Alex Paul
Hot weather, hot music and hot sales combined to make the Oregon Jamboree XII a success on several fronts.
Going into the event with enough income to cover its expenses, the event sailed smoothly through its three-day run, as almost 9,000 fans basked in 90-degree weather on Saturday and nearly as many enjoyed the final acts on Sunday.
They came to hear Clint Black, Neal McCoy, Pam Tillis, Collin Raye, Clay Walker and Brad Paisley, among others, and to be told by their favorite artists that ?Oregon is beautiful…one of the prettiest places in the country? time and again.
Linda Clem of Coos Bay may be a typical Oregon Jamboree fan. The 1961 SHHS graduate dressed in her finest country western garb for her first visit and said she?s hooked.
?Collin Raye was the best,? the former Linda McElroy said. ?He?s a Christian and I love that song he did?Glory, Glory Alleluia. I didn?t realize I knew so many of his songs.?
Clem, a school teacher at Marshfield High, said her interest in the Jamboree was piqued after seeing Lonesome Road at the Philomath Rodeo.
For others, including the entertainers, the event was a homecoming of sorts. Albany?s Alexis, now 14, started singing at the Jamboree when she was just eight years old. She made her fourth appearance at the event on Saturday to a warm reception.
For Sweet Home?s own version of an up and coming singer, Taylor Thorpe had her dream come true when she received an autograph and had her photo taken with the talented up and coming singer.
David Wesling and his wife, Linda, of Grants Pass, spent some of the Jamboree enjoying the shade of the huge tent canopies at the rear of the grounds. But, thanks to two huge screens, the couple never missed any of the action.
?Originally, we had family living in this area, so we would visit and come to the Jamboree,? Linda said. ?It?s great, we love the new video screens. It really makes it nice.?
The Weslings said Collin Raye was a favorite because ?he?s so down home.?
Retired, the couple enjoy volunteering at their local hospital. In fact, Mrs. Wesling is in charge of training the more than 200 active volunteers there, so she understands the commitment made by the 400 Jamboree volunteers.
Laura Crumley is a volunteer at the Jamboree, but not from Sweet Home. She lives in Yuba City, Calif., and volunteers with the Elite Universal Security team that has helped at the Jamboree for many years.
?I like country music and I like people,? said Crumley as she took a couple minutes off duty to enjoy dinner prepared by the Thriftway staff. ?There?s very rarely any trouble at the Jamboree. It?s very easy going. After the first day, when people know how we want things, it flows.?
This was Crumley?s fourth Jamboree. She enjoyed Clay Walker?s show even though he had trouble with a new sound system that wasn?t appreciated by many patrons. Despite his technical problems, Walker was a hit and said of Oregon, ?We usually travel at night but we try to always come through Oregon during the daytime so we can enjoy this beautiful state.?
As the music blared over huge loud speakers, the many stage hands who work long hours to get equipment onto and off the stage, caught rest as best they could.
The cool shade under the stage soon became a makeshift rest spot for many, whose exhaustion overcame the noise as they drifted off for a nap.
Volunteers Jodi and Everett Culbertson, from Hawaii, but moving to San Diego, caught a cat nap Saturday afternoon.
Everett is in the Navy and is transferring as a fire control specialist from a destroyer to a cruiser.
?We have family here,? his wife said. ?We?re just visiting and on leave. It?s fun and we get to see lots of people.?
The couple was looking forward to seeing Brad Paisley on Sunday evening but few acts could compare to Neal McCoy?s on Saturday evening.
High-energy and a crowd pleaser, McCoy left the stage and worked the crowd.
During his show, Sweet Home?s favorite first citizen, Mollie Andrews presented the Texas entertainer with a huge birthday cake ? half chocolate and half vanilla?in honor of his 46th birthday.
The cake was decorated with record albums and tapes of Elvis Presley, one of McCoy?s favorite artists.
Event director Peter LaPonte arranged for Andrews to make the presentation on stage. Her efforts were rewarded with a kiss on the cheek from McCoy.
During his show, McCoy took a cell phone from a female patron, whose husband was fighting a wildfire. ?She?s looking really good tonight,? McCoy told the firefighter as the crowd broke out in laughter.
McCoy also earned huge applause when he dedicated a song ?I?m Your Biggest Fan? to all veterans and to all current service men and women around the world.
If Jamboree director Peter LaPonte wasn?t cruising the grounds on a mini-bike, he was hoofing it, checking on every aspect of the event in front and behind the stage. Sunday afternoon, he took a moment to reflect on his sixth event and was pleased.
?It?s a home run,? LaPonte said. ?It?s nice, when you work hard all year and only have three days to show what you?ve been doing?that it works.?
LaPonte said the event was successful financially but also in terms of reaching the production level he set as a target.
?We got a new sound system last year and we hit about 90 percent ? I think we hit it 100 percent,? LaPonte said. ?I don?t think any festival in the state has better quality production, plus it?s a beautiful venue with the bridge and that full moon helps.?
LaPonte said he would like to improve Jamboree signage throughout the community for next year?s event.
He said vendors reported good sales and lots of foot traffic.
LaPonte was confident that advance ticket sales were at or ahead of last year, even before there is a hint of a talent schedule.
