Here is another installment of information you’ll need before joining us at Lincoln. Please read it over now, then keep it handy. Some items will become more relevant as your departure for Lincoln draws closer; some items are just review.
When . . .
The semester officially begins on Sunday morning, August 26th. You’ll want to plan to arrive on Saturday, August 25th so you can get settled in, and recover some from your traveling. For those students who are here by Saturday evening, we invite you to an informal drop-in dessert social between 7 and 9pm. On Sunday morning, after an optional ‘morning prayer’, we’ll begin with a welcome and general information session. An afternoon bus trip to town will allow you to stock up on groceries for the next few days. We’ll have a picnic dinner on the back lawn, followed by a short hike to view the neighborhood and mountainous landscape. We’ll introduce ourselves to one another, and be off and running. It is important that you be here Sunday, so please inform us if there is an unavoidable delay.
The semester ends with a session on Thursday evening, December 13th, wrapping up by 9pm or so. You can plan to depart Friday, December 14th.
How much . . .
You have already paid us a non-refundable $200 room deposit. A second deposit of $200, made out to G.L.C., is due at our Oregon address on or before June 1st. This deposit, like the first, is non-refundable and will be applied toward your room rent for the fall semester.
The balance of rent will be billed to you through your home school*. You will be buying groceries in cooperation with the others in your house. We recommend you allot about $950 for the semester. Bethel, Gordon and St.Olaf students are billed their board amount through their school, and therefore receive their board money directly from us. You may opt to access your money during the semester through one of the many ATMs in town, through an informal banking system we have set up here at Lincoln, from under your mattress, or by using a debit card. Books will cost around $200. We’ll send you a list of the fall texts in mid summer, giving you an option of purchasing all or some of them from us. The books you buy through us will all be here waiting for you when you arrive. You can also feel free to check out your local used bookstore, Amazon, e-bay, etc. and get your books there. Tuition and the activities fee will be billed to you through your home school*, unless you are not from a participating school; in that case, you’ll be billed directly, and payment will be due September 15th. Please arrange for your own health insurance.
* Hope College students pay the O.E. directly for rent balance and activity fee.
What to bring . . .
(consider this your packing list)
Utilitarian clothing is best or clothes which require little care. Occasions for dressing up are pretty rare. Sneakers, t-shirts, shorts and maybe sweats will come in handy for ultimate frisbee, running, or other recreation. Bring a swimsuit for the pond, mountain lakes, and the coast. It usually rains a bit in Oregon in the fall so fairly dependable rain gear is a must, especially for the backpack. Often our weather at Lincoln is very mild into November. When the temperature does drop and the snows come, you’ll want warm clothes like flannel shirts and sweaters to layer under a medium weight jacket, wool hat, gloves, hiking boots, etc. All those items might be necessary as early as September when we spend a week in the mountains at high altitudes. Better bring your long underwear, and make it wool or polypropylene, if possible. A sleeping bag rated to 10º could become your best friend on the chilly mornings that your cabinmates let the wood stove go out, and you want to read a while in your living room. A more detailed list of backpacking gear will be coming along in early summer.
A bright desk lamp is a good idea. The cabins are comfortably furnished and the kitchens modestly equipped with all the usual items including toasters, coffee makers and mixers. There are no microwaves in the kitchens, but there is one for student use in the Cookhouse. Bring bedding: sheets, blankets, pillow and pillow cases — at least a bottom sheet is necessary: our mattresses suffer if you sleep in your sleeping bag all fall. Bring towels. Bring your camera and binoculars, if you like. A lap-top (and 3-pronged adaptor) is a big help, since everyone here has the same paper deadlines. If you haven’t got one, don’t go out and buy one: we have a computer lab with several PCs and printers. You will need minimal school supplies: a hefty notebook or 3-ring binder with loose-leaf, along with an arsenal of reliable pens. Bring a pair of inexpensive work gloves for our maintenance afternoons. We have an assortment of mountain bikes and cross country skis available for student use, so unless you’re very attached to yours, you can use ours. Don’t forget to bring your clarinet or guitar. The Cookhouse has a baby grand piano, so bring your sheet music if you play.
Please remember our very firm request that you leave non-iPod music systems, computer games and other technologically distracting gizmos at home. And, no pets.
If you ship your gear, send it to yourself at the OE address. UPS comes up here daily.
Contact information:
Your mailing address will be: The Oregon Extension, 15097 Greensprings Hwy 66, Ashland, OR. 97520
The student phone number at which you can be reached here: 541/488-5290.
Since your stay here is relatively short, we suggest you retain your school or home address and have your mail forwarded out here.
If you or your folks have any questions whatsoever, be sure to contact Alison at
oregonex@aol.com, 800 /801-OREX, or at home at 541/482-8703.
Cabin Life
You will be living in a cozy, comfortable, clean cabin with three to four other same-gendered housemates for the fall. The cabins each have two two-person bedrooms with a top and bottom bunk, and one small one-person bedroom with a top bunk over the desk. The mattresses are traditional twin-sized and regular length. We provide mattress pads and ask that you bring your own sheets, comforter and pillow (it’s easiest to just ship these bulky items here U.P.S.). If you wish to sleep in your sleeping bag all semester, then please bring a bottom sheet to put over the mattress pad. Each bedroom also has a desk, chair and bureau per student, and a closet with hangers. Bringing a bright desk lamp and 3-pronged adaptor might be helpful since they are not standard issue in all the cabins.
Every cabin has a carpeted, fully furnished living room with the woodstove as its centerpiece. Somewhere around mid-October, maybe even sooner, you will be putting fires in to take the autumn chill off. We will give you a quick and simple briefing on how to use your woodstove, how to properly remove the ashes, and how to maximize your b.t.u.s. We all heat our homes with woodstoves here at Lincoln.
The bathroom is your basic sink and shower and toilet set-up.
The kitchens have the standard electric oven/stove, ‘fridge, and sink and dining table. They are modestly but sufficiently outfitted with all the dishes, flatware, pots, pans, casserole dishes, bowls and utensils for normal cooking and baking needs. There are toasters, blenders, mixers and coffee makers (no microwaves, however, just a common one in the Cookhouse). In addition, each cabin has a boxed set of the three volume Mennonite More With Less cookbooks to assist in assembling easy-to make, healthy dishes.
You do not need to bring any additional kitchenware unless you have a particular cooking item you can’t live without. We do a lot of borrowing around here.
All the cabins have decks which add extra living space sometimes well into November.
