Wilsonville Lifestyle Magazine May 2023

W ilsonvillE LIFESTYLE

ADMINISTRATION

Matthew Nelson, Publisher Catrina Nelson, CFO

Tara Weidman, Executive Assistant

Donovan Darling, Content Manager

PRODUCTION

Jeremy Okai Davis, Art Director

Hilary Berg, Sr. Graphic Designer

Brittany Jungenberg, Sr. Graphic Designer

Morgan King, Sr. Graphic Designer

Shawn Schmidt, Sr. Graphic Designer

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

David Bates Patti Jo Brooks

Tyler Francke Olive Gallagher

Angie Helvey Robert Matsumura

Dennis McNabb Kelly Romo

Alice Wiliams

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Laurel Bice Carly Carpenter

Tyler Francke Angie Helvey

Malaina Kinne Lisa Kuhlman

Kara Langley Tayler Lundquist

Andrew Sambuceto Henry Schifter

Hayley Starkey Brittney Waterman

ADVERTISING SPECIALISTS

Don Ormsby Bill Kistler

Stephanie Baker Jim Belan

Peggy Jacobs David Long

Chris O’Brien John Zobrist

Brad Marti Shelley Zeman

Tina Toney Darren Dwyer

Ashley Berotte Mary Kay Wiens

Looking to reach local consumers? We specialize in direct-mail products: community magazine advertising, mailing inserts, postcards and more. For more information, call 503.825.2111 or email info@ActiveMediaUSA.com

Beautiful Villebois Home

This beautiful Villebois home could be your own private oasis. Located off the street with a park/green belt in front, this home exudes tranquility. The beautifully manicured front of the home has a welcoming presence. A formal dining room and large office/den greet you before leading into the open living room/kitchen design. Oak floors, custom fireplace mantle, leaded-glass

French doors, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and a butler’s pantry are among the many features on the main level. Large master suite with walk-in closet, walk-in shower, and soaking tub set a relaxing environment. Gorgeously maintained backyard, with 2 retractable awnings on both sides of the patio, is ideal for outdoor activity or just hanging out. Near Grahams’ Oaks Nature Reserve, come by and see what this home has to offer!

Wilsonville Stats Corner

Jaimy Beltran

Licensed Oregon Broker / Owner Beltran Properties Group

How long have you been part of Clark Lumber?

I am a little unclear of my start date...I thought I went to work part time at Clark Lumber during the winter right around Christmas time, so that would be a start date of 1986.

What is your favorite part of working in a building & hardware environment?

I'm a wood guy and I love old hardware stores. I grew up going to the local lumber yards & hardware stores for my projects. I helped build a log cabin one summer. In high school I took all the woodworking classes I could, even if for non-credit. I did finish carpentry for a side-job when not in school and did a stint of cedar shake roofing.

These experiences help me help our customers! What I really like is being independent. We are part of the Do It Best Hardware co-op, but we still have a say in what we stock and how we conduct business.

What is something you wish more people knew about small business?

These are some of our unwritten guidelines; these are how we do business!

Learn and call your customers by name. They will appreciate it. Be a good listener and try to understand the project that you are helping with. Listen to what customers want. That's the beauty of being independent. We can stock what people want, not what the big box wants to sell you. Say thank you. We really do appreciate your business!

When you're not busy being the best manager ever, how do you like to spend your free time?

I love spending time with family. I also like to be involved at church. Faith is very important to me and has formed the basis for how I should treat customers. I enjoy woodworking, fishing, and old trains and cars. But the hobby that outshines them all is toy trains. I enjoy collecting and operating old toy trains. Any brand, any size. The older the better. I also enjoy friends in this hobby that share the same passion. I even do toy train repair, so access to a good hardware store is handy!

Clarks Clarks ccreative reative ccorner orner

DIY Mother's Day Planter

The perfect diy to do together or gift to your loved one!

STEP TWO

Using wood screws, attach the boards to the 4x4s at each corner forming a rectangle.

