Yamhill Community Advantage Magazine February 2023

Taxes With A Personal Touch

By Tyler Francke, Contributing Writer

Photos by Kara Langley Photogaphy

Many local business owners boast about being a familyowned and operated institution, but for Kevin Olson and his small group of H&R Block offices in Yamhill County, it could not be more true.

Olson literally grew up in the McMinnville office he now owns on Highway 99W, at the feet of his mother, Patricia Olson-Fries, who opened the location in 1967 and worked for decades to build its clientele and reputation.

“My first job was working as a receptionist in that office when I was about 15,” says Olson, whose company also includes offices in Newberg and Lincoln City. “It was a great environment to grow up in and learn the business that I love.”

Olson started managing the McMinnville office in 2004, then worked under a new owner for 10 years after his mother retired. He purchased the location in 2018, adding Newberg and Lincoln City in 2020.

One quirk of a familyowned tax office is that Olson now has a number of second-generation clients — and many of his clients have a second-generation tax preparer.

“Your clients are more than just your clients when you’ve known them for so long,” he says. “I have clients that have known me since I was born.

They saw me grow up. Some of them, I’m now doing their kids’ taxes, too. It’s almost like they’re part of our family.”

The closeness has made for some emotional moments in the office, he admits.

“When I have a client and someone has recently passed away, I’m crying right there with them, you know?” he says. “That was someone I had seen every year for 12 years. It’s very personal.”

When asked what appeals to him about the work he has done his entire adult life, he doesn’t hesitate.

“Working with people,” Olson says. “It’s a needed service, to help taxpayers make sure they are paying the correct amount of tax — nothing more and nothing less. And to be able to turn what can be a very stressful event into an enjoyable experience, it’s very rewarding.”

Math has always come naturally to Olson, and he regards navigating the myriad codes and provisions of the tax law as just a form of problem-solving.

“It’s really just about the relationships,” he says. “It’s about being involved in the community. I always tell people you can mention my name anywhere in this county and you’ll find someone who knows me or at least has heard of me because of what I get to do for a living.”

While they specialize in small business services, which they have found to be a growing area of need, Olson’s H&R Blocks are full-service tax offices — in every sense of the word.

“There is nothing we don’t do,” he says. “We do payroll, bookkeeping, corporate returns, all business services, estates, trusts. We have over 150 years of experience between all of my tax pros, so there’s nothing that can walk through my door that I’m not able to handle.”

H&R Block McMinnville is located at 865 NE Highway 99W, Suite F; Newberg is located at 2504 East Portland Road; and if you’re at the coast, the Lincoln City office can be found at 2413 NW Hwy 101. You can also find more information and get your return started today by visiting hrblock.com.

Mia, H&R Block Intern

Wedding Singer (1998)

One of my alltime favorite Adam Sandler movies, this is absolutely drenched in ’80s pop culture–movies, cars, fashion, and music. The story follows a talented, funny, and likable wedding singer (Sandler) living in his brother’s basement and who’s terribly in love with the wrong girl. His heart gets broken (of course) and he plunges into a deep pit of despair but refuses to quit working–singing for couples in love–to much expected comedy. Eventually he meets his dream girl (a very cute Drew Barrymore) who’s in love with the wrong guy. Hilarity, flirting, and crossed signals abound, it also stars Alexis Arquette, Christine Taylor, Allen Covert, and more, plus a cameo by Billy Idol. It’s bright and cute and wacky. Rated a strong PG13 for language and mature content, save this for the older kiddos.

Trolls (2016)

With pure blissful technicolor and heart-thumping pop music by Justin Timberlake, the Trolls movie skywrites in bombastic sparkly letters the message of love, joy, happiness, and positivity. A classic Us vs. Them, the meanie ogre Bergens threaten to capture the Trolls once for all–to eat the Trolls one-by-one and finally feel happy. Surely, there’s a better way to find happiness! And through conflict, trial-and-error, and lessonlearning, the Trolls teach the Bergens how to be happy WITHOUT eating others. On a smaller scale, there’s a classic love story: the untrusting hermit, Branch (Justin Timberlake), meets the happy-go-lucky girl-next-door, Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick). Their relationship very much parallels the Bergens vs. Trolls in their quest to conquer grumpiness and trust. And shocker, they fall in love. There’s singing, dancing, love, good feelings, and colors you’ve never seen before! Rated PG for mild rude humor and the threat of being eaten (I did tell you).

