Remembering a Camp Sherman legend

Luther Metke would have enjoyed the gathering last Saturday evening at Camp Sherman’s Community Hall. This was the last of this season’s ‘cabin-fever’ potlucks for local folks. The evening supplied lots of good food, friendly conversation among friends, recounting of old stories, and great desserts.

Luther was one of the original builders of the hall, now on the National Historic Register, over 50 years ago. Lyle Miller and Bethanne Kronick, Camp Sherman residents, provided a 30-minute video from the late 1970s titled Luther Metke at 94. Viewers could virtually ‘feel’ Luther’s presence in the old hall’s timbers as his words came back to life.

“He left a legacy in Camp Sherman,” said Joyce Osika, a long-time fixture in Camp Sherman. “I remember many winter dinners with Luther and other local people. He very much enjoyed the name ‘Da-Da’.”

“You had to be careful when Luther came driving down the road in his Mustang,” said Tonye Phillips.

Luther’s life was active into his 90s, as the video revealed. It showed him felling trees, building log cabins and using an ax skillfully.

The local legend, besides helping to build the Community Hall and log cabins in Camp Sherman, also worked building bridges and highways in Oregon.

In 1942, Luther moved to Camp Sherman and bought the Camp Sherman Store, which he owned for four years. He built the bridge over the Metolius River across from the store, which many people enjoy to this day.

Metke was born on February 20, 1885 in Buffalo, New York. He died on April 7, 1985, at age 100.