Sisters marks the passing of a pioneer

Harold and Dorothy Barclay. Photo provided

Dorothy Barclay, who figured prominently in Sisters from logging camp days to the beginnings of the tourist industry, died at 92 on April 2.

Barclay and her husband, Harold, came to Sisters to live in pioneer conditions when the timber industry was the lifeblood of the little Cascade foothill community. During their lifetimes, the logging industry faded and Sisters faded with it.

Harold Barclay was instrumental in helping Sisters transition from a resource-based economy to a tourist-based economy. He provided the impetus for the creation of Sisters' Western architectural theme. The theme provided an identity for the little town and created an interest in Sisters as a tourist destination.

The Barclays developed Barclay Square on Cascade Ave. and Dorothy owned or had interests in several businesses in Sisters.

For all their lifelong contributions to Sisters, the City of Sisters has named a new downtown park on Ash Street the Harold and Dorothy Barclay Memorial Park.

"I always had a lot of respect for the Barclay family," said City of Sisters Public Works Director Gary Frazee.

"Your ultimate goal as a kid growing up in Sisters was to go to work for Barclay Contractors," Frazee said, noting that the logging company was then Sisters' largest employer and considered "great to work for."

Frazee said he always thought Dorothy Barclay was "a remarkable lady."

The following is a reminiscence with Dorothy Barclay by John Hayes, originally published in The Nugget in 1993:

Memories are history with feelings. For Dorothy Barclay, her recollections are a source of great personal joy.

Originally from Washington state, Dorothy moved to Central Oregon in 1936 with her husband, Harold. Their first home was on Squaw Creek, approximately six miles south of town near the old Peterson mill. It was a one-room cabin with detached bathroom facilities and no electricity. They slept on a homemade bed.

"Before that," says Dorothy, "I had always lived in towns. This was quite an adjustment. It was scary at first."

Harold's long hours working as a logger often left Dorothy alone. To keep her company, the couple got a dog and named her Lady. Eventually, Dorothy and her four legged companion would explore the entire area, from the Cascade foothills to the town limits.

"It was such a beautiful place," she says. "It was very quiet, and the wildlife was everywhere."

In 1943, Harold and Dorothy left their rustic life on Squaw Creek and moved to town. For the first time in seven years, electricity was available in the Barclay household. During that time, power to town came from a small generating station that was located at the north end of what is now Pine Street.

"There really wasn't too much going on in Sisters back then," says Dorothy. "People would go to Bend or Redmond, but even those towns weren't very lively."

Dorothy recalls her most vivid impression of living in the little town of Sisters.

"I never recall seeing cowboys in Washington, but they were everywhere in Sisters."

Her memories bring a joyful laugh.

"I wondered where in the world they bought those clothes!"

Dorothy was to see many more men dressed in traditional western attire when she became involved with the Sisters Rodeo. From 1941 until the early sixties, the rodeo arena was located where Hoyt's Hardware and Building Supply now stands.

In 1954, Harold and Dorothy purchased the Hitchcock Ranch, a vast property starting at the east city limits and encompassing the lands on both sides of Camp Polk Road. Here, the Barclays raised cattle, horses and three children. But akin to her initial introduction to life in the cabin on Squaw Creek, Dorothy was challenged with yet another unfamiliar environment. While Harold was hard at work with his logging operation, Dorothy conducted business at the ranch.

"I didn't know anything about ranching," she says. "I guess you just do what needs to be done in order to make things work."

There is no mistaking Dorothy's deep affection for that period in her life.

"Living on the ranch was wonderful!"

The picturesque Conklin Guest House is the original ranch house, and the white house across the road was built as a residence for ranch hands.

The Sisters Airport was originally a private runway constructed by the Hitchcock family. The Barclays, both pilots, used the runway for both business and vacation trips. Local aviators were allowed to utilize the runway. Questions regarding liability, however, prompted Harold and Dorothy to relinquish control of the airport to the state of Oregon.

The harshness of past winters occasionally pressed the Barclay Logging Company into rather unorthodox modes of service. One year, Harold and Dorothy called out their heavy equipment to uncover the high school football field that sat invisible beneath a blanket of snow.

"You can't play the game if you don't know where the field is! But that's just part of living in this community. Everybody does what they can to help out."

From the one room cabin on Squaw Creek to piloting airplanes, Dorothy Barclay has been an active participant in the ever-changing character of Central Oregon. As she looks out at the snow-laden Cascades from her back porch, a warm smile comes to Dorothy's face.

"I never get tired of looking at them. It still tickles me to think that I've been lucky enough to live here."