T he C olumbia P ress
1
50 ¢
C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper
503-861-3331
November 3, 2017
Vol. 1, Issue 44
Future of Finnish heritage site in limbo Walmart ready
to raise the roof
Lindgren House
at Cullaby Lake is
without caretakers
The Columbia Press
B y C indy y ingst
The Columbia Press
The Finnish community and Clatsop
County officials are mulling what to do
about the historic Lindgren cabin in Culla-
by Lake County Park.
The group tasked with its upkeep, the
Finnish American Historical Society of the
West, has few active members and is dis-
banding.
The topic has come up a few times during
meetings of the county’s Recreational
Lands Planning and Advisory Committee.
“There have been questions about who
owns it,” said Steve Meshke, Clatsop Coun-
ty’s natural resources manager. “When it
was moved to the park, there was kind of
a handshake between the road master and
a county commissioner, but nothing was
See ‘Lindgren House’ on Page 4
If you go
The Lindgren House is in
Cullaby Lake County Park,
89990 Hawkins Road, off
Highway 101 just south of
Warrenton. There is a $3
day-use fee. The house sits
behind a locked fence.
Johanna and Erik Lindgren, inset,
built the cedar cabin in a remote
forest location near Hamlet. To-
day, it sits behind a fence at Cul-
laby Lake County Park.
Workers at the Walmart site are placing
support columns and steel trusses for the
building’s roof, which is expected to go on
in the next two weeks, a spokesman said.
The store will not be ready for the Christ-
mas season, however.
“Once the roof is on, the attention will
turn to the interior of the store, including
the electrical, plumbing and refrigeration
for the store’s grocery area,” a construction
spokesman said. “Those activities will car-
ry us into next year and, at this point, we
expect the store will open later in 2018.”
In addition to construction jobs, the com-
pany plans to hire 250 to 300 employees to
operate the store once it’s open.
Last month, the Walmart corporation
vowed to purchase by 2023 an addition-
al $250 billion in products that support
American jobs.
In the fiscal year that ended June 30,
Walmart reported spending $665 million
among 406 suppliers in Oregon, which
supported 17,500 Oregon jobs.
Warrenton Warming Center prepares for 2nd season
The Columbia Press
Warrenton Warming Cen-
ter will open this month for
its second full season, but
more volunteers are crucial.
“We’re coming back bigger,
better, stronger,” said Elle
Wolf, a board member.
“We have a plan,” added Rick
Newton, a city commissioner
who serves on the board.
The center’s mission is to
provide a warm, safe place
with food, love and support,
based on principles found in
Luke 10:25-36 of the Bible.
While the center is based at
Calvary Assembly of God on
Main Avenue, board mem-
bers point out it’s a nonde-
nominational organization
that wants only to help those
without homes during the
bleakest part of winter.
“We just don’t want peo-
ple dying on the street,” said
Darlene Warren, board pres-
ident. “We have a place for
them to go, get warm, take a
shower, have a nice meal.”
The warming center formed
in February 2016 and opened
the following winter, when
temperatures dropped below
38 degrees or there were se-
vere weather warnings. Last
winter, they opened more than
50 nights with a 12-beds.
This year, men and women
will be separated in sleeping
areas and meals will be more
simple. The group has extra
blankets and sleeping bags
should more than 12 people
come on any given night.
The group has received do-
nations from Friends of Co-
lumbia Community Mental
Health, L&D Race Tech, the
Pioneers Motorcycle Club
and through fund-raising
and individuals. But money
is needed to purchase sup-
plies and food (because of
health laws, no home-made
food can be accepted) and
pay the church for utilities
used to keep the center open.
At least 70 volunteers are
needed to cover three-hour
shifts when the center is op-
erational and to run the laun-
dry. The board is considering
hiring someone to handle the
volunteer scheduling if no
one offers to do that labori-
ous task.
How to help
To volunteer, attend a
training meeting from 3 to
5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, at
Calvary Assembly of God,
1365 S. Main Ave. Pizza
and drinks will be provided.
Tax-deductable donations
can be mailed to PO Box
1012, Warrenton OR 97146.
New volunteers must have
a background check and all
volunteers must attend a
training meeting.
“Last year was a learning
curve,” Wolf said. “But it was
our first time. There were a
lot of unforeseen things.”