I WALK ASHLAND to Share Stories of Ashland and Build Community
As I walk the streets of Ashland, I am stopped in my tracks again and again by a surprising sight I have never noticed before. This post trades the written word for the visual image. My hope is that these photos will lift your spirits.
Ashland’s first Catholic Church, 1889 to 1959
Family Life Bible Church, 1963 to 2014
Horror film location, 2014
Now a fully renovated, lovely residence
Here are stories from the life of one building in Ashland’s Railroad District, with glimpses into some human lives that have intersected that building.
The booming gold-mining town of Jacksonville was home to the first Catholic Church in Southern Oregon, dedicated in 1858. At that time, no religious group had yet built a church in Ashland, where the population was fewer than 300 people.
By 1889, there were five church buildings in Ashland. That’s the year the Catholic Church became the sixth, located in the Railroad District at the corner of 6th and C Streets. According to the Ashland Tidings of August 23, 1889, “There will be services in the new Catholic Church in Ashland next Sunday at 10 a.m., Rev. Father Noel officiating.” The church opened with a membership of about 97 men, women and children.
The original name of the church was Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, which changed about 1915 to its current name, Our Lady of the Mountain.
Because the Catholic priest in Jacksonville had to serve all of Southern Oregon, masses at the new Ashland church were few and far between – only seven in the first full year of the church building. Ashland Catholics finally got their own priest in 1899, ten years after the church was built.
The congregation grew through the decades and a new, larger Catholic Church was built on Hillview Drive in 1959. The historic steeple bell and Stations of the Cross from the 6th Street church building moved there along with the congregation.
The 6th Street church building got new life in 1963, when the Family Life Bible Church purchased it. Virginia Carol Hudson told me she moved to 6th Street 27 years ago, when the church building across the street from her housed the Family Life Bible Church. Though the congregation was very small, she enjoyed hearing, while sitting in her yard, their rousing Pentecostal singing each time a church revival meeting was held.
The Pentecostal church moved out in early 2014. After being filled with worshipers for 120 years, the sad little church building now sat empty.
Then for two days during August 2014, it was suddenly filled with people filming suspenseful, bloody scenes for a horror/thriller independent movie!
That’s a very different kind of energy from a century filled with songs of praise, the joys of new beginnings and the tears of losing loved ones. How did the old church become a film location?
Director and producer Brad Douglas needed a church scene for his movie Besetment. He couldn’t find the right location in Bend or in the tiny central Oregon town of Mitchell, the two towns where he was filming. Virginia Carol Hudson, the Wigmaster for the film, told him “There’s an empty church across the street from my house. That is your location, right there.” Across the street from her house turned out to be the empty church at 100 6th Street in Ashland.
I interviewed Marlyn Mason, one of the lead actors in the film. Here is how her acting was praised in a review of Besetment at the website morbidlybeautiful.com. “I first want to bow down to Marlyn Mason, who plays Milly, because she is so incredibly captivating and terrifying – everything you need in a horror movie performance. This woman was incredible, and I was terrified and amazed by her in the same breath.”
Born in 1940, Mason became a professional actor as a teenager. The website IMDB lists 113 television and movie acting credits in her long career! One highlight was her opportunity to act – and sing – with Elvis Presley in his second to last film, The Trouble with Girls.
I asked Marlyn why she moved from Los Angeles to the Rogue Valley. She replied that when she was in her early 50s, first her agent died and then her car died. Other agents she spoke with told her variations of the same story: “We don’t have work for an older actress.”
Depressed, she thought to herself: “dead agent, dead career.” Then she had a slightly more uplifting pep talk with herself. “If I’m going to be poor, I want to be poor where it’s beautiful.” As it turned out, a lifelong friend she had known since elementary school lived in Medford, and offered Marlyn a place to rent if she was interested.
She moved to Medford and found the beauty she was seeking, but she did not find a “dead career.” Quite the contrary. She is finding new career highlights. She recently won the Best Actress award at the Breckenridge Film Festival for her role in the feature-length movie Senior Love Triangle. And the day after I spoke with her, she was flying to New York to attend the Syracuse International Film Festival.
Mason has felt blessed to find talented Southern Oregon directors to work with, such as Ray Nomoto Robison. She acted in his short film noir called An Affair Remains, which showed at the 2019 Ashland Independent Film Festival, and she plans to make a follow-up with him.
