Smoke Signals 3
MAY 1,2010
Hy Ron Karten
Aa the morning nun pushed
through the cloud and children
stepped off the bus at Willamina
Middle School at Grand Ronde,
12 Tribal KMer made their way
to Spirit Mountain Casino' main
entrance to catch the Cherriot 2X
bun to Salem.
Today's the day the Rider go
to the city," said community Elder
Regina Wheeler (Yakama). tongue
in cheek. "They let us off the res
ervation." Jency Rosasco, a Transit District
Outreach assistant, also arrived to
catch the bus.
"I live out here," Rosasco said, but
she also was on assignment. "I'm
trying to make this day as enjoyable
as possible for the Elders."
Looking back, her efforts paid
off.
"I loved the trip," said Tribal Elder
Laura Lund. "With the (graduated)
seats, you could see everybody on
the bus and look out the windows."
They ride really good," Regina
Wheeler said of the bus.
The people were so helpful," said
Tribal Elder and former Tribal
Chairwoman Kathryn Harrison.
"Now, I know where I can sit and
fold up my walker, and have a place
for it. That's what I was worried
about it."
The day also was about saving the
bus route, established in January
2009. It is still running short of the
number of riders needed to make a
financial go of it, said Janice Ellis,
grants administrator and financial
analyst for Cherriots, who organized
the trip for the transit service.
"We have a lot of people who ride
from Salem to Grand Ronde, but
we're trying to increase the num
ber from Grand Ronde to Salem,"
Ellis said.
"We want to encourage more
people from the Valley to take the
bus to go shopping in Salem, or for
those going to Chemeketa, to take
the bus to Salem where they can
transfer to Chemeketa Community
College."
With 12 Elders and another unre
lated rider, the bus heading south
was more than halfway to the level
of fares that Cherriots has set as a
benchmark for a successful service,
according to Cherriots Director of
Finance Pat Mercier. She previ
ously was finance officer for the
Grand Ronde Tribe.
With seating for about 32 on each
bus, depending on the number of
wheelchair riders, the company's
budget assumptions anticipate car
rying 20 riders per trip; and that
depends on the fare schedule.
"We'd need fewer riders if more
were paying by the ride or with a
daily pass," said Mercier.
In support of that effort, the Trib
al Council through Spirit Mountain
Casino funded all rides between
Salem and Grand Ronde for the
entire month of April.
It's been a success, said Mercier.
"Through the 16th, we had almost
1,600 riders, and that would nor
mally represent almost a month's
worth."
mmgm it an
T-i " IC ' P
113 r- uJtf -vr
if
Public transportation also offers
Tribal Elders the convenience and
environmental advantages of riding
one bus instead of eight to 12 indi
vidual cars for the round trip.
"A part of our goal in honor of
Earth Day (April 22)," said Ellis.
And once on the bus, the trip is
also easier.
"I think it's a lot of fun to ride
the bus," said Tribal Elder Cherie
Butler, "and leave the driving to
them"
And there are new worlds that a
short bus ride can open up.
On Tuesday, April 13, for all these
Elders, the bus meant morning
tours of the Mission Mill Museum's
"Facing Statehood" exhibit and the
woolen mill's former operations
center.
Nearly everybody was surprised,
and pleasantly so, to learn that
Mission Mill was the forerunner to
Pendleton Woolen Mills. The Tribe,
of course, makes gifts of Pendleton
blankets all the time.
"I didn't know that this was the
starting place of the Pendleton
Woolen Mills," said Tribal Elder
Duane Wheeler.
"Most of all," said Kathryn Har
rison, "I learned that the Pendleton
Woolen Mill started there, and that
it starts up again once a year. I
hope I can get a look at it next time,
from sheep shearing to the end of
the process."
And there were the little details,
too.
"They had a guy that ran the
Photo by Ron Karten
shop," said Regina Wheeler, "and
he had a little mouse as a pet."
"I didn't expect to see so many
pictures of my ancestors," said
Laura Lund of the "Statehood" ex
hibit. "I loved the trip. I know I'm
taking my grandkids over there.
They like history. There are so
many things to see that I never got
to go to before."
Cherie Butler was surprised to
see a picture of her grandfather.
This was the best trip we've gone
on," said Lund. This time, we got a
tour, and that really helped."
"The bus people really waited on
us," said Duane Wheeler. "They
explained everything to you."
In addition to Rosasco, Cher
riots provided Ellis and Outreach
representatives Michele Brosnan
and Lisa Carignan, who helped the
Elders every step of the way.
Mission Mill Executive Director
Peter Booth spent more than an
hour with the Elders, leading a
tour and opening up to them his
encyclopedic knowledge of Oregon's
pre-statehood period. He described
the history behind many mill ex
hibits. Until this tour, it was a pretty
well-kept secret, for example, that
Abraham Lincoln was first offered
the job of Oregon territorial gov
ernor. Booth credited Tribal Cultural
Resources staffers for their perspec
tives and translations of titles for
many parts of the exhibit.
The outing, funded by the Grand
Courtesy of Salem Area Transit
Above, Tribal Elders board th
Cherriots bus In front of Mission
Mill Museum on Tuesday, Feb,
13, during a get-acquainted trip
to Salem on the transit service.
Left, Tribal Elders, from left,
Gladys Hobbs, Louise Coulson
and violet Folden take a tour
of the Mission Mill. It remains
as it was when still an active
woolen mill and, once a year, the
museum revs it all up again for
a day.
Ronde Tribe, is part of a full-court
press on the part of the Tribe and
the transit district to fill up the
buses between Salem and Grand
Ronde. Currently, Cherriots runs
10 each day, each with a short stop
at the Park & Ride in Rickreall.
The depth of the problem could be
seen in Rickreall that day. Nobody
came out to park and ride on the
8:30 a.m. run.
"We've applied for a grant to
improve the park and ride at the
fairgrounds in Rickreall," said Ellis.
That decision will be announced in
August.
Still, said Cherie Butler, "I don't
think there was a person that
wasn't feeling really good about
the trip. We'll have some more like
that."
Cherriots initiated the idea.
Mercier came to a General Council
meeting with the promotion idea.
With Tribal Council's approval,
Mercier went to the Elders where
the outing was planned, according
to Tribal Elder Gladys Hobbs, who
coordinated the planning from the
Elders' side. She also went on the
trip with her husband, Russ.
"My sisters live in Salem," said
Tribal Elder Louise Coulson. "I
could ride the bus in and they could
pick me up. We already talked
about going in and having lunch."
"It's about getting over the fright
of getting lost," said Regina Wheel
er, "but everybody helped us."
"I really felt free," said Harri
son. 0