The Nugget Newspaper - Neighbors: Summer Funnin' // 2024-06-12

Matt and Jenny Behnke sought a life of adventure and creativity. They’ve found it in Sisters.

The couple fronts Skybound Blue, an Americana, harmonydriven roots band. Their music, influenced by Gillian Welch, The Civil Wars, and The Avett Brothers, strives to create meaningful songs and melodies that resonate with their audience. The Behnke’s moved to Sisters three years ago from McMinnville, looking to be closer to the outdoors and the music community in Sisters.

Skybound Blue

BY CEILI GATLEY

Matt and Jenny Behnke have quickly become an integral part of the Sisters music community.

“We feel so lucky to be here and adore the music community here that has welcomed us with open arms,” said Jenny. Jenny and Matt have always been passionate about music; they lived in Nashville for many years, composed and wrote songs together, and did gigs around Nashville before moving to Oregon in 2009 to be closer to Matt’s parents. “McMinnville was a great place to exercise as artists. We got some gigs there, and we enjoyed being closer to the climate and scenery in Oregon,” said Matt.

Jenny works remotely full time in administration for her practice, Thrive Integrative Psychiatry in McMinnville, but has always had a passion for singing and pursuing music. Matt is a craftsman currently working as a builder for Preston Thompson Guitars in Sisters. He is building his custom guitar with his coworkers at Preston Thompson. Matt has been documenting the build process with his team on social media through videos. Matt hopes the guitar will be ready for debut at Skybound Blue’s set at Big Ponderoo at the end of June.

The Behnke’s unique journey began in jazz choir at community college in Spokane. They left school after falling in love and seeking that life of adventure and creativity. In 2000, they sold everything and bought a sailboat, spending a year in the Bahamas. However, they soon realized how much they missed their community and returned to Oregon. Upon their return, they received life-altering news: Jenny was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at just 26 years old. Despite this, her commitment to music remained unwavering, and she realized more than ever that she needed to pursue and create music with Matt. Jenny went through

treatments and is now cancer-free, a testament to her strength and resilience.

After their transformative experience in the Bahamas, the couple returned to McMinnville, ready to face the challenges of establishing themselves in a new music scene and building a fanbase from scratch. Their unwavering passion and resilience carried them through this challenging time, inspiring all who heard their music.

Matt and Jenny have always strived to balance their music life and careers. They decided to be in a community where they could pursue music but still have the comforts of a home and community around them.

“That’s really what success feels like. We are full time and have scaled back our time on stage, but we are always writing and recording music,” said Jenny. “We’ve learned that saying no to more things has benefitted our balance and daily decisions,” said Jenny. The Behnkes, a testament to resilience, have always strived to balance their music career, other full-time jobs, and the responsibilities of raising their 13-year-old son. “One of the many reasons we love Sisters is the schools; once we heard about them, it was a no-brainer to move over here,” said Matt.

Their band name, Skybound Blue, came from a song lyric, sitting around chatting with friends.

“We knew we wanted a name, and we sat around with friends, listened to our songs, and tried on the name Skybound Blue. Now, we’ve had it for 10 years. It feels like something positive, and feels like going somewhere, into the Skybound Blue,” said Matt.

“Keith recommended him to us, and it was great to have the recording person and then David as the producer telling us what meshed well, and (helping) create a beautiful composition of the songs,” said Matt.

Jenny writes the majority of the lyrics to their songs, and Matt composes the melody.

This record provided comfort, with two songs dedicated to Jenny’s dad after his passing.

“Recording feels like processing grief into joy,” said Jenny.

After attending one of Jenner Fox’s songwriting classes through Sisters Folk Festival, Matt learned the importance of trying to play compositions on different instruments to shake something loose. “Another Song,” came from that experiment. In that song, Matt plays the guitar he built off the design of a cigar box guitar with a square body using pieces of wood from different craftsman projects pieced together to create an instrument.

Being a married couple and in a band together can come with challenges, but overall, it’s rewarding.

“We get to be so close together, and I see your partner as a person to help you grow, and when it’s your bandmate and your spouse, you are striving to help each other be your best selves and musicians. It’s all about the energy and connection we have with the crowd. It’s easy to get lost in the logistics, but once we are on stage together, it’s an opportunity to reconnect, and it’s extraordinary,” said Jenny.

“We are so thrilled to have landed here in this community of artists and people who appreciate life and music,” said Jenny.

Their home near Sage Meadow, a place filled with love and music, was sold to them by family friends, a testament to the strong bonds they have formed in their community.

