Members of the Camden Grange and Community Center Fiber Arts Community held their monthly meeting in September, with a dozen fiber friends in attendance.  New members were welcomed, sheep fleece was traded, wool was treadled into yarn, and a great time was had by all.

If you are a hand-spinner, knitter, weaver, crocheter, or raise fiber-producing livestock, please join us on 25 October, from 7-9 P.M. in Camden Grange, located at 7 Camden Road, Elk. 

                         HIGHLIGHTS AND ON-GOING SPECIAL EVENTS

*02 October:  6 P.M. – Camden Grange and Community Center committee meeting.  All are invited to bring their interests, skills, and suggestions.

​*08, 22 October:  2-4 P.M. – Camden Grange Rug Making Club

*09, 23 October:  6:15 – 7 P.M. – Girl Scout Troop 2354 Daisies (age 5-6 years old) meet for lots of fun!

*10 October:  7 P.M. – Elk-Camden Garden Keepers garden club annual Harvest Dinner, and last meeting for 2023.

*12 October:  1-3 P.M. – Small Farm Co-operative Group meeting.

*17 October:  7 P.M. to 9 P.M. – teen game and pizza night.

*18 October:  10 A.M. to noon – quilting club meeting – what a GREAT bunch of quilters!

*21 October:  6-10 P.M. – Community Potluck Dinner and Dance.

​*26 October:  6-8 P.M. - Town Hall meeting

07, 08 October – SOAPMAKING 101.
Learn how to use the cold process to safely create your own kitchen-made soap.  Learn the science behind the process, then make 6 bars of soap to pick up and take home the following day – homemade soap washes off all that dust and grime!  More details on the class from instructor Gayle Kruger at her website:  dancingpinesoapworks.com.
Cost is $35 per person, and all supplies and equipment are provided for the class.  Class runs from 1-3 P.M. on 07 October, and students must be at least 13 years old.  Soap pickup day details will be arranged by the students during class.  Class size is limited to 12 students, so be sure to register early!

08, 22 October – CAMDEN GRANGE RUG MAKING CLUB
Please join with rug making connoisseur Sandy Coehlo for this month’s meetings of the Rug Making Club.  Learn how to make your own colorful and inexpensive rugs from fabric scraps, all while you have a great time with crafty, and like-minded neighbors. Meetings run from 2-4 P.M. and are free to the public. 

12 October – SMALL FARM CO-OPERATIVE GROUP MEETING
Join organizer Sandy Coehlo for the first co-operative meeting of local small farm owners and operators.  Meeting runs from 1-3 P.M., and is free to the public.  More details on our website and Facebook page.

14 October – CAMDEN GRANGE FARMERS’ AND ARTISAN MARKET
Come meet local artisans and food producers to get your homegrown and homemade goods, to include plants, produce, crafts, food items, and more!  A free monthly family-oriented activity will be held at each market, sponsored by a local farm family, and be sure to join us for live, acoustic guitar music as well.
Market hours are 10 A.M. to 1 P.M., and if you are interested in selling at the market, please contact Rachel at 509-593-7128, or at camdengrangemarket@gmail.com

17 October – TEEN GAME AND PIZZA NIGHT!
Camden Grange and Community Center, in partnership with the Pend Oreille County Library District, will offer another evening just for teens, to play board games, socialize with friends, and eat free pizza!
We’ll have a variety of games supplied by the Library:  old favorites like “UNO” and “Sorry!” to newer games like “Red Dragon Inn” and “Mysterium”.
This event is free to everyone, ages 12-18, with parental approval (yes, there is a required permission form, AND parents are encouraged to leave the Grange premises while their teens game and eat).
Event runs from 7-9 P.M., and no registration is required.

21 October – CAMDEN GRANGE COMMUNITY POTLUCK DINNER AND DANCE
Let’s celebrate our community with an old-fashioned family dance!  Everyone is invited to share in a potluck dinner at 6 P.M., so bring a salad, side dish, or dessert of your liking.  Dancing starts at 7 P.M. with the local band, Rocking Chair Romeos, playing the tunes.  Admission is free, but we will be accepting donations for the band.  Kids are welcome with their parents, so bring the whole family and a couple of neighbors, too! 

25 October – FIBER ARTS COMMUNITY GATHERING
Wool spinning virtuoso Heidi Gnos Kuban will host an evening of wool spinning and conversation, for local spinners, weavers, and sheep raisers.  Beginning spinners and accomplished spinners alike are welcome to sit, and spin, and talk about their wooly experiences -  and maybe pass along some tips and techniques.  Weavers and shepherds are welcomed as well – we are all part of the same community.
If you already own a spinning wheel, please bring it along; otherwise treadled wheels will be provided.  If you have your own supply of wool, or some fleece to trade, please also bring it along.
Event runs from 7–9 P.M., and is free to everyone.

26 October – TOWN HALL MEETING
Community Town Hall meeting, featuring our Pend Oreille County officials and service providers: Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee, County Prosecutor Dolly Hunt, Newport City Police Chief Wade Nelson, Family Crisis Center Director Jackie Kiehn, and Assistant Director Sarah Kramer.
Our presenters will discuss various topics and share information on what is happening in Pend Oreille County, and especially our community.  There will be a question and answer session after all the presenters have concluded. 
This meeting is meant to involve everyone in our community, so please attend – our officials and service providers want to hear your views and questions on public safety, judicial issues, and victim services.
Meeting starts at 6 P.M., and light refreshments will be available.

Better late than never.  Computer problems kept me from uploading this video until now.  Here are some of the activities from this year's Heritage Day at the Camden Grange event.
Heritage Day is held in conjunction with Elk Days in June.  Hope to see you next year. 

