Rural Oregon Can’t be Ignored (Water Cooler Interview too)

On our travels to the far eastern corner of this beautiful state of Oregon I’m reminded how forgotten these people really are to most of us.

The population base of Oregon is in the Willamette Valley so we truly do control what goes on in this state. Our values, our dollars and our ideas all tend to center around what the valley dweller’s decide.

A few years ago I passed through the town of Lostine, in Wallowa County and did a story on the guy who owned the only store in town. His family has owned the place for more than a century.

Imagine the sadness I felt when I walked into the store and saw the “for sale” sign. This is a store that has a little bit of everything. When you service folks in the country you have to. The inside looks like it did a century ago and it’s a hub for conversation, gossip and the latest news for the folks out here.

The owner told me he was selling because it was time for someone with new idea’s to come in and take a stab at the business. I’m sure part of that is true but I hate that.

I didn’t get a picture, but lined up along the railroad tracks in Wallowa County were hundreds and hundreds of unused cars designed to haul lumber.

It was like a graveyard to an industry that built Oregon and is now on the verge of dying.

As we drive through the farmland around Heppner, Condon and Fossil I wonder how long these people can survive. I think these areas need more representation in Salem. I think it’s time we come up with a new way of designing districts so that those less populated areas have more of a say in what happens. Why do Portland, Eugene, Salem and so on decide what happens to people who live way out here? It shouldn’t be that way.

Some of you will read this and say that’s just the way it is. What that says to me is you are the problem. It drives me crazy when one group of people thinks it knows what’s best for another. It’s as if we are trying to create a state based on what we think is right when in fact we haven’t a clue.

I drive away from Rural Oregon, back to the world I’m more familiar with and I’m rather sad. We’ve lost something in Salem. We’ve created a machine that has little value for people and values mainly power.

This is not a move back to common sense because in case you haven’t figured it out there is no such thing as common sense. Sense is far from common and unless we are willing to put people first in Oregon, we’ll soon discover that the bottom is deeper than we think.

Last Summer, while following Gubernatorial Candidate Allen Alley through Rural Oregon, I did this interview with a woman in Mitchell, Oregon. It created quite a stir on the internet. Some in the valley tried to discredit what the woman is saying which only proves the point that we simply aren’t listening. I repost the interview for those who are interested because the feelings in Rural Oregon are still the same.

The Historic Hotel Condon; Small World Connection (Pictures and a video too)

When you get off the beaten path, and take a road less traveled, things just happen.

We stopped off in Condon to stay the night at an old historic hotel. The Historic Hotel Condon was built in 1920. At one time it had 42 guest rooms, shared baths, an elegant dining room at a bar.

In 1990 the place shut down. In 1999 a group of 30 local business people formed an LLC and dumped more than a million dollars worth of renovation work into the hotel. Now there are only 18 rooms with full baths and they are amazing.

This is a beautiful place to stay. It’s elegant, quiet and decorated to make you feel like you live in a forgotten time.

On arrival there is a wine/beer/cheese and cracker reception in the lobby. The dining room recently shut down so the Country Flowers Deli across the street whipped up a dinner for us that we could reheat later in the hotel.

There’s not a lot to do in Condon and that’s what makes it so charming. Kathy and I walked the streets, checked out the public swimming pool (closes at 7pm) and had a wonderful evening just admiring small town Oregon. Everything here closes by 7pm, even the grocery store so you have to plan a bit.

While sipping a beer in the lobby, and chatting with the manager, one of those “I can’t believe it” moments happened.

When the LLC disbanded a few years ago, a guy named Rick Stanley and his wife Marlene bought the Historic Hotel Condon. As the hotel manager and I kept talking I realized “Rick and Marlene Stanley” and I went to school together. I used to wait on him at Copeland Lumber when I was in college. Marlene’s Brother was married to my sister’s best friend in high school. In Fact, my sister was the birthing coach for the Stanley’s nephew.

