As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
November 28, 2018
The thing I find most amazing about the first picture I am sharing is how little that area of Third Street has changed in the last 40 years. This is the pink building on the other side of Grand Avenue from Face Rock Creamery.
Bandon's pink building
Originally this building was Kenner Giles' feed business alongside the Coquille Valley Dairy Co-op (which you can see in the left side of the picture). In 1956 this building was moved across Ferry Creek (and Grand Avenue) and onto its present location where it was a flea market for many years, and is now the home of the Highway 101 Marketplace. During the moving process, the weight of the building caused it to break through the stringers across the creek, but skilled workmen were able to right it and eventually get it moved to where it is now.
Although the pink building has not changed much, another thing visible in the picture that is no longer there is the old Coast Lumber Yard, the roof of which is visible at left (above the creamery).
When I was growing up, across the highway from the cheese factory, we used to play in the heavily wooded vacant lot before it became the resting place for this building.
I have shared several pictures of the Bandon Lions Club taken this day in March of 1960 when they were in downtown Bandon (now Old Town) raising money for the March of Dimes.
Bandon Lions Club, 1960
They are in front of Thornton's and the bakery, which was in the dome building, across Second Street from Lloyd's. Those two lots are now occupied by Coastal Mist and Second Street Gallery. At that time I think Marvin Leach (affectionally known as "Bake") owned the bakery.
I believe I can identify everyone in the picture, which is a real feat. From left are Bill Ellis, Howard Tucker, Ernie Luther, Harvey Calame (with his back to the camera at left), Ralph Yockey (back to camera at right), O.S. Valentine and Bud Garoutte (in front of pickup door). School Superintendent Rollie Parks is strumming the guitar, and at right of the pickup are Don Potterf, and two younger guys, Jerry Quillen and Carl Claiborne.
I love this third picture, which I believe was taken for an advertising campaign for the House of Raymond restaurant (now Billy Smoothboar's) and features a very attractive Irene Howard showing the menu to a customer. There were a series of pictures taken that day and Irene looks beautiful in all of them.
House of Raymond restaurant
* * *
One of my faithful readers, Margaret Norton-Wichman, asked me if I knew where Dr. Lucas came from and where he had gone to college. I knew one thing for sure ... that he had come here in 1932, so it was necessary to search through quite a few issues of Western Worlds before I found what I was looking for.
A front-page article in the Sept. 8, 1932, paper reported that Dr. E. F. Lucas of Portland had come to take over Dr. J.D. Rankin's practice. Dr. Rankin had practiced here for some years, but had to move to Marshfield to be near the hospital designated by the state accident commission (now the workers' compensation system under the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services) with which he had a contract.
"Dr. Lucas is a graduate of the University of Oregon medical school, completing the work in 1925. The following year he began practice as a physician and surgeon in Portland and for several years has been associated with Dr. Sternberg who is one of the leading surgeons in Portland. He will be joined by his wife the latter part of next week. Mrs. Lucas is remaining in Portland until after the Legion convention and in the meantime is packing up their household effects."
Sounds like we were very fortunate to have a doctor of his caliber practice in Bandon for nearly four decades!
* * *
I saw a Facebook post last week indicating that the inn along the waterfront, next to LaFiesta restaurant and behind Alloro Wine Bar and Restaurant, is nearly ready to open under the name, Bandon Marina Inn. The property was purchased last year by Lisa Schilling, who also owns The Laurel, at Highway 101 and Fillmore Avenue.
The post says: "Each room will be uniquely different but equally fabulous."
* * *
I found out that the two little girls who were pictured with Patty Turner, in a Mothers' Tea photo I posted several weeks ago, were her nieces, Stacy and Sara Turner, daughters of Gale and Lynette Turner, both of whom are now in their 40s. Patty, my sister Mindy Dufort and Susie Korenko, were best friends, graduating from Bandon High School in 1976. Stacy is now Stacy Galvin, owner of The Hair Club in Bandon.
* * *
I sat next to Marjorie Stephenson and her daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Tom Fugere, at the Thanksgiving Community Dinner Thursday. Marjorie loves history as much as I do, and to say that she is "sharp as a tack" is an understatement. And considering that she is nearing her 105th birthday, you can understand what a marvelous thing it is to have both your health and your memory intact.
