Volunteers restore old CCC shelters

Forest Service personnel and Camp Sherman volunteers gathered at Pioneer Ford Campground last week to celebrate the completion of a three-year effort to restore historic picnic shelters along the Metolius River. The three shelters were built at different campgrounds during the Great Depression by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Since the structures are "old" and considered historic, the project fell under the purview of Sisters Ranger District Archaeologist, Don Zettel.

"Anything falling under the National Historic Preservation Act...basically anything older than 50 years...becomes my responsibility. Those picnic shelters were built in the 1930s by the CCC," Zettel said, "and with our limited budget, we were having trouble keeping them up. The poor things got a little bedraggled."

More than a little. The shelters at Pine Rest and Camp Sherman Campgrounds needed extensive restoration, but the one at Pioneer Ford needed the most work.

"The rafters were completely rotted through by the chimney," Zettel said. "We had to replace the entire roof."

Pete Schay is Vice President of Friends of the Metolius and helped launch the project.

"This started back in 2005," he said. "We went through the planning stage. You know, what are we going to do? How are we going to do it? Then we had to find money to do it."

Lorie Hancock, President of the Camp Sherman Historical Society, was one of the key figures who spearheaded the project.

"We started applying for grants more than three years ago," she said. Eventually $25,000 was raised for the project through public donations and grants from the Oregon Cultural Trust and the Jefferson County Cultural Coalition.

Each of the shelters has at least one fireplace and two stone-and-iron woodstoves built into the structure, and these posed one of the greatest challenges - and expenses - of the restoration.

"All the iron stove doors had been stolen over the years," Zettel said. "We used pictures to have new ones cast."

The creation of new stove doors proved to be one of the more difficult aspects of the project, but the new doors were eventually cast at a foundry in Silverton.

The woodstove reconstruction didn't end there, as it wasn't just a matter of reattaching the new doors. Over time, the masonry work had crumbled and campers had pirated away the stones to build campground fire rings. A masonry contractor had to be called in to put the dilapidated stoves back together. All of the rebuilt stoves also have new iron stove tops for cooking.

"Each of these (stove structures) is unique and different," Zettel said.

The Camp Sherman shelter has two back-to-back fireplaces, with outward-facing, attached cook stoves on each side. The Pioneer Ford shelter has a similar design but with a single fireplace facing away from the river. The Pine Rest shelter also has a single fireplace; but it faces the river and is flanked by the two stoves, which angle out on either side.

Local volunteers performed much of the hands-on restoration work, and the Forest Service provided log headers, rafters and stringers for the Pioneer Ford Shelter. Interpretive signs were installed during the dedication ceremony as the finishing touch. The signs, which describe some of the history behind the shelters, were funded by the grant from Jefferson County. The graphic designs were completed at the USFS/BLM shop in Portland, and the signs were manufactured in Canton, Ohio.

Appropriately, the picnic shelter dedication ended with a picnic; and Hancock presented tokens of appreciation to members of the volunteer labor pool. Those honored included Rick Thomas, Pete Schay, Les Schell, Bruce Shaull, Jon Sheldahl, Tom Landis and Don McCreight.

The Historical Society also honored Zettel and Sisters District Ranger Bill Anthony as honorary Camp Sherman residents. Hancock presented both men with Camp Sherman hats.

Anthony thanked the community for their involvement and hard work to help preserve the area's heritage and historic sites. Camp Sherman resident Linda Thomas did have one request for Anthony: "If the Forest Service has any other projects you can put our husbands to work on, please let us know."