MARCH 15, 2002
MARCH 15, 2002
Smoke Signals
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Television Interview Marine Veteran Steve Bobb
being interviewed by a Medford TV station reporter for the evening
news. Several media outlets in southern Oregon covered the
walk's opening ceremony.
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Reunited Medford news
paper reporter and columnist
Paul Fattig contacted Steve
Bobb just days before the walk
from Table Rock to write an
advance story. After discuss
ing the fact they had both been
in the Marine Corps at the same
Vl time they discovered that they
had actually been in boot camp
together. The old friends shared
stories of their experiences and
introduced their wives to each
other.
Photos by Peta Tinda
Continued from front page
Bobb was ready.
Was Merrill not? No, he too was
quite ready, though with a twinge
of butterflies. He'd never done any
thing like this before and the in
clement weather offered little en
couragement. Merrill took a breath,
and glanced around probably not
hoping to put the rain jackets into
use this early, but knowing he had
to. Merrill had his own dedication
to make, to the city of his upbring
ing, the lively, lovely old place we
call Eugene. University of Oregon
cap, U of 0 sweatshirt, it didn't take
much to figure out whom he rooted
for come Civil War week.
"Stop wearing your hood," joked
Leno. "Makes you look like a wuss."
And then they were off. Cameras
clicked away, capturing every first
step. Photographers vied for bet
ter positions, often getting in each
other's way.
Looking out the back of the van,
Bobb and Merrill eventually be
came two specks as we headed
north, Salem-bound.
Now I'll make a confession. I
wasn't quite sure if they'd make it.
When you look at the path before
them and take into account nearly
270 miles to traverse, the Table
Rock walk looks like a real chal
lenge, more the sort of thing you
read of some Dutch adventurer do
ing in National Geographic. But
Bobb and Merrill were living illus
trations that day of calm determi
nation. Who knows how much
money they would make from their
various pledges? Were it only a
peso they still would have walked.
They were that intent on following
through.
Watching them quickly trek the
first mile with only the occasional
wince, the prospect of 20 miles a day
for two weeks really seemed not
only entirely possible, but highly
probable.
It wouldn't be easy. The phone
calls affirmed that. Merrill experi
enced some back problems just days
into the walk. His feet were also
blistered, as his new shoes were not
yet broken in. He quickly switched
to his old pair. Even Bobb's cal
loused feet weren't blister-proof.
Exhaustion would not relent.
"I felt like crying the first day,"
Merrill told me over the phone.
The human body remains a liv
ing tribute to adaptation and flex
ibility. The two soon found a
rhythm and those 20-mile days
piled up one after the other. Yet in
their zone they literally took the
miles in stride. Within two days,
the weather cleared.
The duo kept up and people no
ticed. Other publications got wind
of the endeavor and soon the Pub
lic Information Office had a steady
stream of callers, all asking the
same questions and wanting the
same press release. Seven Feath
ers Casino near Roseburg even gra
ciously put them up for the night.
KVAL News in Eugene ran a short
piece on them during the nightly
news. Tribal Elder Violet Zimbrick
called me. Evidently some friends
of hers in Palm Springs had read
of the endeavor... in The Los An
geles Times.
For those not too familiar with the
topography of Oregon, from
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WELCOME HOME - Children from the Grand Ronde Tribal Before and After
Care showed their support for the walkers by making banners welcoming them
home, and walking with them on the last leg of the journey. The banners were
written both in English and the Tribal language, Chinuk.
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Journey's End Nearly 100 people showed up the Grand Ronde Elementary School to finish the Walk from Table Rock with Steve Bobb. The walk encompassed 265 miles (including
140 miles of 1-5) and 14 days. The first 10 days were highlighted by great weather, but the rain finally came on Day 11. Day 13 brought snow just to give Bobb a taste of everything along
the way.
Medford to Eugene the route runs
rather hilly mountainous, with
some notably steep inclines. Eu
gene rests at the bottom of the Wil
lamette Valley, and there the path
becomes undulating at worst. In
theory, the last five days from Eu
gene to Grand Ronde should have
been the smoothest stretch and
likely would have been, had not
March 4 brought a rash of bad
weather that worsened into snow
the final two days. The Willamette
hasn't seen snowflakes this late in
the season for many, many moons
and it all kind of resurrects that
higher authority debate again.