In celebration of her 105th, which will be Feb. 22, her daughter will be placing a bench at the end of 8th Street, overlooking Table Rock at the beach, which is a favorite spot for visitors and tourists alike. It will also be in memory of Marjorie's younger sister, Betty Baird, who died Dec. 31 at the age of 99.
Marjorie was born Feb. 22, 1914, at Prosper, the daughter of Chester and Jessie Bullard. She is a descendant of John and Jane Hambloch, who settled the land where Bullards Beach State Park is now.
Carol said she understands that the family of Jack Bowder, who died Feb. 22, 2018, will also be installing a bench in his memory at the same location. Jack was a 1962 graduate of Bandon High School.
* * *
I am always so thankful for the people of all ages (ranging from around 10 to mid-90s) who give up most of their Thanksgiving Day to cook, serve and clean-up the annual community meal, This year I believe they served around 450 people at the community center and another 100 take-out meals.
In spite of the first storm of the season, the meal went pretty much without a hitch, thanks to the many volunteers, spearheaded by head chefs Colleen and Eric Wiesel, who got to the Barn at 3 a.m. to start cooking the turkeys.
That really is a "labor of love."
I see from the picture that volunteer and fellow city councilor Madeline Seymour posted on Facebook that Bob and Roseanne Gates, who served as head chefs for many years, also helped out this year. Everyone was so appreciative when Eric and Colleen stepped forward to take over when Bob and Roseanne needed to step away.
* * *
It was good to see the rain stop Saturday long enough for the tree-lighting ceremony and nog/wine walk, which brought big crowds into Old Town.
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
November 21, 2018
I love this first picture for a lot of reasons. It was taken during a Bandon Planning Commission meeting in 1980 with Barry Winters, Reed Gallier and Edna Grant looking over a proposal, while planning commission attorney Fred Carleton kept an eye on them from the staff table. It's hard to believe that this was 38 years ago ... and Fred is still our city attorney.
Bandon Planning Commission meeting, 1980
I tried to blow up this poster to see what application they were looking at, but it just wasn't sharp enough, but it must have been something pretty important to warrant those kinds of photos.
The horrific fires in Northern California made me even more acutely aware of the gorse that surrounds our community. This photo was taken 40 years ago, in August of 1978, of a big gorse fire along the beach.
Gorse fire, 1978
While going through the Dec. 10, 1936, Western World I saw a headline that grabbed my attention: "Would eradicate Irish Furze" (that's gorse, to us).
The article explains that "Elimination or control of Irish furze, the bushy plant that helped bring destructive fire roaring into Bandon Sept. 26, will be sought through state aid, the Coos County planning board has decided. State college aid will be asked in hopes that experts may come and work with George Jenkins, county agent, to wipe out the plant.
"Irish furze was planted by George Bennett, founder of Bandon, a native of Ireland, who, because of homesickness for his native country, sent for seeds of the bush. It was used for hedges originally, but grew extensively and finally covered all open uncultivated land. The seeds have been scattered by the wind until it extends along the coast for many miles." Bear in mind this was written 82 years ago!
George Jenkins was the county extension agent for many years, and in spite of his and other's efforts, gorse was never eradicated.
In fact, it is worse than ever imagined, although the city is trying to persuade owners of large parcels of gorse (many of whom do not live in the area) to remove the gorse, through enforcement action.
No one ever wanted it to come to this, but the result of doing nothing is not acceptable. I fear that some of the offending property was purchased for the proverbial "pennies on the dollar" or inherited, and the incentive is not there to remove the gorse, which can be an expensive and ongoing project.
The third photo, taken in the early 1970s (the envelope said probably March of 1973) pictures the Port of Bandon's tug Active towing a sunken boat into the harbor. The large building in the background was for years a feed store and is now The Big Wheel.
Towing a sunken boat, 1973
* * *
The ongoing saga of Dr. Lucas continues, but one of my readers went to Ancestry.com and learned that Dr. Ellsworth F. Lucas died in 1970, and as we already knew, he practiced right up until a few days before he died after suffering a stroke. He came to Bandon to practice medicine in 1932.
* * *
Now that the voters have handily approved the charter amendment that would prohibit the city council from being pressured into spending public dollars to operate and maintain a swimming pool, it's time to talk about where the pool is to be built.
