News-Review - The Rivers August 27 2010

The RiversThe 2010 Umpqua Edition features stories about the North, South and main Umpqua

A special publication of The News-Review

August 27, 2010

Published by

The News-Review345 N.E. Winchester

Roseburg, Oregon 97470PHONE: (541) 672-3321

Features Editor: Craig ReedLayout: Marcy Davis-Maxwell

Photo Editor: Michael Sullivan

Editor: Vicki MenardAll contents copyrighted and may

not be reproduced without consentof The News-Review.

The Umpqua Edition is publishedannually.

E-mail correspondence regardingthis publication to

[email protected] or via fax to (541) 957-4270.

Cover photoby Michael SullivanThe News-Review

As the August summersun sets, leaving the NorthUmpqua River in shadows,David Lyon of Brisbane,Calif., fly fishes the river inhopes of hooking a summersteelhead.

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THE RIVERS

Like arteries and veins, theNorth, South and mainUmpqua rivers and their manytributaries are the lifelines ofDouglas County.

The residents of the countyshowed they know the riversystem’s importance and popu-larity by voting it the No. 1greatest thing about DouglasCounty in a News-Review pollof readers back in March.

And now The News-Reviewis celebrating and honoring theriver in the annual UmpquaEdition special section. Thissignature landmark of DouglasCounty is well worth the spot-light, today and every day. Ifyou’re a resident who’s on themove, you can’t help but benear the river system everyday. Interstate 5 crosses boththe North and South rivers.The North and the main riverscan be seen from Highway 138and the South from Highway42.

The river system brings uslife:

• Drinking water after it istreated;

• Water to irrigate and helpgrow backyard gardens, fieldsof row crops, orchards andpastures for raising livestock;

• A wide variety of fish andhabitat and drinking water forwildlife;

• Recreation such as swim-ming, boating and rafting.

• And plenty of life memo-ries.

Stories on the followingpages of this special section,written by both News-Reviewreporters and by residents, arejust a small sample of how andwhy the Umpqua River systemis important to this land.

About 100 photos of theriver system were submittedand several of them are fea-tured on pages 14 and 15.

Thank you, readers, forsharing your stories, photosand love for the Umpqua.

— Craig ReedFeatures editor

JOHN SOWELLThe News-Review

The Umpqua River and itstributaries define DouglasCounty and make up one ofthe largest river systems in

Oregon.The main section of the Umpqua

flows west to the Pacific Ocean fromRiver Forks Park west of Roseburg.That’s where the North Umpqua andSouth Umpqua rivers join to form themain stem.

That portion of the Umpqua travels111 miles to the coast. The NorthUmpqua covers 100 miles betweenMaidu Lake in the Mount ThielsenWilderness and River Forks Park,while the South Umpqua beginsabout 20 miles northwest of CraterLake and travels 95 miles.

The North and South Umpquarivers both begin in the CascadeMountains, at an equal elevation of6,003 feet, but the two streams arequite different.

The South Umpqua descends quitequickly, while the North Umpquatakes a more leisurely drop in eleva-tion. Only 3 percent of the SouthUmpqua is located above 5,700 feet,while 20 percent of the NorthUmpqua is found above that mark,according to the U.S. Forest Service

Deep pumice soils in the NorthUmpqua absorb water from meltingsnow and rain that helps sustain riverflows during warmer and drier sum-mer months.

The South Umpqua, on the otherhand, is characterized by shallowerand rockier soils that shed runoffwater more quickly. Those soils are

also found in the North Umpquabelow Soda Springs.

What that means is that runoff inthe upper North Umpqua is low butis much higher in the lower NorthUmpqua and in the South Umpqua.

The extra storage capacity broughtby the deep pumice rock and othervolcanic soils of the upper NorthUmpqua brings that river a summerflow that is 20 times that of the SouthUmpqua, according to the Forest Ser-vice.

Because there is little rainfall insouthern-central Oregon between

June and October, most regionalstreams see lower flows. However,the water flow in the upper NorthUmpqua remains fairly constant.

British horticulturist David Dou-glas is credited with naming theUmpqua River in 1825. The namebecame synonymous with both theriver and with the American Indiantribe.

The Umpqua River was favoredby fur trappers working for theNorth West Company, according tothe Oregon Encyclopedia. Trappersentered the Umpqua Valley in 1819

and spent several decades collectingbeavers.

Fort Umpqua near Elkton wasestablished as a fur trading fortrather than a military installation. Itwas built in 1836 and operated until1854. It holds the distinction ofbeing the first non-native settlementin Oregon south of the WillametteValley.

Both the North and South Umpquaregions were important hunting, fish-ing, gathering and social areas forNative American tribes. Artifactsindicate Indian presence goes back atleast 8,000 years, according to theBureau of Land Management. That’s1,200 years before the eruption ofMount Mazama.

The geology of the Umpqua Basinis much older. The volcanic rock onCanyon Mountain outsideCanyonville dates back to the Juras-sic period, nearly 146 million yearsago.

During that period, hot magmafrom a volcano poured throughout anarea that later became Southern Ore-gon, during an event known as theNevadan Oregeny. Granitic rock alsoformed during what is known as anintrusion, when molten rock cooledbeneath the surface of the ground.Rock formations formed during theintrusions were later exposed whenthe ground eroded.

Many of those features can befound around the rivers, with therock so hard it hasn’t been altereddespite millions of years of havingriver water flow over it.

• You can reach reporter JohnSowell at 541-957-4209 or by e-mailat [email protected].

The News-Review photo file

A crayfish crawls in the shallows of the South UmpquaRiver at Stewart Park in Roseburg.

TheUmpquasystem

The North and South rivers both begin in the Cascade Mountains

CRAIG REED/The News-Review

The North Umpqua River curves around Whistler’s Bend Park near Glide in the trees to the left.

News-Review file photo

A great blue heron attempts to keep warm as it perches on a log overthe frozen South Umpqua River at Gaddis Park in Roseburg.

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THE RIVERS

TRICIAJONESThe News-Review

any an evening findsWayne West watchingthe sun disappearbeyond the dock of hishome on the road lead-

ing to Whistler’s Bend Park. And every time, his thoughts

are the same. “We just give thanks,” West

said, referring to himself and hiswife, Urldine. “We’ve traveled somany miles, been in so manyareas, and how we ended up in abeautiful place like this, I’ll neverknow.”

The retired building officialattributes much of the beauty tothe North Umpqua River thatflows by his house. It’s a sight thatcould move the musically mindedto burst into song. Being just thatsort of fellow, West not only hasbeen so inspired, but also has

recorded the song for a New Mex-ico music publisher.

“The Mighty Umpqua” was firstreleased in 2002. Just this year,West decided to release a newarrangement of the song. It’s thelead tune on a CD of the samename and is available at the Rose-burg Fred Meyer.

The initial version was theresult of a fishing trip in whichWest landed the salmon (eatenlong ago) pictured on the back ofthe CD. West said he came homefrom a splendid day of fishing onthe main Umpqua River, took adock’s-eye view of the NorthUmpqua and decided everybodywith ears to hear should knowhow he feels about the river.

It’s a relationship that goes backto 1972. West came to DouglasCounty that year to call squaredances for the Buckaroo Barn. Heloved the area so much, he boughta ranch in Lookingglass and

moved to it as soon as possible.But in 1981, he got a request toreturn to the planning and buildingdepartment in Anaheim, Calif.,and he left the Umpqua River sys-tem behind. He stayed in Anaheimuntil his retirement in 1992.

Of course, California had itsperks. As a side job, West earnedhimself a niche at Disneyland,singing country and western songsin Frontierland. Amusement parkstaff gave him a plaque on hisdeparture. The farewell giftdepicts Mickey Mouse holding amicrophone and wishing Westhappy trails.

That trail eventually led back tothe North Umpqua River and thehome where West lives today. Herecently decided to shorten his2002 musical tribute so that thecomposition would be more suit-able for radio airplay. He’s alsohappy to perform the song atchurches, senior sites, assisted liv-

ing centers and other venues. West’s favorite compliment

about “The Mighty Umpqua”came from a woman who told himshe enjoyed listening to the songwhile relaxing in her recliner.

“She said, ‘I was born andraised here, and I can lay back and(mentally) follow the river all theway from Toketee to the ocean,just like you sang it,’” said West,who turned 80 last month. “That’sthe way I want people to feelabout it.”

Not even Mickey Mouse couldlure West away from the riveragain.

“This is where I’m going tostay,” he said. “I want to spend allmy years that are left here.”

For information about WayneWest’s music, call A & F Music at1-800-901-4391. West can bereached at 541-672-3744.

Beauty of the river makes Wayne West break into song

MICHAEL SULLIVAN/The News-Review

Wayne West drew inspiration from the North Umpqua River, which flows past his home in Whistler’sBend Park, to write the song ‘The Mighty Umpqua.’

‘The Mighty Umpqua’by Wayne West

Down in southwest Ore-gon the mighty Umpquaflows

Comes down from themountain, formed by the win-ter snow

Through Toketee andSteamboat, Idleyld Park andGlide

Then just a little bit furtherwest, Little River collides

It makes its way ’roundWhistler’s Bend, Echo Bendthen goes

Through Winchester byRoseburg where the SouthUmpqua flows

They both join up at RiverForks, then they becomeone

The Mighty Umpqua flowsnorthwest through westernOregon

I know there’s lots of riversin the good ole USA

But once you’ve seen theUmpqua, it will steal yourheart away

If you’d like to give yourselfa treat and float your caresaway

Take a tr ip down theUmpqua and watch thewildlife play

You’ll see ducks, geeseand otter out most every day

Elk, deer and beaver, theyall come out to play

The Umpqua gets biggerevery mile along the way

It’s one of the grandestsites in the good ole USA

All the ar tists and thetourists come to enjoy theview

And I’ve got a short storyI’d like to share with you

We were floating down theUmpqua in the early morningdawn

A chilly late October; wehad our rain gear on

A little fog was hanging’round but that didn’t slow usdown

I hooked a 12-pound silver(wow), made my ole heartpound

We passed Elkton, WellsCreek and Scottsburg that day

Reedspor t by Gardiner,into Winchester Bay

I know there’s a lot ofrivers in the good ole USA

But once you’ve seen theUmpqua River

It’ll steal your heart away

‘The Mighty Umpqua’

M


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THE RIVERS

BILLAND MARIAN BLENKER

For The News-Review

e first movedhere 15 yearsago from East-ern Washing-ton to be nearaging parents,

and the first thing we had todecide was where we wantedto live.

It was an easy decisionafter we got our first look ofthe Umpqua River. Afterlooking for a while, wedecided the perfect placewould be on the mainUmpqua River nearUmpqua. We both fell inlove with this beautiful sec-tion of the river and we wereclose to town and still ableto live in the country.

We soon found out thatour choice was the right one.First of all, the river pro-vides us with a beautifulview every day. It has been aplace of solitude and givesus a stress-free lifestyle.

Each spring brings usmuch-needed rain that onlymakes the river more beauti-ful for the coming of sum-

mer. This is time for visitorsand family to come for visitsof relaxation, swimming andof course fishing. All whovisit envy us and wish theycould stay longer.

The end of summer brings

us to fall. We are lucky tobe able to witness MotherNature’s paintbrush. Whenthe leaves of the treesretreat for the coming ofwinter, the riverbanks arestill full of the vivid colors

of fall. It’s also time for salmon

fishing. So many of ourfriends love the challenge oftrying to lure a fish. Onething for sure is we are verylucky to have such variety of

fish in the river. I don’tthink there is a day in theyear where one would nothave a chance at hooking atrophy.

Last but not least we cometo winter. This is the seasonof many surprises. We startwith the rains and with themcome the changing levels ofthe river flow. Sometimes itcan be very exciting and atother times it can be veryintimidating.

Also in the mix, onemight just experience someof that white rain, morecommonly know as snow.We are very lucky that whenthis happens, it is only withus a few days.

To sum it it all up, I don’tthink there are many placesthat are more beautiful thanthe Umpqua River and the100 Valleys of the Umpqua.I know we have made theright choice of living on theUmpqua River, for it offerseveryone a chance to relaxand enjoy the many uses ithas to offer.

Bill and Marian Blenkerare 15-year residents of TyeeRoad in the Umpqua area.

The Umpqua’s four seasons from our backyard

Photos courtesy of the Blenkers

Springtime rains increase the Umpqua River’s water level and greens up the banks.

Cold and snow can give the Umpqua River a more dormant look in the winter.

From spring to winter, the changes in scenery are constant along the river

W

“...we decided the perfect place would be on the main Umpqua River near Umpqua.” — Bill and Marian Blenker

BOB ALLENFor The News-Review

By 1987 the RoseburgUrban Sanitary Authority hadcompleted its multi-milliondollar plant along the SouthUmpqua River.

The planners at the timethought that a backup electri-cal system for the facility incase of power failure wasunnecessary.

That year the first of twomajor sewage spills occurred

due tointerrup-tions ofpower fromoutside thefacility. Agroup ofcitizensprotested infront of theDouglasCountyCourthouseto bring

attention to the issue, puttingpressure on RUSA to get abackup generator. They saidthat it would cost about a mil-lion dollars and declined. Afterthe second spill they found amilitary surplus generator forabout $125,000 in WashingtonState. To my knowledge therehave been no spills since.

The group that protested atthe courthouse decided to dosomething positive around theissue of honoring the UmpquaRiver and organized a freeevent they called River Appre-ciation Day at River ForksPark in September 1987. Itfeatured speeches, a magicshow, music and educationalbooths focusing on educationabout river and water issues. Itwas seen as a success and theydecided to make it an annualevent but moved the date tothe third Saturday of July.

In 1988, the keynote speakerat the event was then SenatePresident John Kitzhaber. Hewas asked if he would sponsora bill to make River Apprecia-tion Day honored throughoutthe State of Oregon. He agreedand the bill was co-sponsoredby then State RepresentativeNorm Gershon, now executivedirector of Umpqua Trainingand Development in Roseburg.

