Yamhill County Community Advantage Magazine October 2022

Wait, a Scottish Festival in McMinnville? How did that happen, you might ask?

It happened a few years ago when the group that hosted a similar event on the Oregon coast folded, and thanks to social connections it was transplanted to McMinnville in 2018 and launched on the campus of Linfield University. Organizer and board member at-large Tony Shouldis recalls a scene that was thick with kilts, bagpipes, and athletes throwing rocks like they were pieces of gravel and realizing they had something special.

“We were walking around just looking at what was going on at the festival and we were like, holy cow, we did

it!” he said. “We made this work.”

If you’ve missed it, don’t feel bad. The festival has been here only a few years, one of which was canceled due to COVID. Also, organizers have moved the event around a bit, both geographically and on the calendar. But they’ve settled at the Yamhill County Fairgrounds in McMinnville, and the kilts, clans, music, food, and much more return this fall, Oct. 1st-2nd, for a fun event that brings people together and celebrates Celtic culture and heritage.

The festival is unique in that it literally brings strangers together, helping people determine if their family tree is already connected to an existing clan that originated from any of the seven Celtic Nations, including Brittany, Cornwall, Galicia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland, and Wales. The Yamhill County Genealogical Society (not to mention a lot of clans) will have booths to help people look up their family history. A single clan, such as MacGregor, Donald, or Stewart, can have literally hundreds of surnames associated with it–if you know how to look.

“These days, people are searching for where they belong,” Shouldis said. “This is one way of helping people connect.”

One of the most popular attractions are the Highland Games, an event that draws professional athletes from around the region to compete in the caber

toss, hammer throw, and stone put, all sports that have literally become emblematic of Scotland. It’s crazy fun, with both men and women competing to see who can throw a 21-pound stone the farthest.

Along with a Highland Dance Competition, there will be dozens of booths featuring Celticthemed art, crafts, fashion and food, a beer garden and whiskey tastings. And this year’s headliner act will be featured both nights: The Wicked Tinkers.

“They’re a great Celtic band with drums and bagpipes and they’re really high-energy,” Shouldis said. “They’re going to put on a great show.”

For more information about this year’s event or the Celtic Heritage Alliance, to buy tickets or to find out how you can get involved, visit celticheritage.org/mac-scottish-festival/, or find the group on Facebook or Instagram.

By David Bates, Contributing Writer | Photos Provided By Celtic Heritage Alliance

Custodial Worker’s Recognition Day

Fried Scallops Day

Name Your Car Day

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Boyfriend Day Techies Day Child Health Day Consignment Day

Angel Food Cake Day Handbag Day • Metric Day

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Taco Day

Vodka Day

Eat Fruit At Work Day

Apple Betty Day Do Something Get Funky Day Rhode Island World Teachers’ Walk to School Pumpkin Seed Coffee with a

Leif Erikson Day

Moldy Cheese Day

Pro-Life Cupcake Day

PANS/PANDAS Awareness Clergy Appreciation Day

Walk to a Park Day World Mental Health Day Columbus Day • Kick Butt Online Bank Day Native American Day

General Pulaski Memorial Coming Out Day

InterDay of the Girl Child Sausage Pizza Day

Farmer’s Day Gumbo Day • Curves Day • Emergency Nurse’s Stop Bullying Take Your Parents Lunch Day

Department Store Day Global Cat Day Dictionary Day

Liqueur Day Day

Swallows Depart From San Juan Capistrano Day

Black Poetry • Edge Day Mulligan Day • Pasta Day Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day BOSS’S DAY

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Day

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~ Carol Bishop Hipps

The Tale of Stingy Jack

Exploring the myth behind Halloween’s pumpkin pastime

By Krysta M. Nelson, Contributing Writer

Oh autumn, what a wonderful time of year! A time to break out all my favorite sweaters just as the leaves are turning into vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red. And best of all, the arrival of Halloween, my favorite holiday. My nickname as a kid was Little Miss Mess Maker, as carving pumpkins has always been my favorite Halloween activity–one time I even recreated a horror movie with gourd guts. While carving pumpkins is extremely popular, most people don’t know the myth behind the mess and tradition.

