Rohse:Here’s to those who made a difference
How rewarding it is to live in a city like McMinnville, where one can make a difference. How sad it would be to live where ideas are not considered but tossed aside, where the new is feared and avoided. Rohse ...
Rohse: Ranchers dreaded hunting 'invasion'
Eastern Oregon ranchers dreaded deer-hunting season — or, at least, when I was growing up there as a kid, my parents did. We did not trust those hunters from the Valley. The problem was that the ...
Rohse: Mother's rules, and a few of my own
I had a wonderfully happy childhood except for one unpleasantry that seems foolish to mention. That annoyance was bread crusts. My mother was not an overly strict disciplinarian, but she had three “commands” ...
Rohse: Preserve county's identity and our own
One danger of the coronavirus not often considered is identity loss. Have you noticed that your friends aren’t speaking to you? Many of my friends are undergoing that loss, as am I. I don’t ...
Rohse: A place rich in history, geology
When I tell friends that Lava Beds National Monument is one of my favorite places to visit, they sometimes look at me in disbelief and say, “Why on earth would you enjoy going there?” True, ...
Rohse: The good, the bad, the frightful
The resonant hope these days is that soon we shall again be socializing normally and permitted to travel at will. And when we start on those exciting trips, we will always be reminded, “Be sure ...
Rohse: Longing to hear childhood sounds
I’m homesick. I’m homesick for sounds. Nostalgic sounds like those heard on the ranch in Eastern Oregon. Sounds such as roosters crowing at dawn, reminding Mother to open the chicken house ...
Rohse A whole different ball game
Our Monument High girls basketball team, as far as I knew, had never played in a state tournament — or even in any county playoff. And I couldn’t remember how long since Monument had beaten ...
Rohse: Oregon's highs and lows remembered
As you may know, Oregon’s birthday is February 14. Our State will be 162 on Valentine’s Day. If you are newcomers to Oregon you’ve missed many of Oregon’s happenings, but most of ...
Rohse: The ingenuity of the animal kingdom
Mankind can feel proud of having accomplished so much, but one wonders if the blue ribbon should instead go to animals for their incredible achievements. An acorn barnacle, for example, has no knife, ...
Rohse: Romans prized cleanliness, opulence
The fall of the great Roman Empire has by some historians been attributed to the overindulgences of the populace — its fondness for the good life and opulence. Rich Romans could afford massages, ...
Rohse: Opening eyes to a winged world
My son and his wife are birders. I was not familiar with the term “birder” until they introduced it to me. I looked it up in my dictionary to see if my kids had made it up. My dictionary advises, ...
Rohse: The daze of our lives
In the past when someone didn’t know what day of the week it was, they were regarded as addled. Rohse Colored Glasses McMinnville's Elaine Rohse is fascinated by words, books and writing ...
Rohse Need a few more gift ideas, Santa?
What a fine arrangement our calendar has for us. Just a few weeks ago we celebrated Thanksgiving with a myriad of good things to eat and things for which to be thankful. Now comes Christmas with gifts ...
Rohse: Shedding light on a modern problem
Humans are not kind to our Earth. We subject it to plastics, litter, air and noise pollution, and now another enemy: light pollution. This human-produced illumination comes from street lights, commercial ...
