As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
Mar 25, 2020
The first picture I am sharing this week shows the old Pastime Tavern, probably sometime in the 1960s after it had a bit of a facelift.
Pastime Tavern, 1960s
It is interesting that this is one of the first businesses to rebuild after the fire of 1936. An article in the Feb. 4, 1937, Western World (less than four months after the Fire) reads: "The Pastime Club, operated by Rudy Backlund, one of the popular places along First Street that was wiped out by the big fire, has been re-established and started serving Miller's High-Life beer last Thursday. Mr. Backlund, a native Bandonian, has a wide circle of friends who are welcoming him back into business. He is also carrying a stock of wines. He is located in a temporary building on the north side of Second Street."
The irony of that is the statement about it being a temporary building. Today, more than 80 years later, it is the thriving home of the Bandon Sweets & Treats business, owned by Meghan Butts and her family.
Interestingly enough, nine months later, there is a story about one lot being bought at a tax sale by Rudy Backlund, Lloyd Threadgold and Mr. and Mr. George Erdman, who had already built and opened their businesses (Erdman's City Meat Market, Lloyd's Cafe and The Pastime Tavern) on the property that they purchased jointly for $1200, which was $80.25 more than the taxes owed on the property. Had they not purchased the property, someone else could have bought it and required them to remove the existing buildings within 60 days. This was definitely a "self preservation" purchase.
The second picture was probably taken at least a decade earlier, in the mid-1950s, of the Arcade Tavern, which is now a much upgraded building on the corner of Second Street and Chicago Avenue, owned by Bill and Louise Moore, and housing a real estate business and a clothing store, as well as a restaurant on the east side. Note the paper in the streets and the parking meters.
Arcade Tavern, 1950s
The third picture was taken during the Jaycee talent show in 1970 and features the Stadelman brothers, Danny, Timmy and Tommy, performing an Indian dance.
Stadelman brothers, 1970
Although they did not win a prize, the article explained that they were definitely a crowd favorite and drew a large round of applause.
* * *
I took part in a conference call with the Governor Sunday afternoon. There were 63 mayors, most of whom were from coastal communities or at least they were the ones who asked questions. All are concerned about the influx of tourists, especially on the North Coast. Only Warrenton, as far as I know, has said tourists must leave within 24 hours. Others like Seaside are urging tourists to stay away. The Astoria City Council voted to prohibit vacationers from staying in commercial lodging.
One of the biggest concerns in our area was the fact that Bullards Beach State Park campground was nearly full this weekend, but according to the Governor’s office and just confirmed by David Brock Smith, all state parks, including campgrounds and day use areas, closed on Monday, March 23.
I talked with Nick Schoeppner, Bullards park manager. He and his employees had just finished making the rounds Sunday afternoon to tell campers that they had to leave the campground by the next day. He said most people understood. As far as the closure of the day use part of the park, Schoeppner said they won't be chasing the locals out of the park as they go through to access the beach, but he wanted people to know that the facilities will be closed. "We may put a couple of porta potties out there," he said. The closure is in effect until May 8, at which time they will re-evaluate the situation.
But as of Sunday, there has been no statewide action on the closure of short term rentals, which is what the Coastal Caucus is recommending. State Representative David Brock Smith, a spokesman for the Coastal Caucus during the phone conference with the governor, said they feel that the problems associated with visitors socializing in large groups on the streets and on the beaches, stripping the grocery stores of needed essentials, etc., will pretty much end if short term rentals are closed except for people who rent for at least 28 days. That would allow for people who live in motels or campgrounds to remain. The Coastal Caucus recommendation would also exempt truckers and people who are referred for lodging in a domestic violence case.
I received a call from Dr. Douglas Crane, head of the medical staff at Southern Coos Hospital, who is most concerned about the number of people coming in to Bandon Dunes. He fears that if one of them brings the virus with them, it could be very detrimental to our health care system. Dr. Crane also talked with Don Crowe, Dunes general manager. I also sent Don and Mike Keiser an email expressing my concern and the concerns of Dr. Crane, and Don called me Sunday morning. He will be talking with Mike. If the state does not shut down short term rentals, as recommended by the Coastal Caucus, the Coos County Commissioners could take action that would impact Bandon Dunes, but that is not an action the city could take because the resort is outside the city limits.
Rep. Brock Smith said that golf courses are on the list of possible closures by the governor, but he feels that the golf courses should not be closed; rather just close the lodging which will keep the courses open for locals but eliminate those coming from long distances.
Outside of the information about Warrenton and other North Coast cities, the rest of the ideas are pretty much the recommendations of the Coastal Caucus, who hopes the Governor will enact them. She expressed concern about the number of people, especially visitors to the state, who are ignoring any kind of "stay home" warning. This, like the state parks closure, may lead to more stringent regulations.
We are urging people to heed the recommendations of public health officials not to travel for Spring Break, but to stay home until the COVID19 crisis is over.
People I have talked with are concerned about the number of vehicles from Washington state that have come to Bandon for Spring Break. Washington State leads the nation in the number of Coronavirus deaths with 95, as of Saturday; Oregon has recorded 5 deaths.
* * *
I received some good information from Bandon Cares this week which may help locals who have lost their jobs because of the Coronavirus.
Oregon Coast Community Action has a housing assistance program that addresses some issues concerning people not being able to pay their rent or their mortgage. Their number is 541-435-7080 (extension 370). They also have updated food resource lists for Coos and Curry counties on their web site ... www.orcca.us/covid-19-resources.
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I subscribe to the paper edition of the New York Times (Monday through Saturday) and was pleasantly surprised to see a full page article, complete with five pictures, about Washed Ashore, titled "A Plastic Menagerie" in the March 13 Museum section.
There were two great pictures of Angela Haseltine Pozzi, the founder and creative mind of Washed Ashore, who has brought very positive recognition to Bandon and the entire South Coast.
Nice to see anything positive these days ....
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
Mar 18, 2020
The first picture I am sharing clearly shows the old Bullard's Ferry crossing the Coquille River .... probably sometime in the 1940s or early 1950s.
Bullard's Ferry
The picture was part of Louise Carlson Milani's collection and was shared by her niece, Cheryl Lemon, daughter of the late Margarette Carlson Lemon. In the background, on the north side of the river, you can see the old Bullard home.
The ferry first began crossing the river in February of 1909, and served the area for 45 years before it was replaced by the Bullards Bridge which was completed in 1954. R. W. Bullard, pioneer rancher, storekeeper and postmaster, was the first ferryman. At the time the ferry was replaced by the bridge, it was operated by F. S. Younce, grandfather of Bill Smith of Bandon. R. W. Bullard was the great-grandfather of Sally Baird Johnston and Suzy Baird Webber, both of Elk River, and the grandfather of Marjorie Stephenson, who celebrated her 106th birthday in February, and the late Betty Bullard Baird.
Not sure when the second photo was taken, but probably in the mid-1980s when Cliff Shaw had moved his Cranberry Sweets business into the Dahl building at Second and Chicago, now owned by Bill and Louise Moore.
Cranberry Sweets. 1980s
Today, Cranberry Sweets is located at First and Chicago and the front-section of this building houses Eichelberger & Co. Real Estate and D'Lyn's Studio and crafters creations, owned by Dorothy Lyn Saunders.
The third photo was taken in May of 1975 during the annual Bandon High School awards assembly. A special award was presented to Dan Mitchell in recognition of his ability and hard work in the house construction class. The award was made by Francis Stadelman, vocational ed director. Both men still live in Bandon today.
Dan Mitchell & Francis Stadelman, 1975
* * *
I was sorry to learn of the death of long-time Bandon resident Martin Keller, who was about 50. Martin's family owned Misty Meadows for years, and he later owned Brewed Awakenings. I understand he had undergone heart surgery earlier in the week, and died Saturday morning. Among his survivors are several daughters.
* * *
I saw a lengthy post on Facebook about a Bandon couple, Mike and Kathleen Kelley Sterling, her 81-year-old father and his wife who were on the Grand Princess cruise ship that was quarantined last week off the coast of California.
Her father has congestive heart failure and asthma, and became ill while on the cruise. What happened after that was truly a nightmare.
