C4 THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2022
YESTERYEAR
Log cabin builder Luther Metke still going strong at 87 in 1972
100 YEARS AGO
For the week ending
August 27, 1922
Flower show is biggest
in Bend history
The largest exhibit of flow-
ers ever gathered together in
Bend is being viewed today in
the rooms below the Masonic
hall, where the annual flower
show is being conducted un-
der the auspices of the Wom-
an’s Civic league. Including the
tables of collections compet-
ing for the Emblem club and
Commercial club cups, and
the collections of four variet-
ies of the same color, there are
390 separate exhibits, seven
less than last year; but of the
collections there are many
more than in past years, and
the variety and excellence is
superior.
Over one hundred peo-
ple were waiting outside the
building while the judging was
completed eager to enter and
inspect the displays. A silver
tea was held this afternoon in
the balcony over the flower
show room, for the benefit of
the civic league.
Feminine trend
on skyline trail seen
Chocolate and chewing
gum wrappers now litter the
Skyline trail where formerly
tobacco cans and discarded
“wheat straw” books pre-
dominated, according to F.V.
Horton, grazing examiner for
the forest service, who today
ended a horseback tour over
the Cascades from Crescent
to Odell lake, on range ap-
praisal work, accompanied by
H.E. Vincent, formerly deputy
supervisor here but now in a
similar position with the Cas-
cade forest, with headquarters
at Eugene.
In other words, says Hor-
ton, the Skyline trail is be-
ing used more and more by
parties composed largely of
women. It is in good shape,
and travelers on foot and
horseback are frequent.
Range conditions are good,
says Horton, as a result of a
great amount of rain. Deer are
plentiful.
New Brooks-scanlon mill
announced
Construction of a new saw
mill which will result in dou-
bling the capacity of its local
plant will be begun by the
Brooks-Scanlon Lumber com-
pany as soon as the details can
be worked out. Building plans
were under discussion in con-
ferences held here recently
participated by President D.F.
Brooks, Vice president M.J.
Scanlon, and General Man-
ager H.K. Brooks.
The new mill is to be lo-
cated on high ground on the
river about a quarter of a mile
up stream from the present
mill. Until engineers have
come in to prepare final plans
the exact details of the new
mill will not be available. It
will be in all essential respects
a duplicate of the present mill
though larger. It is also possi-
ble that three band saws will
be installed instead of two.
Besides the bands the equip-
ment will consist of a re-saw,
an edger and a trimmer. In ad-
dition, as at the present mill,
there will be a special edger
for re-manufacturing lumber
where, by so doing , the grade
can be raised. The machinery
will be supplied by the Dia-
mond Iron Works, of Minne-
apolis.
75 YEARS AGO
For the week ending
August 27, 1947
Daly petition is filed
with city recorder
John Daly, owner of the
D-D club and the first person
to announce his candidacy in
the seven-man city commis-
sion election October 7, yes-
terday filed his petition with
City recorder Simerville. The
petition contained 348 names.
Petitions are now on file
with Simerville for Daly, E.L.
Nielsen, Hans Slagsvold, Ar-
thur A Rixe, Newell H. Clapp,
YESTERYEAR
Compiled by the Deschutes County
Historical Society from archived
copies of The Bulletin. These are
excerpts. Visit our website for more:
bendbulletin.com/lifestyle
Earl C. Kiel, Leo Bishop, Clif-
ford V. Goodwin, Dean G.
Raymond, and Clifton W.
Hutchins, all candidates for
the commission.
Horse replaces
auto for veteran
James Revell, Bend, Wake
island captive of the Japa-
nese, can’t go motoring like
the rest of the folks when va-
cation time comes around, so
he got a horse and is now on
his way to the Oregon coast,
accompanied by his mother,
Cynthia Revell, 68. They are
making the Bend to-coast trip
via horse and trailer, and safely
reached Eugene this past week
end, by way of the Willamette
pass.
Revell bought a horse af-
ter poor vision, caused by
beri-beri and pellagra suf-
fered while a prisoner of the
Japanese, made it impossible
for him to get a driver’s li-
cense. Drawing the trailer to
the coast is “Big Jim,” a sturdy
horse. The trailer was hand-
made and is equipped with
studio couch, air mattresses,
butane gas stove, a portable ra-
dio, a water barrel and a load
of hay and oats for “Big Jim.”
The trailer, painted a bright
red, moved over the Willa-
mette pass without incident.
County fair is scheduled
Sept. 19 to 21
The 1947 Deschutes county
fair is just three weeks distant.