The bill passed both housesand was signed into law by thegovernor.

This event also encouragedthe annual Umpqua RiverCleanup Day in September.

This year the “RAD Com-mittee,” now a part of the localconservation group, UmpquaWatersheds, held its 24th RiverAppreciation Day Celebrationat Whistler’s Bend Park inDouglas County. In past yearsthe event has been held alongwaterways in Elkton,Canyonville, Roseburg, Glideand even high up in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness.

The local community groupPartnership For The Umpquahas now taken responsibilityfor the annual river cleanup.

Watch for announcements inSeptember and join to do yourpart in keeping our treasuredriver clean for all to enjoyincluding the life that lives inand depends on it.

Next year join in at the 25thannual celebration of RiverAppreciation day at Whistler’sBend Park on the third Satur-day in July.

Appreciationfor the rivercontinues

Allen

PATSY SKEELSFor The News-Review

t seems it has always beenpart of our lives, this river,this trinity of flowingwaters — the North

Umpqua, the South Umpqua,the Umpqua.

“Can we go swimming,Mother?” my child asks on aday with temperatures markedwith three digits.

“Get your suits on,” I reply,and then we trudge — ourthree young daughters and I(the Dad has the misfortune tohave to work in this God-awful heat) — down the drive-way, across the highway to thesandy bank of our privateswimming hole in the NorthUmpqua.

By the time we put our toeson the damp sand at the edgeof the river and feel the sur-prising cold of the water,which is, after all, just meltedsnow water running down outof the mountains, we arecooled off. No need to goswimming. But we do, and thesplashing, floating, squealingat the minnows nibbling at ourtoes, the simple inhaling of thescent of the river, refresh us ina way that nothing else can do.We are restored.

Going back up the dustydriveway with water drippinginto our shoes and wet towelsdraped around our necks, weare hot again. But the memoryis there.

The memory is there to usewhen I need a special momentof calm. I bring back the sen-sation of floating on my backin our swimming hole, the coolliquid swirling around me, theblue sky overhead, the incredi-ble peace of it all. It works.

The blood pressure readslower, the shaking of myafflicted left arm diminishes,the anxiety fades.

The memory is there for ouryoungest child. When sheleaves her high-stress job inthe big city and joins us for avisit, she says, “I’m goingdown to smell the river.” Shecomes back with a smile onher face. Her deep desire is toretire to a home on the NorthUmpqua River.

Oh, the memory is there forthe Dad, too, especially of thatpart of the North Umpqua thatstretches below the dam atWinchester, where there aredeep holes where salmon lie torest on their upward journey.He knows the rapids, rifflesand eddies that he negotiateswith his North River boat. Heknows much of its crenelatedbottom by snorkeling for dis-carded fishing lures.

For nigh onto six decades,since he was a teenager, he hasfished that stretch, often withhis dad, who also knew theriver intimately. It is said thathe knows every hole by name.

“Tell us their names,Daddy,” one child says.

“Well,” he muses, “There isthe Hip Hole, the Rail RoadHole, the Log Hole, the PotHole, the Tank Hole, theSwimming Hole, The Wipe-out Hole, the Drifting Ground,the Cummins Hole, the PineTree Hole, the Tire Hole, thePump Hole, Agee Flat, the LeeLove Hole, and others. Thereshould be a hole named afterme after all these wonderfulyears on the river.”

The memory is there of ear-lier times. My dad told offloating the North Umpquawith his brother, teenagers in

the 1930s. “We didn’t use tubes,” he

said. “Didn’t have any.” Once he had to rescue his

brother out of a deep hole. “I saw him floating limp

way down at the bottom. Igrabbed his hair and pulledhim up.”

As young men my dad andhis brother would swim acrossthe upper North Umpqua, tow-ing their clothes and fishingsupplies, to the always-betterfishing holes on the other side.I have seen them do this. Theold photo albums show theevidence of their prowess inno-limit times, rows and rowsof fish displayed on a board.

At one point when growingup, we lived not far from theSouth Umpqua. There, too, weswam, caught crawdads,watered our horses. I see mydad reaching with his barehand under the dark, mysteri-ous, edge of the bank, pullingout a wriggling crawdad.

“Euuuwww ... Daddy, howcan you do that?”

Like little lobsters theywere. Good for one yummybite when boiled.

The memory will still bethere, though for a secondtime, we are leaving a homeon the river. We will be drivingoften down the Umpqua to ourhome on a coastal lake, look-ing as we drive at the condi-tion and level of the water, thenumber of boats at Scottsburg,and making plans to put in theboat for spring salmon fishingat Winchester.

Again, the photo albumsrecord the success of thosespring expeditions, the Dadalone or the Dad and his Dad,straining to hold up huge, glis-tening, dripping salmon in

each hand. The freezer is sel-dom without packages of chi-nook. Salmon barbecues arecommon, if treasured occa-sions.

The river has been good tous. Not that it hasn’t threat-ened us a few times, as if tosay, “Don’t take my power forgranted.” The ’64 flood taughtus that and subsequent highwater levels have reminded us.

Though we love it, the riveris a wild thing. Don’t messwith it. Respect it. We do. Andwe’ve been rewarded richly.


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THE RIVERS

The river has flowedthrough our lives

Courtesy photo

The memories of growing up along the North Umpqua River now provide Patsy Skeels with special moments of calm.

There are numerous memories of swimming, fishing and special times from growing up on the river

I

From the rain and snowthat winter brings,

And sparkling water fromhidden springs.

From peaks that rise in thehigh Cascades,

Through mountain mead-ows and forest glades.

Rippling, gurgling, joyousin song,

Little North Umpqua frolicsalong.

Fed by clearbrooks as onwardyou flow,

Deeper and widerconstantly grow.

We hear an owlhoot, and eagle’scry,

Wild creaturesanswer, birds singon high.

Add your music, the choiris complete,

As all sounds blend in har-mony sweet.

Running, then walking,never at ease,

Gliding ’neath bowers ofevergreen trees.

O’er rocky ledges, throughdeep shaded pools,

Where salmon and steel-head gather in schools.

Then into the sunshinesparkling bright,

Shimmering, glistening,beautiful sight.

Flowing through parks inheat of the day,

Where people swim andsmall children play.

There at tables in cool dap-pled shade,

Picnic lunches are carefullymade.

Dancing waters stretch outin the sun,

Rash adolescent, join in thefun.

Enter the lake where youseem to stop,

But soon with a mightyroar you drop

Over the dam with a wilddisplay

Of iridescent colors inspray.

Then under the bridgesonward surge,

Soon with the South Forksilently merge.

Now you havechanged, you chatterno more,

Little chuckleshave turned into aroar.

You seem mucholder throughoutyour length,

Flexing your mus-cles, showing greatstrength.

Larger and stronger, youare in truth,

Now an adult, no longer ayouth.

Glide on forever, beautifulstream,

While your waters in thesunlight gleam.

Send out your laughter,joyous and free,

On your winding journey tothe sea.

Profound beauty! Wildexaltation!

Hail Mighty Umpqua!God’s creation.

Editor’s Note: Herb Readhas lived in Douglas Countysince 1963. He wrote theabove poem in 1977 whileworking for the OregonDepartment of Fish andWildlife. His work includedcounting fish at the Winches-ter Dam fish ladder and help-ing at the Rock Creek Hatch-ery and with field projects.Read is now retired.

‘Our River’HERB READ

For The News-Review

Read


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RON BOLTFor The News-Review

Through the birth canal ofMaidu

Young Umpqua gushesforth.

He nurses snowmelt fromearth

And rainwater from sky.Growth

spurts fromtributaries

Begin tofill himout.

Betweenbursts ofenergy

He napsat Lemoloand Toke-tee.

Nolonger crawling, Umpquarushes on

Growing into a recklessforce.

Out-of-control spurts lead toFalls along the way.Testing boundaries he losesSplotches of surface on

rough rocks.Feeling full of himselfHe challenges rafters to

fight.Clashes with little sister,

Little RiverBringing her into line.A brush with civilizationTames his wildness.He merges with a mate from

the south;She stabilizes his rowdy

ways.He matures to a purpose of

workIrrigating ranches and

farms.Old river slows in his last

stagesAnd gives up his lifeforce to

the sea.Vapor arises from the seaAnd like a salmon returning

to spawnDrifts along on eastbound

frontsDroplets impregnate MaiduWho again births her off-

springAn ancient and timeless rit-

ualAs old as the rocks who

hold herAs young as the wildflowersWho celebrate the ceaseless

cycle.

‘Journey’

Bolt

STEVEN BUCHKOFor The News-Review

The line whispers through the lightmorning mist, landing on the deepgreen water like a feather falling everso gently from the sky. Almostimmediately the silence is broken bythe rippling of water and the bendingof the rod. The fight is on.

I remember early mornings sleep-ing in the car with the faint sounds ofElvis on the car radio and the smellof stale cigarettes in the air. I recallall those sack lunches, never endingstreams of log trucks, hand-tied fliesand old worn-out baseball caps. Mymemories include my dog swimmingin the river, much to the displeasureof my father, and the annoying habitsof my baby sister.

I see the river, endless in time,always flowing, forever moving withnothing to detain it from its journeyto the sea. Drifting in my mind arethe myriad of colors of the maplesand oaks and the snow-coveredmountains surrounding the fields ofDouglas firs. I still remember thefeeling of warmth on my hands andface, as the sun slowly started anoth-er day, coupled with the pleasure Ifelt every time I put a bamboo rod inmy hands. I recall the faint smell offires burning in the distance, and thesound of a hawk screeching overheadlooking for its first meal of the day.

The love of this river, that myfather taught me, never leaves me.Watching him cast a fly was watch-ing perfection. It was one of the mostbeautiful sights I have ever seen — aform of visual poetry. The caddis, thenymph, the skunk and the mayflywere so much a part of my vocabu-lary, yet foreign to most.

When I look back to that time ofmy life on the river, to the pure art offly fishing, to the majesty of it all,these memories take on a meaninghardly ever equaled in my life. I stillfeel so serene when I’m by myself atthe river, for this place is mystical, aspiritual place, my cathedral. Beingthere, knowing that this place hasbarely changed since the beginningof time, gives me a perspective notattained in my normal day-to-dayexistence.

This is one of my earliest and

strongest memories of a place and atime, all of which have influencedme enough to have changed me for-ever.

Steven Buchko of Elkton received

an “A” grade for creativity for thisstory that he wrote for a writing classat Umpqua Community College sev-eral years ago. Buchko was raised inthe Glide area near the NorthUmpqua River.


Steven Buchko has many memories of growing up on the North Umpqua River near Glide.

River offers ‘A Sense of Place’Steven Buchko recalls

fond memoriesof the river

The News-Review

Just five blocks from thebusy rush of traffic on Inter-state 5 is a 22-acre island inthe center of Roseburg thathas lain untouched and unusedsince the late 1940s.

Elk Island, once a socialcenter of the town, is now aquiet refuge of fruit trees,deer, raccoons and rabbits.The island was formed in1861 when the South UmpquaRiver cut a new channel dur-ing what was called the GreatFlood.

The first owner of the islandwas William Cobb, who oper-ated Cobb Realty in the early1900s. Cobb sold the island tothe Elks Lodge in the 1930s,when the Elks named theisland and began a project todevelop the area as a citysocial center.

People would walk down tothe island for a picnic at therecreation area or play a game

of tennis on the island’s tenniscourts.

The tennis court and picnicshelter are hard to find now. Aflood in the late 1930s wipedout the access to the islandand destroyed the recreationalarea. The Elks finally sold theisland in the late 1940s toJames Cobb, brother toWilliam.

James began to rebuild theisland once again. He built aswinging bridge to the islandfrom Douglas Avenue, built ahouse and put in a pump forirrigation of the land, wherehe grew some fruit trees.When he died in 1951, he leftthe island to his wife, Lillian.

Lillian Cobb sold the islandon Feb. 24, 1970 to her threedaughters. The heirs held ontothe island until it was partiallyflooded in 1978. On Aug. 15,1979, the sisters sold theisland to Larry, Lottie andDavid Johnson for $55,000.The Johnsons later sold the

island to Western Office Sup-ply of Las Vegas, Nevada onOct. 1, 1981.

Some suggested uses for theland have included a touristcampground, animal park,religious retreat, Christmastree farm, restaurant, golfcourse, gravel and rockdeposit, farm, fishing resort ornursery.

Flooding has been the onlyobstacle keeping some peoplefrom buying the island. Theisland has an elevation of 25feet above the river level.Flood level for the SouthUmpqua River is 26 feet.

The island is accessibleeight months out of the yearby a gravel road on the westside of the river. Otherwise ashort canoe trip can transportpeople to and from the island.

For now, the island is quiet-ly sitting in the middle oftown, unchanged and unusedsince the days of tennis andpicnics.

“The love of thisriver, which my

father taught me,never leaves me.

Steven BuchkoElkton

”The News-Review File Photo

Fall colors are reflected in the Umpqua River near Kellogg

Elk Island was a social center

For appointments call: 800-499-8289 Patrick Gregg, MD • Bradley Seely, MD • Stewart Wilson, MD

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Umpqua ValleyEye Associates

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Meet Frank Moore

Frank Moore is Douglas County’s most famous fisherman and I try to go up on the North Umpqua with him any chance I get. Over the past few years Frank was having more trouble seeing Steelhead in the water and driving the winding North Umpqua Highway. Good for the fish but not for Frank. We decided it was time to fix his cataracts and now Frank is back to perfect vision. Good for Frank but definitely bad for the fish.

-Bradley H. Seely, M.D.


