By Barbara McLaughlin
The You May Say I’m a Dreamer show on display at the North County Recreatino District gallery till this Friday is about what we want to see in our communities.
Let’s take a moment to acknowledge, honor and celebrate, all that we have accomplished so far. We have been imagining a better world in our little neck of it for many years. Maybe a couple of individuals sat around a table in someone’s kitchen over tea, coffee, beer or wine and said “Here’s a great idea! Let’s do it!” Sometimes there was red tape and paperwork. Sometimes there were clashes of personalities. Always there was money to be raised and hard work.
And we persevered.
For the art show opening we came up with a list of nearly 100 things in north county that improve our lives created by people–us. (See below for the list).
Some are old— White Clover Grange was built in 1921 as a school and became the Grange 10 years later serving as a community center. Pine Grove Community House was built in 1933 also as a community center. Both are still places where we gather. The Nehalem Bay Garden Club is 76 years old and KMUN and Fire Mountain School have been operating for 43 years. Some are new—Perch Makers Table opened recently in Manzanita where you can make art. For a couple of years volunteers have been working on the Wheeler segment of the Salmonberry Trail, which when finished will connect the valley and coast with an 82 mile trail. Some are dormant, perhaps to be picked up again, and when our beloved CARTM closed, its board morphed it into the Heart of CARTM.
We keep going.
We support animals, children and seniors and protect our beautiful environment. We have 4 places within about 5 miles where people can get free food. We have art and music, a library, a performing arts center and a historical society. We have a new pool and a new health center building and soon a new food bank building. We celebrate with parades and a free annual labor day picnic put on by the Little Apple. We recreate on trails and pickleball courts somebody created. We have a robust emergency prep group and a volunteer fire department working to keep us safe. We exercise our right to express ourselves with a weekly peaceful protest and candlelight vigil.
We have a group right now encouraging people to vote. Election Day is TUESDAY. PLEASE VOTE!
We live in a natural paradise and are creating a human one.
And we can keep Imagining.
A Dreaming Wall is in the works where you can add your visions of what else you want or think we need here. It will be on the chain link fence at the blinking light in Nehalem. Sometime soon, the materials will be available there for you to use to add your dreams on waterproof tags to affix to the fence. And planned for next spring is a community workshop where we can brainstorm, imagine and persevere so the tags on the wall become a starting point for action rather than a display. There will probably be tea and coffee and maybe beer and wine.
I am guessing there are a couple of thousand full time residents in our three villages. We may be small but we are mighty. Here’s a perfect example of our small and mighty. The Hope Chest is open 16 hours a week and sells all kinds of things for a little money. Dollars under 20, maybe under 10. And they have donated over 2 million dollars to local entities, 2 million dollars!!!
The ocean is made up of drops of water. Let’s continue to add our drops of creativity, passion and commitment to a better world. It adds up.
There is still room on the list. So if you are a part of something that enhances our lives that isn’t there, please send an email to barbaraandchuck@nehalemtel.net
Animal Haven by the Sea Rescue
Coast Kids
Communitea Nonprofit
Community Art Exhibitions at MNE, Library, NCRD, Hoffman
Conscious Aging and Community Connections
Dragon Boaters
Emergency Volunteer Corp of Nehalem Bay
Eugene Schmuck Foundation
Fire Mountain School
Fourth of July parade
Fulcrum Community Resources
Health Fair
Heart of Cartm
Hoffman Center for the Arts
Hope Chest
Housing Bayside Commons Bayside Gardens Rd
Housing Spruce Point off Necarney City Rd
HousingAlder Creek Commons Tohl Ave
HUGGS teen night at Pinball
HUGGS teen night at Pinball
KMUN radio
Little Coasties
Little Food Pantries
Lower Nehalem Community Trust
LNCT Alder Creek Farm
LNCT Headwaters Trail
Manzanita Farmers Market
Manzanita Grocery and Deli Annual Labor Day picnic
Manzanita Visitors Center
Maypole dances in the past
Meditation groups
Men’s Group
Monthly Music Jam session at Rising Hearts Studio
MuddNick
NeahCasa
Neah-Kah-Nie Coast Art Music and Cultural Foundation
Neahkahnie Spirit Dance
Nehalem Bay Community Service (NBCS) Chair Exercise
NBCS Child
NBCS Munch a Lunch
NBCS Senior Meals
Nehalem Bay Fire Department equipment lending program
Nehalem Bay Garden Club
Nehalem Bay Health Ctr new building
Nehalem Bay Health District
Nehalem Bay State Park improvements
Nehalem Bay Volunteer Firefighter Association
Nehalem Bay Watershed Council
Nehalem Valley Historical Society
New Discoveries Preschool
New Years Eve parade
North Coast BBQ
North Coast Citizens for Watershed Protection
North Coast Land Conservancy
North Coast Notes (defunct local currency)
North County Food Bank
North County Rec District (NCRD) Fitness Center
NCRD Performing Arts
NCRD Activities for Adults
NCRD New Pool
NCRD Youth Center
North Oregon Coast Symphony (NOCS) concerts
NOCS music stories for children at the library
North Tillamook County Women’s Association
North Tillamook Library Friends
Peaceful Protest weekly in Nehalem
Perch Makers Table in Manzanita place to make art
Pickleball courts
Pine Grove Community House
Rainy Day Village
Rituals for the equinoxes and solstices
Riverbend Players Community Theater
Salmonberry Trail segment in Wheeler
Sammy’s Place
Sand and Land Eco Arts festival on the beach
Shrine of the Mountain and Waters
Smiley Salmon Harvest
Spiritual Groups
St Catherine’s Blessing of the Animals
St Catherine’s Church of the Wild
St Catherine’s Monthly Labyrinth
St Catherine’s Community Sing
Threshold Choir
Tile mural at the Dump
Tillamook County Giving Guide
Tillamook County Pioneer
White Clover Grange
Wild Grocery and Cafe
Wonder Garden
Writing Groups
Yellow Radio and Ham volunteers
