A8
FRIDAY
November 19, 2021
Fall Sports
SeasideSignal.com
Scout Northwest Trading Co. brings
unique family activity to Seaside
By KATHERINE LACAZE
Coast Weekend
As store manager Natosha Adams demon-
strates how to throw a small hatchet and hit a
wooden target in the stall at Scout Northwest
Trading Co. in the Seaside Outlets mall, she
shares several tips on aim, force and arm
position.
“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” she
explained, gathering the hatchets from
where they struck inside the large red circle
on the wall. “There’s a science behind it.”
And yet, that’s an integral part of the fun:
the challenge.
The right touch
Jerome Black remembers trying hatchet
and axe-throwing at a county fair in Geor-
gia, before he co-founded the original Scout
location in Lincoln City with his wife, Gitl,
in 2017.
“I was kind of like a kid at a carnival,”
Jerome said, adding he was immediately
hooked and spent upward of $50 to play for
hours.
As the couple developed their new brand,
Black began envisioning how to incorporate
the activity into their establishment. That’s
how they wound up with three indoor cages
that accommodate knives, axes and hatch-
ets at their Lincoln City headquarters.
The stalls at the Scout location in Sea-
side are a relatively new addition to the
store, which itself was created in 2019.
Black and his son, Daniel, 17, built them
earlier this summer.
Even now, Adams said, many customers
aren’t aware of the hatchet-throwing com-
ponent until they get into the store. On the
other hand, some people come looking for
it because they are familiar with the Lin-
coln City store and have tried out the sport
down there.
Scout has one stall with two lanes and
only offers hatchets, but according to
Adams there are plans to eventually expand
the stalls, install benches and add the other
throwing instruments.
They started with hatchets, Black said,
because they are lighter than axes and
require less precision than knives, creating
a slightly shorter learning curve.
“It’s relatively easy to get to a place
where you’re having fun,” he said.
Scout’s hatchet-throwing stall itself has
become an eye-catching feature, with the
signatures of past patrons covering the
wood walls and spilling onto the floor.
However, it is a suitable companion
to Scout’s overall brand, which encom-
passes a distinctly Pacific Northwest flair.
Their inventory includes stickers, patches,
apparel, reusable water bottles and flasks,
pocket knives, lip balms and soaps, home
goods and other outdoor and adventure
gear.
More than 90% of the store’s products
are made by the Scout brand at their head-
quarters in Lincoln City. They also carry
other well-known outdoor lifestyle brands,
like Hydro Flask and Grundens and items
made by other regional purveyors.
The walls are decorated with artwork
from local artists, augmenting the distinctly
community centric flavor of the store.
Those qualities are “all Jerome and
Gitl,” Adams said.
Katherine Lacaze
ABOVE: Natosha Adams, manager of Scout Northwest Trading Co. in the Seaside Outlets mall, demonstrates how to throw a hatchet at the
wooden stall inside the store. BELOW: Adams demonstrates how to properly grip a hatchet before throwing.
IF YOU GO
Scout Northwest Trading Co.
1111 N Roosevelt Drive, Seaside
503-717-5759
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day
A wide-reaching appeal
Both have a background as graphic
designers, and Black has done retail instal-
lation construction in the past. Using that
accumulated experience, they opened Scout
to have more control of their products and
ideas.
“It’s been working really well,” Black
said.
Although their team has expanded expo-
nentially — particularly with the two loca-
tions — the couple is still highly involved
in the business, as are their young adult
children. They’ve also brought some local
artists and craftspeople directly onto the
team to support them in creating the quality
and quantity of goods necessary to keep the
stores stocked.
Expanding to Seaside was a logical
choice, although they’ve received an abun-
dance of feedback asking for an additional
store in Bend.
“It fit our brand,” Black said, adding
their original vision was for a coastal vibe.
“Everything seemed to make sense.”
Scout is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
seven days a week, with the hatchet-throw-
ing stall open concurrently. The cost to play
is three throws for $5 or 10 throws for $10.
Patrons also can reserve or rent the facility
for $45 for a half-hour session of $80 per
hour for parties or family get-togethers.
There is no age restriction, but Adams
said they gauge whether a child can partic-
ipate in the activity safely and also have a
positive and fun experience. Before paying
the full price, she said, they let young kids
throw a test or practice one to ensure they’ll
receive the full value of the activity.
The employees implement several safety
practices to mitigate the risk of harm, such as
not allowing spectators to be in the stall and
having players remove hatchets from the tar-
get before collecting ones on the floor. They
also opted for wood handles, rather than rub-
ber, to prevent the hatchets from bouncing
back, and Black developed a wood handle
that is more durable.
Each component, he added, is designed to
ensure the activity is as safe and family ori-
ented as possible, appealing to a wide range
of demographics.
“The people that do it are all ages,
guys, girls, all styles,” he said. “It is very
well-received.”
Beaches and Breakers results
Seaside Signal
Beaches and Breakers Pickleball Tour-
nament took place Nov. 11-14 at the Sun-
set Recreation Center. Players participated
in skill level and age categories, with a
shootout of the top teams for gold, silver
and bronze medals.
Gold medal winners at the women’s dou-
bles 3.5 level are Kerstin Starr from Seaside
and Ginny Hamer, from Gearhart.
Gold medal winners at the men’s dou-
bles 3.5 level were Jerrod Kunde of Seaside
and Wally Hamer, from Gearhart.
Carlos Felan of Seaside and Stephen
Rothwell of Olympia, Washington, were
men’s double winners 3.5 over 50.
Richard Marshall and Randy Frank, both
of Seaside, won the men’s doubles 4.0 sil-
ver medal.
Ginny Hamer and Wally Hamer, both
from Gearhart, were mixed doubles
winners.
The tournament is managed in partner-
ship with Pickleball is Great, an organiza-
tion dedicated to the sport of pickleball.
LEFT: Pickleball at the Beaches and Breakers Tournament at the Sunset Recreation Center. RIGHT: Carlos Felan and Steve Rothwell took gold in
the final round.