Do hardware stores intimidate you? don't think you're the diy type? don't fret!

we are here to show you some easy diys and unique ways to use everyday items you can find at clarks!

STEP ONE

Visit Clark Lumber Hardware for great service and custom cut lumber.

Supplies

For one 4'x8' box, but easily customizable to any size!

Four 4"x4" cedar boards

Two 2x12' cedar boards, cut to size.

24 - 3" wood screws Power Drill

Optional - paint or stain for a custom look!

PROTIP:

STEP THREE

Fill your DIY planter box with soil and whatever flowers or veggies you'd like!

Bonus! Customize your planter boxes with paint from our new paint center!

Lay some landscape fabric beneath to protect from weeds and pests!

Mommy-Era Advice

Hacks for maternal skincare survival

By the time you’re reading this, I will have welcomed my sixth son. Can you believe it? So in this article, I want to address the motherhood era of skincare and makeup.

I know all too well what it’s like with a newborn and little ones running around while also trying to feel somewhat like your “normal” self. As all moms know, things change once you have a child, which often includes your makeup and skincare routine. Eventually, you’ll find your new normal.

Even if I’m home all day, I still look in the mirror and want to feel good about myself. I get it, it’s hard when you’re sleep deprived, feel like a human cow, and have dark circles you didn’t even know could be that deep of a shade, so lowering expectations of what you need to do during this season is necessary. Give yourself grace: You made a human. You will feel normal again, but in the meantime, discover these three mom hacks — another four will come in June. So stay tuned.

Mom Skincare Hack No. 1 — Micellar Water

My first mom skincare hack: Invest in a great micellar water. I use Aqua Falls from a Swiss skincare line called Valmont. Micellar water is a cleansing water that doesn’t need to be rinsed off. You simply put it on a cotton pad and swipe it all over your face, knowing you’ve thoroughly cleansed your skin — as long as the micellar water is reputable. Why is this a great mom hack? Those early mornings when you don’t get a chance to shower or wash your face, you’ll have your cleansing water for freshening up morning and night.

PROTECT, PERFECT, HYDRATE

Three-in-one skincare, sunscreen, and mineral makeup. The dream combination of sunscreen and antioxidants provides robust skin defense from damaging, aging, environmental aggressors, including UV, blue light, pollution, and free radicals.

Mom Skincare Hack No. 2 — Tinted SPF

I personally love wearing makeup. It makes me feel good, and when I feel good, I do better. So for me, wearing some makeup is ideal for my overall mood boost. Having spent the last 12 years with a baby at some stage on my hip, I rarely have time for a full morning makeup sesh. A tinted SPF, like the C-Shield Anti-Pollution Moisure Tint from GloSkinBeauty is essential. You need to wear an SPF every day; so why not combine it with a good mineral makeup coverage that also protects against blue light and free radicals via the vitamin C? Moms need multi-tasking, and this is it! I wear this everyday.

Mom Skincare Hack No. 3 — Wash Your Face Earlier in the Evening

Don’t wait until you’ve put the kids to bed and maybe tackled the dishes in the sink before washing your face; you’ll be too tired. We moms often put ourselves on the back burner. I suggest eating dinner and then washing your face. You’ll have more energy and maybe even enjoy it. No matter how small, this routine is “you” time. With sleep deprivation affecting not only your body but your skin, too, it is important for newborn mothers to remember to take care on so many levels, and that includes your skin.

I have more momma advice but will have to share those tips and tricks in the next edition of this magazine, as there is only so much room and time! Be sure to share any of your own mom skincare or makeup advice for a chance to be featured on our Instagram page: @divine_complexions.

CHRISTINE LEWY Licensed Esthetician • Owner of Divine Complexions Spa Award-Winning West Coast GloSkinBeauty Makeup Artist • NW Regional YUMI Lashes Educator

Pop Art to Wildlife

Local artist overflowing with creativity

BY DENNIS MCNABB, STAFF WRITER

Covering subjects across the board: from pop culture to wildlife stills to portraiture and beyond, local artist Araceli Teichman produces some of the most beautiful, eye-catching, true-to-life paintings imaginable!

Growing up in a family that valued artistic expression, Araceli was encouraged and began drawing at an early age. Although she had an innate talent and passion for it, it wasn’t until middle school that she found a mentor who significantly helped her to develop that talent. She opened Araceli’s eyes to the wider spectrum of creative possibilities by taking her to museums, presenting her with a variety of additional mediums to explore, and offering her space in her own art studio for her to work in. It was just 4 years ago, though, when Araceli’s older sister introduced her to rock painting, and she discovered her niche. She is still willing and capable of producing work on other surfaces–she has done charcoal and graphite drawings on paper and paintings on agates and other types of rock–but the majority of her output comes in the form of acrylic paintings on white stone tiles. And they are incredible!

Exquisite, freehand paintings of album covers (from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Queen, and The Scorpions), famous movie characters (like Frankenstein’s monster, Pennywise, and Jason Voorhees), and wildlife in action (hummingbirds in flight, lions on the prowl, velociraptors stocking their prey); there is virtually nothing she can’t reproduce. And she welcomes every

new challenge, portraits in particular! The images she creates leap from the page—or in this case, the tile—and come alive in ways other artist’s struggle to capture.

Araceli is an artist in the truest sense of the word. Humble and introverted by nature, she is much more comfortable letting her paintings do the “talking.” That said, she is happy to work with any businesses or clients interested in displaying or commissioning her art, and she is always seeking ways to broaden her horizons as both a person and an artist; to learn and to grow. If you have a photo or an idea, she welcomes your requests!

Araceli Teichman is a local untapped source for incredibly life-like paintings of a variety of subjects! Contact her via email at ateichmanart@ gmail.com or follow her on Facebook or Instagram at A. Teichman Art for requests, updates, or photos of her latest pieces. Don’t miss out on this rare talent!

BY DONOVAN DARLING, STAFF WRITER

Dating back to 1947, there’s a long history of documented UFO sightings in the Pacific Northwest. Historically discredited as a ‘conspiracy theory’ believed by ‘kookie’ people in tinfoil hats, in June 2021 the US Government publicly acknowledged the existence of “strange aerial sightings” that can’t be explained. Indeed, there are countless videos and accounts of Unidentified Flying Objects which government and aeronautics experts cannot explain away as weather balloons, swamp gas, or ‘training exercises’. Interestingly, Oregon ranks second in the country for most reported UFO sightings, and Washington ranks third.

You’ve heard of the Roswell Incident of 1947. But have you heard of Washington 1947? Kenneth Arnold, a private pilot, saw nine “saucer-like aircraft flying in formation” in Washington between Mount Adams and Mount Rainier. He estimated the flying objects traveled around 1,200 miles per hour. Interestingly, in 1947 Chuck Yeager broke the Sound Barrier in his experimental X-1 jet which exceeded 662 miles per hour. As the speed of these aircrafts were nearly double that of the X-1, which was still a prototype in 1947, it’s only logical to assume that the objects which Arnold witnessed were not publicly known, or more seriously, not manufactured on Earth.

Probably the most famous UFO report in the Pacific Northwest happened in McMinnville, Oregon in 1950. On May 11, near 7:30 p.m., farmers Evelyn and Paul Trent witnessed a

disc-shaped object hovering in the sky. According to the couple, Paul ran inside the house for a camera and took what became the much-debated and historic Trent UFO photographs. The photos were famously printed in Life magazine and newspapers nationwide, and are considered some of the most famous UFO photos ever taken. This 1950 sighting eventually led to the creation of the UFO Festival in McMinnville, the country’s second largest, held every May to commemorate the sighting.

Later in 1959, a police officer named Robert Dickerson was driving in Redmond when he saw a bright, large object descend, abruptly stop, and hover at 200 feet. The nearby treetops glowed because the object was low enough, he said. A Redmond Airport administrator also witnessed the UFO and filed an official report with the FAA.

