Groundwaters

Groundwaters is Hosting Poetry Night

The Groundwaters Magazine Project

Hooray! We did it! Our sincere thanks go out to the Oregon Country Fair Endowment Committee for awarding Groundwaters a $1,500 grant. We also want to thank those of you who took time to write letters of support. We appreciate the trust that you’ve placed in us.

This grant will allow us to keep printing the magazine while we work to find ways of reaching as many contributors and readers as possible. We hope to encourage new and/or unpublished writers and artists to submit samples of their work to Groundwaters for publication. In the meantime, we plan to apply to other foundations for support in realizing our visions of sponsoring writing and art contests for our contributors and expanding our distribution into more areas around rural Lane County.

We still need community support… your support…, however. This grant award will pay for the printing of two and a half issues of the magazine, but we now have an additional expense to cover. We are having to buy our own printer since the one on loan from the Hays-Eberts is not going to be available after April. For now, we are paying for the new printer out of our own personal pockets, but eventually, we hope to have the funds from the magazine to reimburse our costs. The $2,000 printer is needed to print the large 11″ x 17″ paper used for the magazine as well as some other fund-raising projects we have.

So, your help and support in the way of donations, subscriptions and advertisements will be welcome and extremely appreciated in the days to come. Donations made to the Groundwaters Magazine Project will now be tax-deductible, too.

Thanks again for all of your support in helping us to maintain the quality and increase the availability of Groundwaters, free of charge, to Lane County communities.

The Groundwaters Magazine Project

Check out our new revised website at http://www.groundwaterspublishing.com! It’s still a work in progress, but you’ll find new profiles on many of our contributors, information on Groundwater’s history, its staff and its policies.

Well, things have been pretty intense the last couple of weeks, so I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog. The magazine part of Groundwaters Publishing, LLC has now become a nonprofit project licensed by the State of Oregon as “The Groundwaters Magazine Project.” The project is being fiscally sponsored by the Applegate Regional Theater, Inc. (ART, Inc.) of Veneta, and we will now be able to apply for grant funding as a nonprofit entity. As our fiscal sponsor, ART, Inc. will oversee any grant monies that we receive. We have just applied for our first grant today. If it is awarded to us, it will pay for one full year’s cost of printing and distributing the magazine. I believe that we made a good case for the award and thanks to 22 letters of support we received, I don’t know how they can refuse!

That brings me to the main point of this blog posting. I want to thank each one of you who took the time to write and send us your letters of support! This list includes:

Vicki Sourdry of ART, Inc.
Judy Hays-Eberts
Colin Rea, Manager of the Fern Ridge Library
Lisa Livelybrooks of the Rural Arts Center
Jo-Brew
Quinton Hallett
Joey Blum
Linsey Kau
Herbert Medlin
Paula Krug Keys
Joan Mariner of Fern Ridge Community Action Network
Linda DeAngelo
Karen Wickham
Greg Williams
Karla Garrett
Alix Mosieur
Jane Capron
Teresa Anderson
Jean Marie Purcell
Tom Howell
Lee Taylor-Loewe of Neighbors for Responsible Growth
Ken and Jane Wickstrom

We are truly grateful to each one of you… especially since you had such short notice! So, wish us luck, because if we get funded we will all benefit. All donations to The Groundwaters Magazine Project can now be used as tax-free deductions and we can be assured of at least one more year of Groundwaters. Thanks, all!

A Plea for Help…

Happy New Year All!

2009 has started out really well for Groundwaters. The beautiful January issue is printed and distributed and is disappearing out of the racks and off the shelves faster than normal. We’ve also added a couple of distribution sites this issue. It can also be found in the Junction City Library and Books on Main Street in Cottage Grove. I will also be leaving some at the Cottage Grove Library this weekend.