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UMPQUA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION20102011 SeasonEUGENE SYMPHONY“PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION”DANAIL RACHEV, MUSIC DIRECTOR/CONDUCTORWITH VIOLINIST JENNIFER FRAUTSCHICo-Sponsored with Roseburg Community Concert AssociationConcert sponsors: ATRIO/DCIPA, John William Unruh/ Oregon Community Foundation

Friday, September 24, 2010 7:30 P.M. Jacoby Auditorium, U.C.C.

CASCADIA CLARINET QUARTET & LEFT COAST SAXOPHONE QUARTET“OREGON REED SUMMIT”First Presbyterian Church, Roseburg, Concert sponsors:

Umpqua Bank, David Morrison and Peppi Mellick

Sunday, November 14, 20103:00 P.M.

Enjoy these two Oregon woodwind groups as they delight audiences with music from classical to

klezmer, latin to jazz.

TINGSTAD AND RUMBEL“HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”WITH UMPQUA CHAMBER ORCHESTRAJASON HEALD, CONDUCTORCo-Sponsored with Umpqua Community CollegeConcert Sponsor: AVISTA Corp.

Saturday, December 18, 20107:30 P.M. Jacoby Auditorium, U.C.C.

Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel blend Americana fi ngerstyle guitar with double reeds and ocarina to lend

magic to the holiday season. Th ey will be joined by the Umpqua Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Jason Heald for an evening of celebration

CHAMBER ORCHESTRA KREMLINMISHA RACHLEVSKY, MUSIC DIRECTORConcert sponsor: Paul aand Lory Utz

Sunday, February 27, 20113:00 P.M. Jacoby Auditorium, U.C.C.

Founded in 1991, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin comprising some of Russia’s fi nest young string players, has carved

a niche for itself under the creative baton of its founder and music director Misha Rachlevsky. Th e orchestra’s warmth and high energy create addictive performances that stay with listeners long after the last note has been played

EUGENE BALLET COMPANY WITH BIG HORN JAZZ BAND “ALICE IN WONDERLAND” & “SWING KINGS”TONI PIMBLE, ARTISTIC DIRECTORConcert sponsors: ATRIO/DCIPA

Saturday, March 19, 20117:30 P.M. Jacoby Auditorium, U.C.C.

Founded in 1978, the Eugene Ballet Company has grown from a community-based dance group to become one

of the West’s busiest and most versatile professional dance companies. After performing “Alice in Wonderland” they will be joined by Roseburg’s own Big Horn Jazz Band as they perform “Swing Kings” a tribute to the swing era of the 1940s.

DOUGLAS COUNTY YOUTH ORCHESTRA“WINTER CONCERT”KRISTIN RILEY, CONDUCTORConcert sponsors: Umpqua Symphony AssociationUmpqua Community College

Tuesday, January 25, 20117:00 P.M. Jacoby Auditorium, U.C.C.“SPRING CONCERT” To Be Announced

Th e Douglas County Youth Orchestra concerts showcase over one hundred students from age four to twenty. Th e intermediate and advanced Orchestras off er a repertoire from the Baroque to the Modern. Douglas County can be proud of these fi ne musicians.

SEASON TICKETSSEASON TICKETSADULT $75 • SENIOR $65

STUDENT $20 • FAMILY $175

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THE RIVERS

North Umpqua provides peaceful quiet

Photos courtesy of Mike and Carol Poe

MIKE AND CAROL POEFor The News-Review

While searching forwhat would beour future retire-ment location,

we happened upon the beauti-ful North Umpqua River.

Although our destinationwas Crater Lake, the unexpect-ed discovery of the Thunder-ing Waterfalls and the pristinebeauty of the North Umpquastole the show. Like having agood massage, we soon meltedinto the calming peaceful quietof this area. Our deep appreci-ation for nature would be satis-fied here.

Passing over the options likethe booming growth of Bendand Central Oregon, leavingthe rural metro area of Wash-ington County was an easychoice. We are so blessed tonow live on the North UmpquaRiver. Here, where people stillwave to strangers on our smallcountry road, we have foundour little piece of paradise.

We raft, swim, canoe, fishand hike along the Umpqua.Not a day goes by that we arenot yet still awed by theuniqueness of this wonderfulriver. I so clearly understandwhy famous author Zane Greywanted to keep this areaunder-published in his writ-ings.

So, we carry on the love ofthe Umpqua River by practic-ing good stewardship of theland for generations yet tocome, to enjoy.

ABOVE: Mike andNicole LaGood of Portland fish for troutand summer steelheadon the North UmpquaRiver in July 2009.

LEFT: The mainUmpqua River in thefall of 2009 nearSawyer’s Rapids.

RIGHT: Geese on theNorth Umpqua Riverare photographed fromthe deck of Mike andCarol Poe’s home.


THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS

of the Roseburg area

Welcome You!Christ is in our midst! Discover the foundations of the Christian faith in the Orthodox Christian Church. Celebrate

the seasons of the Church year. Reader’s services are off ered in English in an upper room chapel at St. George Episcopal Church, 1024 SE Cass St. in Roseburg. Join us for worship one Sunday each month at 10 AM. (Dates vary)

Call for details: Call for details: Jo Ann Kluge Jo Ann Kluge 817-2229817-2229 • 459-1948 • 459-1948 John Trotogott John Trotogott 672-3113672-3113

is a caring, open-minded religion that encourages you to seek your own spiritual path. Our faith draws on many religious sources, wel-

coming people with different beliefs. We are united by shared values, not by creed or dogma. Our congregations are places where people gather to nurture their spirits and put their faith into action by helping to make our communities—and the world—a better place.

UUN I TA R I A N U N I V E R S A L I S MN I TA R I A N U N I V E R S A L I S M

Sunday Services 10:30amRev. Annie Holmes, Minister

2167 NW Watters, Roseburg, OR 541-672-2250 www.umpquauuchurch.org

THE RIVERS

CHRISTIAN BRINGHURSTThe News-Review

arolyn Callahan was a sen-ior in high school enjoyingher last Christmas break asa high school student whenthe floodwaters of 1964

snuck up on her family’s Del RioRoad property and forced the fami-ly to mount a hasty evacuation.

Rain had been thundering downon the hundred valleys of theUmpqua for days, Callahan and herfamily listening to the news all thewhile to find out when the riverwould crest so they would knowwhen to leave.

“We were looking out the frontexpecting it to crest at a certaintime, and the way the house sits, it’son a little bit of a mound, and so itcame around the other side of thehouse,” Callahan said.

The Callahans were caught totallyunawares as the water began to lapat their door. They had no time topack, so they just piled into the carand left all of their belongingsbehind. The waters would rise ashigh as the kitchen counters beforesubsiding, ruining clothing, photo-graphs, home movies — everything.

“When we came back, wheneverthat might have been, there was atleast a foot of silt just on the floor inthe house,” said Callahan. Theyfound their cat taking shelter on theroof. Callahan would live away fromthe home with a friend for sometime while the house was beingcleaned up, a process that requiredredoing the floor, laying new carpet,throwing out water-damaged proper-ty among other tasks.

The drama playing out in thehome of Dr. Donald Jeppesen,Callahan’s father, was reprisedmany times throughout DouglasCounty as the Umpqua River sys-tem and its tributaries flooded theirbanks that Christmas week, inun-dating homes, farms, streets andbridges all over the region.

In the Garden Valley area, aselsewhere, the water reached to theroofs of many buildings and homes.The community of Umpqua waslargely cut off from the rest of thevalley, with three familiesmarooned at the school. They hadto be evacuated by helicopter,according to News-Review cover-age of the disaster. The FoothillDrive area was largely under water,Legion Field was surrounded bywater which spilled from the banksof the South Umpqua across Stew-art Park. Water spread across Har-vard Avenue and down into Fre-mont Junior High School and thesurrounding homes.

Rick Watkins, who is now a partowner of Rick’s Medical Supply,was home from the University ofOregon for Christmas break whenthe flooding began. He soon foundhis help was needed in the familybusiness, Walt’s Towing and Ambu-lance Service.

“We worked well with the policedepartments at that time, and theyneeded help because they wereevacuating people, and my job wasto stand over there on Harvard nearStewart Parkway and to ask peoplenot to travel on out Harvard,”Watkins said. “We had one guy thatdidn’t believe me ... and he droveout there in a big old Oldsmobile,and the next thing you know he was

standing on top of his car holleringfor help.”

The man was ultimately rescuedby boat. Watkins’ first experiencedriving one of the family ambu-

lances came the next morning,when he was called to help evacu-ate Curry Manor in Garden Valley.The home was without power orheat for its elderly residents. Rose-

burg’s two hospitals quickly filled,forcing the veterans hospital toaccept patients.

Roseburg motels and hotelsboomed with displaced residents,with at least one lodge offering freerooms to evacuees. Meanwhile,county health officials warned resi-dents in flooded areas to get vacci-nated for typhoid.

The notorious 1964 flood washardly the first of its kind in Dou-glas County. Memorable floods hadoccurred at intervals before thatyear — in 1950, 1927, 1890, and,also memorably, in 1861. However,a number of factors coincided tomake the 1964 flood particularlydamaging.

As Laverne Murphy, 94, recalls,increasing snowmelt runoff fromthe mountains combined with sev-eral days of torrential downpoursand high tides created the condi-tions that led to the flooding.

“The temperature went up above50 degrees clear up to the DiamondLake area, and so the mountains inthat area is what brought the waterdown, and at the same time we hadan extremely high tide on thecoast,” said the Umpqua resident.“The high tide kept the river fromexpelling any water.”

Murphy listened carefully tonews of the rising waters, at onepoint warning fellow Umpqua resi-

dents at the Umpqua Store to get tohigher ground.

“I was telling the people in thestore, I said, ‘You better maybe goover to the school house tonight ...because from all the reports that I’mhearing, I mean it hasn’t stoppedand it’s rising pretty rapidly.”

Although his Umpqua home wasspared, his sister’s Roseburg homeon Ballf Street flooded enough tosend her refrigerator floating.

Though the flooding was suddenand severe, the waters receded justas suddenly once the rain stopped,and Murphy found he could traveljust about anywhere. Cleaning upthe wreckage left in the wake of theflood would take significantlylonger.

“It rained for four days withoutstopping ... I’ve always said — andI’ve lived right here for, well, since1923 — I’ve never seen very manyrains that just ... never stop,” Mur-phy said. “From what I’ve everseen in my lifetime, when you justget a break for a couple of hours itmakes a difference in the risingwater, you know, because it isn’tjust a steady downpour.”

• Christian Bringhurst is a for-mer reporter and city editor at TheNews-Review who now teaches lan-guage arts at Camas Valley CharterSchool.

1964 flood one for the books

Photos courtesy of Douglas County Museum of History and Natural History

The South Umpqua River floods the Winston area in 1964. Highway 99 is at the top of the photo; the Clay Smith house is in the center.

Four days of constant rain,melting snow resulted inUmpqua River system

flooding homes, property

C

People had the messy job of cleaning their homes after the Dec. 23,1964, flood left silt a foot deep in some buildings.

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THE RIVERS

CHRISTIAN BRINGHURSTFor The News-Review

Throbbing with vigor andlife as it wends its waythrough field and forest, theUmpqua River system

could be likened to a vast circula-tory network that delivers its pre-cious lifeblood to the ranches andfarms of Douglas County.

Farmers like Roseburg’s DonKruse and Winston’s Mark Brosi

draw their farms’ sustenance fromthe rivers, nourishing the pears,peaches, carrots and cucumbers thatfurnish produce stands throughoutthe area each year.

“We have one pump in the NorthUmpqua River and we have threepumps in the South Umpqua,”Kruse said. “Of course, the NorthUmpqua is a lot more reliablebecause of better flow.”

Unfortunately this vast circulato-ry system — particularly its south-ern stem — suffers from seasonalfluctuations in flow volume thataffect how much water is availableto the likes of Kruse and Brosi.

“Some years we are reallyrestricted on our irrigating becauseof low flow,” said Kruse, adding,

“We are able to kind of anticipate inthe spring when we plant what theconditions might be, and we try notto plant a crop that is dependent onwater late in the season on the prop-erty that has the water right thatisn’t worth much.”

Irrigators must obtain a waterright in order to draw water for theircrops. When water use must be cur-tailed, property owners with the old-est water rights are the last to gettheir water access cut; thus, theirwater right is more valuable than anewer one.

“The crops that need water in ouroperation right through the seasonand require quite a lot of water arecrops like summer squash andcucumbers, peppers, corn ... and

then all of our cole crops: cabbageand cauliflower and broccoli and allthat,” said Kruse, adding that car-rots and rutabagas also require largeamounts of water.

As for Brosi, he said his oldestwater rights date back to the 1920sor ’30s, although his youngest rightis considerably newer — from about1975. He too tries to limit the cropshe plants on land served by thenewer water rights to ones that won’tneed watering late in the season.

“Usually they cut us off on onepiece (of property) where I havesome pears, and usually about thetime they cut us off we’re just aboutdone with pears,” Brosi said. “Butit’s kind of planning, too — yougotta plan ahead.”

Both Brosi and Kruse pay for asupplemental contract through thecounty that allows them to drawextra water from the river that hasbeen released from GalesvilleReservoir, where water from aSouth Umpqua tributary, CowCreek, is stored.

Ranchers like Troy and HollyMichaels of Days Creek rely on theSouth Umpqua River to water thepastures that fatten their livestock— some 250 sheep and 200 head ofcattle, in the Michaelses’ case. Theyirrigate their 120 acres with waterfrom the South Umpqua and a cou-ple of streams that run through theirproperty.


The North Umpqua River that flows in the shadows in the background provides water that irrigates a pasture for livestock grazing and silage that is stored inthe white bags for winter feed.This pasture is just off North Bank Road.

Rivers fuel farm, ranch production

WEB BRIGGSAs told to Craig ReedFor The News-Review

Swimming, fishing, wash-ing, irrigating — all thoseactivities involved the SouthUmpqua River as it flowed forabout a mile along the edge ofthe Briggs Ranch in southDouglas County.

