SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2021
COMMUNITY
BROTHERS
Continued from Page 1A
Payton points out that
when his senior year started
in September 2020, BHS stu-
dents “attended” their classes
online only.
(BHS students returned to
school for one day per week
on Nov. 9, 2020, and for two
days per week on Jan. 25,
2021. They have had a regu-
lar four-day weekly schedule
since April 12.)
“I can’t imagine going into
your freshman year on a
computer,” Payton said. “I feel
bad for them.”
The brothers gathered with
their parents, Beth and Matt
Shirtcliff, to reminisce about
the most unusual 15-month
period their family — and
Shirtcliff Family/Contributed Photo
most families — have expe-
The Shirtcliff family in more normal circumstances, at a baseball game in July 2019.
rienced.
From left, Beth, Spencer, Matt and Payton.
It was of course only
coincidental that Beth and
Matt’s two children are just a
“Teachers and coaches
year apart in school, and that
did a really good job
Spencer’s graduating class,
of persevering. We’re
and now Payton’s, are the two
most profoundly affected by
fortunate to live in a
the pandemic.
supportive community
Spencer gives a rueful
like Baker.”
laugh when he ponders how
much has happened in what,
— Payton Shirtcliff
even from the perspective
of a young man who hasn’t
turned 20, is no great span.
twinbills on Saturdays.
“It feels like a long time
For the fi rst time in many
ago,” he said. “Longer than it
months, the Shirtcliffs were
actually is.”
putting signifi cant mileage on
their car.
How it started
Shirtcliff Family/Contributed Photo
“Fourteen innings on
Beth Shirtcliff and her older son, Spencer, at a playoff
It was early March 2020.
Saturdays and 18 innings on
football game in November 2019.
The Shirtcliffs were plan-
Sundays,” Matt said with a
ning what had become a
smile.
family tradition for spring
By the middle of the sum- late January, two days per
And now another milestone
break — traveling to Arizona mer it was clear that the new week.
has arrived, as Payton pre-
to watch the BHS baseball
Sports resumed in Febru-
school year would start much
pares to graduate on Sunday,
team play a series of games
as the previous one ended — ary but it was hardly normal, June 6.
in the desert sunshine.
with students sitting in front with players gathering on
Just as COVID-19 made
But the 2020 trip was
of a computer rather than in the football fi eld at the time
the senior year unforgettable
supposed to be particularly
they’re usually working on
their classrooms.
for Spencer and classmates,
memorable.
their jump shots or wrestling so too has the pandemic
Neither Shirtcliff brother
Payton, then a junior, for
moves or swimming strokes. transformed Payton’s fi nal
was going to have anything
the fi rst time would join
Yet the Shirtcliffs were
resembling a typical senior
year in high school.
Spencer on the varsity team. year.
grateful just to have a chance
He said he is proud of his
The only time, what with
to get back on the road, to sit classmates, and in particular
Focusing on the positives in the bleachers and watch
Spencer graduating.
with how they dealt with
But Payton, in common
Payton said he was excited
their younger son compete.
unprecedented challenges.
with Spencer and their
not only about playing with
“You have to be thankful
“We had amazing class
his brother, but also sharing a parents, is more inclined to
for what you do get to do,”
offi cers and parents,” Payton
dugout with the other seniors express gratitude for the
Matt said. “While there were said. “Everyone felt like we
positive aspects of the past
who were, in effect, his sur-
a lot of things that were
were working together to
15 months than to complain disappointing, there were
rogate older brothers.
make it as normal as we pos-
about all that they lost.
“We had over 10 years of
also positive things, because sibly could.”
Payton said his teachers,
organized sports together,”
at least they got to play, to
Matt gazes around the
with their enthusiasm and
Payton said.
compete.”
backyard and remembers
creativity, strived to give
But suddenly this irre-
Payton said he learned to
what he said when he and
students the best experience accept the situation as it was, Beth bought the property
placeable opportunity was
lost, victim of a virus almost possible.
rather than what he wished almost two decades ago.
“Our teachers did a really it to be.
nobody outside a research lab
“We’re having graduation
great job of keeping kids en-
had heard of.
“Things were out of our
parties back here,” is what he
gaged,” Payton said, mention- control,” he said. “Teachers
“It was a bummer,” Beth
vowed on that distant day.
ing Matt Banta, Kris Pepera and coaches did a really good
said. “Payton’s fi rst year to
The couple thought the
and Toni Zikmund.
be able to play, and then we
job of persevering. We’re for- fi rst of those parties would
But no amount of effort
didn’t go.”
tunate to live in a supportive happen in June 2020, with
She said the family tried to could overcome the sheer
community like Baker.”
Spencer and his friends the
strangeness of the situation.
remain optimistic. They de-
The Shirtcliff family’s
guests of honor.
No homecoming or pep
cided to take a spring break
schedule has been much
Like so much else last year,
road trip regardless, a family night.
closer to normal this spring
the party didn’t happen.
