News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters residents turned out on a made-for-a-picnic day to celebrate the opening of the new community barbecue in the Village Green on Saturday, May 22.
The barbecue was built by the Sisters Rotary Club for the use of the people of Sisters, using donated materials and labor.
"It's been almost three years in the making," Rotarian Barbara Turner said.
Then-president Mike Bidasolo approached city administrator Barbara Warren and public works director Gary Frazee to ask them what the city really needed in terms of a public service project.
"They were unanimous that the city needed a covered barbecue," Bidasolo said.
The club dedicated the covered stone barbecue to the City of Sisters for public use with a big hamburger feed. Volunteers flipped and turned hundreds of burgers and hot dogs on the large grill donated by Jeff Wester of Ponderosa Forge.
The club noted that several local contractors contributed significantly to the completion of the project.
"Rod Brink was the contractor, he donated his time and skills," Turner said.
Kevin Spencer built the massive stone fireplace.
"When you look at the workmanship, every little corner is perfect," Turner said.
Spencer also donated pavers for a walkway between the street and the barbecue.
Individual Rotarians donated a tremendous amount of labor to the project, according to Bidasolo.
"It's amazing how many hours are down there," he said. "I would never have dreamed that it would take that many people that many hours."
The results were worth all the hard work, as those attending the festivities on Saturday discovered. Turner said the club hopes to make the late-May barbecue an annual event.
"We'll build a town tradition," she said.
Bidasolo hopes that other organizations and families also build traditions around a barbecue in the Village Green.
"I just hope there's a lot of good memories made over there,' he said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)