I used to swim in it. Thefamily used to soak and washwooden prune trays in theriver.

I think we take it for grant-ed, we all have. The SouthUmpqua has been a veryfriendly river. It’s been avail-able. It’s been valuable to ushere. You can’t put a dollarvalue on it.

We used the river to ouradvantage. It’s been a sourceof income, whether growingan acre or two or more of veg-etables, a 4-H animal or more

River is valuable in many ways


Web Briggs has ranched along the South Umpqua River formost of his 84 years.

Seasonal fluctuations involume affect how

much water is availablefor crops

Turn to IRRIGATION, page 11

Turn to BRIGGS, page 10


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THE RIVERS

Photo courtesy of BOB SCHULZ

This photo of the sun rising over the North Umpqua River was taken from the backyard deck of the Schulz home off Echo Drive. Thephoto earned a third place at the Douglas County Fair.

HELEN SCHULZFor The News-Review

ov. 7, 2009 ... the day myhusband, Bob, and Imoved to and fell in lovewith the North UmpquaRiver. Actually, it had real-

ly lured us in the few years prior tothis date, as we had visited severaltimes our dear friends, who livedon the river. On each occasion, wereveled in its natural beauty, yethadn’t known how drawn in wewere becoming. Since that date, wefeel such a sense of new spirit andenthusiasm, that we know themove from Southern Californiawas the perfect one for us.

The views from our deck over-looking the river, quite often takeour breath away.

Bob, being the early bird, hascaptured many magnificient sunris-es,with our little digital camera, butthis one, in all its colorful splendor,is our all-time favorite...almostmakes me wish I could enjoy risingthis early to share these moments.

The river definitely has its ownsounds, rhythms that lull us tosleep at night and make us feel soblessed to be a part of its life.

One of our new hobbies is spot-ting Bald Eagles, Heron, ducks,Canadian geese and Osprey carry-ing fish. All are also part of thiswild and scenic river.

I take great delight in taking andsharing photos of families, as theyshout with glee, while navigatingthe rapids below us. We too, havefished and rafted the river and feelthe same exhilaration.

Our two sons, from SouthernCalifornia, have visited us severaltimes and now also share our lovefor the river, especially since theirlast fishing trip with a guide, whenthey caught and released 12 steel-head. The one measured 40” andwas the largest ever seen by theguide. They hope their next fishingtrip next week will be as success-ful.

The landscape of the NorthUmpqua, as we view it from nearWhistler’s Bend Park, is foreverchanging, creating art in its purestform. We feel such a spiritual con-nection with our river that we arenow true keepers of the river andwant to help preserve it for futuregenerations.

We love it here and know this is‘where we are meant to be’.

‘This is where weare meant to be’

livestock. It’s provided a lotof water to places along theriver. It’s increased the carry-ing capacity by maybe 30percent for cattle and sheepon ground along the river.The river was there and it’sbeen used. It created jobs in alot of different ways.

The Umpqua River hasfavorable soil on both sidesof it in many areas as it flowsto the sea. Prunes and otherfruit trees were first plantedon much of this land alongwith grain and hay. Very littlewater was needed for prunes.

During the Depression ofthe 1930s, hundreds of peo-ple were needed to pick theprunes. Nobody made enoughto save much money, but theydid eat well.

They tried floating logsdown it, but that didn’t workwell.

After World War II, alu-minum pipe and electricpumps became available andmany of the orchards wereremoved and other crops tooktheir place. With the UmpquaRiver running near by andelectricity available, morejobs were again available tofamilies.

Row crops, needing irriga-tion, and hand harvesting ofcrops like pole beans, sweetcorn and cane berries provid-ed work. There was alsoalfalfa and row crops such asstrawberries and tomatoes.

Many hundreds of acres ofpasture and hay are also irri-gated from the UmpquaRiver.

From the ’50s on, morewater has been removed fromthe river by an increasingnumber of irrigation units asthe area developed and morehomes were built along theriver. With the increase inpopulation, the river has beenused in one way or another.

I was a member of theDouglas County Water Advi-sory Board when GalesvilleReservoir was built. That wasa good move for south coun-ty and provided a lot morewater year round.

Water doesn’t come beforeair, but the river has been anasset. If not for it, therewould be a lot of dry landdown here. It’s been veryvaluable. You can’t put avalue on it. It’s valuable forthe property it enhances, it’svaluable for the fish it’shome to, it’s valuable foragricultural irrigation, it’sprovided water for millponds, it’s provided jobs.People have benefittedbecause of the river and itswater.

The river has been a valu-able asset and will continueto be if we treat it properly.Douglas County is lucky tohave the versatility of thisbody of water runningthrough the county to thesea.

Web Briggs is a DouglasCounty native, having livedon the Briggs Ranch thatborders on the SouthUmpqua River for all of his84 years.

“The views fromour deck

overlooking theriver quite oftentake our breath

away.

Helen SchulzGlide

”

Briggs:River hascreated jobs

Continued from page 9

N


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THE RIVERS

Irrigation: Rivers providewater for livestock and crops

“In the river system we’vehad no trouble,” TroyMichaels said. “Our waterrights are old enough that wehave never been shut downby the water master. Howev-er, we also irrigate out ofsome streams, and we havetrouble starting about mid-August through the rest ofthe season until we get sig-nificant rain in the fall.”

At such times, theMichaelses have a couple ofoptions: They may move thelivestock from the stream-fedproperty to a parcel irrigatedoff of the South Umpqua, orthey may supplement thoseanimals’ diet with hay untilthey are ready for market.Troy said their animals need

to gain weight over the last100 days of their lives, andthey can’t do that on drygrass alone.

“I guess being able to irri-gate gives us, in our case,additional marketingoptions,” Troy said. “We’redoing grass finishing on ouranimals, and so the irrigationextends our green forage pro-duction and allows us to mar-ket animals several additionalmonths.”

Without the ability to irri-gate, the Michaelses wouldnot be able to raise as manyanimals for market.

Brosi said the public needsto be aware of the importanceof irrigation to local agricul-tural producers, and takesteps to ensure the water willbe there in the future as Dou-

glas County’s populationgrows — along with its waterneeds.

“You know, they weregoing to do this Days Creekdam a long time ago ... thatprobably would have beenone of the best things thatever happened for a watersource around here,” Brosisaid. “Douglas County’s avery rich agricultural area;there’s a lot of potential here.People need to think aboutgetting that huge source ofwater further on down theroad.”

• Christian Bringhurst is aformer reporter and city edi-tor for The News-Review whonow works as a languagearts teacher at Camas ValleyCharter School.


CRAIG REEDThe News-Review

There’s hardly a time during theyear that fish can’t be caught in Dou-glas County.

The spring chinook are one of themost abundant fish in the Umpqua.The salmon enter the Umpqua Riverfrom March through June, hold indeep pools during July and Augustand spawn in September and Octo-ber. Springers can weigh in at up to40 pounds.

The South Umpqua River, themainstem Umpqua and the SmithRiver contain most of the fall chi-nook. When fall rains increase thewater level and cool the water tem-perature, the fish begin to moveupstream very rapidly.

The South Umpqua is closed toangling, but the main stem UmpquaRiver and Smith River estuary pro-vide excellent angling opportuni-ties.

The summer steelhead run iscomposed of both wild and hatcheryfish. The best fishing for summersteelhead is from June to October.They average 6 to 8 pounds in size.

Fly-fishing for summer steelheadis popular on the North Umpqua,especially in the 33 miles of fly-angling-only from Rock Creekupriver to Soda Springs Dam.

Winter steelhead are present inthe North, South Umpqua and mainstem Umpqua rivers and in theSmith River. They begin theirmigration from the ocean inNovember. January through Marchare the best fishing months.

The North Umpqua and SmithRiver have healthy runs of wildwinter steelhead. The SouthUmpqua has both wild and hatcheryruns. The total steelhead run is esti-mated to be more than 25,000 fishin the Umpqua Basin during mostyears.

A large North Umpqua wild fishcan weigh in at more than 12pounds. The South Umpqua fishaverage 7 to 10 pounds.

All wild winter steelhead must bereleased, except in the NorthUmpqua where the bag limit is oneper day, five per year.

Coho, also known as silvers, are

found throughout the UmpquaRiver system. An adult UmpquaBasin coho averages 10 pounds.Hatchery coho are available for har-vest from August to November.

Sockeye salmon are a rarity in theUmpqua River system, but there area few. Landlocked “kokanee” arefound in Lemolo and Hemlocklakes.

Rainbow trout is the species oftrout most commonly stocked in theUmpqua River system. The reser-voirs are stocked annually withabout 30,000 hatchery rainbowtrout of legal size (8 to 12 inches)just prior to spring vacation inMarch. Fish stocking continues intoJune and again in late August.

Best trout fishing is in earlyspring, beginning in March and

lasting through May when the fishare actively feeding. The best bait issalmon eggs, worms or small fliesthat match whatever is hatching onshore at the time. Lures also canbring success.

Anglers should check sportangling regs to determine fishinggear restrictions.

Cutthroat trout are found through-out the entire Umpqua Basin. Theaverage size of the resident adult is6 to 8 inches while those cutthroatthat migrate to the ocean and thenreturn upriver average 16 inches.

The uppermost section of theNorth Umpqua and Lemolo andToketee reservoirs are home tobrown trout. The average size of an

Angling opportunities abound

MICHAEL SULLIVAN/News-Review file photo

Fishermen spend an afternoon on the Umpqua River near River Forks Park.

Photo courtesy of Mike and Carol Poe

Fish head up through the ladder at Winchester Dam.

From spring chinook towinter steelhead, fishing

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THE RIVERS

ROBIN HENRIKSONFor The News-Review

surprised even myself when Iagreed to a family rafting tripon the North Umpqua Riverover the Fourth of July week-

end this year. I’ve never been one to enjoy

swimming, floating or boating inthe river, so everyone was some-what impressed by my decision.The dread of drowning and the fearof what may be lurking in thedepths has always kept me a dry-lander. Now, don’t get me wrong. Ivalue the absolute beauty and tran-quility of the river, but I value itfrom the river bank.

The day started out full of funwith the promise of adventure. Ireally felt quite at ease as we chat-ted and enjoyed each other’s com-pany and the scenery of the mightyUmpqua. There were eight of us —three in one raft and five in theother. My son was the most experi-enced and he navigated the rapidsand channels well, giving adviceand guidance throughout the earlypart of the day. Random conversa-tions were occasionally interjectedwith a reminder of safety.

The serenity of the river and thesplendor of the surrounding forest

were magnificent.The cool water splashed us all

and kept us refreshed as the sum-mer sun beat down. Osprey soaredoverhead and swallowtail butter-flies fluttered on the shoreline. Weenjoyed a picnic lunch in the shadeof the trees on a convenient picnictable. The day seemed about asrelaxing as a day can get.

After lunch, we, once again,

secured our life jackets and set outdown river. The approaching rapidswere powerful and demanded ourrespect. Maneuvering over andthrough the boulders kept me a littleon edge as we drifted. We seemed tobe doing well and my son provedhis ability until at one rapid, heannounced, “Hold on.” I turned justin time to see a massive rock thatwe were about to hit sideways.

The raft shifted and the left sidewent under and was swamped withwater. I knew we were going over.I mentally prepared myself to swimand to make it to shore.

The rushing sound of water andthe white bubbly rapids surroundedme. I expected to come to the sur-face at any moment, but as I ana-lyzed the situation, I realized I wasunder the raft and could not reachthe surface. A million thoughtsraced through my mind. Where ismy family? Are my son and daugh-ter under the raft too? Does anyoneknow where I am? Can this reallybe happening? How do I get to thesurface? I knew I shouldn’t haveever done this!

I pushed and fought to get outfrom under the raft, trying to holdmy breath as best I could. Sudden-ly, I emerged, gasping for air. Icould see my son just out of reach,

and I could hear my daughteryelling. I struggled to swim andcatch my breath, but the more Itried, the more water I seemed toswallow. I remembered the adviceabout floating feet first and knewthat I needed to calm down.

Another rapid was fast approach-ing, and I could see my daughtertrying to reach me. She somehowmanaged to pull me to shore, and Icould see my son safely on theother side. The other raft was closebehind and by the time theyapproached, I was on the water’sedge trying to regain my compo-sure. My daughter’s leg wasgashed from hitting something andwe were both overwhelmed by the

situ-

ation. After recovering for a shorttime, we were coaxed back in theraft for a short distance until wecame to a safe departure point.

The scenic beauty of theUmpqua River is but one of itsqualities. Its sheer strength andpower are to be respected and notbe taken for granted. I appreciateboth of these, but from now on, I’llstick to my appreciation from thebank.

Robin Henrikson is a resident ofthe Melrose area. Her daughter,photographer Shelby Henrikson,will be a senior at Sutherlin HighSchool this fall.

Photos courtesy of SHELBY HENRIKSON

Kyle Henrikson of Roseburg rides his pontoon raft down through the whitewater of the upper North Umpqua River earlier this summer.

Umpqua rafting offers both

thrills and spills

Keith Henrikson, left, Brandon Anderson, Leo Onderko andCharlene Henrikson enjoy North Umpqua River whitewater.

“I pushed andfought to get outfrom under the

raft, trying to hold my breathas best I could.

Robin HenriksonRoseburg

”

I

JILL HUGHES WALTENSPIELFor The News-Review

was almost 7 years oldthat spring my grandfa-ther, Pop, discovered ura-nium in Quartz Creek

which feeds into the SouthUmpqua River.

Pop converted three schoolbuses into early day Winnaba-gos, and in March, we cara-vaned up the river — ourfamily, the Lean brothers andPop. And thus began my life-long love of the SouthUmpqua River.

That spring we started ourcamping adventure whereQuartz Creek empties into theSouth Umpqua. It wasn’t longuntil the men discovered theuranium was not of a qualityto interest the government.The dream of great riches waslost for the adults, but wechildren were sure we haddied and gone to heaven.

