TRIBAL MEMBER NEWS
Free Entrance to Yaquina Head
Gladys Muschamp
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural
Area would like to remind all Siletz Tribal members that there is no charge for
your use of this area. Typically, the BLM charges $5 per vehicle to the general
public for a three-day pass to the area.
If you’re interested in visiting Yaquina Head, merely let the ranger at the
entrance gate know that you're a member of the Siletz Tribe or show him/her
your tribal membership card and you’ll be allowed entrance at no charge.
The interpretive center at Yaquina Head is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
the lighthouse is open this summer from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The annual arrival of the
common murres already has occurred and thousands are being spotted off the
headland. The murres are attracting regular visits by bald eagles, which have
been spotted roosting on the islands and on the cliffs above the interpretive center.
Seal pups also are being spotted from Cobble Beach.
For more information about activities at Yaquina Head, contact the BLM at
541-574-3100 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily.
by Mary Jane Robb
There is a catch in my heart,
As I walk in my wild garden today.
Everywhere are the creations
That Gladys loved so much,
For this is the time of earth’s rebirth ...
The stirring of spring.
The awakening of flowers
The song of the waters,
The flash of the birds,
And the sweet, sweet smell of renewal.
Framing all this glory is the wonderful
green of fir trees
Lifting their branches high to the
Great God.
Siletz Class Reunion
Aug.15-17,2003, at the Elks campground, Siletz River
Come and see your old friends and classmates
Dry camping is available starting Aug. 15
Dinner is scheduled for Aug. 16 at noon
Dinner tickets sold on site - $20/family, $15/couple, $7.50/single
If you have any questions, please call Rose Seminary,
541-536-3851 in LaPine, Ore.; e-mail - larseminary@msn.com
This morning in the sunshine and the
shadows
Gladys walks through my thoughts,
A wonderful image to a lost past
A living echo of yesterday.
She was a law unto herself
And wore her innate dignity like a cloak.
She kept the sacred words in her heart
And from that special place
She cast forth her petals of goodness
and wisdom.
I shall always remember this woman
This is good.
Gladys blended with the earth and with
the stars.
She was a friend, a basket maker, and a
weaver of dreams.
I think of her in that Fair Place
She who was the gatherer of earth's
bounty
Is now the harvester of the stars.
I see her carrying a basket.
Filling it with stardust, sunbeams and
moon glow.
I hear her delighted chuckle
As she casts her treasures over her
beloved family and friends
And I say “goodbye” to a lady who was
a precious ornament
Of the tribe and of all people.
Walt’s Words of Wit and Wisdom
Well by golly, maybe I’ll get back
in the groove this month. Last month
I think I was caught sleeping or
something. Sometimes it’s difficult to
think of something to write about that
wasn’t written about before.
Anyways, as I’m sitting here at
5:30 a.m. drinking coffee, reading the
paper, eating sugar-free fat-free non
fattening low-cholesterol sugar wafers,
I kinda thought about yesterday. Seems
that I can remember 50 years ago better
then I can 15 minutes ago.
My uncle used to tell me about a lake
way back in the hills. I now know that
it was the head of Serene Creek. It was
named after a man with that name. He
had an old homestead way back up there.
The road was an old wagon road. I
don’t know if he had a car or not.
Grandpa said that he used a sled and a
“lizard” a lot. Now, a lizard was a large
tree branch, maybe a foot and a half in
diameter and maybe 10 feet long. I
remember Grandpa using one to bring
shake bolts from the hills.
Anyway, one day I gathered the trusty
old 38-55 rifle and the two shells that I
was allotted and took off. I was prob
ably 12 or 13, maybe a little older, but
thought I was bigger than I was. I left
through the Belle Bell place and went
up what was later called Porter Canyon.
I walked what seemed like 100
miles, maybe three anyway, crossed the
head of William Creek, and got to a
quite high point. While 1 was there, a
commotion erupted between where I’d
come from and me. I think it was a very
large bear and I didn’t have any desire
to meet up with him socially with two
shells and me not all that great of a shot.
Reluctantly, I decided to go to the
lake. I had all kinds of dreams of the
big fish that were in it and I had a fish
hook and some cutty hunk line in my
pocket, maybe a little tangled up.
Actually, I was afraid to go home the way
I came, so I made my way down that steep
hillside, not getting any braver as I went.
When I reached the bottom and
found that lake, it was the most dis
appointing thing I think I have ever
seen. It may have been four inches deep
and was crawling with little red water
dogs. I don’t remember any buildings
anywhere close, but I know I didn’t
want to climb that hill.
I didn’t know exactly where I was,
but I knew how to get home - go
downstream. Then on the other hand, I
knew there was a road to Valsetz if I
went toward Indian Gap. I'd been there
hunting with my dad. It would come
out at the Speakman place, which was
five miles from home.
I knew I didn’t want to walk that
far but no matter how I looked at it,
there was going to be a long walk and I
was tired and hungry to boot. I decided
to go to the Valsetz road. I came out at
a homestead called the Donkel place.
The road was all dirt and a wagon road.
Further down the road was the
Phillips place. That was a family of
about 12 who I think lived in a one-
room building, not very large either.
Then came the homestead of Pearl
Rilatos’ grandparents; can’t remember
their names right now. They moved
closer to Logsden, across the creek from
Lester Simmons’ place.
People lived on many of the
homesteads back there. They didn’t
seem to think much of a big kid with a
very large rifle walking down the road.
I finally came out on Nashville Road.
That’s what it was called then, now it’s
Logsden Road. A fellow picked me up.
His name was Jack Horsefall; he was a
brother-in-law to Charlene Blosser, who
would one day be Joe Lane’s wife.
I later made other excursions into
the wilds. As I look at those places
today with all the timber gone, I can’t
understand how I didn’t become
hopelessly lost „You couldn’t see where
you were going. But when I see all the
places that I’d been, how many ravines
and canyons there are, I don't know.
Now I think that 1 either would be
too lazy or have more sense. Besides,
all the trails are gone now, wiped out
by logging operations. All the old-
timers used to cut trails everywhere they
went as they would eventually be
gathering shake bolts or fence posts.
I didn’t see any bear, nor did I want
to. I always figured that when I got old
enough to make more money than I
was, I would buy me a box of shells,
then by golly watch out ol’ bear. When
I did encounter a bear, I didn’t have the
38-55. I had a 32-40, which was
practically worthless. The other fellow
with me had a 300 savage, though. That
did the trick.
Someday I may tell about the trips
to Indian Gap and Millers Gap.
July 2003 □
Siletz News
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