Because there were more than 20 Coronavirus victims on the ship, they let the people who were not sick (but had to go into a two-week quarantine) off first. Kathleen was so desperate to get help for her father that she hung a sign out of the window of their stateroom, where they were confined for 6 days before the ship docked. Finally after a couple of days, her father and his wife, both of whom were sick, were taken off the ship.
Kathleen and Mike were pictured wearing masks, but after they finally got off the boat, Kathleen says they were told that if they did not have Coronavirus symptoms, they would not be tested for the virus. They were advised to take their temperature twice a day.
The story was posted March 13, at which time it was another 12 days that they would have to be quarantined at the Travis Air Force Base before they could return home to Bandon.
Kathleen is the mammographer at Southern Coos Hospital and Mike is in real estate.
* * *
On Sunday, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that all bars and restaurants in the state would be shut down to on-premise consumption through April 17, and banned gatherings larger than 25 people, in an effort to stem the outbreak in the state. By now, I am sure other states have followed.
* * *
A long list of events have been canceled or postponed in Bandon, including the Earth Day celebration that was to take place in mid-April. Some members of the committee still want to hold it during the summer months, but others say they should just wait until next year. But we know for sure it will not be held in April.
I think we need to understand that life as we know it will not be the same for a long time as unprecedented steps are being taken across the country to stem the spread of this virus.
People are urged to practice social distancing without the restriction of a mandate, so that we do not end up in the crisis that has befallen countries like Italy.
* * *
I understand that the Station Restaurant business is being purchased by Tammy Housego of Bandon, with Jamie Gallagher set to run the business. For the last few years, Gallagher was involved in Freedom Graphics with her former partner Anthony Zunino. Tammy also puts out the Kids News publication.
I had heard that the business was for sale, but I do not think that includes the real estate. At least that is my understanding.
* * *
By now, most of you know that the city's ballot measure to restore rate-setting authority to the council was defeated 679 to 569. People are asking me what we plan to do.
At the October Utilities Commission meeting, out-going chairman and former long-time city manager Matt Winkel read a prepared statement which said, in part, and I quote: "This will be a discussion regarding the feasibility of various options for the future of the water, sewer and electric utilities .... Options could range from continuing to operate them as municipal utilities, selling the utilities, creating a subdivision of the City with a City Council-appointed governing board, forming an independent consumer-owned utility with an elected governing board (i.e. the Eugene Water and Electric Board or Springfield Utility Board model) or other options you may be aware of."
It was several months later that I saw the front-page article in The World about cities and public utilities across the country who are selling their water and sewer systems to private industry because they can no longer afford to operate them. Although privatizing may be the way of the future, we would certainly lose all control of our rates.
Although we lost, I want to say how much I appreciate those who did support the measure, and those who have reached out to me since Tuesday. I can tell by the discussion on social media how many of you really do understand the problem.
I do believe it will be an ongoing education process on our part, and we will do all we can to help people understand how our hands are tied by such a charter restriction. If other communities across the country were burdened by the same restriction, I am sure the constitutionality would have been challenged long ago. Fortunately, for the sake of good government, that is not the case.
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
Mar 11, 2020
What a difference 50 years makes. The first picture I am sharing is the old Hogan realty office on Second Street, next to the Masonic building (First National Bank building in those days), which has recently had an exterior facelift.
Hogan Realty, 1970
This building has housed a lot of businesses, including The Style Shop in the early 1960s before the owners, Gertrude Greenwell and Belle Shortridge, moved uptown to the north end of the building recently purchased by Randy Hoffine for his Pacific Properties business. Like the building in the picture, Hoffine's building is also undergoing extensive remodeling.
This is also the home of the former Two Loons Cafe, which was such a special place with its protected open garden seating at the rear of the building.
This photo was taken in February of 1970, but I'm not sure why unless it was for an advertisement. Today, Chip and Jean Salmon (owners of Sweet Peas on Baltimore) also own this building and have done a beautiful job of upgrading it for the downstairs tenant Natalie Brookwell of Petals and Twigs. The next time you're on Second, look closely and especially notice the awnings over the upstairs windows, which look so barren in this picture.