There were four of us, Jack-ie, Jill, Wes and Trudi, plusMom and Dad, living in thattiny school bus. Mom intro-duced us to the world ofbooks, card games and radiodrama programs. It was theonly way to maintain her san-ity with all of us cooped up inthe bus the few times weabsolutely could not be out-side.

We were only allowed tocamp in a spot for a shorttime on the river, so as theweeks progressed, we movedseveral times. We discoveredthe wonders of TopplingRock, one of the best swim-ming holes on the river. It wasvery popular and our bus andwhatever rig Dad was driving,took up most of the limitedparking space, so we onlystayed there a few days beforemoving a short way to our

next stop at Francis Creek. Itwasn’t as inviting a swim-ming hole, but the beach, theprivacy and the wonderfulwoods and hideouts made itanother great stopping spotand we could walk to Top-pling Rock from there.

Our next move was down-river a couple miles to TheHole. This time we were ableto stay for quite awhile, infact, until the river moved us.And that was where Dad builtthe outhouse. Up until thattime, we would take the shov-el and head for the woods ifwe needed to answer the callof nature.

Friends of Mom and Dad,Dorothy and Earl, came tovisit and she was appalled atthe thought of squatting in thewoods and gave Dad a lot ofgrief over the lack of facili-ties. They were coming backthe next weekend and Dadpromised he’d take care of theproblem before then. Whenthey came back, Dad proudlyled Dorothy — with the restof us tagging along — out tothe “facilities.”

Dad had nailed a two-by-four between two trees andhung a rope from a branch.He explained that yougrabbed onto the rope andswung up onto the two-by-four and did your business.Then, you swung back out onthe rope, dropping a distancefrom the board. Not too longafter that, Dad’s ex-relative-by-marriage, Levi, brought usa real outhouse.

We ran wild that year, withthe river being our baby sitter.We would go to the river firstthing in the morning to washour faces and brush our teeth.Our drinking water came outof Dry Creek that ran into theriver next to the bus. We alsocaught crawdads in that creek,and had a wooden slat box inthe icy water to keep our milkand butter cold. If we weren’tin the water, we were playingon the sandy beach or explor-

ing the woods we lived in. The river was home to tur-

tles, eels, raccoons, hundredsof minnows that nibbled ourfeet, us kids and Pop’s dog,Jerry. Jerry was water spanielof some sort and would divefor rocks, and continue todive until he found the rockthat was thrown. Well, maybeit was a different rock, butPop always insisted it was theexact rock that had beenthrown for him.

I guess we must have alllearned to swim while livingat The Hole, although I don’tremember learning. It justseems we all knew how. Thedeep water and shallow waterwas divided at that spot by along narrow “island reef”where dozens of turtles wouldsun themselves.

We were allowed to play inthe shallow water whetherthere was an adult present ornot, but never were we to goto the other side of the reefunless Mom or Dad or someother responsible adult wasthere to watch us. On thatside, the water was so deepwe could not dive to the bot-tom, although back then theriver was so clean and clearthat lying on an inner tube,you could see clearly to thebottom. I’m not sure whyMom had to be there sinceshe only learned to swim thatsummer after throwing herinner tube to one of the manychildren that were alwaysunderfoot. She then swam toshore and was amazed thatshe “knew how to swim.”

That winter the river cameup around the bus and we hadto move out in the middle ofthe night.

To me, there are few thingsas exciting and life affirmingas the river in the winter whenit roars out of its banks, carry-ing anything and everythingalong with it. In my child-hood, huge trees would beuprooted and carried along.From that time, until I was in

my thirties, I always livedeither within sight or walkingdistance of the South UmpquaRiver. And at least once morein those years, the river roaredto life and encouraged us tomove quickly in the middle ofthe night.

To this day, I love the riverin the winter when it throwsits head up and struts its stuff.I hope it is never dammed.Something that wild andbeautiful deserves to run free.

Yes, I believe our familywas the first hippies on theriver — and the word had notyet been invented.

Jill Waltenspiel moved offthe South Umpqua River in1978 and now lives in theOakland area. However, shestill has family that lives onthe river, and visits it fre-quently.


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THE RIVERS

My river childhood ...I was blessed

Photo courtesy of Jill Waltenspiel

Dad Jack Hughes, left, mom Mabel Hughes and their grown kids Trudi Moore, Jill Waltenspiel and Jack Hughes posed fora photo at a family reunion in 2000 on Dry Creek, a tributary of the South Umpqua River.

JERRY CHARTIERFor The News-Review

A portion of the NorthUmpqua River at Idleyld Parkeast of Glide squeezes into aturbulent narrow channel,rightfully named “The Nar-rows.”

On any other day,bystanders would watch inawe at the rumbling watercascading into a powerfulforce as it entered the chan-nel, exploding outward into apowerful Class 5 rapid at theoutshoot. But not on this day

On this day, a 12-year-oldgirl, suffering from spina-bif-feta, who herself had a diffi-cult time walking, would bestanding downstream at apool’s edge, enjoying her firstday of living on the river. Jen-nifer’s parents had just movedinto their new house thatoverlooked the river and thelower end of The Narrows.No, this day would not be likeany other, not for Jennifer andnot for a 7-year-old boy whowas fishing upstream with hisfather.

As Jennifer knelt by thecalming water, listening to thedeafening rumble of the near-by pounding rapid, she sud-denly heard the desperate pleafor help and saw a young boycome shooting out of the tur-bulence. He had fallen off therocks at the channel’s upperend. The boy was in serioustrouble.

Without thinking of herown condition, Jennifer doveinto the water, grabbed theboy as the powerful forcesucked them both under.Pulling the boy toward hershe swam away from thestrong current to the pool siderocks, where she held the boyby one hand and the rocks bythe other, yelling for helpuntil it came.

She had without doubtpulled a life from the river.

My life has been blessed. Ihave met many wonderfulpeople in my lifetime. There

are fewmoments,and forthat matter,opportuni-ties to dogood forothers asthismomentafforded.

It was1984,

declared by President RonaldReagan as “the year of thehandicapped child.” I was theBoatman family Realtor. Mr.Boatman called me the nextday to tell me what had hap-pened on their first day at theproperty. I immediately droveto Idleyld Park to see Jenniferand talk with the family.

In my conversation withJennifer, she spoke of a wishshe had to meet with Presi-dent Reagan because heseemed to care so much about“children with handicaps” oras she called them, “chal-lenges in their lives.” It wasin that moment I realized thatwith the right effort, Jen-nifer’s dream could become areality.”

In the next few weeks, Imade lots of phone calls andwrote a letter to the presidentabout Jennifer’s actions. U.S.Senators Mark Hatfield andBob Packwood helped with theWashington, D.C., planning;the CEO of Northwest OrientAirlines gave free airfare tick-ets to the family to and fromPortland; and the people ofthis community that I love somuch donated $3,000 to theJennifer Boatman fund —“Just for her!”

Months later when I vis-ited Jennifer and her familyat their home, Jennifer tookdown a photo of her andPresident Reagan, standingside-by-side, shaking handsat the stage podium in theCapitol Building, her metalfor bravery hanging aroundher neck.

The river had played its partin making a little girl’s dreamcome true.

Jerry Chartier of Roseburgis a semi-retired realtor.

The river of dreams: A life is saved

Chartier

Desperate plea forhelp answered by

12-year-old girl

The river in thewinter is exciting and

life affirming

I


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THE RIVERS

Photo by David Trigg of Roseburg

A view to the west across the South Umpqua River from the southern tip of Elk Island.

Photo by John Scheleen of Roseburg

North Umpqua River just above Deadline Falls.

Photo by Sara Heppner-Lauritzen of Roseburg

South Umpqua Falls fun! My little cousin, Payton, riding his noodle down the falls.

Photo by Joseph Fiddy of Roseburg

North Umpqua River at 7:16 a.m. in December 2009. Photo by Norma Townsend of Roseburg

My husband fishing at dusk on the North Umpqua.

Photo GalleryReaders who also like to take photos responded to The News-Review’s

request for photos of the Umpqua River system with about 100 submis-sions. This page and the opposite page feature some of those photos.

The Readers’ Choice Award goes to David Trigg of Roseburg for hisphoto of the South Umpqua River taken from the most southern tip of ElkIsland. Online voting determined the winner of this award. Trigg’s photois featured above.

The Judge’s Choice Award, determined by News-Review photographerMichael Sullivan, goes to Anjolie Mehcam of Roseburg for her picture ofthe South Umpqua River at Stewart Park. Her photo is featured on the fol-lowing page.


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THE RIVERS

Photo by Anjolie Mehcam of Roseburg

The South Umpqua River at Stewart Park.

Phillip Bean of Tyee

Winter freeze on the main Umpqua River at Tyee.

Lynette Nirenberg of Roseburg

Moonglow on the main Umpqua River.

Scott Carson of Myrtle Creek

Early morning fishing on the North Umpqua River at Swiftwater.

Photo by Peter Decius of Glide

Lone Rock Bridge on Highway 138 over the North Umpqua in Glide.

Photo by John Scheleen of Roseburg

Falls on the North Umpqua River above Toketee Falls.

adult brown is 10 to 14 inch-es, but some grow into the20-inch range.

A good population of

brook trout exists in theClearwater River, a tributaryof the upper North UmpquaRiver, near Toketee. Thirteenhigh lakes are stocked withbrook trout and provide fishin the 8- to 12-inch range.

The best concentration ofsmallmouth bass is in themain Umpqua River fromElkton to the forks of theNorth and South Umpqua,and from the lower SouthUmpqua near Roseburg toCanyonville.

The fish’s average size is7-10 inches. Smallmouthbass live near rock structuresand ledges, which provideprotection.

Largemouth bass are con-centrated in numerous pondsand valley lakes and reser-voirs or in such secondaryhabitats as sloughs off themain Umpqua. These fishaverage 1 pound. There arevery few upland ponds with-out largemouth bass.

All local reservoirs havegood numbers of bass forwarm water anglers.

Striped bass roam continu-ously from fresh water to saltwater and back in the mainUmpqua and lower SmithRiver. Striper fishing is bestduring the spring months.

Shad are an excellent sportfish with light gear, smallspinners, jigs and flies pro-viding the most success. Themain fishery for sport fisher-men is from River Forks Parkon the Umpqua downriver toSawyers Rapids during Mayand June.

Other warm water specieslike bluegill, crappie andgreen sunfish are plentiful inmost reservoirs and ponds.

• You can reach FeaturesEditor Craig Reed at 541-957-4210 or by e-mail [email protected].


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THE RIVERS

Photo courtesy of Kenneth Kobbe

A cable stretched across the main Umpqua River and the current helped propel ferries. In this photo, circa 1915, theModel T of Siren Madison and his son, Edgar, is carried across the river on Howard’s Ferry in the Kellogg area.

KENNETH KOBBEThe News-Review

Farms were developedalong the Umpqua Riverbecause of the fertile andproductive soil.

Many of these farms wereon the “other side” of theriver where there were noroads. The only connectionto cross the river from TyeeRoad to the outside area wasby ferry and rowboat.

When I think of the

Umpqua River, it brings backmemories from the mid ’30swhen our family would visitor do trading with familieson the other side of the river.Rowboats were kept on eachside of the river so visitorshad a boat to row across.This was very exciting to me,and on one occasion a cowwas delivered on the ferry.

Ferryboats were propelledacross streams by using theflow of current as power. Theferry was fastened to a cable

stretched across the river.Pulleys were placed on thecables. Manila lines wrappedaround the boat banisterscontrolled its direction.

By shortening the ropes atone end and lengthening atthe opposite end, the ferrywas placed at an angle, forc-ing the current to move itsideways across the river.

To return to the oppositeside, the lines were reversed,forcing the current to movethe boat in the opposite

direction. Manpower wasapplied to the cable duringlow water when there wasnot much current.

In 1937, the original Bul-lock bridge was built whereHighway 138 meets theUmpqua River west ofSutherlin, then over the nexttwo years the Civilian Con-servation Corps built con-necting roads. This removeda large hardship for the farm-ers’ activities.

Memories of ferries and rowboats

JOSEPH FEDERICOFor The News-Review

Mountainsplitting NorthUmpqua River

recently weakened, madegaunt

by weeks of early springsunshine

now welcomes another day-long rain,

the fourth in a row, a river waving at April’s

showerscome steady now in early

May, replacing quiet surface rockswith rough-and-tumble

rapids, each a white-robed hallelu-

jah choir praising a river now full of

itself, regaining speed strength

swagger.

Siltsoaked river runningclear to the ocean,

flaunting its growing girth tooaks

and osprey alike, calling out,shouting “Rain, send more

rain”for as it gives, so must itreceive; dependent on rain

in allits forms, river sweet-talks

incoming clouds with white-water choruses

that are really rumbles ofdelight while being prickled

and pockedby raindrops in the soft rinsemists of another all-rain day.

Editor’s Note — JosephFederico, a 10-year resident ofRoseburg, lives on the NorthUmpqua River just off NorthBank Road. He was born inNew York, worked his profes-sional life in Chicago andretired to the “beautiful andunspoiled” landscape of Dou-glas County.

“This is like everything Idreamed of,” he said of livingalongside the North Umpqua.“Everything here promoteslife. The whole banana beltidea is true.”

Federico is a member of alocal writing group and haswritten two books of poetry.One is titled, “Songs of theUmpqua,” and consists ofnature poems.

“There’s endless (poem)material here,” said Federico.“I could drive that road (NorthBank) every day and get apoem every day because of allthe different looks, it changesevery day.”

Swagger


The North Umpqua River inspires Joseph Federico to write poems about the waterway andthe area.

