Business AgLife
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Thursday, October 15, 2020
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Pandemic may boost demand for real Christmas trees
By Mateusz Perkoski
Capital Press
SALEM — Though
the coronavirus outbreak
is expected to disrupt
some aspects of the hol-
iday season, that’s not nec-
essarily a bad omen for
Christmas tree farmers.
The vast majority of con-
sumers — 92% — expects
the pandemic will change
this year’s Christmas cel-
ebrations, according to a
survey commissioned by
the Christmas Tree Promo-
tion Board.
However, the survey has
found that consumers are
now more likely to appre-
ciate “simple pleasures”
and focus on creating new
traditions.
Among consumers who
expect the pandemic to
alter their celebrations, 39%
say they’re more likely to
buy a real Christmas tree,
compared to 21% who say
they’re less likely to do so.
“Clearly, the thought
process is leaning toward
experience, toward making
the holiday a bright part
of the year,” said Marsha
Gray, executive director of
the promotion board, which
raises funds for industry
research and promotions.
The expectation of
stronger demand for real
Christmas trees isn’t
entirely surprising, as a
similar phenomenon has
occurred during past disas-
ters, Gray said.
“Consumers tend to turn
toward things that make
them feel good and happy,”
she said.
The board generally
emphasizes the opportu-
nity to create memories
but has amended that mes-
sage by presenting real
Christmas trees as a way to
finish a bad year with good
memories.
“Things haven’t been so
hot this year, so let’s make
them better at the end,”
Gray said.
The survey revealed
that real Christmas trees
have some advantages over
artificial ones during the
pandemic.
About 76% of consumers
described real trees as an
experience rather than a
See, Trees/Page 2B
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press, File
Workers load Christmas trees onto a pallet at Sunrise Tree
Farm near Philomath. A new survey reveals the corona-
virus pandemic may inspire more consumers to buy real
trees.
104-year-old barn links generations
By Kathy Aney
East Oregonian
WESTON — The bright
red barn rises steeply from
emerald grass, its elegant
arched roofline meeting
blue sky.
Inside are echoes of past
life, easily accessible to the
imagination. The nickering
of draft horses and mooing
of dairy cows. The hollow
thunk of milk hitting
bucket. Lingering aromas
of manure and freshly
mowed hay.
The Winn barn in
Weston so far has escaped
the fate of thousands of
barns decaying in fields
across America. Main-
taining such a barn against
the relentless forces of
nature is costly. Preston
and Arlene Winn justified
the expense by converting
the barn into a wedding
venue business in 2008,
using most of the revenue
to pay for maintenance.
Recently, the couple
began passing ownership
of the business to daughter
Kendra Seymour and her
husband, Tim. The ener-
getic duo will shepherd the
homestead into the next
chapter of its long history.
Kendra’s great-grand-
father, George W. Winn,
erected the structure 104
years ago after spending
two years assembling sup-
plies. Wood and cement
arrived by rail from the
Willamette Valley. In 1916,
Winn and his neighbors
raised the barn.
“It took 30 men, 30 days
and $3,000 to build it,” said
Preston.
The voluminous barn
features a hay loft, shiplap
floors and an arched roof.
Its Gothic arch style is
rare in the West, though
common in England. The
barn is built into a hillside
so one could once drive
a wagon into the loft to
unload loose hay or grain
into a chute for the live-
stock below. A dam on
nearby Dry Creek gener-
ated electricity for the barn.
As years passed, the
family’s relationship with
the barn changed. In early
decades, dairy cows and
draft horses inhabited the
Move a
boon for
local tax
consultant
Dick Mason
The Observer
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Preston and Arlene Winn, Waverly Seymour and Kendra and Tim Seymour pose on the lawn in front of their 104-year-
old Gothic arch barn near Weston.
MOST RECENT
LOCAL AREA
CENTURY FARMS
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
The Winn barn, in the gothic arch design, was built in 1916. George W. Winn spent two
years assembling supplies in preparation on the building’s construction.
place. Milk was trans-
ported to a creamery in
Walla Walla. Wheat har-
vested from surrounding
fields went into a grain bin
in the center of the hay-
loft and flowed down via
gravity. As farming tech-
nology improved and trac-
tors replaced horses, the
barn wasn’t needed as
much. Sometime during
the Depression, the family
sold the dairy cows.
Preston remembers
working in the barn as
a boy. In later years, the
barn provided a haven for
his children. Daughter
Kendra, a four-sport athlete
at Weston-McEwen High
School, practiced her bas-
ketball moves in the barn.
She and brothers Ben and
Daniel played half court
games, the ball thudding on
the shiplap floor. The sib-
lings raised 4-H animals
there too.
