Author Archive

Sara Jane Wiltermood

Sara Jane Wiltermood

Sara has been involved with the Rogue Valley Messenger from its inception, innocently responding to a craigslist ad asking for writers back in 2012, because she figured, why not? She had received her B.A. in Journalism/Mass Communications from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, in 2007 and was itching to put it to good use back where she was born and raised, in Grants Pass. Little did she know that the then online paper would end up in print, or that she would find herself in the esteemed position of Associate Editor two short years later. She and her husband and daughter, Seth and Lavender, have a small farm outside Grants Pass, where they primarily raise goats and rabbits and sell their products at their farm stand, L-Mae Essentials. They aspire to add produce to their repertoire in coming years. In her spare time, she also works as a Surgery Assistant/Implant Coordinator at Associates for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Grants Pass and Medford.

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Scanning the massive selection of barbeque sauces on the shelves of Cartwright’s Valley Meat Co. in Grants Pass, I centered on Marty’s, and knew at once that it was meant to be. From the shiny silver label featuring a charging bull to the deep red sauce speckled with seasoning visible

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As if the Oregon Shakespeare Festival actors were not already talented enough, the cast of Yeomen of the Guard adds musical talent to their repertoire. Not only in singing and dancing, but playing musical instruments ranging from the ukulele to a set of spoons—and, according to an online interview with

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As kids, we are taught that it is impolite to laugh at a funeral, but as we grow older and attend more of them, we learn that remembering the life of the person who is gone—especially the happy times with laughter—eases the pain of missing them. In Barnstormers Theatre’s rendition

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Some would consider it a crime to not grow something in the ideal conditions we have here in the Rogue Valley. Whether it be a single tomato plant in one of those hanging-upside-down-pots on an apartment patio or a 10-acre Master Gardener plot with a water feature, just consider it

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August seems like an eternity from now. And Brazil feels worlds away. For those who just can’t wait for the Summer 2016 Olympics, rest assured, we have talent right here in the Rogue Valley. Our competitive gymnastics community is small, but mighty. We caught up with Southern Oregon Gymnastics Academy

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What with the current get-a-goat-to-keep-the-blackberries-down movement, it would seem to many that the species is a piece of cake to have around—much like a fish. But the tale told by Boone, centered on Boone’s Farm in Jacksonville, brings light to the fact that these quadrupeds can be a challenge to

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Not to be sappy, but as I settled into my seat and began my quick analysis, River Bride quickly took me by surprise—much like love at first sight. Yikes, am I in Junior High again, I wonder? I leaned forward, determined to get to the bottom of this romance story.

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If you are going to poke fun at society, government, other musicals, corporations and, well, urinating, you had better be able to poke fun at yourself. And, right off the bat, Urinetown does just that. Even asking the question, “Who would go to a musical named Urinetown?” One reason might

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Wayd Drake runs no risk of being a teacher that is “just all talk.” For the past nine years, Drake has been a faculty instructor of Acting and Public Speaking at Rogue Community College—and what he teaches is constantly in view and in action, as he is the current Theater

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If breeches get you excited and you don’t leave the house without an embroidered handkerchief, it would logically follow that the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is not only about drama on stage for you, but a chance to check out the fashions gone by. But since pantaloons and ruffs aren’t available