JOSEPH FEDERICOFor The News-Review

Painterfog drifting upstream unwraps its watercolor kit

on Whistler’s Bend bluffs, spreading promises of day-

long makeovers to a December drab river

that leaps at the chance drawn to the palette offered

by midday sun and backlitmists

rolling from the tube of

Umpqua riverbanks like heaven-sent lipsticks

Exposing a changed rivercharacter,

from mountain runoffroughneck

to Rodeo Drive ingenue on ashopping spree

littering the landscape floorwith quick change outfits

discarded after each wisp ofwind or arc of sun,

flitting from backlit mirror

to foggy fitting room, exclaiming, “Look at this

bluegrey sheath, how the colors change under

the lights”

And then again, “See howthis tealgreen gown flows

when I move, shows mycurves,”

slowing only to try onanother ensemble

and primp past my picturewindow again,

adjusting its seams, asking my opinion as if I could speak

Bluegrey sheath

The News-Review Published June 6, 1997

SWIFTWATER PARK —Sunny skies, a rushing river,deep forests and an open trail:the conditions in early June in1997 were perfect for the dedi-cation of the North UmpquaTrail.

The trail is a 79-mile paththat hugs the banks of theNorth Umpqua River from hereto Maidu Lake in the Cascades.

More than 50 people attend-ed the ceremony, which wasled by Forest Service, Bureauof Land Management andDouglas County officials.

But bureaucrats weren’t thestars during the one-hour cere-mony, which included theunveiling of a commemorativeplaque at the trailhead.

The day belonged to thehandful of local hikers andoutdoor enthusiasts who con-ceived the trail idea, thenlabored over two decades togain support for it.

“It was the dedication of thevolunteers working togetherthat helped us sell that trail tothe powers that be and getfunding to complete that trail,”Dave Baker of the RoseburgDistrict-Bureau of Land Man-

agement said during the cere-mony.

The North Umpqua Trailpasses through lands managedby the Douglas County ParkDepartment, BLM and ForestService.

The multi-use trail is open tohikers, backpackers, horse rid-ers and mountain bikers. It isone of a handful of trails in thenation that connects an urbanarea with a wilderness.

It was also the dream of oneman: Jack Glover, a retiredRoseburg graphic artist whowas the trail’s staunchestbooster and builder.

Glover died in 1996 at theage of 80. Jim Glover, his son,attended the ceremony andhelped unveil the plaque.

Glover said his father was ahumble man who shied awayfrom taking credit for the trail.

“He would have said, ‘Ah, Ididn’t do anything. It couldn’thave happened without allthese people,’” said Glover.“He had the idea, but they didthe work.”

“This trail exists because thecitizens want it,” said DonOstby, Umpqua National Forestsupervisor. “It’s here because ofthe stubborness of people whodidn’t want to give up.”

Fish: Main, South rivershome to smallmouth bass


Twenty years of workcreated 79-mile trail


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THE RIVERS

CHRISTIAN BRINGHURSTThe News-Review

t has been almost eight yearssince I moved to Roseburg totake a job as a reporter at TheNews-Review, and not once

during that time had I floated theNorth or South Umpqua rivers.

For eight years I have drivenover hill and dale in DouglasCounty, admiring the contours andcolors of the rivers Umpqua in

their various seasons, pining forthe day when I would join thethrong of summer rafters I wouldoften see bobbing along likemulti-colored corks.

It wasn’t until this summer thatI finally took the plunge and float-ed the storied section of the NorthUmpqua between Amacher Parkand Hestnes Landing. Equippedwith a rubber tube for myself anda one-person inflatable kayak-type-thing for my wife, Mary, we

set off a couple of hours beforedusk. It had originally been ourintent to go to River Forks, but Iwas informed that given our latestart we would likely wind upfloating Sunburn Alley undermoonlight if we tried.

Before leaving we made sure tostock up on Cheetos, water andbeef jerky, and it is here that Ihave to give a plug to the goodpeople of Bass Pro Shops UncleBuck’s Beef Jerky, for not onlydid their fine product help sustainus, but its Ziplock packaging pro-vided a watertight receptacle forstoring the cell phone and othervaluables we should have left inthe car. Not only that, but I amnow greeted by the savory scent ofhickory-smoked cow every time Iflip open our phone. That’s a qual-ity product you have there, BassPro Shops.

One of the first discoveries wemade as we began our journeywas that Mary’s craft made con-siderably better time than minedid. This was largely due to itsaero, or rather hydrodynamicshape, and the fact that she had apaddle while I was left to flailabout like a high-centered turtle.Happily for me, this meant Marywound up towing me almost the

entire length of the trip – shepulling on her one paddle and megliding contentedly behind her,hands clasped behind my head as Iadmired the scenery floatingleisurely by. What can I say …marriage is bliss.

In spite of the rather dispropor-tionate load my wife carried, I’m

pretty sure we both enjoyed thefloat immensely. It’s quite a sceniclittle trip, though perhaps not soscenic as the wilder portionsupriver from Glide. I’ve alwaysadmired the bluffs that rise dra-matically above the southwest side

Floating the Umpqua and other adventures

Photos courtesy of CHRISTIAN BRINGHURST

Justine Bringhurst, 13, floats a tributary of the South Umpqua River at Camp Comfort, above South Umpqua Falls.

Darren Bringhurst, 12, leaps into the pool at South Umpqua Falls.


The South Umpqua Falls provide a cool play area.

The river provides venues for plenty of cool fun for the family

I

Turn to COOL FUN, page 24


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THE RIVERS

DEBBIE LEVINGSFor The News-Review

ike most rivers, theUmpqua forms from thejoining of various andsmaller waterways.

One flows 50 feet frommy front door: Morgan Creek. Lit-tle known and unrestrained, itdrains the lowlands of Looking-glass. It took me a while, but,eventually, we became friends.

Seventeen years ago we movedinto a century-old house onacreage that includes a swamp-fedpond and creek. A good chunk ofour bowl-shaped valley drains into

Morgan Creekthrough thebiggest culvertsI’ve ever seen.It was a clue. Imissed it.

Rains came.Our modest,one-acre pondturned into abroad, brown,surging force ofnature headedfor Morgan

Creek. Its little islands disappearedunder water, along with most ofour pastures and a great deal of thelawn around our house, which nowresembled a ship on the sea. Mean-while, Morgan Creek jumped itsbanks, usurping our fledgling plantnursery and our large garden.Small, out-of-season tomatoes andgreen peppers joined perennialplants in black plastic pots bob-bing past our hedge down DairyLoop Road.

I called my husband at work andhe assured me he’d checked thingsbefore he left for work. Everythingwas fine.

“Come home!” I said. Sweetly,I’m sure.

Half an hour later, his sedan put-tered and choked through thewater, up our driveway. He stared.

“What did you do?” was mysweet husband’s effort at levity,standing in a watery disaster,wearing his good pants.

For the next few days, wewalked our property and watchedthe dike of our pond wash down-stream. We invited people in forhot coffee while they waited forsomeone to pick them up afterignoring the barriers and failing toford the deeply sunken roadbed.We pulled debris out of the deerfence, most of it belonging toneighbors upstream. Wayupstream. And we said goodbye toour second refrigerator and ourfreezer as they drowned with ourwinter supplies in them.

We are seasoned floodplainers

now. My husband sank four fenceposts to tie his bridge to when thewater comes up. We added gravelto our driveway so the cars arehigher than the water that wouldlike to push them into the road.Our old 4-wheel drive Chevy pick-up is always fueled up and readyto roll, pointed out the driveway.Our house is stocked and ready fortwo weeks of living withoutamenities. Our hay is stacked noless than three palettes high,allowing the water to flow underit.

We own a few torn and mis-shapen yellow and orange conesrescued from the ditches after thefloods and we place them out asquickly as the water rises to coverthe road. We own rubber bootsreaching higher up our legs thanmost brands. My husband placed apost in the yard with marks on itthat we can see from our window.The marks indicate such events as:“ water flows under house” and“water reaches floor joists.”

And through all these experi-ences and training, Morgan Creekbrought us gifts. Over and overagain. When the road floods, my

husband and I rotate the love seatfor a full-on view of spectacularwater plumes thrown up by speed-ing vehicles slamming into twofeet of water. The plumes are mostgorgeous at night illuminated byheadlights. It’s a bit like watchingfireworks. And the coffee is on.

We collect what appear to be

useful items from the debris float-ing by and, when the waterrecedes, we place them at the endof our driveway for the owners toreclaim. Among the recovered arefenceposts with fencing stillattached, sawhorses, a bright yel-low trough, a garden gnome and awhite tire with its flowers still rid-ing inside.

I admit I splashed after some ofmy own items, the most aggravat-ing being the plants in which Iinvested three years of time andgrowing. Adding insult to mysoggy chugging was my beingpassed by the blue sign that untilrecently had hung in our nurseryreading “Water Plants.”

I enjoyed birds before we movedto Lookingglass, and now I amimmersed in them. Every windowin the house has a pair of binocu-lars on the sill. With the creek andour pond surrounding us on threesides, open fields and brushybanks as part of the habitat, thereare plenty of birds! Four seasonsof birds!

Blue herons and great egrets fishfor bass that washed downstreamfrom a neighbor’s pond. Wid-

geons, grebes, wood ducks andpuddle ducks, mergansers, Egypt-ian geese, osprey, kestrels andhawks, several kinds of woodpeck-ers, small and large kingfishers,swallows and swifts, and some-times a Western bluebird — allfeed, many mate, nest, trot theirbabies out the first time. Andevery evening from April to Octo-ber we hear the sound of the buz-zards bedding down on the branch-es of their home trees on the banksof the creek outside our Iivingroom. Their feathers scratch andrustle trying to fit one more buz-zard on too short a branch. Theyprotest with the sound of flightfeathers straining, and finally, thestill, silent, dark forms facingsouth when night settles the argu-ments. A gift from Morgan Creek.

The wildlife. Everything wewanted to protect we put inside adeer fence or other barrier. Therest is open to cohabitation andcohabit they do. Deer bed down inour side yard. Raccoons follow thecreek to our back porch to see ifany cat food is left over. Orphan

Morgan Creek has highs and lows

Photo courtesy of DEBBIE LEVINGS

Morgan Creek has a cool, green look during the summer months, but it can get high and out of control during the rainy months.

Levings

Tributary has a differentpersonality, depending

on the season

L

“We are seasoned flood-plainers now. ... Ourhouse is stocked andready for two weeks

of living withoutamenities.

Debbie LevingsLookingglass

”Turn to MORGAN CREEK, page 20


Phil & Jo KaserPhil & Jo Kaser

founders and owners

founders and owners

1175 W. Harvard Ave.1175 W. Harvard Ave.541-672-1961541-672-1961

Monday-Friday 9am-7pmMonday-Friday 9am-7pmSaturday 9am-6pmSaturday 9am-6pm

www.harvardavedrugs.comwww.harvardavedrugs.com

Harvard Ave Drugs & Gifts Time Line

Aug 1959 Aug 9th Phil Kaser and Florence Groshong opened Harvard Ave Drugs 2 days after the infamous “Roseburg Blast”. Due to the emergency of the city, we were asked if we could open early, even if not quite ready.

Sept 1959 By Sept. we were fi nally ready to offi cially have our “Grand Opening”. We had the 1st Drive Up Prescription window in the State of Oregon. We began as a pharmacy and gift store. The only days of the year we were closed were Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

Phil worked all the hours, as a pharmacy cannot be open unless a pharmacist is on duty. Florence worked the week days 9-5. Jo, Phil’s wife, would bring his dinner down each day, and would work up front while he ate dinner and was able to be with his 3 girls.

After the fi rst few years we added an employee, then more as we grew.

Early 1970’s Florence Groshong wanted to retire, so we purchased her share, and became sole owners. We expanded to twice our size by knocking out a wall and remodeling.

Early 1990’s We were able to occupy the entire building, so again remodeled. At this time, Ron Noel, of West Side Pharmacy wanted to retire, so he contacted us, and we purchased his inventory. We also thankfully acquired his staff and loyal customers.

2009-2010 We have always been at the same address, only expanding to now occupy the entire building. Our staff has grown to around 20 or more. Even though we are still not completely retired, we don’t work fulltime. Thank you family, staff and customers

Phil & Jo Kaser

Dear Customer, 50 years ago, my wife and I, and our partner Florence Groshong, opened our Pharmacy and Gift Store to the public.

We refl ect back on all those years of long hours and hard work and realize that without you, our faithful customers, and our outstanding employees, we could not be where we are today.

We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to be an independent business and to serve our community to the best of our ability.

Please know how much we appreciate you as a customer and know that your business provides our “Harvard Ave Drugs family” with precious jobs and a hope for a better tomorrow. Everyone at Harvard Ave Drugs feels blessed to call you our customer and friend. Sincerely, Phil & Jo Kaser Pharmacist & Owners Harvard Ave Drugs & Gifts

HARVARD AVENUE DRUGSHARVARD AVENUE DRUGS

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THE RIVERS

RAY SIMSFor The News-Review

Douglas County’s Umpquarivers are the source of thecrystal clear drinking waterthat flows out of every tap inand around Roseburg.

Could Roseburg be knownfor itswater?Could theCitiesWaterfrontDevelop-ment Planon thesouth sideof the rivernear down-town bethe destina-tion?

Would it bring the touristsmotoring up and down I-5 intoRoseburg? I think so.

The potential for anUmpqua Waterfront Projectfor downtown Roseburg isactually unbelievable.

Located just across the riveron Spruce Street a half blockoff of Washington Street, theRoseburg Chamber of Com-merce Visitors InformationCenter is in a perfect positionto be the first focal point ofthe waterfront park. It directsthe way to the waterfalls,lakes, fishing, camping, hik-ing, wine tours, DiamondLake, and the CollidingRivers, giving a new meaningto the slogan “Stay and Playanother Day in Douglas Coun-ty.”

It may surprise some toknow that 50 years ago,George Singleton and othervisionaries of that time pro-posed just such a waterfrontproject to the Roseburg Cham-ber of Commerce Board! Iwas a member. The time sim-ply was not right. Most of therequired land was occupied.