Good news! In our never-ending quest for financial stability for the magazine, we are joining with ART, Inc. of Veneta, a non-profit theater group, which has agreed to be our fiscal sponsor. This arrangement will allow the magazine project of Groundwaters Publishing, LLC to apply for and hopefully, receive, grants that will be administered under ART, Inc.’s 503(c)3 non-profit status. We are very grateful to the group for giving us their support and providing an umbrella that will open up to us a new avenue of funding. Depending on how successful we are in obtaining grants, we hope to increase our free distribution and possibly institute school outreach programs and/or incentives and possible help to fledgling writers, young and old alike. We have not looked that far down the road, but whatever we decide to do, you can be assured that Groundwaters magazine, itself, will remain a wholesome showcase of the talented writers of our area for the enjoyment of our ever-expanding family of readers.

We would now like to ask you for your help. As we begin applying for grants, we need to compile letters of support from our contributors, readers, supporters and organizations. We will then include them with appropriate grant applications to show the granting agencies that we are touching lives in a positive way within our community. We’d like to invite any of you who are willing to write a letter of support to do so. Include your reasons for reading it each quarter, what you like most about it, who your favorite writers and artists are, what features are your favorites, how important it is to you to see it continue, etc.

If we all work together and gain success in this effort, we can help to stabilize the deep roots that Judy Hays-Eberts set down in the soil of West Lane County almost five years ago.

Send your letters to: Groundwaters, P.O. Box 50, Lorane, OR 97451 or send them by email to us at contact@groundwaters.org.

Thank you all, and again, Happy New Year! May 2009 be a year of contentment and increasing prosperity for each one of you.

Who are They? … the inside “scoop” on some of your favorite local writers

“Every form of refuge has its price.” Quoting from a lyric from the Eagles’ 1975 hit, “Lyin’ Eyes,” Gary L. Lewis, aka “Spyder,” described his 58 years of “heartaches and good things, too.”

Gary was born near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho where his father worked as a welder in the Bunker Hill zinc mine. While Gary was a small child, the family moved to Coos Bay, Oregon.

Early on, Gary was a huge Elvis Presley fan. Music – or rather, rhythm – had always been a part of his soul. By the time he was in the 6th grade, he was forming his lists of spelling words into a rhythmic beat. He dreamed of playing the guitar, but in his head, he heard the beat of the music rather than the melody, so a set of drums became his instrument of choice. In the 8th grade, Gary and his friend, Jim, began “dinkin’ around” in the music room on their lunch break. Gary played his drums and Jim, the saxophone. Soon, classmates began to gather to listen to their music and others joined them and they formed their own rock ‘n roll band called “Logical Conclusion.” By the age of 13, Gary had written his very first song entitled “The Last Trip to Boston.”

Music took over his life. Soon, he was doing gigs with a new band with a different mix of members called “Hate’s Brother.” They named it after one of their band members, Jeff Haight, deliberately misspelling his name. As the lead guitarist, Jeff developed a flashy gimmick of spewing lighter fluid from his mouth onto a lighted flame during their wildest and craziest songs – long before Kiss and other rockers did the same.

During that time, Gary and Jeff began to experiment with drugs and alcohol. It was a pattern that followed Gary throughout his career as a musician and songwriter and for Jeff, it ended his life in an overdose. According to Gary, there’s a huge “not so hidden” underbelly to the entertainment industry – especially rock music. He estimated that 90% of those who were involved in the industry used drugs, and “the other 10% were liars.”

Gary wrote a lot of song lyrics in those days. When asked if he wrote them as a melody formed in his head, he said, “No.” The lyrics came to him as a rhythmic beat just as the spelling words had done in the 6th grade. They didn’t always rhyme and sometimes seemed disjointed, but they came from his own special rhythm. The melody came later when the rest of the band worked their music around them.

Gary hired an agent and eventually, some of the songs he helped write were recorded by the various bands he was with and added to playlists of local radio stations. In 1972, while Gary was with the band, Chisom, 2,000 copies of one record called “Give Me What You Got,” were released by Northwest Incorporated Records of Portland, Oregon. The flipside of the record was another song with Gary’s lyrics, “Little Boy.”

While touring, the band traveled in two converted 1951 Cadillac hearses with the band’s name painted on the side. One towed a homemade travel trailer and they conversed back and forth between the cars with walkie talkies.

