It’s time for the 2013 Memorial Day Flea Market beginning Friday. That means it’s time for hot dogs again as the Sumpter Valley Volunteer Fire Dept. will be once again selling hot dogs and sausages at their annual flea market fundraiser.
And to wash down those mouth watering hot dogs…..the SVFD Auxiliary will be selling their famous root beer floats….and while you’re there, check out the tasty homebaked goodies for sale too!
Just look for the fire engine at the grounds!
Sumpter Valley Dredge
Spring is here…! That not only means the snow is gone and we can all see our grass…but it also means it’s just about time for the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area season to open on May 1st.
Before the gates will be open at the State Park however, Friends of The Dredge will hold it’s Annual Meeting at the Sumpter Community Schoolhouse. The public in invited.
Saturday April 13th – 10 am ~ Sumpter Community Schoolhouse
475 N. Mill St. (just above the Stage Stop gas station)
Members will be voting for new board members. Anyone interested in serving with other volunteers in the ongoing restoration and preservation of the Sumpter Valley Dredge are encouraged to attend.
There are more ways to volunteer at the Sumpter Valley Dredge than serving as a board member! To learn about volunteering opportunities at the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area, visit the Oregon Parks Website here.
Sumpter Outhouse Races Feb 16th, 2013
Sponsored by the Sumpter Valley Blue Mountain Snowmobile Club
As reported by LeAnne Woolf……..
As part of Sumpter’s Poker Run festivities on Feb 16, Sumpter’s 1st Annual Outhouse Contest, Races, & Performances (OCR&P) were held on Sat afternoon. Five outhouses were entered: NASA, High Fire Danger, Ol’ Yeller, Canucopia, and NBC. Canucopia, “Smells as Sweet as Roses,” a pale sky-blue structure adorned with both painted and silk flowers, was voted favorite outhouse and received a trophy and $25, both were provided by the Sumpter Valley Blue Mountain Snowmobile Club.
Each team was made up of an outhouse, two pushers, and a seat-sitter. The racing track was a loosely packed half block of run on either side of Centre Street from Sumter St (yes, that’s how they’re spelled on the plat) to the alley between Sumter and Granite and back again. The tight turn around the cone at the alley end was where the most entrancing performances occurred and the lives of many seat-sitters flashed before their eyes. Happily, some seat-sitters were provided with both helmet and toilet paper. Other death-defying performances happened in the deep snow to the outside of the track, usually when one pusher pushed harder than the other pusher, pushing pokey pusher into patella-deep plush, er, slush.
Spectators could scarcely contain themselves. So after entrants had run the track with their outhouses, random teams of spectators commandeered outhouses to post times. Footwear traction ranged from golf cleats to snow boots to sneakers. Advice was piled deep on later pushers, and they bore down with great effort.
Team Steep n Deep–pushers Megan Stowell and Chase Tanner, seat-sitter Annie Rudd, and coach, Braden Tanner, running alongside–placed 3rd with a time of 1:27. They received a trophy and $50 donated by Tasha’s Treasures, represented by Tasha Clarke. Second place, with a time of 1:22, went to Team Over the Hill–pushers Kurt Clarke and Lee German, seat-sitter Tasha Clarke. Their trophy came with $75 donated by Homestead Realty, owner Michaelle Clarke. Team Donikers posted a very fast 1:16.5 to take first, a trophy, and $100–donated by Clarke Construction, owner Cary Clarke–to be split amongst pushers Shasta Moser, Matt Moser, and seat-sitter Eric Rasmussen.
The women’s division was made up of two teams of spectators, aged 50 to 74. One lady on each team wore a 3/4 length skirt. Ultimately, though, it was the sock-monkey hat of seat-sitter Toni Donaldson of the Privy Princesses that made all the difference as pushers Diane Miller and LeAnne Woolf careened across the finish line with her in Ol’ Yeller and into a nearby outhouse in a time of 2:22. Their trophy was accompanied by a $100 prize gathered from spectators and Snowmobile Club members who really wanted to see old broads pushing outhouses.
LeAnne Woolf, Diane Miller, Toni Donaldson “Privy Princesses”
See more photos at: Facebook and see the official video at YouTube.
The OCR&P Committee was chaired by Myrna Clarke, who also served as emcee for the event. Trophies from the Snowmobile Club were designed and lovingly handcrafted by Toni Thompson and Kurt Clarke with highest possible skill sets, as they both were instructed at the Billybob School in Tools (BSiT).
Mutterings are already under way for how outhouses will be better next year. Oh, and how all pushers will be in so much better shape. In the meantime, however, all-terrain outhouses are looking to be tested during the 4th of July Flea Market (July 5-8), perhaps in combination with bed races. Imagine pulling on your onesie, settling down for a hair-raising nap across rough ground, struggling out of your onesie, grabbing your giant toothbrush, and heading for the outhouse to retrace your adventurous route.