Who would have guessedthat the 1959 Blast that rocked

downtown Roseburg wouldlevel part of this potentialwaterfront area, and that laterSafeway and Payless (RiteAid) would move on, andHansen Motors would liqui-date, making ample spaceavailable. It was a good ideathen but an even better ideanow. Tourists could gather atthis central point and find theway to the river’s views,refreshing themselves andreplenishing their ice and trav-el supplies on the way.

The City of Roseburgshould be complimented fordeveloping this plan. Throughits Community DevelopmentDepartment, the Plan can beviewed at the websitewww.cityofroseburg.org/com-mDevelop/. Just scroll to theWaterfront Plan, March 31,2010, Public Forum Presenta-tion, to view 92 colorfulpages. More information isavailable from the City ofRoseburg Community Devel-opment Department at 541-492-6750.

Gary Leif, a member of theRoseburg Downtown Commit-tee, was quoted in the News-Review’s April 1 article titled“Refined Roseburg WaterfrontPlan shared with public”(www.nrtoday.com/arti-

cle/20100401/NEWS/100409999) as saying “I’m still look-ing for a more iconic view ofRoseburg.” Could “It’s theWater” be that iconic view forwhich Roseburg is known? Hetells about the project manyhope will come to fruition.

Over the years my wife andI have traveled by car acrossthis great country of ours.We’ve learned how importantwater is to the vacationingmotorist and the potentialretiree. One Great Plains towneven publicized “Free Water”in the middle of its downtown,which was quite an attraction.

Could not Roseburg offerfree water to the traveling

motorist? Would not the theme“A Mountain Spring in EveryHome” be attractive to thoseconsidering making theirhome here, and attract theattention of the traveler to thegreat drinking water we takefor granted?

Albuquerque, N.M., alsohas such a town center focalpoint.

Downtown space is nowavailable for developing thewaterfront. Several buildingsstand vacant ready to becomepart of a tourist attraction.The Roseburg Visitors and

Convention Bureau mightwelcome the challenge ofbringing into Roseburg somany tourists that the vacatedSafeway-Rite Aid-Hansenproperty would be needed forparking. Retail shops wouldfill currently unused spaces,catering to this trade.

Would it create new jobs?You bet! Besides those in con-struction, more workers wouldbe needed in motels, restau-rants and service stations.Retail business payrolls wouldbe supported by the tourists.

Would the cost of a water-front project be funded byproperty tax payers? I hopenot and it need not be. Thereare other funds available.Some existing motel-hotel taxrevenues are at hand. TheCity of Roseburg and Dou-glas County may obtaindevelopment district fundsthat could be applied. TheFord Family Foundationmight be sympathetic. TheCow Creek Band of UmpquaTribe of Indians have voicedtheir support.

If the community stoodbehind the Roseburg Chamberof Commerce, the WaterfrontProject could happen, improv-ing the economy and bringingpermanent jobs to the workersof Douglas County.

Could ‘It’s the Water’be Roseburg’s icon?

Sims

Waterfront Development Plan could help attract tourists


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THE RIVERS

NAOMI CONGLETONFor The News-Review

he Umpqua River hasbeen a part of my lifesince birth.

I was born and raisedin Douglas County, and

the Umpqua River system, bothNorth and South, have played a bigpart in my young life, and now thatI have children I am passing on mylove of our local wonder.

When I was young my family andI often camped along the UmpquaRiver. It’s a very clean river system.We enjoyed the fishing.

My family still prefers to campand play along the North Umpquaover any other area in DouglasCounty. From viewing wildlife

riverside, swimming, gold panning,rock collecting, rafting and some ofthe best fishing in our state, theUmpqua River has everything tooffer for locals and visitors and is avery valuable asset to locals.

I remember being a kid wading inthe river and searching for rocksand tadpoles with my cousins andfriends. Making rope swings, float-ing down the river in tubes or rafts,and building tiny dams to see howwater flows.

You could live off our local riveralone and never go hungry no mat-ter what time of year. We locals loveour salmon and steelhead but whenthe fishing isn’t the greatest, we willsettle for river bass or trout. Theriver is abundant with crawdads,which I have always considered astiny river lobsters. And if you col-lect enough, they can make a veryhearty meal.

Swimming, boating, kayaking,tubing and rafting have createdsome of my most memorable child-hood moments. The river is so spe-cial to us that we have even spreadthe ashes of loved ones who havepassed away over the water, includ-ing that of our first family dog.

While floating the North Umpquain the summer from Amacher Park

in Winchester you can get a frontseat to the playground for our localwildlife such as whitetail deer,hawks, all sorts of ducks and geese,turtles, cranes, as well as localfreshwater fish.

The Umpqua also provides asanctuary for some of the mostamazing species of plants, insectsand birds for those who love to viewnature in its natural habitat. You canalso see an occasional river otter ornutria, which I think resemble giantwater rats.

I guess you could say that theUmpqua River isn’t just a waterwayto the ocean but a way of life for myfamily and me as well as mostlocals. There are also people whotravel from other states to fish andrelax on our Umpqua.

The Umpqua River is asabundant with fresh food, waterand recreation as it is for river-side hiking trails and a peacefulsolitude that only the UmpquaRiver can provide. As well asbeing beautiful, the Umpquaprovides a naturally fabulousbackdrop for photographers.

While hiking along the NorthUmpqua Trail you can view awide variety of local and rarewildflowers, trees and plants. Ionce scavenged that trail duringmy sixth grade year for flowers

for my wildflower and leaf collec-tion. I received a more than accept-able grade due to my vast collec-tion. This was also the case for myinsect collection in high school.

I feel Douglas County is an idealplace to raise children, not just forthe small community feel, but forthe convenience and accessibility tothe Umpqua River. My husband andI even got married alongside theSouth Umpqua. It was a beautifulsetting for our special day.

We are currently learning to flyfish the North Umpqua so that wecan master different techniques.

It’s nice to be able to teach mykids the value of our local resourcesand nature by experiencing it firsthand without having to travel morethan a few hours. The UmpquaRiver is literally our backyard andthat to me is a treasure in itself.

I would definitely suggest theUmpqua River Valley as a primelocation for a getaway for anyonewho wants a peaceful escape fromthe hustle and bustle of city living.You will definitely enjoy theUmpqua River — I know we do!

Naomi Congleton now shares theriver and her memories with herown children.

Umpqua’s natural beauty ... how I see it

Photos courtesy of Naomi Congleton

Bill Congleton of Winston keeps an eye on the fishing line as his son, Chaise, fishes on the North UmpquaRiver in the Swiftwater area earlier this year.

‘The Umpqua River is literally our backyard and that to me is a treasure in itself.’ — Naomi Congleton, Winston

Chaise Congleton, 5,cools off inthe NorthUmpquaRiver in thisphoto takenduring thesummer of2009.

Autumn Mulvaney, 11, of Winstonenjoys time on the North Umpqua.

T

raccoons move into the boxeswe prepare for wild cats thatcome into our barn. Babypossums separated from theirmother live under our goldspeck bush or climb into thetiny little cages we use forbrooding chicks. Skunks digfor grubs in little mines in ourflowerbeds. A ferret-like crit-ter hunts along the edges ofthe pond in the grass, so fastand sleek that I’ve not yetidentified it. Rattlesnakes andother reptiles quietly come tothe water in the late summer.(I quietly let them alone.)Dragonflies skip and dart,sparkling in the setting sun.

One morning, when the rainstopped and the sun came out,I put my coat on and walked to

the edge of the flood water.Three river otters bobbed up. I

held absolutely still. Theyplayed on the banks, sheeningand fishing and taking the sun,while I watched. Then theywere gone. Thank you, Mor-gan Creek.

One more thank you must bemade. Our home stands hereafter over 100 years; throughwell over 100 floods, a few ofthem century floods. And thereis no evidence that water everdamaged the house beyond afew minor repairs.

Evidently, the first settler onthis site made friends with thiscreek as well. That settleropened the door for the gener-ations of folks that called thisplace home. I know that welive on the edge, but it is theedge of a friendship, uneasy attimes but enduring, and onefor which I am daily grateful.

Thank you, Morgan Creek.

Morgan Creek: On the edge of friendshipContinued from page 18

“Three river ottersbobbed up. ... They

played on the banks,sheening and fishingand taking the sun,

while I watched.

Debbie LevingsLookingglass

”


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THE RIVERS

MAXINE LEEFor The News-Review

It’s quiet on the river belowour house these days. Thekids all grew up.

Not long after we movedhere in1952, theNorthUmpquaRiverbecameour allsummervacationspot. Ourseven chil-dren spenteverysummer

day in the water. Our huge garden above the

river bank was a lot of sweatywork, but they knew after anhour or two of hoeing, therewas the cool, refreshingplunge into the moving water... more than once a day!

It is nearly a quarter of amile below the house wherewe raised our family, a good

stretch of the legs to takeadvantage of the swimminghole. Actually, the favoriteplace to swim and play wasacross the fence at the Har-mon swimming hole.

Some brave young man hadclimbed out on the limb of anold oak tree, and tied on arope that dangled over thewater. One could catch holdon that rope and from a posi-tion about 10 feet up the bank,get a running start and swing20 feet out over the waterbefore deserting the rope for adrop into the coolness of theriver.

We watched our 5-year-olddaughter brave that experi-ence and that sport was con-tinued well into September ina good year. Five of the Har-mon children were usuallypart of that party. Often itincluded a few Matthew kidsand at times we took alongbologna and sweet onionsandwiches or Carolee spe-cials (peanut butter and jamsandwiches ) or Don Harmonwould catch a few trout and

we would add a picnic to theactivities.

The children have movedaway, most of them, and I amnot sure the rope is still there,but the swimming hole is.

Now, our grandchildrenoften take the walk to theriver on a warm day andrelive the “good ole days.” Ora group of young people fromchurch are invited to enjoy thewater and the blackberriesthat produce profusely alongthe banks.

If you are very quiet whenyou walk along the rivertoday, maybe you can hear theechos of the happy children,laughing and splashing awaya sunny summer day on theold Umpqua River, or catch aglimpse of the black inner-tubes loaded with sunburnedbodies as they float by the oldswimming hole ...

Maxine Lee and her hus-band, Darwin, still live nearthe North Umpqua River intheir home off Quail Lane.

River full of fun summer memories

Photo courtesy of MAXINE LEE

Peg Harmon, far left, Gail Harmon, Sharon Lee, Julie Harmon and Colleen Lee enjoy a floaton the North Umpqua River in this photo taken in the early 1970s.

Lee

Photo courtesy of JENNIFER HIGH

Bernice Handy watches her daughter, Jennifer, 3, cool off in the main Umpqua River. Jen-nifer remembers being lulled to sleep by the river.

JENNIFER HIGHFor The News-Review

Having grown up in Dou-glas County, I spent a lot ofmy time on the river swim-ming, fishing and eating thefood the water helped sus-tain.

My story is a little differentas it is the remembrance of therapids on the main UmpquaRiver. They would lull me tosleep in the old farmhouse

owned by Bill and May Pow-ell, my great-grandparents,who were the original home-steaders.

My memories of the peace-ful sound of the rapids willforever be in my heart andmind. It may be hard to recon-cile that something so wild andturbulent could be so soothingand comforting. I do not thinkI have ever slept so well sinceleaving it behind.

The property has long since

sold, but when my mother,Bernice Handy died in 1990 itonly seemed right to return herashes to the place of peace andcomfort which the rapids werefor her also.

The place is now known asIndian Bend in Tyee and Ihope all who get to hear therapids and who are lulled tosleep at night appreciate thegreat gift the Umpqua Riverhas given you.

Sleep well.

Remembering the peacefulsounds of the rapids


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THE RIVERS

VICKI MENARDThe News-Review

Originally published April 6, 1997

TEAMBOAT — The rip-pling waters at the conflu-ence of Steamboat Creekand the North UmpquaRiver cast a mystical attrac-

tion upon many river visitors,prompting their return year afteryear.

Known for its abundant steelheadfishing, the river began drawingrenowned sportsmen nearly 70years ago when the road to Steam-boat was little more than a trail.

Fishermen set up camps on thebanks of the river, starting a tradi-tion of fly-fishing, food, family andfriends that continues today.

Involved in much of that historyis Steamboat Inn, a fishing lodgeturned country inn that can trace itsbeginnings back to the river’s earli-est anglers.

The Mott Bridge that crosses theNorth Umpqua just above Steam-boat is named for Maj. JordanLawrence Mott, a millionaire news-paper reporter who first fished theriver in 1929. A Harvard graduateand heir to a New York City iron-works company, Mott created ascandal when he — a married man— ran off to Europe with anotherman’s wife in 1912.

The couple eventually obtaineddivorces from their first spousesand married a year before Mottmade his first trip to the NorthUmpqua. When Mott arrived, hestruck up a friendship with FredAsam, the Forest Service districtranger at Steamboat.

Asam’s son, Dave Asam of Glide,remembers Mott’s visits and howhe hauled his equipment across theriver in a rowboat to set up camp onthe south shore. Mott hired ZekeAllen, a local guide, as a cook andthe pair set up tents on woodenplatforms.

“He was the first one to put acamp up there,” recalled Asam, whowas just 7 years old at the time, butalready interested enough in fishingto know he wanted to hang aroundthe camp. “I was the kind of kidthey patted on the head.”

Being so young and living in anisolated area at the end of a treach-erous one-lane road, Asam recallsthe visits by Mott and other fisher-men as a novelty.

“It was kind of neat to see thosepeople,” he said. “You knew theywere going to stop there.”

But he knew they were differentfrom other folks. They drove bigcars and had the money to travelwhen he and his few neighbors hadhomes with outhouses and weresurviving the Depression by livingoff the land.