And the unexplained sightings continued as recently as 2004 and 2015, when in 2019 the Navy and Pentagon confirmed videos taken by Navy pilots that showed UFOs, moving at incredible speeds, which could not be explained. Commander David Fravor, a former US Navy Pilot, explained one of the videos was “something I had never seen in my life” and discredited the idea of a weather balloon or explainable object. In 2019, a US Navy official said that the Navy does not believe aliens have been flying in US airspace. However, the US Government admitted the existence of UFOs in 2021. If UFOs aren’t aliens, then how can they be explained?

Hopefully one day the existence of UFOs will indeed be identified and explained. Meanwhile, we ponder grand questions, such as: Are we alone in the universe? Are aliens friendly? And will we ever travel the stars?

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

One of the funniest sciencefiction movies ever made, it’s based on Douglas Adams’ legendary 1979 novel. Like the book, the movie is a hilarious satire teeming with razor sharp humor and slapstick comedy. The story follows British selfdeprecating Arthur Dent, who’s making a cup of tea when the government condemns his home to make way for the construction of a new bypass. But it turns out, on a larger scale, the Vogons have also condemned Earth to make way for an intergalactic bypass, thus ending the world for all humans and species therewithin. Thankfully, Arthur meets Ford Prefect, a galactic hitchhiker, who helps him abscond into space. There are supercomputers who tell the meaning of life, intelligent mice, thought-punishing shovels, two-headed presidents, a religious sect who worships a giant nose, and a depressed robot. That’s the tip of the cosmic iceberg as far as Arthur’s adventures go–and there’s a whole series of novels if you like where the story is going. Starring Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Mos Def, Alan Rickman, and more. Rated PG.

In an alternate timeline 1980s, a massive spaceship shows up on Earth flying over the city of Johannesburg in South Africa. After months of hanging in the sky, humans investigate and find a million half-starved aliens inside, who are relocated to a camp called District 9. Years later the camp has become a dangerous slum, with local humans having nothing good to say about the aliens. 28 years later, the government hires a weapons manufacturer to relocate the aliens to a new camp outside the city, and as you might imagine, everything falls apart from there. With obvious parallels to immigration, citizenship, and human rights, and based on the apartheid of South Africa, it’s a fascinating if too-close-for-comfort social commentary. It’s exciting, dramatic, heartbreaking, and a visual spectacle. Produced by Peter Jackson. Rated R.

This hits the nostalgia button pretty firmly for those of us who watched Space Jam as kids. In the style of “Who Killed Roger Rabbit,” this is one of the earlier mashups of cartoon animation and live-action movies. Aliens running a theme park called Moron Mountain across the universe decide to kidnap Bugs Bunny for their new attraction, and he cleverly challenges the aliens to a basketball game to decide his fate and the fate of Earth. Enlisting the help of NBA players and celebrities, including Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Bill Murray, and Danny DeVito, and more, the Looney Tunes assemble an all-star team of athletes and prankster comedians. The aliens, however, steal the powers of other NBA players to become the equally talented Monstars. What follows is a hilarious romp of slapstick and silly jokes good for the whole family. Rated PG.

Stream these movies where available, or rent from your local movie store, library, or rental kiosk.

District 9 (2009)

Space Jam (1996)

Clementine Avocado

Salad with Honey-Ginger Poppyseed Dressing

Fresh, healthy and loaded with fabulous flavor

SERVINGS: 6

Dressing Ingredients

⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil

⅓ cup white balsamic vinegar

2½ tablespoons honey

1½ tablespoons poppy seeds

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger or ginger paste

1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, finely minced

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salad Ingredients

8 cups spring mix (or favorite leafy greens)

6 medium clementines peeled, halved and cut in ¼-inch slices

1 medium ripe avocado cored, halved, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch slices

½ cup walnuts, toasted

½ cup English peas, sliced in half

Directions

Make the dressing: Combine all ingredients in jar and shake until well combined. Assemble the salad: Place lettuce in large bowl. Top with clementines, avocados and English peas. Drizzle lightly with 2 to 3 tablespoons of dressing and toss gently. Top with walnuts. Be sure to pass extra dressing around the table.

