Visit to Weston…

It’s been a few weeks since I published an article here but time flies. I’m sure many of you have been busy preparing for winter too. I’ve been helping fix things around this RV park along with my regular stuff. So far I fixed a commercial washer, fixed a 47″ TV, fixed a workers boom box, worked on a really old electric range and solved the problem with it (no power to the outlet to the stove), and spent a great deal of time working on a newer front loading washer. That one has a computer board and I was trying to fix it rather than just replace it, no such luck. Had to admit defeat and just today ordered a used brain board for it.

And of course I finished installing the gas furnace hardware as it’s been down in the low 20’s F here for a few nights and I needed it. Only thing left on it was to install the screws that I hadn’t gotten to. Would have worked even without those but wanted to get it done. And none too soon because the next night got down to 22 F.

We have had a cold snap here in the Walla Walla Valley and as I said, it was getting into the low 20’s F every night. That lasted for 4 days and it’s just let up so tonight will be a bit more comfortable at 26 F. I haven’t stayed where it would get cold during the day, and of course even colder at night, for years so my plan on staying here until Dec. 2nd is a relearning experience on cold weather camping. This ’02 Journey is well made and well insulated, like it has dual pane windows, 4″ of foam insulation in the ceiling, insulation under the floor, and a fresh water tank in it’s own insulated box so it’s pretty comfortable. My only worry so far has been the hassle of dumping the tanks. But this Thursday it’ll be very warm during the day so I’ll do it then. And add water to the tank at the same time.

I’ve scored an electric oil heater (it was next to the RV park’s trash bin) and it’s doing the most work keeping the front of the RV warm under those large front windows, than I have 4 other electric heaters scattered around the house, along with the heat pump which I found today still heats even down to 32 F (they generally won’t heat when ambient is 40 F or below) so that’s handy. The 50 amp service here (100 amp total) has been very reliable so far. And last but not least, I have the working gas furnace now. Which surprised me that just one night leaving it set ‘On’ and a thermostat setting of 72 F sort of drained nearly 1/4 tank of propane. I’m now down to 1/4 tank so I’ll be using it less and less. I don’t need gas for much usually, just occasionally for the water heater (it has an electrical heating element) and for everyday cooking. I’ve only been filling the tank once per year…this year looks like twice. I was planning on a refill mid-November and it’s not all that expensive here locally, just $2.09/gallon, it’s just a hassle to break camp to drive and get filled.

The cold snap seems to be over as the prediction for the next 10 days look pretty nice. Just flirting with freezing at night. Sunshine most days with 50 F temps. Turns out tonight is the last of it for a while, getting down to 26 F. Then it hovers near 40 and above at night into mid-November. Yeah, I can make it to December easily enough.

So that’s the news from here, just hanging out going into old town occasionally for Chinese food, running up to Washington for shopping once a week, working on projects, and so far so good NO COVID in any of my family! Are we lucky? Or is it because we were all early adopters of the CDC guidelines regarding masks? I don’t know. I wish for all of my readers to have a speedy recovery if you or yours catches it.

And now, on to a little trip I made south of Milton Freewater a few miles…

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There is a small town south of Milton Freewater named Weston that’s got a frozen food factory as it’s main employer I believe and I thought I’d go visit the town. Not for frozen foods but just to look around.

It’s the 2nd oldest town in Umatilla county Oregon. Incorporated in 1878! I wanted to visit the town to see what’s up with it as I keep seeing these two homes for sale there that are very economical for their size and looks so I wanted to visit them too. This first shot is of a pond just a bit lower then the frozen food plant. I wonder what that’s about? Certainly man made. They’re oxygenating it too. Might be the sewage treatment plant pond? But it’s way bigger than the typical sewage pond for such a small town.

Here’s the plant…overlooks the pond.

Well, that’s going to remain a mystery. Driving around looking at the old houses and this one struck me as being pretty old. On a steep hill.

As I drove along on the upper roads at the edge of town, I saw many older houses that had been restored. Pretty cool of them because I’ve been in small towns like this where nearly all of the older houses were ramshackled. If I turned around, that’s when I could see how high I am over the town. It’s there nestled in the valley and sprung up on either side of the creek.

While I was driving around up here in the hills above Weston, I spied the two homes I’d seen for sale here. Neither one of them would work for me. The driveways were too steep in both cases and the one that looked from the pictures I saw like my RV would fit, wouldn’t. Just not enough room for it.

So I kept driving around looking at the older homes as the carpentry interests me.

