Thursday, June 30, 2016

Columnist celebrates 20 years at newspaper

Author is still writing in her 70s!
6/22/16 Chatterbox
Betty Kaiser

Betty’s 20 years of Sentinel memories

My, how time flies! This month I am celebrating an unplanned, 20-year career in the newspaper industry. It all began in 1996 when I walked through the front door of the Sentinel and applied for an office job that they were advertising. I knew absolutely nothing about office work…but how hard could it be? Talk about chutzpah!

Nevertheless, Publisher Jody Rolnick decided to take a chance on this older newbie. On June 9, 1996 I entered a new world. My colleagues, Retta and Rosie and I were busy. We answered phones, fielded questions and complaints; and forwarded calls to the appropriate ad or newsperson. All classified ads and bills were written by hand as were subscription receipts. Those went into notebook files. I loved the office buzz and meeting new people.

My job description was: Accounts Payable. I remember thinking, “How hard could this be?” I managed our checkbook at home and it always balanced. Enter a new animal—the computer. Gulp. Let’s just say that I was a slow learner and there’s a special place in heaven for those who were my instructors. But I did learn and that experience began my love affair with computers today.

So how did I morph from the front office to the newsroom?

Well, I’ve always loved writing. I grew up in the era of Emily Post and would write a thank you note as soon as a gift was opened. In school essay tests were a breeze. Put me on a committee and I would end up secretary or writing a “how-to-do-the-job” manual. In college I had taken some journalism classes and written for the campus paper but that was the extent of my formal experience.

Jody and I would occasionally talk about the need for a column on people, parties, places to go, things to do, celebrations, recipes, etc. Sort of a hybrid commentary, old-fashioned local gossip column. News staff was not available for that sort of thing so I volunteered.

The Chatterbox debuted on April 7, 1999. In that column I requested the public’s input. I was counting on them to be my eyes and ears in the extended Cottage Grove community. I started sharing my life experiences and readers responded with stories of their own. Thus the adventure began.

Originally, ABC/Disney owned the Sentinel. Later it was sold to Lee Enterprises. Then Editor Finn John came aboard. He was young, enthusiastic, energetic and full of ideas! One of his visions for the newspaper was to include an old-fashioned society page level of hometown news. I was already writing the Chatterbox so he brought me from the front office into the newsroom.

Suddenly my job morphed from one to three columns a week—The Chatterbox, Cook’s Corner and Neighborhood News. We often had a full page of military news, graduation lists, anniversaries and weddings. Eventually I added the monthly Faith Page and started covering news stories as well. It was one of the best times of my life.

I loved telling our town’s stories. Interesting things happen in our corner of the world. Some good. Some bad. Some ugly. Lee Enterprises published my columns on the Internet and I started hearing from people around the world. Wow. That was fun.

One of the most memorable stories I covered was Uno, a German Shepherd and his handler Pat Gartman. A certified crisis response dog, he and Pat, with Bill as support, flew to Ground Zero after the 9/11 tragedy. The core temperature at the attack site was 1,800 degrees. The workers were numb, tired, dirty, grieving, expressionless and overwhelmed with the enormous task.

Pat said, “Uno would pick the one who needed the most comfort. He'd put his head in the worker's lap and inevitably, the worker would start petting him, talking to him, holding him. Uno's back would be wet with tears,“ I cry every time I remember that story.

I prefer to write good news but reporting an ugly situation won me a First Place Social Issues award in 2004 from the Society of Professional Journalists. My three part series on homeless teens was titled, “Under the Bridge,” it opened the public’s eyes to the needs of these hurting, invisible teens and those in organizations like Parent Partnership who work on their behalf.

I briefly retired in 2006 during a time of turmoil when my husband had a very serious back surgery. At that time, my friend and editor Jonni Gratton summed up my eclectic style and newsroom career:

“Betty Kaiser was a big city California girl who moved to the country in 1989 and settled into the groove of the Grove.

“She put her heart and soul into everything that she wrote — good, bad, funny or bitter-sweet. She wrote from the heart about every segment of local life and her own experiences — from bats in the bedroom, a Saginaw slum, homeless teens, falling off ladders, women in the military, the tragic death of children and bad hair days.
A born and bred Grover once told her “that she wrote like one of us.”

 “Readers enjoyed bantering with Betty — correcting her Spanish, disagreeing with her politics and banning her from their hair salons.
Mostly, they just opened their hearts and told her their stories.”

For all of the above reasons and more, I wasn’t very good at retirement. I returned to work in 2007 on a part-time basis writing one column a week. That has since been reduced to every other week, which is just about my speed for this stage of life.

As my 20-year career winds down to a crawl, I am so grateful to those who helped me along this path and the readers who supported me. I was a stranger and you took me into your hearts, sharing your stories and lives. It has been a wonderful relationship. Lord willing, I plan to continue doing this as long as I am able and still making sense.

So, Cottage Grove, thanks for the memories and keep them coming!

Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox is about people, places, family, and other matters of the heart.






Friday, June 10, 2016

Changes are coming for Opal’s Park in Cottage Grove

5/25/16 Chatterbox
Betty Kaiser


In my so-called “Golden Years,” constant change is frustrating. It seems I just get used to one iPhone, computer or television set and they change the format. I find doing business on the computer necessary but exhausting. Where are the humans for communication? And the fact that my grandsons are starting to marry is mind-boggling!

Frankly, I can handle the past better than the present. Perhaps that’s why my aging brain starts many sentences with—“I remember when…” That was my first thought when I heard of possible changes to Opal Whiteley Park. I remember when we didn’t have an Opal Whiteley Park/All-American City Square! And now we need changes?

I remember when the corner lot, where the park now stands, was home to several small shops. In fact, it was the original location of The Bookmine. I remember when the shops were torn down and a large building was designed for that space. I remember when the building permits were denied and the project stopped.

 I remember when the lot became ugly and weed-filled. It sat there with no purpose and no future. I remember when residents spontaneously brought in soil and planted apple trees to soften the landscape. It wasn’t fancy or committee generated but it provided shade and shelter and peace.

I remember when world traveler Mary Peck made Cottage Grove her home. I interviewed her just before her 90th birthday in 2004. She and her husband traveled the world and pioneered in Alaska before it was a state. She held too many executive positions to mention and could shoot a bear! Here in C.G. she threw herself wholeheartedly into projects that benefitted our community. She was a dynamo.

I remember when, near the end of her life, Mary purchased the then apple tree lot and deeded it to the city with the stipulation that it remain “an open space available at all times to the people.” That space became the Opal Whiteley Park that we have today.

I was remembering all of this history on Tuesday evening, May 17, during an open house at the Cottage Grove Armory. A city press release had called a meeting to discuss possible needed changes and improvements at our now 10-year old Opal Whiteley Park to  “sustain the park for future generations.” Yuck. More changes.

I was running a bit late and arrived at the meeting just in time to hear Marston Morgan, AIA, the park’s original architect, finish up his comments. His closing statement particularly struck home: “The park stands as a piece of sculpture by itself. It doesn’t have to have people flowing through it all the time.” Amen.

I love that image of a peaceful place. Do we always have to have perfectly orchestrated commercial spaces in the heart of a city? Why do we humans think that we have to make things bigger and better with more activity? Why can’t we just enjoy the little gems of life without making them complicated? Grumble. Grumble.

Back to the meeting. As it turned out there was no public discussion. City Planner Amanda Ferguson had put together a charrette. A forum for ideas and immediate feedback to designers. And no, I didn’t know what that meant either. It turned out to be a very clever way for a large crowd to share their thoughts. This is how it worked:

 On the walls around us there were detailed sketches of the park. i.e. the mural, planter walls, plants, walking areas, etc. Instead of everyone taking a turn and orally vetting their ideas, we were instructed to grab post-it-notes, write down our ideas and place them on the appropriate space for changes, specific concerns, wishes, etc. Evidently they are now being scrutinized and rated for importance.

The wonderful Opal Whiteley mural, the kiosk, restroom and stage building will remain the same. The plantings, walls, flagstone steps and everything else is up for that dreaded word—change. Following are just some of the suggestions the public submitted.

CHANGE
Change the name back to only Opal Whiteley Park
Keep stones; replace cracked ones.
Change paving to sand finished concrete
Fix the bricks only
Trim plants to better see mural
Remove the center planter
Put back the tables
No smoking in park
Open Park to alley
Remove or re-design ramp

ADD
A water feature
More native plants
Install cameras
Games: large checkers game; hopscotch, bocce, 4 square
Commercial shops
Visitor’s Center
More informative signage
An annual celebration event
Santa in the bell tower
Night lighting

WISH LIST
A clock at the top
Reflecting pond
Light mural from above
More garbage cans
Cig butt containers
No smoking
A place to eat lunch
Hire a gardener!
A shade tree or two?
Use recycled irrigation water
Put signs up explaining tower is for fire hose
Space for Christmas tree

LOVE THE PARK
Mural
Atmosphere
Volunteers: design, landscape and maintain
A friendly, welcoming, wonderful place
Flagstones

MISC. THOUGHTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED
“Bigger fish to fry than a park.”
“Let a small town be a small town.”
“It’s not the Olive Garden!”
“Use Metal benches: they dry fast and are not good for sleeping.”
“Use as free speech area i.e. Hyde Park, London; own soap box.”
“(Street) lights are ugly; do not even resemble vintage.”
“Alley is a potential gem.”
“Open Park to businesses”

Last evening another meeting was held (after this column went to press) facilitated by David Daugherty, a landscape architect. It remains to be seen what (if any) of these changes are deemed necessary and if a grant is available to pay for them.

FYI:
My husband says we need to repair and maintain.
I say…Do we need change for change’s sake?
What say you?



Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox is about people, places, family, and other matters of the heart.