Riding High

Horse Boarding, Riding Lessons And More In A Down-Home Vibe

BY PATTI JO BROOKS, CONTRIBUTING WRITER PHOTOS BY CARLY CARPENTER

Looking for a more casual and relaxed boarding experience to enjoy that special bond with your horse? Want to become a proficient rider without the pressure of competing? Kids and adults, beginners or advanced, “Rely on Wilsonville Equestrian Center to take care of all your equine needs!” A farm atmosphere and down-home feel sets Wilsonville Equestrian Center in an element all its own. Learn everything you need to know about riding for enjoyment and taking the very best care of your beloved equine companion.

Wilsonville Equestrian Center is a sought-after stable for firsttime horse owners and beginning riders to secure boarding and take up riding lessons. Regardless of age, anyone who loves horses but doesn’t necessarily want to compete, will feel comfortable to just enjoy, learn and grow with their horse as an owner or a student. WEC employs highly competent, reliable and professional instructors who also teach Intermediate and Advanced riding. “We want to give the kids a good solid base, and I make sure that I have very capable and very well-trained instructors,” says owner Maren Tunks. In addition, those who do choose to compete, frequently continue boarding and riding at WEC.

Wilsonville Equestrian Center began when Maren Tunks left her corporate job and assumed care of the family’s horse. Starting as a barn with 1 personal horse and 3 boarded horses, Maren has significantly increased that number to 20 lesson horses. She has always enjoyed horses and has always been a rider. Lessons became part of the business model when Maren

was first asked to teach a little child to ride. Today, WEC offers Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced riding lessons and maintains a full Summer Camp roster with over 200 kids participating each season. Going on 18 years in the equine business, Maren strives to give kids quality lessons, so when they move on, they’re ready. “They have to show that they can control their horse and prove to me that they are ready to handle the next step,” she explains. WEC is known for their reliability, consistency, structure and moderate pricing, as well as their relaxed down-home vibe and farm atmosphere.

Future plans for a hands-on Farm School are in the early discussion stages. “I have 10 acres to work with,” Maren relates. “I have gardens, horses, chickens and woods to provide a good core learning system.” The Farm School is envisioned to teach the children how to garden and harvest, germinate seeds, incubate chicks from egg to hatchlings, equine science and so much more.

Visit Wilsonville Equestrian Center at 24040 SW 82nd Ave in Tualatin. Call them at (503) 888-6318, email marenw1@hotmail. com, or visit their website at wecriding.com.

Maren Tunks, Owner

Toddler

STEAM Stuff

Space Talk: Getting to Mars in Half the Time!

Saturday, May 20 11am-12:30pm

Oak Room

If we are going to be serious about establishing a permanent human presence on Mars, the time it takes to get there and back must be significantly reduced We have a rocket engine that can get us to Mars in 3 months instead of 6 months! First demonstrated way back in 1972, the thermal nuclear rocket propulsion system operated successfully for over 6,500 seconds! What does this rocket engine look like? How does its design concept produce so much thrust? And how does it compare to current rocket engines?

“MEAT ” THE VETERAN

BY TYLER FRANCKE, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

For as long as he can remember, Army Lieutenant Colonel Mark Johnson wanted to be a soldier. He grew up with a desire to serve — and be physically and mentally challenged — in the United States Armed Forces.

“I knew very early on I wanted to be in the military,” he says. “I remember watching that show ‘60 Minutes’ when I was probably 6 or 7, and they had a story about the United States Military Academy at West Point, and I was just mesmerized by it. And so throughout my young life, I wanted to go to the academy and become an officer.”

Mark attended and graduated from Oregon State University on a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship and accepted his commission with the Army in 1997. It was the beginning of what would ultimately be a 24-year career.

