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Hello! Hello! Hello!: Remembering The Cottage Kitchen Ladies

October 26, 2015 Leave a comment

Carolyn Kelsey(seated), Allyn Goss and myself at 12 in a familiar setting in 1965.

One day Grandma and I were looking for a good luncheon stop. And we found one, just a short walk away from the Obstinate J Ranch where we spent our summers. A large blue and white sign declared: Cottage Kitchen. We decided to give the place a try. When we opened the door, a voice rang out “Hello! Hello! Hello! And how are you folks today?” And a friendship began that lasted for many years.

Mrs. Carolyn Kelsey was a tall lady, somewhat bent over that liked to smile and talk. Miss Allyn Goss was just the opposite; she was short, taciturn and rarely smiled. However, you could tell that these ladies respected each other, although they did get angry with one another on occasion. “Dear, you forgot to turn on the stove!” “I’ll try to be more careful, dear! And they would scowl. But usually they were the best of friends and each had her own tasks: Mrs. Kelsey made the shakes and Miss Goss cooked the burgers. Raisin pie was their calling card and every two weeks or so they would make delicious chocolate tarts. They also kept their shelves full of home-made jams and jellies prepared from the finest fruit available. During the Holidays, they enjoyed making bread for their neighbors and friends.

Cottage Kitchen became our favorite place for lunch and also for snacking after dinner. We used to tell the ladies about our river trips and would often enter in quite informal attire. They didn’t mind, though, and would listen to our latest inner tubing or rafting adventures, hanging on every word. And Mrs. Kelsey would add her boisterous enthusiasm to Grandma’s. However, one thing we didn’t like was Snoodle. He was a mixture of a schnauzer and a poodle and inherited the worst traits from both breeds. Whenever we wanted to use the rest room, which was behind a screened door, Snoodle would race up to the door, barking furiously and had to be restrained by Mrs. Kelsey. He certainly was a great watchdog for the two ladies.

The years I spent at Cottage Kitchen were among the happiest of my life. However, time started to creep up like a shadow and soon the ladies lost their agility. It became harder and harder for Mrs. Kelsey to walk, so Mom insisted that we help her serve the meals and wait on customers. Eventually, Mrs. Kelsey couldn’t work at all and Mom took her to her heart doctor. On the way and back, she was complaining and fretting. This was certainly not the Mrs. Kelsey I knew, and she died soon after. Suddenly, a part of my life folded into unpenetrable darkness, and the doors of Cottage Kitchen closed forever.

The following description of the story of the ladies of Cottage Kitchen is excerpted from a 1965 article by A.L. Day in “Trail Tales”, a column of the Mail Tribune:

These two(Carolyn Kelsey and Miss Goss) met in 1925 in New York City where both were receiving instruction and training in the art of food preparation at Schraft’s and later at the Consumer’s Cooperative. Both of these institutions are considered tops in the U.S. for their superior courses in food preparation, and its supervision. Upon completion of their schooling, they decided to go into business for themselves, and have operated restaurants at some of the best spots on the Old Boston Post Road, from Darien to Lime Rock, Conn…

After the war they decided to combine a sightseeing trip of the West with a visit to Mrs. Kelsey’s daughter, who lived in California. So, selling their restaurant in Beaver, Penn., they pointed their car 270 degrees and headed for Crater Lake, which neither had seen.

Leaving the lake they headed south on 62, toward their original destination, but nightfall caught them at Riffles on the Rogue where they rented a cabin for the night.

So impressed were they with the view of the river and the scenic beauty of the surrounding country, that Mrs. Kelsey says she suddenly spoke out, “This is it,” and they both liked the location so much they decided in less than an hour that this would be the site of their future home and business…

No tastier palate pleaser compares with the Cottage Kitchen old-fashioned tomato preserves from an Old New England family recipe, and don’t overlook those jars of pie cherries, cherry marmalade, pear butter, and apple butter. It is a delightful gustatory experience just to read the labels.

