Bill Andersen says he inherited a great staff and is bringing back shrimp cocktail

By Tammy Downs
Burns Times Herald

For the past 32 years Bill Andersen has lived in Harney County, where he was employed with the Bureau Land Management. He recently started looking for a new career opportunity.

When he realized that the Pine Room, a local restaurant and lounge, was for sale, he purchased it.

Bill Andersen stands outside the Pine Room with his daughter, Summer. He plans to make a few changes to the menu but would like to maintain the restaurant’s legacy of offering fine dining in a classy atmosphere.

The Pine Room has had a reputation of offering fine dining in Harney County for many years. Andersen said he is very excited to be part of “a successful business with a long tradition of good food and good atmosphere.”

Andersen is new to running a restaurant but not new to owning his own business. In the past, he has been the owner of two businesses, and he has years of experience dealing with the public.

He said he knows good food, and he knows what good service is. He also added, “I was lucky and inherited a really good staff.”

This new venture works out well with Andersen’s 12-year-old daughter, Summer. She gets to be part of this business with her dad and help out.

After purchasing the Pine Room, Andersen did a little research and asked local folks what they would like to see added to the menu. One thing people agreed on was they missed the shrimp cocktail that came with the dinners, so that was added back in.

There have been a few changes to the menu —  meal salads have been added, fresh homemade bread is baked daily and there is a different homemade soup each day.

Andersen’s goal is to have a seafood special once a week, and there will be a prime rib special every Friday and Saturday night.

They will not be serving breakfast regularly but are looking into having a breakfast brunch once a month.

The majority of the meat used at the Pine Room will be purchased from Buermann’s Ranch Meats, a local business.

Andersen has been looking into adding entertainment such as cowboy poetry.

The lounge is a full service bar, and patrons have the option of ordering food in there as well.

The lounge is always hopping when there is a rodeo or an event in town, beginning with the Harney County Ranch Rodeo on Saturday, July 9. The Pine Room will be featuring a live band after the rodeo.

The Pine Room also offers a banquet room, which Andersen has plans to remodel and upgrade. It can be reserved for receptions, Christmas parties or meetings, and in the future, there may be an option to have parties catered.

Currently, reservations are not required for nightly dining. And you can always call in and place an order to go.

The Pine Room is located at 543 West Monroe and can be reached at 541-573-2673.

The restaurant is open for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and the lounge opens at 4 p.m.

Move allows for more square footage, inventory

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Owners Bob and Sonja McDannel are excited to offer a greater variety of mixers, beer and high-end liquors as well as snacks. (Photos by RANDY PARKS)

A good businessman knows an opportunity when he sees one.

After operating the Burns-Hines Liquor Store for more than eight years in an adequate, but cramped, space in the Ponderosa Village, owners Bob and Sonja McDannel saw an opportunity when a space just a couple of doors down became vacant.

Being able to envision the possibilities, the McDannels made the move into the larger space and the result has been pretty much a complete transformation.

The inventory has been expanded to include a wide variety of mixers, beer, high-end liquors, cigarettes, cigars, snacks and an exclusive wine selection. “We’ll carry what people in Harney County want,” McDannel said. “If we don’t have it, all they have to do is ask for it and we’ll get it if we can.”

The expansion has meant adding two more employees, including store manager Toni Ford. “She’s in charge,” laughed McDannel. “I’ll just pop in every now and then to see how things are going.”

Toni Ford, the Burns-Hines Liquor Store manager stands in front of the business’ new selection of wines.

Ford brings expertise to the store’s wine selection, and her enthusiasm is contagious.

Ford said she grew up in wine country in the Sierra Nevada foothills, worked in a wine tasting room while in college and continued her education serving fine wines in the restaurant industry.

Using the knowledge she has gained, Ford has put together a wine selection she hopes will appeal to everyone, and to everyone’s budget.

