Section
SANDY OREGON THURSDAY JULY 29 1982
The Srfndy Post
JA
T
A fC H NCWS
People
Home & Garden
Features
Culture not only lesson
learned through exchange
by SCOTT NEWTON
Photo by Scott Newton
Tiger Shaw or Stowe. Vermont, took advantage of the \ arm weather last week to try out a new kind of roller skate,
which reportedly sii .ulates the motion of skiing. Shaw and other members of the U.S. Ski Team, who were training on
Mt. Hood, tried out the roller skates on South Bluff and Sandy Heights.
No one rode faster than
trick rider Dave Willoughby
by GWEN BOGH
Post Correspondent
Matching the spirit of his stallions,
89-year-old Dave Willoughby is as in
dependent and vibrant as ever
Up at dawn to work with his horses,
and to bed “whenever," is the
lifestyle he leads, not far removed
from years before.
Willoughby’s horses are his life,
but he said he doesn't love them. " I
only love the women They're (the
horses) just my pride and joy. I don't
love any horse ”
In his earlier years, Willoughby
was recognized as an expert trick
rid e r. One newspaper clipping
among the many, this one from the
1930s, read: “ With the personality of
a Will Rogers, Willoughby furnishes
any kind of horseback ride—slow,
fast or fancy."
Willoughby learned his profession
on his own, by trial and error Wife
Pauline said, “ We s just self taught "
Good trick riders were paidwell
d u rin g the e a r ly d a y s , said
Willoughby Riding Klickatat, a pinto
that has since died of old age, he
made 8100 every ride That was top
money is the '30s
We rode Klickatat in shows all over
the country, including Oklahoma,
Kansas, Montana, California, Oregon
and other states
A n o th e r
t r ic k - r id in g
m a re
Willoughby rode, this one for speed,
was Sorley Queen While running 20
to 25 miles per hour, Willoughby
would have his left foot on the runn
ing board of a car and his right foot in
the stirrup
After one time around the car
w ould le a v e the tr a c k and
Willoughby would jump from one
side of the horse to the other at
breakneck speed
We said, “ No trick riders rode that
fast, ever.”
Another extraordinary feat occur
red in 1938 when Willoughby rode his
horse 11 stories high in the Marion
Hotel in Little Rock, Ark.
He perfor ed for the governor and
the rodeo queen <n the bail room on
Boulder Dan, his dancing horse
Willoughby was hired by a politi
cian, a Colonel Barton, to go to Little
Rock. When the Colonel asked
Willoughby what he could do to pro
vide entertainment, Willoughby said,
“ Keep the cops off me and I'll raise
hell in town, riding all around "
Despite his dangerous occupation,
Willoughby has never broken any
bones or been seriously injured He
attributes his accident-free life to
knowing horses
" I know what he’s (the horse) go
ing to do and I beat him to the point.
I'm not brave," he said.
In 1931 Willoughby purchased a
riding stable in Rancho Sante Fe,
Calif., where he trained riders and
bred pintos During the 22 years he
owned the stable famous people
would ride there
People such as Betty Davis, Kay
Francis and Dee Frances rode at his
stable.
At the stable Willoughby trained
horses fo r two m ovies
“ The
Outlaw," a 1941 film directed by
Howard Hawks and Howard Hughes
and starring Jane Russell, and a
1930s film, “The Wild Horse," starr area with his wife They met in
ing Hoot Gibson, featured his horses
Eugene, at the store where she work
In the first film a spectacular fight ed. As it is told by his wife,
scene, using two horses, was staged Willoughby walked in to the store and
by Willoughby.
helped her open a bottle He asked
Willoughby also trained a number her out, on the spot, but she said she
of people to ride One well-known couldn’t leave the store because she
movie star, Bing Crosby, was a stu had to work
dent of his
Willoughby responded by saying
Crosby rode Keno, a “ special’’ sad it’s bad when anybody has to work.
dle horse Crosby was learning to The courting began “ under the
ride properly to prepare himself for a
Roseburg moon," said Pauline, with
movie he was to star in, “ Rhythm on Willoughby riding his horse, doing an
the Range."
assortment of tricks especially for
Crosby owned a ranch and track
her Before long they were married.
