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WRENditions
A community newsletter dedicated to celebrating and maintaning the unique qualities of life in Wren
November 2010
Wren’s Annual Community
Potluck & Old Time Mountain
Square Dance
Kick up your heels!
This floor is so beautiful
you can’t help dancing!
Saturday Nov. 13th
Pot Luck 6 PM
Square Dance 7 PM
Everyone
welcome!
It’s all free! Just bring a favorite food to share.
WCC will provide tableware, lemonade and hot
apple cider. John Luna will be our caller for the
Square Dance. Whoopeeee!
Wait til you see this!
Wren Hall’s floors are
newly refinished thanks to
your donations at Let It Flow,
a generous grant from the Ford
Family Foundation, Ed Dickey
& Sons, and a hardy bunch of
Come see!
volunteers!
INSIDE:
• Let It Flow 2010
• KVW Farmers Market
• Safety Fair
• Wren’s award winning forestry family
• Wren’s vineyards, wineries, hops
• Parting shot from your editor
• Community Calendar
p. 2
p. 3
p. 4
p. 4
p. 5-7
p. 6
p. 8
• 2 Special Inserts:
- Your updated Neighborhood Phone Tree
- Support Local Businesses (a postcard for
you to add your business or talents to our list
if you’re in the rural area of Wren)
Ed Dickey, aglow in the aftermath of the refinished
Wren Hall Floor
photos by Karen Kennedy
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Let It Flow 2010
Below is the bulk of the donors
and those we thank for making LIF 2010!!!
David & Jill Fery
Joseph Postman & Lois Olund
Tracy & Laurie Smouse
Muriel Wiser
Jean Goul & Ken Corbin
TNT Industries, Inc.
Pheasant Court WInery
Karen Kennedy & Joe Whinnery
Philomath Rental
Echo Hills Farm — Harding’s
Walt & Mary Ackermann
True Value
Rod Merritt
Emerald Valley Thinning
Last Minute Ranch
Lions Club of Philomath and Corvallis Knights
Lavender Dreams and Special Things
Lumos Wine Company
David Campbell
Cardwell Hill Winery: Nancy & Dan Chapel
Figaros Pizza
Kitchen Volunteers:
Laura Ackermann
Joey DeWolfe
Curin Cruse
Casey Cruse
Wren Isaacs
and of course, the Music Makers:
Rusty Strings
Matt Neely
When Picks Fly
Evelyn Idzerda & Willeke Frankzerda
Old Time Jammers
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Kings Valley/Wren Farmers
& Artisans Rural Market
by Jean Goul
The former Kings Valley Farmers Market moved
to the Wren Community Hall this past summer and was re-named:
Kings Valley / Wren Farmers and Artisans Rural Market (KVW
FARM). We started on June 6 and continued every Sunday, rain or
shine through September 26. Over 15 vendors sold a wide variety
of locally grown plant starts and
produce such as blueberries,
apples, pears, peaches, cherries,
tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers,
squash, garlic and onions. Also
offered for sale were hand-crafted
artwork, crafts and preserved
foods, such as handmade soaps
and lotions, lavender crafts, jewelry, woodcrafts, crocheted doilies, knives and other metalwork,
pictures prints, baked goods,
strawberry lemonade, honey and Michael Hemmer, blacksmith artisan of cutlery
jams and jellies. Music was provided primarily by the talented
Amy Schoener, musician jammaker
Amy Schoener, with her
accordian and saw. Many patrons were moved to dance to her
delightful tunes, and several musicians joined Amy in spontaneous melody-making.
April Fisher with her art work, in card form too
Bina Schulte and her veggie starts
The staff of KVW FARM would like to thank all of the vendors,
patrons, and musicians for their encouragement and support in
ensuring the success of the market.
Vickie Nunnemaker’s Lavender crafts
& doiles by her mom, Nancy Russell
photos by
Jean Goul, Ken Corbin
& Joe Whinnery
If you would like more information, or to become a vendor,
please contact one of the co-managers listed below.
