LOCAL
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
A3
Open house creates memories at the lake
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA LAKE —
Memories were created
Saturday, May 29, when
the Creating Memories for
Disabled Children camp
held a Founders Day open
house attended by more
than 100 people.
“It’s just an open house
for people to come and see
the place,” said Jack Bur-
goyne, a Creating Memo-
ries board member. “We’ve
had it closed for so many
years. Now we’re open up
to the public; people have
complained that we closed
the way to walk to the falls
… but you couldn’t open
it to some people and not
others.”
In fact, the former Boy
Scout camp with a trail
to Wallowa Falls remains
closed to the public, since
its primary purpose is to
provide a place for an out-
doors vacation for the
disabled.
“It’s not just for kids;
it’s families,” Burgoyne
said.
Creating
Memories
began as a nonprofi t in
2012. The group took over
the former Scout camp in
2014 and has a 50-year
lease on the property with
an option for another
50-year lease from the
Blue Mountain Council of
the Boy Scouts.
On Saturday, one hand-
icapped boy was packed
in on his father’s back and
another handicapped man
who serves on the group’s
board, joined as a singer
with a seven-person band
organized by Jay Connolly,
owner of J’s Place in Enter-
prise. After listening to the
music for a while, many
enjoyed a free barbecue of
hamburgers and hot dogs.
Burgoyne
said
he
believes
the
lower-
than-hoped-for
turnout
was largely because the
event was scheduled for
the same day Wallowa
County schools held their
graduations.
“Doing it on graduation
weekend was a big mis-
take,” he said. “We won’t
do that again.”
However, he did deem
the event a success.
“it
was
successful
because people saw for
fi rst time and said, ‘What
can I do to help?’,” he said.
In fact, Creating Mem-
ories received cash or
pledged donations and
off ers of volunteer labor.
Others signed up with their
email addresses to help at
the camp or on the pontoon
boat on the lake.
But the main thing was
to show what’s available
at the camp for the handi-
capped and their families.
“It’s a great thing for
families of children with
special needs,” Burgoyne
said.
For more information,
call Burgoyne at 541-398-
0169 or visit the camp’s
Facebook page.
“Her folks have taken on
refurbishing that cabin,” he
said.
Karen’s
Cabin
is
named for the daughter of
a woman killed in a car
crash between Enterprise
and Joseph. Her family
donated $17,000 to refur-
bish the cabin.
Scarlett’s Cabin is
named for Scarlett Russell,
a preemie twin died when
she was just 4-5 days old,
Burgoyne said.
Camp for disabled
children opens
its doors
Contact for a stay
He said families can
contact him online to
reserve a free stay at the
camp. All they need to do
is bring their own bed-
ding, towels and food. In
addition to the lodging in
a beautiful forested camp-
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain ground alongside the upper
Music provided by a group organized by Jay Connolly, owner of J’s Place in Enterprise, Wallowa River, there is a
entertained the more-than 100 people who turned out Saturday, May 29, 2021, for the pontoon boat that takes vis-
Founders Day event at the Creating Memories for Disabled Children camp above Wallowa Lake. itors out on Wallowa Lake
from the nearby marina for
A founder
into Creating Memories in their families. One of the fi shing or just a ride on the
The organization to 2012.
A-frames and the lodge are water.
assist disabled children
For those who are able,
still works in progress.
Work to rebuild
can be traced back to 1960,
“We’re looking at about a short hike to Wallowa
But when the nonprofi t $350,000 to fi nish it,” Bur- Falls is nearby.
when Ken Coreson, one of
the founders of Creating took over the camp, it had goyne said of the lodge.
“We have taken some
Memories, worked to do deteriorated after years of
The lodge and the cabins hunting; we have kids who
just that in Alaska, taking neglect.
are being completely refur- want to go hunting,” Bur-
“We’ve had the park bished, mostly through goyne added.
kids hunting and fi shing.
“That’s been my whole closed because when we donations of cash and vol-
In fact, some of the dis-
career,” Coreson said took it over, there was a unteer labor, although abled have become volun-
lot of graffi ti written on the some specialized work has teers. One youth, who lost
Saturday.