just three miles from Willoughby’s
Now married for 25 years and hav
stable Willoughby was lead man at
ing raised three children, the two
Crosby’s Bel M ar race track for nine
have re tire d in Boring where
years He also trained Crosby’s
Willoughby breeds pinto horses He
children to ride
lias two pinto stallions, Kusshi and
Willoughby recalls when Crosby’s
Precious Blue Eyes. He has ridden
horse raced with a competitor’s. In
Kusshi in the Rose Festival Parade
just two minute's time Crosby lost
for four years, for which he received
8500,000 to C S H ow ard. The
a letter of thanks this year from the
Argentine-raised Ligerota lost only
chairman of the grand floral parade
by a split second to Sea Biscuit, own
committee
ed by Howard
Willoughby is partial to pintos
Willoughby has fond memories of
because, as he says, "They’re smart
Crosby. No way in the world “ could
and good looking ”
you find a better man than Bing
Crosby He was good to everybody."
T ric k rid in g and train in g is
Since, Willoughby has sold his
Willoughby's past, but his expertise
stable in California and settled in the
in breeding pintos is his future.
Dave Willoughby
Exchange student Alex Brewster
learned about isolation as well as
the culture of a South American
country during his year's stay in
Argentina
It took the SUHS senior-to-be
th re e m onths to le a rn the
language, and after he learned it
well enough to communicate and
make friends, he had to deal with
anti American feelings brought out
by the Falkland Islands dispute
He participated in a Rotary In
ternational exchange program,
having arrived home late last
week He said it is a good program
as having people learn about other
countries can only help interna
tional relations
He stayed six months with the
Jose Portela family. Mr. Portela is
president of a government-owned
bus company Brewster refers to
Jorge Portela, 28, as his “older
brother ”
For four months after that he
stayed with the Roberto Rapazzo
family. M r Rapazzo is the owner
of a tire company
Both families live in Buenos
Aires, a city of 9 million on the
Atlantic Ocean.
Brewster at first was isolated
because he could not speak the
language. “ I was really frustrated,
not being able to communicate,"
Brewster said. “ I ’d be trying to
talk to them and I'd make a joke,
and they wouldn't understand it.
After I'd explained it a half an hour
later, it wouldn’t even be a joke
anymore ”
A card game, “ truco," saved
him. It s a lia r’s game, and it re
quires a minimum of communica
tion, so he could have fun and get to
know people without the burden of
trying to carry on a conversation.
He brought back 15 decks of the
cards, and plans to teach truco to
his family as well as play it with
Argentina exchange students in
Gresham
His frie n d s h ip w ith Jorge
Portela helped him during the
Falklands crisis, when the govern
ment was blaming the U S. for
many of its problems.
Jorge and his friends “ knew me
as a person, not somebody from
the United States They didn’t take
it out on me For one thing, I hadn't
even voted yet," Brewster said
with a laugh
The Argentina government and
the media told the public, up until
the last, that Argentina was winn
ing the war. Then the truth came
out.
Brewster said, "Everybody was
going, What happened? I thought
we were winning.’"
Tai Cual, a magazine with about
“ as much stature as the National
Enquirer," had an issue with
Margaret Thatcher on the cover in
a World War II German helmet
with a swastika on it. A small
mustache was drawn on her face
Brewster translated the headlines:
“ The third note of her dark history
In her childhood she was a Nazi. La
Thatcher, worse than H itler."
Television advertisments were
frequent. " I really had to laugh,"
Brewster said, telling of the bla
tant messages One was filmed
with the viewer looking through a
scope, with the cross hairs focus
ing in on a lion (representing
England). “ We have to take our
time and plan our k ill," Brewster
said, mocking the advertisment
When Argentina revealed it had
lost the M alvin as (F a lk la n d
Islands), the United States was
blamed Brewster had'a hard time
defending the U S., but said he
Bible school, recreation offered
THURSDAY, JU LY 2»
Vacation Bible School, sponsored
by the Woodland Lutheran Church,
continues today Children age 3
through those in sixth grade are
welcome to attend the school, which
is held from 9:30 a m. to noon each
day through Friday, July 30 The Bi
ble School .w ill be held at the
Woodland Women's Club building and
is free Call 622 3916 for more infor
mation.
