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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 1982)
Portland Observer, June 17, 1982 Page 3 METROPOLITAN Aaron Mitchell and Son Plumbing * Experienced Plumber * Licensed and Bonded Established in business for 25 years Have lived in the Portland Area for 40 years WE STAND BEHIND ALL JOBS 1703 N.E. Alberta 8-4040 Horeeteame ara held by Leland Twigg. Rocky Smith, Marcai Devlaeminck and George Spiaaachaart. Wagons make134-mile journey to Kah-Nee-Ta by Nathaniel Scott FOREST G RO VE— north of Forest Grove on the 200-acre spread o f George Spiesschaert, Breakaway '82 slowly comes together. Breakaway '82, a covered wagon train trail drive, will begin July 10 in H illsboro and end nine days later, July 18, in K a h -N e e -T a — the H o t Springs. Beginning at the fairgrounds in Hillsboro, the wagon train will fo l low a trail that has projected day ending camping sites at T u a la tin , Mclvec Park, North Fork Crossing, T w in Springs or High Rock, T im othy L ake, Bear Springs Ranger Station, Simnasho and fin ally, 134 miles later, K ah -N ee-T a— the H ot Springs. But for now , on the spread o f George Spiesschaert, the making o f a dream is in full preparation. W a gons are being readied, brakes checked, wagon tongues fitte d , wheels greased, boards fitte d for seats, bows that hold the canvas wa gon covers checked, brid les, h a r nesses and lines stretched and greased and fin a lly , the big d ra ft horses, Pcrchcrons, measuring 16 to 17 hands and averaging 1700 pounds, checked for fitness. And w hy, m ight you ask, are these men, Spiesschaert, Rocky (S m ith ), M o rris E lv e ru d , C hris Chritianscn, Marcel Devlaeminck, D ale Gcelan and Leland Tw ig g doing this? W hy are they m aking haste to tackle the elements with the bare es sentials o f modern day living? A re they throw backs to an era that lies between the folded pages of dusty books— or arc they addicts of the silver screen? No. These men are neither. They are as George Spiesschaert put it, "Emphasize it’s for the 4-H youth. I f we can keep one kid from going astray on this wagon tra in , i t ’ s worth it." Spiesschaert, who gives his age as over 50 and under 100, credits one o f his sons, L y le , w ith the idea. Amidst laughter, interruptions for any number o f things, he recounted a story about how Lyle saw wagon trains in A rizo n a that had special projects for wayward kids— those in the state’s detention centers. He said the success rate with those kids who participated in the trail drives were 80 per cent plus. The idea took fruit and with fed eral, state and county help, Break away ’82 will “ Roll ’em out” come July 10. The nine day drive w ill have all the things we have grow n accus tomed to from the aisles o f the silver screen— scouts, wagon and camp master, supply wagon, cook’s trail er, horse shoer, riders and men, women and children braving the or deal o f nine days while sitting on boards (seats) stretched across the width o f the wagons. Spiesschaert said the trip can be had for $80 with out a horse and $100 with a horse. The $20 difference is for caring for the horse. And while holding to over 50 and under 100, he did say, “ I have driven draft horses for the last 54 years and I h aven 't missed a year.’ ’ Rocky (S m ith ), a wagon driver, w ill also have the responsibility o f keeping everything running. A job he seems well suited fo r. Born in Kansas in the heart o f the dust bowl, as he puts it, he has broken horses in 38 states. He said he has been on other trail drives but nothing over an extended period o f time. In fact, he is more of an adventure-seeker. H e said, “ I worked on the Pacific Crest T ra il, packed m ining supplies in to the m ountains.. .where I go is into the wilderness where people hardly ever get. I call it G od’s country.” Rocky, who said he pretty much rode out here from Kansas, is some what crestfallen about this d rive w hile being o p tim istic about the next. H e said, “ I was hoping we would have a lot more younger kids The oldest man ever to be president of a major na tion was Eamon De Valera, who was president of Ire land at the age of 91. • Strangely, Death Valley, California, contains not only the lowest spot in North America —282 feet be low sea level —but also a mountain that's over 11,000 feet high. • The largest lake in the world is, oddly enough, the Caspian Sea —which is mis-named. It's technically a lake, and not a sea. business w ith South A frica. Am erican State Bank AN INDEPENDENT BANK Head Office 2737 N. E. Union Portland, Oregon 97212 If paying for wasted electricity turns you off, maybe, next time, you should wait for a full load of clothes before turning your washing machine on. M ai Vandahay of Banks and Laland Twigg of Cornallus raad^ wagons for overland journey. (Photos: Shlrlay A. Twigg on it. Maybe for the next one we will have a better tu rn o u t o f younger people.” M orris Elverud, 68, wagon boss for Breakaway ’82, has been riding since he was “ knee high to a grass hopper” as the saying goes. He said, ” M y father gave me my first horse when I was 12 years old. He told me if I could break it, I