Camp Sherman is hub of celebrations

Roger White has a niche. It's called Camp Sherman, and he has marketed it in all ways possible. Through the years White and his wife, Kathy, have added many themed/logo'd items to their stock at the Camp Sherman Store, creating an image of Camp Sherman that reminds folks of the charms of life in small-town America.

The store itself provides us a bit of history, having been founded in 1915, in the days before roads were complete and the horse and buggy was the way to get around.

Every year, the Whites commission artist Bill Hamilton to paint a portrait of the Metolius River to sell at the store.

This year Hamilton's river portrait will be of Wizard Falls with the bridge.

Hamilton has a penchant for painting nostalgic towns like Sisters and Camp Sherman. He started by doing a lot of Mom and Pop stores, often putting old cars out front along with the old-style gas stations.

He grew up in Oregon, and his Dad often took the family to Camp Sherman. Those memories stayed with him, so when he retired, he moved back to the area. Hamilton started painting scenes of Sisters, and someone suggested Camp Sherman. He actually painted pictures of the store for a couple years before the Whites discovered his work and asked him to sell his prints at the store. Now his works are logo'd onto mugs, coasters, greeting cards and T-shirts.

Painting, says Hamilton, is a gift from God he has been grateful for his whole life, because you don't become a painter overnight.

Every year a different artist also does a portrait of the store. While Hamilton did the store portrait the first year, Kathy Deggendorfer painted the store the second year, John Simkins the third and this year, singer-songwriter and painter Dennis McGregor painted a scene of the store in winter. The prints should be available at the store any day now.

The store is a hub for holiday celebrations in the Sisters Country. This year's store party will be headed up by entertainers formerly known as R&R and now called Bare Knuckle Betty, who will shake the trees with good ole rock 'n' roll.

The Fourth is on Saturday this year and the store opens at 8 a.m. Fly tiers will be there around 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. White suggested adding a hyphenated "-ish" after every time listed. There may be some other surprise guests on-site showing off their wares. Food is served from 5 to 8 p.m. and music starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m.-ish.