CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY Dir. Daly had gained a substantial reputation as a skinflint and hoarder, bu t when he died in 1924, his will came as a shock and surprise to all those relatives who had come a great distance in hopes o f picking a pretty plum. family was notorious for scraping through on unemployment and handouts. We chatted momentarily, our parents cleared the inspection and were released. As we drove off, slightly ahead of them, I saw a hubcap fall off and several birds emerge right before the ^ager eyes of the game patrol . . . 'eVut harder to support that large family from the county jail. My parents were both educators, part of the ongoing flow of imported personnel — Forest Service and BLM employees, chain store managers, bankers, ministers, etc. — required to supplement local talents. Some were just climbing their organizations’ upper echelons of management. Others were drawn by Lakeview’s pristine setting and the notion that such a small town was an ideal place to bring up a family, free from “ big city” ways and problems. Not all lasted long. A small town is not without its gossip and social pressures. The minister of our church, Presbyterian, got involved with the local radio station, first to,broadcast church sermons, and then slowly, inevitably, as a DJ, spinning platters and developing his own line of shuck and jive . . . remember this is the ’50s . . . new opportunities were soon thrust his way. Still a frontier town, one entire block consisted of saloons with swinging doors and, in two cases, sawdust floors. More formal gatherings took place in what seemed like an unlimited number of lodges, churches and exmilitary organizations. They tended to define people’s community status as much as economic factors did . . . alongside, of course, prowess in the great outdoors. There was endless talk of six-point antlers and the virtues of 12- as opposed to 20-gauge shotguns. A good hunting story would stop all other conversation. Athletics played the central role in defining status for the young. Olympic medalist skier Jean Saubert became a local heroine. But the major forums were the gridiron and the crackerbox gym, condemned as a firetrap long before our arrival, which the Honkers called their home. It shimmied and shook incredibly during the best 4th quarters. My most vivid memory is of a conference titleclinching game against John Day. Their team captain’s father, a prominent lawyer in his community, slid down a support column from his balcony seat to attack the ref who had just called a fifth foul on his son, causing total chaos on the floor which only the players tried to restrain. Sports deification was not eternal. One of my childhood heroes, a basketball player who, despite modest height, was a hornet on defense and good for 15 to 20 points scoring, ended up beer-bloated and broken by the green chain only two years following graduation. That fate, however, wasn’t the only possibility the community afforded. The aforementioned Dr. Daly had gained a substantial reputation as a skinflint and hoarder, but when he died in 1924, his will came as a shock and surprise to all those relatives who had come a great distance in hopes of picking a pretty plum. Dr. Daly’s legacy was a scholarship fund which since that time on interest alone has sent 20-30 percent of Lake County’s high school graduates through four years of studies at Oregon’s institutes of higher education. The result has been a much higher rate of college attendance — over 60 percent of my class, ’64, graduated from college — than is typical of such rural towns. For many, that exposure to a larger world view, coupled with professional training, has prevented their return to a community with limited job possibilities. Those who do return generally have family businesses or farms to make their own. Such an exodus has dried up hundreds of small towns in this century. A shrinking economic base cannot sustain even a light population growth over time. So when the rumors became news, no one gainsaid the great possibilities. > “Eureka! Uranium! Good, now we have a new topic o f conversation besides the weather to talk about. And is it ever a hot issue is putting it mildly . . . . Many local people have claims located, too, in case this should turn out to be a bonanza, and fo r their sake and fo r the boost it could be to the county, I hope they all strike it rich. ” (From a rural district column, Lake County Examiner, July 28, 1955.) ____ fter years of searching at great distances, some local residents found paydirt right in their own backyards. John Roush, a rancher with the uranium bug, followed up a friend’s lead to the upper reaches of Auger Creek. Two claims, the Lucky Lass and the White King, only 10 miles northwest of Lakeview, were filed that July by two local partnership groups. Clair Smith, a member of the Lucky Lass group, remembers the period well. “ Yes, you thought you were rich. Didn’t take long to get over that. About that time the government [federal] started clamping down, cut off their bonus on ore . . . didn’t want you to mine it or produce it. But we found out about that later. “ People came here from all over the world .. . they were selling geiger counters on street corners. Some who came in were professional claim stak- ers. People carried guns to protect their claims. They told us they could stake us right out of our claims, but the fellows at the courthouse told them not to mess with us.” Euphoria is always contagious. Visiting politicians jumped on the bandwagon. Preachers and poolroom sharks talked of a brighter tomorrow. By September, when the Thornburg brothers, Garth and Vance, of Grand Junction, Colorado, leased the White N o v i O p en U n t i l fpm M o n - S a t W e lu y used hooks and records. W e do special orders. Cards • Calendars • “Posters 9 2 2 N .W . 2 1 s t at Popejoy 2 2 3 - 4 4 1 6 DeNicolas' Restaurants Mrs. DeNicola and her family invite you to the DeNicolas' Restaurants. The DeNicolas prepare each entree with fine ingredients. . . from recipes they brought with them from Italy. They serve the kind of Italian food you've been looking for. DENICOLAS' 234-2600 3520 SE POWELL DONATA'S RESTAURANT 227-1103 501 NW 21ST DENICOLAS' WEST 638-8428 18791 SW MARTINAZZI TUALATIN Papa Haydn Fine European Pastries Beer Wine Expresso Lunches— Light Dinners Papa Haydn will be expanding and will be closed from August 3 through August 18. We will have expanded seating and a larger menu to offer. Please come and see our changes! 5829 S.E. Milwaukie Tues-Thurs 11:30am to 10pm Fri-Sat 11:30am to 12 mid Closed Sunday &Monday 16
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz