Benches for walkers placed in Tollgate

Helen "Seth" Sether sits on one of the new log benches in front of her home. The benches were placed throughout Tollgate last week for walkers and hikers. Photo by Tom Chace

An informal poll of one suggests that among the residential areas in and around Sisters, Tollgate has more walkers per 100 residents than any other.

TPOA (Tollgate Property Owners Association) last week started placing log benches along Lariat, the main loop around the community, and Wagon Wheel, an extension off Lariat, also used as an emergency fire road.

A second loop of Lariat, which makes the main road into a figure "8" and confuses many guests as well as some residents, will also be "benched," according to Betty Fadeley, business manager for the nonprofit, residential sub-division.

"None of our cul-de-sacs will have the half-log, wooden seats," she said

The benches were constructed and installed by board member Steve Mathews with help from Rick Geraths.

"They're made from pine logs and are pretty heavy," Mathews said. "The one in front of my place goes about 250 pounds. That's where the board got the idea of having them placed all over Tollgate. The others are around 150 pounds," he said. "We have 11 of them placed around the area so far."

Mathews is a retired teaching artist who built his log home in Tollgate last year.

"We had a lot of leftover juniper logs," he said, "so I began carving them into figures -- fish and other things."

He donated many of his art pieces to the Together With Children art auction, a local child care workshop, to be held early in May at Black Butte Ranch.

Mathews taught art in Beaverton at Aloha High School and at Portland Community College before retiring here.

Helen "Seth" Sether has one of the plain but handsome benches in front of her home and found occasion to relax on it this past weekend, and "watch the world go by."

She is an avid gardener and has a "showplace" for all to enjoy on her corner lot at Easy and Wagon Wheel.

None of the roads in Tollgate use "road, street or lane suffix designations." All are horse, cowboy or covered wagon associated terms, mostly one word names such as Wagonwheel, Lariat and Martingale.

Sether's home was built by her son and son-in-law about five years ago where she and her majestic white husky and part white wolf live.

The two can often be seen walking the roads and pathways of Tollgate.

"Juel, that's my dog, can go forever, it seems," she said. "But it'll be nice for me to find a bench along the way and rest up instead of trying to keep up with my four-legged friend."

Seth's daughter, Deb, is an immediate past chairman of the Tollgate Association and currently acts as vice chairman.

"Tollgate is virtually a land island, surrounded on all sides by National Forest," Fran Berrey, secretary/treasurer of the association, said. "That lends itself to getting out and walking.

"With only our one main entrance, Tollgate Road off Highway 20, we have several emergency fire roads that are gated. Each has a bypass or a walk-around stile so we can use the magnificent, scenic trails and roads of our forests for much of our outdoor activity.

"Many of our young people bicycle to school along our roads and through the forest trails daily, as long as the weather is in their favor," she said.