Memories up in smoke

While it was a successful “Burn to Learn” exercise when local firefighters burned a house on East Main Avenue last Saturday, a little bit of Sisters’ history and a lot of one family’s memories also went up in smoke.

For 30 years, the house was the home of Rev. Rudolph and Jeanette Ylvisaka, both deceased and parents of Marie Phillips, librarian at Sisters Elementary School. Marie has worked at the school for 22 years.

Last week, she looked back over the years and recalled her memories of her parents living there. “My father was a Lutheran minister for almost 40 years,” Marie said. “After serving congregations in Oregon City and Bend, my parents decided they wanted to retire in Central Oregon. In 1975, they purchased three vacant lots in Sisters for $300 each.”

The Ylvisakas bought the building materials and members of two congregations built the 1,500-square-foot home for the couple. Marie recalls they used top-quality materials including special paneling and cedar.

“They were in their retirement home for only a year when the church asked them to start a mission church,” Marie recalls. “They announced services would be held in their home. When only several people showed up just before the first scheduled time, they were certain their efforts would be unsuccessful. Then suddenly they had 30 people there.”

For four years, services were held in the home with attendance ranging from 30 to 100. Having that many “guests” meant a lot of house cleaning and preparing refreshments, Marie remembers. In 1980, her parents aided in establishing the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church just two blocks north of their home.

Her father “Duffy” was active in starting Kiwanis in Sisters and was a familiar figure in the community. He passed away in 2003 and his wife, Jeanette, died last year.

While Marie and her three brothers and one sister were not raised in the home, they had many fond memories of family gatherings there.

“I understand and accept that changes must take place, but still it is hard to accept the loss of a home with such strong family ties,” she said. She declined to be present when it burned on Saturday.