A VIEW FROM THE HILL

AUGUST 2006

Published by LVH Social Club Jim Hart, Advertising Manager 574-6846

EDITOR’S NOTE: My time serving as your Editor is coming to a close. Words cannot express what a joy this has been. If you’d like to try your hand at this rewarding neighborhood service, please call me at 265-8387, or e-mail me at jmccrea@charter.net. Thanks, Jim

SOCIAL CLUB MINUTES: Bev Garvey, in her usual efficient manner reports that the meeting of July 17 was attended by thirty neighbors. Jacky Thomas spoke of the Canasta group that meets Wednesdays at 1:00 in the Club House and invited both players and watchers to attend. Ginger Stout has started a Book Club (more later). There will be a Neighborhood Watch Block Captain get together at 1:00PM in the Club House on August 1st. Ron Thomas showed new maps of our neighborhood, complete with lot numbers. The Social Club has seven remaining remote control gate openers for sale ($25.00 each). Wade Dudley reported that $100.00 will buy taller shelves for our audio books. A vote authorized him to proceed. New Officers were presented for a vote, and the result was unanimous (more later). Marlene Crites is the new Block Captain Coordinator for our Neighborhood Watch program. Discussion was held about people speeding here in our neighborhood. Activities Director Jacky Thomas reported that the Ice Cream Social will be on the 8th of August and The Hawaiian Luau will be on the 29th (more later). With no other business to transact, Ben Davi adjourned the meeting at 4:30. Thanks, Bev.

NEW OFFICERS 2006-2007:

The August meeting of the Long View Hills Social Club will be held in the Club House on the 21st of the month. Wayde Dudley is our new Chair, with Ben Davi serving as our Co-Chair. Barb Dudley is our Secretary, and Virginia Dale is the Treasurer. Jacky Thomas will again be our Activities Director. Dick Billingham will assist Ben Davi as needed. Please mark on your calendar (right now, before you forget) the date of the next meeting so you can do your part to get our new year off with a packed attendance to welcome in our new officers.

BANANA SPLITS ANYONE? Jacky (Yum Yum) Thomas reports that the Ice Cream Social on August 8th will feature this delicious treat for only $2.50. Bring your bib and your appetite, it will be a lot of fun. 7:00PM in the Club House. Season Pass holders don’t have to pay.

WANNA GOOD DEAL? Virginia Dale, our treasurer has season passes available for the paltry sum of $25.00. The owners of these passes are exempt for paying for any of the Breakfasts served during the year (usually eight meals at $3.50 each), as well as the four Ice Cream Socials we usually have. Not only will you save money, but it helps the Social Club treasury. Please give it a thought and call Virginia at 961-7056 for further details.

WELCOME TO THE PFALMERS: Recently Greg and Pam Pfalmer joined our neighborhood by moving here from Grass Valley, California. Greg’s days as a school bus mechanic are all behind him and he now spends his time doing what he really wanted to do all along, fulfilling his artistic desires by painting. Pam, who has also put her accounting job behind her is enjoying sewing, crafts, and quilting. They are at 540 NE 58th Street. Say "howdy, neighbor" the next time you see them.

IF YOU OVER SLEEP, Dick Garvey suggests that you place a mouse trap atop your alarm clock. He says this will prevent you from going back to sleep when you try to his the "snooze" button. Thanks, Dick.

SINGLES POTLUCK: On Tuesday, August 22 at 6:00PM in the Club House we will have an informal way for our unattached neighbors to meet and mingle in a brief Social Hour. There will be a Pot Luck Dinner at 6:30PM. Gentlemen are asked to bring appetizers along with beer and wine. Ladies are asked to bring items for the main meal. Please see the sign up sheet on the Bulletin Board. Sounds like a great way to meet new friends. Remember, we ask that this function be attended only by Singles.

