Dentists 'Rendezvous' in Sisters

When dentists from across the region gathered in Sisters, they hit town with a bang - literally.

The Oregon Coalition for Minimally Invasive Dentistry held their annual conference at FivePine Lodge & Conference Center in Sisters last week. It was the conference's 11th year; usually held in Baker City, conference organizer Dr. V. Kim Kutsch decided this year to move the conference to Sisters.

The event isn't just your usual menu of lectures and award presentations - although there are plenty of those. Under the leadership of Dr. Kutsch, who is a frontier history enthusiast, the conference has become a "rendezvous," with the trappings of the annual fur trade fair in the Rocky Mountains in the 19th Century.

"I love to hunt and fish, and I love that period of time," said Dr. Kutsch. "Jeremiah Johnson is my favorite movie."

The group gathered last Thursday at the gravel pit on the Cyrus family's Alder Creek Ranch for a shoot, featuring muzzleloading rifles as well as a lever-action repeater and a single-action revolver.

For many participants each year, it's the first time they've fired a blackpowder firearm, and there were lots of grins and whoops and hollers after each discharge sent up a cloud of white smoke and a half-inch diameter round ball tearing through a paper target. The shoot is casual, but somewhat competitive.

"We give a belt buckle as first prize," said Dr. Kutsch. "Those are highly prized in the organization."

Dr. Kutsch was very pleased with the change of venue this year.

"Everybody has been so helpful in Sisters," he said.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
• Phone: 5415499941