The
C la c k a m a s
C ounty
Bookmobile will be at the Woodland
Plaza Shopping Center from 4 to 7
p m today
MONDAY. AUGUST 2
The Welches Community School
aerobic dance class will be held to
day beginning at 9 a m at Welches
School In the covered area next to the
school playground Babysitting will
be available for a small fee
A Summer Recreation program,
sponsored by the M t. Wood
Evangelical Free Church, located
directly across Wighway 26 from the
Woodland Plaza Shopping Center,
will be held today through Thursday
from 1 to 4 p in. at the church This
program is for youngsters age 4
through 12 and will include outdoor
sports, tumbling, indoor games,
creative movement, outside games
and fellowship Registration can be
accomplished at the church today
from 12:30 to 1 p m For more Infor
mation call 622 5246
W EDNESDAY, AUGUST 4
Aerobic dance class will continue
today at Welches School beginning at
9 am .
(which reminded him of Seaside),
and a farm village 3(X) miles west
of Buenos Aires, Quiroga
He went to Uruguay to visit a
friend and visited Montevideo, the
capital, a coastal city where they
did some mountain climbing, and
Punta del Este, a “ famous tourist
town with some of the nicest water
in the world "
He spent his last month away in
Mexico, where he was joined by his
sister, Carrie There he visited
Sara Gabriela Cisneros, who was
recently selected Miss Puebla, an
honor similar to being selected
Miss Oregon Cisneros was an ex
change student at SUHS last year
Alex Brewster
“The food there was really ex
cellent," he said. Argentina is an
exporter of grain and meat
"The first six months I was there
I was with a family that really lik
ed to eat meat,” Brewster said.
“ The first six months I ate about
three steaks a day. I just couldn't
believe it—they just kept feeding
me steaks "
He also enjoyed the Argentina
barbeque, or asado “ I don't know
why it was different, but I really
loved that."
Dulce de leche, a “ creamy,
carmel m ixture," was also good,
as was the traditional Argentine
drink, mate, a kind of a tea sipped
through a metal straw with a filter
on it.
He also gained an appreciation
for South American coffee “ After
every meal you would have just a
little cup of coffee," Brewster said.
“ I think it was just to settle your
stomach after eating so much
grease ”
He now feels comfortable with
his ability to use the language,
although he admits he may not
always use it in a grammatically-
correct way. He intends to pursue
the study of Spanish
He plans to study international
business in college, and would like
to be a diplomat, although he
realizes he's setting his goals
“ kind of high ’*
He was disappointed with the
American embassy in Argentina.
“ Every time I went in there I just
came out frustrated," he said
He plans to study at Stanford or
Pepperdine, and would like to
study Spanish at the Universidad
de las Americanas in Mexico
In the immediate future, he’ll
put together a slide show and will
be available to speak to interested
groups.
For now he can enjoy the com
pany of his fam ily and friends, as
well as know the confidence that
comes from having been a
stranger in a different land, and
having coped with the experience
Vehicle totaled, arson suspected
by M IC H A EL P JONES
Poat Correspondent
Motor vehicle accidents and fires
Hood land Happenings^
tried to learn from the situation
Some of his trips to other parts of
Argentina were canceled The day
the story broke about Argentina
losing the Malvinas, Brewster
went to a travel agent, only to be
told there were no tickets left for
U.S. citizens
“ I'm sure if I had said anything
he would have punched me 1 just
got out of there," Brewster said
Though the Argentina media
p re s e n te d a s la n te d s to ry ,
Brewster could buy uncensored
copies of Tim e and Newsweek at a
few newstands in the city, which
surprised him
Brewster feels the Malvinas pro
bably rightfully belong to Argen
tina, although he feels the way they
went about getting them back was
wrong Lives were lost and the
economy was sent into a tailspin
The exchange rate was 81 for 7,000
pesos when Brewster went to
Argentina in September, 1981. The
exchange rate is currently 81 for
28,000 pesos, or four times as
much. «
Brewster remembers that one
day gasoline and liquor taxes went
up about 30 percent. Altogether,
the two taxes probably doubled, he
said.
