Luper Pioneer Cemetery Open Memorial Day Weekend – May 27-29

Luper Pioneer Cemetery in Santa Clara, OregonLuper Cemetery will be open 9 am to 4 pm May 27, 28, 29 so people can walk the grounds and take a self-guided tour. Special presentations will be made by Mountain Man Ken & Marmie Beagle (Great-great granddaughter of wagon train leader James McClure) on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Ken has researched the Mountain Men of the early 1800’s and has replicated an authentic hand crafted Mountain Man outfit based on his research. He will explain the clothing & gear and also talk about the history of the Mountain Men and how they were utilized by the wagon trains during their immigration west. Marmie will model a typical prairie dress of that era. James McClure and 17 other 1853 wagon train pioneers are buried at Luper Cemetery. Ken will give short talks on Sunday, May 28 at 1:00, 2:00, & 3:00 p.m. and on Monday, May 29 at 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.

In early May, Scout Troup 182 and Santa Clara neighbors all pitched in to prepare the cemetery site paths with fresh wood chips. Many volunteers helped to clear the ice storm damage earlier in the year. Contributions from Sperry Tree Service, Lane Forest Products, and others are much appreciated in preparation for Memorial Day.

Luper Cemetery (also known as Irving or Baker Cemetery) was founded in the mid-1800s. Eighteen of the interred arrived in 1853, by way of the Oregon Trail and the Free Emigrant Road across central Oregon. The story of The Lost Rescue, written by Daniel Owen, about the wagon train rescue party, will be on sale to benefit Luper Cemetery, Inc., the non-profit organization that helps take care of this Oregon historic site. Over 160 people are buried at Luper Cemetery.

DIRECTIONS to Luper Cemetery: From Eugene, take River Rd. north to Beacon Drive, on the north boundary of Santa Clara, and follow signs west. From Junction City, take River Rd. south, turn west onto Beacon Drive and travel about a ½ mile to a white metal gate, on the north side of Beacon Drive. Proceed through the gate approximately 1/2 mile to the parking lot and cemetery entrance. The cemetery may be accessed every day from dawn to dusk by walking the half-mile gravel road from West Beacon Drive to the cemetery. Please check www.lupercemetery.com for more information about the cemetery, and other resources.

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“Hugelkultur, hugelkultur, hugelkultur!” Open Garden!

Greetings all,

Tim and Deneen Foelker are building a hugelkulture in their Santa Clara yard on Saturday, May13th, 1:00-4:00 PM. As such, there will be an open garden. If anyone would like to come watch, hang out, help out, or learn more about composting in general, please drop by. There will be refreshments, community, plenty to explore in the garden(s), for those who want to help we have gloves, tools, and instruction.

We think we have plenty of wood and other materials for a fair-sized hugel bed, but if you still have storm-wood, or other materials that you’d like to donate to the cause I can swing by with my trailer. Just give a call, 541-689-8897, for a pick up.

P.S. If you bring an instrument there may also be jamming on the “porch” during the build. And there may be some fresh herbs to harvest and take home.

“Hugelkultur are no-dig raised beds with a difference. They hold moisture, build fertility, maximize surface volume and are great spaces for growing fruit, vegetables and herbs. Hugelkultur, pronounced [Hoo-gul-culture], means hill culture or hill mound.”

Date: Saturday, May 13th, 1:00-4:00 PM

Location:
Tim & Deneen Foelker
4792 Herman Street
Eugene, OR

541-689-8897
hugel@protechworks.com

*****

What is hugelkultur?

Creating a hugelkultur garden bed is a relatively simple process:
Select an area with approximately these dimensions: 6 feet by 3 feet
 (Ours will be 15′ x 6′)
Gather materials for the project
:
Fallen logs, branches, twigs, fallen leaves (the “under-utilized” biomass from the site). Avoid using cedar, walnut or other tree species deemed “allopathic” (i.e., prevent competing plant growth).
Nitrogen rich material (manure or kitchen waste work well and will help to maintain a proper carbon to nitrogen ratio in the decomposing mass within the hugelkulter bed).
Top soil (enough to cover the other layers of the bed with a depth of 1 – 2”) and some mulching material (straw works well).
Lay the logs (the largest of the biomass debris) down as the first layer of the hugelkultur bed. Next, add a layer of branches, then a layer of small sticks and twigs. Hugelkultur beds work best when they are roughly 3 feet high (though this method is forgiving, and there is no fixed rule as to the size of the bed. That is where the “art” comes in!)
Water these layers well
Begin filling in spaces between the logs, twigs and branches with leaf litter, compost, manure, and kitchen scraps.
Finally, top off the bed with 1 – 2” of top soil and a layer of mulch.

The hugelkulter bed will benefit from “curing” a bit, so it is best to prepare the bed several months prior to planting time (prepare the bed in the fall for a spring planting, for example, in temperate northern climates), but hugelkultur beds can be planted immediately. Plant seeds or transplants into the hugelkulter bed as you would any other garden bed. Happy hugelkulturing!

Learn more at: https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/many-benefits-hugelkultur

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Lane County ALERT ME!

Community Emergency Notification System Enrollment

Lane County is able to send you emergency alerts via text message, email, pager, or voice call (in extreme cases), based on your preferences. It is important that this information is collected as many households no longer utilize traditional land-based telephone lines. This service, powered by AlertSense, allows fire, police and other emergency response agencies to issue emergency alerts to warn citizens of events such as severe weather, fire, flooding, hazardous materials, need for immediate evacuation, civil danger, local area emergencies, and missing persons.

Sign up today and identify the types of alerts and notifications that you would like to receive, as well as your contact information and contact preferences. You provide your physical address and zip code to receive advanced warning of severe weather or emergencies that directly impact the area in which you live or work. In the event of a life threatening emergency, alerts will be delivered to you through priority channels including phone calls and/or priority text messages. Non-emergency notifications are received through text and email.

Sign Up Here.

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SCCO Meeting this Thursday, May 4 7 PM

May meeting of the Santa Clara Community Organization
Thursday, May 4, 7:00 p.m.
Messiah Lutheran Church,  3280 River Road

Major Topics:
1) Stan Pickett, President and General Manager, of Delta Sand & Gravel will give us an update on a possible multi use path on the western border of Delta Sand & Gravel.  Hopefully you’ve seen the work along the fence along Beaver and Hunsaker.

2) Mobilizing for Action:  The River Road/Santa Clara Area Plan. The City Council has given the city manager permission and resources to begin writing our Neighborhood Plan. Find out how you can help Santa Clara (and River Road) plan for the future – transportation, land use, parks & recreation, and public safety.

Posted in Beaver-Hunsaker & Multi Use Path, General Interest, Land Use Planning, Parks - Dog Parks, Transportation | 1 Comment

Wildflower Celebration – Awbrey Park, Saturday May 6

The Friends of Awbrey Park invite you to the 6th annual Wildflower Celebration on Saturday, May 6th from 11 am to 2 pm.  Awbrey Park is at the corner of River Road and Spring Creek Drive about 2 miles north of Fred Meyers.

The Wildflower Celebration is a perfect time to see native plants in bloom.  You will even have a chance to take home a native plant for your garden.  Native plants take less water and fertilizer than non natives and are more likely to survive our climate.

So come join the Friends of Awbrey park.  Play some horse shoes, roast some s’mores and go on a treasure hunt.

Family friendly, you’re kids will love it!

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