TINA HAINES, WELCOME HOME:

Tina, who now lives at 548 NE 60th Street (265-9887) was born in Washington, D.C. raised in Florida and moved to our neighborhood recently from Idaho. She shares her home with Scooter-Marie, an 11 year old Doxie, a very shy kitty, and 4 bullet-head gold fish she calls Klingons! Although Tina holds a degree in Theater Arts, and is a certified paralegal, she has spent the past 20 years in health care administration, most recently managing two cancer centers. A decision to make a career and life-change, eventually brought her to Newport, a city she fell in love with while visiting good friends here over the past 15 years. Tina, a friendly and outgoing woman is about to embark on an exciting new career as owner and manager of "Young Rembrandts", a unique children’s drawing program aimed at encouraging creativity, technique, and the joy of art. The Welcoming Committee happily wishes Tina well, as do we all. In their words, "Tina, we’re glad you’re here!"

(The above article was furnished by Kathy Furgason for last month’s NewsLetter and for some reason was omitted. Sorry, Kathy and Tina).

MIDGES CREW IS MAKING FOUR KINDS OF QUICHE: for the August 26th breakfast. Fruit, Sausage, Muffins, etc. Please sign up soon. Sounds yummy doesn’t it?

MARLENE CRITES IS OUR NEW BLOCK CAPTAIN COORDINATOR FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM, and submitted this article:

WANTED: VOLUNTEERS

Please read before your brain thinks "No". Our neighborhood needs more Block Captains. What does a Block Captain do? You will have six or seven homes to watch, which means when your neighbor leaves on vacation or for a few days, they let you know. If for some reason our water will be turned off, you would let your neighbors know. But, the big picture is: "Should we have a forest fire or earth quake you would know who on your block had special needs, can’t walk very well, or is on oxygen. You would convey this to a CERT member and we would proceed to a plan to help keep everyone safe. Being a Block Captain is not a big deal and takes very little of your time. BUT, it is a big deal to NOT have enough Block Captains. My name is Marlene Crites and I am your new Block Captain Coordinator and I am asking for your help. Feel free to call me with any questions or concerns. My number is 265-9886. Thank you, Marlene.

SECOND TIME AROUND SALE: It has been the custom in our neighborhood to have an annual "garage sale" so that we can make room for more stuff to accumulate in anticipation of the following year’s sale. We call it the Second Time Around Sale and is the one time during the year that our leases allow such an activity. The sale is publicized in the local media and usually receives quite a bit of attention. This year the sale is on September 2 and it usually starts any time after 9:00AM. The neighbors place a sign on their property and offer for sale everything from home made pies to banjos. It is a lot of fun and is followed by a Pizza Feed in the Club House at 5:00PM for $3.00 per person. Start planning now for both selling and buying. Jacky Thomas won’t tell you which she does more of, but I think you can guess. She will have a sign-up sheet on the Bulletin Board shortly. Thanks, Jacky.

BRING YOUR ‘UKE: August 29th is the date for our annual Hawaiian Luau. This catered dinner (tickets $8.00 each) will feature Kaluha Pork, Fruit Salad, Rice, Green Salad, Shrimp Salad, and Coconut Pie. Social Hour will start at 5:00PM, with dinner an hour later. Buzzy Byerrum, Jean Hart, Ginger Stout, and Betty Hanus have the tickets. Please call them early for your ticket. There are only so many available and it would be a shame for you to miss this very fun time.

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN: Is the topic for Ginger Stout’s book club. Please call her at 574-1864 and let her know you are interested. She will be having guests monthly for this worthwhile event, and the next enjoyable time will be August 24th from 2:00PM till 4:00PM. Thank you Ginger for this great idea.

ART CLASS: As mentioned earlier, Tina Haines will be teaching a simple step-by-step drawing method on Wednesday nights in the Club House. Please read your yellow flyer.

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY:

It looks like August features almost a dozen of our neighbors celebrating their special day:

Trish Little............................August 1

Ginger Stout.........................August 2

Clyde Smith..........................August 8

Vernon Lund.........................August 9

Betty Alldredge.....................August 9

Jack Pyle...............................August 12

Frank Stout...........................August 14

Kay Simon............................August 16

Jim McCrea..........................August 19

Darlene LaFollette................August 28

Wayde Dudley.....................August 30

By now most of you are aware of a Newport City Ordinance passed back in the ‘50s that declared all calories consumed on one’s big day officially contain zero content. Because of this, that extra piece of birthday cake AND the ice cream may be enjoyed with no regrets or movement in the old bathroom scale. This is your big day, so enjoy it and accept the best wishes from everyone in the neighborhood. And....no housework either!