Natalie tells me that Jean plans to open a shop upstairs where she will sell clothing and jewelry for "women of all ages." If this is anything like her Sweet Peas shop, it's sure to be a real asset to the retail community.
Also undergoing extensive remodeling is the former quilt shop building, purchased recently by Heidi Sause,. It's great to see people invest in Bandon.
The second photo shows the same area, with the Hogan building in the far right part of the picture, next to the Masonic building. This picture was taken in August of 1971 as a Hyster stacks Moore Mill lumber on the vacant lot, at 11th and Alabama, now owned by Fred Gernandt and Kirk Day, leased to the city for public parking. For years, this lot was completely covered with finished lumber from the mill. Across from the Hogan building, you can barely see the side of the M&L Grocery building, which is long since gone and replaced by the parking lot owned by The Minute Cafe.
Stacking Moore Mill lumber, 1971
But it's what is not in this picture that is interesting, and that includes Peggy Backholm's Bandon Inn, on the hillside behind the Masonic building, and Devon's Boutique which is now south of the lumber storage lot.
The two buildings on the hill are Holy Trinity Catholic Church, at right, and the church rectory at left, both of which have pristine views of the river and the harbor.
The third picture was taken in the early '70s of Bandon High School's premier relay team, from left, Mike Dornath, John Felsheim, Chas Waldrop and Jimmie Littles. Mike, Chas and Jimmie still live in Bandon, and John is in Coquille...and Jim continues to train today like he is preparing for a marathon.
Bandon High School's relay team, 1970s
* * *
Depending on where you are reading my column (Bandon.tv, Facebook or Western World), the city's ballot measure election may be over as Tuesday is the deadline to cast your ballot.
I've had quite an interesting week .... if you could call it that. Wednesday, I drove to the elections office in Coquille, hoping to buy a list of people who had not yet voted, so I could mail out a gentle reminder to people that I knew would probably vote but just hadn't gotten around to it. But I was informed that no such list existed even though I knew that in the past it had been available when the ballots are mailed out more than two weeks in advance of the actual election day. So I simply purchased a list of all registered voters and began sending out cards. The first day I mailed out about 50, but was concerned since the list I had been given was alphabetized by first names only, rather than last names, which is the best way to determine how many voters live in one household. So I called the election's office Thursday and asked if there was a way I could get the list alphabetized by last name, and the young woman said she would have the clerk call me. And she did. Not only did she say, "of course you can get a list of those who have not yet voted (even though I knew a lot of you had voted in the previous couple of days), but she also stayed late that evening and got me a list alphabetized by last names. So if you got a note from me, and you had already voted, I just say thank you and I'm sorry. As soon as I got the "have not voted" list, I realized that at least 30 of the cards I had ready to mail (some already with stamps on them) had already voted, so I tossed them out. But it was too late for the 50 I sent the previous day. More frustration.
* * *
On a happier note, a group of us did attend the Bandon Community Youth Center's 11th annual Bite of Bandon Saturday night and, as usual, the food was delicious and plentiful. It is so great to be able to sample the best from our local restaurants and delis ... and they definitely go "all out" to impress us.
When we entered, each of us was given three tokens: savory, display and sweet, to award to the booths that we felt deserved to be honored. I believe Edgewater's Restaurant won the savory; the sweet went to The Rolling Pin Bake and Brew, and Lori Osborn's Farm & Sea On the Waterfront won best display.
A number of businesses and individuals also donated for the silent and oral auctions.
This was definitely an event that took a lot of volunteers, but people always seem willing to lend a hand for the youth center.
* * *
Sunday afternoon I watched the championship game between the Oregon women and the Stanford women for the Pac12 conference crown, which turned out to be a total dominance by Oregon, who won 89-56.
It's been such fun to watch Sabrina Ionescu dominate the game, and to read what pundits across the country have said about her. One sports writer in the Wall Street Journal called her "the player of the century." Others have said she is the best college player in the nation, either man or woman.
Oregon also joined a small group of colleges whose teams won the football, men's and women's championships all in the same year. It's definitely a good year to be a Duck.
