Morback House Poetry Festival

Look carefully at these faces. Somewhere in there is tomorrow's Poet Laureate. A Nobel Laureate perhaps. The occasion was a fund raiser for Colony House, a famous retreat for Oregon writers. This was the first time we ever did a poetry event. We raised some bucks! And for such a noble cause! Organizer Reynolds is right to call it a success.

News from Nottingham

Search for "Sherwood Oregon" at www.thisisnottingham.co.uk and see what happens. The British are writing articles about us. The person called "Leslie Rhodes" in the article is really Leslie Joyce, daughter of the editor of the late lamented Sherwood Scroll newspaper. Here she is seen during a recent visit to Nottingham, with Major Oak in the background.

Another Visit from Edogawa

Our friends from Japan are here again. In spite of the language barrier we communicated pretty well today. These kids are polite!

We found that one way to connect with these kids is to mention a famous folk hero, Tora San. Tora San videos with English subtitles are starting to be seen on YouTube. The shows are always about every day life in Japan. They prove how the same things make us laugh or cry the world over. Tora San means "Mr. Tiger."

Clyde List Editorial on The System

When J.C. Smock (our town founder) came here by covered wagon, everyone told the time by merely looking at the Sun. The evidence for it being 12:00 or 9:00 or 6:00 was clear and obvious. So obvious that only a crazy person would disagree. If the depot agent at Seattle looked up at the sky and decided it was exactly Noon, then it must be Noon everywhere. Who could argue?

Then we invented trains.

Trains were constantly bumping into each other because they could not agree on what time it was. And so the train depot at Buffalo New York was built so that it had room for three clocks instead of one. Each one was off by a matter of minutes from the others. Boston, Atlanta, or Portland would agree about who was right... except that the trains kept bumping into each other anyway. Salvidor Dali (1904-1989), who was widely believed to be crazy as a hatter, could only look at the conclusion these cities had arrived at and wonder: Why only three clocks? Why not one for every person on the planet? His famous melting clocks painting makes the point.

104 Head-On Collisions in One Year!

In 1875 alone, 104 head-on train wrecks were reported, due to America's failure to agree about what time it was. In another part of the world, there was a person who was a child about then. He received a toy compass for his birthday. He spent the whole day walking around with it, fascinated. "I realized then that there is more to the world than meets the eye." Albert Einstein (1879-1955) later confessed. Einstein's theory about clocks, space and time, was the result. (If you can explain it to me, let me know.)

Today, the world desperately needs to see behind the blank wall we keep bumping into. In the 19th Century it was the Space-Time Continuum. But what is this thing right now that keeps getting in our way? On Mondays, leading experts express confidence in the economy. On Tuesday, the same experts express astonishment at how "we haven't found the bottom yet." Kaiser Wilhelm saw into a pit as bottomless as this when he ordered a train to appear and was told he --even He, the Emporer of Germany-- could not make it happen. Ronald Reagan thought he could fix the economy by making equally bold pronouncements about what life is all about. These leaders may as well have been the Persian Emporer Xerxes flogging the sea with heavy chains in order to make it behave the way he wanted it to.

The sea we flog today is different. The dragons and whales have disappeared and the possibility that the world is flat instead of round and that we might drop off the edge no longer frightens us. Instead, we have the back of our folding money to inspect-- a sea of mysterious symbols and patterns and images which every citizen today has forgotten the purpose of....

Meanwhile, on a cheerier note: Before you leave, Check Out Sherwood's Railroad Story!

On the Oregon Trail

The Sherwood Historical Society and the Oregon Trail Travelers were together once again at Emigrant Springs. An Old Time Fiddlers convention was going on at the same time so we got acquainted with them as well. As you can see from the photo, June's EZ yet Old-Fashinoned knitting tool was a hit with the kids. (These are from Pocatello.) This photograph of "The Folks" in concert pretty well proves who was in charge.

Hillsboro Judges Just Don't Understand

The Robin Hood Festival float and its crew never looked more splendid than today in the July 4th Parade in Hillsboro. Alas, this year (unlike previous years) we didn't win any ribbons. Most obvious reason: We failed to explain the connection between Robin Hood and George Washington. Friar Tuck did his best. Several times along the parade route he shouted "Robin Hood was George Washington's hero. He was Benjamin Franklin's hero! They had heroes too!" ...but most of the crowd couldn't get it. There truly is an important message to get out there. Next year.

Old Town Philosophy

Peter Chausse included Sherwood in his educational walking tour again this year. Historian-Philosophers June Reynolds and Clyde List joined the discussion with Chausse and his students. We discussed "The New Urbanism" at Rudy Olsen Memorial Gas Pump Park, Einstein's Theory of Relativity at the Model Train Exhibit, American Literature ("Mainstreet" by Sinclair Lewis), and horticulture (i.e., Chausse pointing out the amazing variety of trees along the way). Most of the visitors were school teachers interested in the Sherwood Historical Society's success with youth involvement.