Additional information is online at
http://www.wrenditions.org/index.php? page=farmers_market
Kim Swecker – 503-838-0244; [email protected]
Jean Goul – 541-929-7408; [email protected]
Vickie Nunnemaker – 541-929-3898; [email protected]
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Safety Fair
On Sunday Aug. 8th, the Wren Disaster Preparedness
Network sponsored a public Safety Fair at the Wren Hall
during the Farmers Market. We thank the people who came
to present their resource info and materials.
It was fun!
Steve Napack & Jan
Red-E-Supply
Lonnie Plumley & son
CPI
Dave Thompson
Propane Safety
Chris Bentley
Benton County Planning
Wildfire defensible space
Blake McKinley & team
OR Dept. of Forestry
Community wildlife forester
Larry Cole
Mainline Pump & Irrigation
Water cache systems
Jean Goul & Ken Corbin
Philomath Fire & Rescue
Karen Kennedy & Eneida Hallenborg
Wren Disaster Preparedness Network
with materials from Benton County
Emergency Management Search & Rescue
Wren’s award winning
forestry family
Clockwise starting top right: Karen, Kenzie, Tom, & Jory
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Benton Co. Tree Farmer of the Year was awarded
to Echo Hills Woodland Farm in Wren! Karen Fleck
Harding, Tom Harding, & their kids, Jory and Kenzie,
gave a tour of their place in August. Karen, very active in the conservation community, is working as
landowner coordinator for the Marys River Watershed Council. During their tour & lunch, they discussed tree establishment, oak forest restoration, control of invasives, managing riparian forests, passing
property on to your kids, and road maintenance. The
Harding family have been all ‘round active in supporting the Wren community and planning for its
future. Congratulations!
Spotlight on Wren’s Vineyards & local Brewer
by Karen Kennedy
In the unincorporated rural area of Wren, there are approximately 250 households/or about 400 people. If
you are reading this newsletter, you are probably one of them. I’d like to have you meet 4 sets of neighbors in
Wren who have made their way in the business of living and working at home in Wren. They all have a passion
for the place, and a dream to make it possible to share with others the resources they care for and harvest. These
are our local vineyards and a hop grower who has a local brewery in Corvallis.
Cardwell Hill Cellars
Dan and Nancy Chapel are the owners of Cardwell Hill Cellars
about a 1/2 mile down Cardwell Hill Dr. on the left. I visited there in
August. There is a lovely wine tasting room in the building they use
for processing the grapes. Nancy explained, “We’re family owned
and operated, not a big corporation. We live on site. All of our wines
are produced from the grapes grown on our own vineyards. We’re
certified sustainable and salmon safe by L.I.V.E. (Low Input
Viticulture and Enology). We have 3 permanent staff members and
hire additional workers during periods of peak activity.” When asked
why they chose Wren as their location for this vineyard Nancy said,
“This is the best place for Pinot Noir in the whole country! With
timber becoming less profitable, I see wineries becoming a large part
of the economy in Benton County.” She and Dan love their place with its beautiful view of Marys Peak. This is
Dan’s retirement dream. And boy does he work at it!
Cardwell Hill Cellars, complete with a bocce ball court, is open
to the public 7 days a week Memorial Day to Labor Day noon to 5:00
PM. After that it’s open weekends and by appointment. They’ll have
an open house on Thanksgiving weekend too.
They specialize in Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Rose from Pinot Noir,
and a Reserve Pinot Noir. They’re looking forward
to adding 2 new wines in 2011. You’ve got to visit to
get the feel of the place and see what Dan & Nancy
have to offer.
See their website and more about the business
at: http://www.cardwellhillwine.com
Wren Vineyard and the Lumos Wine Company
Dai Crisp and PK McCoy own the Lumos Vineyard, also on Cardwell Hill Dr., the first property on the right,
and run it with their kids, Boone and Katie, and Dominique. PK explained, “This has always been a family endeavor. The kids have
helped with everything since they were really little.” Boone is helping with renovation of the barn. And Katie, along with her Granny,
Mina McCoy, is a coordinator of details for events at the wine tasting
room. Boone says, “It’s beautiful here. There’s always something to
do.”
