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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2019)
8A — BAKER CITY HERALD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019 Submitted photo Virginia and Erhardt Buchfi nck bought the Oregon Trail Cabins in Baker City in 1949. VIRGINIA “We never did stay in a modern motel — there wasn’t one.” Trail Cabins and the adjoin- ing trailer court. The motel Continued from Page 1A fi rst had one story, but the Cars weren’t always part of Buchfi ncks later added a her life, either. second story right before — Virginia Buchfi nck, born “My dad had the fi rst car the fi lming of the Hollywood in 1919, recalling childhood vacations with her family on the hill,” she said. “The musical “Paint Your Wagon” fi rst time we went to the came to town in 1968. beach I was 5 years old.” saw a sales advertisement for Erhardt did nearly all They slept in a tent on the cabins in Baker City. the construction himself on sand. Later, they rented a “There was an ad in the nights and weekends. At the cabin. Portland paper. It sounded same time, he was working “We never did stay in a really great,” she said. on building the highway over modern motel — there wasn’t They traveled across the Dooley Mountain. one,” she said. state to look at the Oregon The family had a house She never rode a bicycle, Trail Cabins located on Elm on the property, and Virginia either. Street along Powder River. staffed the motel offi ce most “Girls did not ride men’s At fi rst, not terribly im- of the time. bicycles,” she said. pressed, they decided to head “We rented at all hours of Virginia met Erhardt back west the next day. But the day and night,” she said. Buchfi nck at the Lutheran they reconsidered, and stayed “I was always up until 11.” Church in Oregon City. They the weekend. During the summer her married in November of 1942. Baker City became their employees were high school Two daughters soon ar- new home. girls. Kathryn and Sherril rived: Kathryn in 1944 and “We decided to stay,” she also learned their way around Sherril in 1945. said. the motel business. In 1949, the Buchfi ncks They bought the Oregon “They grew up at the motel, and worked at the motel,” she said. More than 50 units creates a lot of laundry. During the time of “Paint Your Wagon,” the Buchfi ncks rented all but six rooms to the crew. “We had all the production crew and secretaries. One fellow came early and stayed a year,” she said. “We didn’t charge any more for the rooms than we normally did.” Although fi lm star Lee Marvin had his own house during the fi lming, he still made rounds about town. One time, Virginia remem- bers, Erhardt was called to pull Marvin out of a bar and take him home before he got arrested Other fi lm stars came to the motel from time to time. “Jean Seberg came to the motel to swim — they all Submitted photo Virginia Buchfi nck grew up in Western Oregon and moved to Baker City in 1949. came to swim,” Virginia said. The Buchfi ncks owned the motel for about 30 years. They were also a partner in the Sunridge Inn when it came to town. “Erhardt practically oversaw the building of the Sunridge,” she said. “He was out there every single day.” They sold the Oregon Trail Motel several times — re- suming ownership twice, and even taking over the nearby restaurant at one point. “We didn’t know anything about restaurants but we had good help,” she said. She’s stayed active at First Lutheran Church since arriv- ing in Baker. For many years she played organ at church services, as well as for both funeral homes in town. In 1982, she started Kids Club at the church, a Friday outreach for elementary-age children. “I was with it until three years ago,” she said. “I even went on the hayride with them last year.” Carbon limits could go to voters in 2020 if Legislature doesn’t act ■ Three initiative petitions have been filed with the goal of transitioning to a carbon-free economy in Oregon by 2050 J. David Ake / Associated Press fi le photo Crossroads Carnegie Art Center Fall Fundraiser “Oktoberfest” Saturday, October 19, 2019 • 5:30-9:00pm Baker Event Center, 2600 East Street, Baker City SALEM (AP) — If law- makers again fail to pass a law regulating Oregon’s greenhouse gas emissions next year, voters could be called on to do it. Three initiative petitions Purchase your tickets before October 12th (No tickets available at the door) Tickets on sale at Crossroads, Betty’s Books, and online www.crossroads-arts.org Tickets $35.00 a person Includes Traditional German Meal catered by the Little Pig and Jacki’s Savory Sweets Includes a token for one beer or wine and $5.00 donated to the Hand to Heart Scholarship Fund Silent Auction • Dinner • Live Music Support your Local Art Center g nd urin Feat weiss Ba any” l e m Ge r e Ed Bois c of Old i s “Mu A New Kind of Fundraiser Supporting the Arts Casual • Fun • Relaxed Crossroads Needs Your Support Original Art Work by Megan McGuiness Signature Food and Spirits Provided by Sponsors Dennis and Terri Axness Oster/Cook Family Orville Chandler Ranch Lew Brothers Dr. Eric and Kristy Sandefur Baker City Realty Baker City Herald Baker Valley Physical Therapy Vision Wealth Management Loennig Family State Farm – Gregg Hinrichsen Baker County Heating and Cooling OTEC Lamb Family Janet Kahn Betty’s Books Intermountain Law PC Umpqua Bank AAUW – Baker Branch fi led with the Oregon Secre- tary of State’s Offi ce Monday would require the state to phase out electricity sources that contribute to global warming, and transition to a carbon-free economy by 2050, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. If they proceed to the November 2020 ballot, the measures would likely usher in a bruising ballot fi ght. But one of the organizations spearheading the efforts, clean energy coalition Renew Oregon, is hoping the mea- sures instead add urgency to next year’s legislative session. “Our priority will continue to be the cap-and-invest bill,” said Brad Reed, a spokesman for Renew Oregon. “We will put all of our energy to that. But we cannot afford for the state and for the people to not have bold climate action next year.” The carbon cap bill has been in the works for over a decade, and was the focus of a tussle in the Legisla- ture this year. The proposal fl amed out amid a walkout by Senate Republicans and disunity in Democratic ranks. Opposition to House Bill 2020 was stiff among some business groups and rural voters. Gov. Kate Brown and legis- lative leaders have vowed to keep trying to pass a similar proposal. “This is a classic example of a ballot measure designed to force the legislature to do something,” Jim Moore, “Our priority will continue to be the cap-and-invest bill. But we cannot afford for the state and for the people to not have bold climate action next year.” — Brad Reed, Renew Oregon a political science professor at Pacifi c University told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “They see an opening with some kind of compromise that we’ll see next year.” The fi rst initiative peti- tion, dubbed 100% Clean Economy, would establish and enforce limits on green- house gas emissions in the state, replacing the current soft goals with hard limits that are even more stringent than those contemplated in House Bill 2020. The mea- sure would require the state to reduce greenhouse gas pollution 50% below 1990 levels by 2035 and be 100% carbon-free by 2050. The second initiative peti- tion fi led by Renew Oregon, called 100% Clean Electric- ity, would require that all electricity used in Oregon be from 100% carbon-free sources by 2045. Renew Oregon also fi led a second version of the clean electricity ballot proposal with additional revisions to state law, removing barriers to electric utilities’ investing more aggressively in electric car charging infrastructure and clean building technolo- gies like electric heating.