Now back to the empty church at 100 6th Street – and movie “blood.” I also had the pleasure of interviewing Virginia Carol Hudson. She was Wigmaster and hair stylist for the Besetment thriller, which was filmed at the empty church across the street from her house. Hudson has had quite a career. For 18 years she worked as a principal wig maker at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Now she divides her time between smaller theaters (she will work two shows during the Cabaret Theater’s 2020 season) and private clients of her Wigs by Design business.
According to Hudson, filming of Besetment left its mark in the house. A horror movie requires lots of (fake) blood to be spattered, right? So the floor got its share, which the moviemakers left when they left. Remember this when I describe the renovation process next.
Now back to the house at 100 6th Street. If you walk or drive by the corner of 6th and C Streets now, you will see a beautiful residence – that looks like a church! Greg Conaway and Cory Ross have tastefully transformed the small church building and grounds.
The couple’s renovation won a well-deserved 2016 Historic Preservation Award given by the Ashland Historic Commission. Here’s how it happened.
In autumn of 2013, Ross was riding her bicycle on 6th Street and saw the old church for sale. The building stands out partly because the original church was designed with elements of the Gothic Revival style, as can be seen in the windows lining both sides of the house. She thought to herself, “Someone needs to save those windows!”
She and Conaway called realtor Patie Millen, toured the inside of the church, were intrigued, and started discussing the potential. By December, it was theirs.
Ross and Conaway already lived in a house they liked, so they invited friends and neighbors to an ice cream social at the church to brainstorm ideas for what to do with it. People proposed a dance studio, a music venue, a yoga studio, and more. Of the suggestions Ross told me, this one is my favorite: Open a food place called “Alice’s Restaurant” at the church. After all, Arlo Guthrie wrote his famous 1967 18-minute story-song after staying overnight at his friend and restaurateur Alice’s home, which had formerly been a church.
This song is called “Alice’s Restaurant.”
It’s about Alice, and the
restaurant, but “Alice’s Restaurant” is not the name of the restaurant,
that’s just the name of the song.
That’s why I call the song “Alice’s Restaurant.”
(Excerpt from lyrics by Arlo Guthrie)
In the end, Ross and Conaway decided to renovate the 125-year-old building and live in it themselves. They hired James Stiritz, owner of Dragonfly Construction, and the team at On Point Construction, with help from many others. The first challenge was to stabilize the structure. The seismic retrofit started with pouring a new steel-reinforced concrete foundation for the church. Then they stabilized the bowing walls that support the soaring ceiling. The solution was to tie them together with one-inch-thick steel rods. The old walls were also anchored to the foundation and the roof. The final effect is solid but subtle.
Conaway and Ross chose to keep the church interior, with its spaciousness and high ceiling, intact for their main living space – an open living room, dining room and kitchen. A 16′ by 16′ addition was built at the rear of the church building for the master bedroom. The Ashland Historic Commission wrote that “This new addition blends seamlessly with the original volume in design, detail and quality as if C.W. Ayres [who built the original 1889 church] had been on site overseeing each step of the construction, saw and hammer in hand.”
The Historic Commission added that “Ben Trieger [actually Jay Treiger] rebuilt and restored all the original windows, making them functional, including the huge and beautiful arch head windows that provide such a significant and classic architectural feature.”
Remember the floor? When the church’s pink carpet had been removed, all were happy to find a wood floor underneath, made of fir. During the renovation, refinishing parts of the fir floor proved to be a challenge, as there were spots that appeared to be blood stains soaked into the wood. Now that we know the history of the building, we know the origin of those “blood” stains. (In case you forgot from the section above, think horror movie, then think fake blood spattering all over the floor.) Despite the challenges, the fir floor was beautifully refinished.
As he described renovating the house and 1889 steeple, Conaway told me, “It wasn’t a project, it was an adventure.” Why? Because he found bats in the belfry, ivy vines up to ¾” thick inside the walls, 1880s glass brandy bottles next to cobalt blue Bromo Seltzer bottles in the crawl space, hidden windows behind the choir loft, and even an old wood-burning stove under the floor.
The original church had an open steeple, which Conaway and Ross painstakingly restored in 2015. Most likely some time between 1912 and 1915, the church added slats to the open steeple to keep rain out of the bell tower, but the slats made the space a perfect home for bats. When Conaway went up to start removing the steeple slats, three bats just three feet away from him slept through his hammering.