Mott’s time on the NorthUmpqua was short. When hereturned to the river in May of1931, he was suffering from cancerof the tongue, according to a ForestService newsletter. He died on theriver June 3, 1931.

“The major loved our mountainsand the old Umpqua so much thathis only desire all through the longweeks of suffering was to again beat ‘Camp Contentment,’ as hecalled his camp,” Fred Asam wrote.

His camp soon became home toanother fly-fisherman, CalifornianClarence Gordon, who had alsofished the river every summer since1929. Gordon envisioned a fishing

lodge at Mott’s campsite and by1934, obtained a lease on theUmpqua National Forest land fromthe Forest Service, and began build-ing the North Umpqua Lodge.

By 1937, Gordon had built alodge, dining room and several cab-ins on the site. He and his wife,Delia, began serving dinners oflocal fish and game, nuts and wildberries — the precursor to the Fish-erman’s Dinners that continue atSteamboat Inn today.

While the Gordons, who alsomanaged resorts in California in thewinter season, lured guests fromaround the world to their rusticlodge for summer steelhead fishing,another renowned fisherman wasmaking regular appearances on theNorth Umpqua.

Famous sportsman and authorZane Grey first arrived on the riverin 1932 to stay at some rustic cab-ins on Canton Creek, built by Rose-burg motel owner John Ewell. Bythat time, Grey was making at least$500,000 a year from book rights,serializations and movies.

Still, the entourage touring withGrey came as a shock to Forest Ser-vice packer Merle Hargis. It tookHargis’ six-mule team three trips totransport all of Grey’s supplies tothe cabins. Grey was joined by

cameramen and technicians fromthe movie company owned by hisson, Loren Grey, who intended tomake a film of his father’s adven-tures.

Grey also brought along secre-taries, or a “whole flock of girls” as

Hargis said, to edit, rewrite andtype the manuscripts he turned outwhile in camp.

In his years on the NorthUmpqua, Grey moved his camparound, settling in 1934 on MapleRidge, the present-day site ofSteamboat Inn, and later atWilliams Creek, a site across theriver marked today by a sign alongthe Mott segment of the NorthUmpqua Trail.

Historical accounts of Grey saythe North Umpqua was his favoriteriver, yet he wrote only one articleabout it, appearing in the September1935 issue of Sports Afield. Hisdiscretion apparently was anattempt to keep the river frombecoming overrun with people, afate that had come to the morefamous Rogue River.

Grey’s last visit to the NorthUmpqua came in 1937, when hesuffered a stroke that eventually ledto his death two years later.

Changes that brought progress tothe North Umpqua also halted fish-ing in the stream in the 1950s. Con-struction of the hydroelectric powerprojects near Toketee as well as theroad that would connect Roseburgto Diamond Lake deposited somuch silt in the river, it was unfish-able.

Clarence Gordon had to cancelall guest reservations for the 1952season and the fishing never recov-ered while the Gordons owned theNorth Umpqua Lodge.

The dwindling fish runs broughtabout change, however. Thirty-onemiles of the North Umpqua River,beginning at Rock Creek, was des-ignated for fishing only with artifi-cial flies by the Oregon GameCommission in 1952.

The Gordons didn’t give up onbusiness in the Steamboat area.They opened a small grocery storeand lunch counter across the riverto cater to the construction crews.

Later, the store was moved to thecurrent site of Steamboat Inn,where Gordon built a dining roomand kitchen that still make up partof the inn today. The Gordons soldtheir business in 1957 to Roseburgrestaurateurs Frank and JeanneMoore, who named it SteamboatInn and re-established a fishinglodge for river visitors.

The Gordons leased their NorthUmpqua Lodge to a constructioncompany and then sold it to theForest Service in 1955, whichestablished a ranger station on the

North Umpqua’s Steamboat Inn

The site ofSteamboat Inn,shown here asit appears today,has drawnanglers to theNorth UmpquaRiver since the1920s. Famedsportsman andauthor ZaneGrey set up hiscamp here onthe modern-daysite of the innback in 1934.

Photo courtesy ofMARICO FAYRE


Frank Moore, former owner of the Steamboat Inn, fly fishes on the North Umpqua for steelhead.

The lodge and the river’s steelhead have long history of luring famous anglers

“The major (JordanMott) loved our

mountains and the oldUmpqua so much that

his only desire allthrough the long weeksof suffering was to again

be at ‘Camp Contentment.’

Fred AsamForest Service ranger

”Turn to STEAMBOAT, page 24

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THE RIVERS

News-Review file photos

The Umpqua River system offers numerous boating opportunities.

Soaking up the sun while floating on the North Umpqua River near Brown’s Bridge.Fishing the North Umpqua River.

Whitewater rafting on the North Umpqua RiverA blue heron stands in the shallows of the SouthUmpqua River.

Umpqua offers a river full of fun


The Cow Creek Tribe works to improve and protect natural resources. An example of this tradition is the dedication the Tribe and its partners have made to return the Jordan Creek Watershed in South Douglas County to health.

Restoration activities on Jordan Creek began in 1998, almost immediately after the Tribe acquired the property that includes and surrounds Seven Feathers Truck and Travel Center as well as Seven Feathers RV Resort. In 1998, the Creek had only seasonal fl ow during winter. There hadn’t been perennial fl ow in Jordan Creek for decades.

The Tribe began working with the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Umpqua Fisheries Enhancement Derby, Herbert Lumber, and landowners adjacent to the Jordan Creek Watershed. Old car bodies, used tires, sewage, waste oil, trash, defunct culverts, and more were removed from the neglected Creek bed. The Creek began to recover and water now fl ows year round to the available bed. Water quality is tested regularly to make sure the Creek’s waters are contaminant free.

As Jordan Creek returns to health, it increasingly claims the ways of its historical meanderings. New blockages are revealed and removed. And Jordan Creek gets more and more vibrant.

Simultaneously, vegetation native to Jordan Creek has been planted in its riparian area. Boulders have been placed to create pools and shade that improve fi sh habitat. The Tribe established salmon acclimation ponds that have been increasing fi sh numbers through a scheduled release of those smolts.

The efforts are ongoing.

And the diligence is paying off.

Two years ago, salmon considered native to Jordan Creek returned to spawn for the fi rst time in over 50 years. And, in the spring of 2010, at least twelve pair of spawning adult Coho salmon were seen in Jordan Creek by the Cow Creek’s Natural Resources Director.

The seasonal presence of spawning salmon and their offspring to Jordan Creek is testimony. Planning and execution made by partners who dedicated themselves to Jordan Creek’s return to health is succeeding.

The continuing restoration of Jordan Creek is an example of Cow Creek tradition, a tradition to protect the gifts of our natural world.

Cow Creek Tribal TraditionsCow Creek Tribal Traditions

For more information, please contact

Cow Creek Tribal Government Offi ce2371 NE Stephens • Roseburg, Oregon • 541.672.9405

THE RIVERS

site. None of the originalNorth Umpqua Lodge build-ings remains today.

The Moores were nostrangers to the NorthUmpqua. An avid fly-fisher-man since childhood, Frankhad started guiding forClarence Gordon shortly afterthe couple moved to Roseburgin 1946 to operate Moore’sCafe on Cass Avenue.

In fact, he was away fromthe cafe so much the waitress-es placed an ad in The News-Review that read, “Lost: Oneowner and manager ofMoore’s Cafe. Last seen up theNorth Umpqua River.”

On weekends, Jeanne andthe three children — a fourthcame later — would join himon the river. They’d camp atCanton Creek Campgroundand fish all weekend.

“Every weekend, on SundayI’d think we’d get home earlyto get these kids showered, buthe always wanted to stop at acouple more fishing spots,”Jeanne recalled during a recentinterview at the retired cou-ple’s log home, five milesdownstream from SteamboatInn. “We always got home latewith dirty kids, but I guess itdidn’t hurt them.”

When Gordon offered to sellhis Steamboat Store to theMoores, it was their ticket to

stay upriver permanently.“Frank would’ve gone nuts

if we stayed in that restaurantin Roseburg,” Jeanne said. “Atthe inn, he felt like he wasdeveloping something.”

Though the North UmpquaLodge had been closed for fiveyears, the Moores called all ofGordon’s former guests —many of whom Frank hadguided — and invited themback.

They came and soon theMoores were running abustling business in the sum-mertime. Frank guided guestsearly in the morning and cameback to cook breakfast beforeguiding again in the afternoon.

Jeanne often worked 16- to18-hour days, running the day-time cafe until it closed at 8p.m., then preparing the sever-al-course Fisherman’s Dinnerfor overnight guests.

The Moores set the traditionof serving the meal a half-hourafter dusk, allowing fishermento stay on the river as long aspossible.

Many of the guests returnedyear after year.

“A lot of them were fami-lies,” Jeanne said. “The kidswould sleep on the deck orlawn. A few times, our kidsmoved out of their bedroomsto make room for moreguests.”

“Our guests consideredthemselves family and theywere,” Frank said.

In addition to guiding, Frankbecame active in preservingthe native fishery of the NorthUmpqua. Filmmaking friendshelped him produce a docu-mentary on careless loggingpractices that spurred passageof the Oregon Forest PracticesAct to protect waterways and

fish and wildlife living in andnear them.

He also served on the Ore-gon Game Commission, wasnamed State Conservationistof the Year in 1970, andreceived numerous otherawards for his conservationefforts.

Steamboat Inn became aplace former Oregon Govs.Tom McCall and Bob Straubvisited. It drew people likeoutdoor writer Michael Baugh-man, who washed dishes dur-ing summers at the inn so hecould spend his time fishing.Baughman’s book about the

North Umpqua, “A River SeenRight,” was published in 1995.

Taking Baughman’s place asdishwasher in 1973 was JimVan Loan. He and his wife,Sharon, worked three summersat Steamboat Inn before buy-ing the business from theMoores and arranging a leasewith the Forest Service in1975.

It was another beginning forSteamboat Inn. This time, itwas the pair of Van Loan chil-dren greeting guests; 6-year-old Jed offered to sell them hishand-tied flies or show them tothe river.

It was a new venture forJim, who had been a travel-ing college textbook sales-man, and Sharon, who direct-ed the Child DevelopmentLaboratory at Oregon StateUniversity and went on toteach at Glide ElementarySchool for six years to makeends meet.

“Neither one of us knewwhat we were doing,” Jimrecalled in a recent interviewat the inn. “We had no ideahow to run a business or hireemployees.”

Rather, they had inspiration.“In Corvallis, our principal

form of entertainment was tohave friends in on the week-ends, serve them dinner fami-ly-style, and have conversa-tions,” he said. “And we stilldo — only they’re friends wehaven’t met yet.”

of the river just past Amacher,and the well-groomed lawnsthat line the length of that partof the river make for a pleasantview as well. Add to that thefish that jumped occasionally,the deer we spotted grazing atthe bank, a crane and variousother bird sightings, and thevarieties of trees growing inabundance along the bank, andwe felt like we were in anepisode of John Cooney’s“Natural World” (for youKLCC radio fans).

My only regret is that it tookme so long to do this, although

I’ve certainly been no strangerto other riverside adventures.

One of our favorite summerpastimes for three years run-ning has been to take the kidsto South Umpqua Falls. If everthere were a natural waterpark, this would be it. Slidingdown the falls on your stom-ach or backside into that deepclear pool is fun enough for anentire day’s entertainment,though devotees of the fallsfind ever more creative waysto make a splash. I have seenpeople slide down on innertubes, bodyboards, air mat-tresses, and giant inflatablegeckos. I even saw a couple ofguys ride unicycles off the

rocks and into the pool below.Add to the rock slides enoughswimming holes and rocks forjumping off to entertain thehundreds that flock there everyweekend, and you have themakings of a classic summerretreat.

This year, Mary and herbrother, Ryan, took our kidscamping upstream from thefalls near the beginning of theSouth Umpqua at the conflu-ence of Black Rock and CastleRock forks. These SouthUmpqua tributaries, thoughchilly, offered a great swim-ming hole and a miniaturerapid for the kids to float downin their tubes. To mix things up

a little, the gang also drove upto nearby Deer Lick Falls forsome more swimming androck jumping.

I joined them for the lastnight of their trip; the only badthing I could find to say aboutthe spot is that it also seemspopular with mosquitoes and acertain species of heavy metalmusic fan known for swearingloudly and playing horseshoeslate into the night. But then,you’re bound to find at leastone of those pests at anycampsite you choose.

Other Douglas County fallsMary and I have hiked to withour kids over the years includemany of the most spectacular

attractions along the NorthUmpqua corridor: Susan CreekFalls, the breathtaking WatsonFalls, the serene (if currentlyinaccessible) Toketee Falls,Wolf Creek Falls and ourfavorite spot, Fall Creek Falls,the site of our 2003 marriage.We hiked up there again lastweekend, in fact, relishing thecool hike past moss-coveredrocks and trees that opens upinto a beautiful pool where thetwo-tiered falls plunge into thesite where my father marriedus. It was an intimate affair,attended only by our parents,our children (mine from a pre-vious marriage), our dog,Duke, and News-Review pho-

tographer Andy Bronson, whorecorded the event for posteri-ty.

It’s significant that weselected such a spot for ournuptials, since the naturalbeauty of Douglas County hasalways been one of its chiefattractions for us. It is hard forme to pick a feature in thislandscape that plays a biggerrole in defining that beautythan the Umpqua River sys-tem.

Christian Bringhurst of Win-ston, a former reporter andcity editor at The News-Review, is now a teacher atCamas Valley Charter School.

Cool fun: Fall Creek Falls offered a beautiful setting for a wedding in 2003Continued from page 17

Steamboat: Inn and the nearby North Umpqua has drawn visitors from near and far Continued from page 22


A fisherman casts his line while fly fishing for summer steelhead on the North Umpqua Rivereast of Glide. The river attracts fly anglers from all over the United States as well as fromsome foreign countries.

News-Review - The Rivers August 27 2010

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