Store has a happy birthday

The Camp Sherman Store celebrated its birthday along with the nation's last weekend.

The excitement of the 90th anniversary began at 10 a.m. on July 5 and the evening ended about 12 hours later.

The morning's exhibitors included something for everyone. Silver Moon Brewing of Bend owner Tyler Reichert gave out sample after sample of his brews which are sold at the Camp Sherman Store.

The brats and burgers were on the barbie out on the lawn. Chicken burgers, hamburgers, beans, potato salad and green salad were served by the store crew and volunteer Mel Herburger, of Outlaw Coffee, who came in to serve the beans and direct the crowd.

Author and outdoorsman John Judy was there with his books and showing off the latest Scott brand rods. Among them were two-hand spey rods, which have become a popular rod in the past 10 years.

Five members of the Federation of Fly Fishers, an international organization, were there tying not only the current flies for the river, but their Fourth of July specialty: red, white, and blue flies. They started making them after 9-11 and continued on with the holiday tradition.

Instructor Mike Marchando said fly-fishing is easy to learn, but hard to master. The peace and quiet is the highlight of fishing. If you catch fish it's a bonus. Linda Walker - who learned from Marchando - and her husband used embroidery floss and macramé yarn on her flies. They all use a variety of materials, not all of which come from fly shops.

Expect to see them again at the Bamboo Rod and Reel Festival the weekend of July 19.

Postmaster Karen Sheldahl provided a history of the post office and introduced Edith Leithauser, age 96, whose father-in-law Frank Leithauser was the postmaster of record in 1922. National Archive records go back as far as 1888 when Isaac Blanton was postmaster.

In the high point of the evening: owner Roger White introduced former owners - and relatives of owners - of the Camp Sherman Store. One guest remembered when Luther Metke, who operated the store in the 1940s, put up a pulley and rig and single-handedly built a log cabin when he was in his 80s. Ten years later, he built a second cabin. Metke's grandson is Camp Sherman's Sheriff Dave Blann.

Singer Dennis McGregor performed with his musical friends Brent Alan on guitar and banjo, Scott Hersh on keyboards and Patrick Lombardi on bass guitar. McGregor added one of his CDs to the list of raffle prizes that were offered throughout the evening.

Artist Katy Clark Hanson showed off one of her paintings and brought copies of her book, "A Painter's View." Watercolor artist Barbara A. Mahlberg was there with prints and cards of her works.

Editor's note: Due to an editorial error, last week's story on the store's anniversary misidentified Tony Lompa's work. The singer and fire lookout is a maker of pine needle baskets.