But the Pac12 championship is not their goal: after losing in the national championship game last year to Baylor (who lost today 57-56 to Iowa State), their goal is the national championship. And it looks like they could meet UConn early in the Sweet 16 tournament, which is a team they beat last month in an exhibition game in Connecticut.
* * *
I recently received the rainfall numbers from Gerry Terp, and all I can say is February was a much drier month than the same period last year. This February, our rainfall was 2.69 inches, compared to 15.61 inches for the same period last year ... but far less than January's rainfall of 14.57 inches.
A friend of mine asked me about rainfall totals for the last 15 years. And here is what I told her. Rainfall for the calendar year has ranged from the highest of 86.59 inches in 2017 (and over 80 inches for both 2006 and 2012) to a low of 34.19 inches in 2013, with the last two years receiving just over 60 inches of rain. Last month's January rainfall of 14.57 was the most January rainfall in 15 years. But conversely, February's rainfall of 2.69 was the least for a February in the last 15 years.
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
Mar 04, 2020
The first picture I am sharing this week is a great shot of Moore Mill & Lumber Co., which many of my readers probably have never seen since it was dismantled in the mid-80s after serving as Bandon's biggest employer for decades.
Moore Mill & Lumber Co, 1966
This aerial shot, which I purchased from The Oregonian archives, is a comprehensive look at the mill in 1966, from the log pond in the foreground, to the finished lumber behind the mill itself.
The mill was originally built by the Cody family, but burned in 1909, and was rebuilt by Cody and the Moore family, and became Moore Mill.
According to information from historian Dow Beckham, "Moore Mill, the main economic base of the area, also struggled with the times. In 1935, the entire Moore Mill was appraised at $168,000 and the Moores were having financial problems. W. J. Sweet, president of the Bank of Bandon, worked closely with Ralph Moore.
"Sweet urged Moore to bring in a new sawmill operator. Sweet knew of David (D.H.) Miller's reputation as a first-rate operator. A fire had just taken the sawmill Miller operated in Glendale. In 1936, Miller moved to Bandon and took over management of the sawmill.
"Throughout the 1930s, the Great Depression held sway, yet Miller was able to cut and sell lumber. His tenacity kept many families in the Bandon area supplied with the necessities of a livelihood. With wartime orders beginning in the 1940s, things began to change. In 1945 W. J. Sweet and D.H. Miller bought out the Moores. Miller became the sole owner in 1948 when Sweet sold his interest to him. Miller was 65 years of age, a time when most men were ready to retire. He now took on the greatest responsibility of his life."
W.J. Sweet was the grandfather of county commissioner John Sweet and his sister, Sue; D. H. Miller was the great-grandfather of locals Robin Miller and his cousin, David Miller.
In March of 1960, a group of 30 men from the community visited the Ocean Drive home of D.H. Miller Sr. and his wife Emma to name him Man of the Year for 1959. The presentation was made by Dr. E.F. Lucas, who had been similarly honored in 1958.
The ceremony, sponsored by the citizens of the Bandon area through the voice of the Bandon Lions Club, had been planned for late December but because of Mr. Miller's illness, it was postponed for several months.
I found another interesting tidbit, in the May 30, 1935, issue of Western World which gave notice to employees about an increase in wages. The minimum wage at the time had been 42 1/2 cents per hour, and the increase based on the new scale adopted by the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen, was to range from a 5 cent minimum to 10 cent maximum, even though Moore Mill was not affiliated with the 4L organization.
The second picture was taken in January of 1959 as Ed Capps, co-owner of Capps Motor Co. hands the keys to driver training teacher and coach Tex Whiteman after driver education had been re-instated with support of state funds. Looking on is Principal Alvin "Swede" Mullikin.
Driver education, 1959
The car was loaned to the school by Capps Motor.
I found an interesting item in the Jan. 4, 1923, Western World announcing the wedding of Ed (known then as Edgar) Capps and Maude Lowe.
"The groom came to northern Curry County from California, with his parents when a child, and, except for a number of years spent away at college and his absence during the war when he served as a volunteer in the Navy, he made his home in the small community of Denmark.
