1989 ~
30
th
~ 2019
ANNIVERSARY
August 9 TH & 10 TH 2019
BEER GARDEN
5K RUN
CAR SHOW
PARADE
MARKET IN THE PARK - SIDEWALK SALE
LIVE MUSIC
OFFICIAL PROGRAM www.auroracolonydays.com
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Welcome to the 30th Anniversary of Aurora Colony Days! As your Mayor and longtime resident, I am very excited and proud to celebrate with you this special day in our wonderful town. We kick-off our celebration with the concerts in the park series throughout July which leads up to the Aurora Colony Days Celebration held August 9th and 10th! The festivities begin with a family friendly beer garden at the Old Aurora Colony Museum on Friday evening with live music. Saturday’s events begin with an early morning run for adults and children, the traditional pancake breakfast at the American Legion Hall, parade, car show, market in the park, downtown sidewalk sale, and food vendors. This year a motorized trolley car will transport visitors to the various event locations around town. The day’s events conclude at the City Park with a live concert where the community gathers together to socialize and celebrate just as in the colony days. For the 30th Anniversary of Aurora Colony Day’s, I am happy to announce that the original descendants of Doctor August and Rosina Keil will be our Grand Marshalls! The Keil family relatives who will be coming to Aurora for the Aurora Colony days weekend are descendants of Dr. William and Louisa Keil’s son August Keil. August had accompanied his family from Bethel, Missouri across the Oregon Trail in 1855 eventually settling with his parents and seven siblings in the village that became known as Aurora Mills. August was trained as a doctor by his father and in 1861 he was sent back to Bethel, Missouri to serve as their doctor which he continued to do until his own death in 1902. August Keil married Rosina Forstner at Bethel in 1864. The Keil family visitors are almost all from their son Frederick William Keil. For many this will be their first time to Aurora. I want to personally thank everyone that has volunteered with us this year and give a special shout out to our Volunteer of the Year - Brian Asher! Brian Asher has been a member of the Aurora Colony Historical Society since the early 1980’s. His interest in early American crafts with a particular appreciation for samplers also attracted him to the craftsmanship exhibited by the Aurora Colonists. Brian is a general contractor by trade with a special emphasis on historic restoration. He has worked on the original colony store as well as the John Stauffer farmhouse. Until his recent retirement Brian had served on the board of directors for the Aurora Colony historical society for many years. Thank you, Brian! This year Glenn and Shatrine Krake will officiate as King and Queen! Shatrine, a passionate graphic designer, grew up in Aurora utilizing her talents in numerous ways. Her involvement with the very successful Emma Walk project with the museum led to further collaboration with the Aurora Colony Visitor’s Association to create their brochure as well as their quarterly events. By 2015 Shatrine began coordinating and marketing our Aurora Colony Days yearly event as it is today. Shatrine, we thank you! Be sure to keep your eye out for these special guests during the Parade! Our town is experiencing new growth in the community, and with the support and commitment of our staff, Council, committees, and locals we look forward to our future! As Aurora grows, we need each and every one of you to grow with us and help produce a livable and beautiful vision for our future! I hope you all have a fun-filled day of celebration in our wonderful town of Aurora!
Kris Taylor Sallee, Mayor City of Aurora
AURORA COLONY DAYS
Free trolley service will operate on Saturday Aug 10th From 12pm to 4pm. Stopping at each stop approximately every 12 to 15 minutes. Hop on and hop off at your convenience to experience all attractions.
SCHEDULE - 2019
1989 ~
30th
~ 2019
ANNIVERSARY
AUGUST 9TH 5-11pm - BEER GARDEN Family Friendly!
AUGUST 10TH 7 AM - 11 AM Pancake Breakfast @ American Legion Hall Basement 7:30 AM · 5k Run/Walk Run starts at Old Aurora Colony Museum 8:30 AM · 1k Fun Run for Kids Run starts at Old Aurora Colony Museum 8:30 AM to 3 PM · Market in the Park Aurora City Park 9 AM to 4 PM · Downtown Sidewalk Sale Main Street / Downtown Aurora 11 AM · Aurora Colony Parade Parade starts at Aurora Park on Main Street 11 AM to 4 PM · Old Aurora Colony Museum Exhibits (FREE Saturday Entry) 12:00 PM to 4 PM · Aurora Colony Car Show at the Park Live Music by Timothy James - Aurora City Park 5:30PM to 10 PM · Celebration in the Park Aurora City Park Amphitheater
www.auroracolonydays.com
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Aurora Colony Days: Celebrating Past, Present, Future Article and photos provided by Old Aurora Colony Museum
Small towns like Aurora often talk about having a sense of community. Look around Aurora today and you’ll see all the markers of a great community: a volunteer-run library, fun shops and wineries, summer music in the parks, a farmers’ market, places of worship, museum events, and Aurora Colony Days activities. But for Aurora, founded as a Christian communal society, the idea of community has a special meaning. Community is in its roots. The sense of shared responsibility, the connections we make with our fellow humans, the good deeds we do for others. Those are part of Aurora’s DNA. The village of Aurora Mills was founded by Dr. William Keil in 1856 as a Utopian community in which members shared their goods and services and worked for the common good. Keil, who had already established a successful community in Bethel, Missouri, named Aurora after his daughter. It was often referred to as the Aurora Colony or the Aurora Community. He selected the site because it had a saw mill and a grist mill dating to the late 1840s. About 400 colony members, mostly German and Swiss emigrants, lived with the principle that Christians ought to share labor and property, thus attempting to live the ideal as described in the Book of Acts in the New Testament. Communal living was not that uncommon in 19th century America. Groups such as the Shakers, the Harmonists, and the Amana Colony attracted many followers-- but Keil’s group was the only communal group to cross the Oregon Trail to settle in the west.
