Then & Now

Work on the Community Hall began in the spring of 1948 on land donated by Hays and Roblay McMullin, then-owners of Lake Creek Lodge. Construction was a truly community enterprise with donated materials and volunteer labor. For several summers, barbecues featuring bear, venison, and trout were held at the Holzman place to raise money. The charge for these affairs was $1.00 per person; nearly 1000 people attended in 1949.


The Community Hall's interior is finished with hand-hewn support beams, walls of knotty pine panelling, and straight-grain fir flooring. A major remodeling of the Hall was undertaken mostly volunteer labor in 1983. A new and expanded kitchen, a storage room and indoor plumbing were added to the rear of the Hall. The 1990s brought more major improvements: a new roof, new propane heating, a new stage, and a nice lawn with picnic tables south of the building. Over the years, the Hall has been used for community potlucks and public meetings, Black Butte School programs and fund-raisers, and dances - square dances in the early years and New Year's Eve dances in more recent times. Community meetings such as candidate forums, Forest Service and Jefferson County informational meetings, and annual meetings of several community organizations take place there. The Pine Needlers Quilt Shows are a recent addition to the list of events.

The Hall is also rented to members for private family reunions, weddings, and receptions of various kinds.

The annual 4th of July weekend pancake breakfast and membership fees have been and continue to be the principal sources of income for the Association. Summer Saturday night Bingo sessions, goods and services auctions, and rummage sales have also contributed to the coffers at various times.

Membership in the Association is open to anyone who owns property or rents full time in the Black Butte School District.

Historical Recollections - Caring Characters

Could we build the Community Hall today? We have the skills, but do we have the time, the money, and the will? Imagine the zeal of our forebears who dreamt of a hall, then devoted hours, love, and dollars to bring it to life.

Wayne Korish designed the Hall; he and Kitty (now Warner) spent every other weekend working on it. Robert Simmers, a lumber company employee, also stands out as a major Hall builder.


Look up at the hand-hewn beams, beautiful examples of Luther Metke's craft. He's the most famous Hall builder, the subject of an Academy-Award-nominated documentary.


At the annual 4th of July pancake breakfasts, even when I was little, our great lady Becky Johnson held court wherever she sat. The Hall was smaller then; the current kitchen wasn't there. Morning light shone through the multi-paned window along the southeast wall, bringing out warm, rich colors of the walls and floor.


Saturday-night Bingo netted summer visitors $15,000 from 1980 to the mid-`90s. Week after week, Tom Terril would call out the numbers to a wholesome crowd. Chip Dale took over for a few summers when Tom retired; Frank, Alan, and Liz helped their dad by passing out cards and taking people's money.
I remember Saturday-night square dances. Leslie "Pootie" Tooze Brown of happy memory wrote: "Nearly everyone in the Metolius area came to those dances little children, old people, middle-aged people, and virtually every teen-ager in the countryside. For the adolescents, to miss a square dance was unthinkable."