In 1973, Gary began playing the chain nightclub circuit in Nevada with his band at the time. They began a series of appearances in the Pilgrimage nightclubs going from Lake Tahoe, to Reno, Winnemucca, Las Vegas and ending in Laughlin. Then they reversed the order, playing the same cities in the Fireside clubs. “Since we only worked nine months out of the year, the summers were mine.” This became Gary’s life for the next three years. He describes life on the road as, appropriately, “rhythmic… We always knew what time and where our destiny would take us.”

In 1977, Gary joined a group of gay female entertainers called “Ganhna” as a backup musician. There was also an Elvis impersonator by the name of Jimmy Ball who toured with them. Gary was offered and accepted a contract for $25,000 plus 10% of the gate and included the cutting of a record and a four-month tour with the group.

After the contract expired, he bought a ‘53 three-panhead Harley-Davidson and had it “fixed up with eight coats of gloss black paint.” Gary had a large metallic gold black widow spider painted on the gas tank and his nickname, “Spyder,” was born. His riding companion was a Native American woman named Sherry Longtree, and they traveled around the Northwest where Gary began playing impromptu gigs. In the early 1980s, when they learned that Sherry was going to have a baby, they settled down in the small town of Vernonia, Oregon. During that time, Gary became clean and sober and he took a job with the railroad. Tragedy struck, though, and Sherry and their unborn baby were killed in a car accident on an icy road.

Gary’s life spiraled downward as, according to him, he “went off the deep end.” He sold his Harley and went back heavily into drugs. “I was on a one-way street to nowhere, becoming a poor Howard Hughes.” After watching him live as a meth-addicted recluse, Gary’s parents and a long-time friend interceded. In 1986, they took him to Serenity Lane in Eugene where he stayed for 60 days, getting much-needed counseling and drying the drugs out of his system.

It’s been a long road back for Gary, but he hasn’t touched drugs or alcohol since.

“I very much miss the road. On-stage, there is something to be said about the spotlight. You can’t see past the first three rows, but the wild crowd says it all. Your relationship with your fans is the life-blood of an entertainer. It’s the rush of the crowd, the music and the people you meet. It’s the ride of your life on the wings of a song.”

Gary eventually settled down in the Cottage Grove area. He now lives with his fiancé, Linda, whom he met nine years ago through a dating service. “We’re still putting up with each other. She’s a down-home, out-going person – loves animals and even me.” Gary, Linda, and a mutual friend have become interested in crafts and they designed and merchandised decorative lighted garden stones which have become popular in the area.

Gary has been retired from the music business for many years now, but his song lyrics live on. He’s interested in putting them to music and would like to find a collaborator who would like to work with him. He’s shared many of his lyrics with the readers of Groundwaters and hopes to put them all into a book someday… in fact, there’s a whole Rubbermaid tub full of them. According to Gary, for him, one of them called “All Fables, They Have Wings” says it all.

Gary L. Lewis aka “Spyder”

Gary can be contacted through the Groundwaters‘ contact address: contact@groundwaters.org

Holiday Greetings

December 17, 2008

What a beautiful week this has been for those of us lucky enough to be able to stay at home and enjoy our winter wonderland! But, for those who can’t, it’s been a treacherous, cold existence… especially those of you who have been out of power and have no alternate heat source. I’ve been fortunate to stay inside our warm cozy home where I have stockpiled enough food and water to last for several days. My husband Jim has had to continue life as normal, opening up our small country store in Lorane so that others can replenish their supplies without having to make long trips into town. He and our daughters have been breaking the ice on water tanks for our cows and horses and making sure that they all have plenty of hay to keep them satisfied. The livestock all have shelter in our barns and forested property where they can snuggle down if they want. Our three cats and three dogs keep me company in the house most of the day. The cold has acerbated the arthritis in the joints of our elderly Border Collie, Kelsey, so when she needs to go outside, we help her to navigate our front porch stairs… in fact, she’s come to expect it. Yesterday, our two canine “boys,” Shortie and Outlaw, went with me on a hike up the road where we live. It winds through beautiful farm and forest land to the top of the hill. The views of the valley and the still-pristine snow make it a gorgeous walk and invigorated us. I even baked cookies when I got home… a rare occurrence now that Jim is diabetic and I am trying to avoid such treats as much as possible. (I don’t pay fees to Curves each month for nothin’!

