Shop local

NOVEMBER 27, 2019 • PAGE 1 • SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY • A PUBLICATION OF

The Chronicle

Shop Local Columbia County

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY www.thechronicleonline.com

NOVEMBER 30, 2019 A PUBLICATION OF The Chronicle

NOVEMBER 27, 2019 • PAGE 2 • SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY • A PUBLICATION OF

The Chronicle

Catch the Holiday Spirit Photo: Sarah Johnson

This year’s Catch the Holiday SPIRIT Card, which will also include names of participating businesses of the card-holder’s hometown on the back.

CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net

As see in The Chronicle Vol. 137, Nov. 6, 2019.

In an effort to encourage county residents to shop locally, Keep it Local Columbia County, in conjunction with Chambers of Commerce from Clatskanie, Rainier, St. Helens, Scappoose and Vernonia, is launching its fourth Catch the Holiday Spirit Campaign, which began on Nov. 16 and will run until Dec. 31.

The campaign, sponsored by Wauna Federal Credit Union, involves customers having their boxes checked off on a 20-box card, called the “SPIRIT Card,” which they obtain at participating businesses.

This year, more than 88 businesses are participating throughout Columbia County, and for every $10 the person spends at their business, one box gets checked off.

Local shoppers can also donate to local non-profits, and the non-profit will write “give” in one of the boxes for the amount donated. United Way and Amani Center are two of several

participating non-profits.

For businesses to participate, they had to give $25 to Keep It Local Columbia County. In exchange, they were given materials, like 25 SPIRIT Cards and a poster to display with participating businesses listed on it, as well as some perks, like their business name tagged for promotion in two different Facebook Events: “Catch the Holiday Spirit” and “Spirit Selfies.”

The deadline for businesses to participate was Nov. 1.

“It’s very much the economic groups collaborating to have a good Christmas.

It’s a fun little way to get people to shop locally,” Natasha Parvey, Director for Keep It Local Columbia County said.

Shoppers should aim to fill out all 20 boxes on the SPIRIT Card, or as many SPIRIT Cards as possible.

When filled out, cards should be dropped off at a specified drop-off location in the card-holder’s hometown by Dec. 31. For St. Helens residents, that drop-off location is Wauna Federal Credit Union.

Completed cards will be entered for a chance to win the drawing of the Community Prize, which will be a $50 gift card for

a minimum of three winners for the card-holder’s hometown. They will also be entered for a Columbia County grand-prize drawing on Jan. 7, 2020, which will be broadcast live from the Wauna Federal Credit Union in Clatskanie on Keep It Local’s Facebook page, for a prize valued at $150. Parvey said Keep It Local is still figuring out the details for both prizes.

This year, Parvey said the campaign has added something else to encourage younger Columbia County residents to join in: Spirit Selfie, where customers take pictures of themselves and their purchases at local businesses.

Spirit Selfie works a little differently from Catch the Holiday Spirit. The campaign still runs from Nov. 16 through Dec. 31, but shoppers do not have to carry a card with them, and there are no businesses officially partnered with the campaign.

Instead, shoppers choose any business in Columbia County and spend $25 or more. They then take a picture of their purchase or their receipt, post the photo on the Facebook Event page for Spirit Selfie and tag the local business in the entry. The Spirit Selfie Facebook page encourages shoppers to “get creative” with their photograph.

There will be a weekly drawing on Friday mornings, which will be announced on Facebook, and the winner will be contacted via Facebook messenger for prize pickup. Prizes valued at a minimum of $25 will be given away each week, according to Spirit Selfie’s Facebook page.

Before Keep It Local took over the Catch the Holiday Spirit Campaign, the Clatskanie Chamber of Commerce did their own version for a number of

years.

In Clatskanie, Chris Dahlgren, who served in a few different positions on the Clatskanie Chamber of Commerce, created “Catch the Holiday Spirit” in 2011 when she served as Promotion Chair. The campaign had a model nearly identical to the one currently in use by Keep It Local, in which Dahlgren also serves as a member.

