Southern Oregon Journal: Coast trip turns up Bigfoot and Langlois
By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune
It was another cool, bright morning on the Southern Oregon coast — perfect for tunes and a leisurely drive. One nice thing about south coast traffic is there’s far less of it than with the mass of tourist assemblage to the north. The luxury of time I enjoyed meant embracing U-turns for whatever caught my eye. Passing lanes at regular intervals allowed those not hunting for a chain-sawed, wooden Bigfoot sculpture to ease on down the road.
A couple of towns on Oregon’s south coast catch my attention each night on the evening weather map. In all my traversing 101, I can’t recall even passing through Langlois or Sixes, yet there are representative dots on the map, siren communities calling for exploration. I determined to hunt them down, find out how to pronounce Langlois, and learn why they deserve a forecast.
he Langlois Lions Club is holding a rummage sale Saturday, August 27th from 9 am to 4 pm. at the Lions Club, 48136 Floras Lake Loop. The purpose of this fundraiser to be able to update and fix our club house which was built in the 1970's and definitely is showing some wear and tear. The club house is often used by the community for birthday celebrations, memorials, the Langlois Library Book sale, and for the annual Holiday Craft fair. In addition, the club is rented by SWOCC for exercise classes. So it is important that we garner funds for fixing the building, not only for Lions , but for the entire community.
Drop off donated items from 3pm. to 6 pm. on Friday, the 26th. So we encourage you to start thinking about cleaning out closets and getting rid of unwanted stuff. We will accept only gently used items- no clothing . For more information or possible pick up of large items, contact Roxy at 541-290-0654.
A month long Silent Auction fundraiser has begun at the Langlois Public Library. The Auction continues through Saturday, September 10 when the annual Blueberry Bash ends the Silent Auction. You are cordially invited to the Blueberry Bash, a free party which starts at 6 p.m. on September 10 with wine and cheese. Silent Auction bidding ends at 6:45 p.m. when blueberry cobbler a la mode is served to attendees while they enjoy a hilarious live baked goods auction before taking home their winnings. Bidders do not have to be present to win.
The Langlois Library Silent Auction is an eclectic shopping resource. You can bid on local foods such as a spring lamb, veggies, cranberries, jam, blueberries and albacore. Could you use a pop-up greenhouse (donated by B & B Farm Supply)? A queen sized Sunbonnet Sue Quilt (donated by the Dew Valley Club)? How about a fabulous Dooney & Bourke Hand Bag, or a framed Lois Miller egret photo? There are certificates for a night at the fabulous Redfish Loft in Port Orford with a stunning view of the ocean, for a visit to OMSI, for tickets to the Shakespeare Festival or the Wildlife Safari. Bid on a portrait session with a local photographer, or on one of the several objects from Japan. Take a thrilling aerial tour in Joe Pestana’s ultra lite airplane. Or be practical, and bid on a shop vac, or on some tractor work.
For a preview of some of the Silent Auction items, go to langloispubliclibrary.org and click on the Silent Auction tab. The Langlois Library Silent Auction and Blueberry Bash are sponsored by the Friends of the Langlois Library. For more information, call the Langlois Library at (541) 348-2066.
SOUTH COAST — Bandon, Langlois and Port Orford are known for their cranberry farms, but there's another berry growing in popularity along the South Coast.
The Oregon blueberry industry has experienced more than 100 percent growth in less than 10 years, going from fewer than 20 million pounds of blueberries harvested in the late 1990s to nearly 40 million pounds in recent harvests.
Fresh Oregon blueberries are a hot commodity these days for many reasons — incredible taste, the highest quality and peerless nutritional value being just a few. And Oregon's South Coast is ripe with opportunity for those interested in growing blueberries.
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Heather Valentine, 24, of Valentine Blueberries, a family business offering U-pick and pre-picked, understands the value of the berry. Her father Charlie, a building contractor and heavy equipment operator by trade, planted 7.5 acres of blueberries on Sydnam Lane, 11 miles south of Bandon, eight years ago.
"We didn't know what we were doing getting into it," Heather Valentine said. "It's been a learning experience."