Such was the notation made
by M.A. Lynch, Deschutes
county fair association chair-
man, as plans were outlined
for a show which for the first
time since pre-war days will
have open class exhibits and
entries, with community ex-
hibits again to fill an entire
section of the agriculture
building. The county fair this
year will be on September 19,
20, and 21 with the first day
to be devoted entirely to 4-H
and F.F. A. exhibits. The entire
grounds will be open that day,
Friday, without charge.
Five major events in ad-
dition to races and novelty
features, will be presented at
the rodeo this year. The ma-
jor events will include bronc
riding, bareback riding, bull-
dogging, calf roping and bull
riding. In addition there will
be pony express races, a F.F. A
race and novelty races.
In preparation for De-
schutes county’s first “big
time” fair since pre-war days,
the arena and stands are now
being put int shape. Addi-
tional reserved seats will be
provided this year.
50 YEARS AGO
For the week ending
August 27, 1972
Log cabin builder Luther
Metke still going strong at 87
Luther Metke may be old
(“I’m only 87,” he says), but
he’s still doing what he did at
the turn of the century- build-
ing log cabins.
“My grandson wanted
to learn how to build a log
cabin,” Metke says of his lat-
est project. “So we started in
the fall of last year.” The small
cabin he and his grandson are
building is across a field from
Camp Sherman, his home.
“I was lazy with this one,”
he said, pointing to a corner of
the new cabin. “I didn’t notch
the ends of those logs.” He
usually carves out the bottom
of each log so that the corners
mesh.
But Metke isn’t lazy. He
built the large log house he
now lives in plus two other
neighborhood homes.
In his earlier years, Metke
helped build the Harper
Bridge across the Deschutes,
just south of Sunriver, and
helped survey and clear the
right-of-way for the Santiam
Highway from Hog Rock to
Lost Lake.
He finished his two-story
log home in 1962. A friend
helped him cut the logs, but
Metke built the house himself,
“I piddled around for a year.
Didn’t have nobody chasin’
me,” he explained. “But I built
the one next door in a little
more than a month.”
“There ain’t much to it.” he
said of his building ventures.
“I built log cabins back in
Minnesota before teh turn of
the century when I was just 15
years old.”
Metke says the logs for a
cabin should be cut about a
year before use to allow them
to season and shrink. He
never uses nails, but cuts the
bottom of each log so it fits on
top of another.
To hoist the logs for his
present home, Metke used a
boom slung over a tree, but he
says that ordinarily he rolls the
logs up on skids, towing them
with a car or truck. He uses
oakum, a tarred rope, to seal
the cabin from the inside.
“Sometimes you have to be
strong in the back and weak
in the mind to build one,” he
said.
Metke can still lay claim to
a strong back. The small log
cabin is evidence. But on top
of that, he does a good deal
of thinking. He began writ-
ing poetry 11 years ago with a
rhyme for his granddaughter’s
graduation.
“Right now I have little
things I want to do to make
the world better. As long as
you’re living for yourself, you
get old awful fast. You look in
the mirror and think “Hell’s
fire, what have you got to crow
about?’ There’s nothin’ there.
You’ve got to be doing some-
thing for somebody else —
that’s the only way you’ll feel
like living.”
Metke got up from his rock-
ing chair, put on a heavy coat
and searched the living room
for several minutes. “That’s
one thing about gettin’ old,”
he said. “You forget so dang
many things.” He finally found
several letters and started out
the door toward the mailbox.
25 YEARS AGO
For the week ending
August 27, 1997
Library groundwork done
Demolition work is finished
and construction has started
on Bend’s new $7.95 million
library, due for completion
a year from now. But it will
be two or three weeks before
foundations are poured and
the walls start going up.
The first step for Kirby
Nagelhout Construction is to
blast and drill four 30-foot-
deep drywell holes for drain-
age of the site, said George
Goshert, Deschutes County
project manager.
Goshert had a pleasant sur-
prise when he picked up the
building permit this week
across Wall Street at City Hall.
He was prepared to pay
about $120,000 in develop-
ment fees, but a new formula
used to determine street
charges lowered that cost by
about $45,000.
“We’ll put it in the contin-
gency fund,” Goshert said. “If
we don’t use it while we go
through construction, it can
be used for furnishings or
equipment.”
The city also, as is custom-
ary, waived about $10,000 in
building permit and engineer-
ing fees for the county.
The two governments have
a long-standing policy of such
mutual “trading of service,”
said Deborah McMahon, city
development services director.
No unpleasant surprises
emerged during demolition of
the old Bend National Guard
armory and Pacific Power
headquarters, Goshert said.
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