"Last fall he gave up dairying at Demark and purchased the Whitsett Service Station, which is now Capps' service station."
That, of course, was the beginning of many years in business for Ed Capps, who was later joined by his son, Edgar, in operating Capps Motor Co., which after the Fire was on the corner of Second and Chicago, where Washed Ashore and Broken Anchor are now located.
Whitsett Service Station was operated by the grandfather of the late Joe Whitsett, who served as mayor of Bandon in the early-2000s.
The third picture of Tom Thumb Royalty was taken in March of 1960 when Peggy Ward and Russ Fraser were named Queen and King of the Bandon Women's Civic Club's 11th annual talent show. At right is Jane Chappell, Cranberry Queen.
Tom Thumb Royalty, 1960
Introduced as Bandon's oldest living Tom Thumb King and Queen were Mike Dobney and Donna Tucker, who in 1960 were high school students.
* * *
Monday morning, I went to my mail box and discovered an expensive, slick political piece urging people to vote against our ballot measure, 6-175. Rob Taylor has been an outspoken critic of the city for years and following his display at the town hall meeting last Thursday night, nothing surprises me any more.
It is important to point out that the city is at a crossroads; if we are not able to set our utility rates for our water and sewer systems, we will consider selling the utilities to a private company BEFORE we will gut the police department, close the Sprague and the Barn and eliminate other important city services. We would lose all control of our utility rates, which is something that will impact all of us. We continue to have the lowest utility rates, and property tax rates, in the entire area. Our ballot measure will sunset in three years, and allows us to set rates as long as they are below the average of similar utility services in the area. which is a guarantee that we will not have exorbitant rates.
Please do not listen to someone who has never volunteered to serve on any city committee or stood for election in the city of Bandon. It's easier to tear down local government than it is to assume the responsibility to care for our critical water and sewer systems.
This is one of the most important elections to face the City of Bandon. Anyone with questions is invited to contact me by email at marys@coosnet.com, by mail at PO Box 521 or by phone at 541-404-7291.
Also be sure to read the Question and Answer sheet that will accompany your utility bills which are in the mail this week.
* * *
I was so sorry to learn that Dee Staten had fallen off a roof Thursday afternoon and was taken to Eugene by ambulance where he underwent surgery. His father-in-law Warren Strycker posted on Facebook that he was in communication with Dee's wife Cathy, who said that Dee suffered a fractured femur, his right elbow bone was shattered, his left wrist was fractured and he fractured several ribs. He is expected to be on a walker for three to four weeks, and have his elbow in a sling for about 8 weeks.
Several hours earlier I had seen Dee in Rite Aid and we talked about Cathy, who suffers from Lyme Disease. I told him how lucky Cathy was to have him by her side (they were high-school sweethearts) all these years, but he said he was the lucky one. I've been close to Cathy since I worked for her parents, when they owned the Western World during the 1970s and she was in high school. Dee and Cathy are a special couple and I pray for his speedy recovery.
* * *
Both the Bandon High School girls and boys basketball squads have qualified for the State 2A tournament, being held this week in Pendleton. The Tiger girls, who are 25-1 on the season, defeated Faith Bible at home Friday night 56-43, led by Traylyn Arana's 30 points, to earn a berth at state. They will play Thursday at 3:15 p.m. They are coached by Jordan Sammons.
The Tiger boys, coached by Vince Quattrocchi, defeated Pilot Rock 58-48, to earn their state tourney berth led by Braydon Freitag with 27 points. Sean White had 9 and Coby Smith scored 8. They meet Toledo Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
* * *
There will be a memorial service for Darry Van Leuven, who died Feb. 23 at the age of 85, on Saturday, March 14, at 11 a.m. at Amling Schroeder Bandon Chapel, with a reception to follow at the VFW Hall. A lifetime resident of the Bear Creek area, Darry is survived by two daughters, Michelle and Jodi, and their families and his older brother, Dean Van Leuven. Two other siblings, Dixie and John, died earlier. They were the children of Edith and Willis Van Leuven and cousins to the Chappells, Jack, Jill and Jane.
Darry was definitely one of the good guys.
Previous columns by Mary Schamehorn
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