As the barn aged, the
family looked for a way to
See, Barn/Page 2B
WALLOWA COUNTY
Name of farm: Carman
Ranch LLC
Location: 67357 Promise
Road, Wallowa
Original owner: Jacob
Weinhard
Year of property acquisi-
tion: 1913
Year of Century Farm des-
ignation: 2016
UNION COUNTY
Name of farm: Bingaman
Enterprises
Location: 64088 McDonald
Lane, La Grande
Original owner: Peter
McDonald
Year of property acquisi-
tion: 1882
Year of Century Farm des-
ignation: 2015
BAKER COUNTY
Name of farm: Charles M.
Colton & Sons
Location: 45887 Slough
Road, Baker City
Original owner: William H.
and Charles H. Colton
Year of property acquisi-
tion: 1917
Year of Century Farm des-
ignation: 2017
Source: Century Farm &
Ranch Database
LA GRANDE — Kristin
Jones, a licensed tax con-
sultant who specializes in
helping small businesses,
took a big step 10 months
ago.
Jones moved her book-
keeping business, J2K2
Books, out of her
La Grande home and into
an office building at 1614
Fifth St., formerly the home
of a dental office. The move
has proved to be fruitful.
“I like having a separa-
tion from home and work
and the increased visi-
bility,” Jones said
The greater visibility is
enhanced by her business’s
eye catching blue, black
and white J2K2 Books sign.
The name reflects the ini-
tial letters of the first names
of Kristin Jones’ family —
hers, her husband Jeremy
and their son Jeremiah and
daughter Kylie.
Jones said she likes
helping small businesses
because often the owners
and their staff are extremely
gifted at what they do but
are only being held back by
bookkeeping procedures
she can easily help them
with.
She has long enjoyed
bookkeeping.
“I love numbers and
solving problems,” Jones
said.
She started her book-
keeping service 10 years
ago in Coos Bay. She
moved to La Grande in
2015 when Eastern Oregon
University hired her hus-
band to work for its student
housing office. Jones then
operated her bookkeeping
service from home before
making her move earlier
this year.
She studied accounting
for two years at South-
western Oregon Commu-
nity College and was cer-
tified as a tax consultant in
May by the Oregon Board
of Tax Practitioners. Jones
See, Move/Page 2B
Historic Depot in Enterprise makes changes
By Bill Bradshaw
Wallowa County Chieftain
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Enterprise’s historic Depot, a former railroad station, is un-
dergoing some changes at its coffee and gift shops.
ENTERPRISE — The
historic Depot in Enterprise
is planning some changes,
even as the tourist season
winds down and the busi-
ness closes for the winter,
according to the owners.
The coffee shop, gift
shop and combination B&B
and campground is housed
in the 1908 building that
once was the railroad depot
in Enterprise, then located
along the tracks near where
Wallowa County Grain
Growers now stands.
“It was well used in the
early 1900s,” said Leita
Barlow, who with daughter
Amy Roseberry owns and
operates the business.
Barlow said when the
railroad decommissioned
stations, most of the older,
wooden ones were burned
down. Somehow, she said,
the Enterprise depot was
spared. In the 1980s, it was
moved down the road from
Enterprise to its current
location near Joseph and
used as a residence. And a
previous owner began using
it for overnight lodging.
Now, Barlow and Rose-
berry have expanded that
lodging to include units
such as an old Burlington
Northern caboose, a tepee,
a yurt and others.
But it’s the coffee shop
and gift shop that will be
seeing the changes, Barlow
said. She said they pur-
chased most of the equip-
ment from the recently
closed Red Horse Coffee
Traders in Joseph — except
for their espresso machine.
“We just do drip coffee,”
she said.
They do sell the pop-
ular coffee beans Red Horse
provided.
“That’s all we sell
because it’s so wonderful,”
she said.
Barlow’s other daughter,
Autumn Roseberry, lives in
Alaska but also contributes
to the Depot. She provides
a variety of arts and crafts
for sale in the gift shop. In
addition to the coffee beans
and gifts, the shop also sells
a variety of snack items.
The Depot is planning a
“grand reopening” in April,
and Barlow said they have
plans for a variety of sea-
sonal events for next year.
“That way it’ll be nice
enough weather we can all
sit outside and keep our dis-
tance because of the virus,”
she said.
As for now, the Depot
has no regular hours, but
customers can arrange via
its website to stop into the
lobby or view what’s avail-
able to order.
“We have a variety of
products,” Barlow said.
“Something for everybody.”
The website is www.
thedepotjoseph.com. Con-
tact by email at thedepotjo-
sephore@gmail.com or by
phone at 916-202-3609.