I N S I G H T
What's good about
Klamath Falls
by Jim H unger
A Klamath Falls friend, upon reading one
of m y commentaries based on my experi
ences in this vicinity, asked me, “Couldn’t you
write something good about Klamath Falls?"
His question caused me to pause and reflect
upon m y literary objectives and guidelines in
writing the articles. Certainly I hadn't intended
to be a cynical jeerer, but rather a detached,
unsparingly honest observer and interpreter:
moreover, I thought I had made an effort to
include some positive remarks. Controversial
points of discussion rasied by me in the arti
cles were also brought up by myself and
others at Klamath Gay Union meetings and
to local individuals, and so should not have
been particularly surprising to anyone in
volved. Th e purpose of this final installment
concerning this area is very definitely not to
renege on any of my past comments; some
times the truth hurts, but I for one still think
it's im portant Instead, with this ponderous
vignette I wish to, "write something good
about Klamath Falls." I continue to stand by
m y previous statements, which were made in
sincere attempts at journalistic objectivity.
However, I don’t aspire to a reputation of
being capable only of sour invective, of being
able to glimpse only the seamy underside
without ever noticing any glimmer of hopeful
promise. If m y previous remarks on the soci
ety of Klamath County have left a completely
negative impression of this locale, then I have
failed to present a totally accurate, compre
hensive image of this place, and hope with
this final segment on this subject to correct
any one-sidedness I may have been guilty of.
O f course, for natives, Klamath Falls offers
that very special designation of home, some
thing almost mythical in modern American
society. While many gay people who grew up
in the backwaters and left have unpleasant
memories of their hometowns, few can es
cape a tinge of nostalgia over the concept of
home. Many of the old-fashioned ideals of
yesterday seem bound up in this notion, as
well as a solid sense of security which so
often seems lacking in modernity.
As a small town, Klamath Falls offers more
than just a home for natives, though: it also
offers gay people a place where socializing
isn’t primarily confined to the bar scene.
While some gays here do go to the bars, the
closest establishment popularly referred to
as a gay bar is 65 miles away, in Ashland, and
so going to the local saloons is something
one is more likely to do in order to drink than
to cruise, unless one is really good at scoring
in a potentially hostile environment. In my
experience, gay socializing in Klamath Falls
happens most frequently in people’s homes,
or perhaps outside. Klamath Gay Union
meetings were always held in the houses of
members, and often consisted of cozy, con
versational evenings, when everything was
going well. Attendants might share news, ex
periences, and books, and discuss topics of
interest. In Klamath Falls I first managed to
find a copy of Song o f the Loon, a gay classic
of the ’50s which I’m convinced has as one of
its major settings a site somewhere in
Klamath County, either on Crater or Upper
Klamath Lake. While technically friendships
everywhere have the same potential more or
less, little town relationships seem more
focused on quality than quantity, basically
because there are fewer people around to
become close to. and so one spends more
time with the friends one does have. While
one might do the same in the city, due to the
sheer numbers, one tends to develop more
acquaintanceships in a city, and hence to
spend less time on each. A com m on co m
plaint about modem society is that it has
become coldly impersonal, but this problem
is more pervasive in urban than rural areas.
Certain institutions, such as federal agencies,
tend to be bureaucratically faceless wherever
you encounter them, but in small towns like
Klamath Falls, you are more apt to meet your
neighbors and the check-out clerk at the
local supermarket than you would in a big
city.
Klamath County has a number of positive
qualities which are intrinsic to the locality.
Th e environment consists of high desert and
forest, with some incredibly beautiful scen
ery. Th e Klamath Basin is a paradise for out
doors people who don't mind slightly chilly
sum m er nights occasionally and snow in the
winter. Here there is an abundance of hiking,
hunting, Fishing, and cross-country skiing.
Rock hounds and amateur archaeologists
may Find ample opportunities to pursue their
hobbies and be fabulously successful. Gay
people interested in American Indian culture
will Find the old native culture of the Basin of
particular fascination since the indigenous
society had no apparent discrimination
against homosexuals: in fact, one of the most
respected and feared shamans of the
Klamath Tribe was a homosexual male trans
vestite known as White Cindy. Also, when
Applegate brought white culture to Southern
Oregon, the Klamaths didn’t even have an
institutionalized position of tribal chief.
