We spent Labor Day doing what we like best: driving into the mountains and hiking to a remote lake. The wild huckleberries and blueberries at Vivian Lake were ripe, and there was a hint of fall in the crisp dry air and brilliant blue sky. And on the way back, we made the obligatory refreshment stop in Oakridge. For years, that was at the DQ, right on Hwy. 58. Now that the kids are gone and our tastes have changed, we meander into the mostly boarded-up downtown to the recently-opened Brewer’s Union Local 180, for authentic English-style beer from their own casks and excellent food. And of course, the Curbside Classics that line the side streets.
Since the lumber mills closed decades ago, Oakridge has fallen into a slumber. And it’s not the only one: there are dozens of former mill towns all over Oregon that have never revived since the 1981 recession, which permanently altered the whole timber industry. They can be a bit depressing, like a miniature Detroit where the Big Three totally shut down. But a few hardy souls like some artists and the owners of this Pub are starting to move into the empty storefronts. And they’re a bonanza of old car spotting, if you’re not a timid sort. I stick to the “nice ” side of the tracks; the other side has a vast run-down trailer park with quite the collection of vehicles, but I didn’t have the nerve to get out and start shooting. Maybe another time.
Anyway, one of these has been a prior CC, and others may be worthy of that in the future, but in the meanwhile, enjoy some of the vintage roadside attractions of Oakridge, including my favorite, below:
A-W-E-S-O-M-E. Save the fact that many of the examples you posted are not all that rusty (if at all) it brought back memories of the mid 80s in rural Ohio, where I was born and raised. I was only about 8 yrs old when Regan was relected and I was far more interested in the cars that pulled up to our little Catholic church than the words that were being preached inside. Thanks for the memories, Paul.
Thanks for the blast from the past. I really enjoy the CC series. As a former Eugenian I know where Vivian Lake (I won’t post GPS coordinates) is as well as good old Oakridge. A.K.A “America’s most timber dependent town” back in the day. It’s good to hear that a few businesses are moving back in. Last time I was there it did look like a miniature Detroit/Cleveland/Youngstown…insert rustbelt town of your choice here _________. I used to drive Hwy 58 over to US97 down to Klamath Falls each week for business and would stop in Oakridge for “refreshments” on my way back. Wasn’t anything like a micro-brewery there then. Lot’s of Oly or Hamms though.
Btw, all the Hamm’s-branded items like the signs and little cartoonish bear statues in different poses seemed to have ended-up in a place called Sam’s Bar in downtown Hiroshima Japan!
Ahhh! The infamous “Collonade” sedans and coupes from good ol’ GM! Pillared “hardtops” is what they were. Those were “mid-size” cars, too! Those things are larger and probably heavier than my ’04 Impala, too. Those old hogs I do not miss. Yes, the domestic auto industry began to lose it’s way when these things were initially designed, not when they hit the showrooms. Sad, sad, sad.
I never understood that fad. I mean, either it’s a hardtop, or it’s not. A pillared hardtop is simply just another sedan. Like the athletic sport of racewalking. I mean, either you walk, or you run. If you walk any faster, you are running. On the other hand, the usual joke on racewalking is that it’s like a competition on who can whisper the loudest. I mean, Collanade sedans… Whatever will they think of next?
If you ever wind up in Deliverance country here in Georgia, you will find a large percentage of cars that are older than your son.
It’s a part of a world where the ‘school bus’ becomes the ‘church bus’. Where cold a/c in a car is never a given and the word ‘preventive maintenance’ includes copious levels of duct tape, a visit to the junkyard, and a staple gun.
This is in no way a diss…it looks like most of Oklahoma its fleet.
Oh shucks…… memory is fuzzy. I-5 to 58 to US 97 or the opposite direction to bypass many of those long grades on I-5 down along the southern Oregon and northern California border area when trucking north/south.
Never did time the trip, just followed “gut feeling” but it seemed to be the best route, especially when hauling those HUGE paper rolls and weight was nudging the 40 ton mark.
Plod plod plod….. up the hill and plod plod plod in 2nd or 3rd gear down the hill. Smelling the brakes and wondering, ever-wondering if a minor defect or whatever would send the rig obeying gravity’s law, unable to counter it with your onboard man-made device(s).
The Jake brake was a blessing and sounded kinda pretty on a dark night but a slippery road was another ball game.
Truckers using jake brakes locally, away from the long grades, in town and on local roads, on and off-ramps etc….. ridiculed them. The brake savings is MINUTE and their use is to sate some childish urge to annoy the populace or to shout “look/listen at/to me I am a cool trucker, y’all” or some other mental defect.
Urge local authorities to ban jake (compression) brake use in town UNLESS there IS a long steep downgrade in your area and that is relatively rare.
SO many slack-jowled yokels manipulating their “large cars” across the land but they are providing a MUCH needed service and the pay for many is far below the services they provide what with so many hands reaching into the pockets of those involved in trucking with the drivers the most powerless (least influential) of those involved in moving the goods, food, everything that keeps the USA functioning.
Okay……….
Mercury Cyclone…. high school chap had the Torino version with the 390 and auto tranny.
Not a shabby looking vehicle but as typical for Ford back then was a dawg (dog?).
Laughable to watch it lose to a 383 Roadrunner and lagging far behind a 440 GTX but it did whip my ’65 Bug.
But my 2 bucks of gas kept me propelled for an entire weekend of cruising.
Took a couple decades to get over the shame, however, of the presence of that damn roof rack atop the bug the old man just insisted upon having.
Nowadays Oakridge is on the map for mountain biking, with lots of good trails and the “Mountain Bike Oregon” weekend events. I keep meaning to go down there and check out the trails but the dry weather and free childcare keep me riding in Bend instead. While it’s heavily gentrified now, the desert climate preserves all sorts of interesting stuff in and around Bend. The top find was a big old British car that was either an Armstrong Siddely or Daimler Majestic Major in a newish subdivision.
I’ve done a few rides around Oakridge, it’s worth the drive. I usually hit the A&W drive-in, surprised it didn’t get a mention. Love the pic of the old Jag, gorgeous car.
I’m from Pittsburgh, and have lived all over the Northeast from Metro NYC to Vermont to Syracuse with helpings of Detroit and Chicago thrown in. Been to Spokane twice. Would move there tomorrow if not for being tethered – physically and emotionally – to Steelers Country.
See the picture I’m painting?
Amazing how the western climates…and lack of salt…make such a difference. ANY of these rides would make primo restoration material here in the Rust Belt.
interesting. With each passing day, America’s stock of cars comes to resemble those in Cuba. Pretty soon you’ll be seeing classic cars that are kept running by swapping their dead mills for Chinese tractor engines.
Difference here, is that most of the old cars in Cuba seem to actually be driven … most of the ones in Paul’s pics don’t seem like they have moved in a coon’s age.
Loved the series 3100 Chevy PU. And what im purty sure an XJ6
Not an XJ6. Predecessor – either a 420G or (more likely) a Mk X.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LW1ZN3eEKoK28_wgiTApdA
You might want to call that Oakridge, OR (state abbreviation). The first thing I think about is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Ridge,_Tennessee aka the secret city and it is a small town but it’s right next to me here in East TN.
I want that Cyclone.