He dismissed the idea of walls, there’d been a camp- been done by contractors.
both arms in a hay-bal-
being honored as a founder. fi re set in the lodge, the
“We basically gutted out ing accident at age 17,
“They just want some- walls were all blackened all the cabins … they’re now helps at Creating
body to blame when some- from smoke,” Burgoyne named after diff erent peo- Memories’ fi shing derby
thing goes wrong,” he said. “It was terrible.”
on Brownlee Reservoir.
ple,” Burgoyne said.
Now, they have three
joked.
One of the cabins, called Equipped with prosthetic
He moved to Oregon in A-frame cabins and fi ve Jenny’s Cabin, is named arms, he helps run the
about 2004 and his work tepees that can be used by for Jenny Spaur who was derby including tying fi sh-
with children developed handicapped children and killed at 10 years old.
ing tackle.
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
Iwo Jima memorial makes stop in Wallowa
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA
—
A
wooden carved replica of
the Iwo Jima fl ag-raising
during World War II was on
display in Wallowa during
Memorial Day weekend.
But for those who missed
it, it will be back soon.
Laureano Mier, owner
of Milenckos Aero Cafe
in Wallowa, had the wood
carving displayed in front
of his cafe and museum on
the corner of East 1st Street
and Holmes on the east
edge of town.
“It’s an honor,” Mier
said. “It’s truly an honor to
be able to display that here
in Wallowa, Oregon.”
The wood carving, done
in about 2008 or 2009 by
Jesse Leavitt, is a memo-
rial to World War II veteran
Howard “Stubbs” Brandon.
Brandon was not among the
six individuals who raised
the fl ag on Iwo Jima on
Feb. 23, 1945 — forever
immortalized in the iconic
photo — but was among
those who died fi ghting on
Iwo Jima, being killed in
IN BRIEF
Commissioners to
consider routine
items
ENTERPRISE — Sev-
eral routine matters are on
the agenda for the Wallowa
County Board of Commis-
sioners at its Wednesday,
June 2, meeting.
The meeting begins at
9 a.m. at the courthouse.
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County
Chieftain
A wood-carved memorial of
the fl ag-raising at Iwo Jima
was on display over Memorial
Day weekend at Milenckos
Aero Cafe in Wallowa.
action two weeks later on
March 9.
His sacrifi ce inspired his
brother, P.E. “Gunny” Bran-
don, who went on to have a
decorated military career in
the Marines and who fought
in numerous confl icts.
Mier called Gunny Bran-
don, who died in 2016, a
The commissioners are
expected to:
• Accept the resigna-
tion of Mackenzie Walters
from the county Planning
Department.
• Consider a resolution to
appoint Garrett Lowe to the
Wallowa Railroad Author-
ity Board of Directors.
• Consider two permit
applications for easements,
for Andy Munsey on Golf
Course Road and for John
Harris on Lake Shore
Drive.
— Chieftain staff
“very dear friend.” He said
the Brandon family wanted
the memorial put on dis-
play, and Mier was more
than happy to have it up in
Wallowa.
“A very special thank
you to the Brandon family
and their estate for letting
us display this rich Marine
Corps history here in Wal-
lowa, Oregon,” he said.
The carving was one
of two on display for the
weekend tied to Gunny
Brandon. The other — of
soldiers saluting Marilyn
Monroe — is in the back of
Brandon’s personal vehicle
from the 2nd Battalion, 4th
Marines.
Mier has more items
connected to both Bran-
dons, too.
“We also have the origi-
nal notifi cation to the fam-
ily, the telegraph” of Stubbs
Brandon’s death at Iwo
Jima, Mier said. He also has
a copy of Gunny Brandon’s
book, “Gunny,” which he
wrote late in his life.
“Our whole focus here is
kids and family, and shar-
ing history,” Mier said of
Milenckos. “Rich Ameri-
can history. That’s critical.”
Mier said the Iwo Jima
Memorial to Howard Bran-
don will be on display again
on Independence Day.
“We’ll be bringing
it back on the Fourth of
July,” he said. “One of the
things the Brandon family
loves, and so did Gunny,
was parades, and celebrat-
ing American history. They
are very happy to know
that his history and the his-
tory of Howard ‘Stubbs’
Brandon is being shared
in the all-American city of
Wallowa.”
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