OFF PAGE ONE
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
East Oregonian
Diff erence:
Continued from Page A1
A group of younger resi-
dents also joined in the
eff ort, and Saager said that
was encouraging to see.
Thirteen-year-old Olivia
Carrillo of Milton-Freewa-
ter said she was there to help
the community and do her
part.
“It makes me feel good
and proud to help my
community,” she said.
Evan Lewis, 15, joked
that he was there because his
“mother made him come,”
but he said it was a good day
for him to be there.
“I fi gure this is a good
way to use my time to help
the community,” Lewis said.
The Milton-Freewater
Downtown Alliance has been
around for 12 years.
“We want to get people
re-involved with their
com munit y, especially
younger people who can make
a big diff erence,” Saager said.
Volunteer Mike Beeson
said he has noticed that a
growing number of people
want to see Milton-Freewa-
ter improve. Beeson is part
of a rural development group
training program.
Members of the program
work to identify community
improvement projects, and
the Make a Diff erence event
was part of that. Identifying
graffi ti as a problem for the
community was one particu-
lar outcome.
“We interface with other
local community groups, and
we found our primary goals
also matched those of the
MFDA,” Beeson said.
Most of Saturday’s eff orts
were focused on Main Street,
with other projects lined up to
complete on Sunday, May 1,
in the second day of Make a
Diff erence.
A mural that inspires
working together
The biggest eff ort for the
beautification project was
a large mural painted by
Milton-Freewater artist Sheila
Lane on the side of the Elks
Lodge on Main Street.
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Jean Ann Mitchell, top, and Kay West plant petunias in new barrel planters Saturday morning, April 30, 2022, during the
first day of the Make A Difference Weekend in Milton-Freewater.
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Two of 10 decorative bike racks are installed Saturday morn-
ing, April 30, 2022, during the fi rst day of the Make A Diff er-
ence Weekend in Milton-Freewater.
Elks members volun-
teered the wall for the project
after being contacted by the
Downtown Alliance design
committee.
Lodge member Coyote Joe
said organization members
came to the Elks asking if they
were going to do anything
with the space on the side of
the building.
“They got in contact with
our secretary, and the plan
moved forward from there,”
said Coyote Joe. “Now we
are in talks for possible future
murals on the remaining walls
of the building.”
The mural is an interwo-
ven black and white tree, and
community together.”
Lane is known for her
mural art and has painted
other murals in Milton-Free-
water. She also has murals in
Yakima, Spokane, and in the
children’s department at Life
Church in Walla Walla.
Beautifi cation
and business
Saager, a former member
of the Walla Walla Valley
Chamber of Commerce and
the Milton-Freewater Cham-
ber of Commerce, said one
thing he repeatedly heard
from people in Walla Walla
was that nobody would travel
to Milton-Freewater because
they thought there was noth-
ing over there to see.
He believes this perspec-
tive was connected to a lack
of promoting Milton-Freewa-
ter and what its 170 diff erent
businesses have to off er.
“We had no marketing,”
he said. “It isn’t that we don’t
have anything, it’s just that
nobody knows about it. That
was part of the inspiration to
develop this group to bring
awareness to the business of
Milton-Freewater.”
Dow ntow n Alliance
member Sarah Shu, who
is also part of the design
committee, said making the
downtown area appealing to
visitors and attractive to new
business is one of the main
goals.
“I feel Main Street needs
some restoration,” Shu said.
“You have to make downtown
attractive to help businesses,
and to bring people in.”
Saager said one of the
biggest challenges they face
is fi nancing.
“It takes money to do these
kind of beatifi cation projects.
For the paint, for the soil, for
the materials. We are hoping
the community will help with
those donations through our
‘Give $10 to Your City’ proj-
ect fund.”
Many local businesses
contributed that financing
for Make a Diff erence includ-
ing many merchants, larger
regional businesses and some
wineries.
Before the pandemic,
Saager and, the Milton-Free-
water Downtown Alliance
was making great strides in
community development.
Part of that development
included Freewater Square,
constructed in the 500 block
of Main Street.
In what was once a vacant
lot, new asphalt was laid over
gravel and plumbing, and
electrical wiring was installed
to accommodate food trucks
and outdoor music events that
require electricity.
Saager hopes that the
Downtown Alliance and
the community can get its
volunteer base back up to
levels like they were before
the pandemic — between
500-600 people.
And he would love to see
a collaborative eff ort between
the Milton-Freewater Down-
town Alliance, the city and
the county to bring together
the community.
“We want people to know
that we are still alive — that
we are still doing something,”
Saager said.
Then
NOW
2022 Graduates
Bang:
Continued from Page A1
Despite the struggles,
competitors were happy to
be there. Jeremy Clark and
his crew at Beer Belly BBQ
explained they spend roughly
$2,000 to get to the compe-
tition every year but would
never miss it for the world.
“It’s a tradition,” Clark
said. “We have been coming
out for 12 years and look
forward to it every year.”
Members of 3rd Gener-
ation BBQ use the event as
a family reunion. Although
the competitors are welcom-
ing, the event off ers a $5,000
prize for the grand champion.
Lake House BBQ, of
Everett, Washington, swept
the fi eld this year, claiming
the grand champion title and
$1,025 of the $5,000 total
purse. The one-person oper-
ation was a David-and-Go-
liath triumph over the other
four-person teams.
And Meatsweats won
People’s Champion, earning
community members took
turns leaving hand prints on
the branches as leaves.
Lane, the mural artist,
is part of the Milton-Free-
water Downtown Alliance
design committee. She
said the inspiration for the
mural was rooted in bring-
ing the diversity of the
community together.
“I was thinking about how
to bring that message into the
mural,” Lane said. “Using
black and white and hand
prints symbolizes that.”
On the wall at the bottom
of the mural are the Spanish
words “Podemos Juntos,”
which means “We can,
together.”
Lane, who says she was
once a Spanish teacher, hopes
that by working together as a
community they can make a
diff erence.
“I think we are more
connected as people than
we might think,” Lane said.
“We want to bring our diverse
Wyatt Teggens/East Oregonian
Competitors of the Buckaroo Barbecue Challenge wrangle
tents Saturday, April 30, 2022, in the parking lot at the Pend-
leton Convention Center as a thunderstorm blows over during
the fi nal day of the annual Pendleton Cattle Barons Weekend.
it the coveted wrestling belt
trophy.
Drawing in visitors
People come from all over
the West to Cattle Barons.
The event attracts every-
one from veteran horse
buyers to world-class rodeo
cowboys and families look-
ing for something to do over
the weekend.
Ever y summer, Ron
Smith said he travels the
West Coast looking for new
additions to his stable, and
Cattle Barons is a must on
his travel list.
“Even if I leave empty
handed, I still have a great
deal of fun just being here,”
he said. “It’s the only auction
that doesn’t feel like an
all-out fi stfi ght.”
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Umatilla, Morrow & Gilliam County
Jennifer Smith
2022
I
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