Yachats Oregon Writer Rick Schultze

As Oregon's Spring Break for students wound down other Spring Breakers from other states continue to visit and enjoy Yachats. They have been hardy visitors braving the rain, wind and other Oregon weather experiences and on those days when the sun peaked through for even a moment they hit the beaches and believe it or not flew kites! There were Arts and Craft fairs, Radio show re-enactments, and musical guests in several of Yachats
favorite night spots and in general a good time was had by all!
Seeing all these folks bopping around Yachats reminded me of the many characters that have populated Yachats over the years and the current cast of characters that continue to keep it interesting to be here. At one time there were some of the "original" characters who literally built the town, ran what is now the Ladies club as a dance hall, and remodeled the Yachats Plaza from small cabins turning them to shops and a grocery store. Some of them build the Lions Hall, others worked on getting television reception to the area along with other amenities. Lester ran the old Drift Inn Tavern for the locals who had no place to go and even offered bar tabs to the regulars. After Lester passed away there was a sign on the tavern window asking those who had outstanding tabs to please forward the money
to his daughter. Legend has it everyone paid and I don't doubt that many did. Yachats is that kind of place; people know and respect one another. However, that cast of characters moved on and for awhile there were several new characters that added to the spice of life in Yachats. One was "Jersey Jerry" the head chief at the Adobe. Not only did he oversee the fine restaurant operation there, he could regale one with tales of back east, his fondness for baseball and The Pittsburgh Pirates. He is no long in Yachats but remains in Oregon, no doubt spinning some more good tales. Another colorful character was “Jungle George”; a retired circus animal trainer. He too had some stories of traveling the world and meeting famous folks like the Pope. Jungle has photos that show circus life at
it's finest! Then there was “Lucky Larry” who managed to get into several scrapes yet always managed to walk away ahead of the game. And not to be forgotten was “Ray” who looked like he was one of the original Smith Brothers of cough drop fame and who could be seen featured in the local papers frequently.
Today of course there are still many colorful characters in Yachats and many colorful characters come to visit in Yachats, but the two names that arouse my curiosity these days are "The Clock Guy" and “Dan the Iron Man". I have yet to research these two gentlemen but that's part of being a Yachatian; there is much more to find out about why Yachats is never dull...
You too can find out why dullness isn't synonymous with Yachats; just come visit!!
To reach Rick Schultze email yarick@pioneer.net.