Long ago in a small Irish town, a drunkard named Stingy Jack earned his moniker after tricking the Devil himself. Jack was notorious in his little town, and Satan had heard of his mischievous deeds. Jack may have been known for being a drunken scoundrel—scuttered and bollocksed—but he was also a clever lad, so he convinced the Devil to take him to his favorite pub as a last request and to pay for the bill. When the tab came due, Jack convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin so Jack could pay for the drinks, then they could leave for the underworld.

The Devil was fooled. And instead of paying up, Jack dropped the coin into his pocket alongside a silver crucifix, trapping the fiery foe in the form of a coin. The Devil begged Stingy Jack to

release him. And so Jack released him, but only on the condition that the Devil would not bother him for another year, and should Jack die, Satan could not claim his soul.

True to his word, the Devil didn’t return for a whole year. When the Devil finally reappeared to claim his soul, Jack tricked the Devil to climb a fruit tree and pick him a last meal to eat before traveling to Hell. Once the Devil reached the top of the tree, Jack carved a cross into the bark of the tree trunk, trapping the Devil high among the branches. Again, Satan begged Jack for freedom, but this time, Jack made the Devil promise to not bother him for another 10 years. Of course, the Devil agreed to his terms and was freed.

Jack died soon thereafter. Because of his mischief and sins, he was denied entrance to Heaven. Upset by the trickery and scheming, and true to his word of not claiming his soul, Satan denied Jack entrance into Hell, too. As a parting gift, the Devil gifted Jack a lump of burning coal to light his way

and sent him off into the night. Jack placed the burning coal in a hollowed out turnip, and he has roamed the earth ever since. The Irish began calling this eerie creature “Jack of the Lantern,” or “Jack O’Lantern” for short.

In Ireland and Scotland, people began carving their own unique versions of jack-o’-lanterns, cutting terrifying faces into turnips, potatoes,

beets, or rutabagas, and lighting and displaying them near doors or windows to frighten away Stingy Jack and other evil spirits. In the mid-1800s, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the jack-o’-lantern tradition with them when they moved to the U.S. And they soon found that pumpkins, a large fruit native to America, made for perfect jack-o’-lanterns.

Since then, there have been many attempts in popular culture to revive this long-forgotten tradition of carving jack-o’-lanterns from turnips. In 2015, due to a severe pumpkin shortage caused by severe rain, the charity English Heritage called for Brits to rekindle their love for turnip carving and return to the original tradition of turnip jack-o’lanterns. English Heritage even went so far as to install many ghoulish turnip jack-o’-lanterns at Dover Castle to inspire others to do the same. Whether carving trunips will become popular again is still unknown.

In Ireland and Scotland, people began carving their own unique versions of jacko’-lanterns, cutting terrifying faces into turnips, potatoes, beets, or rutabagas, and lighting and displaying them near doors or windows to frighten away Stingy Jack and other evil spirits.

There are, however, many benefits to turnip carving over pumpkin carving. There’s no stringy pumpkin mess or seeds to clean out. Turnips are quite small and portable, so they can actually be hung like little lanterns. Also, turnips are cheap! So you can afford to make dozens and dozens if you’re so inclined. If they’re careful with a knife, older kids can carve a turnip by themselves because they’re so much simpler and smaller. The red-white color and eerie roots are scarier than pumpkins. After you scoop out the insides of the turnip, you can make mashed turnips. Yum! And because they’re available year round, you can carve turnips for more than just jack-o’-lanterns — votive holders, artwork or whatever you want.

So, there you have it. I love it when holidays and their fun-filled activities have such a rich history as Halloween and the Stingy Jack origin of pumpkin carving. And the fact that the history is also a ghost story is even more fun! Whether you choose to carve a pumpkin or turnip, I hope you and yours have a safe, fun, messy, and memorable holiday.

Elmer’s Flag & Banner was started by Elmer Reider in 1963. A former car salesman, Elmer learned about a new kind of business when his car lot was visited by a man whose trade was decorating dealerships with flags, signs and colorful banners. “The story goes that there was a guy who was coming around doing decorations for the car lot,” explains Dave Anchel, president of Elmer’s. “Elmer asked him if he was making any money and the guy said, ‘Better than you!’” Elmer believed it, so he left auto sales for the car lot decorating business. The store prospered, thanks to his talent for spotting niche business opportunities, like flags and banners, and his commitment to building customer loyalty with quality products and honest service. Today, Elmer’s is Portland’s largest flag, banner and kite store, with 4,000 square feet of products, everything from weathervanes to windsocks.

