Gilchrist

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003399" TEXT="#080000" background="040c8c00erkjxk.jpg"> <div> <B> The goal was to give the workers paychecks on Friday and have it all back</B></div> <div> <B> . . . by Monday morning. </B></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#99CCFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Small Town Oregon</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFF99" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>  |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Small Town Oregon"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id428.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adel"><U>Adel</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bonanza"><U>Bonanza</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id413.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chemult"><U>Chemult</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id105.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chiloquin"><U>Chiloquin</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id414.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Crescent"><U>Crescent</U></A>   |   <B>Gilchrist</B>   |   <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lakeview"><U>Lakeview</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id171.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Malin"><U>Malin</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id175.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Merrill"><U>Merrill</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id424.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="New Pine Creek"><U>New Pine Creek</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id194.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Paisley"><U>Paisley</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id423.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Plush"><U>Plush</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id426.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Silver Lake"><U>Silver Lake</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id425.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Summer Lake"><U>Summer Lake</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id427.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Valley Falls"><U>Valley Falls</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id502.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ft. Klamath"><U>Ft. Klamath</U></A></div> <div> Gilchrist</div> <div>   Should you wonder why Gilchrist and Crescent are so close together when it looks as if one town would serve the area I will tell you.  Gilchrist is a "company" town, built by  the Gilchrist Timber Company in 1938. In the haydays of timbering if you wanted a town you just built it. Never mind that Crescent was only two miles away.  The goal was to give the workers their paychecks on Friday and have it all back in rent, groceries, and beer by Monday morning. </div> <div>    I spent my first days in Oregon (1948) in a small company town outside <A HREF="id187.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Myrtle Creek"><U>Myrtle Creek</U></A>.  The place did not even have a name, but the mill was Graham Lumber Co.  The owner was not-so-affectionately referred to as "Old Lady" Graham.  I suppose she had another name but I never heard it.   </div> <div>   While on one of those 1950's deer hunting trips Dad drove us through Gilchrist and explained what a "company" town was.  It did not dawn on me until years later that the Graham Lumber town was the same thing only smaller.  I think all of the company towns are now gone from Oregon, but they used to be common. </div> <div>   While the Gilchrist economy is shrinking they see hope in a large resort development planned for the area. Almost 2000 homes and two golf courses are proposed.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&formtype=address&popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&phone=&level=&cat=&address=&city=Gilchrist&state=or&zipcode=" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?sea"><U>Area Map</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="58380e00.jpg" border=0 width="640" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Although no longer a company town there is still a little life in Gilchrist.  Even at 2:15 in the afternoon. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="58480e00.jpg" border=0 width="640" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> One crisp fall night in the late 1950's we stopped here on our way to Walker Rim.  I suppose gas was about 25 cents a gallon then.  I asked my dad why the attendant did not wash the windshield.  Turns out it was so cold the water would freeze.  Living in the temperate Umpqua Valleys that was a novel concept to me.  Of course now if you want your window washed or tires aired you had best be ready to get a little dirty regardless of the temperature!. </div> </td> <td valign="top" width=150 BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> .<IMG SRC="58480e00.jpg" border=0 width="640" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> </tr></table></body>