DON’T FORGET PINOCHLE: Every Thursday evening from 7:00PM until about 9:00PM a group of congenial neighbors drop by the Club House for an evening of enjoyable times by playing pinochle. It is single deck, and you do not need a partner. The game is "everyone for themselves", and a score is kept for each individual player with a winner announced at the end of the evening. Jack and Ginny Scherer are the host and hostess and invite you to join them. If it has been a while since you have played they don’t want that to dissuade you from coming. Please mark Thursday on your calendar and get ready for fun.

RON GIBBS SAID IT IS NOT CALLED THE LIARS CLUB: Correctly said, it is the Fisherman’s Club and the group meets on the first and third Thursdays of the month in the Club House at 9:00AM. Field trips, guest speakers, breakfasts, and updates on fishing regulations are only a few of the items covered at the gatherings. Please drop by for an interesting time.

SPEEDING: Well, it is hard to call twenty or twenty five miles per hour speeding, but we DO have a speed limit here in our neighborhood of 15 miles per hour. Often it might seem to take forever to make it from the drive way to the front gate and the temptation to go faster than fifteen miles per hour seems too hard to resist. However, as your mother taught you way back when -"Rules are made for reasons!". There are a lot of pedestrians here from time to time, either going for a walk or following their pets. Some of us don’t hear as well as we once did, nor do we see like an eagle anymore. You may see us, but we may not hear you and for no good reason we might turn from our direction and walk right in front of you during the time you were yielding to temptation by going over the speed limit. A disaster can be avoided by having just a little more patience as you aim for the front gate......in other words, please take it easy. Thank you.

OBSERVATIONS: I don’t know how long our Social Club has had a News Letter, but it has probably been a good many years. For the past few years it has been my pleasure to be the Editor and I have enjoyed doing every issue. It is time for me to turn the pleasure over to another neighbor. Please take a moment and reflect on something you can do to add to our neighborhood. I usually receive input in the Editor’s Box during the month and take four or five hours to compose. Lately John Forsloff (a neighbor) has been doing the printing. Prior to that it was a trip to Pioneer Printing. The complaints have been few and the compliments have been many. Give it a thought, if you will, and let me know of your interest.

August will complete my radiation treatment for prostate cancer. Some men here in LVH have opted for surgery, others for radiation implants ("seeds"), others for the freezing method, and probably several other procedures. I am too much of a "weenie" for surgery and take my hat off to those brave enough for that choice. All in all, the twenty five days of treatment have been nothing more than a task that needed attending. The final treatment (in my case) is a big deal and I will share that with you in next month’s NewsLetter. The only reason I am bringing this up is to advise the male part of our neighborhood that if you HAVE to have a disease, this is the one to have (if it is caught in the early stages). There are a number of proven therapies with very promising results virtually assuring success. Compared to some rare disease that medicine has yet to fully understand, prostate cancer in that light is not as bad as it used to be.

While in Eugene we saw the movie "The Devil Wears Prada". I am a big Meryl Streep fan and enjoyed every minute of the movie. As usual I ordered a medium popcorn when a small would have done just fine. My wife is keeping track of how many times she has told me this as I stood in front of the refreshment counter....there is an excellent chance she will get tired of counting before I FINALLY learn. I am at the point where I think belly-aches and movies are one in the same.

If you are inclined to sip an adult beverage now and then and do not go in for mixers, maybe I have a recommendation. Pendleton Whiskey (which isn’t made in Pendleton Oregon) sure has worked it’s way to the top of my "sipping" list.

Speaking of Pendleton....there is quite a bit of history associated to that remote spot. We took a tour of the underground area of downtown Pendleton. Seems like the place for illegal activities (gambling, drinking, etc.) back in the early days were all done in the basements of the buildings. Each basement was linked in a series with the adjoining buildings so that it formed another city. Tours are offered today and one can see where the aforementioned "sins" were hidden away. I thought that rather odd, since another part of the tour was a visit to a "bawdy house" (that’s the polite term used in this family publication) that was prominently presented in one of the finest buildings in town. They had signs in the windows advertising the activities of the tenants. Back then you had to hide to take a drink or gamble, but to do the other vice there was no hiding involved. Go figure..... today it’s just the opposite.