The ladies made one emphatic point regarding their goodies, and that was that they used only the finest of locally grown wild fruits, berries, and sugar; and the best obtainable vegetables, spices and vinegars–no additives, no preservatives…

These are two very happy people; justifiably proud of their accomplishments, pleasantly reminiscing the past, certain of the present, and with a cheerful attitude toward the future…

Filed under In Memory of..., Nature, Rogue River, Uncategorized Tagged with A.L. Day, Allyn Goss, Carolyn Kelsey, Consumer's Cooperative, Cottage Kitchen, raisin pie, Scraft's

Remembering Ralph Turner: Conservation Pioneer

October 21, 2015 1 Comment

Most of us take ecology as a given. It has become the basis for one of the high school biology texts connected with the BSCS(Biological Science Curriculum Study). This is a change from the past. When I went to high school, BSCS offered two books, one dealing with molecules. amino acids, and the double helix, the other featuring a descriptive, classification biology. However, a biology book devoted totally to ecology was still unknown in the 1960s. During the period of growth that led to an increased awareness of conservation and ecology, it is easy to forget the pioneers that took the first bold steps in changing the education of natural science to include the interconnectedness of all living organisms. In two previous posts, I discussed the innovative ecological approach of Crater High’s Hans Smith. In this post, I’m going to go back further in time, to the 1960s.

A young tall man with wiry frame and a restless manner was applying for an administrative job in the Los Angeles Public Schools. Ralph Turner was bursting with ideas when he entered the administrator’s office, carrying a briefcase stuffed with concepts and future plans. Mr. Turner adjusted his glasses while putting his thoughts together. During the waiting period, his mind drifted. He saw himself at the ranch that he had built with his brother-in-law: the green water tower, the pipes that required fixing every weekend because of vandalism, the bright yellow of lemons glistening in the sun, the nearby gully that was usually dry. “Mr. Turner”, a voice boomed out. Ralph took out the papers he had put together for the bold new venture, his eyes sparkling with excitement. And Mr. Turner gesticulated and expanded on his notion of a science center that would enable students to view, learn and experience the importance of conservation. “Very interesting, Mr. Turner. I’ll think about it.” A short time later, Ralph had a look of triumph: the Monlux Environmental Center was born and he would be the director!

Mr. Turner’s famous book, Conservation In Miniature, described the steps needed to maintain a conservation center. Paul F. Brandwein, President of the Center of Study of Instruction, realized the importance of Ralph’s fledgling center. “The major thrust in American education is to enrich the world of the child… And it is to this end that the Monlux Environmental Center was developed…The next decades will see whether or not we can heal our environment, whether or not our culture can maintain an environment to sustain those who live-or will live…Thousands of Environmental Centers–to assist millions of individual and group efforts–need to be born. The Monlux Environmental Center furnishes an enviable model of one such center.” And so, in 1962, Mr. Turner’s dream project was realized.

There was much work to do: culling volunteers, creating riparian environments, collecting animals, preparing mini- informative talks for the thousands of children that would visit the center. Ralph was tireless in his unbounded enthusiasm, racing here and there to make conservation known throughout Southern California. He went to visit schools with sets of slides, showing the effects of erosion, possible ecological disaster, but telling his stories with a sense of humor that encouraged questions from his eager young listeners.

And children did visit the Center. Busloads and busloads came to hear about the importance of conservation. But not only to hear, but to see, to touch, to smell. Their minds flew from ancient geological formations to recent sedimentation. They learned how to grow crystals, how to take care of animals, what a watershed meant, how to preserve the landscape and what the threats to ecological destruction were. Children began to see their world in a different perspective and new concepts and ways of thinking filtered through their questioning minds.

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, Evelyn de Wolfe, had this to say about the Center: “Children who are bused to Monlux are taught how to conserve water, soil, plants, and wildlife, how to guard against devastation through fire and flood, and learn how Los Angeles gets its water, saves it and delivers it.”

Mr. Turner watched his center expand and the ideas of ecology and conservation sprinkled the speeches of legislators. Ralph had set the wheels in motion and his experiment was spreading ever further and encompassing ever greater spaces. But he continued to work, improve, rethink, redesign, according to newer and newer discoveries of science. And, when he retired, his analytical mind continued to help dozens of students with suggestions, problem solving and honing the perception of their surroundings, and, of course, ideas about conservation.

