community
october
2009
Bear Creek Pub and Bar
13
continued from front page
a drink and
r e m i n i s c e
about the old
times.”
Roach didn’t
grow up here
in Vernonia,
but he still
sees the value
in displaying
the memora-
bilia from the
past. “It be-
longs to the
r e s i d e n t s - -
their memo-
ries of their
childhoods,”
he explained.
The resur-
rection and transformation of Ben’s Barbershop has
been in the works for a couple of years. “I got really
lucky,” says Roach. “Everything was in here, the
mirrors, the floor. All I had to do was clean it up,
and set down a bar. All the signs were here, I just
had them cleaned and framed. And we painted.”

He even has Ben’s barbershop sign, which
has been recreated on the front door. And the barber
pole, now mounted inside, is an original.

Roach has found all kinds of knickknacks
and items of interest. It was like opening a time
capsule. He likes to show off a 1929 local phone
book, barber tools, a working oscillating fan, and a
business license from 1933 which hangs on the wall.

The story goes that Ben Brickle arrived in
Vernonia in 1923, and filled in when the local barber
was injured when he was thrown through the front
window of his own shop. Ben ended up staying for
over fifty years. “A lot of men got their hair cut here
over the years,” said Roach.

Along with a bit of history, The Bear Creek
Pub and Bar will offer a full bar, along with beer and
wine and the regular food menu that Black Bear of-
fers.

The change from a salon to a saloon was a
natural progression. “The barbershop was
the place where guys came to hang out and
talk and get their hair cut,” said Roach.

Now, instead of that haircut, you
can have a bite to eat and a drink.
Now offering FREE shows!
I provide the ingredients,
you provide the guests!
Lee Anne Krause
Independent Consultant
503-816-9810 or leeannekrause@gmail.com
Food, Fun & Friends with the Pampered Chef.
FREE and discounted products for hosts!
www.pamperedchef.biz/leeannekrause
Owned and Operated by
Don & Kim Wallace
Join us in Vernonia
Support efforts in communication 
between kids and their parents.  
Learn how to appreciate each other’s 
strengths as individuals.
7 Sessions starting Monday, October 5th
at the Vernonia Community Church
For parents/care providers and youth 10-14 years.
Free child care for younger siblings.
Dinner provided for the whole family.
Prizes and incentives.
Classes satisfy skill training requirements for
various Self-Sufficiency Programs.
For more information contact:
Sonia Spackman  
Sponsored by:
503-429-6540
or David Spackman 
at the Grade School  
503-429-7941
Be a piece of 
the puzzle.
Register Now
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