My first car was a 1929 Chrysler that had wooden spokes in the wheels. It had been parked behind the gas station for as long as I could remember. The man said he wanted fifteen bucks for it. I kept coming back time after time to look at it. Finally he asked me how much money I had and I told him all I had was Three Dollars and Fifty cents. To my surprise he said: "You gotta deal!". The car wouldn’t start, so he threw in a used battery he had. Then, since the tank was out of gas, he threw in a dollars worth of gas. The radiator leaked, and that required at least two hours of his labor to make the repairs. After the car started running we noticed a rear tire was virtually flat, which was another hour of his labor. By the time I was ready to leave he agreed to give me the lawn chair he used when he ate his lunch. As it was, that was the only seat the Chrysler had. Late in the afternoon I took off in a cloud of smoke headed back toward my neighborhood. Along the way I saw a couple of my friends and invited them along for the ride. I parked the car on the corner by my house so that my Dad wouldn’t know what was going on. The next day word had spread among the neighborhood kids, and at one time there were ten of us inside the old car. We drove around town virtually all day. At about five in the afternoon the motor blew up and I coasted to the curb and abandoned my prize. As I think back on this youthful adventure and regale in the fun I had it makes it very difficult to understand today’s kids and their electronic gadgets, video games, not being able to have a pocket knife, riding the school bus ten blocks to school, television, etc. etc. I think I had much more fun back then than the kids of today, even though at the time I had my first car I was TWELVE years old.

The Tillamook Air Museum is the world’s largest clear span wood building. It is an old blimp hangar. There used to be two of the hangers but one of them burned down about ten years ago. It’s worth a trip to see the old planes.


That’s it for this month. Please plan on attending the Celebration of Life for Donna Davi on the 19th. Ben is catering the affair and I am sure he would appreciate seeing you. He is having Donna’s favorite meal prepared. (Hint, she came from a family of Okies). He’s a heck of a guy and can use our support. Thanks, Jim

DONNA DAVI:

The evening sky over our neighborhood lost one of it’s brightest stars this week with the passing of this fine woman. On Tuesday Donna succumbed to a series of health problems that had been a part of her life.

I spoke to her husband Ben for a bit and even for the strong man he is, it is a difficult time.

As many of us know, the loss of a spouse is just about as hard a time as we will ever face.

Ben and Donna were married for thirty two years.

We reflected on their first date. If you are familiar with the Davi’s it will come as no surprise that their first date was a home cooked meal prepared by Donna. They had been introduced by a mutual friend and Ben had an immediate interest. As many men might be expected to do in similar circumstances he fumbled around looking for the right words to ask Donna for a date. Apparently even back then she was a take charge person and suggested the home cooked meal.

Raised in a "down home" atmosphere her first meal for Ben was Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy and Mashed Potatoes.

As Ben recalls now, "It was love at first sight". It must have been the same for Donna because as Ben now admits he didn’t have a lot to offer. He said he had nothing and was working himself like crazy in his power washing business just to make ends meet.

Things were so tight that as a grown man Ben was living at home with his father. He wanted to get married to Donna, not "play house". Eventually things worked out and they married on Columbus Day in 1973. They both had children from a previous marriage (who all were present at Donna and Ben’s outdoor wedding) and as a couple began a process of melding the two families.

Donna continued working as a secretary and senior accountant over the years until she received a medical disability and retired in 2001. During her working career she helped nurse Ben through two heart attacks and his re-training as a nurse.

Donna’s retirement years were pleasureful, albeit complicated by health concerns. Motor home trips, visiting her Grandmother in Oklahoma, quality time with her grand daughter, working on the computer, and moving to Long View Hills were some of her many highlights.

Her favorite meal was Beans and Ham hocks, Fried Potatoes, Fried Okra, Corn Bread, Tomato and Red Onion Salad, topped off with Coconut Cream Pie. This is the meal Ben has prepared for us as he has invited the neighborhood to join him in the Celebration of Donna’s Life on August 19th at 2:00PM in the Club House. Please join with Ben to remember this wonderful person.

Ben shared Donna’s wishes that this be a festive time to happily remember better times.