Twice a year, once during the holidays and once during the spring, the campaign took place, with customers carrying a card with them, checking off boxes when they made a local purchase, and then awarded prizes when they turned in completed cards.

Prizes were often Chamber Checks that could be used to shop locally, with the grand prize being $50.

Keep It Local, when it was formed five years ago to encourage business growth in Columbia County, saw the success of that model and made it their own, according to Parvey.

“When Keep It Local was formed, the purpose was to be the glue to bring the county together. We thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great to bring the county together for Christmas,’ and we thought we’d use the Clatskanie model but take it county-wide,” Parvey said.

Catch the Holiday Spirit has been growing in its four years of county-wide existence. According to Parvey, in its first year, the campaign brought in $26,000, its second year brought $46,000 and last year the figure was $91,000 of money spent in-county.

Those numbers are just estimates from completed SPIRIT Cards, and the true figure is probably a lot higher, Dahlgren said.

Dahlgren now owns and runs Discounts & Deals

in Clatskanie and has her store participate in Catch the Holiday Spirit. She said she gives out about 100 cards each year and tries to push the campaign in her store. One thing Dahlgren said she would like to see improved is the number of businesses participating, and the amount that each business advertises the campaign to its customers.

“We actually need the businesses to be promoting this as much as Keep It Local,” Dahlgren said.

Dahlgren said oftentimes customers will make

a purchase in her store and hear about the campaign.

They will then look at the list of participating businesses on the poster and say they were just at one of the stores listed, but didn’t hear about the campaign, let alone obtain a SPIRIT Card and get boxes checked for purchases made.

“I tell them to go back with their receipt and make them sign it. Some of the businesses just don’t train their staff to push it, and if that happened, it would be a lot more successful,” Dahlgren said.

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NOVEMBER 27, 2019 • PAGE 3 • SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY • A PUBLICATION OF

The Chronicle

Seely Mint launches shake with Burgerville CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net

As see in The Chronicle Vol. 137, Oct. 16, 2019.

Columbia County residents who have ever bought Seely’s Dark Chocolate Mint Patties may not have known they were purchasing a locally-made product. The item comes from Seely Farm in Clatskanie, which devotes 450 of its 650 acres to growing heirloom Black Mitcham Peppermint and Native Spearmint, which they then break down to form tea leaf and essential oil. The site also includes a facility to make its chocolate products and other products on the same land.

The entire operation is facilitated by Clatskanie resident Mike Seely, and the sweet treats, coated in dark chocolate and filled with a creamy mint filling, are part of a new deal.

On Wednesday, Oct. 9, Burgerville, a local fast-food chain, announced the release of six new milkshakes, all made with hyper-local ingredients. The menu debuted on Oct. 10, and features Classic Chocolate, Sweet Cream, Oregon Strawberry, Portland Cold Brew, Hazelnut Chocolate and Seely’s Mint Patty milk shake. The shake will be available at all 41 Burgerville stores year-round for the rest

Christine Menges/The Chronicle

Mike Seely, owner and operator of Seely Mint in Clatskanie, stands with his milkshake in front of Burgerville, which recently released a new Seely Mint product.

of the time that Burgerville is around, Seely said.

“I can’t divulge how many of them they expect to sell, but I looked at the number and I went, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Seely said.

The opportunity came about when Jamie Powell, vice president of product development at Burgerville, who had worked with Seely Mint during her former posi-

tion in management at New Seasons reached out to Seely this past spring and asked him if he had any thoughts on some new flavors. Because Burgerville’s mission is to go with local products and clean ingredients, they thought Seely’s mint products would be a good contributor.

From that point, Seely shipped the company a bunch of samples and worked with

Powell and her Burgerville team to develop the finished product.

“We threw out a couple of different ideas and they came back with, ‘we really like a peppermint patty milkshake,” Seely said. “They’ve been really easy to work with.”

The milkshake will be made with Burgerville’s ice cream, which is sourced from a high-end retailer, Seely’s

peppermint oil and crushed up Seely’s mint patties. During the milkshake-crafting brainstorming process, Burgerville did not try to change the recipe of the mint patties.

