Roseburg
Sister Cities, Inc.
P.O. Box 1643
Roseburg, Oregon 97470
Officers:
Pres.: Jon
Burpee
672-2536
V.P. : H.D. Honscheid 672-6513
Treas.: Bill
Roberts 672-4480
Sec.: Lois
Soulia
673-4197
Member At Large Marliene Winfield-Swanson 672-1014
Board of Directors – 2005
Nancy Andrich, , John & Suzie Armstrong, Jon Burpee, Elizabeth
Clawson, H.D. Honscheid, Thelma Sayers, Larry Shipley,
Kellene Soder, Louis Soulia, Bill Roberts, Art &
Marline Swanson.
Committee Chairs
Newsletter: Lynnette Roberts,
Oct. Japan Visit: Jon Burpee
Garden: Jean Burpee/Judy Emmett
Publicity: Kellene Soder
Message from The President – by
Jon Burpee
As you read this I will just be back in Roseburg from our fall
delegation trip to Shobu. There were 17 delegates who visited
Shobu, including two people from Nevada who were learning how to
organize a similar program in their town, Boulder City. After our
stay with host families in Shobu, our road trip was to the Mt. Fuji
area. This was the 12th annual visit to Shobu from our sister
city program. This has been Jeannie’s and my third trip to
Shobu. I cannot begin to explain how much we learn, enjoy, and
relax on this trip. If you have not done
it yet, I urge you to consider going in Oct. 2006. You can
sign-up at our annual meeting at Linus Oaks or contact me at any time.
Please also consider being a host
family next June when the Shobu delegation will be visiting
Roseburg. It is a very fulfilling experience to host one of the
delegates, and you will make a long lasting friendship. If
you could help us with their visit we would be most grateful. We
plan to do an all Oregon trip for them in June and we will need lots of
help since they will spend a longer time in Roseburg and then touring
our state. Again you can contact me at 672-2536 or HD
Honscheid at 672-6513. Thanks, and I hope to see you Nov. 13th at
the annual meeting where our delegates will give a short talk about
their Japan trip. ~ Jon
From Left - Jeannie and Jon Burpee, HD and Una Honscheid
The
Annual Dinner
Sunday – Nov. 13 – 6pm
All Members Invited!
Sister Cities Annual Potluck Dinner has become one of the major social
events of our year. A very short meeting will be conducted to
elect new officers for 2006. The rest of the evening will be full of
news & presentations on recent cultural exchanges, inter
mixed with lots of DOOR PRIZES and good friendship time.
Tableware, wine, cider, coffee/tea will be provided.
Sunday
Nov. 13 – 6p – Linus Oakes Community Room
2665
Van Pelt Blvd., Roseburg
Stewart
Pkwy, to Mercy Hospital entrance: (Van Pelt Blvd.) Just before
main
upper
hospital parking lot, turn left into Linus Oakes Visitor Parking. Up
stairs of
entrance,
thru 2 glass doors, (1st Floor.) Inside, turn right to the Community
Room.
Food Sign-up Contact: Art or Marliene
Swanson 672-1014
(Last minute?…. just come, bring anything!)
Feel free to bring photo albums of
recent trips to Japan, Etc.!
Vote!
It’s time to elect new
officers.
Voting will take place at the annual dinner. If you wish to serve
as an officer, a board member, or committee chair, please feel free to
contact President Jon Burpee.
672-2536
It is usually not a large time commitment to serve in any capacity with
our group, but the rewards are infinite.
A
Message From Shobu
Excerpts from a letter
our President Jon Burpee received from our friends in Shobu:
We would like to take this opportunity to officially
give our thanks to you personally and to the
City of Roseburg......for your warm welcome
and for all your kindness during the Shobu Friendship Home-Stay in
your delightful city. We all enjoyed
our stay in Roseburg and have many precious memories from this
time. Recently we hosted some Junior High students from
Roseburg. We hope that it helped the young people broaden their
horizons and gain a more international perspective. The Shobu
students certainly benefited from meeting them. We are really
looking forward to receiving the delegation from Roseburg later this
year, in October. For the citizens of Shobu, Roseburg City is a
very special place. We hope that our relationship continues for a
long time, and that our citizens get
more opportunities to experience the bonds of friendship that exist
between our cities.
Warmest regards
-
Toshio Nakayama, Mayor of Shobu
Takashi Hirasawa, Pres. of Shobu-Roseburg Assoc.