Through the decades, they left lots of bat guano there. Conaway removed 30 heavy bags of bat guano (perhaps 700 pounds in all) from the steeple! The bats have now resettled in the renovated steeple, but in a much smaller space above the new bell. They eat lots of insects, including mosquitos, so they are handy to have in the neighborhood.
As part of their dedication to a true historic renovation, Conaway and Ross found an old bell for the steeple. The bell was made in the 1870s and used to ring at a church in Illinois.
With a high, heavy bell, the rope was so hard to pull that Ross applied her sailing skills. She and Conaway set up a series of pulleys to make it a little easier to pull the rope and ring the bell. You might hear it ringing through the neighborhood from time to time. Neighborhood kids are invited over to ring the bell on their birthdays – one ring for each year they have lived. But over the age of 20, people only get one ring for each decade!
Building community is important to both Cory Ross and Greg Conaway. In terms of “animal community,” their garden has become an official Pollinator Garden. In terms of “human community,” in addition to the delights of neighborhood bell ringing, they hold occasional house concerts in their historic home (which has excellent acoustics). The lovingly renovated church-to-home is beautiful both outside and inside, a historic treasure for our town.
Part 1 of our 4th of July parade recent highlights ended with a Bald Eagle. We will start Part 2 with another dramatic Bald Eagle from Wildlife Images, which has been saving injured and orphaned animals since 1981.
When I think of traditional parades, I think of floats, bands and horses. Ashland’s parade is definitely not traditional. We don’t do well in the “floats” category. We do better in the “band” category. Thanks to the Ashland City Band and American Band College (photos shown in Part 1), we get to hear some rousing band music as we watch the parade go by.
Thanks to El Tapatio Mexican restaurant, we also have horses in the Ashland parade most years. These are beautiful horses, even dancing horses that really impress me. Enjoy the brief video clip below.
El Tapatio restaurant – dancing horse video
Then we get into dogs of all shapes and sizes. Here are a few to refresh your memory of funny dog moments from parades you have attended. I remember in the 1990’s a community group used to walk with 15 to 20 wiener dogs (okay, dachshunds). I was always amazed that those short-legged, sometimes big-tummied dachshunds could walk the entire parade route. Below you will see a genuine 4th of July “hot dog.”
This is not a horse photo. This is a real princess riding a real unicorn. They graced us with their presence here in the rough and tumble “real world” back in the 2006 parade.
Here are photos of an assortment of community groups and students from years 2011 to 2017. I am sure you will recognize many of them. You might even be active in one or more of these community groups.
Two Ashland businesses stand out for me as I remember many years of parades. I already mentioned one – El Tapatio Mexican restaurant – in connection with horses. They also bring colorful Mexican dancers who brighten the parade with their traditional dresses.
The other business that has grabbed my attention through the years is Southside Tattoo. I am not personally a tattoo aficionado, but I have enjoyed their souped up cars and motorcycles.
Many kids love big trucks, especially fire trucks. Ashland Fire & Rescue comes through with at least one big, bright, red fire engine each year. I remember years ago seeing a dalmation in the driver’s seat. In recent years, several youth have had the thrill of riding in the fire engine and waving to the crowd (but not driving the truck).
Judging from Ashland parades, many young girls (and a few young boys) participate in dance classes and gymnastics. Seeing their enthusiasm and the moves of the older teens is one of my favorite parts of the 4th of July parade each year.
When you see the photos and video below, or when you see them in the parade, remember that they are doing dance moves and flips on hot pavement, generally on a hot day, for 1.1 miles.
YMCA gymnasts in action (2017)
I will close with photos of people who are making a statement.
For many years, the lively drum and dance group called Samba Like It Hot has been the final group in the parade. As they go by, people flow out from the sidewalks into Main Street and follow them to the Plaza and then on to food booths, craft booths and music at the Lithia Park bandshell.
Independence Day (4th of July) is my favorite day of the year to be in Ashland. It is coming up in a few days, so I decided to share some of my photos taken through the years. I hope the photos will trigger fun memories for those of you who have attended multiple parades.