The other milk shakes have ingredients coming from local retailers and farms like Holy Kakow, Alpenrose Dairy, Liepold Farms, Portland Roasting and Ground Up PDX. Seely said his farm employs old fashioned tactics for growing mint. While 19 people are employed to take care of Seely’s four products, including the patties and also mint tea, bark and melts, the farm itself is strictly Seely himself along with his wife and son. (Seely has a daughter who also works on the farm but devotes herself to cattle raising.)

The primary ingredient in the shake is the mint patty itself, which is infused with Seely’s peppermint oil.

Seely Mint has contracted with other companies in the past as well. They sold a mint milkshake at the Columbia County Fair and Rodeo four or five years ago, partnering with the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association. According to Seely, the shake was a hit.

The mint patties are also sold at Bertucci’s, Fred Meyer and New Seasons. At New Seasons, the mint patties are a top 40 product in all their stores across the US and

Canada. The mint farm has also formed partnerships with other ice cream companies, including Tillamook, Alpenrose, Salt and Straw, and Ruby Jewel all of which use Seely’s mint oil.

Seely said the main difference between his mint farm and other farms is that they harvest at a three to five percent bloom in order to get the optimum flavor out of the mint leaves. Not enough bloom, and the mint leaves would not be ripe for harvest, too much bloom and the mint oil would be bitter, according to Seely.

Other farms, according to Seely, sacrifice flavor in order to make a larger profit.

“Most mint farming now has gone in the direction of competing as a commodity crop instead of producing a premium oil,” Seely said.

“Most of the peppermint in the Willamette Valley and in many other areas is harvested twice a year now. They harvest in late June and then they harvest again about the middle of September and they don’t harvest it when the plant is mature.”

Seely said while the farm uses some technology to keep track of irrigation and other matters, they don’t sacrifice quality for quantity.

“I can give you a sample of our peppermint oil and you’ll see the difference,” Seely said.

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NOVEMBER 27, 2019 • PAGE 4 • SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY • A PUBLICATION OF

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Changes to Riverfront District

Molly’s Market, recently opened on 1st Street in St. Helens.

like water bottles, soda and snacks, but also items often found at a grocery store, like eggs, milk, bacon and bread.

Co-owners Molly Matchak and Philip Stanton, brother and sister, opened up Molly’s Market on Oct. 5 in a “soft opening,” in order to get the feel of the business.

The business had their grand opening on Halloween, Oct. 31.

Stanton, who owns some property in St. Helens, and operates Portland Properties, LLC, said he and his sister had been wanting to see a small-size market in St. Helens for a while, because he felt the city was sorely lacking one.

“Having been down here for ten years, [the lack of a market] drove me crazy,” Stanton said.

Matchak fell in love with what she called the “St.

CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net

As see in The Chronicle Vol. 137, Oct. 23, 2019.

Changes are coming to the Riverfront District.

Sometimes referred to as “Old Town,” The Riverfront District is the vicinity from 7th Street to the river and is the city’s historic downtown area. The area has recently seen the expansion of businesses, as well as increased access to the waterfront.

Molly’s Market

Christine Menges/The Chronicle

There is also one business that is completely new: Molly’s Market Located at 290 S. 1st Street, the market is stocked with a lot of items one would find at a convenience store

­­­­

Helens vibe,” and decided to move here. She said opening a market has always been a dream of hers, especially one that was modeled after a store located in her childhood hometown.

When she was a child, Matchak said she and her family would often walk to a grocery store named “Rory’s” three blocks away from her house to buy a soda or a chocolate bar and came to know the owners of the grocery store very well.

The market was more than just a place to buy goods for Matchak and Stanton, but a place for everyone in their town to feel a sense of community.

“Everybody knew each other, it was just such a good feeling,” Matchak said.

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NOVEMBER 27, 2019 • PAGE 5 • SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY • A PUBLICATION OF

RIVERFRONT From Page A1 Stanton described Molly’s Market as one you would find back in a traditional small town that carries a little bit of everything. Their selection includes some food, but also a kitchen section where customers can purchase cleaning supplies, a health section for health-specific foods and even an upcoming toy section.

