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East Oregonian
Saturday, September 11, 2021
Family:
Fire:
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Continued from Page A1
Together, the pair crafted a histor-
ically accurate tale about life for the
Columbia River Plateau Indians before
pioneers arrived for the fi rst half, and
a rambunctious, roiling Wild West
second half.
This, for many, is an opportunity to
see and learn about something that isn’t
always taught in schools or highlighted
in history textbooks. The three tribes of
the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla
that make up the modern Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion, had long and rich history before
the pioneers came.
The show encapsulates this story
and includes many of the descendants
of those who participated in the actual
events depicted and is “truly authen-
tic,” Waggoner said.
“The moccasin footprints are now
six generations deep,” she said.
Minthorn Wannassay’s grand-
daughter, Mitzi Rodriguez, has partic-
ipated in the show for 10 years in the
welcome dance and Lewis and Clark
scene and was a recipient of this year’s
Happy Canyon Appreciation Award.
Ingrid Selmer, who has done the show’s
makeup for 31 years, also was recog-
nized for her work.
In one infamous scene, known as
the “Shorty Scene,” a man named
Charlton hopes to reopen
the bar soon, perhaps by the
end of September. To do so,
she’ll need to serve food, so
she plans to either open a
food truck or serve food from
the bar. Meanwhile, Sheldon
Delph, a retired teacher and
local historian whose parents
opened the Long Branch
decades ago, is seeking
funding for the repairs and
is looking at writing grant
applications.
“I wouldn’t dare not
open,” said Charlton, 78.
“They’d hang me from a
pole.”
Shortage:
Continued from Page A1
“Heading into fall it is
looking like we’re going to
have to cut an additional day
and probably cut lunches,”
Millar said. “It is pretty
brutal.”
Demand for restau-
rant meals soared over
the summer as restric-
tions lifted across Oregon.
Nearly all restaurants saw
a huge uptick in customers.
But where demand reached
new heights, a new chal-
lenge appeared — staffi ng
the restaurants which have
balanced narrow margins
and threats of closure over
2020.
To keep employees from
burning out, Millar cut oper-
ating hours and closed down
the brewery on Tuesdays to
keep what employees she
has from becoming over-
whelmed in an industry well
known for its high turnover
rate and low wages.
“I think we’ve reached the
mindset of ‘we have what we
have,’ ” she said. “We’ll keep
hiring as much as possible,
but we need to understand
that we’ve got to adjust with
what the situation is instead
of waiting for the situation to
adjust itself.”
Not much change
Millar is not alone.
Several restaurants across
the region have reported
challenges with hiring work-
ers over the summer. Some
blamed expanded federal
unemployment benefi ts as
the culprit for lower work-
force participation, even
though the region has seen
lower unemployment bene-
fi ts claims now than it had
before the pandemic started.
Others recognized the high
cost of living, taxes and low
supply of housing which has
made rents and home prices
balloon.
Millar explained while
business picked up consid-
erably over the summer, the
lack of staffing and over-
burdened industry has a
cascading eff ect with other
restaurants, causing a feed-
back loop of demand and
short supply. As one business
cuts its hours, patrons look
elsewhere for a meal.
“It’s a funny, weird thing
where I think we would all
be excited if there were three
more restaurants because we
just need more places to send
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Costumed actors dance around the Happy Canyon Arena in Pendleton during a
dress rehearsal Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, of the Happy Canyon Night Show.
Shorty gets shot in the legs by bank
robbers and a doctor, played by Jason
Hill, and a nurse, played by Waggoner
herself, must remove both his legs.
Hill took over the doctor role from
his own father, Fritz, and this year, after
acting in the scene for ages, Waggoner
and Hill are teaching the next gener-
ation. Hill will be passing it off to
Andrew Porter while Waggoner will
be giving it to her daughter, Kaleigh
Johnson.
However, they will be transitioning
over the next couple of years, because
people to eat so it’s a unique
situation over here,” Millar
said.
Earlier this summer,
Baker City’s Main Event
Sports Bar and Eatery was
experiencing severe worker
burnout in June due to staff -
ing shortages which led to
closing the restaurant on
Tuesdays.
The situation there has
changed little. While the
sports bar is open seven days
a week, they’ve had to cut
evening hours, close earlier
and open later throughout
the week.
“We’re very, very busy.
On Sundays and Mondays
we’re one of the only restau-
rants open on Main Street so
we’re extremely busy, but
extremely short staff ed,” said
Jessica Eastland, manager
at Main Event Sports Bar
and Eatery. “If we had an
adequate staff , it would be
a very profi table time for us
but that’s the thing — we’ve
got people who are work-
ing overtime hours when
we could have had other
employees working those
hours so that we weren’t
paying more in wages. Our
wages right now are through
the roof because we have so
many employees that are
working overtime every
single week because we are
so short staff ed.”
Rolling with
the punches
For Br uce Rogers,
COVID-19 has presented the
challenge of keeping not one,
but two businesses profi table.
He and his daughter, Harvey
Rogers, own Timber’s Feed-
ery in Elgin and Local
Harvest in La Grande.