Ford said there are plans to hold monthly wine tasting events to introduce new wines and what foods go well with them. “Wine and food go together and this is a chance for people to experience that,” Ford said. “It’s also fun for people who are willing to try new wines.”

In addition, the store will have a bulletin board posting featured wines and recipe ideas to go along with them.

Ford is also working with 90+ Wines in Burns to form a Wine Appreciation Club, which would not be affiliated with the businesses, but rather  private gatherings for wine aficionados.

Both McDannel and Ford stressed that the wine selection was made with the attempt to not duplicate what was already available in town. “We have labels that people probably haven’t heard of, including New World wines from South America and high-quality Northwest wines,” Ford said. “We want to enhance the wine selection in the community, and if we don’t have what someone is looking for, we can recommend other businesses, like 90+ Wines, that might have it.”

McDannel stated that with the larger inventory, he hopes people will view the store as a one-stop shopping place.

As another convenience, the store has expanded hours, open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

“We moved because we wanted to improve the business,” McDannel said. It would appear the mission was accomplished.

Harney County man reclaims fallen trees to make posts and other creations

Story and photos by TAMMY DOWNS

Gerard LaBrecque works with his portable mill to turn juniper trees into posts, pictured below.

Gerard Joseph LaBrecque seems to have found his calling in life. He has had a passion for juniper trees for a long time and is finding many ways to reclaim fallen trees.

LaBrecque and his wife, Lori, bought property and moved to Harney County in 1993. With this move began a love of the land, and the wood that grew on it, especially the western juniper found in areas around Burns.

In 1995, LaBrecque began an abstract art business called “ Creations by Joseph,” which primarily uses juniper wood. He uses the western juniper to build a variety of things such as heirloom furniture, flooring,  wainscotting, fireplace mantels and even staircases.

As his business expanded, so did LaBrecque’s interest in juniper, and it should be no surprise that he has found another way to reclaim fallen juniper trees.

In 2009, the Harney County County Court was asked by Patrick Shannon of Sustainable Northwest Non Profit Organization if they could pick a representative from Harney County to attend a secondary wood products tour in Silver City, N.M., and LaBrecque was picked to go. Attending that tour was the seed of this operation.

In March, the LaBrecques were approved to use $145,000 of Harney County’s Title III funds to start their own business, Joseph’s Juniper Inc.

LaBrecque thanked the  Harney County Court and especially Commissioner Dan Nichols, who was instrumental in helping him get the project started.

He also added that Marty Suter of the Harney Soil and Water Conservation District has been a huge help in all the computer work involved.  “Suter has an unbelievably creative mind,” LaBrecque said.

He has wholesalers who  purchase the juniper wood, as the market is growing for  juniper posts.

Wineries are a huge part of the industry wanting juniper. Organic or “going green” wineries cannot use any kind of wood that has chemicals on it, like pressure-treated poles, so juniper is a huge benefit to them.

Finding wood that has already been cut down is another plus to “going green,”  because it is utilizing something that would otherwise just lay around and go to waste.

LaBrecque has a portable mill that he is using in reclaiming falling juniper. The portable mill basically is a large portable band saw. Other equipment used in this operation include a skidder, bobcat and gravity rollers.

The site that he is currently working on is 159 acres of private land in Harney County. To make the venture profitable LaBrecque said he needs to harvest 60 usable posts to an acre.

About 20 semi loads of the finished product — 6-inch by 6-inch square juniper posts — will be shipped out from this site.

He also has roughly 350 straight-trimmed cured juniper fence posts available for sale.

The crew consists of four employees at this time. LaBrecque can foresee getting a stationary mill in the near future, and then his crew would grow to around eight people.

LaBrecque and his crew are working on areas where the junipers have already been taken down. In the future, they would go to land that has junipers that need to be cut down as well.

LaBrecque is very excited about this new venture and said, “The pillar of my strength is my bride, Lori.”

