Pioneers on Line Newsletter

Cascade Combined Club Qwest Telecom Pioneers

Qwest Pioneer Website: www.QwestPioneers.org

Publisher

Hintz

Issue Number

109

Date

January 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Pioneer  Luncheons

Where: Sizzler Restaurant

1010 Postal Way

(Just off Gateway Blvd)

Springfield, OR

When:    Fourth Wednesday of the month.

Next Two: February 25

March 25

Time:      12:30P for Lunch Meeting   

Price:      Varies-ordering is off the menu with payment to the Sizzler. 

November Luncheon

      There were 39 in attendance and all enjoyed the new location and ordering from the menu.

      A special welcome to Charlene George, Cherrill Witham, Harvey and Carol Milligan, and John Crandell.  We hope we’ll see you regularly at the luncheons.

Birthdays Lillian Wilcock, Lucille Lauffenberger and John Crandell.

Anniversaries Owen and Linda Taxdal—44 years!!

Christmas Breakfast held at the Wild Duck Catering in Eugene in December was delicious, fun and well attended. It was a cold morning with the threat of more snow outside but it was warm an inviting inside.  We enjoyed visiting with many friends from Pacific Northwest Bell, US West and Qwest. Santa visited giving gifts to the children and many door prizes to the drawing winners.

Note your calendars now and save the date of December 12 for 2009’s Christmas Breakfast.

Club President’s Message

Hello everyone.  I have just a couple of things I want to talk about.  First, the Cascade Combined Club of the Qwest Pioneers has tripled in size!  We have absorbed the Medford (Rogue Valley) Combined Club and the Roseburg (PILIME) Combined Club.  We would like to welcome them with open arms.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, despite the weather.  I can’t believe it’s the end of January already.

We are planning some work parties in the near future. We will keep you informed of the places and dates. 

Thanks, Jan Brand

President of the Cascade Combined Club

Welcome to Roseburg and Medford Clubs   Both clubs are combining with Cascade Combined Club in Eugene. We look forward to getting to know you.  We hope you’ll continue being active in the Telephone Pioneers.

This Club newsletter is sent monthly from September through June. We will continue to send it to you unless you notify us you would 1) like to receive it on e-mail and send your e-mail address to achintz@peak.org or 2) you ask to be removed from the distribution list by e-mailing the above address or sending a note to Carol Hintz 20900 Filbert Rd, Harrisburg, OR 97446.

Send articles you’d like included about your areas via e-mail or U S mail to the above addresses.

Membership Drive

Our Membership Committee, Jackie Deschamps, Jan Brand and Carol Hintz visited Qwest company locations in the Eugene area. They presented  Qwest Telecom Pioneer membership information to active employees and distributed membership application

                    for the spark of change.

Volunteers at Work

Charitable Giving

Your Cascade Combined Club donated $1,000 to local charities in 2008. Each charity received $250.00.

v      First Place Family Center, St Vincent DePaul

v      Looking Glass Station 7

v      Pearl Buck

v      Jasper Mountain

L-R Carol Hintz, Susan Davis, Jan Brand, giving check to Katie at Looking Glass Station 7

L-R Susan Davis, Carol Hintz, Jan Brand presenting check to Joyce Zigler at Jasper Mountain Center

Food for Lane County

In December there were 15 volunteers for 62 hours donated to help the hungry in Lane County. Reported by Ann Hicks, Chairperson.

Retirements: Donna Moser retired in November.  A Potluck was held at the 2^nd and Chambers Garage.

Sickness and Cheer:

Scotty McFall has colon cancer.

In Memoriam

Don Ackerman died December 12 of pneumonia at age 77. A graveside service was held December 18 in a mausoleum at Willamette Memorial Park in Albany,

He was born on March 1, 1931 in Armour, Neb., to Clair and Opal Shriner Ackerman. He married Lila Abraham on March 15, 1953 in Albany.

He earned his High School diploma, then served in the Navy from 1950 to 1954 and was a plant manager for U S WEST Communications.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Steven of Edgewood, Wash; a daughter, Susan Guidarelli of Portland; a sister, Carol Johnson, and a brother, Perry, both of Boise; and three grandchildren.

Bruce R. “Bubba” Campbell died Nov. 20 of throat cancer at the age of 58. A celebration of life was held Dec. 13 at Calvary Open Bible Church in Springfield.

He was born July 28, 1950 in Portsmouth, VA, to Matthew and Judy Campbell. He married Paula Guthrie on August 25, 1979 in Anaheim, Calif.

Campbell graduated from high school in Santa Barbara, Calif. He served in the Marine Corps from 1969 to 1978.

He was a communication technician for 30 years working for Pacific Bell in Southern Calif from 1978 to 1996 and for Qwest Communications since 1996.

Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Bethany Campbell of Eugene and Cara Campbell of Southern Calif; a stepson, Jason Guthrie of Southern Calif; three sisters, Nancy Krehlik of Juneau, Alaska, Lin Campbell of Ben Lomond, Calif, and Aimee Campbell of Houston; a brother Matt of Santa Barbara, Calif and five grandchildren. 

Remembrances to the American Cancer Society.

Gerald Lee “Jerry” Churchill of Eugene died Jan 7 of age related causes. He was 84. A luncheon will be held at 2 P.M. Jan. 31 at Emmaus Lutheran Church. According to the Dex telephone directory it is located at 1250 W 18^th, Eugene. Their telephone number is 344-1150.

He was born Jan 20, 1924 in Powell, Wyo. to Jess and Faye Allen Churchill. He married Margaret Brown on Nov. 13, 1948, in Eugene.

He graduated from Powell High School and worked as a cable splicer for a phone company. He was president of Cascade Combined Club of the Telephone Pioneers 1976 to 1977.

Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Diane Churchill and Gloria Churchill, both of Eugene, and Fay Ann Wilson of Troutdale; and three grandchildren.

Remembrances to Signature Hospice or Emmaus Lutheran Church Youth.

Robert (Bob) Leo Miller of Eugene died Dec. 15 of heart failure. He was 85. No service was planned.

He was born Feb. 19, 1923, in Salt Lake City to Leo and Iris Chandler Clayton. He married Susan Parkhurst on Jan. 5, 1947, in Hood River.

Miller graduated from University High School in 1943 and attended Oregon College of Education for a year. He served in the Navy in World War II. He worked as an installer and repairman for Pacific Northwest Bell and PDX business installation for 35 years, retiring in 1981.     

Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Stephanie Kingman of Eugene; a sister, Bettie Brunton of Portland; one grandchild and two great-grandchildren.

Remembrances to Centennial Elementary School in Springfield.

 Volunteer Opportunities

Aluminum Can Pull Tabs

Remove the pull tabs from your soda and beer cans and bring them to the Pioneer Lunches for donation to help provide kidney dialysis for people in need and cannot afford the treatment. Submitted by Diana Torres

Food for Lane County  

Bring canned goods to Pioneer luncheons for Food for Lane County. Donations are needed now more than ever. Volunteers meet the first Wednesday of each month at Food for Lane County warehouse on Bailey Hill Rd at 10 A.M. to help pack food.  Ann Hicks chairperson.

IF MY BODY WERE A CAR...

If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model. I've got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull ... But that's not the worst of it.

My headlights are out of focus and it's especially hard to see things up close.

My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather.

My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins.

It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed. My fuel rate burns inefficiently.
But here's the worst of it –

Almost every time I sneeze, cough or laugh..... either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires

****Cascade Combined Club Hotline****

Call 484-8191 for the latest local Pioneer news.

To have items included on the hotline contact Judy Knight at 485-1925

Participation: Turn in your volunteer hours at the monthly Pioneer luncheons or to Jackie Deschamps, Participation chairperson, 686-1624.

Pioneer Museum

Open Thursdays 10A – 2P

Located at 112 E 10^th, Eugene.

Telephone number 484-8268

Volunteer Staff:  Fred Wiechmann, Judy Knight and Carol Hintz

Cascade Combined Club Chairpersons:

Bell Ringers:                          Ann Hicks                  484-0887

Food for Lane County:        Ann Hicks                  484-0887

Fund Raising:                       Diana Torres              726-1771

Good and Welfare:               Judy Knight               485-1925

Hug-a-Bears:                         Ann Hicks                  484-0887

Membership:                         Jackie Deschamps     686-1624

Museum:                               Fred Wiechmann       484-0887

Newsletter:                            Carol Hintz                  995-8686

Participation:                         Jackie Deschamps     686-1624

Up-to-Date benefits and new member-saving discounts are available at www.telecompioneers.org/memberbenefits

Paying your Qwest bill can help Kids and Schools—register your account for Paperless Billing and AutoPay and Qwest will donate the equivalent of one percent of your monthly bill to the School district of your choice,  To arrange for the paperless billing go to www.qwest.com/onepercent.

Qwest Direct Awards Program raises money for our Oregon Pioneer Chapter. This is done by Pioneers referring customers to Qwest. Nonprofits in need will reap the rewards while customers benefit from great Qwest service.

Our Oregon Chapter will earn $25 for each strategic product purchased i.e. Broadband, Digital Voice, Digital TV and Wireless. A purchase must be made to earn money for the referral.

To make a referral have the customer call 1-888-285-8533 and give our Chapter code of 176566 for Oregon or create an online referral at www.qwestdirectawards.com/members. A Qwest representative will call the customer for all referrals submitted on line.