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A history of fine crafts and music Colony members, who were trained in all manner of crafts, gradually built homes and manufactured products such as furniture, baskets and textiles for their personal use. By the mid-1860s, the Aurora Colonists were operating a general store. Its register of accounts includes some of Oregon’s most prominent pioneers. A new hotel served the stagecoach and, after the railroad came in 1870, railroad passengers. Food served at this hotel was praised far and wide. The Aurora brass band was a popular attraction at most every major function in western Oregon and often won first prize in competitions at the state fair. After the death of Dr. Keil in December of 1877 the younger colony members decided to end the communal lifestyle. In 1893, Aurora Mills was incorporated as Aurora.
Aurora Builds On Its Heritage Aurora’s location on the railroad line continued to make it an important center for shipping and receiving farm products. The brokering of hops was an especially successful industry until the coming of prohibition. Histories of the Aurora Colony were periodically published, the most significant volume being Bethel and Aurora by Robert J Hendricks in 1933. Descendants of the colony continued to live in the village and helped spur the celebration of Aurora’s centennial in 1956. Edward Miller, the publisher of The Oregonian newspaper, delivered front page coverage of the impending event, and several thousand visitors descended on the village for the celebration in July of that year.
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This public interest in Aurora encouraged the interest of historic preservationists, which in turn led to the organization of the Aurora Colony Historical Society in 1963 and the opening of the Ox Barn Museum in 1966 (later renamed the Old Aurora Colony Museum). By 1975 the museum properties also included the 1876 Steinbach log cabin, the Will Family wash house, and the George Kraus family home.
A New Preservation & Research Center To preserve and protect the town’s historically significant heritage for future generations, the Aurora Colony Historical Society recently began construction of the Will Family Preservation & Research Center in downtown Aurora. This state-of-the-art facility will provide museum-quality conditions for preservation of the society’s outstanding collection of textiles, furniture, baskets, tools and other artifacts created by members of the colony. The project should be completed by December 2019. Colony descendants and community members have helped make it possible to continue researching the story of Aurora’s unique beginnings as well as its modern legacy. The city of Aurora took a major step in 1974 to encourage preservation of the remaining colony sites and structures with the establishment of the Aurora National Historic District.
Since the mid-1960s a variety of private business owners have operated a variety of specialty shops, many featuring the sale of antiques, in some of the other surviving buildings. These business people, in conjunction with city residents, were the driving force behind the organization of the Aurora Colony Days celebration. Jan Peel
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1989 ~~
30
th
2019
anniversa ry
30 years of Colony Days In conjunction with America’s Bicentennial in 1976, Aurora held a Jubilee celebration. This was revived in 1989 as Aurora Colony Days, which has been held annually since that year. As in the days of old Aurora, the Colony Day celebrations feature good food and music. Aurora comes together in its own unique spirit of community, with a Friday beer garden followed by Saturday’s parade, hands-on activities for young and old at the museum, and other activities in the park and around town. Aurora has certainly grown since the first colony members arrived in 1856, but the spirit of community continues.
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Join the fun!
at the Old Aurora Colony Museum August 9 - Aurora Colony Day Beer Garden August 10 - Aurora Colony Day - Free Admission, with Pioneer Activities & Demonstrations August 24 - Annual Fundraising Dinner October 11 thru 20 - 47th annual Quilt Show— ”Rhapsody in Blue” November 30 - Christmas in Aurora
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THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS Special thank you to all of the hours put in by these volunteers to make Aurora Colony Days happen. Diana Ash Allison Burruel Mike Burruel Alison Colhouer Ronan Feely Lisa Hand Pastor Craig Johnson
Sorry to anybody we missed.
Marty Krogh Matthew Nelson Jan Peel Tom Pierson Jr. Jenifer Reneau Alex Schwarz Courtney Smith
Guy Sperb Sally Sperb Theresa Winebarger Tom Heitmanek, Councilor Tara Wediman, Councilor Kris Taylor Sallee, Mayor All City Employees
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503-678-7787 • 21668 OR-99E • Aurora