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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2018)
4A ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018 ❚ APPEAL TRIBUNE Life in the Valley Winter retreat to heat up Salem couple Dwight and Susan Sheets have plans to restore the Santiam Pass Ski Lodge, starting with the main floor seen here in its current state. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DWIGHT AND SUSAN SHEETS Duo to restore once-popular Santiam Pass Ski Lodge Kyle Spurr The (bend) Bulletin A deteriorating ski lodge west of Sisters that’s been boarded up and vacant for more than three decades is in the process of being restored so it can once again be a respite for skiers, hikers and travelers through the Santiam Pass. Salem couple Dwight and Susan Sheets recently received a permit from the U.S. Forest Service to be- gin work on the historic Santiam Pass Ski Lodge, located across from the Hoodoo Ski Area on U.S. Highway 20 in the Willamette Na- tional Forest. Dwight, a former college profes- sor, and Susan, a former music teacher, launched the nonprofit Friends of Santiam Pass Ski Lodge to enlist support and donations from interested individuals and or- ganizations. Among their sup- porters: Restore Oregon, a historic preservation group that put the old ski lodge on its list of most endan- gered places in the state. The couple is also seeking other grants and fundraising to cover the potential $2 million to $3 million needed to fully restore the ski lodge, which sits on 26 acres near the top of Santiam Pass. “The interest and the response of people learning of the fact that we want to bring it back, it’s been overwhelming to us,” Dwight Sheets said. “Overwhelmingly positive. We are excited about what is going to happen here.” For now, the focus is to ensure the dilapidated two-story struc- ture has enough structural integri- ty to allow guests and then to clear the ground floor for public use — and all within five years, which is the length of the restoration per- mit. The Sheetses will use another operational permit to continue re- viving the lodge on the Forest Ser- vice property. “We aren’t planning on adding to it,” Susan Sheets said. “We are taking it back to its 1940s design and style.” Their initial plan is to create an open area on the ground floor with a cafe, gift shop and restrooms. The upper level will become a com- munity center open for various events and gatherings. Their plan includes repairing the lodge’s 75 wood sash windows that are mostly boarded up. The couple remembers when the lodge was last open in the 1980s and all the windows made them feel like they were sitting outside with a clear view of the mountains. “It will be a place people can sit Dwight and Susan Sheets are seeking other grants and fundraising to cover the potential $2 million to $3 million needed to fully restore the ski lodge, which sits on 26 acres near the top of Santiam Pass. “The interest and the response of people learning of the fact that we want to bring it back, it’s been overwhelming to us. Overwhelmingly positive. We are excited about what is going to happen here.” Dwight Sheets, on the planned restoration work of the Santiam Pass Ski Lodge in front of a fire with hot cocoa and have a great view of Mount Wash- ington,” Susan Sheets said. There are currently no plans for overnight guests at the lodge, the couple said, although that could change as the project develops. The ski lodge has been empty since 1986, when it was last used by a church group. The Forest Ser- vice didn’t grant any permits until this year. The lodge originally was built between 1939 and 1940 by mem- bers of the Civilian Conservation Corps in response to a growing public demand for recreational fa- cilities in the region. The total cost to build the lodge was about $22,000, according to the Forest Service. It housed up to 60 guests in dor- mitories. In its 46 years of opera- tion, it attracted thousands of guests year-round who visited during ski trips, summer activities and hiking over Santiam Pass. An account in The Bulletin from Feb. 5, 1940, described a dedication ceremony for the opening of the ski lodge that drew 2,000 people. A brief ceremony was held in the lodge, and a ski competition was held at Hoodoo Ski Area, according to the article. Hoodoo had opened two years prior in 1938. “A snowmobile was operated between the new lodge, adjacent to the Santiam highway, and the ski bowl, about half a mile south, and in the bowl, a ski tow, 600 feet in length, carried skiers to a lofty ridge overlooking the treeless de- pression,” the article read. The ski lodge closed in 1986, but Forest Service employees have kept an eye on the boarded up property. For example, the Forest Service had the roof repaired in 2002. But in 2003, a pump house next to the lodge was lost in a wildfire. And multiple acts of vandalism also have been noted at the lodge over the years. A Forest Service memo de- scribes the lodge as suffering from openings in its roof, siding, win- dows and doors. It’s easily acces- sible to the elements, animals and, with some effort, people, the me- mo states. “The physical condition of the historic structure is dire,” the me- mo reads. Despite its current condition, the Forest Service recognizes the lodge’s historic value and is nomi- nating it to the National Register of Historic Places. “It has the potential to be re- opened and to function as a facility for the original intention — to pro- mote the use of the natural envi- ronment by the general public,” a draft of the Forest Service nomina- tion concludes. The historic nomination, which will be sent to the National Park Service for consideration, high- lights the lodge, next-door garage and a short ski trail that connects to a larger network of trails, includ- ing what is now the Pacific Crest Trail. “The Santiam Pass Ski Lodge was instrumental in creating a place for citizens to sleep and get meals in the mountains at a rea- sonable cost while they participat- ed in winter sports activities around the area,” the Forest Ser- vice nomination reads. The nomination also points to the lodge’s rustic architectural style of the era. The lodge was made with locally harvested and milled lumber and stone quarried from nearby Hogg Rock. Joy Sears, restoration specialist at the Oregon State Historic Pres- ervation Office, which oversees historic nominations, said the state’s committee visited the site in October 2016 and gave a positive recommendation. Sears also visited the site and left hoping it would one day be re- stored. “I’m just glad people are still in- terested and there is still love for the building,” Sears said. For the Sheetses, it seems like the right time to take on the mas- sive restoration project. The couple has three sons, with the youngest just about to graduate from high school. When they become empty- nesters, the Sheetses plan to relo- cate to the Sisters area to be closer to the lodge. The Sheetses grew up in Salem and met in high school. They left Oregon to pursue their teaching ca- reers on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Dwight Sheets earned a Ph.D. in theology and taught religious stud- ies at various colleges, while Susan Sheets taught music at the ele- mentary, middle school and high school levels. They moved back to Salem in 2015 and became interested in why the lodge remained closed for so long. Some of their fondest memo- ries growing up in the region in- volved visits to the lodge. “We went to the Santiam Pass a lot to ski,” Susan Sheets said. “We enjoyed the lodge, and it closed down shortly after we moved away. We noticed every time we were back, the lodge was still closed and not being used.” Dwight Sheets recalls taking a hiking trip through Oregon in 1976. He became sick on the hike but was able to reach the lodge and rest there until he felt better. He and his wife are motivated to reopen the old lodge, especially for the younger generation of outdoor- enthusiasts who have stumbled upon the lodge but have never been inside. “There is a generation of hikers and backpackers that have discov- ered the lodge,” Susan Sheets said. “They want to see it come back.”