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INDEX Mountain Profile.................................... 2 Fire Focus................................................. 6 Opinion................................................. 8–9 Wildcat Tracks......................................13 Museum Chatter.................................14 The Woodsman....................................15 Health..............................................20–21 The View Finder ..................................23 Crossword/Sudoku.............................26 Classified Ads........................................28 Transitions..............................................29
Vol. XXXI, No. 8 n A Free, Independent Newspaper n www.mountaintimesoregon.com
August 2023
n SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF MOUNT HOOD n
Welches, Brightwood, Wemme, Wildwood, Zigzag, Rhododendron, Government Camp, Sandy and Boring
Mt. Hood OR Resort Celebrates 95th Anniversary
Christopher Skipper, Melodee Davis, Chad Pearson, Brad Bushnell, Keith Painter, Dennis Lake, Matthew Beebe and Dan Leis
By Daniel Crawford The Mountain Times
Oregon’s first and oldest golf resort is turning 95 years-young. To celebrate, the grounds, clubhouse and Mallard’s Restaurant have all been reinvigorated with an aggressive upgrade project that is complete. At least for now. Today the property is known as Mt. Hood Oregon Resort. Founded in 1928 as the state’s first golf course and resort, new ownership and name changes have come and gone over the decades. In recent years
there have been ownership tenures with highly successful runs, such as in 1979 as Rippling River Resort. The Resort At The Mountain took over in 1989, and Bowman’s Golf Club had the longest run of the golf course from 1948-1979. Purchased in 2015 by current President Liz Kwon, she ventured west to personally inspect the campus and its potential for profitability. The decision to buy the resort was made easy by her newly found love of the mountain topography and breathtaking timberland back-
drop that is simply known as everyday life in the Welches area. To understand what Kwon’s leadership style has done to the overall morale of the staff can be summed up by the way her team will run through a brick wall for her rather than hide behind that same wall. Her efforts have had a galvanizing effect on every staff associate. Executive Assistant Sabrina Gallon echoes those same sentiments and hands-on strategies of her immediate supervisor. Gallon said, “We will go and help out wherever we are needed. I have been a housekeeper and a groundskeeper all in the same day. And I don’t mind it one bit!” Now the biggest challenge remaining is to recruit and train enough staff to fill open job positions. Fortunately, there are several staff hold-overs, in key management positions, that can lend a wealth of knowledge and history for the new team. Christopher Skipper is now the Director of Operations. He began his career as an 18 year-old groundskeeper who worked tirelessly to take advantage and learn the nuances of each task he was assigned. Grounds Superintendent Chad Pearson compares today’s 9-person ground crew to the pre-pandemic crews he led of 22 people that included an on-site equipment mechanic. The post-pandemic crew
does not have a fully trained mechanic. “For better or for worse, I am the mechanic now! We are getting ready for a new Wi-Fi upgrade and I am involved with that too! Some days I am out there picking up sticks and then suddenly I am needed to repair a necessary piece of equipment. It’s just the way it is for now. I am here seven days per week,” said Pearson. Resiliency, pride, commitment are all words Pearson used to describe his roster of employees that include a 30-year semi-retired grounds person named Tim Cornish, who has definitely mirrored those choice words and more. Cornish is best known as the guy who rides his bike to work regardless of weather and wild animals. That is NOT a typo! He once rode into work while being chased by a cougar! Despite the shortage of help on the grounds crew, the course has been receiving five star reviews for grounds upkeep by shutting down a different 9-hole course for a day at a time. Coming this September, the LPGA announced it will be playing its annual Oregon event at the Mt. Hood Oregon Resort! The exact dates are not clear yet, but tickets will be available very soon. All of the hard work is starting to pay dividends.
Boulder Fire Contained
Wildfire burns 233 acres in Mt. Hood National Forest By Ty Walker
The Mountain Times
Aerial photo of the Boulder Fire courtesy of US Forest Service.
Firefighters have contained 100 percent of the Boulder Fire after two weeks of battling the wildfire that consumed an estimated 233 acres in the Mt. Hood National Forest. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The fire started July 8 near Boulder Lake Trailhead, 26 miles southwest of Dufur. About 200 National Forest Service personnel responded to the fire that grew daily in hot, dry weather conditions.
Forest Service firefighters were supported by three engines, a water tender, a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft. Crews aggressively fought the fire as it burned in the dead and down debris scattered in steep, heavily forested terrain. “Firefighters have worked diligently to ensure that the Boulder Fire no longer poses a threat,” Incident Commander Alan Lawson of the National Forest Service said. “The public should not be alarmed if light smoke is visible from time to time from the fire’s interior. See FIRE Page 30