LaBrecque can be contacted at 503-931-6287 or visit his websites: www.creationsby joseph.com
or www.westernjuniper.org/joseph

It took 30 years for Nick Collins of Diamond to find out who his father really was, but now that he knows, it all makes sense

Nick Collins of Diamond, below, and his father, above, found each other after 30 years. They have quite a bit in common such as interests in hunting, fishing, sports and NASCAR. “We’re both short, full of it and we like the same things,” Collins said. (Submitted photos)

By Debbie Raney
Burns Times-Herald

Looking in the mirror, most people can see bits and pieces of their father in their reflection. Many see a resemblance to their father’s eyes, his smile or even the shape of his face.

In addition to the physical traits, there can also be similarities in likes and dislikes, hobbies and job interests.

Imagine for the first 30 years of your life, looking in the mirror and seeing nothing that resembles your father. Even as you get older, when most people find the resemblances growing stronger, you can’t see anything that would remotely connect you to the man who you called “Dad.”

This is the case for Nick Collins of Diamond.

Growing up, Collins lived in Baker City. When he was 10 years old, his “dad” died, leaving his mom to raise him and sisters. Collins said he didn’t really have anything in common with the majority of his family members, so he spent a lot of time with his friends and their families.

Collins went on to get married and become a dad himself, all the while thinking his father had died years before. And then one day (he said he doesn’t know why) his mom decided to tell him the truth — he had never met his dad, he was still alive and he probably lived somewhere on the East Coast.

Last May, Collins got online and “Googled” the name  his mom had given him. His search found two people with that name, one was 25 years old, the other was old enough that he could possibly be his father. At that point Collins said he thought, “Well, I might as well find out if it’s him.”

It was.

Collins’ father, whose first name is also Nick, lives in South Carolina, and was elated to hear from his son. As it turned out, he had been there the day Collins was born in Waterville, Maine, but due to his work schedule he had to leave the mom and baby for a few days. When he returned, both were gone without a word.

Once they found each other last spring, and talked on the phone every day for a month, Collins flew to South Carolina to meet his dad for the first time last June. Upon their first glances of each other, his dad said, “I know where you get your good looks.”

And Collins said it was obvious they were related. “We’re both short, full of it and we like the same things.” After 30 years he finally found out why he is such an avid hunter, fisherman and sports enthusiast, and why he likes NASCAR.

“Liking NASCAR, that has to be genetic,” he said.

After sharing their individual histories of the past 30 years, Collins and his dad realized that there may have been times when they were in the same room. His dad vacationed in a town where Collins regularly spent time at a friend’s restaurant. His dad knew of the restaurant and had often dined there.

Through the years, Collins’ dad said he searched for his son, and he did know he lived in Oregon. He also knew that Collins had never been told the truth, but he didn’t want to step in and ruin his relationship with the man who had raised him.

With that one phone call made last spring, Collins not only gained a dad, he said he gained a “whole bunch of Italian family.” In the past year, he has been in contact with two step-sisters, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins. All of whom are happy to have a new member of the family.

His dad is retired from his trucking company, and hopes to make a trip to Oregon this summer — he’ll have to work it into his tractor racing, BINGO playing and NASCAR watching schedule. These hobbies, with the exception of NASCAR, Collins said were thankfully not genetically passed down to him. The two men talk on the phone daily, and Collins visits on Facebook with several new family members on a regular basis. After 30 years, there’s a lot of catching up to do.

Now when he looks in the mirror, Collins sees more than just his own reflection. He can see family.

He can see bits and pieces of his father.

The Harney County Pioneer Association will honor two longtime residents on Saturday, June 11, during the annual Pioneer Day festivities

By Tammy Downs
Burns Times-Herald

Queen Mother Ruby Baird

Ruby Baird will be crowned the Queen Mother during this year’s Pioneer Day celebration at the Harney County Senior Center on Saturday, June 11.

Baird was born on April 3, 1923, to Charles and Bertha Parker (Oard) in Albritton. Her father worked for Union Pacific Railroad in Crane.  She grew up in Crane and graduated from Crane High School in 1942. She is the last living child out of 10 siblings.