The COVID-19 pandemic
has presented challenges in
staffi ng for both restaurants.
With the shortage of work-
ers and revolving mandates
for public dining, the owners
had to adjust.
“This far into it and with
what we’ve seen, the rules
have changed and the rules
are diff erent and will change
Tobias Unruh, owner
600 David Eccles Rd
Baker City, Oregon
“Jason and I love it too much to give it
up right now,” Waggoner said.
“It means so much to me that she
would want to do it,” she said. “Not
only does it continue the tradition but
I’m so honored that she would continue
the legacy of our family.”
Brock Johnson, also a member of
the fi re crew scene and who happens
to be married to Waggoner’s daugh-
ter, had seen the Happy Canyon Night
Show only once before but jumped in
to act this year for the fi rst time.
“It’s a part,” he said, “of being in the
family.”
again,” Bruce Rogers said.
“We’re just chameleons at
this point. We just change
and go with the fl ow while
doing our best to remain a
profi table business.”
On top of the shortage
of workers, Timber’s Feed-
ery is facing a hurdle as
Harvey Rogers takes mater-
nity leave. She said she typi-
cally works open to close
every day, and her absence
has forced Timber’s to limit
orders to takeout and outdoor
dining for the time being.
Both restaurants closed
indoor dining to save
costs with a limited staff
during the early part of the
pandemic. The father and
daughter looked at new ideas
to stay afl oat during unstable
times.
“When you couldn’t have
inside dining, we switched
over to to-go and delivery
only,” Bruce Rogers said.
“We had to start up a delivery
service to remain competi-
tive at that point, but when
we opened back up again we
shut the delivery off .”
Timber’s Feedery and
Local Harvest changed hours
from seven days a week to
fi ve days a week, and both
close an hour earlier than
they used to. One advantage
to owning two restaurants is
the ability to rotate staff from
one location to another if one
restaurant is short.
“We have several employ-
ees that are able to work at
both places, mostly our top
three people are very versa-
tile for us,” Bruce Rogers
said. “They fill in every-
where for us.”
To cope with employ-
ment challenges, the owners
have adjusted the scope of
employees compared to who
they would typically hire in
the past.
“The demographics have
changed,” Bruce Rogers
said. “We’ve started hiring
younger people and we’ve
started hiring older people.
When we fi nd people that are
qualifi ed, we try to snatch
them up.”
Br uce Rogers noted
both restaurants have been
hiring both younger and
older employees than in the
past. The restaurant hired
two 16-year-olds in the
summer and had a family
friend who is a retired
teacher come work for the
restaurants.
“We’ve leaned on friends
and family,” he said, “to help
us through this time as well.”
An institution
Since the fire, a steady
stream of people have
fl ocked to the Long Branch
to see the damage, Charlton
said. Some arrive with hopes
of a meal, only to be disap-
pointed. Others stop by to see
the damage and express their
sympathies. To many, it’s a
testament to how much the
business means to the region.
For decades, the Long
Branch has served as an
institution for Weston. Its
massive breakfast meals —
ham, eggs, hashbrowns and
pancakes as big as your head
— drew people from across
the region. It has served as a
pitstop for travelers, a desti-
nation for weekend bikers,
a place of celebration for
the community. It’s a place
where people felt welcome,
where you could fi nd a ride
home after a night of drink-
ing or pay days in advance for
your parents’ meal.
“Women felt safe here,”
said Tracy McCarthy, a resi-
dent of Milton-Freewater
and longtime customer who
visited Charlton at the Long
Branch on Sept. 9. “Nobody
bothered us.”
One resident who came
to the Long Branch on Sept.
9 was Tim Smock. The day
before the fi re, the commu-
nity held a celebration of
life at the Long Branch for
Smock’s father, Don Smock,
a longtime customer and
farmer who, for decades, had
come to the restaurant almost
daily, mostly for its famous
chicken fried steak, accord-
ing to his son. The wake drew
more than 50 community
members, friends and family
from across the region.
“It was fantastic,” Smock
said of seeing his family
again.
Charlton has not spent
the last several days sulk-
ing. Though she remains
concerned over what insur-
ance will cover, she remains
optimistic. Through the
pandemic, she said she’s
grown used to handling hard-
ship, and this is just another
one to overcome. Over three
decades of management,
she’s endured many chal-
lenges.
“Whatever will happen,”
she said, “will happen.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
The damage from a recent fi re is visible Thursday, Sept. 9,
2021, through the front window of the Long Branch Cafe &
Saloon, Weston.
Older, younger
helping fi ll gaps
With pandem ic-re -
lated federal unemploy-
ment programs ending on
or before Monday, Sept.
6, Bruce Rogers is expect-
ing an increase in prospec-
tive employees. In addition,
students returning in the fall
to attend Eastern Oregon
University in La Grande are
promising for fi lling positions.
Elkhorn Barn Co.
Custom Barns and Storage
509-331-4558 • Elkhornbarns@gmail.com • 541-519 -2968