Ralph was one of conservation education’s pioneers. His twinkling eyes. light-hearted humor and zest for rivers and fishing will be missed. But he would be gratified to know that conservation and ecology have become essentials for high school biology–that one of his major goals was achieved– and that the search for the understanding of the interconnectedness of all life forms goes on.

Filed under Education, In Memory of..., Nature, Uncategorized Tagged with biology, conservation education, Conservation In Miniature, ecology education, Monlux Environmental Center, Paul F. Brandwein, Ralph I. Turner

Watson Falls And The North Umpqua Inspire Peace And Tranquility

September 23, 2015 2 Comments

Although, we are now in fall and water is low, Watson Falls and the North Umpqua continue to be places that inspire peace and tranquility. Watson Falls is a ribbon-like cascade that plunges over 270 feet, making it one of the highest falls in Southern Oregon. The trail takes you to the very top where it is in the upper 40s and you are the recipient of drops of cold spray. The trail meanders among boulders, which are sometimes covered with moss, depending on the heat. But the vision of Watson Falls is well worth the climb. It is located about 21 miles NW of Diamond Lake on the Roseburg Hwy.

Just beyond Watson Falls is the better-known Toketee Falls that you can walk around without any difficulty. A few miles ahead is a power station which subsumes the flow of the North Umpqua. Just above is a fish hatchery and Soda Springs Dam. It is the only dam on the North Umpqua. In the high water of spring, rafting companies sometimes put their boats in below the dam to give their passengers a few extra rapids before reaching Boulder Springs Campground, the usual starting point.

Between Boulder Springs and Gravel Bin, there are a number of Class 2 and 3 rapids with one Class 4-, Pinball. But the North Umpqua offers more than turbulent water, it also offers deep, quiet pools where one can sit by the riverside and just relax and reflect. Shades of green and blue intermingle in the river currents, looking like oil colors on a painter’s canvas. I especially enjoy looking at the solemn boulders, surrounded by swirling colors. Indeed, it is a special place that inspires peace and tranquility.

Location of Watson Falls

Watson Falls trail

Watson Falls

Another view of Watson Falls

A boulder surrounded by the calm of the North Umpqua

The beauty and tranquility of the North Umpqua

Filed under Nature Tagged with Boulder Creek Campground, boulders, North Umpqua, Roseburg Hwy., Watson Falls

A New Low For The North Umpqua

September 16, 2015 1 Comment

Because the North Umpqua is not dam-controlled, it is not unusual for it to vary widely in size from season to season. But nobody could anticipate that the river would reach an all-time low that saw this proud stream reduced to a creek. But it happened last August. In fact, the river was so low that the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Game banned fishermen from the stream. The Dept. felt that the water was too low and too warm. Now the North Umpqua is known throughout the world for its splendid steelhead fishing, so this was quite a disappointment for many eager fishermen and, especially for Steamboat Lodge, which offers a well-known late fisherman’s dinner. Normally, the Lodge offered picturesque views of a falls, but the falls disappeared into a pile of boulders. A plethora of fires didn’t help any of the tourist businesses either. All in all, a strange and sad summer for people who frequent the North Umpqua.

Sign welcoming you to Steamboat Lodge.

Lots of luck floating this rapid. There is a sharp rock in the middle.

Not much of the river left in the ribbon ahead.

Notice how narrow the river is.

Another view of the same rapid.

Filed under Fishing, Nature Tagged with drought, North Umpqua, Steamboat Lodge, steelhead

A Day For Some Minerals, Part 1.

August 23, 2015 2 Comments

I woke up this morning and thought about minerals, quartz in particular. Why quartz? For one thing, about two out of every three steps we take will be on silicon dioxide, or quartz. Although quite common, it occurs in many colors and forms. Quartz sometimes appears in striking crystal formations that have the grandeur of fairy tale kingdoms and palaces. As for color, quartz runs the gamut–from smoky quartz to sparkling amethyst. Just a simple change in the chemical formula for quartz will do the trick to turn rose quartz into citrine. Heat also plays a role as does the interaction of different elements. And suddenly, the most common mineral becomes an object of wonder.