OFF PAGE ONE
Thursday, March 31, 2022
East Oregonian
A7
Stairs:
Continued from Page A1
teachers at the time, opened
its doors in 1929 after the
construction of a campus in
La Grande. The large stair-
case structure was created
to provide pedestrian access
from downtown to the
campus, as well as a place for
gatherings and events.
Architect John V. Bennes,
who also headed the Hot
Lake Hotel and Geiser Grand
Hotel projects, designed
the staircase in an Italian
Renaissance Revival style,
constructing the structure
with 178 steps, 418 stone
balusters and 17,470 square
feet of concrete over five
tiers. In 1980, the site was
listed on the National Regis-
ter of Historic Places.
Many around the commu-
nity share fond memories of
the staircase, from growing
up down the street to taking
wedding photos on the scenic
lookout. Among them are
Anne Olson and Marcia
Loney.
The sisters grew up down
the street from the stairs
and were enchanted with its
grandeur, as both attended
kindergarten at the Acker-
man Lab School on campus
and Olson later enrolled at
Eastern for college. Decades
later as the structure began
to crumble, vandalism on
the crumbling stairs in 2013
was the fi nal straw as the duo
decided to fi ght for the stair-
case’s future.
“I just remember being
really struck by that,” Olson
said. “I think that’s been a
big issue all along. Here’s
this incredible architectural
treasure, but it’s in Eastern
Oregon and at the end of a
street that’s not used as much
any more. It’s a hidden trea-
sure.”
The sisters voiced a shared
concern among alumni and
community members, align-
ing with offi cials at Eastern
to seek funding to restore the
staircase.
“Anne’s and my memo-
ries are shared by generations
and generations of kids and
adults,” Loney said.
The Grand Staircase
represented a symbolic
connection between the
town and the local university,
creating a bridge for students
and community members to
be a part of the campus. The
staircase also physically links
the university to the commu-
nity, allowing pedestrians
easy access to and from the
campus.
“It was a very symbolic,
meaningful thing for many
years,” Seydel said. “That
changed with deterioration
of the staircase to the point
where we couldn’t use it.”
Pushing for funding
Local advocates worked
with the city of La Grande,
Main Street Downtown,
Union County Chamber of
Commerce, Eastern Oregon
Visitor’s Associat ion ,
Oregon Historic Preserva-
tion Offi ce, Union County
Commissioners, La Grande
Landmarks Commission and
Phil Wright/East Oregonian
Tum-A-Lum Lumber is open for business Wednesday morn-
ing, March 30, 2022, at its new location at 2470 S.E. Court
Ave., Pendleton. The business is celebrating the opening
April 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a family-friendly event.
Lumber:
Continued from Page A1
Bob Bull Photo Collection/Contributed Photo
Eastern Oregon Normal School students congregate on the Grand Staircase for the 1936 ren-
dition of Evensong, a commencement ceremony for graduating students. The Oregon Leg-
islature in 2022 granted the La Grande school, now Eastern Oregon University, $4 million to
restore the historic staircase, after the university and local advocates worked for years to
secure the funding.
The Observer, File
Eastern Oregon University’s Grand Staircase, which was
built in 1929 — the same year the university was founded
— doesn’t look very grand in this 2016 photo. After years of
being on Restore Oregon’s list of endangered places in Ore-
gon, the university received funding to rebuild the historic
feature, with work slated to begin in 2023.
other interested parties in the
city.
“Having all those play-
ers lined up made it possi-
ble to show that this wasn’t
just the university trying to
get money for something that
needed to be fi xed or a bunch
of sentimentalists — it was
a community eff ort,” Olson
said.
When Olson and Loney
created a connection with
Restore Oregon in 2014,
pushing to fi nd funding for a
restoration project, the sisters
were shocked to learn that
few around the state knew of
the staircase and its history.
“One of the things we’ve
found is that outside of La
Grande and Union County,
nobody knows about the
staircase,” Loney said.
Seydel and advocates for
the Grand Staircase managed
to drum up enough donations
and funds to begin the plan-
ning and organizing stages
of the restoration — Seydel
noted that the funding eff orts
have extended close to 20
years. The project inched
closer and closer to fi nancial
backing over the last decade,
with the funding being close
to consideration in state
legislative sessions in the last
several years.
