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This is a page to promote all the wonderful things that happen in our All-America City, Cottage Grove, Oregon.


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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Keep Our Village Green In Cottage Grove


I have many questions about the current issues the community of Cottage Grove is having concerning the fate of the Village Green. It is wonderful to see and hear the outpouring of love and pride that this community has for the Village Green. However, it makes me wonder where all this emotion was in the past. Where would we be now if there had been more awareness about the fact that the property had been put up for sale in 2009?

It seems to me that the owners should have known or at least suspected that there was a large attachment in this community to keeping the Green as a shining example of Cottage Grove’s heritage. If we are all aware of people who know of Cottage Grove because of their stays at the Green, as chatter on the Internet indicates, one would think that the owners would be aware of this too. They after all, are the ones who interact with the paying customers, at least their managers and other employees do. They must have heard story after story of how people remember staying at the Green in the past and come to Cottage Grove to do just that now.

Why weren’t the concerns that the Village Green owners were having brought to the public eye? Obviously the city and the community are concerned about this potential loss. Often business owners do not want to make a fuss about what they consider their dire straits. Yet, we see now that if this had been brought to the attention of this community there would have been an outpouring of support. This is obvious now by the new blog, http://keepourvillagegreen.blogspot.com/, and the Facebook group, ‘Keep Our Village Green in Cottage Grove,’ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=465734655374, which arose since the greater community was made aware of these concerns and issues in the past few weeks.

We can only hope that the voice of the community was heard loud and clear by the potential buyer and that may be one reason that the ‘truck stop’ offer was withdrawn. Hopefully other potential buyers are considering the historical value of this community icon, which is in very good condition considering its age and repairs that still need to be made.

I have heard talk of fundraisers, volunteer activity, loans backed by grants and even a casino and other options for the building and the land. It is hard to say what would make the difference and allow this community to retain its charm and vitality, but we do see that when drawn into the fold, this community will work very hard at making sure there are viable options on the table. What I have learned from this is to be open to the possibilities out there that may exist even when you are not aware of them and to ask for help and support when you need it. The outcome may surprise you.

I have worked a lot in my life with the ideas of positive thinking and manifestation. One important thing I always remember is that it is important to focus on the essence of what it is that you desire and not as much on the form. Being that our limited minds cannot always conceive of the full range of possibilities that are out there. I think this community is doing a great job of that. The qualities of the Village Green that I hear being evoked are small-town charm with a world class destination and holding on to the values and essence of the past. It may feel that this decision is out of our hands as we are not the ones who will make the final choice, but I think we are seeing the value of putting your thoughts, ideas, hopes and dreams out there. You never know how you may influence someone. 

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