Hello, Dear Reader! Welcome to my humble little corner! I live in a little piece of paradise in Oregon called Oakridge. A small mountain town of over three thousand people nestled into the heart of the Willamette National Forest.
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| Pinard Butte during Cedar Creek Fire, 2022 |
Now, for introductions. My name is Kristyn and I live with my husband, our son, and our three cats where we get to wake up to this glorious view each and every morning. I have lived in Oakridge since October 2019 and have maintained an active interest in the mountain town I have called home for the past four-and-a-half years.
For those who have never been to Oakridge, allow me the pleasure of introducing her to you. Oakridge is located 40 miles southeast of Eugene. She boasts of a population of 3,600 people, many of them being multi-generational; in that their families have been living here for decades. Oakridge first became a township in 1888 when the Hazeldell Post Office was built before becoming incorporated as Oak Ridge in 1912 before the two words were combined to Oakridge.
Oakridge used to be an important lumber town. With the first mill opening in 1948 under the management of the Pope and Talbot Corporation which worked in competition with the Hines Mill in nearby Westfir which had opened in 1925, under the Western Lumber Company, which ushered in a nearly fifty year legacy of lumber mills along the developing railway that brings freighter and passenger trains through the Cascades to the Willamette Valley. As lumber laws changed in the 1980's and the lumber companies fell like dominoes, Oakridge's own lumber mill was sold by Pope and Talbot in 1989 and finally closed for good a few years later. Oakridge has been trying to recover ever since and find a new identity.
However, any visitor who spends more than a few minutes in Oakridge will be able to attest that Oakridgians still take great pride in their local history. Walk into Big Mountain Pizza if you don't believe me. It is literally covered in lumber paraphenalia and photos of proud forestmen and mill workers spanning through the history of Oakridge. There is also a small museum in Uptown Oakridge that speaks to the pioneer and lumber mill legacy. Or, if you have time to kill, head over the Three Legged Crane Pub for a pint and some supper and listen to some of these generationals as they talk about their fathers or grandfathers or great-grandfathers who felled or processed many of the trees that made their way to the mills. Their stories truly are fascinating and a real treat to listen to.
When I first moved to Oakridge, I heard a story from a couple of the older generationals that at one point, Oakridge had a split-off over property taxes and other divisive issues for many years. It reached the point where the upper half of the town remained Oakridge and the lower half became Willamette City. Eventually, the impasse was broken, but even today, my neighborhood is still labeled on maps as Willamette City.
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| Willamette City within the City of Oakridge |
While the town eventually came back together in name in 1972, today many of the generationals still refer to my part of town as Willamette City. Sometimes, this duality in Oakridge life does manifest in other ways, more nuanced ways. I did after all, promise a nuanced introduction to Oakridge. I realize that the first half of this post probably reads like a travel guide or the PR page from Oakridge's website. I am grateful for your indulgence, as I also want to show what I love about this mountain town. Like all small towns, Oakridge also has that subtle undercurrent that comes with that beautiful view. In many ways, the past is always a part of Oakridge's present as it is passed from one generation to the next. We are still a town divided, only instead of the division being over taxes and property disputes; the town is divided by viscious small-town politics surrounding city finances, efforts towards progress, and how to best help struggling Oakridge to thrive again .
Before I ever set foot in Oakridge in 2019, I knew of her troubles. Oakridge has experienced a long and sad history of Mayors and/or City Administrators embezzling Oakridge into near bankruptcy and factions within city government trying to protect them. I still vividly remember sitting in my university's library in 2018 reading about the sitting Mayor resigning ahead of a recall campaign due to his attempt to fire the then City Administrator. It was later discovered that the Mayor and City Administrator committed severe ethical violations. The City Administrator was fired nearly six months after the Mayor's resignation. Four years later, in my third year of living here, I watched as the City Administrator, the Finance Director, and the sitting Mayor resigned together in 2022. This occurred after months of battling with constituents and City Council over a controversial public safety fee, first responders, and other contentions. Of particular concern, was the budget, which has been in the red for many years. A few months later, that City Adminstrator ran and became today's sitting Mayor.
"What does all of this have to with me?", you may ask. What skin do I have in the game? Truth be told, I am not a politician nor am I public servant save for what will be my very short tenure on Oakridge's Budget Committee. What I am, however, is a concerned constituent and tax payer of Oakridge. In my short time as a resident I have seen and heard much as I watched Oakridge divide nearly in half. I have set through many town meetings where insults and accusations flew between city administrators, constituents, and council members. I have seen the factions engage in smear campaigns through an obliging local journalism group.
It is due to this disheartening enviroment, I have decided to splay my hands across my keyboard and write you. Despite the bleak cloak-and-dagger drama that I see day in and day out, I believe that my neighbors and community members want to know the truth unvarnished. My goal for this blog is to watch, listen, and talk about what I see in as unbiased a view as I am capable. I freely admit that I am not completely free of biases, but I am committed to not allowing my biases or friendships influence my words. If successful, I will be able to provide you, my dear reader, a balanced view of what takes place in Oakridge along with any evidence that I am legally able to provide.
In the interest of disclaimer, I want to make it clear that the views I share are my views and opinions. I won't present anything as fact unless I have evidence to back it up. I am also acting within my own agency and I have not nor I will receive any payment, gifts, or compensation for my writing.
In conclusion, I want to thank you, dear reader, for allowing me the opportunity to speak on these topics. I promise it won't be all doom and gloom. I hope to provide a balanced view of our lovely community. I love this town. I want to see Oakridge thrive instead of decline further into the hospice situation wherein we find her today. My hope is that in my own humble way I can contribute to her good health.
Thank you for coming by!
Kristyn.
