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WEDNESDAY
MARCH
18
•
2015
1 2 5 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y F L A S H B A C K
1890 ❙
T
T HE W EST
F LORENCE T IMES
T HE S IUSLAW O AR
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS
S IUSLAW N EWS
❙ 2015
his year marks Siuslaw News’ quasquicentennial, our 125th anniversary, a remarkable achievement for any business in a small
community like Florence. To commemorate this milestone, throughout the year we’ll feature some of the town’s history as origi-
nally published in the newspaper, including historic articles and photos from more than a century ago.
New Florence development taking shape
O RIGINALLY P UBLISHED M ARCH 21, 1990
Del Phelps surveys the property at his
planned unit development like a proud father.
He points to a natural depression in the land
that will soon be the site of a 6,000-square-foot
clubhouse surrounded by tennis courts and
swimming pools. He watches excitedly as con-
struction crews ease Florence’s first log modular
home onto its foundation.
Phelps has reason to be proud. He and his
partners last week saw the first fruits of over
two years of planning and a $4 million invest-
ment in what currently is Florence’s largest
property development in nearly two decades.
The development, called Florentine Estates, is
located on 70 acres of land at the north edge of
the city.
Last week, phase one of the two- to three-
year project was officially underway as road
crews applied finishing touches to the asphalt
road coursing through the subdivision, and the
construction workers set the first home on its
concrete pads. The planned unit development is
the largest development to take place within the
Florence city limits since the 120-acre, 560-lot
Greentrees Village Mobile Home Resort was
completed along the Siuslaw River in the early
T HE S IUSLAW N EWS , V OL . 100, N O . 12
1970s, according to Florence
Planning Director Laura
Gillispie.
Phelps, mill superintendent
at Davidson Industries and a
former city councilman who
holds the title of vice-presi-
dent of Florentine Enterprises
Inc., along with his partners,
conceived the plan in late
1987. Fellow developers are
corporation president Eric
Voutilainen, a former AT&T
executive, and Secretary
Randy Miller, a certified pub-
lic accountant. Other corpora-
tion board members are
Anthony Giangrande and
Developer Del Phelps (center) checks progress on a
Robert Murheade.
modular log home at the Florentine Estates development.
Plans call for the develop-
ment and sale of 221 lots for
manufactured or modular homes in four phases
acres of land. Munsel Creek courses through
to take place over the next two to three years.
the west side of the development, and a bike
Lots range from 6,000 to 11,000 square feet
path will follow once the planned unit develop-
with a price range of $20,900 to $29,400.
ment is completed. ...
Phase one consists of developing 94 lots on 24
Only modular homes will be allowed in the
development with a covenant limitation of at
least 1,000 square feet of living space per
home. The developers say they are targeting
retired persons who have demonstrated a desire
for modular housing, since it is generally less
expensive than conventional, stick-built hous-
ing.
In addition to the recreational facilities on
the site, retired persons will be attracted by the
security gate leading into the development,
Phelps said. The state of the art of equipment
will include a computerized entry system which
can be programmed with digital entry codes for
residents, as well as an in-home video system
for viewing visitors and phone-activated securi-
ty gate.
Gillispie said ... statistics show that many
retired persons prefer modular homes to site-
built homes, since they feel they can control
their assessment and obtain “instant housing.”
She said that an estimated 40 percent of the
city’s future will be manufactured homes.
The developers broke ground for the subdivi-
sion last September. Seven lots have since been
sold, with the first resident due to move in
soon.
NEIGHBORS
Hawaiian adventure — Part IX
conversation. Because of the rough
crossing, we were behind schedule
and would arrive in Honolulu in the
afternoon instead of the morning as
planned. Around 10 a.m., we spotted
Molokai dead ahead, and soon Oahu
appeared off our starboard bow.
Everyone became excited as we
came ever closer and spotted the
famous landmarks of Diamond Head,
the Waikiki Beach hotel strip and the
ever present outrigger canoes and
surfboards. As we entered Honolulu
harbor, the huge Boeing Seaflite
hydrofoil inter-island passenger boat
flashed by — what a spectacular sight!
With a long “rooster-tail” stretching
far behind, it looked like a two-story
motel on a take-off run like that of a
flying boat. Powered by two Rolls-
Royce gas turbines, it could carry 240
passengers to the outlying islands at
speeds up to 47 knots.
At 14:30 (2:30 p.m.) we were eased
alongside pier 10, Honolulu, Hawaii,
B OB J ACKSON
N EIGHBORHOOD C ORRESPONDENT
For the Siuslaw News
W
ednesday, Nov. 10, 1977,
still aboard the S.S.
Mariposa, we have sur-
vived several days of relentless stormy
seas. Some members of the ship’s
crew have remarked that it has been
one of the roughest crossings they
could remember. However, our last
day at sea was beautiful with flying
fish popping out of our bow swell to
flutter for incredible distances above
the wave tops. This morning as we
came out on deck, the surface of the
ocean beneath the bright sunlight had
become, almost magically it seemed, a
hue of an indescribably intense blue.
This peacetime voyage had been
such a contrast to my years spent
aboard a warship; the sight of porpois-
es and flying fish were much preferred
to deadly torpedoes. And no more long
hours spent at the shield of a gun tub
watching for periscopes, no more
chilling bugle calls for air-raid
defense, and no more chipping paint
and swabbing decks — count your
blessings!
We were savoring the amenities of
shipboard life, desperately clinging to
what little remains of this cruise,
which had been a unique experience in
our lives. An added bonus was the out-
going friendliness of everyone on
board. From the time we left our state-
room in the morning, whomever we
met, from a room steward to the cap-
tain, we were always greeted with a
smile and a readiness to indulge in
and were greeted with a royal sere-
nade by a large Hawaiian band, paper
steamers, hula dancers, the works! It
was sad to leave the ship, with all its
activities and all the friendly people
on board. Beautiful, long-haired
muumuu-clad hula dancers draped
fresh flower leis around our necks and
then we were on our way via taxi to
the Sheraton Surfrider hotel, which is
alongside the famous “Pink Palace”
Royal Hawaiian. Now nearly hidden
by towering high-rise hotels, it was
once a dominant landmark on Waikiki
beach.
We had reservations for a $45 a
night ocean-view room; however, we
were informed at the desk that the
room was not available and they had
upgraded us to a $95 a night, ocean-
front suite for the same price. A few
years ago I checked, and the price for
staying overnight in this same suite
was listed at over $650. I wonder what
it would cost now?
Stepping through the door of suite
595, we were looking up a long hall-
way that entered a large, luxuriously
furnished living room with 20-foot
sliding glass walls opening onto an
outside private lanai. It looked like a
porch to us. There was even a fully
equipped wet bar in one corner of this
big room.
Amazingly, the oversized separate
bedroom had its own lanai with ocean
view. Looking over the top of the tall
palm trees, we could see Diamond
Head in the distance, and somewhere
on the beach below, the sound of
Hawaiian ukelele and drum music was
drifting up to where we were.
We were mentally pinching our-
selves, trying hard to believe this was
really happening, for no amount of
seemingly excessive superlatives
could even begin to describe the
euphoria we were experiencing at that
moment.
More to come.
DEAR READERS:
Share your story
D
o you remember a significant
or interesting story that we
should feature again, or want to
share your favorite memory of the
newspaper? Write an email to
Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com with
the subject line “Anniversary.”
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