The move-in process has taken about a year. Stanton purchased a few properties in St. Helens a year and a half ago, including the buildings where Running Dogs Brewery and Plymouth Pub are located.

Stanton was able to keep the space empty and waiting for Matchak before she could begin the move-in process.

Six months ago, Matchak began moving refrigeration into the place and started to define her business model.

Right now, the store occupies

about 800 square feet, although Stanton estimates the business has room to expand to 1,500 square feet.

Already, Matchak said she has felt a sense of community, support and gratitude from customers regarding her business. One person in particular has already made an impact.

That person made a $1,000 donation to Matchak when she was first moving in.

She told the story with tears in her eyes.

One Wednesday morning, Matchak was in her market, working with her beer distributer and calculating inventory when she saw a man in his 70s or 80s walk in. He asked Matchak if she was the woman who ran the establishment, and she replied that she was. He then handed Matchak a check for $1,000.

“He said recently he got a bill of health and said he wanted to support small businesses. I started to cry. He just smiled and said, ‘I just

believe in small businesses and I hope you do well,’” Matchak said.

That customer has been back to the store a few times since then, Matchak said, and she knows the customer and his wife on a first-name basis.

It’s this sense of community that Matchak said she is hoping to build.

“Just a sense of you can say, ‘Hey, Molly,’ and I can say, ‘Hey, Jim,’” Matchak said. “I want to know my community by name and they know I have the things they need.”

Matchak said so far, she has felt a strong sense of gratitude from all of her customers who walk in her store.

“I didn’t realize how much this place really needed a grocery store,” she said.

Additional expansion There are three other businesses in the Riverfront District that are either expanding or have recently expanded: Running Dogs

Brewery, Plymouth Pub and a new business to complement The Woodland Cottage Boutique.

Stanton, who owns the buildings for both Running Dogs and Plymouth Pub, said Running Dogs, located at 291 S. 1st Street, has recently expanded their brewery to the space that neighbors them, with plans to break down the wall between the spaces in about a year.

Plymouth Pub, located at 292 S. 1st Street, will be adding breakfast to their menu in November, and owner Brad Rakes is looking at plans for expansion, probably into the area marked “Haunted House” behind the restaurant, according to Stanton.

“He doesn’t have any concrete plan, but we know that it’s going to happen,” Stanton said.

Courtney Allison, owner of The Woodland Cottage Boutique, located at 241 S. 1st Street, said she is planning to open a new business right next door in the near fu-

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ture, called The Great Northern Apothecary. According to Allison, the new business will sell bulk seasoning, spices and teas and will also have bulk fill stations available for customers.

“We’ll try at some point to have olive oil on tap, locally grown honey, and just be a place for people to come together if they want to make spice blends, soap, and just be a miniature supply market for people,” Allison said.

Allison said her business will open sometime around December or January.

Riverfront access The final change coming to the Riverfront District is increased access to the river itself.

Recently, St. Helens Public Works crews removed approximately 350 feet of fencing and overgrown vegetation along the slope from the end of S. 1st Street to the basalt stairs that lead to S. 2nd Street. The removal of

fencing and vegetation means that St. Helens residents can access Riverfront property more easily.

Rachael Barry, Government of Affairs and Project Support Specialist said the timing of the project was done while keeping in mind other tasks for the Waterfront Redevelopment Project.

“For several years, we’ve been engaged in planning and getting a really solid foundation,” Barry said. “We started looking around for projects we can achieve in a really fiscally responsible manner. We’ve got a lot of grants out there that are pending, and we decided it was time to start moving on things that were totally in our control.”

Barry also said that more fences will be coming down soon, sometime in November while Spirit of Halloweentown cleanup gets underway.

“We’re going to work closely with Public Works to remove fencing on Strand in November,” Barry said.

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NOVEMBER 27, 2019 • PAGE 6 • SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY • A PUBLICATION OF

Crossword Puzzle STATEPOINT CROSSWORD THEME: CLASSIC CHILDREN’S BOOKS

ACROSS 1. Tetanus symptom 6. *Giant bird of “One Thousand and One Nights” 9. Cooking grease 13. Home to Buccaneers 14. Major division of geological time 15. Dressmaker’s measurement 16. Brown, Dartmouth and Yale, e.g.

