survive all those years. Will,
who loved to putter, must have
had to reinforce the bench each
year.
"Village of Plovers" (cont'd. )
Jubilation Park, a pocket
park Judy and Will Osburn and
their employees created on the
south end of their grocery
store in 1976, was a small i .rk
in which to sit and peacefully
enjoy a cup of coffee, an ice
cream cone or a sandwich from
the store deli ... an oasis in
the summer during the peak of
tourist season.
The park was planted with
an alder tree, fern and other
small plants that they gathered
from the nearby forest.
They
added rhododendrons to bloom in
May, and in the summer planted
a variety of annuals. One year
Judy had to add a sign, "I'm
Nemesia," as the clerks were
kept busy answering the ques
tion, "What's the name of that
plant?" Nemesia,
an annual,
blooms
in many colors.
The
Carnival strain produces excep
tionally large blooms and grows
successfully in acid soil that
retains moisture throughout the
summer. The bright colors of
these
annuals
enhanced
the
small park.
The name,
"Jubilation,"
which is also the name of the
Osburns* corporation, was de
rived from both their first
names (Ju for Judy and Bil for
Bill) and the fact that they
were so jubilant to live in a
beautiful place like Cannon
Beach when they moved here from
Dallas, Texas.
Bill Osburn's career had
been as a medical illustrator
and he was an Associate Profes
sor of Medical Art at the
University of Texas in Dallas.
They not only changed their
life
style,
but
Bill
also
decided to become known as
Will. He liked the name better
and felt it was more appropri
ate for the owner of an old,
small town grocery store which
had previously been owned and
run by many different families
since approximately 1915.
During
the
1970's
the
City's comprehensive plan was
being drafted. In the finished
draft in March, 1979, under
•’Downtown Guidelines and Recom
mendations,"
#1 reads,
"The
viewpoints and pocket parks
should be improved through the
use of landscaping and bench
es."
#10 on the same page
reads,
"New construction or
extensive
remodeling
of
existing
buildings
should
include open space for land
scaping and walk-through areas
between buildings." Jubilation
Park was used as an example.
The pocket park was Oregon
Senator Mark Hatfield's favor
ite place to hold court with
groups
of
citizens
while
enjoying his favorite food, an
ice cream cone from Osburn's
Ice Creamery.
In the early 1980's an
important decision was made in
that park that changed the
direction of the future for a
friend and myself. The two of
us and a realtor mot at the
park to enjoy a cup of Osburn's
coffee and talk over a real
estate transaction. We had just
looked at a piece of property
that included a falling-down
building. We were trying to
decide if my friend and I
bought the property whether the
building was salvageable to
rebuild or if we should tear it
down to provide enough space
for shops and an art gallery.
As we were talking, my friend
startled the realtor and me.
She suddenly stood up, put her
hand on top of her head, and
proclaimed, "That does it. I
1
don't want to buy that old
building!" Some droppings from
a flock of seagulls had landed
in her hair. I went back to a
dependable job as a clerk at
Betty
Dueber's
store,
The
Buttery. My friend married the
realtor.
In 1974 when the Osburns
bought the store, among many
other things that needed redo
ing was the front porch. In
1976 they rebuilt the whole
porch, added more length and
width, railings and old school
desk chairs where people could
sit and enjoy food or the view.
Osburn's Grocery and Ice
Creamery is now owned by their
two sons, Steve and wife Emily,
the grocery and deli; Jim and
Yvonne, the ice creamery. These
last several years Steve has
added seasonal annuals, peren
nials and shrubs for sale. The
displays of these plants add
even more charm to the old
building.
Each May on the north side
of the store the creamy-pink-
tinted
flowers
of
"Lamb's
Monarch" rhododendrons beckon
people
to
ask
about
these
shrubs. This rhododendron is an
excellent choice for coastal
gardens. If you're interested
in buying this plant, contact
Steve.
This new porch gave Will
another duty. A long red apron
called "Willy's Chili Apron," a
bowler hat, a garter on his
arm, with a broom in hand, was
the uniform he chose to wear to
keep the new porch swept clean.
