The first two nights of my walkabout were spent in Mitchell, OR, a very small town of 160 people that sits down in a small canyon right along Highway 26. Mitchell's history resembles many small towns in the Northwest...a thriving community (with two houses of ill repute) that suddenly died when the logging industry went away. It's only alive now thanks to the tourists who visit the nearby Painted Hills. The town, although only two blocks long, has a very sharp division between the East Side and the West Side. The west is in a very visible state of decline, while the east side looks healthy. The reason, according the Hugh, a big bear of a man who owns the gas station, is because he invested money in land and businesses on the east side to bring up the quality of his hometown, which he loves. He took over the Little Pine Cafe and the Oregon Hotel, and built the gas station right across the street. While others now own the first two businesses, Hugh still owns the very unique gas station.
You see, this may be the only gas station anywhere that has its own resident bear. Henry the Bear, a full grown black bear, is the town's most famous resident and lives in a large cage at the station. If you every need gas in Mitchell, be sure and stop to see Henry and Hugh...you may find it difficult to tell them apart.
I stayed in the Oregon Hotel for two nights...for the first night I was alone except for Laura, the hotel's new owner, and her three kids. Two more guests showed up the next night. When I first arrived, I remarked that the town has no cell or Internet service. Laura's reply..."Welcome to the Twilight Zone." She was more right than she knew. I gathered from the pictures on the wall that the Oregon Hotel has been around for many, many years...probably close to 100.
I asked if the hotel had a TV so I could watch Monday Night Football. My room on the 2nd floor, she replied, didn't have a TV, but I could watch it in a nearby room which was not made up. So I sat on an unmade bed and watched the game, until it became boring. When I went to my room, I found that Laura had run a power cord from across the hall into my room so I could have heat from a small portable heater. There was a light stand on my bed with a small lamp equipped with a 25W bulb. Overhead was a bare yellow bulb. The small reading lamp didn't work.
I looked for a socket to plug in my laptop so I could work on photos and do some writing. I quickly found that there was only one outlet in my room...and it didn't work. It was where the table lamp was plugged in. So, in order to read, I had to unplug the heater. Then I had to take the shade off the lamp so the 25W bulb could provide enough light. Forget the computer.
Out of curiosity, I looked in all the rooms and found a distinct lack of wall plugs. I did find one that worked in another room with a small desk that I could use for my computer, which I did for a little while. In truth, my life was spread across three rooms on that first night. As for sleeping, I actually did very well.
On the second night, I couldn't spread out as there were two new guests. I stayed in my room and read until I fell asleep. During the night, I know I heard snoring and other such nighttime sounds. As we all shared a bathroom, I always new when someone was using it. Sound was a major problem here. I was glad to leave, but still, strangely delighted for the experience.
By the way, I did have three meals at the Little Pine Cafe and enjoyed them all. They treated me well. In fact, all the people I met in Mitchell were friendly and accommodating. They all had a penchant for telling me their life stories...even though I didn't ask. Only Henry maintained a very dignified silence.
On Wednesday, I was back in the real world with cell phone and Internet connections. It felt weird to emerge from this small town and all its quirks back into our modern world. I hope the town will survive. And it just might...according to one of the ladies at the Little Pine, they may have cell service in a year.
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