Somewhere in Eastern Oregon

By Patrick Wilkins

Eastern Oregon is a land of distant horizons, endless sagebrush—and countless stories about the people and places that make the region unique. For more than twenty years, it was Pat Wilkins’ job as an on-the-road TV reporter to track down these stories, to travel the roadways in a quest to capture the character and the history of the dry side of the state. Compiled here is a collection of those tales that range from the Columbia River to the California border, and from the flanks of the Cascade Range to the depths of Hells Canyon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Patrick Wilkins
• Release date: Sep 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301780648

Patrick Wilkins

Patrick Wilkins is a retired Pacific Northwest TV journalist, and although he has been both a news director and anchor, he is perhaps known best for his many years on the road as feature reporter for the ABC affiliate station KATU in Portland, Oregon. “Kinda like Charles Kuralt with a smaller territory.”

Book preview

SOMEWHERE IN EASTERN OREGON

On the Road East of the Cascades

Patrick C. Wilkins

Copyright © 2007 by Patrick C. Wilkins All rights, except for materials in the public domain, reserved.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY (Credits listed on page 6.)

ARTWORK (page 63) BY Frank Tuning of Wilder, Idaho

PRINTING HISTORY First Edition: October 2007 2nd printing: October 23, 2007 3rd printing: October 2010

Smashwords Edition 2013

FRONT COVER

Pioneer Stage Coach Station (near Paulina, Oregon) by Patrick C. Wilkins

BACK COVER

Pat Wilkins on the road near Seneca in eastern Oregon, 1984 (See About the Author’s Truck on page 115.)

Printed and bound in the United States of America by Maverick Publications - Bend, Oregon

PRINT ISBN: 978-0-9831071-0-1 

Ebook Conversion by eStar Books

SOMEWHERE IN EASTERN OREGON

On the Road East of the Cascades

Patrick C. Wilkins

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Dedication

Dedicated to my large Wilkins family. But most of all to my lovely wife, Gayle, my frontline critic and proofreader. And to my brother, Graham, also a principal critic. But more importantly, a self-appointed, full-steam- ahead volunteer southern Oregon sales representative for my books. 

Author’s Note

During the many years I’ve been a reporter, I’ve worn my love of eastern Oregon on my sleeve. And the result of my reporting about the people, places, and things contained in that great part of the state outside and eastward of the metropolitan areas has been the nudging of people’s minds far beyond the city limits of Portland, Salem, Eugene and Medford. A jump over the Cascade Range into an entirely different Oregon. And truth be told, the heart of eastern Oregon probably beats in the chest of many big city dwellers who hope to sometime be on the road east themselves—and pass their mind’s eye from the city limits to the grand sweep of Somewhere in Eastern Oregon.

I also want to remind you that I was once a pretty well-known TV reporter in the Northwest (I know, I know, I hardly remember it myself) and most of the reports contained in this third book of mine Somewhere in Eastern Oregon I covered for television news, newspapers, and radio. And while they are evergreen, some also have historic connections and/or are history themselves.

People often ask me if my books are collections of favorite stories I covered. The simple truth is that I never covered a human interest story I didn’t like. So out of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of stories I did over the years, the hardest part of rewriting them as an author is making selection of only a relative few for books.

But now as then, when I was doing on-the-road features for broadcast, the aim is the same, to give people the kind of stories that lift the human spirit. With all the mayhem swirling around us in the world today, call such attitude head in the sand, if you will. I call it keeping an ear to the ground. If you do, it’s amazing what you hear. And learn.

Photographs

Alvord Desert: Abel Video, Portland

Anthony Lakes: Oregon State Archives; Bear Creek Press

Boardman: Abel Video, Portland

Borax Lake: Harney County Historical Society, Bums, Oregon

Chiloquin: Laurel (Chiloquin) Robinson, Klamath Falls, Oregon

Condon: Judy Jaeger, Condon, Oregon

Echo: Echo, Oregon Museum

Fox: Abel Video, Portland

Glass Buttes: Pat Wilkins; Emory Coons

Granite: Bear Creek Press

Hells Canyon: Bear Creek Press

Heppner: Bear Creek Press

John Day: Blue Mountain Eagle

Lost Forest: University of California Museum of Paleontology; Bureau of Land Management, Lakeview Resource Area.

Malheur Cave: Pat Wilkins

Memaloose: The Dalles Chronicle archives; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mitchell Point: Bear Creek Press

New Pine Creek: Patti Carpenter, New Pine Creek School

Post: Pat Wilkins

Shaniko: Bear Creek Press

Silver Lake: Richard Razee

Sumpter: Oregon State Parks Department

Wagontire: Ben Maxwell Collection, Oregon State Archives

White River: Pat Wilkins; Northern Wasco County PUD

Foreword

By Victor Atiyeh Oregon Governor, 1979-1987

In all the years I’ve known Pat Wilkins, and particularly during my eight years as governor of this remarkable state, there have been many occasions for me to admire his work as a reporter. Maybe some did not know that as the media was judging me, I was judging them.

Even though he retired from his TV career nearly two decades ago, it came as no surprise to me that he chose to keep moving. He went on immediately to other interests where he could continue to utilize his writing and reportorial skills. For a number of years he headed his own video company, was chief writer for an environmental council, did feature reports for a small Oregon radio station, and right now is columnist and book critic for a Salem newspaper.

But the crowning achievement of his retirement careers is the fact that in recent years Pat responded to the ring in his ears of statements from friends and former co-workers that he ought to write a book. He did just that, then followed with another; and now one more in what he delightfully calls his Somewhere series. I have lived in Oregon all my life and traveled our state extensively, especially as governor, and thought there was not very much I had not seen or heard about. Was I wrong!

Make no mistake—although Pat Wilkins is a reporter’s reporter capable of making crystal clear almost any news event, I was most impressed with his knack for finding and producing his longtime on-the-road features for his Portland television channel. They were, to put it simply, outstanding! And now, obviously, he has