During
that
time
the
Osburns' daughter Susie, who
had just graduated from the
University of Texas, spent the
summer running the new ice
creamery the Osburns installed
south of the grocery store.
That
summer
Judy
planted
baskets
of
red
and
white
striped geraniums and hung them
in front of the ice creamery.
The geraniums and the small
pocket park full of brightly
colored flowers complemented
the building, which was painted
red with white trim. She also
added pots filled with annuals
on the steps.
Will Osburn, known for his
talented musical renditions on
his washboard attached with
cymbal, bicycle horn and a "uga
horn," encouraged Ovaer local
musicians to use the small park
during the height of the summer
tourist season, and the porch
for a gathering place to seren
ade the town. In 1976 Spud
Siegel, mandolin; his brother
Kid, guitar; and Danny Clif
ford, fiddle; came to our town
as the famous "Potato Group."
Later, with the Beerman Creek
String
Band;
Jeffrey
Hull,
fiddler; Big Larry, bass; Knox
Swanson,
banjo;
and
Larry
Moore, guitar; to name a few,
and Will and his washboard; the
music was enjoyed by locals and
crowds of visitors. For the
finale,
Will stepped up in
front, bringing laughter to the
audience, and announced that
this fine group's next gigs
could be heard at Portland's
Crystal Ballroom or Radio City
Music Hall in New York or Top
of the Mark in San Francisco;
or invited the crowd to migrate
with them to listen to music at
the world-famous Bill's Tavern.
When the Osburns bought
the store, they learned they
also inherited some of Cannon
Beach history. In 1932, many
years before Barbara married Ed
Charles, she and her sisters as
teenagers
would
sit
on
a
crudely-made bench on the porch
of the grocery store, to tag a
ride home from Ed Charles. At
that time Charles, a college
student,
spent
the
summer
delivering groceries for the
store, which was then owned by
the Sheets family. Barbara's
mother brought the girls down
to their cabin every summer
where they enjoyed horseback
riding,
skating at the old
roller rink, and snacking on
home-made doughnuts from the
shop owned by Betty Charles
(Ed's mother), which was in the
same building as Sheets Gro
cery. Barbara said she and her
sisters
were
probably
a
nuisance to Ed, but the bench
became a daily meeting place
for them to get a ride home.
Barbara and Ed were married in
1944. Thirty-four years later,
when the Osburns replaced the
old bench, they gave it to the
Charles couple, in memory of
those early years. I wonder how
many nails and new lumber were
used to hold it together to
1 / cka . ff -
Ly
Twniwftt
G mmic D iskn
AND l l l U S T M T O N
The
small
Jubilation
pocket park is no longer there.
South of the store is a new
complex called The Landing. The
grocery and ice creamery have
remained. This building is one
of the few original buildings
left. It is a tribute to the
Osburns who continue to give it
constant care, even though the
ice creamery is sinking, and
the old structure creaks and
groans with underpinnings of
shifting sand.
P.0. Box 1M2
êiSTORMk. OR
5 ® ) 3 3 S 0311
F or . f\PP01NT**IENT
If only the old store, the
porch,
and the parking lot
could tell us all the stories
from the past, the true history
of Cannon Beach would then un
fold. What secrets lie beneath
the boards and layers of paint,
plants, soil and sand?
S p rin g G arden S em inar at A storia H igh School, April 4th
w ith K etzal L evine call 503-325-8573 if you w ish to
participate.
TRILLIUM
« WATURALWDS
>
¿a.
^Flowers
$3r
<
^Wedding Specialists
^Pots&Baskets
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Cards & Gifts
^ W r e a th s ^ ^
Arrermon Gaxdenexs!
* Shepaxd's
Fine Seeds
• Ongamc Gardening Supplies
• Pomng Soil & Composr
* Tools * Books * Advice
4 3 6 - 9 2 1 5 toll free 1 888 491-8267
263 North Hemlock, Cannon Beach
(next to the Bistro, behind Laurel's Wines)
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landscaping
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