Their latest record is only available for download on their website, and they will have physical copies for sale at Big Ponderoo. They have a few local gigs lined up in Sisters, including at the Sisters Depot on August 10. They will perform back in McMinnville and Maupin, with some Sisters shows later in the fall, including a show at the Suttle Lodge.

Their latest record, “Born to Love You,” is the fourth record, produced by David Jacobs-Strain and Keith Banning of Grange Recorders.

the fourth record, produced by David Jacobs-Strain and Keith Banning of Grange Recorders.

Skybound Blue will perform at the second annual Big Ponderoo Festival on Saturday, June 29, on the Ponderoo Stage. For more information, visit www.bigponderoo.com.

Skybound Blue’s fourth record, “Born to Love You,” is available for preview and purchase at their website: SkyboundBlue.com

PICKIN’ AWAY on long, hot summer days

BY JIM CORNELIUS

Well, I’m gonna pick up some of these empties, Lord

As soon as I find where they lay Tied off them jolly and leavin’ lines

On a long hot summer day...

— John Hartford

Nothing evokes the long, lovely days of summer more strongly than homemade music on the porch or on the lawn, played in fellowship with friends.

Linda Leavitt and Tom Nechville have put together an opportunity for summer fun — and musical growth — in their Second Sunday Bluegrass Jam from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at Banjos West. Tom has crafted a new pickin’ porch at the shop at 411 E. Main Ave. (directly across from The Nugget Newspaper).

Nechville is a legendary banjo-maker whose instruments tear up stages across the world in the hands of tier-one players like Béla Fleck, Alison Brown, and Billy Failing, who plays with Billy Strings. He’s a Bluegrass picker in his own right.

Leavitt plays guitar and sings beautiful lead and harmony. She teaches everything from harmony vocals to bluegrass jam etiquette.

“I actually had the title ‘Instigator of Fun’ for a while at a bluegrass festival,” she said with a grin. “Some of it had to do with pie.”

Both musicians believe fervently in the importance of the connections forged by people getting to gather to play bluegrass music.

“People want this,” Leavitt said. “They want to play with other people. That’s what really turns me on — getting people together and doing a creative thing together.”

Nechville concurs.

“I’ve been surprised at how many people show up at open mics and jams. It’s incredible,” he said. “People are always looking for opportunities, and we just want to be one of those opportunities.”

Jammers often break up into two or three groups on Nechville’s expansive property, so that the jams are manageable and each musician gets to really participate. Some are on the lawn, some are on the pickin’ porch, some are inside.

Leavitt notes that bluegrass has a wide range of variants, depending on where you are. West coast bluegrass is different from more traditional southern and eastern bluegrass — but there are micro variations even within the bigger regions.

“Even from the Valley to here, what people think is bluegrass is different,” she said.

Whatever the regional variations, bluegrass is a kind of universal international language. Nechville and Leavitt have traveled a lot, and they hear this traditional American art form everywhere.

“You can really take this music all over the world,” Leavitt said. “Everybody knows ‘Old Joe Clark.’”

The high lonesome feeling that bluegrass lyrics often evoke resonate far beyond the upper south and Appalachia, where

the genre was born.

“It’s the music of a diaspora, and so many people have had that experience of loss or moving away from home — and home isn’t there anymore,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt recently earned a place with Leadership Bluegrass, the International Bluegrass Music Association’s intensive professional development program. Nechville was selected in 2011.

According to the IBMA, “each year, 25 applicants are selected to gather in Nashville, Tennessee for three days of panels, presentations, and teamwork to better understand the current industry landscape and foster leadership in the bluegrass community.”

Leavitt explained the benefits:

“You have this network. And a lot of what I do and have done over time is connect people. Everybody in that room is a problem-solver.”

Leavitt and Nechville are committed to helping bluegrass musicians succeed. For example, they nurtured the band Never Come Down, which has played house concerts in Sisters and is now a highly regarded band on the bluegrass scene.

But their support, teaching, and nourishing isn’t reserved for pros. They want to build the skills, camaraderie, and joy of the musicians across the country and in their adopted community.

“This is a great place to be for artists and musicians,” Nechville said. “I think people recognize it as a component of their lives, as self-improvement.”

Leavitt says, “I want people to be able to go out and jam with anybody and not get the hairy eyeball.”

To keep up with events and opportunities, visit ww.banjoswest. com/events. Contact Nechville to confirm that the Sunday jam is on.

Tom Nechville and Linda Leavitt out on the picking’ porch across the street from TheNugget.

