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Wednesday, September 8, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
History repeats itself at Clear Lake
By Bill Bartlett
Correspondent
Clear Lake in neighbor-
ing Linn County is a popular
recreation site with Sisters
Country folk. The 142-acre
lake with a maximum depth
of 175 feet is one of the
clearest and coldest lakes in
the Cascades. It is the source
of the McKenzie River. The
bottom of the lake, one of the
premier freshwater diving
spots in North America, is a
perfectly preserved, ancient
forest.
While situated inside the
Willamette National Forest,
the lake and its resort, trails,
boating (non-motorized),
camping, and lodging are
designated as a Linn County
park. A hallmark feature of
the lake is its picnic pavilion
constructed in 1938 by the
CCC (Civilian Conservation
Corps) the Depression-era
voluntary public work relief
program for unemployed,
unmarried men ages 18-25.
During its nine years
of operation, three million
young men participated in the
CCC, which provided them
with shelter, clothing, and
food, together with a wage
of $30 (equivalent to $600
in 2020) per month ($25 of
which had to be sent home
to their families). Much of
the work of the CCC was
constructing buildings, trails,
foot bridges, and camp sites
on federal lands.
One of those projects was
the Clear Lake picnic shelter
and warming hut constructed
entirely of local, natural
materials. It is a rustic-style,
humble edifice about 75 feet
from the lakeshore with a
shaded view.
No doubt, thousands of
picnickers, scouts, church
and youth groups, and occa-
sional wedding parties have
availed themselves of the
1,500-square-foot roofed
structure.
The building is typical of
the times built with hand-
hewn timber up to 16 inches
in diameter. The round logs
with interlocking corners
weigh up to 1,500 pounds
each. Most of the logs have
withstood the test of time, but
not all. And the hand-split,
cedar-shake roof was all but
a disaster waiting to happen.
The impressive masonry fire-
place was no longer usable,
with warning signs posted.
Enter HistoriCorps and
Northwest Youth Corps,
who are rehabbing the iconic
structure to its former gran-
deur before winter and the
snows set in. HistoriCorps
is a Colorado-based founda-
tion committed to preserv-
ing historic structures on
public lands across America.
Vo l u n t e e r s w o r k w i t h
HistoriCorps field staff to
learn preservation skills and
put those skills to work sav-
ing historic places that have
fallen into disrepair.
<HistoriCorps works to
ensure America9s cultural
and historical resources exist
for generations to come,=
said Executive Director Bart
Berger.
Northwest Youth Corps
(NYC), founded in 1984 and
headquartered in Eugene,
offers challenging education
DAVIS TIRE
Our family can take care of your family of autos & trailers
and job-training experiences
that help youth and young
adults from diverse back-
grounds develop the skills
they need to lead full and
productive lives.
<Our programs stress
teamwork, inclusion, and
leadership while promoting a
solid work ethic and individ-
ual achievement. Youth leave
NYC knowing that they can
overcome obstacles, solve
problems, make friends, and
attain their objectives in life,=
said Executive Director Jeff
Parker.
Jason Benson is the on-
site project supervisor. He is
himself a master carpenter
with 20 years9 experience
working in public lands. His
role might best be described
as classroom teacher, show-
ing students traditional build-
ing skills using tools more
common to the era of origi-
nal construction. His Youth
Corps students appeared
eager to learn and demon-
strate their newfound skills
when The Nugget visited last
week.
<This is a typical project
for us,= Benson said. <We
are removing and replacing
about 40 percent of the roof
and walls.=
Next week masons will
work to restore as much as
20 percent of the all-stone
chimney.
When asked what was
most satisfying about his
work, Benson replied: <I
really enjoy engaging with
volunteers of all ages and
abilities to accomplish a
common goal. It9s fun to
see the satisfaction on their
Skillfully
fabricating…
Brakes • Axles • Ball Joints • Suspension • Shocks • Struts
PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT
Young workers with HistoriCorps and Northwest Youth Corps are restoring
a CCC-built shelter at Clear Lake west of Sisters.
faces when they learn how
to use a new tool or tradi-
tional technique, then use
that newfound knowledge to
help preserve unique historic
structures like the Clear Lake
shelter. Everyone goes home
feeling good at the end of the
week.=
The massive logs shown
here that will supplant
the rotted timbers are sal-
vage logs from the nearby
Holiday Farm fire, a massive,
15
$
Per hour for crew if you’re
available to open or close.
Join our
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Sisters Industrial Park
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173,000-acre, devastating
blaze last October along the
McKenzie River. The young
men and women workers
are painstakingly chipping
away the outer burn of the
logs and shaping them so
as to be indistinguishable
from the originals they will
replace.
In 1938 it was CCC. In
2021 it9s NYC. Young people
making a difference and blaz-
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