Keizertimes., May 21, 2021, Page 11, Image 11

MAY 21, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A11
Feel -Good
presented by
STORY
M emorial C enters ◆ C remation & B urial
Saluting the people that make
us proud of our community
time to take part in The Silver Spurs, a
square dancing club that met regularly at
the Keizer Elks Lodge on Cherry Avenue
Northeast. Music itself had something
of a central role in the Bay family. Phil
and Joyce were founding members of
the McNary High School Band Boosters
and initiated the Starlight Dance which
remained a band fundraiser for decades.
In 1980, Bay added civic engagement
to his already numerous roles in Keizer.
There was a new push for Keizer to
incorporate as a city and avoid becom-
ing another suburb of Salem.
“Salem had annexed all the land
around Keizer and we were about to
become part of Salem whether we liked it
or not,” Bay said. “We went all out for two
years to convince Keizer people that we
needed to incorporate.” Even though the
eff ort succeeded, there were a sizable num-
ber of residents who didn’t support Keizer
staking out on its own.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Bay also
ran for city council. He was one of 37 can-
didates and one of the top fi ve vote-getters,
which landed him a spot on the dais. The
early days of the city were a struggle.
“To get anything done or approved, we
had to have Salem and Marion and Polk
counties agree to what we wanted to do,”
Bay said. “And we suddenly had to provide
all these services – like water and sewers –
to everyone in the city.”
The problems tended to come in waves,
but Bay and his fellow councilors made
pivotal decisions that still impact Keizer
today. When a private school on Chemawa
Road Northeast went bankrupt, the Keizer
City Council purchased the property. It’s
now the site of the Keizer Civic Center, the
Keizer Cultural Center, a community gar-
den and two city parks.
“We were on our hands and knees for
weeks cleaning up the old school so we
could use it for meetings and the police
station,” Bay said.
His time on the council also included
paving the way for Keizer Station. Slowly,
but surely, the council began working
with property owners to acquire a swath
of land large enough to accommodate a
major shopping center. At that point in
time, the goal was to also have a train stop
in the mix. While that never materialized,
the name stuck when ground was broken
nearly 20 years later.
Simplicity - Convenience - Low Cost
I always assumed that
if I was going to live
here, I needed to be part
of the community and
make it a better place.
It was something
I had to do.
— PHIL BAY
He found setting goals to be a useful
exercise in conducting the city’s business,
even when some felt like pie in the sky.
“We set building a bridge over the
Willamette as a 20-year goal. Forty-one
years later, we’re still just talking about it,”
Bay said.
Bay came to dread Tuesday morning
during the city’s early years. Inevitably,
someone would call the Monday after
council meetings to cancel insurance over
a vote he’d cast the previous night. He
developed a no-nonsense response the
longer he served.
“I told them that if they disagreed they
should get involved,” Bay said.
Bay walked the walk long after his time
as a city councilor with roles on the boards
of the Keizer Heritage Foundation and the
Keizer Chamber of Commerce.
Eventually, one of Bay’s sons followed
him into the family business and won a
seat on the city council for a while. In the
meantime, Bay stayed engaged in the com-
munity. He was a team leader when The
Big Toy was built in Keizer Rapids Park.
He became the public aff airs offi cer for the
Keizer Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints after Joyce passed in
2008 after a 43-year marriage.
Looking back over a lifetime of involve-
ment, Bay said there was a sense of duty
he was trying to fulfi ll, but he kept going
for the kids in this life, the ones he helped
raise and all the others whose lives he
touched in the community in nearly six
decades.
City Councilor Dan Kohler, who fol-
lowed in Bay’s footsteps at the Keizer Stake
and on the council, said it best as Phil Bay
Day was etched into the history of the city:
“Phil Bay is a lamb with the heart of a lion.”
simple
cremation
simple direct
burial
church
funeral
◆
$795
◆
$995
◆
$2965
Salem
Portland
Eastside
275 Lancaster Dr SE
Salem, OR 97317
832 NE Broadway
Portland, OR 97232
1433 SE 122nd Ave
Portland, OR 97233
(503) 581-6265
(503) 783-3393
(503) 783-6865
Tualatin
Tigard
Milwaukie
8970 SW Tualatin
Sherwood Rd
Tualatin, OR 97062
12995 SW Pacifi c Hwy
Tigard, OR 97223
16475 SE McLoughlin Blvd
Milwaukie, OR 97267
(503) 783-6869
(503) 653-7076
(503) 885 -7800
“Easy Online Arrangements”
CrownCremationBurial.com