Eternal Sunshine Of The MindSpotless (2000)

This mindblowingly original sci-fi drama romance came barreling out of the early 2000s with an Academy Award for Best Writing and a slew of other awards. One of Jim Carrey’s earlier dramatic roles, his and Kate Winslet’s characters have a bad breakup and opt to have their relationship erased from memory by an experimental doctor, played by Tom Wilkinson. Also starring Kirsten Dunst and Elijah Wood. It’s surreal, quirky, indie, funny, sad, and far too relatable. As chaotic as it is, it’s utterly human with a heartwarming ending. Rated R for language, drug and mature content .

Available to rent from Reel Hollywood Video in McMinnville.

The

Origins of the Tater Tot

A Tasty Oregon Invention

By Robert Matsumura, Contributing Writer

The Tater Tot. It’s hard to resist these crunchy golden-brown potato morsels piled high in a basket, or nestled on a plate accompanying our favorite burger or sandwich. For many of us, “Tater Tot” and “comfort food” go hand-in-hand. It’s ingrained in our culture—at least from a food perspective!

But did you know that these world famous potato nuggets were invented in Oregon, and that they were the creative byproduct of potato scraps originally used as cattle feed? The story of the Tater Tot traces back to two young Mormon entrepreneurs named Nephi and Golden Griggs who came of age during the Great Depression. Originally from Idaho, the Griggs brothers were potato farmers like most of their neighbors. Throughout the Great Depression and World War II, the Griggs survived by growing and selling potatoes, but during the postwar years as Americans increasingly turned to convenience foods—frozen foods in particular—the Nephi brothers were certain that their road to riches lay in servicing this growing demand.

Convinced that the future of produce resided in the frozen food section, the two brothers mortgaged their farms to purchase a flash-freezing plant in Northeastern Oregon for $500,000 (approximately $4.5 million today). As the factory was located on the border between Oregon and Idaho, they chose to name their new company Ore-Ida.

Corn and potatoes were Ore-Ida’s mainstay and the company soon became the largest distributor of sweet corn in the country, but the real profit lay in french fries. French fries, though immensely profitable, posed certain production problems. Nephi (the leader of the two brothers) described their challenge as follows: “We had a problem separating the fries from the slivers and small pieces of

potatoes that occurred when slicing the irregular shaped potatoes.” Instead of wasting the scrap pieces, the brothers had been feeding it to their cattle and other livestock.

Despite the fact that their potato scraps were being utilized as feed for farm animals, Nephi Griggs—always focused on efficiency and profit maximization—was bothered by their inability to derive any revenue from the constant flow of potato byproducts. In a letter to an OreIda colleague, Nephi vented his frustration at not putting to better use “product that has been purchased from the grower, stored for months, gone through the peeling process, gone through the specking lines and trimmed off defects, only to be eliminated into the cattle feed.”

An unexpected visit by a representative from an equipment manufacturing company, however, proved to be serendipitous. Although the company representative was there to demonstrate a prune sorter, Nephi and his plant superintendent envisioned utilizing the equipment in a different manner. Instead of sorting prunes, could the machinery be refashioned to sort irregular potato pieces from french fries? To their delight, it could.

It wasn’t long before the Griggs and their people at Ore-Ida devised a creative use for the supply of potato scraps. By smashing the bits together using new machinery, then blanching, forming the crushed potatoes into nuggets, and cooking them in oil, a completely new product was

created. These potato nuggets could subsequently be frozen, bagged, and distributed. Although the original idea was for the nuggets to be fried, it was soon discovered that baking them produced equally good results. According to Nephi, a man on their research committee who “traveled the markets playing a ukulele and demonstrating our product,” came up with the name. Unfortunately, the man’s name has been lost to history, though his talent for creative alliteration lives on. The name “Tater Tot” is iconic across the world for fun, palate-pleasing, potato goodness.

Nephi remarked in his notes (which are now housed at the J. Willard Marriott

“new product has about a three year

the “Tater Tot” name, purchased additional machinery, and began mass producing their tasty invention.

Despite the success of the Tater Tot, the process to create them was a bit of a sticky mess—literally. New equipment had to be fashioned to deal with the starchy potato product. Steel drums the diameter of a human torso rotated continuously filling tot-sized molds with potato. These molded potatoes would then be ejected onto a conveyor belt and sent down a line for seasoning and subsequent freezing.

