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.