TWST Blog

Reedsport, Douglas County, OR

Reedsport pulled out all the stops to welcome me to this quaint coastal community. We gathered 47-strong in the Reedsport Public Library. Participants came mostly from Reedsport, but also from the nearby communities of Gardiner, Winchester, and Coos Bay. Sherri Elliott, reporter for The Copy Cat news in Reedsport, and Kathleen Miller of the Coastal Douglas Art & Business Alliance served up a fabulous cake. It was made and donated by the Sugar Shack Bakery. If you look carefully you will see that each of the stops of this TWST is mapped out on the cake!

The Reedsport City Council and Mayor Keith Tymchuk (second from the right pictured below) interrupted their meeting to personally welcome me and the Meyer Memorial Trust to the City.

Reedsport, once a timber and fishing community, now relies on tourism to fuel the local economy. The community places high value on the education of its youth. Nonprofits provide scholarships to high schoolers entering college, there are volunteers-a-plenty for programs like SMART, and the library has a constant flow of traffic. Arts and culture programs are alive and well. The community is not without its challenges. The lack of living wage jobs that can support young families, long-time residents living out their senior years, and low-income folks with disability represent some of the population who are food insecure and in need of other support services. Food pantries, congregate meal programs, and community gardens work hard to meet these needs. Other agencies provide heating and rent assistance. In spite of these challenges, this community showed me a can-do, we-take-care-of-our-own attitude. Several residents mentioned the possibility a wood pellet mill opening and development of wave energy technology that could attract other economic growth. There are still signs of the old way of life in Reedsport. Pictured below is the now defunct railroad bridge that carried timber trains over the Umpqua River.

There are also signs of a new Reedsport. Melissa and Alexis are pictured below. Melissa has come back to Reedsport after spending most of her youth away from Oregon; Alexis is close to completing her BA in education. She hopes to become a teacher. Both live in and love Reedsport.

After the incredible welcome the residents gave me and a wonderful meeting, I was presented a HUGE basket of goodies and wares made and marketed from the artisans of Reedsport. I was so overwhelmed by this gesture of hospitality and thanks to MMT that I was left speechless, but pulled myself together and managed to thank everyone again before I headed out.

Good night Reedsport. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

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