Justin Phillips said he drove by
the pair as they ascended Butler
Hill, two lone figures without an
ounce of flesh exposed to the chill -the
only thing identifying them
were Bobb's two flags, perhaps a
little worn, but unmistakable none
theless. I myself passed them near
Valley Junction on March 8, under
virtually identical circumstances,
though the duo had doubled, as
Tribal members Jeff Mercier and
Travis Stewart had joined the last
leg of the journey.
News floated around of a recep
tion for the two upon arrival,
though who would show up and
when it would happen was
anybody's guess. More people
joined the march at Grand Ronde
Elementary and as the last 1,000
feet wound down a crowd of
roughly one hundred fellow trek
kers had formed, among them
Tribal members, Veteran's and
even children. Drummers ducked
in near the cemetery, giving the
procession a dramatic flair. The
snow clearly deterred nobody.
Now everyone in the Smoke Sig
nals office can testify that neither
Steve Bobb nor Brent Merrill had
planned anything extravagant for
their re-arrival. A smiling crowd of
onlookers greeted them at the
Tribal Governance Center. The
lobby was packed with neatly lined
chairs and a table decked with cold
cuts and savory breads waited.
Bobb and Merrill exchanged hugs
and handshakes with almost very
soul present, their weathered faces
grinning tiredly from ear to ear.
Travis Benoist introduced Bobb
and Merrill through yet another
ceremony. Tribal Elder Marce
Norwest spoke admirably of the two
as everyone gathered in the lobby,
talking of how the Veteran popula
tion diminishes every day and how
this walk may be the turning point
for the Grand Ronde Veteran's
Memorial. Tribal Council Vice
chair Reyn Leno took the podium
to announce that Bobb and Merrill
needed rest, which is why Council
was putting the two up for a night
at Spirit Mountain Lodge, all ex
penses paid.
"I truly believe in this," said Leno.
"Many years from now people can
look at our memorial and think of
Steve and Brent."
Cultural Specialist June Olson
discussed the history of the Trail of
Tears, noting that more than one
walk was made, and from place
other than the Rogue River Valley.
Tribes with little relation were all
forcibly relocated to the Grand
Ronde Indian Reservation back in
the 1850's.
"Some had to walk from the Co
lumbia River," she said. "They were
forced together even though they
didn't speak the same language. It
was a harsh walk ...to a place they
didn't know."
Both Bobb and Merrill acknowl
edged that though they too
struggled at times with the walk,
in hindsight it wasn't all that bad.
"Originally we just wanted to get
a little exercise and raise a little
money," said Bobb. "I never ex
pected this."
He said that beckoning to the
surprise congregation before him.
"You know everyday we looked at
each other," he admitted. "We said
'What the heck are we doing?'"
"I was just looking for an excuse
not to shave for two weeks," said
Merrill through newly acquired
whiskers. "Actually, I was not so
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Family Tribal member Steve Bobb finishes the journey from
Table Rock hand in hand with three of his grandchildren. Bobb car
ried the Marine Corps flag with the Grand Ronde Color Guard from
the elementary school to the Tribal Governance Center.
sure I'd make it a couple of times.
But when walking with a guy like
Steve... well, he's pretty inspira
tional." The two of them were pretty in
spirational overall, talking not
about themselves but of others.
They talked about the Veterans'
Memorial for which they'd just
raised a large sum of cash. It will
be beautiful.
We didn't need to be reminded
that this was a walk for honor, to
acknowledge sacrifices made in the
distant past and near past, all for
greater freedoms today. They
walked to honor their families, to
honor Veterans, and for the Tribe
in general.
A tearful Merrill made a dedica
tion to three individuals, a trio of
men who've affected him dearly:
Mike Larsen, Merle Holmes and his
uncle Tom Bean.
"Most of all, I did this for you
Uncle Tom," said Merrill.
The crowd burst into applause,
and people lined up to shake hands
again. Norwest brought out two
Pendleton blankets for the walkers
and while smiles abounded and
handshakes lingered, Bobb and
Merrill glowed. They just shined,
ragged and rugged, tired beyond
belief and bearing looks on their
leathery, weathered faces that were
immensely hard to pinpoint.
Come to think of it, those looks were
pretty obvious: Satisfaction - pure,
untainted, and well-earned satisfac
tion. There is no mistaking that. B
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Volunteers Steve Bobb and his wife Connie (center) are greeted by volun
teer drivers David Nelson and Bob Watson (left). Nelson and Watson were part of
a group of volunteer drivers (including Bobb's brother Buddy White and his wife
Anna, Gary Reibach and his wife Marlise and Norris Merrill) that maintained a sup
port vehicle throughout the walk.