Anchel grew up in rural northeast Pennsylvania, where he spent 22 years in the family business, learning how to run a successful small company. In their search for a business to purchase, Anchel and his wife visited Portland and fell in love. “We came to Portland, had some really good chocolate and said to each other, ‘We could live here,’” he recalls.

Variety is the spice of life and it’s also what you’ll find at Elmer’s. Anchel estimates the store offers some 8,000 different products, about 1,200 of which are available online. Elmer’s also makes its

own custom flags and banners, by hand and in-house. They make both high-quality, digitally designed flags and banners, and are one of the only companies in the United States that still does appliqué - the time-honored tradition of sewing one piece of fabric onto another - just like Betsy Ross.

“We make those by hand, upstairs in our sewing shop, and they look gorgeous,” Anchel explains. “It’s for when people want an heirloom qual ity flag, like of their family crest, or when a high school wins a cham pionship and wants to hoist a banner to their gymnasium ceiling.”

Elmer’s also manufactures, sells, installs and services custom poles, including two of the tallest in the state of Oregon, measuring 120 feet. “They’re monsters,” Anchel says with a laugh.

Elmer’s selection of kites, flags, banners, weather vanes, wind spin ners and other wind toys will amaze you. Looking to spruce up your home’s exterior? Stop into the retail store at 1332 NE Broadway in Portland, Monday-Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm. Or visit their website, elmersflag.com anytime.

Come See Us Again For the First Time!

By Dennis McNabb, Contributing Writer Photos by Kara Langley

The name Chevrolet is one familiar to us all. It’s as recognizable and American as grandma’s apple pie. It evokes in us a sense of pride and represents the very best of what the American auto industry is capable of producing. Corvette, Camaro, Malibu, Trailblazer, Silverado: all classics and yet all still extraordinarily popular today. As tastes and technologies have evolved, Chevy has evolved, often leading the charge to present the most cutting edge vehicles on the market. With their new line of all-electric vehicles, that charge continues, and there is no better place to purchase a new EV

than Armstrong Chevrolet & Subaru in McMinnville!

Under new ownership since 2019, Armstrong Chevrolet has completely reorganized their entire operation. General Manager / partner Jack Roberts, whom I had the pleasure of speaking with, encourages customers to drop by and see firsthand the numerous enhancements they’ve made; it’s a whole new experience. This is a top notch dealership providing the finest service available in the industry, which is why Jack and his team would like to invite you in “again for the first time.”

Whether you are in the market for something new or pre-owned (they have over 300 pre-owned vehicles available for purchase on site!), you’re getting your vehicle serviced, or you’re just coming down to peruse the lot, Armstrong Chevrolet & Subaru welcomes you with open arms. Genuinely, their noncommission based sales team loves nothing more than to interact with the local

community. Of course, they do enjoy selling vehicles too, but their focus is on making their dealership feel like a second home. Sit down, have a cup of coffee, and relax. Buy or don’t buy, you should always feel comfortable visiting. They promise complete transparency in every deal made, and because they are non-commissioned, there is never any pressure to buy.

Perhaps most importantly, the team at Armstrong is highly invested in the local community. Since taking over in 2019, they have laser-focused their energy on giving back to those who have given so much to them. Multiple donations and fundraising campaigns have been established to help local schools, clubs, and organizations who are in need. Not content to simply provide the best service in the business, they seek to be goodwill ambassadors for the entire community.

Come down and reconnect with the “heartbeat of America.” Enjoy a cup of coffee. Chat with a friend. Perhaps buy a new or pre-owned vehicle. You are always welcome at Armstrong Chevrolet & Subaru.

Armstrong Chevrolet & Subaru is located at 1315 NE 3rd Street in McMinnville. Give them a call at (503) 472-0383, or check out their websites, armstrongchevy.com and armstrongsubaru.com.