Still, Brewster is cautiously op
timistic about the future of the
country. He respects the Argen
tines for not having accepted
Soviet Union support during the
Malvinas crisis. He expects the
government to change from a
m ilitary regime to a democracy in
the near future. People were
disillusioned with the government
when the truth about the Malvinas
came out.
The Argentines have many
natural resources, including land
and natural gas They are an
educated people, and to Brewster’s
surprise, the middle class is
predominant, and not as poor as
we in the United States might
think.
There are three kinds of schools
in Argentina They include com
mercial (business), technical and
general Brew ster attended a
general school the first six months,
and missed the freedom to pursue
fields of interest. All students take
the same classes, with no elec
tives. Brewster feels the people
have a good general education,
although they lack specialization
"Everything that’s extra (in the
U.S.) they don’t have," Brewster
said.
He also studied “ motors" at a
technical school.
“ In general, I felt safe in Argen
tina," Brewster said I t ’s normal
for teen aged youngsters to go out
at midnight on weekends, and stay
out, at a discotheque, for example,
until 4 or 5 a m. Walking down the
street at night in Buenos Aires is no
problem, according to Brewster
If there is a legal age for drink
ing, it is not enforced, although
Brewster said it is not a problem
there. “The kids would go out and
drink a beer, maybe, but it was no
big deal," he said More young peo
pie there smoke cigarettes than
here, he believes
The families were closer there
than here, he said, with meals still
taken together Women are always
greeted with a kiss on the cheek
“ After three months I had a
dream I was back for my gradua
tion from high school All the
teachers started coming up to me
and I was greeting them with a kiss
on the cheek By then I knew I was
pretty much in the culture of
Argentina "
He visited coastal cities such as
Mar de Plate and San Bernardo
Welches Community School hikes
continue throughout the summer
with Lou Tipton leading Meet at the
Woodland Women's Club building to
carpool
On August 13 at 11 a m. the
Woodland Women's Club will hold its
annual membership drive cham
pagne brunch in the club building on
Salmon River Road. Any woman in
terested in the development and
welfare of the Woodland area, and
who is at least 18 years of age. is
eligible for membership in the club.
To make reservations for the brunch,
please call Florence Simmons at
«22-4585 or Kathy Bock at 622-4445
The Women's Club is also planning
a trip to the Shakespearean Festival
in Ashland for Oct 5, 6 and 7. A bus
will be leaving from the Women's
Club Oct. 5 and returning Oct. 7.
related to motor vehicles occupied
the time of the Woodland Rural Fire
Department this past week, along
with nine first aid assists.
On Sunday, July 25, the depart
ment's medics assisted at a two-car
non-injury accident west of Govern
ment Camp on Wighway 28, near
Snowbunny Ixxige
At 4:30 a m on Monday, July 24.
firefighters reponded to the report of
a truck fire, east of the town of Zig
Zag on Wighway 26
Upon arrival, Woodland Fire Chief
Don Armintrout said firefighters
discovered the brakes on a semi-
truck and trailer had gotten hot and
caught fire. The truck was loaded
with lumber
The fire caused minim al damage
At 1:30 p m
that same day
firefighters assisted a 30- year -old
male who had crashed his motorcy
cle on Tim berline Road, above
Government Camp
Armintrout said the driver suf
fered miscellaneous lacerations and
abrasions, as well as a head injury, in
the accident, but refused transports
tion to a hospital
Friday night, July 23, a passerby
called the department and reported
that a motor vehicle was on fire just
east of the Woodland Station on
Wighway 26
A rm introut said upon a rriv a l
firefighters discovered a 1966 Mazda
near the driveway of the Alpine
Wilton, “ fully involved " The driver
of the vehicle was not present
Due to the smoke and explosions
accompanying the fire, Armintrout
said Wighway 26 was blocked off until
1107 p m , or over an hour
The fire was started after flam
mable liqu'ds were poured over the
vehicle and ignited, said Armintrout.
The vehicle was a total loss
Arson has been determined to have
been the cause and the case is cur
rently under joint investigation by
the Oregon State Police arson divi
sion and the Woodland Fire Depart
ment.
This is third motor vehicle fire
since Jan. 8 that has been attributed
to arson Each of the fires were
started with flammable liquids