Oregon, Part 2

The first day in Pendleton was very busy. We had three possible places to visit, and managed to get to all of them.

We started out with the Pendleton Woolen Mill, which celebrated its 100th year of operation back in 2009. Started the sons of C.P. Bishop and his wife Fannie (who had learned the weaving mill trade from her father), the Pendleton Mill is still in the family. According to our tour guide, while they do import their wool from all over the world, much of it is still obtained in the local area. Native Americans around the United States and Canada still make up more than half of the Mill's customers, and most of their shirts and other products are assembled in the United States.
We took the 45-minute tour of the factory. The wool is actually dyed in a different place, then shipped here. It is then spun into thread, which is steam-heated, and then wound onto large bobbins. Bobbins (seen at left) are strung onto looms, which are now computerized, and the patterns are programmed in. Many of the patterns are designed by Native American artists, often based on traditional designs.

Once the wool is woven, it is inspected. The highest quality wool is made into blankets, shirts, and other clothing items. The fabric is also used to create pocketbooks, CD holders, personal organizers, key chains, notebook covers, and a large variety of other products. (Even lunch bags. I now own one.)




Very little of the weaving is wasted, our guide told us. Even the trimmed ends are sold to people who make rag rugs and other items out of them. At right is a machine that trims the edges of the weavings. The strip of trimmed rug is being wound onto a roll at the far right of the picture.











At left is a finished rug that has been hung up for inspection. Someone actually examines it both visually and by feel to grade its quality. First quality weavings will go on to be rugs, blankets, and clothing. Lesser quality weavings are also made into items, but are sold as seconds.

I'm not sure how well this video will play here, but I did get a shot of an actual machine weaving.

After finishing at Pendleton Mills, we moved on to the Pendleton Underground Tour. This literally takes you under the streets of the city, and displays rooms that span 70 years of local history. Saloons, a speakeasy (that later served as a bomb shelter), a bathhouse, the dwellings of the Chinese immigrants who came to serve as builders, applejack stills, and meat markets can all be seen in the rooms on the tour.

At left is one of the saloons. The guide explained that miners in the area often paid for drinks with gold dust, which would be weighed on the small scales that you might able to see in the center of the picture. The barkeep would pinch out the dust, put it on the scales, and weigh it.

As the evening continued, the scale would get further and further away from the bag of dust, and some of the dust would end up on the bar. This continued until closing, when the barkeep would sweep all the dust into a pile, add water, and then pan it to extract the gold, thereby making himself some pretty hefty tips!

At right is an ice cream parlor, which operated in the 1920s and 30s. Customers could enjoy a treat here that few could have at home, and the temperatures in the Underground kept everything cool.

At left is a picture of a walkway in the Chinese section of the
underground. The Chinese came to work on the railroads and for other tasks, but were not allowed above ground after dark. Our guide told the story of one fellow who was walking the streets after dark, and was shot and killed by a cowboy. The only thing the cowboy was charged with was discharging a firearm inside the city limits.

Being inventive folks, the Chinese knocked down walls of the underground rooms to form "sidewalks" that led from one area to another. Light came through glass set in the sidewalk above, and from lanterns lit and hung in the underground itself. You can just see one lantern in the picture to the left, just inside the window.








Another business that benefited from the chilly temperatures below the street was a butcher shop. Meats could be cut up and stored in underground pits for several days before being sent to the shop at street level.

We did go above ground to view the Cozy Rooms, one of the 18 brothels in the city, which also doubled as a perfectly legitimate hotel, depending on which rooms you had booked. At left is a room used by one of the "working girls" of the Cozy Rooms. We also saw the madam's rooms, the chapel (yes, really, they had a chapel for Sunday services for the girls!), and the kitchen where maids prepared meals for girls.

Our third stop was the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute's Museum, located on the grounds of the Wildhorse Casino. The exhibits traced the 10,000 year history of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes. They are part of the Plateau Culture, which contains elements of the Plains Indians and the Northwest Coast Tribes, plus some characteristics unique to this area.

Their stories follow a familiar pattern: both trade and conflict with other local tribes, until the European Americans discovered them (courtesy of Lewis and Clark's expedition). The local Native Americans then traded and fought with the newcomers, dealt with missionaries, and finally were forced to give up much of their land. They are now an independent entity, and are working to get their land back.

This was one place where photography wasn't permitted.