AURORA — When improvements and work need to
happen on the Old Aurora Colony Museum and its properties, museum
staff have several options: apply for a grant, conduct a fund-raiser,
use money from its general fund, or seek the help of its supporters.
Terrill Collier, a descendent of the Will
family, recently donated the time of his arbor company and employees
to complete one needed chore on the grounds of the Old Aurora Colony
Museum: trimming the trees.
Collier and three arborists conducted
hazard reduction trimming, removed old storm damage and dead branches,
and pruned four trees on the museum property in order to make them
healthier and prevent hazards.
The hard-working volunteers also removed
a diseased filbert tree.
“We’re grateful for the donation,” said
Joan Jacobs, museum director. “It’s a huge help for us. We would have
probably only been able to get one tree trimmed” if not for the
donation.
Collier, who is the president of Collier
Arbor Care based in Clackamas, donated a day’s work for three people
to clean up the trees, which included the 75- to 80-foot shade tree in
the museum courtyard, two walnut trees, and a cherry tree located on
the Miller house property owned by the Aurora Colony Historical
Society.
The shade tree, a red oak, was donated
as a memorial 40 years ago and needed to be trimmed away from the
museum’s roof, old storm damage removed, and trimmed to prevent
branches from falling, Collier said.
The red oak was planted April 29, 1967,
in honor of Dr. Burt Brown Barker, who helped to establish the Aurora
Colony Historical Society and its museum buildings.
Collier is a descendent of the Will and
Scholl families. The Will family settled in the Aurora Colony under
the communal society of Dr. William Keil, who founded Aurora in 1856.
“My motivation is that mom really loved
the Colony,” Collier said. “We have a family connection to help out
the Aurora Colony.”
His mother, Elvira Collier, who passed
away last fall, kept a family genealogy, attended the Will family
reunions and made sure her family knew the importance of their
heritage.
“As a kid we would come (to Aurora) and
have Will reunions in the fire hall,” said Collier, who resides in
Clackamas. “I have very fond memories. My mom was very interested in
history.”
They now have Will family reunions at
the Stauffer-Will Farm in Aurora, Collier said, on the property owned
by the Aurora Colony Historical Society and used for a school program
each spring.
In place of the filbert tree that had to
be removed from the museum’s courtyard, Collier has planned to plant a
Native Oregon White Oak in his mother’s honor.
When Collier went to Europe two years
ago with his family he said he traced the genealogy of his Germanic
relatives and found the Wills and Scholls dating back to the 1600s in
church records in the Heidelberg area.
His mother, and aunt Lenora accompanied
him on the trip and it was a special trip for them all, he said.
“We still have family over there,”
Collier said. “Mom and Aunt Lenora sent care packages and basic
supplies after the war . . . After 40 years of corresponding they got
to meet the family which dates back five to six generations.”
Collier, who is a second-generation
arborist with Collier Arbor Care, volunteered to trim the trees as a
donation to the museum. In the past, he has also worked on the big
maple tree at the Stauffer-Will Farm.
Collier offers tips for recognizing and
preventing tree hazards on his company’s website www.collierarbor.com.
Trimming trees is just one need that the
Old Aurora Colony Museum has. Many other volunteer opportunities are
available throughout the year, including greeting, working at the
upcoming quilt show from Oct. 13-17, and volunteering at the
Stauffer-Will Farm in the spring.
Volunteers are needed to sell raffle
tickets, serve cookies, and for setup and cleanup at the annual quilt
show. Donations of cookies are also needed. For information on museum
needs and volunteer opportunities, call museum staff at 503-678-5754,
or visit
www.auroracolonymuseum.com.
Copyright
Eagle Newspapers Inc., 2001 - 2005
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