Ore-Ida’s commitment to the Tater Tot, in spite of production difficulties, proved a gamble worth taking. The Griggs brothers’ promotion of their new product at the 1954 National Potato Convention was a huge hit, garnering interest in Tater Tots throughout the industry. The media was also quick to embrace Tater Tots as a convenient

new food for snacks and meals that was tasty and easy to prepare. So successful was the Tater Tot that Nephi referred to it as their “hero profit item,” and cited it as responsible for making Ore-Ida a household name. By the end of the 1950s, Ore-Ida had captured 25 percent of the domestic frozen potato market. A second plant was opened in 1960, and by 1961 Ore-Ida had gone public.

In 1964, despite generating an annual profit of $31 million, problems within the family necessitated the sale of Ore-Ida. The Griggs sold the company to H.J. Heinz in 1965 for $30 million. The Heinz purchase of Ore-Ida was the company’s first foray into the frozen food market. By the time Heinz merged with Kraft in 2015, the Tater Tot was so common of a product that few people realized the name was still trademarked to Ore-Ida. An advertising campaign was even created to differentiate OreIda tots from the competition. The campaign warned, “Don’t be fooled by Imi-taters,” because Ore-Ida Tater Tots were the “original and only.”

Today, as one of America’s cherished food items, Tater Tots have been incorporated in multitudes of home recipes and even elevated to culinary feature items at certain restaurants. There is no end of possibilities when it comes to something as versatile as the Tater Tot! So, next time you find yourself reaching for a crispy golden Tater Tot, think of the Griggs brothers and the Oregonian ingenuity that transformed cattle feed into a delectable treat enjoyed by millions.

Nephi Grigg was the inventor of the Tater Tot

Come Experience Portland’s

NOVA PDO THREADS 50% off One Area

Nova PDO Threads is a great way to tighten sagging skin, reduce wrinkling, and create new collagen. The PDO Threads that we use are FDA approved and produced in the USA.

UPNEEQ EYE DROP $189 PER BOX

UPNEEQ is the only FDA approved prescription eyedrop for acquired ptosis (low-lying lids) that lifts your upper eyelids to open your eyes. UPNEEQ opens, lightens and brightens the eye.

OPUS PLASMA 50% off One Area

Opus Plasma represents the next generation of fractional skin resurfacing treatments for women and men of most skin types who want to minimize wrinkles and reverse damage caused by the sun and the natural aging process

CO2 FRACTIONAL LASER 50% off One Area

Fractional CO2 laser resurfacing is one of the most effective way to treat fine lines, wrinkles, sun damage, loose or sagging ski, as well as scars. In addition to treating the face, we can treat the neck, chest and even hands.

Portland’s Finest Medical Spa

AGNES RF 50% off One Area

Agnes RF is a non-surgical radio frequency device that treats eye bags, tightens and removes fat from the neck and jawline area. Cystic acne is treated by removing the sebaceous gland.

COOLSCULPTING 50% off

Non-surgical body contouring treatment that FREEZE & ELIMINATES FAT from your body.

VANQUISH BTL ME & CELLUTONE BTL

50% off One Area Vanquish BTL ME is a non-surgical FDA cleared fat reduction used to reduce 1 to 4 inches off your body. Cellutone is a FDA approved non-invasive cellulite reduction and body contouring treatment.

SECRET RF MICRONEEDLING $899

(including face, neck & chest)

The Secret RF Microneedling System is a powerful new technology that is ideal for facial rejuvenation, improving scars, celllulite, and plumping and tightening loose skin.

CHOICE OF IPL, LASER GENESIS, NIR, CLEAR LIFT, MICRONEEDLING OR CHEMICAL PEEL

$189 PER ONE TREATMENT (ANY AREA)

IPL: Removes sun spots, age spots, acne spots and any other skin pigmentation

GENESIS: Improves fine lines, skin tone & increases collagen production

NIR: Removes the appearance of sagging skin, wrinkles and fine lines

CLEAR LIFT: Improves Melasma, Lifts sun damage, pigmentation & dark or red scars

MICRONEEDLING: Tightens, lifts & rejuvenates the skin, Improves wrinkles and fine lines

CHEMICAL PEEL: Improve the appearance and texture of the skin by increasing cell turnover

SOLEIL SIGNATURE FACIAL

50 minute facial includes steam, extractions, medical grade Microdermabrasion, collagen mask, and LED light treatment

Only $99