On the Nile
a lesbian and gay tour of Egypt
though the Indian culture in the Basin is veri-
fiably older than any other in the United
States except for the ancient Hopi civilization.
O n a more immediately practical level,
Klamath Falls is the sunniest city in Oregon,
and has tremendous energy resources. Not
only might one make use of abundant solar
energy here, but there is also much geother
mal potential in the Klamath Basin. While
these energy systems are expensive to install,
they’re cheap or free after that point. In addi
tion, many people in this area heat with wood,
and obviously there is a plentiful supply of
that around as well. Unlike most regions, the
Basin could not only easily be self-sufficient
in energy, it could also have extra to export.
While the city of Klamath Falls can hon
estly only be described as ugly, with a few
dramatic changes it could be turned into a
very attractive center. Most of the buildings
are rather nondescript and would lend them
selves handily to some sort of urban renewal
development. I’ve often thought that it would
be marvelous if they turned the downtown
into a glass-topped, geo-thermally heated
greenhouse mall. Although few impressive
old edifices remain, there are a number of
good examples of art deco architecture here
which hopefully have been recognized as be
ing worth saving before being old enough to
be candidates for the wrecker’s ball. These
could be incorporated as focal points in
some great architectural development, and
indeed one, the Esquire Theater is in the
process of such renovation. Klamath Falls
also has a superior library for a town its size,
as well as a county museum any community
could be proud of. Unfortunately, the hours
for both of these establishments have been
curtailed in the interests of budget cutting,
but this unhappy situation is happening
everywhere. Klamath County also recently
elected two liberal county commissioners, a
majority on the three member board, which
surprised not a few local citizens, and while
candidates for the third position, which is up
for grabs this year, don’t appear to be very
inspiring, the political atmosphere is some
what hopeful for progressives.
For me, personally, the Klamath Basin has
offered m uch which would have been un
available or at least more difficult to find else
where. My position as a teacher in a rural
school has afforded me closer contact with
m y students than I would have been likely to
encounter in a metropolitan school. While
this can at times cause me some uneasiness
as a gay person in a profession that tends to
persecute gay people, it has also allowed me
to be a more personal part of my kids’ lives,
an opportunity that I’ll always cherish. In addi
tion. m v living arrangement here is perhaps
the most pleasant I’ve ever experienced: I live
in a very comfortable little cottage outside of
town, amid horse pastures and with views of
two mountains: my house is easily overheated
by its woodstove (m y other two local habita
tions had geo-thermal heat), and I have no
other utilities except electricity. My quarters
are crowded with comfortable furniture,
m uch of which was loaned to me by local
friends, and for the past two summers, when
I've returned to Portland and summer school,
a friend has allowed me to store my humble
accumulation of wealth at his place. When I
leave Klamath Falls, I'll miss the less hectic
pace of life here, which can be boring at
times, but which is also mercifully peaceful
and uncomplicated.
Like all places, Klamath Falls has its nega
tive qualities; however, there are enough pos-
tive characteristics that a gay person might
find happiness here, particularly if one values
solitude, or moves here with an established
lover. Unemployment is high in the Basin, but
it seems to be a problem almost everywhere
these days, and the cost of living here is low,
with inexpensive accommodations easy to
find. People here seem able to survive with
out a great deal of difficulty, though prosper
ing is harder.
There: now that’s the last I'll ever write
about Klamath Falls, good or bad; it’s time to
move on to other things. But wait! I forgot to
recount the story of the rancher's son who
liked “to do it in wom en’s panties." O h well,
it’s too late now!
A local Egyptologist will accom pany
the group. Take a cruise on the Nile and
tour the pyramids.
Total package $2395
September 21-October 6
Just Out, June 8-June 22
7889 SW CIRRUS DR.
KOLL BUSINESS CENTER BLDG. #25
644-6186
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