Powers VFW Commander Daniel Adams, left, relaxes on the porch of Post 6102 with son Jaxon, Quartermaster Paul Walter and canine pal Dakota. With broad community support, VFW members are rescuing the historic building.

Powers rallies to reclaim decaying VWF hall

March 2019

POWERS – Some towns might say the Powers VFW hall isn’t worth saving. In some towns, the swaybacked floor, the cracking walls, the rotten siding and the antiquated wiring might look like an invitation to a bulldozer.

Powers, population 700ish, isn’t one of those towns.

“This is a place where we’re all accustomed to coming together and solving problems,” said VFW Commander Daniel Adams.

Instead of demolition, the hall is undergoing a revival, courtesy of volunteers who cherish it as a community hub. Help is coming from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund, which provided $10,000 during the tribe’s annual “Grant Week.”

Adams, a veteran of two tours in Iraq, moved to town two years ago and went looking for comrades. At the Smith & Bern Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6102, he encountered a once-vibrant group that had dwindled as its members aged and died. He quickly found himself in charge.

“They said, ‘Here’s the hat, you’re the commander.’ ”

Adams and the post’s quartermaster, fellow Iraq veteran Paul Walter, inherited a crisis along with their hats. The former church that housed the VFW was besieged by water.  The historic building was all but abandoned.

“It’s hard to have an active post when it’s crumbling,” said Phillip Wolcott, a Vietnam-era veteran and former post commander.

The building sits in a soggy depression below street grade. Walls have cracked as the foundation has settled. Some of the floor joists rest directly on damp ground, and the vintage hardwood floor droops several inches in the middle.

But Powers wasn’t ready to give up on the hall. Many older residents remember worshipping there when it was the Church of the Open Bible.

People rallied. One of the first was Nan MacDonald, who recalls, “The day I opened the doors and started cleaning, the people of this town started coming.”

Since then, volunteers have cleaned and painted the building. A water-damaged wall is getting new framing and siding. A ditch has been dug around the building to divert water. An Eagle Scout project provided a drain field.

The big work remains to be done. Lifting the floor and walls requires tunneling under the building. And the original “knob and tube” wiring must go.

Jackie Chambers, the Coquille Tribal Community Fund’s administrator, is excited to help.

“The first time I met with Daniel and Paul, I could tell that they had the drive and desire to make sure this project does not slip through the cracks,” she said. “This building houses so much in such a small town. Getting it renovated and safe will have a big impact.”

Along with the Coquille Tribe, the post has received support from the Powers Alumni Association and the Tour de Fronds bicycle event. The town is exploring other grant opportunities. (Want to help? Visit “Friends of Smith & Bern” on Facebook.)

As the building slowly revives, it is reclaiming its role in the community. It houses the local food pantry, which attracts more than 150 people twice each month. From April through December, a “barter market” lets people sell or trade produce and crafts. A scout troop and hunter safety classes meet in the building.

“This is community that’s being built,” Adams said. “It’s beautiful.”

About the grants

The Powers VFW was one of four historic preservation projects receiving grants from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund during its 2019 Grant Week, Feb. 23 to March 1. The others were the Bandon Historical Society Museum ($2,500), the Curry County Historical Society ($1,500), and the South Umpqua Historical Society ($5,000).

Altogether, the tribal fund awarded $261,762 to 49 community organizations and programs.

With Tribal help, tiny church warms homeless

James Ives displays the snug accommodations at the Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church’s warming center. A $1,110 grant from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund is enough to keep the center operating for a year.

March 2019

LAKESIDE – On any given Sunday, fielding a softball team might be a stretch for Lakeside’s Community Presbyterian Church. Yet the tiny congregation (membership 12) is hitting home runs in mercy and charity.

Feed the hungry? Check.

Clothe the naked? You bet.

Shelter the homeless? They’re on it.

Lakeside Presbyterian was one of 49 community groups and agencies receiving grants in 2019 from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund. The church’s warming center for the homeless was awarded the year’s smallest grant. It asked for and received just $1,110 to stay open for another year.

“We don’t need any more money than that,” explained church Elder James Ives, who leads the project.

The warming center runs on a cheerful shoestring. When the local forecast calls for a freeze, Ives alerts a crew of church members and community volunteers. Word also goes out to nearby homeless camps.

In the evening, guests stash their personal belongings in a locked closet. Dinner is served at 8 p.m., courtesy of volunteers from another Lakeside church.

The accommodations are sparse but serviceable: eight narrow mattresses on the church floor, with blankets and clean linens. Kennel crates are available for dogs. A volunteer security detail keeps watch all night, and more volunteers serve breakfast at 7 a.m.

“The community made it happen,” Ives said. “All the church did was open our doors.”

The warming center serves a genuine need. The recent Point-In-Time Homeless Count found 35 people living rough in the Lakeside area.

“There are quite a few, but they’re hidden,” Ives said. “They’re in the woods.”