He spent several years assisting in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and other areas of southeast Europe that were formerly part of the Republic of Yugoslavia. It was a tame and relatively unexciting assignment, and Mark was

thinking about starting his civilian career, when the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed everything.

to Canby and start farming,” he says. “But when 9/11 happened, I remember my wife turned to me and said, ‘You’re not getting out anytime soon.’ It was definitely this new sense of being needed and wanting to serve my country.”

Mark served primarily in the field of military intelligence, including two deployments to Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division and one to Afghanistan during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, respectively.

But before that, Mark endured another tragedy on March 23, 2003, when a former sergeant, Hasan Akbar, attacked three tents housing the 101st at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. The attack wounded 14 soldiers and killed two: Air

Force Major Gregory Stone and Army Captain Christopher Seifert, who was Mark’s best friend.

“That was probably the hardest part of my career,” Mark says. “And that was something we had to deal with before the invasion had even started.”

Mark spent much of the last decade of his career back in Eastern Europe, helping establish North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in former Soviet Bloc countries, including Bulgaria and Poland in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

His final assignment, ironically, was in support of medical operations at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, beginning in February 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning.

Mark retired from the U.S. Army in September 2021 following 24 years of active-duty service. He continues to serve the next generation, though, teaching and leading the Junior ROTC program at Reynolds High School in Troutdale.

“I’m extremely proud of my service to my country,” he says. “Leading soldiers and leading the young people of this country is an amazing honor. A 20-plus career in the Army can be hard. It’s very difficult on families. But I’m very proud of the soldiers and the officers I worked with all throughout my career. It was the honor of my life, and I would do it all over again.”

Close Encounters on Third Street

Celebrating 23 years of out-of-this-world fun

BY DAVID BATES, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In Yamhill County, the town of McMinnville lays claim to one of the most celebrated UFO sightings in modern history: The Trent family farm photos which were snapped when Paul Trent saw a disc flying over his property in 1950.

Even the Condon Report–which was commissioned nearly two decades later to give the U.S. Air Force an excuse for closing Project Blue Book, their UFO investigation office–had to admit: The UFO captured by the McMinnville farmer appeared “to be consistent with the assertion that an extraordinary flying object…flew within sight of two witnesses.”

For more than 20 years, McMinnville has celebrated UFOs and aliens with the second-largest festival in the country: McMenamins’ 23rd Annual UFO Festival will be held in downtown McMinnville at the Oregon Hotel May 19–20. It’s got something for everyone: UFO experts and abductee speakers, live

the admission that they’d been investigating UFOs. A growing number of government officials and U.S. Navy pilots went on the record: UFOs are real, and they really don’t know what they are.

This year’s UFO Festival in McMinnville will play out against a backdrop of heightened interest in Congress and the media, and the creation of a new office to investigate UFOs, the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

There’s no better time, or place, to check out the UFO scene.

music, a costume contest and alien merch, vendor booths, and, best of all, a parade that proves Portland isn’t the only city that knows how to be weird. The festival was conceived in 1999 to mark the 50-year anniversary of the Trent sighting, and from humble beginnings it has since grown into a significant cultural event appealing to those with a casual or passing interest in UFOs, but also to the more serious researchers and students of the phenomenon. And thanks to developments in the last few years, the latter group is growing.

The Pentagon came clean with The New York Times and also 60 Minutes (news magazine) on CBS a few years ago with

This year’s speakers include Earl Grey Anderson from the Mutual UFO Network, who will give a presentation on some of the most baffling cases he’s investigated; Experiencer, speaker and spiritual counselor Sev Tok; Travis Walton, who claims he was taken aboard a UFO in 1975 and whose story is the subject of a documentary by Jennifer Stein, who will also attend. Finally, the research team of Cheryl and Linda Costa will talk about “A New Approach to Ufology,” with a special focus on UFOs spotted over Oregon.

Ground Zero for the festival is McMenamins Hotel Oregon, 310 NE Evans Street in McMinnville, while speakers will appear at the Community Center a couple blocks north, 600 NE Evans St. Panels and lectures are ticketed, but the pet costume party, parade and other events are free.