The snow has its drawbacks, too. Hopefully, the roads will have cleared enough in the next few days so that I can finish my Christmas shopping. I still have almost all of mine to do. But, hey! I’m not going to try to compete with other traffic on the roads right now. I’m a pretty good snow-driver, but the danger is in trying to avoid other drivers who aren’t. And, regardless of how carefully you drive, sometimes things just “happen.” Jim and I were in a pretty serious car accident several years ago while traveling to my mother’s house in Redmond. The pass had no snow on it, but tiny, light flakes began to float lazily down as we were ascending the pass. We were in a line of about three or four cars, all separated by at least two car-lengths and traveling about 40 miles per hour when our car, as we rounded a curve, would not pull out of it. We had hit a patch of black ice and the car, despite having fairly new snow tires, continued in a circle as it slid into the on-coming lane. We were T-boned by a small pickup coming in the opposite direction. It hit the driver’s side door and Jim sustained some internal injuries that kept him in the Bend hospital for five days. Fortunately, the other driver and I were unhurt. Since then, I don’t drive on ice or snow unless I absolutely have to.

I want to wish our readers a very Merry Christmas! For those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, let me wish you “Happy Holidays” whether they be Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice or others of which I am unfamiliar. May you all have a Happy New Year and may we all join hands and hearts in working towards a better economy in 2009.

What’s Been Happenin’?

Groundwaters has entered its fifth year of publication. Judy Hays-Eberts never imagined that her “gift to the community” would remain so loved and appreciated for so long. As Thanksgiving approached this past year, the Groundwaters‘ staff was reminded of the loving support, both moral and financial, that has kept us on course since we took over production from Judy and Sonny in January 2007. We feel truly blessed.

Judy and Sonny have moved from Veneta. They are now living in a lovely older home in a quiet neighborhood in Philomath, closer to Sonny’s work at Oregon State University. We miss their physical presence in our lives, but we are fortunate to keep up to date by email. Judy’s health has stablized enough that she has fewer days of pain than she did last year and she seems quite happy with their new home. Pat Broome and her husband Dennis spent Thanksgiving dinner with the Hays-Eberts. “…Judy showed us around her garden in the mist. She said she is looking forward to Spring when she will be able to get out in it and see what surprises the previous owner has left. She also has an almond tree and a fig tree (with some figs still on it) as well as some apples…”

Judy writes, “Philomath is a step back in time. We love it, so far. At the local Thriftway, the clerk still takes items out of the cart for the customer. Richey’s in Corvallis is even more old-fashioned (by our generation’s standards), with handwritten signs for the specials, etc. Corvallis and Philomath both seemed to have retained their past, while they have modernized at a slower pace than Lane County. It’s such a pleasure to park for free and see the shops downtown… And, we’re not as concerned about the possibility of things being stolen around here.

“We’re still living with a lot of boxes! Unpacking seems like a slow process. Hopefully, the house will be in order by Thanksgiving – when it will be full of extended family. We’re also getting to know how to live with natural gas. So far, so good…”

On another note, on page 16 of our January issue, you will enjoy the return of an earlier contributor to Groundwaters. In his story, “Natalie and Alexis,” Greg Williams has shared a familiar legend with us in his wonderful Brothers Grimm fairytale style of writing. Welcome back, Greg! With Greg’s story comes a vision for the future of Groundwaters, as well. When an appropriate graphic could not be found to accompany the story, I sought the help of some of our talented “Bubbling Up” contributors to see if one of them would be willing to do an illustration for us. A very talented new contributor, 16-year old Chelsey Franklin of Cottage Grove, has agreed to come up with an original piece of art and we are so excited to begin what we hope is a continuing tradition for the magazine.

This brings on our hope that other artists – young and old alike – will be willing to provide illustrations for Groundwaters‘ submissions. If you are interested, please contact us at contact@groundwaters.org so that we can send you copies or descriptions of upcoming articles that can be enhanced by illustrations. In the past, I’ve searched for appropriate clipart, but we have so much local talent that it seems a shame not to use it if it’s available! Please consider volunteering your talents to future issues of Groundwaters!

