Wednesday, October 21, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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Editorial…
Keep Sisters small?
Wear the mask
It9s a lot of work maintaining COVID-19
safety protocols at Sisters businesses. Much
of that work falls to retail staffers, who have
the thankless task of continually reminding
people to maintain physical distance and wear
masks as mandated by the State of Oregon.
Most people are understanding, cordial and
appreciative. However, it only takes a single
unpleasant confrontation to make a bad day
for a worker 4 someone who doesn9t make
the rules and is just trying to do their job.
Things are likely to get more stressful as
the weather turns chilly and more and more
activities have to move indoors. It looks like
we9re in for the long haul with the coronavirus
pandemic, which means that local business
owners and workers are going to be stuck for
the foreseeable future in an enforcement role
none of them signed on for.
Give 9em a break. Do what they ask of you.
Wear the mask. Keep your distance. Sanitize
your hands. If your principles don9t allow you
to do that, you have options that don9t require
berating people who are just trying to make a
living in tough times.
Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and
phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions
not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a
response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items
are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is 10 a.m. Monday.
To the Editor:
Having been born and raised in Sisters,
I have actually never once commented on a
Nugget post or written a letter. During a time
of so much hostility and confusion combined
with rapid growth, we have slowly lost our
beautiful sense of community. I have faith
that we will rebound and one way to do so is
to honor key members of our community and
educate ourselves.
I hadn9t read The Nugget in quite some
time, being that I really wanted a break from
all news, but this morning when I read the
letters to the editor I was particularly moved
by Don Wilt9s suggestion of honoring Jim
Anderson and his devotion to wildlife. I am
saddened that they moved, but honored to
have known them my entire life. That family
is pure, kind, and has completely committed
their life to nature, which is both admirable
and rare.
I just want to second the notion that a
school or some sort of facility or program
should tribute the Anderson legacy and hope-
fully inspire more humans to commit to pro-
tecting our planet.
Rather than stroking your egos and angrily
writing about Trump and Biden let9s find
common ground and use this as a forum to
discuss things actually relevant to our com-
munity and not continue to divide us.
Find something about this area you love,
honor it, and protect it.
Ryder Redfield
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To the Editor:
The recent on-line forum of candidates for
the Sisters City Council was quite helpful. I
was particularly impressed with Jen Letz and
believe she would make a valuable contribu-
tion to the Council.
I did hear the phrase <quality of life=
uttered by one of the candidates, which
has become an all-too-familiar euphemism
around here for <gated community.=
Roger Detweiler
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See LETTERS on page 18
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The Nugget Newspaper, LLC
Website: www.nuggetnews.com
442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759
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Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius
Production Manager: Leith Easterling
Creative Director: Jess Draper
Community Marketing
Partner: Vicki Curlett
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Owner: J. Louis Mullen
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By Emme Shoup City of Sisters Assistant
Community Engagement & Program Coordinator
During the 2018 Sisters
Country Vision, <Keep
Sisters Small= was an over-
whelming sentiment from
the rapidly growing commu-
nity. Yet there is a conflict
about what small means and
the desire for more afford-
able housing and economic
opportunities. At a time
when the City is updating
its Comprehensive Plan that
will influence future growth,
it9s nice to think about sim-
pler times.
The Sisters History
Museum connects the City9s
1880s downtown theme to
its 1880s beginnings. Sheep
used to be herded down
Cascade Street to the foot-
hills of the Cascades for
summer grazing. Lumber
mills employed the com-
munity. Sisters was a tour-
ist town even back then as
it catered to travelers from
the east and west. There
were waysides and hotels
for guests, a barn to park
their animals, merchants and
blacksmiths, two general
stores, and the quintessential
saloon.
There are many more
treasures to discover about
the history of Sisters in the
Museum. Verbal tours of
their collection of artifacts
and photographs are offered
in the historic Wakefield
bungalow. Walking tours
show parties around the
downtown9s existing historic
buildings and landmarks that
had been burned in the fires
of the 1920s.
The Three Sisters
Historical Society, who
founded the Museum,
hosted Fireside Talks on
various topics at the Five
Pine Conference Center 4
including highlighting ordi-
nary people from the Sisters
area to share their extraordi-
nary stories of 8back in the
day.9 Though large gather-
ings are temporarily on hold,
the Museum continues to
find meaningful and educa-
tional ways to engage with
visitors.
Karen Swank, one of
the founders of The Three
Sisters Historical Society,
says, <Sisters is more than
just a tourist drive-thru town.
We want to present our rich
history. People don9t always
know about it.=
Having opened only one
month ago, Swank says the
Museum is receiving inter-
est beyond its mailing lists.
People are coming from
all over the west, between
Arizona and the Puget
Sound. <Despite COVID
and the off-season, our
guest book statistics show
we are drawing visitors
from outside Sisters includ-
ing Seattle, Yakima, and
Palouse, Washington, as well
as the valley. These visitors
had family here at one time,
so the Museum is the par-
ticular destination in order
to see what we have in their
family files.=
The Museum is pleas-
antly surprised by the turn-
out, to say the least.
The Museum9s momen-
tum and breadth of reach
holds opportunity for future
services. <We would like
to offer tours at the [Camp
Polk] cemetery. There9s lots
of history there,= with its first
burial in 1880, says Swank.
The Museum would also like
to place more plaques that
identify significant historical
landmarks around town.
Though not a direct part-
ner of the Sisters Country
Vision, the Museum is
embracing what makes
Sisters exceptional from
the community9s vision-
ing. The walking tours and
plaques support a more
Walkable Downtown. The
number of Museum visi-
tors from out-of-town works
towards becoming a Four-
Season Tourism & Visitor
Destination. And preserv-
ing the history of Sisters
promotes stewardship of its
Small-Town Atmosphere.
The Sisters History
Museum9s unintentional
alignment with the Vision9s
20 Strategies shows even
through their mission state-
ment: <Our mission is to
deepen the understanding
of past choices, present cir-
cumstances, and future pos-
sibilities by preserving, shar-
ing and bringing to life the
history of the Three Sisters
area, and thereby strengthen-
ing community bonds.=
As Sisters contemplates
its future regarding growth
and change, learning about
the history of how it all
started brings a valuable
perspective.
Wi t h S i s t e r s 9 7 5 t h
Anniversary coming up
in April 2021, the Sisters
History Museum will be a
significant asset in the col-
laborative development of
the celebration. When asked
about the history of Sisters
in 1946, Swank shared a
fitting headline from <The
Sisters Herald= newspaper
in 1912 after the railroad9s
arrival in 1911, <Sisters
May Incorporate, There
is a Movement On Foot
to Incorporate Among the
Progressive Citizens.=
Even today, achieving
community visions takes
time and continuous effort.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.