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Southern Oregon Journal: Caroling in the dark a year after the mill burned Sunday Dec 18, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune “So it begins again, the dying of our year. The long nights I yearn toward; the stripped trees and tan grasses; the graying of the sun.” — Phyllis Tickle from "What the Heart Already Knows"   This Wednesday marks the shortest day of the year as the winter solstice claims its official darkness. It rolls around with us to remind us of our reliance on light. We know brighter days follow. We hope in a future spring. This Saturday, some of us will meet, bundled against the elements, to sing carols by the museum and the blackened remains of the Butte Creek Mill. We will shuffle and locate ourselves near the burn barrels while trying to reach the high notes. We did the same thing last year, when the mill stood alive and warm with friends and holiday shoppers. When the singing was over, we climbed the 143-year-old steps — steps that had borne the soles of generations of local residents and curious visitors. She had aged gracefully into a landmark to which we pointed with pride. It’s no stretch for me to say we entered the mill that night as if it was a welcoming grandma with hugs for us all. So, naturally, there were cookies, cider and neighborly greetings. I may have bought an ounce or two of nutmeg, and possibly a couple more stocking stuffers to be on the full side of safe. Our sweet friend with the welcoming smile, Debbie Russell, joined us in spirit and in our hearts, though recently departed from our group far too soon. This year, we will stand united around the fire, in faithful defiance of what is left following the destruction that took our prize during the predawn of last Christmas morning. As impossible as it may appear, it is the goal of Bob Russell and the mill’s foundation board that this will be the last holiday season that families won’t be sharing the love of Butte Creek Mill products and neighborhood flavor. I asked Bob about the new option of becoming a Friend of the Mill. With a donation of $100 or more, the donor receives a numbered certificate and special notifications of coming events. He was slightly reluctant to go along with the idea at first, but the board encouraged it. Bob told me recently, “It seems like every time I turn around, we’re asking people for money. That’s never come easy for me.” But the truth is, those who know Bob and his family, and the many of us who have enjoyed the mill, are glad for opportunities to be part of the rebuild. Although Bob holds the deed, we feel the mill belongs to all of us in a way. We want to win this one — to see what teamwork can accomplish. Aside from money, there are opportunities to volunteer from time to time available on the mill's Facebook page and website. Yes, they need a lot of money to do the job right. The way to garner the attention of major foundations is to show a healthy amount of local interest. The Ford Foundation, for example, doesn’t invest in projects for which there is little support from those closest to the source. We will stand and sing “O Holy Night” in the face of all of our memories of life and loss. Though death and destruction lay behind us, life calls through the scarred timbers, moving forward, as do plans to revive and restore. — Peggy Dover is a freelance writer living in Eagle Point. Email her at [email protected].