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.
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