She married E.H Baird (who was also known as Hale) on May 17, 1942. They moved to Bonneville, where he worked at the Bonneville Dam until he went into the service.

When her husband joined the service, Baird went to live with her parents until she could join her husband. She then moved from base to base with him until he was sent overseas.

When Baird’s husband returned from the service after  World War II, they moved back to Bonneville. They stayed there until they went into the hardware business in Burns with Jenks Harris, which, Baird said, was around 1952 or 1953.

When Harris passed away, Baird and her husband bought the store and renamed it Baird’s Hardware. They ran the hardware store with their two sons until the 1980s.

Baird has been a member of the American Legion Auxiliary for more than 48 years. She has held many titles through the years — vice president, president and district president. She is still an active member.

After retiring from the hardware business, Baird and her husband spent the next 20 years traveling. They were know as “Winter Visitors” or “Snow Birds.” They traveled around in a 34-foot travel trailer. It was their “home away from home,” Baird said.

She recalls that they had a great time traveling around and meeting many people and enjoying friends, visiting many places. Baird said they liked to go to casinos and play cards, go to dances and they even went to a few “Powwows.” She said, “They just had a great time.”

Baird has had many hobbies. When she had the opportunity she said she loved to do yard work, garden,  camp and hunt.

Baird has four children —  Phyllis, who lives in Tucson, Ariz.; Dick, who lives in Hines; and Jim and Beverly, who both live in Bend.

Pioneer President Richard Temple

On June 11, the Harney County Pioneer Association will honor Richard Temple with the title of Pioneer President at the Pioneer Day Celebration held at the Harney County Senior Center.

Temple was born on Nov. 12, 1929, to Jap and Ruby Temple at the Stewart Place, north of Burns. He had two sisters and three brothers. Three of his siblings have died.

He was raised on his family’s ranch at Cow Creek, northeast of Burns, and graduated from Crane High School in 1947. Regarding his experience in living in the Crane boarding school, Temple matter-of-factly said, “It’s where we had to go to school.”

After high school, Temple went to work in Drewsey for the Williams family. He stayed there for a couple  years, and then returned to Cow Creek and rented his dad’s ranch.

He met his wife, Glenda Stephenson, and they were married in 1965. They had two daughters — Mary Jo Shoemaker and Jennie Lee — both of whom continue to reside in Harney County. They raised their daughters at the Cow Creek Ranch. Temple also has four grandchildren.

Temple, one of his brothers and his dad went in together and bought the Chambers Place in Buchanan. They spilt up the partnership around 1967, and he bought the family ranch from his father.

In 1982, the Temples became partners with George and Mary Duncan and bought the place next to them from the Catterson family.

For the next six years he continued to operate his own ranch, until selling the property to Hoyt and Sons in 1988. After selling, he worked for Hoyts for a few years until deciding to retire.

After retiring, Temple kept busy by volunteering for the Harney County Fair, working with the 4-H program and the Stockgrower’s sale committee.

In his spare time, Temple said he enjoys hunting and fishing, though he admits that he’s not really good at it, and his wife catches the most fish. He is also a member of the Burns Elks Lodge.

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
— Dr.Seuss

Left to right, Valedictorian Gabe Bentz, Jessica Hodge, Valedictorian Casey Thein, Cole Potter and Meghann Gini. (Photo by TAMMY DOWNS)

It’s a family business for owners Samuel and Maria Sanchez of Crane

The Sanchez family looks forward to serving local residents Mexican food at El Castillo. (Photo by TAMMY DOWNS)

By Tammy Downs
Burns Times-Herald

El Castillo is a new Mexican restaurant that recently opened its doors for business inside of the Ye Olde Castle Restaurant, located at 186 W. Monroe. The restaurant officially opened for business on May 5.

The owners of El Castillo are Samuel and Maria Sanchez. They said they had been looking for a place to rent where they could open a restaurant, and it worked out that Ye Olde Castle had an empty space and the owners were willing to lease it out.

