Community Hall honors Camp Sherman man

People visiting Camp Sherman's historic Community Hall will pass through new doors gracing the entryway.

These new doors are dedicated in honor of long-time Camp Sherman resident Don Cool who died in 2005. They were provided by a donation by his widow Clara Cool.

Don was a quiet man, born in Kansas, who spent his lifetime of 82 years enjoying fishing, hunting and downhill skiing. He also was a Pearl Harbor survivor, serving in the Marine Corps.

"He liked the skiing because it was motorized," mentioned Clara Cool, a native Oregonian. "He could get up to the top in a lift and ski down the hill."

Don worked for the Corps of Engineers as a budget auditor. He and his wife moved to Camp Sherman 21 years ago.

"Don always liked Camp Sherman," said Clara. "He started coming here as a boy with his parents in the 1930s and tent camped during those fishing summers. There were no campgrounds then; people picked a spot and camped. There was no Road 14 or 1419 then. You came into Camp Sherman from Suttle Lake by way of what today is an unpaved Road 1216. Don's family also camped at Blue Lake (next to Suttle Lake) during those 1930 years."

Asked about changes she and her husband witnessed in the Camp Sherman area, Clara replied, "not very much. The General Store is still here; the Chapel in the Pines, Lake Creek Lodge, they're all still here. That's the reason we moved to Camp Sherman. About the only major change is Metolius Meadows (a residential subdivision where Clara lives)."

Wed in 1947, Don and Clara were married for nearly 58 years. There are four surviving children, Wanda Stevens, Jim Cool, Donna Thomas and Lyal Cool.

Clara is a former delivery room nurse and now spends her time with her dog Rusty, quilting with Camp Sherman's Pine Needlers and attending meetings of the Camp Sherman Historical Society.

"Don and I did a lot of RV traveling for 30 years," said Clara. "We covered every state in the U.S. and most of Canada."

Visitors to Camp Sherman's Community Hall may look for the plaque honoring Don Cool on the inside of the doors.