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Views from my Neighborhood: Lebanon Public Library

I decided to start a new series for my blog titled, "Views from my Neighborhood." I figured, what better way to share the places we go right here in our own city. No matter if we move from here or not, there will always be something to share in regards to the "views from my neighborhood."

Our walks take us all over the city here in Lebanon, Oregon, but one of our favorites is to the local library.

The "old" library used to be housed in the old hospital building located at 626 Second Street. The hospital has since moved to the north side of town, but the old hospital building still stands and is now the current location of the Lebanon Chapter for Boys and Girls Club of America. Straight ahead of The Bean in this above photo is the new library for the city. It finished construction and opened its doors to the public in 2009.

The original signage for the hospital still visible through the stone.

This 24 bed hospital was built here in 1936 where a former grade school sat. It was determined that there was a need for a larger hospital by Dr. Joel Booth-president of the hospital at that time.


 During the 1940s, the population of Lebanon tripled and just 11 years after it was built the hospital was found to be overcrowded and was condemned as a fire hazard. In 1948 the Mennonite Church took over management of the facility while a fund drive was organized with the help of attorney Lawrence Morley as general chairman, Lebanon lumberman John Nyland, and Max Thecker, president of Cascade Plywood Corporation. Dr. Booth was still president of the hospital board, and again promoted construction of a new building. The new Lebanon General Hospital was dedicated on January 20, 1952. (source)

One of our many walks through town when we are out and about takes us to the new library building. We really enjoy the new building and there's still more construction going on around the grounds of the library. A community gazebo is in the works currently.


The Mr. and The Bean kicking a pine cone while walking toward the Lebanon Public Library.


Read more about the history of Lebanon, Oregon.


Five simple things

Wow! What a great end to a week! Yesterday (Saturday) was the start of the Strawberry Festival here in the Willamette Valley, also home of the World's Strawberry Shortcake. There's a fair, a parade, and strawberries everywhere! It's a great, small town event and people that live here go nuts over it. It's great! This week, The Mr. and I got a lot of things done that we've been putting off. We put up The Bean's pool, planted some flowers and other plants in the garden and flowerbed, and even took some time to visit the Roaring River Fish Hatchery (pictures soon). We had a great week and we do hope yours was just as great. Here are the things that made my week awesome!

1. This Fortune Teller

Zoltar is always a hit for us. You put in 50 cents and he gives you a generic fortune. It's such a fun thing for us to do anytime we see him. Once, my brother put in money and the fortune read, "Zoltar sees you giving me more money in your future." Ha!

2. These Plants

The Mr. and I went on a hunt for some new plants for our ever-expanding flower beds. We were considering a few small trees, but we are still considering what is best. 

3. This Ballot

Oregon has mail in ballots. They come to your home and you have the privacy of your own home to vote. We are Green Party in our home and we get to see who is running in the Nonpartisan Primary only. 

4. This Find

The Bean always finds the buggiest bugs. He found this caterpillar while we were mowing on Friday and went on a mission to find out exactly what kind it was. It's a Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar.

5.  This Library Book

A book we found at the local library here on the history of Lebanon, Oregon-"It used to be.... but now...." (An Oral History of Lebanon, Oregon). It had a lot of interesting facts about the area and one chapter is on the fire department/fire district here in the city. As we were looking through the pages we came across and interview with The Mr.'s uncle Dan Wilkerson, who has since passed. He gave some great information for the old fire station that used to be located in downtown Lebanon, Oregon. Finding this interview made The Mr. happy to know that he is still part of a fire fighting legacy handed down in his family over the years.

Extras:
  1. Apps for identifying plants.
  2. This. I ordered one thanks to Frolic's suggestion.
  3. Glass bottle mister.
  4. Indoor vines.
  5. What is phenoxyethanol.
  6. Bee Skep. And in the garden.
  7. Homemade bubbles and bubble wand.
  8. Silver Creek Falls.
  9. Geocaching again!
  10. Pacific City and Cape Kiwanda.

May Unboxings

For the month of May a lot of goodies came my way. Along with my normal box subscriptions I got chosen for this month's Voxbox. If you remember, Voxbox is a box of items that come from Influenster and you get to try them for free and give feedback on the items. Here are May's un-boxings....
This post contains affiliate links and/or sponsored by the brand[s] pictured. Thank you so much for supporting this brand, which also supports this blog and our family.