Prior to opening the restaurant Samuel had been a long-haul truck driver, and he said that it was too hard on the family to be gone all the time. He knew he needed to find a job where he could be by his family and  they could all be together.

The Sanchezes have five children ranging in ages from 3 to 18. The older children are a big help with this new business, the Sanchezes said, and they hope their restaurant offers a family atmosphere for their customers.

Everything on the menu  at El Castillo will be made with fresh items — nothing will be made using leftovers from the day before. The menu will offer different varieties of tacos, burritos and tostadas made with chicken, pork, beef tongue, beef head and grilled beef steak bits. A couple of American items will be on the menu, too.
One of the specialty items is the “Alan’s Chronic Burrito.” This is a huge burrito filled with all of the available fillings. If anyone can actually eat a whole one by themselves, the Sanchezes will take the customer’s photo and post it up.

Customers who are celebrating their birthday can let the Sanchezes know, and they have two different sizes of sombreros for the special birthday person to wear while singing them “Happy Birthday.”

For those who want a drink with their meal, El Castillo carries different types of American and Mexican beer, and they also make a lemon and strawberry margarita.

The restaurant is not making deliveries at this time, but it is a service that may be added later on.

Samuel said they do not want to lose the castle name so they will not be changing it — “El Castillo,” and “Ye Olde Castle.”

Ye Olde Castle owner Rosie Kimble said she and husband, Jerry, are semi-retired. After 51 years in business in Burns Rosie said, “The restaurant now serves breakfast and lunch only. The Kimbles wish to thank their many evening customers for their patronage and friendship.”

El Castillo’s business hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m., and Friday through Sunday,  3 p.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, call 541-573-7110.

Larry and Cindy Williams open new business in Hines

Larry and Cindy Williams in their fly shop in Hines. (Photo by TAMMY DOWNS)

By Tammy Downs
Burns Times-Herald

The owner of Steens Mountain Outdoors is no newcomer to fly fishing or Harney County. Larry Williams was born and raised  in Harney County and has been an avid fly fisherman since he was 12 years old.

Williams, along with his wife, Cindy, opened the doors for business on April 2. He had found himself unemployed after Monaco closed its doors and had been searching for work. He knew he did not want to leave Harney County and have to move somewhere else.

Williams and his wife said they are a strong Christian family and had been praying for the right job to open; and then an unexpected door opened when they were able to purchase the building where their business is now located. So began their adventure into opening up the new fly shop.

Williams is also a taxidermist and the back of the store will be for his taxidermy shop. He opened up the taxidermy part last October. He has been a contractor with Artistic Taxidermy out of Portland since 1982. He does a wide variety of animals, fish and birds.

Steens Mountain Outdoors is well on its way to becoming Southeast Oregon’s only destination flyshop. Their goal is to cater to customers who are coming here to fish so they will carry flies that work in this area.

They carry an assortment of flies; some are hand tied by a couple of local guys and they also carry flies that are purchased from various vendors. Williams said he purchases flies that the locals don’t know how to tie or don’t have the recipe for. He is overwhelmed by how many flies they are selling.

They carry products from a lot of very popular fly fishing supply companies such as Umpqua, Hareline, Tiemco, Metz and Mustad.

One of the main companies that they carry products from is Loon. They are an Oregon company based out of Ashland. They specialize in products that are biodegradable and are safe for the environment.

Also in the store are various fly rods and Williams also custom builds fly rods.

They will also be offering fly tying classes throughout the year. The first class will begin on May 17, and will run for  four weeks. This first class will be for beginners. The cost for the class will be $65. A potential student can either bring their own equipment, or Steens Mountain Outdoors will  have a package to buy at a discounted price. They will provide all of the supplies.

Williams hopes to have three classes a year. In the early spring it will be a beginners class, later in the spring an intermediate class and fall will be an advanced class.