could have it.” And now some 56 years later, he, too, has his reasons for undertaking the position o f wagon boss and making the drive. H e said, “ I have always been a horse lover and I like to see people get together and have to depend on horses.” C hris C h ris tia n se n , 71, w ill be m aking his fo u rth covered wagon drive. His most memorable one to date is the B icentennial drive that lasted 210 days and took him from Oregon City fo Valley Forge, Pa. In the past he has driven oxen but for this drive, his team w ill consist o f a pair o f mules and, o f course, a covered wagon. The rumbling o f the wagons and being outdoors brings back memor ies to h im . H e said, " I drove w a gons as a kid in Eastern Nebraska. We hauled grain all year long. I got to drive a team at 10 years o ld — it wa pretty fascinating to m e .” He added (hat the wagon master’s yell o f “ Wagons ho and roll ’em o u t” goes through you. Adding that the horses get to know the sound too. Dale Geelan, 27, the youngster of this particular readiness gathering, said, “ I ’ve never done it. I am inter ested. 1 d o n ’ t think young people get to do something like this every d ay." These men and those not there for this particular evening o f prepara tion work, each in his own way, seek to mold and mesh the old and the new. But true to t r e wishes o f George Spiesschaert, “ Let us not forget it is for the 4-H youth.” A preview o f Breakaway *82 can be seen June 26 when the covered wagon train moves fro m Forest G rove to H ills b o ro to aw ait the nine-day trail drive that begins July 10. Change a habit. Conserve your Neighborhoods plan clean-ups City-assisted Spring N eig h b o r hood Cleanups to help residents get rid o f household discards and yard debris w ill be sponsored Saturday by the King and Sullivans G ulch neighborhoods o f Northeast P o rt land. Each cleanup w ill run fro m 10 a.m . to 3 p .m . and w ill feature a central location w ith drop boxes where residents may drop recycla- blcs and most other types o f un wanted m aterial except food gar bage. M aterial to be accepted at the cleanups included yard debris and clippings, scrap wood, used a p p li ances and other scrap metals and tires without rims. Recyclable* ac cepted will include newspapers, flat tened cardboard, flattened a lu m i num, flattened tin cans w ith labels and ends removed and glass. The King Improvement Associa tion cleanup w ill take place at the parking lot o f the King N eig h b o r hood F acility, 4815 N .E . 7th Ave. The Sullivans Gulch Neighborhood Association C leanup w ill be at the Hystcr C om pany p arking lo t, Northeast 28th Avenue and Wasco Street. The King Cleanup will be the first o f its type in the King neighborhood since 1979. Senior citizens and the handicapped may have their dis cards picked up at curbside at their residences by calling 248-4575 be fore noon Friday to arrange for pickup. Volunteers arc needed to help in the cleanup effort, according to organizers. A dditional in fo rm a tion for the King cleanup is a v a il able from the neighborhood’s clean up organizer M a ria n D aw an , 287- 1765. In fo rm atio n about the Sulli vans Gulch cleanup is available at 282-5275. Saturday’s cleanups w ill bring to 12 the number o f Spring Cleanups held around the city since March un der the cooperative e ffo rts o f the city's Bureau o f Buildings N eigh borhood D iv isio n , neighborhood associations and the M etro p olitan Service District (M E T R O ). The yard debris collected goes to M E T R O - sponsored processing sites, where it is converted to mulch for sale to the public. Recyclables are being sent to recycling firms for processing. “ These cleanups do much more than just clean up neighborhoods. They also provide a sense o f com munity for the participants and they help reduce vandalism as general trash and yard debris are removed from around hom es,” said C o m missioner Margaret Strachan, who oversees the Bureau o f Buildings. Martin, Wilson join commission N a th a n ie l G . M a rtin and Zoe Wilson have been appointed to the G o vern o r’ s Commission on Black A ffa irs . M a rtin replaces Bruce Broussard, who resigned, and M s. W ilson replaces Barbara Ann P a t rick, who also resigned. M a rtin , who is a P o rtlan d resi dent, has been president and busi ness manager o f Laborers Local 296 since 1979. He is a member o f the M u ltn o m a h L ab o r C o u n c il, the M e ta l Trades C o u n c il and the A . Philip Randolph Institute. Ms. Wilson, o f Salem, is Director o f Personnel for the State D ep a rt ment o f Transportation. She is ac tive in the Salem Branch N A A C P , is on the M arion County board o f the American Cancer Society, and is a member o f the Tri-County A ffirm a tive A c tio n A ssociation. She re ceived the C ity o f Salem ’s Hum an Rights Award in 1979. You don't need a credit card to get our deal. we testure CM cars like mis Chevrolet Citation 7 Day Vacation Special »169°° Unlimited Mileage 10% DISCOUNT when rented anytime July 1 through July 8. Bring in the coupon to receive the discount. Similar savings on other car sizes. 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