I visited with PK at the site that used to be my old home when
Joe and I were first starting our family. We lived in the cabin that was
converted into the current wine tasting room. It’s beautiful! Long
before we lived there, back in the 1940’s-50’s, the property was known
continued on p. 6
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as the H-H Dude Ranch. Visitors came there to play cowboys and
for dances. In 1974 Dai’s parents, Lloyd and Doe Crisp bought the
property, and worked hard to keep the land in good health, raising
sheep and cattle.
PK said, “Our vision for the place is to enhance the history of
this site and to share it with the public. We want to be good stewards of the land. Dai grows everything he uses to make the wine to
organic standards. We are salmon-safe and certified by Food Alliance for sustainability standards for vineyards, winery, social component, and employee policies. You can see the crew on the back of
the label.” Currently they are recognized for their projects involving butterfly conservation, oak restoration, riparian restoration,
healthy streams and the Marys River, and USDA research.
“We share knowledge and equipment with the Cardwell Hill
Vineyard. And we try to coordinate having open house events on
the same weekends.”
See their website and more about the business at:
Lumos Wine Company
http://www.lumoswine.com
541-929-3519
Harris Bridge Vineyard
Nathan Warren and Amanda Sever are the owners of Harris Bridge Vineyard, nestled next to the Harris
Covered Bridge about 2 miles down Harris Rd. They specialize in dessert wines. When I visited I asked Nathan
and Amanda what they love about this place. Nathan explained, “We love the opportunity to bring together our
passion for farming, for wine grapes, and working at it with family
and friends. I love the beauty of this gorgeous valley that I grew up
in. These hills are the place where trees can grow big & tall. I love
the river flowing through it and the historical elements of the bridge
and railroad.” Amanda, tending to Nola, their 2 year old, said, “I
fell in love with the river, the valley, the oaks, the firs, farming, planting, and sharing this experience with people. Operating this business will perpetuate the love for all of that beauty by sharing it.”
Nathan continued, “This is both a beautiful place, and it sustains us. We enjoy watching our neighbors work the land in this
valley, like Stu & Carol Hemphill with their cattle, John & Kathy
Becker-Blease with their garden, and the Starkers with their forests.”
I asked how they chose to specialize in dessert wines. Nathan
said, “Our site is one of the coolest wine growing sites in Oregon,
which gives just the right level of acidity to the grapes at picking
time. This is a lifetime venture for us. Dessert wines age for a long
time. So we’ll be able to serve some of our earliest vintages in the
tasting room 40-50 years from now.
The tasting room is open now welcoming people to come and
share the experience of the site and the wines. Bring the family, have
a picnic, play bocce ball, and often there’s music. It’s all about sharing.
See their website and more about the business at:
http://www.harrisbridgevineyard.com
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All three of Wren’s Wineries collaborate through the Heart of the Valley Wineries group. They all have an
open house on Thanksgiving and Memorial Day weekends. Labor Day weekend this year they participated in
the fundraiser BOUNTY of Benton County to support & Strengthen Rural Families. Like many of us, they try to
make ends meet and work hard at keeping the process afloat. They appreciate the community they live in and
contribute to it by being good stewards to the land and streams as well as being fine friendly neighbors.
A Job for Every Season
by N Beetham Stark
Most people live in Wren because they love it. But even Paradise can be a hard place to make a living.
Sometimes it takes a true entrepreneurial spirit to make ends meet. Meet Dave Wills.
Dave came to OSU to get a degree in agriculture. While in Corvallis, he visited the USDA Agricultural Experiment Station. He
was impressed with the quality of fresh, green hops that were being
produced at the Station, but most of what was on sale to the home
brewer was of inferior quality. A light lit up and Dave could see a
chance to fill a need. To his advantage, the home brewing business
had just skyrocketed.
When Dave’s friend, Laura Lee, went off to London, he followed.
