The New Era - All about Sweet Home since 1929

Editor: Thanks to Roberta McKern for her always-interesting stories from our museum. I had wondered for decades why “Lyma” Ohio, but “Leema” Peru. I found out, when I went to Peru in the 1990s.  The Spanish conquistadores asked the locals wh...

Editor: We are indeed fortunate to have our New Era and Lebanon Local reporting our news. Thank you especially for the great pictures and coverage of the outdoor school and many other events of our youth. Thank you for finding another printer when...

Creating a solution for Sweet Home’s homeless problem has been a long road, which is still leading us to new places for our community. It’s a relief that the Family Assistance Resource Center was finally able to get all the boxes checked that...

Feb. 1, 1973 Reducing the high school student lunch time at the beginning of the semester was delayed. Several complaints were registered with administrators following a recent announcement that the lunch period would be reduced from one hour to...

The title above might seem self-serving, but it reflects an increasing concern in Oregon, and not just for newspaper publishers. I’ve heard from readers, from government officials, from businesses who are worried about where the state’s...

Editor’s note: Although we are a nonpartisan newspaper, we think this “open letter,” written by the chair of the Oregon Republican Party, highlights concerns shared by Linn County’s rural residents, so we’re giving it some space. Dear Gov....

Editor: I am very fed up with gas stations in Sweet Home. I went down today to get some gas and was asked how much and I said, “fill it up” and was asked how much again and I again said “fill it up” and was told I still had to say how much!...

Editor: An open letter to Gov. Kotek: I love your goal of increased housing of Oregonians; it is so very needed. There are, however, two snags observable on the way to that wonderful goal. First, new housing must be available for all Oregonians....

Editor: America’s world has become infested and occupied by a Marxist secular religion. It is a religion because people give it deep commitments. It offers a counterfeit, undefined “salvation.” It’s a doomed mistake to take any pieces from...

Editor, Over the last few months, as I have enjoyed reading The New Era each week, I have noticed a recurring theme, mainly, various business owners and governing bodies stressing the fact that they would like to see Sweet Home downtown area revitali...

If you got the feeling, as you opened your newspaper this week, that it is a little smaller than last week, you’re correct. This is the latest chapter in the 90-plus-year history of The New Era, in which a lot of recent adjustments have been...

Editor’s note: As letter writers (and those who read the guidelines in the gray box below) are well aware, we nearly always require writers to identify themselves for publication on The New Era’s opinion page. However, given the situation...

Dec. 28, 1972 Wally Mathers bought the Frontier Room and Tourist Cafe from Rose Carter, who owned the Main Street business for 18 years. Mathers will operate the Frontier Room but will continue leasing the Tourist Cafe to D.L. and Frances Fleury, wh...

Wow, hard to believe it’s already that time of year. Light displays, colorful decorations, evergreen boughs and trees, delicious treats, the Christmas spirit. I particularly enjoy hearing some of the old Christmas carols at this time of the...

Editor: My biggest thank you has to go to Dr. Sam Milstein of Ridgeway Health. Sweet Home is just coming to realize how fortunate we are to have Ridgeway Health in town. Having practiced veterinary medicine in Sweet Home for over 40 years, I always j...

Editor: On Oct. 26, your paper published an intriguing letter on the general issue of how awful cats are, at least in the author’s opinion. I apologize for not having written sooner in response to that letter, as missives of that sort really...

Editor: With a population of 9,828 people in Sweet Home, Christmas can mean a lot of different things to so many different people. But what does Christmas mean to God, in his own words, the one who gave us the reason to have such an occasion on the...

Dec. 21, 1972 The high school student body was concerned about classmate Randy Johnson, who recently lost his home and belongings in a fire. They decided to give his family a $100 check. Students contribute to a general fund from proceeds of dairy...

I consider myself very well-versed in dealing with moving vehicles. I’ve been a runner for 40-plus years – though a bit slower now – and I’ve shared the road with cars all over the world. When I was a kid, I lived in Japan, where I delivered...