Judy’s Comments on Volume 5 Issue 1

Dear Groundwaters Team,

Before more time passed, I wanted to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed the latest issue of Groundwaters. I read it from cover to cover and I liked it all.

Avis Rust’s drawing seemed perfect for the front of this one. And I’m sure she’s over the moon, to see it. Thank you for featuring so much of what I love about Avis – her and how she’s used her creativity.

Colyn Vosika’s photo is truly adorable, with that sweet expression on his face…

It’s exciting to see and hear how the Dew Drop Inn is being refurbished! I know from talking to Allie Kraemer, folks around Lorane are paying attention to what’s happening and think it’s a good thing. Pat’s blog is impressive, too! A publication in itself; one that should hold the interest of contributors and readers for the long run.

It was great to see the varied selection of pieces from Norm (Maxwell). I think his writing is excellent and the subject matter is appealing to a broad range of people.

And, what a nice profile of Herbie Medlin. I like his poems even more after learning a bit about him. He’s a good example of the writers who’ve found an outlet, a home and perhaps launching pad, in your magazine. His poems and reflections are beautiful and deserve to be shared.

“The Handiwork of God” is certainly a lovely tribute. I hope to see more poems from Jim (Burnett), as well as more reflections!

Karen Wickham’s style is very poetic, too. I enjoyed meeting her at our writer’s group, but her writing is a pleasant and relaxing experience in itself.

And, Wanda Edwards‘ work has been a fun surprise, as well. Just the sort that suits me.

Jen (Chambers)’s pieces are just superb in this issue. I really liked the focus of all your contributions. I continue to follow Hannah Stevenson’s adventures; however, I truly crave a complete story in serialized form. That would keep me even hungrier for more. I am reminded of all that Charlotte Perkins Gilman promised with a subscription to The Forerunner, including a complete serialized novel by the end of a year. I’m not suggesting you do the same; Charlotte was quite a workhorse. (The magazine was not where she found fame; however, between books and lectures, she did manage to make a living as a writer for her entire life. Quite an accomplishment, especially for that time period)!

Tom Howell’s work for the mag is developing quite nicely. The photo is an important accompaniment for Teresa. I liked both pieces.

Also, I’m glad Spyder (Gary Lewis) shared his poem that was inspired by the photo on the cover of last issue. this was one of his best offerings! Truly good. And an effective placement below Nichole’s poem.

I loved all the contributions from our young writers and artists. Nick DeAngelo is an incredible font of creativity, with both writing and drawing, just from what can be seen in the pages of Groundwaters. Wow! And now Joe (DeAngelo) has joined in!

So nice to see more from Stephanie Kau and Riley Chambers, too. (”Jason” reminds me of our cat Earl).

I hope Nichole and Rebecca Bain will be regulars as you go on, as well.

I found “Bear Walk” by Bridgett Johnson-Elliott to be especially appealing, as I am very sensitive about animals and I liked to explore the woods when I was growing up.

Kelly Edwards‘ poem from her teenage years was compelling, also.

Sonny (Hays-Eberts)’ and Pat Edwards’ offerings continue to be informative and well presented. I’m glad the WLN allowed for the reprint of Petries’ profile. It’s a good sendoff for the letters from them to come.

“Always.” There is exactly what I like about Groundwaters. The memories of people are rich and should be shared.

Like recipes. I’ve enjoyed reading those, too. Good choices for fall.

Nice to see the contributions of new poet Christine Mount. I especially liked the playfulness of “The Path of Life.”

Great selections of Community News. Would definitely like to see more of those. And the puzzle feature is a keeper!

I have just one complaint: It’s too short! There’s not enough to carry me through the long stretch until your next issue comes out! More, more!

May we be “refreshed” soon!

What’s Been Happenin’?