CLICK HERE 

Here are a few images from another successful Camden Grange Farmers and Artisan Market.

​Hope to see you there next month!!

​MARK YOUR CALENDARS. . . . 
. . . .  for our annual Heritage Day at Camden Grange event:  Saturday, 17 June 2023, noon to 3 P.M., in conjunction with our local Elk Pioneer Days celebration - this event is FREE to everyone.

We will have displays of pioneer-era tools, appliances, quilts, music boxes, and lots of vintage photographs for your viewing and touching.  We will once again have demonstrations and hands-on opportunities for you (and your youngsters!) to try corn shelling, cornmeal grinding, butter churning, wool spinning, and much more.  We will also show off our recently-discovered stage “backdrop cloth” found during our Grange basement clean up:  it’s huge, as you might expect, and was used as a backdrop on our stage, probably 1950’s vintage, with hand painted scenery, and commercial advertising for then-local businesses.  You will definitely want a “selfie”, featuring you and yours on-stage. I’ve attached a picture of the backdrop – maybe you can help us identify some of the business names?

LOOKING FOR ARTIFACT DONATIONS
Speaking of you and yours, we are looking for the one-day loan of additional artifacts of early Elk and Camden residents:  kitchen utensils  such as washboard and tub, rolling pin, butter mold, floor stand butter churn, iron (I recently learned that the hot irons were used primarily to kill the bedbugs and other creepy-crawlies that infested clothing seams, and not to make the overalls look good!), egg beaters, coffee grinders, etc.; carpentry tools such as buck saw and saw buck, bench plane, brace and bit, “Yankee” screwdrivers, etc..  Even better for the community members, would be if YOU participated by demonstrating how to use those utensils and tools!

If you would like to loan us those artifacts, or if YOU would offer to assist with demonstrations, please contact me.

Hope to see you there,
Jim McGinty
509-292-0326

We are selling tickets for our Grange quilt raffle:  lovingly created by our own Quilting Club, this full-size quilt features nine-point stars, vintage barns, and farm scenes. 

Tickets are available for $2 each, or $10 for six, and you can call Jim at 509-292-0326 to arrange a ticket purchase, or you can send a message at info@camdengrange.org or on our Facebook page (Camden Grange and Community Center, in the community center group), and we’ll fix you up! 

The quilt drawing is scheduled for 17 June, in conjunction with our annual Camden Grange Heritage Day.
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*06 March:  6 P.M. – Camden Grange and Community Center committee meeting.  All are invited to bring their interests, skills, and suggestions.

*13 March, 27 March:  6:15 P.M. – Girl Scout Troop 2354 Daisies (age 5-6 years old) meet for lots of fun!

*14 March:  6 P.M. – every Tuesday evening, SHiNE dance fitness class meets for friendship, and enjoyable movement.

*14 March:  7 P.M. – Elk-Camden Garden Keepers garden club meeting.
*15 March:  10 A.M. to noon – quilting club meeting.

11 March – GARDEN SEED STARTING
Learn to unlock the magic of seeds – start your own plants from purchased or saved seeds. Save money (?), grow the plants YOU want (rather than rely on the expensive nursery starts), and have fun watching green things popping up.
We’ll talk about seed starting supplies, what to do and when, and how to take care of your precious plant progeny.  As always, our gardening classes are lots of fun, and have the potential to dirty up the hands and clothing, so please appropriately dress.
Class runs from 1-3 P.M., and costs $10 per student, due to supply expenses.

15 March – SAVORY BISCOTTI – PERFECT!
Biscotti’s satisfying crunch is an excellent canvas for your favorite savory seasonings and ingredients:  cheese, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, cracked black pepper, and more.  Savory biscottis are perfect with soups, salads, and especially chili – think of them as large, dip-able croutons (always a hit with the kids!).  Join biscotti enthusiast Russ Ford for another exciting and fun home-baking class, from 7-9 P.M.
There is no cost for this class, and kids over the age of twelve are welcome to attend with a supervising adult.

18 March – SEWING CLASS FOR YOUTH
Learn how to make your own clothes!  This class is designed especially for beginners (age 10 and up), and you will be making your own pajama pants.  This will be a fun-filled afternoon, and you will make new, like-minded, crafty friends.  Please e-mail instructor Marylee at gmamarylee@gmail.com for more information, and a complete list of supplies to bring.  Don’t have a portable sewing machine?  We can help!
Class runs from 1-4 P.M., and costs $10 per student.

22 March – WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER SAFETY
This class is rescheduled from February - join Gina Claeys, owner/operator of Cedar Grove Wildlife Guiding service, to learn about our abundant local wildlife.  Gina will talk about wildlife ecology, recognizing signs of wildlife, avoiding negative encounters, and what to do if you do have an encounter.
Class runs from 7-9 P.M., and costs $5 per person.

25 March, 26 March – SOAPMAKING 101
Learn how to use the cold process to safely create your own kitchen-made soap.  Learn the science behind the process, then make 6 bars of soap to pick up and take home the following day – homemade soap makes an excellent Spring stimulant after our Winter hibernation!  More details on the class from instructor Gayle Kruger at her website:  dancingpinesoapworks.com.
Cost is $35 per person, and all supplies and equipment are provided for the class.  Class runs from 1-3 P.M. on 25 March, and students must be at least 13 years old.  Soap pickup day details will be arranged by the students during class.  Class size is limited to 12 students, so be sure to register early!
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For more information on what is happening at Camden Grange and Community Center, you can check our Facebook page (Camden Grange and Community Center, in the Community Center group).