They toured Europe and Dave had a chance to savor some of the
finest European beers. After that experience, he thought that there
was room for improvement in American beers. Once back in Oregon, Dave began a small hop business. In 1982 he went to St. Paul,
OR and bought 200 pounds of hops and proceeded to sell them to home brewers. The business grew.
In 1986, he saw a for sale sign on a piece of property on Hwy 223. He bought it and he and his partner, Laura
Lee Hickman, have lived there ever since. She is a head start teacher. Dave turned the shop into a processing
plant for hops and hop rhizomes.
Dave’s yearly routine has a job for every season. In January, he
gathers a crew and heads for the hop fields where they dig hop rhizomes to sell to growers. They dig in the mud until they have enough
to fill his orders. These rhizomes are then cleaned during the months
of February and March and sold through his website. He stocks
about twenty varieties of
hop rhizomes. By summer, Dave keeps busy
mailing out orders for the
hop flowers. Flowers are
in demand by brewers all
year long. In late summer he collects the hop flowers, packages them up by variety and gets
them ready to mail off. Dave has two steady workers who handle
hops mailings. By Thanksgiving, Dave loads up a semi with Christmas trees to sell in his home town of Santa Paula, CA. Not surprisingly, Dave grows his own trees. And last but not least, Dave, as he
puts it, is “the managing instigator” of Oregon Trail Brewery in Corvallis, located on 2nd St in the Old World Deli. This is a truly local
“Made in Corvallis” business. Stop by and take a look.
See his website and more about the businesses at:
Freshops http://www.freshops.com
and Oregon Trail Brewery http://www.oregontrailbrewery.com
The videos on these websites are great, especially the singing on
the Oregon Trail Brewery website!
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Did you see
what they did
to the
FLOOR?
OPEN THIS
for your
updated
PhoneTree
Wren Book Club
Meets generally on the
3rd Friday of the month.
Contact: Elizabeth Dodd
929-3320
[email protected]
Recycle in Wren
On the 1st Saturday
of the Month ONLY
9 AM - 2 PM
At the old recycling site
on Wren Rd just across
from the
Mid Valley Tire Shed
All are welcome!
I walked in and
was bedazzled!
Community Calendar
WCC Meeting
Wed. Nov. 10 - 7 PM Wren Hall
Annual WCC Membership Meeting
Mon. Dec. 6 - PIZZA! 6 :30 PM Wren Hall
Annual Pot Luck & Square Dance
Sat. Nov. 13 - Wren Hall
6:00 - Pot Luck
7:00 - Square Dance
WCC Meeting
Wed. Jan. 12 - 7 PM Wren Hall
Wren Disaster Preparedness Network meeting
Wed. Jan. 26 - 6:30 PM Wren Hall
All these Wren events are open to the public.
We welcome you, your ideas, and your good spirit as a neighbor !
This is the parting shot
from your editor, Karen
Kennedy... Ending another 5
years as editor of WRENditions, I’m
happy to pass this torch again and
see the spirit of the Wren community carry on exuberantly with
the friendly efforts of all these good-hearted neighbors.
Joann Wiser will be our new editor starting with
the next edition of WRENditions. You can reach her by
phone: 929-3823, or by email: [email protected].
WCC Annual Membership meeting Dec. 6, 2010 Pizza-6:30 Meeting-7 PM
Did you know that you can use the Wren Hall for
your own events? By becoming a member of the
Wren Community Club, and paying the lifetime 50
cent membership fee, you can reserve the Hall
and get a greatly reduced fee. To be a member,
you need to live in or own land in the
rural area of Wren generally designated
under the Wren Fire District. See the
website www.wrenditions.org for more
info or call: Mary Ackermann 929-5716.
WRENditions is brought to you by the Wren Community Club. Funds have been provided by donations from the
residents and landowners of the Wren community and friends. WRENditions welcomes your contributions: letters,
articles, Bits o’ History, tidbits, photos, opinions, ideas and funds.
Be sure to visit our website at www.wrenditions.org
WRENditions
34996 Wren Road
Philomath OR 97370-9755
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