Along with cold-weather shelter, the church offers coats, clothing, backpacks, blankets and flashlights to those in need. Meal packets are another ministry of Lakeside Presbyterian.

On Super Bowl Sunday, a dozen volunteers gathered after church to load plastic zipper bags with non-perishable, ready-to-eat foods. Working in an assembly line, they stuffed 100 bags in 20 minutes, leaving plenty of time to catch the game.  Ives reminded each volunteer to take a couple of packets to share with homeless people they meet on the street.

“The partnership between this church and the community is impressive,” said Jackie Chambers, who administers the Coquille Tribal fund. “They’re making a huge difference in people’s lives, and our tribe is proud to help.”

About the grants

The Coquille Tribal Community Fund is distributing $261,720 to 49 community groups and agencies during its 2019 Grant Week, Feb. 23 through March 1.

Four of the grantees, including the Lakeside warming center, were in the fund’s Public Safety category. The others were Charleston Fishing Families ($5,000), Court Appointed Special Advocates ($5,000), and the Sumner Rural Fire Protection District ($6,127).

Since its launch in 2001, the fund has distributed $6.4 million.

Tribe helps actors escape dank dressing rooms

March 2019

Jeanne Woods, who chairs the Liberty Theatre restoration project, reveals a subterranean passageway to the theater’s orchestra pit.

NORTH BEND – Amateur actor Tim Novotny’s worst theatrical moment came about 10 years ago, in a production of “Anything Goes.”

As the lights came up, Novotny stood alone on the Liberty Theatre stage in North Bend.  Dressed only in boxer shorts, he waited for another cast member’s entrance.

And waited.

He whistled to kill time.

And waited some more.

Finally, from somewhere beneath the stage, Novotny and the audience heard the director shout, “MOVE!” – followed by frantic stomping as the tardy actor pounded up the stairs.

Subterranean dressing rooms and a creaky, narrow staircase are next on the renovation agenda for the troupe that owns the Liberty. Having delighted audiences by upgrading the playhouse’s auditorium, lobby and restrooms, Little Theatre on the Bay now aims to make life easier for its performers.

Jeanne Woods, LTOB’s restoration chairperson, proudly proclaims:

“There will be no stairs.”

As of early 2019, LTOB had raised about $330,000 toward the $500,000 cost of the restoration’s Phase IV. That included a $5,000 boost from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund. The grant was one of 49 that were awarded during the Tribe’s 2019 “Grant Week,” Feb. 23-March 1.

“This historic gem is a place that everyone should experience,” said Tribal Fund Administrator Jackie Chambers. “The Coquille Tribe is happy to be able to support this renovation and support arts in our community.”

The Liberty’s restoration has seven phases. The first phase restored the exterior. The second bought new seats and accessible restrooms. Phase III, now in progress, upgrades the lobby. After that, Phase IV will install a new air-flow system along with dressing rooms and a set construction area – all at stage level.

Performers will welcome the change. Novotny described the current accommodations as “a little cold, a little dank.” Amateur thespians are used to making do, but he knows older performers who retired from the Liberty’s stage for fear of getting sick.

“We’re just so thankful to the community and the Coquille Tribe for stepping forward,” he said. “It really does inspire us to keep doing what we’re doing.”

The Liberty’s offstage area is a crazy quilt of improvised spaces. When a show needs a pit orchestra, the musicians must descend the stairs, then climb a stepladder and creep through a hatchway.

During a backstage tour, Woods displayed what is jokingly called, “The Star’s Dressing Room.” It’s a triangular nook, maybe seven feet across at the wide end, furnished with a mop sink. Situated just offstage, it allows a quick costume change without a trip underground.

LTOB needs to raise another $170,000 in the next year to finish Phase IV. Woods describes that goal as “totally doable,” thanks to rising community enthusiasm.

“The buzz is out there,” she said. “We only have a few more phases after this, and we’re cooking right along.”

Phase V will upgrade sound and lighting. Phase VI will add a children’s program space. The final phase will restore the original neon sign and Moorish domes.

LTOB is selling “naming rights” for features such as seats, windows and inscribed tiles. Prices range from $250 on up to $250,000 to endow the stage itself.  Woods hopes a corporate sponsor will grab that last item.

“I need a sugar daddy,” she said.

Prospective sugar daddies (and less ambitious donors) can learn more at http://thelibertytheatre.org.

About the grants

Little Theatre on the Bay was one of five arts organizations receiving Coquille Tribal grants in 2019.  The otherswere the Clambake Music Festival ($3,000), Coos Art Museum ($3,500), Bandon Showcase ($1,500) and Jackson County’s Britt Festival ($2,000).

Altogether, 49 organizations received $261,720 during 2019’s Grant Week, bringing the tribal fund to a total of $6.4 million since 2001. Mill Casino revenue pays for the fund.

Jeanne Woods, who chairs the Liberty Theatre restoration project, reveals the subterranean passageway to the theater’s orchestra pit.