Luther Metke's legacy lives on

Last Wednesday was the 130th anniversary of the birth of Luther Metke, cabin-builder of Camp Sherman. A big celebration of his life was held on Metke Lane in Metolius. There were several presenters providing information on recreation, film, wildlife, history and cabin-building.

There were guided walks throughout the Metke Corridor on butterfly and birding talks, picnicking, games, and lots of, "Oh, hi there, haven't seen you in a long time," greetings of old friends and pals from Metke's days of log-cabin building.

There were no airplanes in 1885, when Luther Metke was born; the automobile was shaping up in Henry Ford's mind. Earth-moving equipment was powered by horses and steam engines. Grover Cleveland was president of a strong and growing America, and in the industrial city of Buffalo, New York, "growth" was the word of the day.

That same year in that same city, Luther Metke was born. Little did he know he would set a precedent in the tiny community of Camp Sherman, Oregon, when he was in the twilight of his life. In fact, he was a man who helped shape the life and times of Central Oregon - one of the best log-home-builders in this neck of the woods, still at it at 94 years of age.

Metke, better known by his grandchildren in later years as Dar Dar, served in the Spanish American War as a teenager.

He came to Oregon in 1907. One of the first jobs he had when he arrived was on the road department of sprawling Crook County (part of which would become Deschutes County). He and his crew engineered the present route from Bend to Burns, which at that time was just a track that vanished south of Horse Ridge.

In 1917, Metke got into the logging business in Bend, and began what was to become a career that would be his life's achievement, building log cabins. He admitted that at first they "weren't much to look at." But as he kept at it, he got better and better and eventually built landmarks that are still standing today. He was a key builder on Camp Sherman's historic Community Hall.

One of the people giving a talk at Luther Metke Day was Jack Kleinhoff, of Auburn, Oregon. Kleinhoff, along with Brian Metke, Dar Dar's grandson - who made the whole Metke Day happen smoothly - were among the last to work with Luther on his last log cabin.

Kleinhoff, who owns and lives in the ghost town of Auburn (in 1862 the second-most-populated city in Oregon) presented a most life-like imitation of Luther Metke in his last days of cabin building, in posture and voice. He finished by demonstrating the hand-tools Metke used in his long cabin-building career.

All in all, the day was a warm, friendly trip back into the life and times of a wonderful man who left a lasting legacy in Central Oregon and helped make Camp Sherman the beloved enclave it is today.