• Yogi Surprise:




Theme for May was "The Divine Within"

The Items:
1.  Energy Muse Chakra Healing Stones
2.  Sola Bar Wholesome Savory Meal Bar Jalapeno
3. Ancient Grains 'Made In Nature' Cuban Mojo
4. MitoSynergy 8-Day Rejuvenation Pack
5.  Himalayan Institute Eco Travel Neti Pot
6.  MyChelle Refining Sugar Cleanser
7.  Acure Organics Lip Lush (No Strings)
8.  Babayberry Naturals Rosehip & Hibiscus Moisturier (Sample Size)
9.  Yogi Surprise Yoga Sequence Series Card (Opening Your Heart)

Favorite Item:
MitoSynergy 8-Day Rejuvenation Pack: Look, Yogi Surprise never lets me down with the great products and it's so hard for me to pick just one favorite item. As I've been a customer of theirs for over a year, and now I have joined their affiliate program, I feel that the boxes are getting better and better. They are a great company, great customer service, great affiliate program, and not one time have I been disappointed. I highly, highly recommend this subscription box. Just for the record, I've been more pleased with this subscription box than I was with Birchbox Women's Box and I did love Birchbox. The Birchbox Man Box, though; Totally worth it for a man!

• MightyFix from MightNest:





Okay, so I didn't get a chance to mention the MightyNest from April and I feel it needs to be mentioned. I took advantage of the promotion through Reading My Tea Leaves and got my first MightyFix for $3. Erin is always great about passing along some great minimal-living ideas and tips. I was so pleased that she mentioned the Bee's Wrap through MightyNest because I've been wanting to try them for awhile now.

The MightyFix came and I have been putting it to good use replacing all of my plastic wrap with the Bee's Wrap. I have gained a real focused course on eliminating plastic from our household, even BPA-free plastics.

You can get this same deal from Reading My Tea Leaves, too. Check it out here.

For the month of May, I received my Mightyfix on May 27 and was so pleased to receive it.

Reusable produce bags! Such great items to help us on a venture to eliminate plastics. I try to avoid using plastic produce bags anyway, but these will be even more handy for smaller items like roma tomatoes, and grapes.


You can get MightyFix for $10 a month and the concept is a monthly item is shipped to your home to help your home be less dependent on earth-harming items, such as plastics. Be sure to take advantage of the $3 offer and get your first fix of Bee's Wrap

• Influenster VoxBox:
(I received these products complimentary for testing purposes)

It's so great to be chosen a second time for a VoxBox from Influenster. (See the first one here) This box contained a full-sized bottle of Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Shampoo and a full-sized bottle of the Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Conditioner.


For part of the program participants have to leave reviews (honest reviews) of the products they receive. A review from me was left on the Head & Shoulders site and at Drugstore.com.







We have used Head & Shoulders before and really like the results. I've never tried the Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Conditioner, but it smells amazing! It made my hair so soft and The Mr. and The Bean have dandruff and Head & Shoulders knocked that right out. The containers are in recyclable plastic, too, so that's a plus.

Sign up to be part of the Influenster team here.


• Walmart Beauty Box (Spring):

The Walmart Beauty Box is a quarterly box that ships out per season. It's only $5, which pays for shipping, and comes with about 10 items to try that are sold at Walmart. The box comes with coupons for the items and at times, you get full sized products, too.



Theme was "Beauty from Within"

The "Classic Box" Items:
1.  Colgate Optic White Toothpaste (Full Size)
2.  Cetaphil - Gentle Skin Cleansing Cloths
3. St. Ives - Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub
4. Banana Boat SunComfort SPF 30 sunscreen 
5.  Dove -Advanced Care Deodorant
6.  Swisspers Swabs in leopard print
7.  Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream Moisturizer
8.  Olay Regenerist Luminous Tone Perfecting Cream Moisturizer

Favorite Item:
With summer coming and the sun out in full force I have to definitely say the Banana Boat Sun Comfort SPF 30 sunscreen. My family will put this sample to good use, for sure!



• Honest Company Beauty Box:

The Honest Company is always a plus each month in our house. The company offers cleaning, baby, beauty, and vitamin care through their monthly subscription service called "bundles." You can also order these products right from their site in between your shipments. They are also being sold in health food stores now, too. I prefer the bundles myself, they come at a discount more than in the stores. In a pinch I will grab something at the health food store if I am out and need it right away.

My recent order included Honest Beauty Gel Cleanser and Powder Cleanser. The Powder Cleanser came in the most beautiful glass container with a cork lid. This is a second container for me and I love them! I also received the Honest Beauty Replenishing Facial Toner Spray. This facial cleanser has chamomile in it and my face loves it!



I took advantage of the spring special and received a free Honest Beauty travel pouch. It was just the thing I needed for our recent trip to Arkansas, too. Now all of my makeup and skin care products are readily available to grab if we decide to do an impromptu road trip.


If you haven't tried The Honest Company products, or Honest Beauty, give them a try. All of their products are free of harsh chemicals, dyes, and harmful ingredients. Honestly!

Don't forget: Honest just launched their diaper prints for summer! New patterns include, Jungle Friends, Elephant Party, Tropical Frogs, Butterfly Fields and more.