But wait there is more. While sipping wine a woman who works at the deli across the street strolled into the lobby looking for a paper. She recognized us and to make a long story short we’d met years ago at the Emergency Animal Clinic in Springfield. Our dog had been stung on the nose by a bee and her’s had eaten an entire bag of dog food. We remembered the story because it was so odd. Now, she is joining us on our Face Book Page. It truly is a small world.

Life is full of surprises, twists and turns. Most of us live (I used to) trying to avoid as many of those uncontrolled moments as possible. But when you step off the beaten path you find things, people and stories you just don’t find in the regular, comfortable places.

So, step out, get off the track a bit, explore and ask plenty of questions along the way. You never know whom you’ll run into.

Oh, by the way, this is a great place to stay.

For more information check out their website at

www.HotelCondon.com

Back Roads; No Highways

I wish all of you could meet my wife Kathy. When I’m on the Internet writing, she’s next to me seeking out the next great place to visit or stay.

Before we had kids Kathy was a travel agent. We’ve always loved to explore but I think my cancer has given us the ability to take that in a new direction.

When you live on the less traveled path you tend to look for out of the way places instead of highways. As we make our way home from Eastern Oregon we are staying off the main paths and traveling the backcountry.

Just past LaGrande, Oregon, we jumped off the freeway and headed on highway 244 towards Ukiah.Ukiah is a former timber town that used to be home to hundreds of people. Now, only about 200 live in the area.

It’s a funky little place with some odd art that leads to the only espresso shop in town. To be honest we didn’t order coffee I have this sixth sense about places with good coffee and I was getting a bad vibe about this one.

The antler hotel is well a bit odd. In fact the whole town seemed strange but the people waved and answered our questions.

The next stop was Heppner. I have relatives here but have never been to the town. The courthouse is beautiful and so is downtown. This is a farming community and proud of it. We did find an espresso shop in town and that made our day.

The road between LaGrande and Condon is beautiful. Oregon has so much farmland out here and so few people. It takes longer to drive the less traveled path but it’s worth it. Kathy and I tend to talk more when wheat fields and endless sky fill the landscape.

Today, a bike ride from Condon to Fossil, then we get back in the car and head to…..I’ll let you know when we get there.

I Rediscovered Compassion in Condon.

The streets of Condon, Oregon are silent. The sun saying goodnight as it slips down over the grain elevators in the distance.

Every once in a while the quiet is interrupted by the occasional pickup truck cruising main-street.

Kathy and I sit outside The Historic Hotel Condon talking about nothing in particular when we see another couple on the street.

In a big city another couple on the street wouldn’t seem like a big deal. In Condon, life after 7pm is an event.

As the pair strolls by a comment is made, a conversation begins and within minutes a hush falls over the streets again.

The man is a local, the woman, someone he just met over the Internet. She is looking for John Wayne he just wanted someone in his life.

It didn’t take long for his story to take our breath away. Three weeks ago, his 23-year-old son, took his life. As the man recounted details his eyes watered and so did ours. There we are on the street, four people who don’t know each other but pain connects us in a way that only humans can be connected.

He talked of how the entire town of Condon had come out to help him through this horrible time in his life. One night 300 people showed up at the Elks Lodge just to let him know they were there for him. He smiled as he told of the chalkboard in the bathroom at the lodge that was filled with comments about his boy.

Kathy and I sat there and just listened and told him how sorry we are that such a tragic thing happened.

As the man and the woman walked away, hand in hand, we experienced something you just don’t see much anymore. As they passed the fire hall, friends met him in the street with a handshake and a hug.

I looked over at Kathy and saw tears running down her face.

God didn’t create us to live in a vacuum. He made us to connect and assemble and love each other. But how and when that happens doesn’t need to be planned or worked out. There is no such thing as “Going to Church.” We “are” the church so perhaps it’s time we act like it.