Barry Fuller, head of camping, said incidents were mild considering there are now more than 1,000 camping sites, scattered through 12 areas around the community.
?We?re a little short of camp hosts, so if anyone is interested, contact us for next year,? he said.
Complaints this year were mostly about a few campers wanting to party too long into the wee hours of the morning.
?Last year, we added about 300 sites because we booked Alan Jackson and we filled them again this year,? Fuller said. ?It will take a little while to educate the new campers as to how we like to do things. Next year will be better.?
Veteran Coreen Melcher said beer garden sales were strong, paying for expenses the first night.
?We have such excellent volunteers here, they do such a great job,? she said. ?We have a waiting list of people who want to help here.?
Bud Lite was the hands-down favorite, although 30-something adults also enjoyed the microbrews.
?We had a guy here last night who was willing to pay $100 for one of our yellow beer garden staff shirts, but we told him we use them every year,? Melcher said.
Patrons have learned they shouldn?t stand or lay in one place too long or Judy Market?s clean team might pick them up.
Markert, who this year had a co-supervisor daughter Sheila Keenon, said the confetti shot from air canons, created a challenge, but not something they couldn?t overcome.
?It stuck to our gloves and tools,? said Markert, who has volunteered at the event since the beginning.
?We just got down on our hands and knees and started scooping it up,? she said. Crews worked until after midnight Saturday and came back Sunday armed with new tools to attack the problem ? rakes.
Markert was impressed with Neal McCoy, who took time after his show to personally thank the staff and volunteers back stage.
?He shook everybody?s hand and thanked them,? she said.
Markert said her team?s goal was simply ?Get her done.?
Lt. Richard Avery of Elite Universal Security, was wrapping up his fifth year on duty here and said his company loves coming to the Jamboree.
?Every year is different but we adapt to the new rules,? Lt. Avery said. ?The crowds here are very courteous and the event staff and volunteers are great to work with.?
SHPD?s Chief Bob Burford echoed Avery?s comments, noting that the Jamboree offers his officers a chance to meet townspeople on a friendly basis.
?Most of the year, we are called to incidents that need dealt with,? Chief Burford said. ?Here, the officers can take time to just talk to people, which is why most of them went into law enforcement work to begin with.?
Warm temperatures led to a few beer garden incidents, but Chief Burford said, the volunteers are so good at their work, they usually have the incident under control quickly or ready for the SHPD officers to shuffle out the gate.
?There are always a few people who need to be removed from the grounds,? Chief Burford said.
Paul Ingram at the Information/Lost and Found Booth, showed patrons six or eight sunglasses when they came looking for lost specs, and had a display of cellular phones as well.
?I think the type of people we have here is really shown last night when someone found Joel Care?s wedding ring, and it?s beautiful, with six diamonds, and turned it in to us,? Ingram said. ?That says a lot about folks.?
The booth was busy all weekend, including passing out hundreds of questionnaires and suggestion slips for patrons to offer comments about next year?s event.
Nearby, at the SHHS activity gym, the Sweet Home beautification committee was busy hosting the second annual Arts and Crafts Fair.
This year?s event was greatly expanded over the initial year and included numerous craft demonstrations throughout the weekend.
Saturday afternoon, Nadra Tabor, was demonstrating log cabin quilting, while her sister, Nancy Phelps of Klamath Falls, was demonstrating tatting.
Tabor said she began quilting 11 years ago when she moved to Sweet Home. Her first lessons were from Bonnie Putnam.
Nearby, Don Ross was putting the finishing touches on an oil painting. Ross said he was enjoying the event.
?It?s very entertaining, and it?s a neat part of Sweet Home,? Ross said. ?People are commenting about the mixed bag of crafts here. It seems to be very popular, although we could use a few more people coming through.?
Steve Boy of Albany was busy teaching youngsters, including Joel Newburg, 10, of Buxton, how to build a birdhouse.
Retired after 38 years at Wah Chang, Boyce said he has been working with the bird houses for eight years.
?There used to be a whole group of us who did it but they?ve kind of fallen away, but I?m still doing it,? Boyce said. ?It?s fun working with the kids, especially the little ones.?
Rick Strawn ventured to the event from Fruitland, Idaho. Strawn imports rock from northern India and then etches designs into it.
?I use a micro sand blasting system to raise the initial images and then hand carve from there,? Strawn said. ?The soreness of my hands dictates the price of the piece.?
Strawn said that although he was impressed by the spirit of the fair, he was disappointed by the location of the Arts and Crafts area.
?I had expected to be in the main area, where there would be more traffic,? he said. ?This is a job for me, how I make my living.?
Sportsman?s Holiday and Rodeo Court queens and princesses distributed programs and welcomed thousands of guests into the community.
?She is so pretty,? a lady commented as she walked by Rodeo Queen Teri Rush.
A youngster was enamored by Sportsman?s Holiday Queen Stephanie Kragness, who took time to make the young lady feel extra special.
Perhaps popular Pam Tillis reflected the attitude of all attending the event, entertainers, volunteers and patrons when she said, ?We?d love to come back here…we?ll work for Chiclets? if you?ll promise to take us fishin?.?
The Oregon Jamboree in Sweet Home is sponsored by the Sweet Home Economic Development Group Inc. Its purpose is to generate funds to promote local economic development. 0