Submission deadline for the January issue is past, so I’m beginning the labor-intensive layout process before the holiday busy-iness gets too intense. We have a full issue – and another good one. There is lots of poetry this time, but also some great prose entries, as well. I think that one of the things that has made Groundwaters so popular is the broad expanse of subject matter and the variety of writing styles that we’re able to share with our readers. It’s so exciting to welcome back some of Judy’s original contributors (i.e. Carolyn Carney, Vallee Rose, Greg Williams) and introduce you to some new ones, too (i.e. Ellen Marmon, Ken Wickstrom, Jane Capron, Patty Byers.) Vallee Rose and Ken Wickstrom both live in California; Jane is sharing her considerable talent with us as a professional mystery fiction writer in the form of a “refresh” poem to fit the January theme. Patty, Jen Chamber’s grandmother, is providing us with a stunning winter scene cover as well as a bit of family history. We have a couple of profiles so that you can get better acquainted with some of our local people and writers and of course, some of our very special regular contributors are sharing with us some more of their wonderful stories and poems.

The Groundwaters team spent both Friday and Saturday, November 21 and 22, at tables at the Fern Ridge Holiday Bazaar event. We met a lot of new people as well as some who came by to say “hi,” and we handed out a lot of issues to those who were not familiar with what we are doing. It was fun seeing everyone, but I still have a lot of cookies and popcorn balls to dispose of that didn’t sell – of course, I’m sure that my grandkids will be able to help with that chore! There were a lot of people out and about, but like us, few “merchants” were making many sales. The depressed economy was very much in evidence.

Jen and I will be at the Author and Artists Fair at the Lane County Fairgrounds on Saturday, December 6 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Atrium section of the Convention Center. Stop by and see us if you get the chance. Sorry, though – no cookies this time!

What’s Been Happenin’?

With these beautiful Fall days that we’ve been experiencing, it’s been difficult to settle down in front of the computer for long. So, once again, I am behind on the posting to my blog. I have been doing some work, however. ..

My husband Jim and I finally removed the plywood sheets that have been covering the large front windows of the Dew Drop Inn for the past 50 years or so. We found beautiful window frames beneath them that were in very good shape for their age. Both windows have six 11″ square panes across the top and two larger panes beneath them. The larger glass panes had been broken out and needed to be replaced. Four of the smaller ones had BB-shot holes in them where they had, at one time, been used for target practice. Jim has replaced the large panes and we have the small replacement panes ready to install. Removing the long-adorned plywood has revealed the old building’s special personality. To be honest, though, it no longer looks like the rough-and-tumble tavern its remembered to be… especially with that bright aqua front door and windowsill trim and the pale yellow paint with white trim around the windows. With the outside painting almost completed and the trim almost done, it now has kind of a “cottage” look. I hope that we’ll be able to complete the outside before winter. Then it will be time to lay down a new floor and install a pellet stove for heat. It’s coming along slowly because of some health issues, but it is “coming along.”

Besides working on the building, I have been compiling some statistics for presentations we hope to make to raise funding for Groundwaters. I thought these stats might be interesting to our readers, too.

Since Judy produced the first issue of Groundwaters in October 2004, we have published 664 submissions by 147 contributors. Fifty-eight of those submissions have been made by 23 writers who are 18 years of age and under.

Our most prolific writers (not including current staff members) are:

Rhonda Rauch (22)
Millie Graves (21)
Karen Vosika (20)
Renee Dodds (18)
Elizabeth Tyler Brown (16)
Jean Marie Purcell (15)
Herbie Medlin (12)
Vicki Sourdry (10)
Sylvia Bertran (9)
Pat Gill (9)
Dana Graves (9)
Avis Rust (9)
Jim Koenig (8)
Liath MacTire (8)
Jessie Stinson (8)
Dade Cariaga (8)
Nick DeAngelo (7)
Gary L. Lewis (7)
Norm Maxwell (7)
Shirley Overed (7)
Alexis Lanham (6)
Caitlyn Meng (6)
Deborah Burton (5)
Riley Chambers (5)
Wanda Edwards (5)
Sarah Spaulding (5)
Crystal Spohn (5)
June Wyant (5)
… and a whole bunch more who have submitted less than five.

We are truly blessed!