“We were painfully close
to getting it funded and
trying to fi x this incredible
piece of architecture,” Seydel
said. “Finally, we were able
to push it over the fi nish line
so to speak.”
In a groundbreaking
decision, House Bill 5202
designated tens of millions
of dollars for statewide proj-
ects, $4 million of which is
allotted to restoring EOU’s
Grand Staircase.
“I seriously think it took
us a few days to actually
believe it,” Loney said. “We
were overjoyed. This is a gift
to future generations, to La
Grande and to Oregon. We’re
beyond excited and we’re so
grateful to EOU for all the
work they’ve put into it.”
Lasting connection
With the new financial
backing, the university is in
the planning stages of start-
ing the staircase’s restoration
in 2023.
The project will involve
working around the stair-
case, preparing the site,
reconstruction and land-
scaping. The staircase has
suff ered from the eff ects of
time, including running hill-
side water, concrete over 90
years old, broken balusters,
vandalism and the freeze and
thaw winter cycle.
According to Seydel,
the restored staircase will
Gas:
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Public Works Department is
preparing for a busy summer
of repairing roads. But it
takes oil to make asphalt, and
at the moment, Public Works
Director Bob Patterson said
he doesn’t know how that
will aff ect street construc-
tion prices.
Patterson said he’ll need
to wait to see whether the
street construction bids the
city is soliciting come in over
estimates so he can deter-
mine the eff ects of the rise in
oil price, especially because
the price has been volatile.
Rising oil prices are mani-
festing themselves in other
ways at the public works
department. For the first
time in his decades-long
career, Patterson said iron
ductile pipes are less expen-
sive to buy than PVC pipes,
oil being one of the primary
materials used to manufac-
ture the latter.
And although the city still
is determining the long-term
impact of high gas prices on
Phil Wright/East Oregonian
The price for a gallon of regular hovers around $4.40 the
night of March 19, 2022, at the Chevron station at 309 S.E.
Nye Ave., Pendleton. The price was on par with other local
stations. AAA reports as of Tuesday, March 29, the average
price of a gallon of regular is $4.42 in Umatilla County.
the municipal fl eet, Patterson
said the eff ects of a strained
supply chain means many
car dealerships are no longer
willing to hold vehicles
the city wants to purchase
because of the high demand
for used and new cars.
“It’s diff erent times right
now,” he said.
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said the
higher fuel costs also aff ect
his department. As one of
the larger expense to the
city’s general fund, the police
department works to ensure
it is under budget each year.
“As of today, we are 6.4%
over budget in fuel, which
equates to roughly one month
of usage,” he said. “This year
will be the fi rst in a long time
where I will be requesting a
supplemental increase to
off set that defi cit.”
To help curb fuel costs, he
said he is encouraging offi -
cers to be more cognizant
about vehicles left running
provide an opportunity to
bring back events and tradi-
tions that were an important
part of the early years of the
university. The stairs were
most notably used for grad-
uation and Evensong, a cere-
mony in which graduating
seniors traversed the steps
and symbolically left the
campus and embraced the
community as their post-col-
lege lives began.
“That was very symbolic
of the connection between
the university and the wider
world,” Olson said.
Seydel noted that the
Grand Staircase also will
encou rage tou r ism to
the university and Union
County, with visitors stop-
ping in La Grande to admire
the architectural feature.
Seydel envisions the stairs
again becoming a focal point
for university and commu-
nity gatherings and a place
for wedding and graduation
photos among other things.
In Olson and Loney’s
years of advocating for
the restoration of the stair-
case, positive community
feedback from alumni and
community members helped
the cause gain substantial
momentum. With the stair-
case set to return to its orig-
inal glory, the sisters hope
the nostalgic structure will
create new memories.
“We really do hope that
it is a seed for some really
good things to happen for the
university and for the city of
La Grande and in the region,”
Olson said.
The restoration project is
set to bring back one of the
city’s most historical gems.
Originally built to link East-
ern Oregon University with
the La Grande community,
the Grand Staircase will
strengthen that bond in years
to come.
