Skyler Chappell
Linda Ivie is a Sweet Home resident that has spent a good majority of her time caring for others. Whether it is rescuing, painting, parenting, or volunteering, nothing is able to get in her way.
“I want to be a role model for the younger generation,” she said.
Ivie, who is originally from North Carolina, lived in New Mexico when she decided to move to a state she had never been to before Oregon. In 1983, she moved her family to Sweet Home and decided she wanted to do something she felt was meaningful. Twelve days after arriving, she became a member of the Sugar City Gleaners (formerly known as Sweet Home Gleaners).
“It was the best decision I ever made,” she said. “This is where I’m happy.”
This year marks Ivie’s 40th anniversary at the gleaners. After helping take over the nonprofit two years ago, she and the other members of the board of directors changed the establishment into what she feels is a safe place built upon trust and respect.
“There is a whole world of people that honestly care about each other, and this is it.”
Ivie isn’t just a volunteer she is also a retired painter, one who has recently picked up the brush again. Her goal in returning to the easel is twofold, she’s started using her abilities to help raise money for the gleaners, recently touching up a piece of artwork that was sold at a gleaners auction. Also she hopes to be able to promote artistic awareness, which, she said, “is the capacity to observe things around you.”
Along with caring for others, her community, and being a painter, Ivie is also a reptile admirer. Although there hasn’t been a reptile she hasn’t liked, Ivie has a soft spot for tortoises. She has worked for Brad’s World Reptiles, volunteering to nurture sick and injured tortoises. She then worked on expanding her interests with International Reptile Rescue. “They call me the tortoise whisperer.”
Not only does Ivie help take care of other people’s reptiles, she also has some of her own. She even has a dedicated tortoise room in her house in which she cares for them.
“Everyday I hold, nurture and marvel at the miracles of creation. They follow me around, and they know my voice.”
Ivie, who volunteers for gleaners, is also a member. She finds that volunteering there isn’t the only way to give back. Whatever additional food Ivie acquires, she gives to her tortoises. She said, “As a gleaners member, I accumulated enough food and produce here every week to feed over 100 tortoises for about a year and a half.”
Despite the fact that Ivie is 73 and, in her own words, “not in the best of health,” she still manages to put other beings above herself. On Oct. 7 Ivie and her fellow board members will be fundraising at the annual Harvest Festival at Sankey Park. All proceeds from this event will go directly to helping the Sugar City Gleaners with building maintenance.
Ivie is a compassionate and inspirational local artist that has worked to bring value to those who need it the most, and as she says it, “When you do the right thing, the right thing happens.”