For more information, visit www.UFOFest.com.

From Blimps to Bombers

Tillamook home to world’s largest free-standing, clear-span wooden hangar

Tillamook home to world’s largest free-standing, clear-span wooden hangar

By Robert Matsumura, Contributing Writer

For most Oregonians the name “Tillamook” evokes both cheese and the beach. The famous Tillamook Cheese Factory is the source of our visions of tasty blocks of cheddar, and likewise, the town’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean makes it a popular coastal destination. History buffs, however, also associate Tillamook with World War II due to Naval Air Station Tillamook, and the Tillamook Air Museum.

Unbeknownst to many, Tillamook is home to the largest free-standing, clear-span wooden structure in the world. Over seven acres in size, the building is 1,072 feet long and 296 feet wide, and rises more than 15 stories in the air. Commissioned and constructed by the U.S. Navy in 1943, Hangar A and B of Naval Air Station (NAS) Tillamook housed blimps for antisubmarine and convoy escort. Together the two hangars had the capacity to house eight K-class blimps stretching 252 feet in length. By comparison, the Goodyear Blimp is 190 feet long. The K-class blimps contained 425,000 cubic feet of helium, and had a lift capacity of 7,700 pounds.

Equally impressive as the blimps themselves were the hangars. More than 2 million board feet of lumber was needed to construct each hangar. The majority of the wood was sourced right here in Oregon, and required 50 different lumber companies to produce all the wood for the massive project. Due to wartime mandates to conserve metal, even the gutters and downspouts were fashioned from wood. Constructing the hangars primarily of wood saved more

than 2,000 tons of steel per hangar. A mind-boggling fact in the construction of these gigantic wooden edifices is that hangar A was completed in a mere 27 days!

With the completion of the hangars in 1943, NAS Tillamook operated blimps from this location from 1943-45. The blimps belonged to Squadron ZP-33, patrolling ports in both Oregon and Washington, and shipping lanes from the San Juan Islands to California, covering a 500-mile radius. The Lighter-than-Air ships (LTA) could remain aloft for 48 hours with a cruise speed of 50-67 knots, and cover 13,000 square miles of ocean per day.

At the time, the Japanese threat to the Pacific coast and American shipping was quite real. The Japanese had deployed long-range I-class submarines to attack American naval and shipping interests along the West Coast. Japanese naval command deployed the I-25 and I-26 submarines to the Pacific Northwest to seek and destroy U.S. naval vessels headed to Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. In the course of their deployment, Fort Stevens on the Oregon coast was shelled by I-25, which was the only shelling of a military base on the U.S. mainland during World War II, and the first since the War of 1812.

On September 15, 1945, just weeks after the Japanese surrender—and thus, the elimination of the Japanese submarine threat—NAS Tillamook was reduced to functional status. By October the last two blimps departed for California, and by mid-1946 the Navy had decommissioned all of their LTA units.

From 1945-1982, three separate lumber companies in the Tillamook area—Diamond Lumber, Angel Lumber, and Rosenberg—ran their operations from the hangars. In 1984, Wren Aircraft leased hangar A for the production of Cessna 182 Skylanes. In the wake of a fire that devastated hangar A in 1992, Tillamook farmers were still able to use it for hay storage.

Hangar B, evolving through multiple uses over the years, finally returned to its original purpose— housing aircraft. In 1992, the Port of Tillamook Bay established the Tillamook Air Museum in Hangar B and over the years have acquired

numerous World War I and World War II planes. The museum collection has included a Bf-109 Messerschmitt, A-4B Skyhawk, P-38 Lightning, and a Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber among others. On a more modern note, the museum also houses an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, the same model of jet featured in the original “Top Gun” movie starring Tom Cruise.

