Pendleton, Oregon

I get an early start out of Portland and make only a couple of brief stops enabling me to arrive in Pendleton about 1 PM.  I made one interesting stop in the town of Echo, Oregon which was a camping site on the Oregon Trail.  It is a beautiful town lined with attractive buildings with beautiful flower plantings.

The Masonic Temple now used as a library

A classic gas station saved also now used for better things 

Attractive sculpture on street corner 

On arrival in Pendleton, I go straight to the Wildhorse Pass Casino to check it out.  It seems to have it all, a full service travel center, a McDonalds, a full hookup campground, a free RV no frills parking lot, a movie theater and a large Casino and Hotel complex.  It’s about 3 miles from downtown Pendleton, that works for me.  It is operated by the Umatilla Tribe who have lived here forever and seem to be very prosperous.  Today the Umatilla tribe shares land and a governing structure with the Cayuse and the Walla Walla tribes as the federally recognized Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umatilla_people  

I then head into downtown and see a sign for the Pendleton Woolen Mills factory.  They still operate out of their original Mill building, quite remarkable in this modern hi-tech age.  They have a large retail store inside where you can purchase their products at regular prices and at clearance for slightly blemished articles.  I went on their 1/2 hour guided tour which was interesting to me as they appear to still do most of their production on machines that appear to be quite old.  They must have a few really good people keeping these machines in working order.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendleton_Woolen_Mills

The original Pendleton Woolen Mill

Pendleton has always appreciated the native Indian designs and used them in their designs.  They have also always maintained excellent relations with the Umatilla tribe. 

This yarn was a unbelievable deep red color

Long line of machines that were very noisy 

The workings of these machines was explained on the tour

The finished material is impressive

I then head into downtown Pendleton which is well flavored in classic western horse and cow manure.  The big deal here is the Pendleton Roundup, one of the oldest and most prestigious rodeos in the US which takes place in a couple of weeks.  Ironically to me, the area around here appears to be more wheat farmer country than horse or cattle ranch country.  The horse culture in this area seems more rooted in the native American tribes such as the Umatilla who were excellent horsemen and developed huge herds of finely bred horses.

The Oregon Trail passed right through downtown Pendleton and there are several nearby historic sites pertaining to the trail.  There are even places where you can still see the ruts from the wagons.  Pendleton has done a good job preserving their old historic buildings, not sure if it was planned that way or for lack of money to modernize, but the right thing happened.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendleton,_Oregon

Several old historic buildings

Downtown view with a former mayors wife statue

George Fletcher was a black cowboy who came in second at the 1911 Bronc Riding championship in Pendleton,  most in attendance thought he should have won.  The Roundup director must have thought so as well as he cut Georges hat up into pieces and auctioned them off getting for George more money than the winner had received.

Champion black rodeo rider George Fletcher

Hamley's exclusive western wear and saddle store 

Very impressive store, but I heard through the grapevine that they are bankrupt and that
the Indian tribe has bought the entire store complex

Statue of chief Clarence Burke who was co-chief of the 
Pendleton Roundup for four decades 

Revered Indian cowboy Jackson Sundown of the Nez
Pierce Tribe who won the Bronc Riding Championship
in 1916 at the age of 53 

Jackson Sundown has become a much used
subject in rodeo posters

Flowery window boxes and neon signs go together

Wonderful murals in the Post Office 

  

In late afternoon at least 100 sheep come to eat grass
at the river in downtown area and I wonder why there?

The Pendleton Roundup rodeo arena is located inside the city limits and is a very impressive arena.  As a part of the Roundup is a night time event called Happy Canyon adjacent to the rodeo arena.  The local Indian tribes participate in this and it sounds similar to a Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Across the street from the rodeo arena is the Pendleton Rodeo Hall of Fame and gift shop.  The gift shop has about every cowboy or cowgirl rodeo related article of clothing imaginable along with many souvenir items.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendleton_Round-Up

The arena with bucking bronco statue in front

"Let'er Buck" is the motto of the roundup

It's a big impressive arena

The Hall of Fame is a remarkable rodeo museum, it covers all aspects of the sport and showcases former rodeo champions and important related people that have kept the rodeo going all these years.  I never even made it to the second floor, so much to see.

   

War Paint was a champion bucking horse

Dozens of plaques to former champions and VIP's 

Clarence Burke managed to keep his tribe a part of the 
rodeo tradition for decades

Yakima won the all around cowboy championship 5 times
and became a motion picture actor.  I also love his name.

Old stage coach and buggy display

Also in town is the former train depot, passenger service is no more and it has been turned into the County museum.  They have an old pioneer cabin on the property that has an interesting history.  A couple raised 10 children in this small rustic log cabin and somehow they all survived.

They built the cabin themselves, some of the boys slept in
a nearby barn

Group photo of the clan in latter years

I also visited the Tamastslikt Cultural Center operated by the Umatilla Tribe which had excellent exhibits totally from the Indian perspective, but no photos are allowed there, you have to take my word for it.

Another popular Pendleton attraction is the underground tour.  A series of underground service areas and passageways were built under downtown businesses that were used in days past to house Chinese railroad workers, to hide illegal speakeasies during prohibition and for drinking establishments in cowboy days.
The tour also visits the Cozy Rooms Bordello which was not underground, but connected to the underground.  It was operated by Stella Darby from 1928 to 1967.   She was somewhat of a saint, with a heart of gold and was an astute business woman. She supported many of the downtown merchants during the depression, gave aid to the poor, treated her girls very well and even employed a tutor to school them for employment after their days as working girls ended.  Prostitution ended in Pendleton in 1950's but she was able to continue for a few more years using her hotel as a cover. This building remains in its original condition, it was never renovated inside and much of the original furniture and furnishings are just as Stella left it.  

Some of the displays were tacky such as this one

The stark looking area where the Chinese railroad
workers had to live looked very authentic 

This was a butcher shop whose owner also made ice 
in a pit in the floor and owned several other innovative 
businesses in town

A Prohibition era speakeasy was located underground

Black aviation battalion club room in underground

Old Ad on a underground wall

Photo of madame Stella Darby

A bedroom of one of the girls

MY next stop is Baker City, Oregon