Here’s one on flat ground with an excellent view overlooking the valley that Weston is in. A typical eastern Oregon farm house that is now on the edge of town. Could be a modern replica but I sort of doubt it. Well cared for, refurbished, rebuilt by the looks of it based on the land it’s on, the mature trees, the neighbors house, the out buildings not shown in this picture.

After a short tour of the outskirts of town in the upper hills, winding back and forth as the serpentine road made it’s way down into the valley, I ended up in old town. Pretty empty on an early October weekday afternoon.

Parked in one of these angled parking spaces. Kinda strange the town has such wide streets considering how old of a town it is.

Here’s one of those small librarys you often see in small towns. Closed so I couldn’t check its insides out. Kinda quaint ain’t it?

And this old building houses the Marshall’s headquarters (who calls them the Marshal anymore? Well, here I guess) and town hall. So I went inside the town hall section.

And here we are in town hall offices. There was someone inside who put her mask on when I came in (was already wearing mine), and welcomed me to take as many pictures as I wanted. Nice, well cared for woodwork. Here’s where you’d come to pay your utilities and city taxes. Apply for a business license. Yell at the mayor. That sort of place.

And across the street…looks like this town really liked bricks back in the day. Must be a clay deposit nearby. Or that red dirt. Iron oxide dirt. Hmm, is brick made with clay or just red mud that’s fired so it’s hard? Guess we’ll never know.

Then I wandered back past the library towards the one place in downtown that looked like it might have a cappuccino. First though I stopped and took this picture of Pine Creek that passes through town. Looks fairly well captured now, not much evidence of any flooding near by it’s stream bed. Quick check online didn’t reveal much about Pine Creek…can’t tell where it ends up. But there was a huge flood here on June 6th, 1906. Did much damage, destroyed bridges, made a 100 foot wide river through town. But I couldn’t find where the creek ends up? The article from the big flood says it reached the Columbia but does it become the Walla Walla river first? These days though the creek might all be captured by that holding pond for the frozen food companies use. Anyway, here’s a bit of history of the town: Weston, OR

And there’s this if you don’t care to follow that link: “History of Umatilla County by Parsons 1902 (Weston). Nestled among the hills on the banks of Pine creek, in the richest, healthiest and most picturesque portion of Umatilla county, lies the beautiful little city of Weston, characterized for its educational advantages and achievements, wholesale moral atmosphere and social purity.”

How ’bout that last line? “Social Purity”? What’s that mean? Aww, I found it on Google: Social Purity – The social purity movement was a late 19th-century social movement that sought to abolish prostitution and other sexual activities that were considered immoral according to Christian morality. They ruin all the fun.

By the looks of it, the town did their best to try to capture the creek after that. But now we know that the reason they rage wildly and over top their banks is precisely because they’ve been contained by channeling cement works such as these.

Anyway, here’s where I was heading. Just a step from the creek and a few feet from where I’d parked my car to begin my visit. The Central Station Cafe.

Quite a few employees here. Counted 5. But there was a shift change and they scattered, mostly to go outside to smoke and talk. This used to be a bar, built in the 1800’s and that’s the dance floor area.

They serve food and by the looks of the menu, good food. But no soup on this weekday afternoon. I’d missed the Taco soup they’d had on the weekend. Dammit. And they don’t have cappuccino either. No espresso machine. And their regular coffee was burnt so I had them make a new pot for me and afterwards enjoyed a half hour reading the local paper and drinking the fresh cup of coffee they made. I guess my tastes are too sophisticated or something, because the local coffee brand they sell that the waitress talked up just wasn’t very good. Drinkable, but not something I’d buy.

After that, it was around 3 pm so I wander over to the local downtown bar/restaurant. I wasn’t all that hungry so passed on any food, but did take a look around. They have all these old timey knickknacks and figurines if’n yer into that kind of thing. In the restaurant part, so spent a minute checking it out and taking pics.

Then I wandered into the bar portion of the building. Big place. Old too by the looks of the woodwork. But mostly refurbished so someone is trying their best to create a yuppie mecca if it’s still called that.

And here’s the bar. Gotta say, that bartender was/is gorgeous. Yowza. Had me a PBR and afterwards spent a little time touring the lower part of the town. Down where the creek would have flooded out all the outhouses back in aught 6. That’s something we rarely have to worry about these days when a small town floods. Sewage everywhere.

Over a century after the flood came down this street. Looks okay now…

Well, that was my visit to Weston, Oregon. Hope you enjoyed the travel to a place with only 600 odd residents in the middle of nowhere that only aliens from outer space visit, probably.

Thanks for reading!!