The issue of the swimming pool will be on the Dec. 3 City Council meeting.
Several months ago, after learning about the possible bequeath of $2.5 million from an unknown benefactor, the pool committee asked the council if it would be possible to put the pool in city park, as that was a stipulation by the bequeather.
The council asked the city's parks and recreation commission to look at the issue, and the commission identified at least three possible sites. Two of them were staked out, and the third one is identified on a map of the park.
The site recommended by the parks and recreation commission would be near the library so that parking could be shared. The commission also favored the grouping of larger structures in that area, while leaving the major areas of the park open for passive and active recreation uses.
A group of people who live near the park have voiced their concerns in letters, anonymous postings around town, and at the recent city council meeting during "visitors not on the agenda."
We are aware that many of those living around the park do not favor a pool being located in City Park. We are also hoping to hear how the general public feels and would welcome letters, emails, or public comment the night of the meeting, which begins at 7 in City Hall.
The decision of whether or not the council would even consider the pool in City Park is one that the city council will make at some point in the future.
* * *
After my column came out last week, I learned that another former Bandon couple also lived in Paradise, Calif. Tom and Joanne Brown, who lived off Ocean Drive and were friends of the late Cathy Bernal, had moved there.
Another friend, Pauline Brown, remembers that Tom and Joann had a large RV barn where they often hosted Welcome Club get-togethers when they lived here.
* * *
I recently received an email from Bank of America, indicating that they had detected "some unusual activity on your Bank of America account on 11/14/2018. For your protection, we need you to verify your identity immediately. After verifying your account, we'll take the necessary steps to protect your account from fraud. It you don't verify your account, certain limitations may be placed on your account."
Since I haven't had a Bank of America account since Bank of the Cascades (and now First Interstate) took over, I certainly wasn't going to hit the big blue "verify" button.
But what is interesting is that the letter cautioned me not to reply with sensitive information, such as an account number, PIN, password or Online ID.
So if they really were trying to scam me, why wouldn't they ask for that information?
I did reply to the email, but it came back indicating that "the email account you tried to reach does not exist."
Kind of like my Bank of America account ... it does not exist.
* * *
I can't believe how little rain we've had this month. Is this really November? I can remember when I worked at Western World, and we kept track of all weather data on the front page each week, that one November alone, we recorded 30 inches of rain. My guess is that it would have been sometime in the 1990s, but just not sure. I doubt that we will even reach three inches this November ... unless we get a lot of rain in a short period of time.
* * *
At the last city council meeting, one of my neighbors, Larry Gerber, addressed the council under visitors not on the agenda, and complained because he said he was billed for 175,000 gallons of water. He said something similar had occurred eight years earlier, when he had used 35,000 or 40,000 gallons, and the city changed out his meter. He wanted us to do that again in spite of the fact that Richard had looked into the problem and said he obviously had a leak.
I asked him how much his bill was and he said around $200, but part of that was for electricity. I knew something was wrong because I just paid a water account that used 6,000 gallons and the bill was $113. So you can compute in your head what 175,000 gallons would cost.
I went to city hall the next day and determined that he had actually been billed for 17,000 gallons of water ... not 175,000, so if you happened to watch the meeting, or be there in person, as Paul Harvey would say, "and now for the rest of the story."
And I saw that he had Marca Electric there digging a trench through his yard so my guess is his water usage will return to normal the next time the meter is read.
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
November 14, 2018
I took a whole series the day I shot this first picture ... as crews were on Bandon beach filming a beer commercial with Baron, the Budweiser Clydesdale in July of 1981. The crew had been there since about mid-June, but foggy weather had made it difficult to film. I remember that at one point Baron got loose and was running down Beach Loop Road, which must have been quite a sight.
Filming beer commercial, 1971
The second picture was taken about 1970 and shows a distinct contrast between the Robertson's sand and gravel business .... and Edgewater's Restaurant, which is there now. On the far right side of the picture you can barely see the small building attached to what used to be the Breuer building and was Mike Breuer's shoe repair shop. The vacant lot between the two buildings remains today.