PUMPING UP the summer fun

BY BILL BARTLETT

Sisters folks are pumping up good times this summer with inflatable toys, games, and watercraft. Now that summer appears to have arrived on the scene the lakes and rivers are blooming with all sorts of fun seekers inflating a vast array of brightly colored kayaks, loungers, floaters, tubes, and SUPs (stand up paddle boards).

The SUP market has exploded with the entry of inflatable boards. The benefits of an inflatable are obvious — weight and size. You can carry an inflatable in your backpack or toss it into the trunk or back seat of any car. A rigid board — eightplus feet in length — needs to travel on a roof, or in a pickup bed, or hang out the rear window of a hatchback.

Because it’s easy to learn, and an inflatable board can be had for as little as $250–$350, it’s a bargain compared to a new set of skis or a new mountain bike. Most buyers will opt to spend closer to $600 for a better constructed rig with multiple-layer PVC skins (meaning better protection), and a greater chance of getting a higher numbers of drop stitches and welded seams, adding to longevity.

Inflatable is the key here. A decent rigid board will set you back a thousand dollars or more depending on its construction material — plastic being a fourth to a third the price of carbon fiber. Plus the paddle, another $125–$300.

But the fun extends way beyond SUP. Inflatable kayaks have been around for years for much the same reason — portability. Designers seem to have no limits. And it’s cheap fun too, in an age where many families have been priced out of theme parks and long-distance vacations. For $169, as example, you can get a sixperson floating island with built-in ice buckets.

There is a major distinction in inflatables between beach and pool quality, and deep- or running-water quality. Taking a pool-quality inflatable beyond 100 feet of shore can be dangerous. The differences are obvious — just by touch and weight. Know what you are buying and where you will use it, especially when children are involved.

Nobody knows more about inflatable fun than Tracy Streeter at Hillside Ski & Sport in Sisters. Streeter was skeptical at first that floaties, which she brought in for the 2021 season, would be much of a

Inflatables offer families and friends

affordable family fun close to home.

seller. The store has been “blowing them

She has her own criteria for inflatable

seller. The store has been “blowing them out ever since,” she said, with the hot weather being her best advertisement. She has her own criteria for inflatable fun.

“It must have a cup holder,” she said. “Always have a patch kit. And get a pump that you can power off your car.”

Osbourn and Granger families at Cline and Redmond where it was party city. There were floating sharks for the younger children, wrap around loungers

for water basketball and, of course, squirt

The Nugget caught up with the Osbourn and Granger families at Cline Falls State Park midway between Sisters and Redmond where it was party city. There were floating sharks for the younger children, wrap around loungers for the parents, and a mishmash of floaties for the teens. They had an inflatable hoop for water basketball and, of course, squirt guns ranging from a 10- to 40-foot spray.

“We do this at least 10 times a sumstay out here all day and the only thing we worry about is sunburn,” grinned dad

“We do this at least 10 times a summer,” said mom Kari Granger. “We can stay out here all day and the only thing we worry about is sunburn,” grinned dad Randy Osbourn.

The kids, 7 to 17, were too busy having

The kids, 7 to 17, were too busy having fun to stop for questions.

Up at Suttle Lake, Luke Stallings was introducing his girlfriend, Myra Dorsett, to SUP. Both in their 20s, and both working six days a week, find it easy to chuck their boards into the back seat and get on the water in under an hour.

Up at Suttle Lake, Luke Stallings was

Books Games

“What’s better than water for fun?” Myra asked. “We live in a desert and here we are every chance we get heading for water,” Luke added.

A few yards away, Marti Jacobs was inflating her two-person kayak. She had her grandson, Adam, six, along for his first time in a kayak. Within minutes they were off, donned in life jackets, and a few minutes longer they were a mile offshore but you could still hear the delight in their voices.

Marti cautioned that it’s easy to think an inflatable boat can’t sink and that you don’t need life jackets.

“I have a two-chamber kayak and I still always wear my jacket,” she said. “Water in Oregon is cold and it doesn’t take long for hypothermia to set in.”

For affordable multi-generational fun, not much beats inflatables. Sisters Country is teeming with lakes — Three Creeks, Suttle, Clear, and Big Lake being among the most popular. Likewise for our abundance of rivers. And in Bend is the popular Whitewater Park where you can put your inflatable to the ultimate fun test.

Events

Fun for everyone! Open 9:30 AM –7 PM Daily

! y

THURSDAY, JUNE 13 • 6:30PM

ELIZABETH MEHREN pr esents I Lived to Tell the World: Stories from Survivors of Holocaust, Genocide, and the Atrocities of War, 13 inspiring pr ofiles of people w ho endur ed unthinkable cr uelty, only to resume pr oductive lives in their ne w homes in Or egon.