There is something we humans have that no other species has and I think it’s high time we begin to use it…..again.

Compassion.

Our Far East Discoveries

As you know, Kathy and I love to discover new things when we go on trips. We share them with you because so many of you comment that you appreciate our exploration.

In Joseph and Enterprise we found a couple of unique things we thought we’d tell you about. One, I didn’t get a picture of but it’s a new brewery in Oregon called Mutiny. Right now they have two micro brews a light and a brown. Both are very good and you must come to Joseph to get them. They won’t be bottling for five or six years.

We also rediscovered a brewery we’ve liked for a long time called Terminal Gravity. It’s located in Enterprise Oregon but you can buy this beer all over the state. It just started showing up on tap in Eugene at places like Café 440. The IPA and ESG are very good. Be careful though, I understand there’s some rivalry between TG and Ninkasi. I wouldn’t brag about either beer to the other maker.

We rode our bikes along some backcountry roads between Joseph and Enterprise and discovered a great little coffee shop in Enterprise. The Gypsy Java is a funky, weird little place, a little hippy-like and odd but the people are nice and the coffee is great. Their website boasts casting a spell over customers so if you don’t want to be spell-bound, do a little anti-spellbinding before you step inside. We asked the barista where she gets the coffee? Her answer; Café’ Mam, in Eugene. Small world huh. You have to go to Enterprise, Oregon to find coffee in your own town.

We also stumbled upon, and I don’t mean that literally, a distillery in Joseph. I’m not a big hard liquor drinker but I’m curious and love to ask questions. The place is called Stein Distillery. Distilleries are the new Micro-Industry in Oregon. We see them sprouting up all over the state but this is the first one in Eastern Oregon. They make a whiskey that is still aging and won’t be ready for a year. The farmer turned distiller grows his own grain to produce Vodka out of Rye. Steins also creates infused Vodka using Oregon Huckleberries, Blackberries and Raspberries.

We’re also writing a blog on the place we stayed“The Cowboy Riverfront Retreat”. We’ll post it as soon as it’s ready to go. You really must come visit Oregon’s Far East….Wallowa County. Oh, fun fact, there is not one stop light in the whole county. I’m not kidding.

Oh, and best of all the “R&R” Restaurant in Joseph has soft serve Ice Cream that is so good and so inexpensive. Kathy had a baby cone I had a small cone and it cost us 75 cents. I’m not kidding and the small was the same size as a Dairy Queen Medium cone. They also have inexpensive hamburgers, fries, stuff like that. We didn’t eat there but people with families said it was a great deal.

We don’t have to be just Sheep!

The rain is falling outside, the streets are flooded with water and Kathy and I are ducking in and out of shops alongMain Street in Joseph, Oregon.(written July 27th)

We start looking at cards and this one jumps out at me and I must buy it.

It reminds me of so many times in my life. The sheep dog is a picture of management at KEZI when new ideas would surface and the “Boss at the time” would quickly work to quiet the voice so others could be “Managed.”

It reminds me of my political campaign when I would speak out against something my party disagreed with and folks would come to me “Privately” to tell me I couldn’t talk about that idea publically. It never stopped me from talking.

It reminds me of the media when I was on the campaign and would talk about my idea’s and all the press could do was question the idea to death as it allegedly “investigated” all the while just trying to create “a story” and kill anyone who allegedly stepped out of line.

It reminds me of the institutional church and how leadership would respond to questions about why and what we were doing. The sheep dog quickly jumped in to quiet and discredit those who dare to ask; “Is that really God?”

Perhaps that’s why this card tickles me so much. I feel like the sheep in the flock, lifting his head to say; “wait a minute, we don’t have to be just sheep.”

I’m tired of the sheep dog. I’m tired of the rest of the sheep simply putting their heads down, listening to the status quo, munching on the grass of dissatisfaction and pretending that everything is okay.

I don’t think God created any of us to be “Just Sheep.”