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A10 Weekend of January 11-12, 2020 The Dalles Chronicle TheDallesChronicle.com New home for an old friend Jubitz family donates Gilbert Clarke’s Mt. Hood painting to Crag Rats Neumann-Rea ■ By The Kirby Hood River News A blazing fire behind him in the massive Crag Rat Hut fireplace, Pete Jubitz delivered a unique gift to the Hood River Crag Rats search and rescue organization last month. Clarke, who lived in Hood River and Moro until his death in 2010, painted hous- es and murals in addition to his studio art of landscapes and local people. The gift, a large painting of Mount Hood by the late Gilbert T. Clarke, now hangs in the entry way of the Crag Rat Hut, which is located on a hillside in Pine Grove. The painting reflects the pan- oramic view of the mountain out the Crag Rat Hut window, and joins a long line of histor- ic art and memorabilia in the halls and meeting room of the facility. “It is with great pleasure that the Jubitz family, owners of the Franz Hardware in Hood River from 1937 to 2004, donate this Mt. Hood painting, by Gilbert T. Clarke, to the Hood River Crag Rats,” said Jubitz. The painting hung in the store for years be- fore its closing, and the work has its own unique story. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to pass it on,” he said. “Gilbert Clarke was a na- tive son of Hood River,” Jubitz said. “He spent a lifetime of residential and commercial painting in the Columbia Gorge area. He also had a great love of creating ‘western cowboy’ and ‘Mount Hood scenes’ to express his creative skills. “The importance to us, to give this picture to Crag Rats, is huge. It’s very important.” Jubitz joked that, in part, “What do you do with a 4-by- 6-foot painting?” Jubitz was joined by wife Bonnie, sister Marsha, and daughters Tia and Machel, along with Gilbert’s grandson Nathan Clarke of Hood River. “We all feel we’re connect- ed to give this painting to Crag Rats,” Jubitz said. “This unique painting of Mount Hood should be shared with the people of Hood River County. For this reason, we have chosen to donate this painting to the Hood River Crag Rats — the foremost guardians of Mount Hood.” “It feels outstanding. This is where this painting was meant to be,” said Clarke, who continues the family’s house-painting business as Nate Clarke Painting. He Life said the painting resembles a painting he also owns, a wedding gift from Gilbert. In 2016, Jubitz had loaned the Crag Rats’ painting to Steffen Lunding, owner of the 301 Oak building, It’s now in its final display spot. This is how Jubitz tells its story: “My earliest remembrance of Franz Hardware has always included a large painting of Mount Hood hanging on the North wall of the store, above the safe, in the main office. “The artist of that first painting was always in ques- tion. The rumors indicated that the painter was an intin- erant orchard worker, but I never knew the true source for that information. “Following the July 19, 1984, fire, on the second floor and attic of the Franz builid- ng, we experienced a massive cleanup on the main floor of the hardware store. The focal point of the fire was directly above the main floor office. “The painting that hung on the office wall had signifi- cant water damage issues. The painting contractor who repainted the interior of the hardware store was G.G. Clarke & Son. One day, Gilbert Clarke asked if he could take the Mount Hood painting to his home to repair it to its original status. We loaded the painting into his truck and he took it home to do the needed touchups. “I didn’t hear from him for a long time, not a word, and about eight months after taking the old painting, I observed Gilbert walking into the hardware store and coming directly toward me. He asked if I could help him carry something from his truck back into the office. When he uncovered the painting, it was a brand new and beautiful rendition of Mount Hood. “He confessed that he had tried to salvage ‘the old painting,’ but it was too water stained, and he was unable to make it look right. So, he said, ‘I got so frustrated I kicked a hole in the old canvas painting and burned it on my trash pile.’ “He then began a totally new painting, utilizing his professional skills to create a replacement to decorate the north wall of Franz Hardware. That new painting hung in its place from 1985 to 2004, when Franz Hardware was permanently closed.” Crag Rats Bill Pattison and Todd Wells will add two plaques to the heart at Crag Hut that tell the Clarke paint- ing story for posterity. Jubitz told the Crag Rats, “My remembrance of the Crag Rats goes back longer than most of you have been alive. When I was about 7, the merchants, on Sunday after Thanksgiving, all came to Hood River and decorated the city up, and I remember Pete Jubitz, at top, and family members presented the Gilbert Clarke vista of Mt. Hood from Inspiration Point to Crag Rats on Dec. 12 at the group’s month- ly meeting. The art is now on dis- play at the Crag Rats Hut south of Hood River, at left and above. Kirby Neumann-Rea photo there were several men who had these beautiful shirts. I asked my Mom, ‘Who are those guys who have the black and white checked shirts?’ It wasn’t too many years after that we had a family Christmas tree hunt, and the Crag Rats were along. My ‘affair’ with the Crag Rats goes way back to being a little kid in about 1948 and ‘49. “And now my son-in-law, Devon (Wells), is a Crag Rats and his wife Tia rents it out. And I like to think there is a reasonable likelihood that someday I will have a blood relative who’s a Crag Rat and they can say, ‘My grandpa had something to do with that painting 30 or 40 years ago.’” “Here, here,” said several Crag Rats. Clog-Free Design with a No-Clog Guarantee!1 Clog-Free Protective Overhang/TrimScratchGuard ® Paint Finish JANUARY SPECIAL ¢ 99 Renting Crag Rats Hut The historic structure 15 minutes south of Hood River is available as an event space. For details, call 541-490-6520 or go to cragratrentals@ gmail.com. INSTALLATION 2 Hood River News & The Dalles Chronicle Receive a Smart money tips for tots to retirees. 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