News from The Association of US West Retirees

Phyllis Borzi named to Obama Transition Team November 26, 2008

Professor Borzi, our trusted and longtime ERISA advisor, has been selected to be a member on an Obama Transition Agency Review Team as a leader on the Education and Labor Team.

Phyllis has been a major contributor to the development of NRLN* strategies and plans for several years. Given our many successful experiences with Phyllis, it is no wonder she was honored in this manner. Please join me in congratulating her. Bill Kadereit

*Note: The NRLN is a nonpartisan, grassroots federation of retiree organizations working at the national level, lobbying Congress to protect and enhance retiree health and pensions benefits.

GO GREEN FOR SCHOOLS

Another 34 cell phones have been donated and sent to Qwest to benefit School District 4J in Eugene.  A total of 55 have been sent in to date.

Hug-a-Bears  

106 hug-a-bears were donated to Scar Jasper Mountain in December.  Way to go Hug-a-bear committee!! Reported by Ann Hicks, Chairperson

Museum News

Fred Wiechmann and Dave Cunningham are designing and building a new sidewalk sign for the Telephone Pioneer Museum to better advertise that the Museum is open that day.

Needed for the museum displays are: a Long Tom, Stepping Hammer and/or Pole Steps.  If you have these and would like to donate to the museum, please contact Fred Wiechmann, Museum Curator, at 484-0887.

Volunteer Hours Tracking

Participation and volunteer hours are pretty easy to keep track of once you start. Do you or your family members work in the yard? Recycle? Take care of a neighbor’s yard? Do you volunteer at Food for Lane County? At school for your children or grandchildren? Do you take care of children? Grandchildren? An elderly family member or neighbor? Visit a shut in or someone in a Senior Care Center? The time you spend at a Pioneer function or luncheon, calling members to remind them of the luncheons these are all part of our Participation time, too.

Please keep track of any volunteer work that you or your family does and turn the hours in.  If you are unable to attend one of our luncheons and would like to turn in volunteer hours, there are a couple of ways you can do this.

• Email Jackie Deschamps at iammom730@comcast.net and I will send you a form online
• Fill out the form that comes with the newsletter and send it to me.

My address is 1950 Tigertail Rd.  Eugene, Oregon 97405.

Remember volunteering is simple and easy. Most of the time we don’t even realize we are doing it.  Submitted by Jackie Deschamps

Monthly Meeting Notices If you would rather be reminded of meetings by e-mail rather than a call, contact Ann Hicks, Bell Ringer chairperson at 484-0887.

"The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have."

Portland Oregonian Obituaries

Kenneth James Edwards died Nov. 24 at age 66.

Marlene May Jensen of Portland died Oct. 11,

2008, of pancreatic cancer at the age of 77

Mrs. Dorothy V. Lowry, age 81, of Portland died on

October 12, 2008.

Larry Gene Mabray, died Nov. 2 of a heart attack

at age 62. He moved in 1976 to Klamath Falls and in 1981 to

Tigard,  and was an installer and cable repairman for Qwest

for 30 yrs.

Floyd Martin died Dec. 27, 2008, of Parkinson's

disease at age 83.

Ralph Newton passed away Nov. 8 at the age of 82.

He began a long career in telecommunications in Port

land and Seattle, starting as a lineman and retiring in

1978, as an engineering manager for Pacific

Northwest Bell.

Jaime Marie Nussbaumer died Nov. 16 at age 50.

Raymond G. Recker died Jan. 18 at age 78.
He was a central office technician for US West for 35 years.

William John Ryan died Dec. 5 at age 80. Portland. He was a central office repairman for Pacific Northwest Bell for 37 years in Portland.

Elizabeth "Eddie" Thompson died December 9, 2008. She retired from Pacific Northwest Bell after 37 years. She was a member of Telephone Pioneers of America

Statesman Journal January 13, 2009
Francis "Frank" Anthony Deneke died January 10, 2009 SALEM .

Lewiston Tribune Obituary

Geraldine (Jerrie) V. Bershaw Easterday passed away in Portland, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009.

Hug-A-Bears

Hug-a-bears are handmade by Pioneers and donated to agencies that help children in transition or at times of crisis in their lives.

Ribbon and Stuffing are needed. 

Ann Hicks, Chairperson 484-0887.

Toiletries:

Bring extra motel toiletries to the Pioneer luncheons for donation to local organizations that can use these items as Women’s Space and Eugene Mission. 

Fund Raisers $$$$

Monthly Book Sales

Bring a paper back book to donate and purchase books for only $.50 each at the monthly luncheon meetings. At that price, buy several

2008/2009 Cascade Combined Club Officers

President: Jan Brand         541-686-6731  janbrand@comcast.net  V. President: Carol Hintz  541-995-8686  achintz@peak.org

Treasurer: Susan Davis     541 726-6582

Secretary: Judy Knight       541-485-1925