In addition to the aircraft collection, the museum also features wartime artifacts and photographs from World War I to the present, most notably parts from Germany’s tragic Hindenburg blimp. Along with the planes and artifacts, the Tillamook

Air Museum offers exhibits that strive to bring the wartime experience from years past to current generations. One can explore first-hand what it was like to climb into and hunker down in a British World War II air raid shelter while the Germans “blitzed” the skies over England during the famous Battle of Britain. One can also sit in the cockpit of the museum’s aircraft trainers and imagine life as a jet pilot, and wander the bulbous interior of a Mini-Guppy transport plane to learn about the amazing variety of cargo it once carried. The Tillamook Air Museum is visited by approximately 80,000 people per year, and is open daily, year-round.

If you happen to visit Tillamook anytime in the near future, be sure to visit historic Hangar B and the Tillamook Air Museum for a fun and immersive view of life during an epic period in history, and experience in person this impressive and unique piece of Oregon’s World War II heritage.

WHETHER BUYING OR SELLING, NOW IS THE TIME TO ENTER THE MARKET!

BELTRAN PROPERTIES GROUP at eXp Realty

By Dennis McNabb, Staff Writer

Real estate traditionally moves with a natural ebb and flow that tends to coincide with the seasons. In late fall and winter, especially during the holidays, things slow down. People are more focused on family and friends, and the cold wet weather adds additional deterrence. In spring and summer, we typically have less going on and the weather is far more conducive to such endeavors.

For those who have followed the market over the past few years, you will be aware of the fact that it was not following the normal trends. Inventory and interest rates were both so low that we were in a constant state of flow. Houses were selling in record time with multiple over-asking-price offers, and the demand remained constant. But that was an anomaly. After three years of unprecedented movement, the market has finally adjusted, and we have returned to a more “normal” seasonal fluctuation.

So, what does that mean for someone looking to get into the market? It means, NOW is the time! Inventory is still on the lower side of average. There are significantly fewer new listings today than there were at this same time last year, so for those looking to buy, you will want to get out there now and get started. Inventory is not expected to increase dramatically over the next few months. Likewise, for sellers, lower inventory means you have a better chance of selling

quicker and for more money. There is absolutely no reason to hesitate, as conditions are optimal.

For those concerned about the rates, they have actually decreased slightly in recent months and are expected to continue to drop as we inch further towards the peak of the season. Again, there are no drastic changes expected, but even minute adjustments can spark increased activity. When interest rates are lowered—even by just fractions of a point—that equates to increased affordability for buyers. It means more people are eligible to enter the market, and the competition over available properties gets stiffer. So again, strike while the iron is hot! And as a point of reference, for those who are still feeling insecure over the increased rates, even now they are still lower than average. It’s only when comparing them to where they’ve hovered these past few years, that they seem high.

Preparation is key. For sellers in particular, getting your home “market ready” is the only way to move it quickly and to receive top dollar. Deferred maintenance must be addressed. Whether you have pending repairs, outdated fixtures, or just normal wear and tear that’s showing, it requires attention. It’s no longer a “seller’s market.” Buyers have more leverage now and will request repairs to be made if they haven’t already been taken care of. New paint

and new carpet/flooring are also very visible and invaluable improvements to be considered.

Of course, the central component to any successful real estate transaction is choosing the right agent. Your agent is your advocate, your partner in what may be the most significant purchase/sale you’ll ever make. As such, this person should not only understand you as an individual, what your specific needs and desires are, but they should also know the local market. What are its particular advantages? What are its challenges? It’s not enough to simply comprehend the business. They must be able to provide you with a proven track record of successes.

When it comes to agents in the Wilsonville area, there is no one better or more qualified than Jaimy Beltran with Beltran Properties at eXp Realty. Even amongst the top agents in the greater Portland metro area (an elite club which Jaimy has been a member of for the past 10 years), he stands alone in his commitment to his clients. He has the backing of an entire network of like-minded individuals who span the entire country (through eXp Realty), not to mention a fantastic group of local professionals who he can employ to assist with your process; doing repairs, staging your home for selling, and more.

The real estate season has begun! Don’t wait and end up missing out. Call Jaimy Beltran today: 503-502-3330