Robertson's, 1970
The third picture was taken during the Mothers' Tea, put on by Bandon High School students in 1975. Patty Turner (now McCurdy) walks across the stage with two unidentified children. If that were taken today, Patty would probably be with her daughter Meghan Butts' three children.
Mothers' Tea, 1975
* * *
After receiving a call from Peter Braun about the possibility of a fire on Rosa Road around 3 o'clock Sunday, I jumped in my car and drove down Rosa until I reached Two Mile Road and then back out to the highway. I did see several people burning debris in their backyards, and I could see a lot of smoke south and west of the highway, but nothing of any magnitude. Later I learned that a fire had gotten out of control at milepost 3 on Rosa Road, but it was quickly controlled by the Bandon Fire Department. Another post said there was a slash burn south of town, which could account for all the smoke, but I am not sure what that was.
With the warm weather we've been having the first two weeks in November, it is clear that it still may not be safe to burn. Of course, inside the city limits, open burning is not allowed at any time of the year.
One only has to see what is happening to the northern California city of Paradise, which is almost completely gone. A city of 27,000 residents pretty much destroyed by a quick-moving fire, dubbed the Camp Fire. Articles I read Sunday indicated that over 6,700 structures had burned and 25 lives had been lost. One article said it may have been caused by a Pacific Gas & Electric transmission line problem, which occurred just minutes before the fire erupted.
I first learned of the fire Thursday while eating at The Bakery. I could tell that Chris and Kim Powell and daughter Ashley, Bakery owners, were extremely concerned about some news they had just received. Kim and Chris both grew up in Paradise, Calif., and their parents still live there.
Kim already knew that her father's house had burned, and Chris was pretty sure his family home, where he had grown up, was also probably gone, as were the LDS church they attended and the grade school where he'd gone to school.
His parents were able to save three vehicle loads of things from their house, and after leaving two of them in a safe place, they headed to Bandon to stay with the Powells. Judging from the number of homes and businesses that have been lost, they are almost certain that their home was among them.
Bandon's own Jeff Norris moved to Bandon from Paradise, where he operated the cleaners for 12 years.
Another family with Bandon ties, Tom and Linda Luther Smalley, lived in that area for some years before ending up in Nampa, Ida., and their daughter, Michelle and her husband Mark Jimenez, still lived there and lost their home. The Smalley's grandson and his wife, Addison and Chelsea Dwyer, also lost their home. Both families live on Billie Road off of Skyway, which is the main road through Paradise.
Tom and Linda, both of whom are Bandon High School graduates, moved to Paradise in 1984 where Tom became a manager of his first Payless Drug Store. It is now gone. Tom and Linda moved to Brookings in 1990 but their daughter and her family stayed in Paradise. Michele graduated from Chico State and became a teacher. Addison married last year and bought a home in Paradise, which is now gone.
The Camp Fire is said to be the most destructive wildlife in California history. It is unbelievable and extremely frightening what fire can do. And I think about it every time I drive by another huge patch of gorse.
* * *
After I ran the picture of Dr. Lucas in last week's column, several people, including Colleen Brown, Donna Thorn Mason and Nina McNeil, knew that it was not his retirement party, because each of them had been his patient in the 1960s, and the picture was taken in September of 1957.
I researched the bound volumes of Western World and discovered that more than 100 people had turned out to surprise Dr. Lucas on the 25th anniversary of his being a physician in Bandon in a gala event held in the back room of Lloyd's, which was pretty much the only meeting/gathering place in those days.
Nina believes it was in the fall of 1967 when she called Dr. Lucas' office to make an appointment for her son Mike's sports physical when his office nurse, Gladys Conrad, said he had suffered a stroke the previous night and Millers had flown him to Portland in their plane. He died a day or two later after serving the people of Bandon for 35 years. He was the doctor who brought many of us into the world and he is someone that we will never forget.
He set up his medical practice in Bandon in about 1932 and worked night and day to care for people after the fire, assisted by his first nurse, Norma (Mrs. Max) Howe. Right after the fire, he went into the "new" medical building on Second Street (now the Winter River Books complex) where he remained until his death.
* * *
I know I've said this before and been wrong, but it does appear that the sale of Lloyd's Cafe may be nearly closing. I understand that the couple who recently bought The Blue Moon in Coos Bay will be the new owners.