There were no fall evenings — which is to say, hectic —
tradition that predated the
But this year is different.
baseball vacations to Arizona. in the football stadium, Matt than at any point in the past
“We’re fi nally going to have
“We always take a trip for and Beth bundling up against year.
one,” Matt said.
the autumnal chill to watch
spring break,” Beth said.
Once again Beth and Matt
And this, fi nally, spurs a
Payton play his fi nal game.
But not in 2020.
had two sons playing baseball bit of the sibling rivalry for
The usual sports schedule — albeit separately rather
“Initially there was some
which brothers are known.
was replaced by a series of
optimism,” Matt said. “A
than together.
“You get a party,” a smiling
ersatz “mini-seasons” — es-
couple weeks later no one’s
Spencer is a freshman
Spencer says to Payton. “I got
sentially glorifi ed practices,
doing anything.”
pitcher at Blue Mountain
a drive-by.”
with no offi cial games.
“It was such an abrupt
Community College in Pend-
When Payton and some of
Winter was much the
cutoff,” Beth said.
leton.
his classmates gather here,
same, even as Payton and
“It was defi nitely a
Blue Mountain had mul-
fi nally fulfi lling one of his
other BHS students returned tiple doubleheaders on Sun- parents’ most cherished pur-
shocker,” Spencer said.
to school for fi rst one, and in days, while BHS often played poses for this space, with its
As the pandemic pro-
gressed, the hope receded
that Spencer and his fellow
seniors would simply have an
extended spring break.
They never returned to
their classrooms.
They didn’t walk across
the grass at Baker Bulldog
Memorial Stadium to pick up
their diplomas.
And although Spencer said
the car parade through town
that replaced commencement
was fun, the sense of loss was
unavoidable.
“It was really disappointing
not to be able to walk with all
your friends,” Spencer said.
As Payton watched while
his brother, and his many
longtime friends in the Class
of 2020, were deprived of the
typical departure from high
school, he said he assumed
that their experience would
be unique.
“Everyone thought it
wouldn’t affect the Class of
2021,” Payton said.
But not for long.
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
“You have to be thankful for what you do get
to do. While there were a lot of things that were
disappointing, there were also positive things, because
at least they got to play, to compete.”
— Matt Shirtcliff
lush grass and towering trees,
it will be a welcome return
to something that strongly
resembles the pre-pandemic
world.
But it will also give the
Shirtcliffs a chance to ap-
preciate the elements of good
fortune they’ve had during
these trying times.
Both sons have stayed
healthy throughout.
Payton will start classes at
the University of Idaho this
fall, with a goal of following
Matt’s lead and attending
law school (Matt, the former
Baker County district at-
torney, is judge for the Baker
County Circuit Court).
And although their parents
lament the time Spencer and
Payton lost in the classroom,
Beth points out that her sons
honed their technology skills.
“They’re a lot better at it
than we are,” she said.
At this pronouncement, a
smile suddenly appears on
Spencer’s face. It is the with-
ering look, a mixture of love,
sympathy and a smidgen of
pity, that belongs exclusively
to young adults who have
just heard a parent, appar-
ently without a trace of guile,
express a sentiment that
couldn’t be more obvious.
“We already were, mom.”
Better at technology, that
is.
All four Shirtcliffs, par-
ents and sons, agree that in
the future, when they get
together, likely in this same
pleasant spot, perhaps with
grandkids frolicking across
the lawn, the conversation
inevitably will lead them
back to the strange days
when the most diminutive of
organisms, a virus, cast such
a broad shadow over their
lives.
They will talk and they
will laugh and possibly they
will shed a few tears.
“There’s no way we won’t
look back on this and talk
about it,” Beth said.
Payton predicts that the
history of his lifetime will
be divided into two distinct
segments — “pre-COVID and
post-COVID.”
And Spencer can already
envision how he might use
his own experiences as a les-
son for the next generation of
Shirtcliffs.
“When I have kids of my
own, I’ll defi nitely tell then,
you better not take anything
for granted,” he said.
TESTING
Continued from Page 1A
Yencopal said the 18 tests will help to offset a recent
increase in the number of COVID-19 infections in the
county. After recording 13 new cases during the fi nal 18
days of May, the county had eight cases over the fi rst
three days of June.
To remain at the lowest risk level, the county, based
on statistics over a two-week measuring period, needs to
have fewer than 30 new case and a test positivity rate
below 5%.
The county is on pace to stay well below the total case
threshold for the current measuring period, May 23-June
5, with 17 cases through June 3. But because the number
of tests has been dropping — 69 tests from May 30-June
3, compared with 237 for the week May 23-29, even a
modest increase in the number of cases could push the
county’s positivity rate to near, or even above, the 5%
threshold, Yencopal said.
Shauna and Alan Hanley of Halfway were among
those who were tested on Thursday. They were in Baker
City for appointments and saw the sign for the clinic.
Shauna Hanley said Alan had COVID-19 previously,
“so I wanted to fi nd out what’s up with me.”
Roger and Janet Dexter said they read about the clinic
in the Baker City Herald.
Roger Dexter said that although he expects their tests
will be negative, “it will help the county’s statistics, there-
fore maybe (the county can) continue with the relaxed
conditions.”