Shobu Castle
Castles are
famous in Japan and rich with history. At one time even Shobu had
a castle. In the 10th
century two military alliances rose to power in the Kanto region, which
included what is now
Shobu. By the 15h century a new era of complex power struggles
began. It was during this time
that the Shobu Castle was built on the front line of the military
conflict. However, by the 16th
century the castle fell. According to legend, the castle was torn
down and nothing was left to
mark its place. Today in Shobu, “Castle Site Avame Garden,”
covers the site where the caslte once
stood. There is a stone commemorating the castle. Avame
Garden is an iris garden Avame
literally translates to mean “iris garden.” Shobu means iris and
is very famous for the spectacular
iris blooms.
This is how Shobu Castle
might look today
(when the delegation visited Japan this October,
we went to this castle in Odawara)
Fall and Winter in Shobu
Autumn in Shobu
brings a succession of sports and cultural events, such as the Shobu
Sports Festival. The Shobu Culture Festival features displays of
items hand crafted by local residents. Local religious
temples hold traditional ceremonies that have been passed down through
the generations. In January, Shinmei Shrine holds its Otahiki and
Tsutsugayu ceremonies to foretell if the new year will bring abundant
harvests of farm produce. Shobu is famous for strawberries.
The strawberry harvest gets into full swing just as the Christmas
season starts. Early February brings the Daruma Fair, with crowds
of fair-goers buying Daruma dolls, for prayers to attain their
cherished desires.
Daruma Dolls,
often bought at temples, are spherical dolls with a red painted body
and a white face, but without pupils. They represent the Zen monk
Bodhidharma. It is the custom to paint in one of the doll's pupils at
the beginning of a new year and then make a wish. If the wish
comes true, the second pupil is painted in. The doll is returned
to the temple or shrine at the end of the year to be burnt.
Japanese New Year – “Year of the Dog”
New
Year (shogatsu or oshogatsu) is the most important holiday in
Japan. Most businesses shut down from January 1 to
January 3, and families typically gather to spend the days
together. The Japanese New Year
follows what is similar in other Asian nations; they follow the Chinese
New Year
Calendar. The Japanese word for "New Year's Greetings" is Kinga
Shinnen.
Sister Cities’ Photos
We have several albums
of photos, taken over the many past
years, documenting the history and fond
memories of our Sister City relationship with Shobu.
However, many photos,
newspaper clippings, etc. are in dire need of categorizing and mounting
into albums. We are seeking a dedicated person to archive our RSC
legacy before it’s lost! If have a flare for this type of
endeavor – please let us know! We will pay for supplies. This can be
done from home and at your own pace. It is even conceivable that
all items could, if desired, be put on computer!
Please contact:
Lynnette Roberts 672-4480
Sister Cities Friendship Garden Stone
The Stone is
inscribed with the date of 1993, the founding date of our Sister City
relationship with Shobu, Japan. The rock insignia proclaims the
goal of the Sister City relation-ship, “Friendship and Understanding,”
It bears the signature of the mayor of Shobu. (Put on paper,
& transferred/carved into the stone.) You may view the stone,
and others with commemorative plaques, by visiting the Sister Cities
Friendship Garden, behind the Douglas County Library.
Web Site
Just a
reminder for all those who haven’t yet checked out
our AWESOME web site, done by H.D. Honscheid – you have
GOT to see it! You will not only see updated
information on our group, but recent photos taken in
Japan, and other recent Sister City events here in
Roseburg. --- You’ll also
find, links to sites with in depth info on Japan and Shobu! Log
on too ~
www.roseburg-sister-cities.org
New Editor
For Newsletter
After 4 years of
great fun typing this newsletter,
Lynnette Roberts is retiring. Thus the
next
newsletter, due out in Feb. 2006, will be published
by Jonna Wagner. Jonna is a wiz on the
computer
and we certainly thank her for volunteering!
Newsletter History
Did
you ever wonder why our newsletter is called “The Bridge?” The newsletter was
first published in the spring of 1994, just after the 1993
founding of our Sister City group. The word “Bridge” was used as
a symbol of ‘bridging’ our two cities, countries, cultures, and
friendships. The bridge name was also somewhat a correlation to
the beautiful Japanese garden bridges, and the fact that Roseburg
has several in-town bridges crossing the rivers. The actual logo
used for the newsletter, has changed a bit over time, but the
name remains the same. The circular iris symbol that is used on
all our material was actually designed, (and still used) by
the early JoLane/Shobu Student Exchange group. The students
themselves came up with the design, which is a Japanese iris.
(Shobu literally translates to mean “iris.”)
Over the 12
year history of our group, there has been some 3 publisher/editors of
the newsletter: David Handy and Phil Gale (jointly), Kay Pearson,
and Lynnette Roberts. Jonna Wagner will be the 4th.
www.roseburg-sister-cities.org
The
next newsletter is scheduled to be publish in February or March of 2006
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