“It supports not only
the university, but it is the
embodiment of the physical
connection to the commu-
nity,” Seydel said. “It drives
tourism, it drives enrollment
and it makes the entrance
very symbolic from the
university to the community.”
for extended periods.
Umatilla’s police chief
also is paying attention to
gas prices.
“All I have done with my
staff is to make them aware
of the rising costs and asked
them to minimize usage
when they can but right now
our operations have not been
aff ected,” Police Chief Darla
Huxel said.
Unlike the private sector,
city governments can’t
necessarily pass the price
onto consumers when their
costs go up for all of their
services.
Pendleton Fire Chief Jim
Critchley said the fi re depart-
ment never will hold back a
fi re engine or ambulance due
to high gas prices. He said
the fi re department’s current
budget is still in line with
expectations and it’s still too
soon to see how gas prices
will affect the next fiscal
year’s budget, which starts
in July.
If gas prices remain high,
Critchley said the department
likely would curtail off -site
trainings and other travel to
stay within the department’s
budget.
Since the property had
been bought by others as an
investment, the acquisition
was somewhat complicated,
with Hillsboro real estate
brokers and banks involved.
But Cornelius Holdings of
Seattle got the deal done.
In December 2019,
the Pendleton Planning
Commission approved
Tum-A-Lum’s shift.
A building per mit
application estimated
renovation and new ware-
house construction cost
at $2 million with Seattle
architectural fi rm Graham
Baba as designer. The
project’s general contrac-
tor was Bouten Construc-
tion Company of Richland,
Washington.
Reinhart said the subcon-
tractors were local. He
rattled off a long list of famil-
iar Pendleton businesses in
plumbing, heating, electric,
fencing and such, plus a few
new or not so well-known.
The city of Pendleton was
granted a utility easement.
“Our remodeling will be
the mother ship for future
expansions at our other loca-
tions” Reinhart said. “Ours
was based on Hood River’s.
We learned a lot from that
project.”
In a call from Reinhart,
his boss Cornelius said,
“We’ve made a substantial
investment in Pendleton, as
in all the communities we
serve.” Public records refl ect
this boon to local businesses.
Established in Walla
Walla in 1906, Tum-A-Lum
Lumber came to Pendleton
in 1924.
“It’s a fourth-generation
family business, and the
concept extends to employ-
ees and customers,” Rein-
hart said. “I can call the
owner and he picks up.”
Tum-A-Lum’s
presence grows
Tum-A-Lum and its
parent holding company
managed to add stores
during the pandemic.
“Our customer base
changed,” Reinhart said.
“We had fewer contractors
and more DIY clients.”
Since 2017, Tum-A-
Lum’s parent, TAL Holdings
of Vancouver, has acquired
nine similar local home
improvement businesses
with 20 stores in the Pacifi c
Northwest. Tum-A-Lum
itself also has locations in
The Dalles and Hood River,
for a present total of 10 TAL
companies with 23 outlets in
four states.
“We’ve added seven
stores in two companies in
just the last two months,”
Reinhart said.
The latest acquisition was
Orofi no Builders Supply on
March 14, with four Idaho
locations.
“The businesses we’ve
bought are like us. Fami-
ly-oriented,” he said. “In
most cases, the previous
owners have opted to keep
working under the new
management. They say it’s
a family legacy, it’s who we
are. Former owners say how
much like themselves they
found Bill Cornelius, Sr. and
Susan.”
Some of the bought
businesses operate in cities
with big box chain home
improvement stores.
“We can compete
because of local customer
loyalty and better service,”
Reinhart explained. “None
of our associates will tell a
customer she has to go to
lunch. Contractors can carry
accounts with us, but have
to pay as they go at Home
Depot or Lowe’s. Growing
our locations means we can
keep our prices competi-
tive.”
Tu m - A - L u m h a s
proceeded as it set out years
ago. Its plans have worked so
far, with continued growth.
“We haven’t grown faster
than we can handle,” Rein-
hart said. “It’s the most excit-
ing place I’ve ever worked.”
Grand opening of the
new location is Saturday,
April 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The family-friendly cele-
bration includes a free
tri-tip steak lunch, product
demonstrations, children
activities and raffl e prizes.
The fi rst 100 customers will
receive a limited edition
5-gallon bucket.
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