MONDAY, JUNE 17 • 5:30PM PSB FICTION BOOK CLUB discussing VenCo by CHERIE DEMALINE. Meeting thir d Monday; info at paulinaspringsbooks.com.

TUESDAY, JUNE 18 • 6:30PM New York Times bestselling author PHILLIP MARGOLIN pr esents Betrayal: A Robin Lockwood Novel

Lo T THU nCo y 6:30PM g, d

THURSDAY, JUNE 20 • 6:30P

SHARON E. KARR uses rare vintage images fr om a v ariety of sour ces to celebr ate the ric h histor y of a c har ming town called Sister s in Around Sisters

THURSDAY, JUNE 27 • 6:30PM

Myster y writer TED HAYNES pr esents The Sunriver Murders, the fifth book in his Nor thwest Mur der Myster y Series featuring mur der, forest fire, death thr eats, and hidden tr easur e.

THURSDAY, JULY 11 • 6:30PM

JOE WILKINS in conver sation with ELLEN WATERSTON pr esenting The Entire Sky, a poignant stor y about a tr oubled boy on the r un, an aging ranc her, and a woman at a cr ossr oads, who find unexpected solace and kinship in the family they make.

EVERY SATURDAY AT 10 AM!

Drive-in celebrates unique cars and community

BY JIM CORNELIUS

of how his 1966 Ford

There’s nothing a car enthusiast enjoys more than hanging out with other car enthusiasts, and showing off their pride and joy.

“Gearheads like to geek out with each other and their cars,” said Mondo Aguilera.

Aguilera is the organizer of an informal drive-in held each summer Friday evening at Eurosports Food Cart Garden on the corner of East Hood Avenue and Fir Street.

Aguilera should know — he is one. He has a 1966 F-100 with manual steering and brakes that he parks on the street. He’s happy to tell the tale of how his truck became what it is — and others share their own stories.

“We lie to each other about how fast it is and how much power it has,” Aguilera said with a chuckle.

The drive-in isn’t a formal thing — it’s not really a car show. It grew organically from a conversation between a couple of car guys.

“It started with Brad (Boyd, owner of Eurosports),” Aguilera said. “He had an antique car; he had his dad’s antique Mercedes. I said, ‘You know, we should do a thing here.’”

So they did. Eurosports has a nice

corner location with plenty of parking spaces, and the food cart courtyard is a great place for car aficionados and passers-by to gather and talk about cars. The criteria for participation isn’t strict.

“It wasn’t even really an old-car thing,” Aguilera said. “It was a unique car thing.”

Over a period of four or five years, the drive-in has grown into a staple of summer fun in Sisters.

“It’s become quite a community,” Aguilera said. “On some of the summer nights, we have not enough parking spaces. We would have as many as 20 cars or so.”

Car owners just show up around 4:30 or 5 p.m. and park their rig. Some of them open the hood to show off the engine. Passers-by ooh and ahhh over the beautiful paint and chrome — or point out the wild and wooly rigs that aren’t as glossy but just as interesting. And folks talk and share stories and act like neighbors. The community may be the best part.

“I’ve met a lot of new people,” Aguilera said. “I’ve met neighbors who had old cars that I didn’t know they had. So it’s been pretty cool.”

Europsports is located at 223 E. Hood Ave. in Sisters.

tisans

Mondo Aguilera is happy to tell the tale

F-100 became

corner location with plenty of parking

&STARS STRIPES

American Flag facts

Our first U.S. flag, also called the Betsy Ross flag, had six white stripes, seven red stripes, and 13 stars in a circle in the (Union) blue upper left corner of the flag — all to represent the original 13 Colonies. Requested by then Commander of the Continental Army, Gen. George Washington, it was completed in June 1776.

RED STRIPES STOOD FOR VALOR, COURAGE, AND BRAVERY.

WHITE STRIPES STOOD FOR PURITY AND INNOCENCE.

BLUE STOOD FOR VIGILANCE.

The last edition of our U.S. Flag Code was published in 1989. Flag etiquette within the code is now managed through tradition, not by law. The most understood and accepted version still clearly states that respect is most important.

• Flag should never touch anything beneath it.

• Flag should never be used for wearing apparel, etc.

BY EARL SCHROEDER

• Torn, frayed, dirty, or damaged flags should not be used and should be destroyed in a dignified manner.

