by
Michael Foster We should thank Chuck Wendig for including the story of the Golden Bear Club in his novel WANDERERS. The book is available in our amazing library of Veneta. It’s a story about a secret club dedicated to making their community a better place. Our little community is filled with folks with similar intentions. You know, like the elderly man in the vest that waves and smiles at passing motorists on Territorial. Our local social media lit up with compliments for him. Seriously, something as simple as a smile and a wave can brighten another person’s day. Surely each one of us could be just a little kinder. Just over the border south into California is a tiny town where the Klamath River passes under Highway 101. The town of Klamath installed two life-sized concrete bears at the south end of the bridge. One day, the residents awoke to find that the bears had been painted gold. The Highway Department sent a crew out with turpentine and scrubbed the bears down to their original gray concrete. But, the next morning, the bears were painted gold again. After several cleanings, the Highway Department gave up – and the bears remain gold to this day. Years later it came out that there was nothing supernatural going on – it was the work of the Golden Bears Club. The club was a group of local women and men who wanted nothing more than to make their town happier, more livable. Not only did they paint the bears gold again and again, they cleaned up the town and performed secret favors for people. Their only rules were, there were no rules – just happy anarchy, delightful disobedience. They made their part of the world better for no reason except to just do it. Join the club!
1 Comment
Bill Sarnoff
8/22/2023 10:18:43 am
A happy event in any community.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Contact Us Here.
News articles regarding Junction City, Monroe, Harrisburg, Veneta and the surrounding area. Archives
August 2023
Categories |