Willams really has a heart for the youth and he has been asked by the Harney County Chamber of Commerce to see if he could work with some of the Oregon Youth Authority kids and teach them about fly fishing. He is also working with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to see if there is something he can put together for the youth at the gravel ponds.

Williams’ wife, Cindy, knew what it was like to go to an outdoor store with her husband and opt to sit in the car because there wasn’t anything of interest for her.

So, a necessity in their new store was a corner for her to carry different things that would be of interest to wives, so they wouldn’t be out in the car bored.

She wants to carry unique items that can’t be found anywhere else, in any local store. Right now she is carrying different bird feeders and even has feeders for squirrels. They are a metalspiral feeder and the wires spring apart so the squirrel can pull out a peanut.

She also carries various knick knacks, maps, binoculars and an assortment of bird seed.

Updated fishing reports are available on a board by the front doors.

The Williams’ main goal is to be able to expand their business and to be able to support a few employees and to fill the community’s needs so people don’t have to travel out of town to shop. Special order requests will gladly be accepted if a product is not in stock.

The store is open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Williams are in the middle of getting a website set up, and they can be contacted at: Steensmountainoutdoors @centurylink.net

Physically demanding job keeps Tassie Hooper on her toes

Fifteen years ago, Tassie Hooper started mowing lawns to bring in some extra income. Little did she know it would turn into a career. (Photo by TAMMY DOWNS)

By Tammy Downs
Burns Times-Herald

When you are a stay-at- home mom with small children and you realize that you need more income to help your family, what can you do?

That is the dilemma local resident Tassie Hooper found herself in 15 years ago. She racked her brain trying to come up with different ideas and decided, “I can mow lawns for extra money.” So she went down to the local Sentry supermarket and hung up a simple “Mow Lawns — Fair Price” sign.

What started out as earning extra income has turned into a full-time career that, 15 years later, keeps Hooper busier than she wants some days. She makes herself take two days off a week so that she can have a break, or, she said, she would be run into the ground.

Hooper was born in Burns but was raised near Philomath. When she was 13 years old she set the national record for the fastest running time in the 5,000-meters for 13-year-old girls. That title was not broken for almost 10 years.

She returned to Harney County 23 years ago with her husband, Dave.

Hooper attended college and was three and one-half years into receiving her accounting degree when she realized that it was not the career path that she wanted to follow, so she quit.

She said when she started mowing lawns her business started out slowly and then gradually got busier and busier as word of mouth spread. Hooper has never had to advertise again, just the one sign started it all.

She said this job is very physically demanding and when she first started out she was doing all the jobs  using only a push mower.

Hooper said one day she thought, “I can’t do this anymore.” She was just too physically exhausted and sore.

She thought, “I need a job where I can sit down.” And then it came to her,  “I need a riding lawn mower.” Now she gets to sit down and work and be outside.

Her job is still extremely physical, though. Hooper said it’s seasonally varied, and different muscles are sore throughout the year depending on what she is doing.

Currently, Hooper has about 40 lawns that she takes care of — her schedule is very full.

Some of her clients are businesses and others are residential. She said she has some of the neatest, greatest clients; and some of her clients have been with her since her business began.

Hooper said the best thing about her job is that she gets to decide who to work for. She gets to be picky and as she put it, “If someone’s a stinker, I don’t have to work for them.” She does add that she very much enjoys the people she does work for.

There really isn’t anything that she doesn’t like about her job. Hooper said she has a lot of freedom and she enjoys taking care of yards. She gets enjoyment out of seeing what she has accomplished.

During the winter months she can slow down a little bit, but not completely. She still shovels snow by hand, with a snow shovel, as well as with her four wheeler.

She said she is usually in full swing mowing lawns by April 15. This year has been a little bit later because of the weather. Hooper said in the summer it is a necessity for her to get out early in the mornings to beat the heat.

She said things are always changing, and she picks things up as she goes. She has learned to be professional.

Hooper said when people are grateful, it makes you want to do a good job.