• Active or retired military Veterans or Boy Scouts may perform the act of flag destruction by burning. To be done in a respectful manner.

• In the presence of other flags, the U.S. flag should always be the highest.

• The flag should always be allowed to blow or fall freely.

• At meetings, the flag should always be placed at the left of the audience.

• The (blue) Union stars should always be

displayed at the upper left of the flag.

• A flag flown at half-staff is to honor or acknowledge someone’s death.

• A flag that is raised upside-down is a signal of distress or extreme danger.

The next time an American flag passes you by, say at a parade, you may see citizens with their hands over their hearts. You may also see people rendering a hand salute, which is being done by past or present military Veterans. This is one of the simplest ways of showing respect to our country’s flag.

Earl Schroeder served in the United States Air Force.

A passion for the U.S. Flag

I was asked last week why I had such a passion for our country’s flag, having earned the title of The Flag Man. The passion has been with me all my life, but it had never occurred to me until the question was asked. After a week of thinking about this I would like to share how this patriotic feeling came to me.

I was born the same month that Hitler invaded Poland. Our flag became an important symbol for our country, and it remains close to my heart to this day. Our liberty and freedoms are represented by and through our U.S. flag.

It’s amazing how many of our country’s flag are seen all around Sisters Country: In front of government offices, public schools, on Cascade Avenue businesses, homes, city parks, Fire Department, and so many more. Then there are, service club meetings, veterans meetings, banks, nonprofits, and meetings of all kinds that honor our flag, and many recite The Pledge of Allegiance. Flags abound throughout our City of Sisters. I would surmise over 200 flags are flying proudly.

Flags represent many nations and people throughout the world. All recognized countries in the world have a national flag. All except one, Nauru, a small island nation off the east coast of Australia. The flag of our nation, USA, is the most recognized flag in the world, which should give us all tremendous national pride.

BY EARL SCHROEDER

This coming Friday, June 14, is Flag Day here in America. Formerly established in 1949 by the U.S. Congress, President Truman signed it into law. However, Flag Day was not included in the 1968 Uniform Holiday Act, which means it is not a federal holiday.

Our first official country’s flag was adopted on June 14, 1777, and was called The Grand Union or Continental Colors flag. After almost 250 years our Stars & Stripes have had 26 variations, and the 27th change came in 1959, when Hawaii became our 50th state, hence 50 stars on the blue union.

The citizens of USA have been granted many freedoms that other countries envy, and the symbol that represents these freedoms are our “Old Glory, The Colors, Star Spangled Banner, or simply the Red, White & Blue,” our USA’s Flag. This is where, I, for one, have a passion to love, hold dearly, respect, and give cause to protect what our flag stands for.

Every day, in my book, is Flag Day. Consider flying your flag often, treat it with respect, and may God Bless America.

Earl Schroeder served in the United States Air Force.

IF YOU HAVE A FLAG THAT IS UNFIT TO FLY AND WISH TO HAVE IT PROPERLY DISPOSED, YOU MAY DROP IT OFF AT CITY HALL, ACE HARDWARE, OR GIVE TO A MILITARY VETERAN FOR DISPOSAL.

Nugget Poetry Corner

ODE TO A CHOPPING BLOCK

ByJerry Hanford

Once to me two cor ds wer e given,

Alas, they wer e not split or cloven

Stout logs they wer e of pine and fir

Upon a block they must be r ender ed

Seeking out a righteous altar

I c hanced upon a stump of alder

T his sturdy bloc k will take the whac ks

So I cut it with my tr usty axe

I bor e it to its place of sitting

And commenced upon the wor k of splitting

For year s it bor e the taxing hacks

As logs wer e split with upon its bac k

Not only logs upon it stood

But on occasion a fowl’s r ed blood

Was shed upon its aged tree rings

Sad to feel the shar p cr uel stings

One day a stur dy round atop it sat

The str ong bloc k’s shoulder s, thic k and fat

I swung the heavy maul with power

But never did the stout log cower

Enr aged by this reluctant wood chor e

I set upon it with the str ength of Thor

Upon my bleeding hands I spit

And so the stur dy lo g I split

But, oh no, w hat’s this? An er rant miss?

Through the lo g the axe did pass

Until the c hopping block it met

No mor e will wood upon it sit

Oh, now w hat will I do?

My f aithful c hopping block is split in two

I did not pause to bloc k admir e

I cast it in the hear th’s hot fir e

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS

The Nugget

Steven shares this photo from Muxia, Spain, on what is known as the Costa de Morte, the coast of death, because of all the ship wrecks that have occurred over the years.