The Country Curmudgeon: A labor of love
By Roy Hicks
Thursday, May 28, 2009 10:14 AM PDT
They came together from all over the state. From locations as close as Milton-Freewater to places as far away as Grants Pass, Oregon Elks gathered in their annual pilgrimage to the Meadowood Camp, situated about 30 miles east of Pendleton in the heavily wooded Blue Ridge Mountains.
For most of them, this was no small jaunt. From Ontario, this is a 170-mile trip. From more remote places like Gateway, Bend, Hillsboro, Keizer, Sweet Home and others, it was more like 300, 400 or, with Grants Pass, nearly 500 miles.
The Meadowood Camp is a special place for speech- and hearing-impaired youngsters. Here, these children from all over the country, perhaps 35 to 40 at a time, are treated to two 10-day encampments each summer during which they are tutored in such critical communications skills as corrective speech therapy, lip-reading and signing. At this the camp has been hugely successful for the last 45 years.
First opened as a small private organization in 1964, the 147-acre Meadowood Camp was adopted by the Oregon Elks as a state project about nine years later. Here these children with special needs are mentored and tutored in a rustic country setting most urban youngsters never have a chance to see or appreciate.
Every Memorial Day weekend (and the weeks both before and after), Elks from all over Oregon assemble to clean up and refurbish the facilities for the summer encampments, doing such things as cleaning, repairing and repainting the cabins and clearing the grounds of such hazards as pine trees fallen during the brutal winters, which are cut up into firewood for the several lodges. Needless to say, this annual project also requires considerable organization and coordination by other Elks, not to mention arranging housing and feeding for the volunteer workers.
This was my fourth year at Meadowood. As our regular readers know, I am intensely proud of being an Elk and, thus, involved in such charitable programs.
Despite all the intense work involved, this is far from being indentured servitude. It is truly a labor of love. Better, it’s a grand opportunity to meet and develop friendships with fellow Elks from all over the state. By day, the camp resounds to the snarl of gas-powered chain saws, the shrill whine of electric hand saws and the steady rap-rap-rap of hammers. But, by night, the dark woods are punctuated by the white pinpoints of Coleman lanterns, the orange glow of campfires and the sounds of serious partying after the daily work is done.
The Memorial Day weekend ends with an auction of donated goods, which usually nets about $10,000 or more for the benefit of the camp’s children in what might best be described as a spirited backwoods block party.
My job for the last three years has been as the No. 2 dishwasher for our 130 or so workers. On my first evening this year, I was met by a past exalted ruler from another lodge.
“So ... we got you again!” he said.
“Yup,” I nodded.
Actually, this is one of the best jobs in camp because the Meadowood weather is usually unpredictable and occasionally miserable with rain or even snow.
“Good to see you again,” this handsome gent said. “I take this to mean you’ve never yet learned to say no.”
“I guess not,” I shrugged, feeling somewhat sheepish.
“Well, that’s what makes you a good Elk,” he smiled.
That will do for this one and only lifetime, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Roy Hicks, a Payette resident, writes a weekly column for the Argus Observer. Comments or questions for Mr. Hicks can be directed to: Roy Hicks, Argus Observer Newsroom; 1160 S.W. Fourth St., Ontario, OR 97914
