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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2021)
Wednesday, July 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon f Sisters Country, ect spot for a lookout, or thousands of hikers. 13 Friends of the Metolius led the restoration of the UFS cupola on Black Butte. Carl Demoy worked the lookout for many years and liked his pet chipmunks more than people. He was notori- ously unpleasant to visitors, being accused of dropping rocks and <yellow fluid= down the tower stairs. Carl had an interesting garbage dump I liked to investigate. He appeared to live on a diet of canned ham, peanuts, and paperback novels, he would tear the covers off to write his lookout notes then throw the books down the moun- tainside. Finally, one year he PHOTO BY MARET PAJUTEE refused to come down at the end of the season, filled the cupola with firewood, and insisted he could winter over. PHOTO COURTESY USFS The Forest Service burned down the old ground cabin on the site after it had been condemned. After they insisted he come down to cash his paychecks he had a stroke. The lookout who took over for him visited me one day, bringing fresh peaches. He had visited Carl in the hospital and reported he had yearned for his little animal pals and implored him to <please feed my chipmunks.= By the time the 1934 tower fell in the winter of 2001 I had married two men I met on the Butte, and spent my sec- ond honeymoon in the 1979 ground house. I had a real job as a botanist/ecologist but worked relief whenever I could, even working from the old cupola after the tower was condemned in 1990. The old tower shattered and fell in the winter of 2001, in a coat of ice with high winds. I helped with planning of the new 1994 tower and worked on home & offi ce, small event & wedding styling home decor & gifts home staging & styling services Year-round FIREWOOD SALES — Kindling — — — Jennifer Beech, Owner 541-420-5764 251 E. Sun Ranch Dr. withhomestyled.com SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS 541-410-4509 SistersForestProducts.com rehabilitation of the sensitive habitats impacted by the hun- dreds of people who climb Black Butte. These days, my older legs protest on rare climbs to the summit. I marvel at the beau- tiful restoration work done by the Friends of the Metolius to bring the 1922 cupola back to life. Little remains of the tower where I began, and my honeymoon cabin was con- demned and burned in 2016. But I still know where the tree tower ladders lie half burnt in the brush. And I wonder if my spirit will someday wan- der the Butte, keeping com- pany with the lonely ghosts of others who loved living on a mountain top, keeping watch over us. PHOTO BY KIRK METZGER FOR GLEN CORBETT PHOTO A new lookout tower overlooks the ruins of the old one as work crews dismantle it. MEAT S, GAME ALASKAN SEAFOOD CHEESES SANDWICHES BEER, WINE, CIDER 110 S. SPRUCE ST. | 541-719-1186 TELLING THE STORIES OF THE SISTERS COMMUNITY Through boom and bust, good times and hard times, for more than four decades. THE NUGGET NEWSPAPER VALUES OUR READERS We’re here for you and we deeply appreciate your support. Your supporting subscriptions help make it possible for Nugget staff and freelance writers to continue telling the stories of the Sisters community through changing times. The Nugget Newspaper 541-549-9941 • 442 E. Main Ave., Sisters Readers who would like to make a fi nancial contribution to keep professional community journalism thriving in Sisters can visit www.NuggetNews.com and click on “Subscribe & Support” or drop a check in the mail to: The Nugget, PO Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759