For those who haven’t, this can be an introduction to the quirkiness, fun, community spirit and patriotism of Ashland’s 4th of July. Or, as one of my San Francisco Bay Area friends put it, while shaking his head and rolling his eyes as one “strange” parade entry after another came by: “Only in Ashland.”
The Ashland Chamber of Commerce and the citizens of Ashland go all out from early morning until late at night to make this day special. Fortunately, my wife Kathy loves Ashland’s 4th of July as much as I do. We are able to walk to the parade from our home, which makes the day a bit simpler than needing to drive. But the Chamber has parking lots and shuttle buses to simplify life for drivers as much as possible, since a huge crowd always attends the parade.
Many businesses and community groups in the parade toss candy to the kids along the sidewalk. This family provided very clear instructions! They put their pre-parade time to good use.
The day always starts with a 2-mile fun run and a more serious 10K run. This year the runs will begin at 7:45 am in front of the Ashland library.
When it’s time for the big parade to start, the crowds wait in anticipation for a jet flyover. Here are photos of three flyovers, including 2013 when it was a biplane flyover rather than jets. Not as fast or as loud! But still fun. One friend told me the jets might not make it this year for the start of the parade, but I don’t know if that is true or not.
The parade begins at Triangle Park and ends just past the Plaza on Water Street. Ashland motorcycle officers traditionally lead, followed by a Color Guard and then the Ashland City Band.
Ashland City Band (2014)
Ashland City Band close-up (2008)The parade Grand Marshal is usually a “famous” Ashland citizen. Last year all veterans and active military were honored as the Grand Marshall. This year two women who have each volunteered for the Ashland Chamber for more than 20 years will be the Grand Marshals.
2017 parade Grand Marshal – Veterans & Active Service men & women of the Armed Forces
Because the Ashland parade attracts so many people, Oregon’s United States Senators frequently come all the way to Ashland to be in the parade. It’s a bit surprising that both Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley have chosen to walk the parade route rather than riding in a fancy car. Not-so-famous politicians include local Mayors and City Councilors.
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has been at the Ashland parade many times (2012)
Every year, there is a delegation from Guanajuato, Ashland’s sister city in Mexico. The Guanajuato Queen does ride in a fancy car. She and the other delegates from Guanajuato will say a few words during the afternoon celebration at the Lithia Park bandshell.
The Guanajuato Queen from Ashland’s sister city Guanajuato, Mexico attends each year (2008)
Now we find out why people who are used to “regular” parades, like my friend from the S.F. Bay Area, get “thrown for a loop” at the Ashland parade. The community groups who parade in Ashland are an eclectic bunch. As evidence, I present the bagpipers and the hula dancers. That’s why I love this parade so much!
Hula dancers in the parade (2010)
It’s not just our community groups that come up with eclectic parade entries. So do our religious and spiritual groups. From Jewish, to Fundamentalist Christian, to Easter Orthodox Christian, to “Only Kindness Matters,” be prepared to be surprised.
Temple Emek Shalom klezmer band (2007)
Jesus in the parade (2007)
Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church (2017)
Spiritual rather than religious (2016)
The American Band College is a summertime Master’s degree program that takes place at Southern Oregon University each year. We citizens of Ashland get to benefit when this talented group of musicians plays for us, both in the parade and also the evening of July 4th. They have enough band members to fill up three flat-bed trucks during the parade, so it’s a full sound…complete with truck air-horn accompaniment! They perform a concert at 8 pm in the evening at Ashland High School football stadium. It is extra-special because they continue to play at 10 pm throughout the fireworks display, and those who attend the concert have “the best seats in town” to see the fireworks. In Part 2 of this post, I will tell you other places in town where I have gone to watch the fireworks.
Here are more eclectic community parade entries, from Peace Corps to belly dancers to fans of the library. Ashland is home to many readers, many bookstores and a very active library.
I will end Part 1 with an iconic American eagle, courtesy of Wildlife Images, an organization in Grants Pass founded in 1981 to care for sick, injured and orphaned wildlife.
In Part 2, we will meet more animals, community groups, dancers and gymnasts. In addition, I will share a few photos from the afternoon activity that takes place at the Lithia Park bandshell.
This is where real patriotism takes place. When was the last time you read or heard the entire Declaration of Independence? If it has been a long time, I recommend that you hear it live in Lithia Park, so you can remember what a radical idea the United States of America was when it was founded.
