By Melissa Wagoner Alexandra Samoilov’s family business is – quite literally – the berries. South Barlow Berries grows an enormous variety in their fields off South Barlow Road in Canby and every week they haul them to 10 farmer’s markets around the state. Recently they’ve added one more market to the list – the Mount Angel Wochenmarkt. “It’s small but […]
By Steve Ritchie Visual artist Mimi Cernyar Fox has spent countless hours wandering the beaches and mudflats near her home in Raymond, Washington, investigating her natural surroundings and seeking inspiration. On one of her explorations she began to look closely at the sand dollars she was collecting on the beach, nearly all of them cracked open or broken by the […]
One final push for the Community Fountain project in Silverton’s Coolidge McClaine Park is planned for this summer. “We are so close to the finish line and if all goes well we will finally turn on the water fountain for a late August dedication,” according to Christine Carlisle who was commissioned to oversee as the artistic lead and be the […]
By Nancy Jennings The second annual Fischer’s Mill Music Festival kicks off on Saturday, July 21, 1 to 9 p.m. Seven bands will take the stage in Silverton’s Old Mill Park, located behind Silver Falls Library. Co-organizers Victor Madge and Corey Christensen are excited for the community to gather at the earthen amphitheater and enjoy day-long music. An eclectic mix […]
By Brenna Wiegand As settlers to Silverton Country blazed their way through untouched timber, medical pioneers worked through uncharted waters to provide the best possible care to these and all of its people. Silverton Hospital, now Legacy Silverton Medical Center, celebrates its 100-year anniversary July 18. Hospital President Sarah Fronza said the spirit that got us here differs little from […]
By Peggy Savage It is said that everyone enjoys a good political cartoon, so, if you could help choose an award-winning cartoon, what would it be? Since 1984, the Homer Davenport International Cartoon Contest has been a part of Silverton’s annual festival that honors one of America’s most famous political cartoonists. The contemporary political cartoon contest brings entries from around […]
By Brenna Wiegand A painting by Hollie Newton of Salem has become the face of the 18th annual Silverton Fine Arts Festival. “It looks like sunset and there’s a paper airplane folded from the score of Chopin’s Nocturnes, Silverton Arts Association Office Manager Meghan McIntire said. “It’s simple, understated and gorgeous…the colors are beautiful.” A graduate of San Francisco Art […]
By Melissa Wagoner Ask former Silverton High School graduates to step forward on the popular Facebook group, “Silverton Connections,” and the outpouring of school and hometown pride is nothing short of phenomenal. A recent Facebook request for former alumni elicited more than 65 responses – and counting – most of which came with enthusiastic shout-outs to former classmates, boasts from […]
By Brenna Wiegand Silverton Together partners with Silverton Garden Club in hosting the fourth annual Silverton Garden Tour, a self-guided journey through eight diverse gardens scattered throughout the Silverton area. Several businesses and other organizations are providing help through donations, door prizes and volunteering. “We’re very excited with the quality and variety of the gardens,” Silverton Together board member Steve […]
Rolling Remembrance – a display honoring those who gave their lives in service to their country – will be at Mount Angel’s Pepsi Northwest Beverages April 20 from 7 to 8 a.m. Launched in 2015, NAB Transport participates in “Rolling Remembrance” by relaying an American flag across the U.S. to honor Memorial Day and raise awareness and donations for the […]
By Brenna Wiegand Steve Slemenda’s love of poetry reached a fever pitch 18 years ago when he traveled to the East Coast for the Dodge Poetry Festival. He was on Sabbatical from his job teaching English at Chemeketa Community College in Salem. “I went back to this wonderful, big poetry festival held every two years in New Jersey,” Slemenda said. […]
By Melissa Wagoner Author Amy Gigena did not set out to write an inspirational book on living an authentic life but through a happy accident that is exactly what she did. “I think the private side of me kind of busted out and into the world,” she said. A certified health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Gigena was […]
