Wednesday, July 18, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 5
Remembering Brad Smith
By Jim Anderson
Correspondent
Brad Smith of Paulina
Springs Books went out
among the stars on May 20
of this year — but if reincar-
nation works, he’ll be back,
not as Brad Smith, owner of
Paulina Springs Books, but as
a thorny devil stick insect. If
that goes as he planned, how-
ever, we’ll have to visit the
Solomon Islands to catch up
with him!
Brad was born December
13, 1954, in Spokane,
Washington and lived there
until he was five. His big sis-
ter Cynthia says, “ The fam-
ily then moved to Clarkston,
Washington, and lived there
for 1-1/2 years. He was seven
when we moved to Portland,
Oregon. I guess Portland
was probably the closest to a
hometown. After high school
and several years of trav-
eling around, he settled in
Bellingham, Washington, and
lived there until he moved to
Bend.”
Brad and his wife, Randi,
lived happily together for 35
years before Brad proposed
marriage. The occasion was
their oldest son Leben’s wed-
ding, and Randi accepted!
During those 35 years
another son, Austin, entered
their lives, and out of all
these events came a beautiful
granddaughter, Hazel.
It wasn’t his idea to leave
us at such a young age. Those
of us who were around Brad
knew very well he was just
getting started in the business
of enjoying life. What got
him was cancer.
Cynthia remembers his
intense curiosity as a kid, and
how he almost burned their
house down learning about
fire. And on another occa-
sion a few years later, while
learning about gravity, roll-
ing boulders into Loon Lake
with the help of his brother,
almost wiping out hikers on
the trail below them. Cynthia
still smiles remembering the
happy times their family had
going to their grandmother
school teacher’s cabin on
Loon Lake, Washington,
when all the kids were young.
Brad went through his life
applying his uncontrollable
curiosity in just about every-
thing he took on, which even-
tually brought him a great fol-
lowing with children — his
own, his grandchildren, and
strays. Throughout his adult
life, when kids heard about
any big outing coming up,
they’d ask, “Will Uncle Brad
be there?”
“Children just glommed
onto him!” Cynthia noted.
Jim Ashby, the gen-
eral manager of a natural
foods co-op in Bellingham,
Washington, wrote a delight-
ful account of Brad’s learning
about the business world.
“Brad was a driving force
in the co-op’s growth and
development for over 25
years. He began working for
the co-op when they were
using a cigar box instead
of a cash register. It can
be said of very few people
that if it weren’t for them
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COLLECTION
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an organization might not
exist. Brad was that rare per-
son for the co-op. For many
years, he was the co-op’s
most recognizable staff per-
son. Longtime members will
remember him as encyclope-
dic on both natural foods and
co-ops. Brad has been gone
from the co-op for quite a
few years, and now he’s gone
from the Natural World. He
left the evidence of his vision
and hard work behind for us.”
You can feel, see, experi-
ence and appreciate Brad’s
influence on his store in
Sisters the same way today.
But the story of Brad’s
Paulina Springs Books began
with founders Dick Sandvik
and Diane Campbell in 1992.
They created the bookstore
with high appeal to readers of
many persuasions, and over
time its good reputation had
spread far and wide.
Dick and Diane began
hosting author events, bring-
ing a welcome new element
to the already culturally rich
community of Sisters. Six
months after opening, they
hired Sue Tank, who contin-
ues to be a vital member of
the staff today. In addition to
Sue, Bunny Thompson was
working in the store at the
time of purchase, and she too
was instrumental in the shap-
ing of the store’s character.
In 2003, after 25 years of
PHOTO COURTESY CYNTHIA CLARIDGE
Brad Smith doing what he liked to do best: reading to his granddaughter,
Hazel.
managing the Community
Food Co-Op in Bellingham,
Brad moved to Central
Oregon and began search-
ing for a new community-
connected endeavor. After
visiting the store, he was
impressed by the strong
sense of community Dick and
Diane had achieved. When he
learned they were interested
in selling, he decided to take
the plunge.
Owning and operat-
ing Paulina Springs Books
was different from the
community-owned grocery
store he managed for years,
but Brad was a glutton for
work. He opened Paulina
Springs Books in Redmond
in 2007 and was active in
the Independent Booksellers
Association, which has
started a scholarship in Brad’s
name.
Brad’s wish to be reincar-
nated as a thorny devil stick
insect may have come from
one of the zoology books he
read. With his vast knowl-
edge of languages, he may
have grabbed the scientific
name for the walking sticks,
Phasmatidae, which is from
the Greek, meaning an appa-
rition or phantom, referring
to the resemblance of many
species to sticks or leaves —
or perhaps he liked the idea
of being included with the
world’s longest insects.
On Saturday, July 21,
from 5 to 7 p.m., there will
be a celebration of Brad’s
life, held at Paulina Springs
Books, 252 W. Hood Ave. in
Sisters.
