagoner Co-living in the same house for the past ten years, the Pattison and the Neves families have often found themselves joking about what it would be like to be “a TLC reality TV show”. “But we always said we weren’t dramatic enough,” Emily Neves said, referring to the everyday lifestyle the two families share. But when a […]
Ally and Mac Corthell love pizza. “Both of our favorite food is pizza,” Ally confirmed. “We even had pizza at our wedding.” Which is why, when the couple moved to Mount Angel three years ago and discovered there were no local pizza restaurants, they decided they would simply have to open their own – but where? Lucky for the Corthells, […]
By Melissa Wagoner In 2020, massage therapist Shamila Salem wanted to open a new studio and so she approached her dad – real estate developer, Mohsen (Mo) Salem, asking if he knew of an available space. He did, but it was a little more than she bargained for. “He just loves restoring old buildings,” Shamila said, recalling her dad’s suggestion that, rather […]
By Melissa Wagoner Silverton’s Christmas festivities are a tradition that goes back over 100 years, according to the information Silverton Country Historical Society member Chris Schwab found in back issues of The Silverton Appeal. “Some are blurry, some don’t have dates,” Schwab said of the articles, but all depict Christmas in Silverton as the most wonderful time of the year. […]
By Melissa Wagoner She Kills Monsters, by playwright Qui Nguyen. has been “extremely popular in high schools nation-wide” since its debut in 2011, according to Silverton High School theater instructor Doug Ousterhout. The play opens in the SHS auditorium on Nov. 16. “The show is particularly aimed at teenagers but will appeal to adults as well, especially those who remember the […]
By Melissa Wagoner Dr. Olwyn Davies practiced medicine in Silverton for 65 years, delivering an estimated 2,000 babies and becoming the sole primary care doctor for generations. “He was my doctor in 1972,” Nan Fleck – a patient of Davies who later went on to become his office assistant – said. “And my husband was a patient when he was […]
By Melissa Wagoner Matt Jones knows a lot about cleaning products. President of Griffin Chem Solutions in Albany – a developer of industrial cleaning solutions – Matt is well versed in the market and the many ways it can be misleading. “The problem is, there’s no standards on labels and marketing,” he said, describing the ways consumers are often led to believe […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Dre Goyer opened the Mt. Angel Public House with his friend Brandon Norbury in 2021 the future looked bright for both the business and the partnership. Then Feb. 3, 2022, Goyer got a call he never expected – Norbury, a retired Navy SEAL who swam nearly every day, had died of a heart attack while on […]
Advocate for yourself and for your family. Have the difficult conversations now so you don’t have to have them later. Buy now or later? Some people – myself included – like shopping during December when the stores feel more festive, while others like to have it all done by December so they can focus on something else. You decide! Call […]
By Melissa Wagoner “Who doesn’t like tasting pie?” Silverton Grange member Cindy Gyurgyik said when asked about the upcoming Pie Contest and Auction being held in the Grange Hall at 201 Division St. on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2 to 4 p.m. “We will have two categories of pies – fruit and custard,” Gyurgyik said. “We will have three judges for each category…familiar faces of our […]
By Melissa Wagoner On Saturday, Nov. 4 “the Silverton Food Co-op is joining forces with GeerCrest Farm for a fun family event” – a community apple cider pressing and fall pop-up food market. “We’ll have apples be the star,” co-op board member Beth Myers-Shenai said of the occasion, which will include both a cider pressing party as well as the […]
By Melissa Wagoner When the owners of Wurdinger Manufacturing in Silverton added a parts store to their well-established fabrication business in 2019, the goal was to cut down on the number of trips their fabricators were making to Salem by stocking the pieces they needed most often. It wasn’t long before the company’s customers got wind of the new addition […]
By Melissa Wagoner Travel isn’t just about going somewhere new. It can also be a way of learning about science, technology, engineering and mathematics – commonly referred to as STEM – in an entirely new way. “I want students to have the opportunity to engage in hands-on interactive STEM activities at significant locations around the world, where they learn first-hand about topics […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Robert Gendhar graduated from high school in Hubbard, he thought he knew what he wanted to do with his life. “I wanted to be an agronomist,” he laughed. But then a few of his friends who volunteered at the local fire district convinced him to come to a meeting. “I enjoyed the atmosphere,” Gendhar remembered, “and the unknown […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Marianna and Tony Davis moved to Silverton from Roseville, California they were excited to start their new life. “We were retired, and we had family all throughout Oregon…” Marianna said of the impetus for the move. “Then our daughter graduated from high school and went to college up here.” Only 18 months into their new residency, […]
A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign – initiated Aug. 1 by historian, Gus Frederick, and a group referring to themselves as the “Silverton Freethinkers” – has succeeded in raising over $2,500 to fund the digitization of The Torch of Reason, a weekly newspaper published by the Liberal Oregon University from 1896 to 1903. “It was a prominent voice during the ‘Golden Age […]
By Melissa Wagoner For as long as Barbara Fischer-Chase has been a part of the Silverton Zenith Women’s Club there have been two annual fundraisers, a Bunco competition in the spring and a family BINGO night in the fall. “We have BINGO coming up at the end of October – on Oct. 28,” Fischer-Chase said of the upcoming fundraiser, which will take […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Alicia and Justin Roney learned their son Maverick’s daycare – the TLC Child Development Center located at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mt. Angel – was closing its doors, effective immediately, they panicked. “My husband called the daycare and said, ‘What the heck? We need daycare,’” Alicia said, recalling the position they and dozens of other families […]
By Melissa Wagoner When it comes to healthcare, double board certified, nurse practitioner Elizabeth Diaz believes knowledge is everything – it’s how she was raised. “My parents always instilled that education is the only thing that’s going to get you through life,” Diaz said. So, at the age of 11, Diaz began volunteering at Silverton Hospital in the hopes of […]
By Melissa Wagoner The Silverton Sidewalk Shindig, which will celebrate its 12th year on Oct. 7, is going to look a little bit different this year. “The biggest, newest change is that we’re going to have the Music Mainstage at 217 Lewis Street – the old Your Break Tavern,” lead organizer, Sarah Weitzman, said. “And the information center will be […]
By Melissa Wagoner Growing up, Marta Hazekamp performed nearly every role in the Unger Academy of Ballet’s annual production of The Nutcracker – and she loved it. “Then as a teenager, the Salem Ballet Association [now disbanded] partnered with Eugene Ballet Co. and hosted the children’s roles so that kids from all over the valley could dance with professionals on […]
By Melissa Wagoner After nine administrators in only three years, the staff and students at Robert Frost Elementary School are looking forward to some much-needed stability. “I’ve never seen a situation like that,” Jamie McCarty – the school’s new principal – said of the unprecedented turnover rate. “The staff is really looking for consistency and normalcy.” But first new policies […]
As a kid, growing up in a small country town, I walked everywhere – to my friends’ houses, to the playground, to my mom’s hair shop, to my grandma’s house, to the paddock where I kept my sheep and always to school. While I had a bike, and I loved to ride, walking was always easier. I didn’t need a […]
By Melissa Wagoner In the five years since Joe Keeton moved to Silverton at the behest of a friend, his face became known to many throughout the town including Sarah White, the executive director and founder of Sheltering Silverton. “I met Joe in 2018 when we first opened up our Resource Center in the basement of the Community Center,” White said, […]
