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The Cottage Grove Blackberry Pie Society came together during the 2004 presidential election to support the Democratic contender and candidates in other races. Afterwards, the group began inviting local politicians to meet with them, sending “Pie A La Mode” certificates to reward good political deeds and setting up a weekly email Action Alert to over 100 local members. Operating with a strong sense of humor and cordial relationships even with politicians whose views they oppose, the Blackberry Pie name has become known throughout the county, and the group has received invitations to speak at the local Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club.
In the 2008 campaigns we made sure that interested local people knew the dates of primary and final elections, organized door-to-door canvassing and phone-bank efforts to support candidates we preferred, hosted debate-watching, acceptance-speech, and election-results parties, and continued the activities mentioned above, plus participating in some local parades and street fairs.
Through 2010 Blackberry Pie has sustained our practice of having monthly meetings and keeping members alerted to meetings and actions they could support, and has recently established this website to improve our outreach efforts. Plus, there has been lots of fun and satisfaction for all! Although Cottage Grove may still be better known for its “Animal House” connections than its activist groups, local grassroots democracy is clearly gaining on the claim-to-fame scale.
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