17. “To ____ is human” 18. Provide, as with some quality 19. *Brian Jacque’s fictional world 21. *One of Mr. Popper’s visitors 23. Like a fox?

24. Play charades 25. International Monetary Fund 28. Reproductive structures 30. 7th planet from the sun 35. *Arnold Lobel’s “Mouse ____” 37. Approximately, two words 39. 50th state greeting 40. Cannonballs to cannon 41. Big Dipper shape 43. Niels ____ of quantum

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physics 44. Change the Constitution 46. *Hugo Cabret’s “wheel” 47. Arctic jaeger 48. *a.k.a. Caroline Augusta Woodlawn 50. ‘70s hairdo 52. “Be quiet!” - onomatopoetically speaking 53. Like never-written story 55. Mining product 57. *”Roar of ____, Hear My Cry” 61. *”The ____ in Times Square” 65. A variety show 66. *Peter Parker’s Aunt 68. Escape 69. Signs of things to come 70. Military activities 71. Burdened 72. Black or green, hot or cold, pl.

73. No longer working, abbr.

74. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” trick DOWN 1. Cookbook direction 2. Make way?

3. In the thick of 4. What Old Faithful does 5. Indian spice mix 6. Movie roll 7. Hockey legend Bobby 8. Plural of carpus 9. Carol on Christmas Eve 10. Pakistani language 11. Evening purse

12. *”That Was ____, This Is Now” 15. Plural of genus 20. Popular disinfectant 22. Second-largest bird in world 24. Error in a card game 25. Babel or Stern 26. *____ Beaumont in “Savvy” 27. Was furious 29. Rugged rock 31. Priests’ robes 32. Located near crannies?

33. Yeah or aye 34. *Plain and tall one 36. *”The Witch of Blackbird ____” 38. *”The Series of Unfortunate Events” villain 42. Fielding mistake 45. Type of semiconductor, pl.

49. *”But I heard him exclaim, ___ he drove out of sight” 51. Bay windows 54. Knight’s shiny garb 56. “Bravo! Bravo!”

57. *Mother Goose’s “Dame ____ and Her Cat” 58. Part of hemoglobin 59. Iris holder 60. *Miss Clavel and such 61. Benign lump 62. Spiral-horned antelope 63. Biblical paradise 64. Backpacker’s shelter 67. *Ivan of “The One and Only Ivan”

Answers to crossword on Page 7

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NOVEMBER 27, 2019 • PAGE 7 • SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY • A PUBLICATION OF

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The gift that keeps on giving

S

hopping local is the ultimate gift you can give your community and it is an incredibly patriotic act. By shopping local, you keep your money local, investing in the place that invests in you.

Read on for some inspiring reasons to shop local.

You make your town the place to be

Local shops and businesses are what give a town its flavor.

By spending money in local shops — especially those that support local makers — you are making a statement that you appreciate those trades and would like to see them remain in the area. Supporting those businesses can even at-

tract more people to your area.

Towns and cities with vibrant downtown areas are hot spots during the shopping season, resulting in more revenue for many related businesses, organizations and tourism bureaus.

You help shape your community

A community’s small businesses are what give a town or city its heart; these are places that help shape your town’s character and personal brand.

Locally owned businesses tend to stock the items and products that they know will sell well.

By purchasing from small businesses, you are helping to dictate the items they sell, as well as their overall success in the community.

You support your neighbors

Well, maybe not technically your neighbors, but definitely others who live in your area.

Not only do small businesses

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account for more than 99 percent of all the business in the country (that is a lot of jobs), but they support and give to local programs. One of the most popular ways small businesses give back is through sponsoring little league teams and major community events. And shopping local doesn’t stop at purchasing gifts. Consider shopping local with your groceries or opening up a savings account at a local bank to save for your Christmas shopping all year round.

Crossword Answers

NOVEMBER 27, 2019 • PAGE 8 • SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY • A PUBLICATION OF

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