To volunteer to help out with July’s or Feb 2014′s races and/or to pre-register, contact Myrna Clarke (snowmobileclub@sumpter.org). Outhouse specs are online at www.sumpter.org. Bed race information will be sto–, that is, gathered from Baker County Chamber of Commerce as soon as possible.
Saturday, February 16th
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
There will also be a rummage sale.
There will be a Poker Run Card Station inside the museum so you can draw your card, get your ticket punched and browse the bazaar too!
Vendors, table rent is by donation only!
For more information, or to reserve a table, please call 541-894-2355
Learn about the Poker Run here.
Here are photos from the 2012 Winter Bazaar…….
It was another beautiful day in Sumpter….the kind that just can’t be ignored! It was one of those days with blue skies and sun shining on the snow, that begs a snowshoer to drop everything and grab the snowshoes!
It was actually warm (comparatively speaking of course) by the time we got started. It was a pleasure to be hiking with our friends Ray and Cheryl again. We were joined by Sumpter Dredge State Park Ranger Miranda Krane, and away we went!
` The North Trail January 19th, 2013
We followed the North trail through the Sumpter Dredge State Park. This trail is less than a mile, has a few slight inclines, and follows Cracker Creek along most of the hike. This is particularly a great hike for days with clear blue skies because of breathtaking views seen from the trail.
If you’re not familiar with Sumpter, this is a good hike since it is nearly impossible to get lost while on this trail!
The North trail will take you around behind the Sumpter Dredge and offers views you will not see in the summer.
Take a look at the photos……
It was another great day on the snowshoe trails in Sumpter…..and the hot chocolate afterwards was pretty good too! :)
Join us next week as we take a different trail in the State Park! Watch for details at the Snowshoe Club!
There will be a meeting of the FSVC on Jan 14th at 10 a.m. at the Sumpter Community Schoolhouse – 475 N. Mill St. (just above the Stage Stop Gas Station)
See more details here.
Speaking of Sumpter Friends………don’t forget the next Community Breakfast is coming up this Saturday, Jan 19th from 7-10 am at the Sumpter Community Schoolhouse
Remember…..cost is by donation only!
Community Breakfast Nov 2012
It was a beautiful day for strapping on the snowshoes! All the snow had fallen the night before, the clouds drifted apart, and the sun kept us warm as we took one of my favorite walks through town. This hike takes us through the State Park…then up into the center of town and over to my favorite part of town!
Here you go Herb! Hope you enjoy the photos……!
Visit the Sumpter Snowshoe Club here.
Sumpter Fire Department volunteers attended a search and rescue class at the Sumpter Community Schoolhouse recently. The class was taught by Wayne Inman of the Search and Rescue Department of the Baker County Sheriff’s Office. A large part of the fire department volunteers also belong to the Sumpter Valley Blue Mountain Snowmobile Club which plays an important part in the search and rescue of the Sumpter area. Their collective experience in snowmobiling is very important too. Volunteers received instruction in setting up and maintaining a search and rescue base and it was decided that the Sumpter Community Schoolhouse would be the base for future rescue operations in the area. The snowmobile club makes it’s Tucker Snocat Trail Grooming machine available to the County and the grooming crew is prepared for a search and rescue mission at all times.
Here are a few important lists that were prepared by the Search and Rescue office, as well as the Panhandle Snowmobile Club in Halfway, Oregon. Just click on the links and you can keep these important lists for future reference!
If you are going to be in the Sumpter area on Christmas Eve, you are invited to attend Christmas Eve Services…..
McEwen Bible Fellowship 4:00 pm.
Following the service, there will be fellowship, finger goods, and Christmas music and everyone is invited to bring a favorite snack to share!
St. Brigid’s in the Pines 5:00 pm.
Rev. Dick Thew will officiate. Coffee, cookies and fellowship afterward.
Thanks to Nancy Myers for the information!
You can follow her weekly Sumpter Column at the Record Courier here.
Not in the Christmas mood yet?
We would like to invite you to head into the mountains and join us as we bring in the holidays…….
Sumpter Style!
Spend this coming Saturday with us….December 8th, 2012…….
There will be Christmas fun all day long!
Start the day off with a beautiful drive into the mountains, browse an old-fashioned Christmas Bazaar at the Sumpter Municipal Museum, have lunch at one of our unique restaurants….then find a spot along Mill St. to watch the Christmas Parade…then stick around as we light the Sumpter Christmas Tree (followed by yummy holiday treats).
Just in case all this activity isn’t quite enough for you…..don’t forget to take a ride on the Sumpter Christmas Train!
To see the Sumpter Christmas Train schedule, visit: www.sumptervalleyrailroad.org
Of course…..if you would rather skip the fun and spend the day shopping at the mall……we’ll understand!
