Oregon's Willamette Valley

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The same excellence in education is found in public schools. Eugene's 4-J District, for example, has an International High School which focuses on global literature, politics, social issues, and culture, and offers Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, and Arabic. Among the district's public alternative schools are two that conduct half their classes in French and Spanish; one where math, reading, science, spelling, social studies, and P.E. are taught through the use of dance, drama, and visual arts; and one that stresses excellence in reading, math, language arts, composition, and penmanship. Of high school graduates, 54% enter college or pursue further education. The district also includes two night schools, a vocational center, an opportunity center, a talented and gifted curriculum, and programs for the visually impaired, the mildly and severely handicapped, and those with hearing and speech problems.

As would be expected, such a well-educated populace supports numerous cultural attractions. Eugene, as well as every other town in the valley, has more than its share of art galleries, museums, festivals, and cultural events, such as the Bach Festival held each June. Craftspeople have a wonderful outlet at the Eugene Saturday Market.

Recreation

Another attraction of the Willamette is outdoor recreation. All the possibilities offered by the spectacular Oregon coast are just an hour or so away. The Cascades challenge hikers, mountaineers, and skiers. The ski season runs at least 10 months a year, with 10 ski areas, including Mt. Hood, Mt. Bachelor, and Hoodoo, within a twoto three-hour drive. Rivers, streams, and mountain lakes offer superb fishing, and game is still plentiful. (Deer are actually problem pests in urban rose gardens.) Sailing and windsurfing are popular on the huge Fern Ridge Reservoir outside Eugene, and so are canoeing on the Willamette and white-water rafting on the McKenzie. There are dozens of nearby city, county, and state parks, as well as tennis courts, golf courses, and bike and jogging trails. The many wineries that dot the valley have tasting rooms and picnic areas. Pioneer museums, antique outlets, secondhand stores, and garage sales abound, reflecting the Oregonian's penchant for recycling. (The State has a model container law, the results of which are easily seen in the cleanliness of the towns and countryside.) And just a bit of wandering around lightly traveled country roads can turn up some serendipitous discoveries.

In Beaver Creek, for instance, I ran across "The Dahlia Lady," Vida Bullis, who, in her 70s, raises hundreds of varieties of dahlias. Her customers arrive when the flowers are in bloom to select the types they like, and she tags the plants and gets the bulbs to the purchasers before the next growing season. Two of the largest poplar trees in the state—172 feet tall and some four feet in diameter—also grow on her dahlia farm. "Poplar trees aren't supposed to live very long," Vida told me, "but these were about this same size when I moved here 50 years ago."

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