I certainly hope this is true as this anchor business in Old Town Bandon has been empty way too long.
I found an interesting article in the Nov. 19, 1936, issue of Western World (less than two months after the Fire) which reads: "The Lighthouse Tavern is to be the name of a new restaurant, a building for which, 20x40 next to the City Meat Market, is now under construction. It will have open trussed ceiling and have tables and counter. Mr. and Mrs. Walter McGreggor, now operating in part of the Erdman building, will operate the new place."
That is, of course, the smaller cafe, which became the first Lloyd's Cafe. I remember it being very narrow, with booths on the left side and the counter on the right. Later, the Erdman's City Meat Market was remodeled into the larger Lloyd's Cafe, which consolidated both buildings into a single business under the same name. The original Lighthouse Tavern/Lloyd's is now the bar area of the building.
* * *
I attended the Celebration of Life for former city councilor Lou Franyi Saturday afternoon at The Barn. Although Lou was 90 years old, you would never have known it, and his wife, Rosemary, is still in shock because it happened so suddenly. One of their two daughters was also here for the celebration, which was attended by people he had served with on the city council, members of the Bandon Lions Club and people from the Dunes, where he worked for years as a marshal.
Facebook lit up with positive comments about Lou, who was a gentle soul, and in addition to being a neat person, he was also a great photographer.
* * *
In case, you are planning family or class reunions during Cranberry 2019, I have learned that it will be the weekend of Sept. 13-15.
* * *
Robert Mawson and I took part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Veterans Memorial in City Park on Sunday, which was well attended. Bill Smith was chairman of the event, with VFW Vice Commander Royce Kelley serving as the master of ceremonies. It was an honor to stand up there with so many war veterans on Veterans Day.
The Veterans Memorial Committee consists of representatives from the VFW, American Legion, Lions Club and City of Bandon.
As I See It
by Mary Schamehorn
November 07, 2018
The first picture I am sharing was taken during the retirement party in September of 1957 for the town's most beloved doctor, Dr. E. F. Lucas, at right, who is pictured handing Margaret Norton a piece of cake, while Eddie Waldrop waits his turn.
Retirement party for Dr. E. F. Lucas, 1957
The Nortons owned and operated The Golden Rule store in downtown Bandon for many years in the building now housing The Continuum Center. In the background you can see Howard and Elaine Kehl, and behind Margaret is Grace Dobney.
I only recently found these negatives and some of the people in the photos, most of whom I could identify, are people I hadn't thought of for many years, including Ray and Alfa McNair, Max and Norma Howe, Bud and Velma Garoutte, Fred and Marjorie Moore, Ronnie and Gladys Larsen, Beulah and Denny Kay, Jack and Shirley Ward, Merritt and Irene Senter, Bob and Phyllis Ray, Bub and Emma Perry, Lou and Anne Felsheim (Lou probably took the pictures, but I could see Anne), O.S. and Reika Valentine, Art and Grace Dobney and, of course, Dr. Lucas' beautiful wife Mary. The Lucases never had children, but they served as Godparents for several young people in the community, including Sharon Ward and me, as we were all Episcopalians.
I'm not sure when Dr. Lucas arrived in Bandon, but I do know that he was practicing at the time of the Fire. His wife was a local girl, Mary Pike, who is pictured riding a team of oxen on the front page of the recently published Coos County Memories book, which is available at the museum.
The second photo was taken in August of 1977 when Mike Erdman's small boat, the Wave, caught fire and burned near the piling behind the old Moore Mill Truck Shop. Melvin Erdman and his son, Mike, fished their large vessel, The Kelori, for many years, and it is in many of my old photos of the boat basin.
Small boat on fire, 1977
The third picture was taken in September of 1975 when Mark O. Hatfield was visiting Bandon.
Former governor Mark Hatfield, 1975
A former Governor of Oregon, Hatfield served 30 years in the U.S. Senate from Oregon and was also chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. A true statesman, Hatfield was a Republican. He was at City Hall where he talked with Nadya Rogers, Edith Gallier and the young daughter of Terry and Joy Tiffany. I believe her name was Tamara, but just not sure.
