By Cindi Hamar
For The New Era
The community of Brownsville celebrated the remembrance of the filming of the movie “Stand By Me” Saturday, July 26, with a wide range of activities.
The 1986 movie, filmed in Brownsville, was a coming-of-age story about four boys on a journey to find the body of a missing boy in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Ore.
Stand By Me Day has become an annual fundraiser for the Linn County Museum Friends, Inc. featuring walking tours, merchandise, old cars, the annual Pie Eating Contest, and lots more along Park Avenue.
“What a great time it was where everyone had smiles,” said Linda McCormick, who chaired the event. “I was able to meet people who came from Indiana, St. Louis Missouri, Brazil, Japan, Germany and England.”
Activities included:
- Guided Walking Tours every 15 minutes that included a tour guide who pointed out some of the movie features, such as the tree in which the boys had a treehouse in which they gathered throughout the movie. The tree currently resides on private property.
Walking through Brownsville, visitors saw the penny in the street that one of the boys picked up (at the corner of Main and Park), the bar where the boys set off firecrackers, the painted Pepsi Cola mural on the side of the Daniel L. Meyers office building, Mema’s Country Kitchen (now a bakery) and Gordie Lachance’s house – all very familiar to movie buffs.
Four local boys mingled among the crowd, dressed as the four boys in the movie. Kerry Travis (Teddy), Kevin Hahn (Chris), Isaiah Jeffrey (Gordie) and Ansel Karo (Vern).
- Fan Forum, featuring the Stand By Me Singers, performers from throughout Oregon who came together for the celebration, including Katherine Wilson, who was a crew member of the movie. Also, Shari Chin Chen, who was a stand-in for Vern climbing the fence at the junkyard, made an appearance via Zoom.
- Pie Eating Contest at Pioneer Park Stage featured a variety of pie-eating contests in the spirit of the “barf-o-rama” pie-eating contest scene in the movie.
- Car Show, displays of vintage cars including a brown truck used in the movie parked along streets in town.
McCormick said the event can always use more volunteers. To volunteer, call (541) 466-3390.