By James Day Sometimes the long and winding road leads back home. And a poem posted by a fourth-grader on a bulletin board in a Monitor School classroom can lead to a world premiere play in Portland. That’s the journey E.M. Lewis has been on – and continues to take. Lewis moved back to Monitor three years ago after spending […]
By Nancy Jennings Calling all aspiring writers age 50+, mark your calendars! Thursday, Jan. 18, kicks off a fun and detailed Writer’s Workshop at Silverton’s Senior Center. Free to members and $2 per class to non-members, the workshop will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. each third Thursday of the month. Presenter L. Lee Shaw is the recent winner […]
By Melissa Wagoner Vince Till has one of the most recognizable faces in Silverton. Portrayed with his beloved dog FeBee on a mural in the parking lot of 203 East Main St., his signature overalls and his ability to tell a story make him a beloved part of the landscape. Till began cultivating the stories he tells and caring for […]
By Melissa Wagoner Molly Moreland believes in providence – and she has more than one incidence in her story to back that up. “I’m a believer in ‘meant to be’,” she explained. “When you’re on the right path the universe has a magical way of bringing all the pieces into place.” One of those pieces is Moreland’s life partner Scott […]
By Nancy Jennings A Silverton teen is on the brink of realizing her dream – becoming a classically trained ballet dancer. Jinjutha (“Jin”) Cheepluesak, 16, daughter of Thai Dish restaurant owners, Manus Jantarasri and Oratai Cheepluesak, can’t imagine living a day without dancing. In September, she bid farewell to Silverton and flew to the East Coast to study ballet at […]
By Melissa Wagoner “Verzetsbir is ode aan grootvader,” read a recent headline in the Belgian newspaper “Het Belang Van Limburg.” Translated it reads, “Resistance beer is ode to grandfather.” The beer in question was created by Silverton’s own Belgian Underground brewmasters, Sheldon Lesire and Dale Coleman who, on a recent trip brought along 24 bottles of their finest brews to […]
By Tom Ewing My middle son Ross (now 32) attended all three schools in Mount Angel, graduating from Kennedy High School in 2003 and then from the University of Oregon four years later. After that, he left for China to teach English as a second language. He became fluent in Chinese. He met a beautiful woman, Tian Huijun (“Donna” is […]
By Melissa Wagoner When people ask Christine Carlisle when the fountain at Coolidge McClaine Park in Silverton will be finished she laughs and says, “It’ll be done when it’s done.” Started in 2014 by a Ford Foundation Leadership Team, the fountain has taken much longer and more work than anyone originally thought. “It was a huge learning process,” Carlisle, the […]
By Nancy Jennings Bubbly, free spirit Ashley Schaecher always had an eye for art. The 23-year-old Beaverton resident is excited to be this year’s poster artist for Silverton’s Fine Arts Festival. Using traditional watercolor with modern digital painting, her piece couples iconic scenes of downtown Silverton with the upcoming solar eclipse. She calls her creation’s effect “surreal.” “I started painting […]
By James Day The little movie that could is opening Friday, Sept. 15 at the Palace. Steve Simpson’s self-distributed Neither Wolf Nor Dog, a low-budget picture shot in 18 days on a South Dakota Indian reservation, has been creating buzz all over the Northwest. Simpson, 47, is a Scottish filmmaker whose career in documentaries and features has focused mainly on […]
By Nancy Jennings Nikki and Caytlan McIntire make in-law relationships look easy. The mother-in-law / daughter-in-law duo started “Sweet Tea Restorations,” their home-based business in 2016. Nikki, 48, first met Caytlan, 24, working in the attendance office at Silverton High School. Caytlan was a student there. Now she has been married for over one year to Mitchell, one of Nikki […]
By Steve Ritchie A moment of history was made at the 2017 Mount Angel Oktoberfest. It took place at a few minutes past 7 p.m. on Saturday, in a very lively Weingarten that was packed to the rafters. Oktoberfest President Chris Bischoff introduced Abbot Christian Meyer, OSB, from Kloster Engelberg, a Benedictine monastery in Switzerland, to an appreciative audience. It […]
By Benjamin Cedartree This November, I took an opportunity to stand with Standing Rock, joining the CascadiaNow! and Backbone Campaign to deliver stoves and assist in the winterization process for the water protector camps (in North Dakota). Most of the stories to come out of the effort to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline have been conflict based; men and women, […]
