February 2016 • FREE
Silverton Bobbie
Valentine’s Day Flowers?
Valentine’s Day is the day where love and romance is celebrated all around the world. Valentine’s Day is the one day where we all speak the language of love. It doesn’t seem to matter whether we are giving to the love of our life, our children, or to a good friend. Valentine’s Day is a great time to express our love to others. Now, how do we express “The Language of love?” Well during the 18th century, lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers and by sending greeting cards. The tradition continues onto the 21st century as lovers are brought together by the beauty and the “Silent Language” of beautiful flowers. This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday. Chances are that your loved one will not be at work but we ASSURE you that she would prefer to have flowers delivered to her work so that all her gal pals can oooh and aaah about what she received and what an awesome partner you are. Our recommendation is that you have them delivered early on in Valentine’s Day week – that way she gets to enjoy them the entire week. Ladies, surprise your boyfriend/husband by delivering flowers and chocolates to his work or his house. (Now how many times do you think he has received flowers?!). Flowers are the perfect gift this Valentines Day or any day. This comes as no surprise that the rose is the most popular choice for Valentine’s Day. There are many reasons for this including the fact that red roses symbolize romance, love, perfection and beauty. Say, these are all the qualities your sweetheart holds. There are many other beautiful flowers that can also
be incorporated into memorable bouquets. So the question is, where can you find the best, freshest, flowers in town? Of course your first place to go is Expressions in Bloom. They will always carry the freshest flowers and have a wide variety of flowers for you to select from. Every arrangement at Expressions in Bloom is hand made by an expert florist. They will happily make you the Hero this holiday. The most challenging and crucial part of the process is delivery. You want the arrangements to get where they’re going on time. You want them to look great and have no broken flowers. You want trustworthy delivery people who know the area well and take great care with your delivery. “The Kiwanis Sunrisers” have helped with Expressions in Bloom Valentine deliveries for several years. They earn the delivery fees to support projects both monetarily and physically for children/people of the community and world. Some comments from the volunteers are: “We all like delivering flowers on Valentines to see the surprises and joy on the recipient faces.”...” Most recipients thank us but we make sure to tell them that we just deliver the flowers from your special person”…. “We do deliver some that are from anonymous givers. The comments from the recipients are memorable. It’s even more memorable to deliver the bouquet to an office where the whole office gets into the act.” Paying attention to the details extends to everything they do in all aspects of their business at Expressions in Bloom!
Bobbie and Mr. Brazier
by Karen Rogers February 14 is Valentine’s Day. It is also Oregon’s birthday as a state. February 15 is generally ignored, but in 1924 it was the day that Silverton’s Bobbie came home. Bobbie was a rough-coated Scotch collie; a working dog, not a Lassie-type show dog. He belonged to the Frank Brazier family of Silverton and earned his keep herding cows, horses, sheep and even an occasional goose. In the summer of 1923 the family went to visit relatives back East and Bobbie went gladly along. According to newspaper accounts, he rode on the running boards or the luggage rack at the rear of their car, a brand new 1923 Overland Red Bird. On August 15 they arrived in Wolcott, Indiana and stopped for gas, when a pack of feral dogs chased Bobbie away. The Braziers drove for hours, seeking their pet and ran an ad in the local paper for three weeks with no result. Sadly, they returned to Oregon. Exactly six months later, February 15, 1924, the Braziers daughter, Nova, was walking with a friend near a cafe when a thin, dirty dog suddenly flew towards the girls. It was Bobbie. Somehow, the dog had navigated rivers, mountains and miles of plains and prairies. He did stop at some farms and homes to beg food, but never stayed for more than a day or two. The news of his remarkable return spread by newspapers and radio broadcasts like wildfire and made him world-famous overnight. Unfortunately, the stress of the journey took a terrible toll on his health and he died in 1927, and is buried in the Oregon Humane Society grounds in Portland. This amazing animal covered 2,551 miles in six months and indeed Bobbie came home.