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They found their dream and decided to stay
n the late 1980s, San Francisco was in the
midst of a nightmare.
I
Gay men were dying of AID S at an
alanning rate. In those days, it wasn’t
uncommon for some people to lose their
entire circle of friends because of the new disease.
John Tallerino and Marc Randall were there.
The couple had watched too many die.
And in the midst of doing so, they made a
life-altering decision. Although they were both
in the prime of their life, they couldn’t escape
the fact that life could be cut short— the lesson
was forced on them almost every day.
If dreams were to be realized, the couple con
cluded, they’d better be a priority. They wanted
a Victorian home on a big piece of land— with
maybe a pond or a creek out back— within an
hour’s drive to Portland.
Everyone laughed at the idealistic plan.
Many didn’t think they ever would find their
dream; it just sounded too good to be true.
But in 1989, the couple found their dream
house and moved north. They sold their C ali
fornia home and their thriving corporate party
business and decided to not look hack.
Since then, life has been about rural living—
in the heart of Oregon wine country— and reno
vating their 21 -room Victorian home on 97 acres.
A creek cuts through their large plot of land
located about an hour southwest of Portland.
At first it was fun. The house needed a lot of
work, and they loved seeing the transformation.
Their dilapidated but stately home slowly was
taking shape and returning to its original
grandeur.
They planned a very private life, and they
had one. Life was good.
But then came 1992’s anti-gay Measure 9.
“Suddenly, we were in the midst of it,” Tal
lerino says.
The duo knew they had to get involved.
No on 9 lawn signs went up, and Tallerino and
Randall started speaking out.
They wrote a letter to their local newspaper.
Suddenly, their anonymity in Sheridan was
gone.
Then, vandalism started. Then came prank
phone calls— some threatening and some mere
ly harassing.
Cars passed, and epithets were screamed out.
People even called them hateful names when
they went into town to shop.
Little by little, the couple realized they
weren’t spending time outside working on
and enjoying the gardens surrounding their
home. They had to admit to themselves they
were scared.
They even quietly considered giving up
their stately home— their dream. And then
they got angry.
One night, a car drove up, and the passen
gers began hurling their usual put-downs.
“Enough was enough,” Tallerino says.
He got his shotgun, went out to the veran
da and shot several times into the tall trees
above the intruders’ heads. “W hen you talk in
their language, they start to understand bet
ter,” he says.
The couple were living out their dream, and
the locals weren’t going to chase them off. “Our
being here is an act of defiance,” Randall says.
T h e men got busy. They visited their
neighbors.
They put the renovation on hold and got
political. They helped form the Rural Organiz
ing Project and the West Valley Human Rights
Coalition.
Measure 9 eventually was defeated, and Tal
lerino and Randall would like to think they had
a little something to do with that. “We made a
statement,” Tallerino says.
“And, I think, we changed attitudes,” Ran
dall adds. They later helped battle 1994’s Mea
sure 13, a similar anti-gay initiative.
But for the latest go-round— the 2000 Mea
sure 9— the men say they aren’t getting
involved. “We opted to sit this one out,” Ran
dall says.
The couple’s yellow Labrador was run down
and killed in front of their home during the
Measure 13 campaign. The loss was devastating.
“W e’ve lost too much,” Randall says.
This time, Randall and Tallerino are fighting
the measure by just being what they call “an
example.” They talk to friends about the dangers
of the initiative.
Most people, they say, haven’t heard about
Measure 9. Somehow, the publicity hasn’t
reached the area, they explain.
They live their life in rural Oregon and par
ticipate in their community. This helps alleviate
people’s fears about homosexuals, Randall says.
These days, most people who drive by the
couple’s spread slow down to honk and wave.
Three years ago, they opened up their home
to guests as the Middle Creek Run Bed and
by Jonathan Kipp
John Tallerino and Marc Randall didn’t let locals chase them off
Breakfast. Things have changed in wine
country, they say.
The men now play host to visitors from all
over the world. Most guests, they say, learn
about the inn by word-of-mouth.
They say they are not afraid, although they
admit they are cautious and aware of what is
going on around them. They always try to trav
el together— even if going to the grocery store or
taking a leisurely walk.
Sure, they miss having an opera house and a
good theater nearby, and they wish they had
F a ll P la n t S a le
Unusual trees, shrubs,
and perennials.
d o g g i e d a y ca re
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Candles
O PEN H O USE!
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3 P M .- 7 P M
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Memberships available at the door
4000 SW Fairview Blvd.
Portland, Oregon Call 823-3655
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Oregon
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LMT & Mark Tynan
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more restaurants to choose from. And despite
their good friends and neighbors, they miss the
diversity of people that city life offers.
But despite all of that, Randall says he would
hate to leave his home and their patch of the
Willamette Valley. “Some of our guests call this
the best-kept secret in Oregon.”
in
For more information on the MIDDLE CREEK
R u n B ed a n d B r eakfast , visit the Internet site
teteie. m uidlecreekrun. com .