When Patie Millen moved to Ashland in September 1989 with her 5-year-old daughter Rachael, she had no plans to become a Realtor. That would soon change and it was a wise decision, as her office, The Patie Millen Group, has turned out to be quite successful.

Apparently, you can’t keep a good restaurant down. When Patty Groth announced last November that she was shutting down her popular restaurant, Morning Glory Café, due to Covid fatigue, it sent shock waves through the Ashland community. Then, like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, Dave and Marge Bernard gave Patty a call, offering to buy the building and re-start Morning Glory Café. She readily agreed.

In a time when regional theaters with large budgets cannot yet safely and profitably reopen, Rogue Theater Company in Ashland has found a way to not only operate, but thrive. In its third year, Rogue Theater Company’s 2021 season features a host of Oregon Shakespeare Festival actors and directors, including (pic above, starting from top left, clockwise: Robin Goodrin Nordli, KT Vogt, Vilma Silva, Caroline Shaffer, Michael J. Hume, and Penny Metropulos.)

Back in the pre-Covid days when the First Friday Art Walk attracted thousands of people to view local art, Ashland Art Works was always a popular place to visit, not just for its collective of 14 diverse artists but for its location at 291 Oak Street. They opened in 2001 with only one gallery space and today it has grown into four gallery spaces with an outdoor sculpture garden. All these spaces provide ample social distancing for visitors.

It has been a long and winding road for Adam and Stephanie Holtey, owners of Rogue Produce, an Online Farmers Market with direct home delivery that began in 2013.

Adam grew up in Ashland and graduated AHS in 1998. He spent some time in Eugene and Portland, and he and Stephanie met in Central Point in 2008 when he returned to the valley.