* * *
I wish I could give you an update on the condition of Matt DePaolo, who was critically injured in an ATV accident more than a week ago, but his mother, Linda, has asked people not to post information about him, preferring that it come from either her or Matt's fiancée, Lindsey. I certainly will honor her request, but I know that close friends can contact Barry Winters as he receive updates regularly from Linda.
* * *
Facebook and the air waves were abuzz Saturday afternoon as police from all parts of the county were involved in a standoff with a 65-year-old Bandon man suffering from mental illness, who was said to have weapons and explosives in his pickup, parked near Faith Baptist Church south of town.
The more than four-hour standoff ended around 4 p.m. when officers fatally shot the suspect, Robert Charles Foster, after he exited his pickup with a shotgun and fired one round.
District Attorney Paul Frasier issued a press release which indicated that Foster had tried to hang himself from the Bullards Bridge last month. He was reportedly rescued by Bandon Police Chief Bob Webb and a deputy from the sheriff's office, and then taken to Bay Area Hospital.
Foster reportedly called police around 11:30 a.m. Saturday and threatened to set off an explosion.
* * *
I have learned that the Bandon Beach Motel, which was scheduled to have closed Oct. 31, will remain open through September 2019 after the date for the planning commission hearing was postponed a month, which will delay the opening of Mike Keiser's new motel until 2020.
The Bruce family, who lease the motel, originally posted that the motel would close and that the fixtures would be sold, but that is no longer the case, and the popular motel continues to be open for business.
I talked to one couple who had come to Bandon especially to stay at the motel before it closed as it is their favorite place to stay. I know they will be happy to learn that it won't be closing until next year.
* * *
Bandon lost a special person recently with the death of Vivian Kranick Brown, who died Oct. 23 in Coquille at the age of 90. Vivian had suffered from dementia for a number of years, but had lived a full life, raising her four sons (Doug, Gordon, David and Ronnie) and running the Kranick bogs after the death of her husband, Martin, in 1963. In 1970, she married Floyd Brown and they continued to operate the farm until his passing. The farm became a Century Farm in 2017.
She was a member of the Rebekah Lodge, the Grange and the Ladies Dew Valley Club, as well as the First Presbyterian Church.
* * *
With the impending departure of Southern Coos Hospital CEO JoDee Tittle, who resigned recently, the hospital board has hired former chief finance officer Allen Dow to serve as the interim. Before Dow arrives and after JoDee leaves, Amy Fine, the current CFO and clinic manager, will add the job to her duties, according to one hospital board member.
Dow previously served as interim CEO after Jim Wathen left the district. Wathen then returned to serve as interim for a short time after Charles Johnston was fired.
* * *
Bandon museum board member Rick Hinojosa will once again be in charge of the Veterans Day program at the museum, set for this Saturday, Nov. 10, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Among those scheduled to take part in the program is Dr. Jonathan Park, a local physician with North Bend Medical, who has served as a military doctor.
* * *
Pacific Power plans to install smart meters throughout Coos County this month, and will hold a free workshop for local customers to share information about the meters. The workshop will take place on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Mill Casino in the Salmon east room.
Customers who live north of Bandon, and who are not served by the City of Bandon electric department, buy their electricity from Pacific Power. Those south of town are served by Coos-Curry Electric Co-operative.
I just happened to find some information from 2014 about electric rates for all three entities, which I am sharing today. The kilowatt hour charge ranged from 7.9 for City of Bandon residential customers, to 10.8 for CCE customers and 11.1 for PacificCorp (Pacific Power) customers. The rates for commercial customers were lower than rates charged residential users by both Coos-Curry Electric (9.7) and Pacific Power (9.1), but commercial customers paid a higher rate at the City of Bandon (8.2) than did our residential customers.
As mayor, I am proud to say that our rates are less than either of the other utilities serving this area.
As soon as I can obtain the latest rates for all three utilities I will share them.
* * *
If you know of someone looking for a very nice three bedroom, two-bath 1400 square foot rental, on a quiet dead-end street, tell them to email me at marys@coosnet.com. The rent will be $1400 a month, with an $800 security deposit, and I will also be checking references and require proof of income as I have spent a great deal of time, money and energy in getting this place ready to rent. I am also requesting that there be no dogs and no smoking. I am willing to give a two-year lease, but probably no longer than that. I also have a number of photos to share when you email me.
Previous columns by Mary Schamehorn
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