Proud to be a Papermaker

The Mascot!

My parents with my sister at her graduation from CHS
ca 1981

The Mill where my Uncle, Dad and cousins worked and provided a nice life for us all.

Views

LaCamas Lake - the lake on the drive toward my home

Camas downtown

I was once a Leopard and a Spartan.

A few years later I was a Penguin and went on to become a Viking which has now morphed into a Cougar.

But the one that always gives people a pause is the Papermaker.

I am from the little town of Camas in WA state that is not so little anymore. It is situated on the Columbia River and in its heyday, was a full on Mill town.

The pulp and paper mill is still there although it has scaled back its workforce. Growing up almost everyone in town worked for the mill. When they went on strike, the line for free meals at our school was 3 times longer than the cold lunch line. We were on strike for a long time. Most every one had mortgages through the local bank in town. My parent's bank froze their mortgage until the mill was off the strike and they were able to resume payments, which lasted about 6 months the first time. I don't see banks doing that anymore.

We were proud of our town and always knew it was a little gem, quietly tucked away in the East part of the county. Portland was just 25 minutes across the bridge so we had all the advantages of a progressive big city and the comfortable confines of a town where everyone seemed connected. We weren't without our problems, but overall we loved it and knew how lucky we were to live there.

We were a small high school with about 764 students, just a few kids over an AA standing, playing against larger schools. We endured being called "Toilet paper makers" and were constantly blamed for the sulfur smell that was heavy - only at certain times. They thought we were all just hicks from farm country. We were teased about our name, the Camas Papermakers, and especially about our school mascot, the Mean Machine. It was supposed to be a big, gnarly, paper machine with thrashing teeth. On a side note, one of the actual paper machines, I think it was No. 9, was named after my dad, Dobby. You don't see many schools that had a mean machine as a mascot. The closest other odd mascot name were The Tillamook Cheesemakers in Oregon. Yes, that's for real. But we, along with Tillamook, weren't ordinary. Any school USA could be a lion or bear, but a Mean Machine? No, that could only be us. It would be a safe bet to say that we were the only ones who checked the toilet paper in bathroom stalls to see if they were supporting the mill by using Crown Zellerbach paper goods. Even Jay Leno gave a shout out to Camas for being a strange mascot school.

I graduated high school with almost everyone that I played with in Kindergarten. Many of our dads worked together, volunteered at the Fire Department, our moms helped out in the schools; our coaches also coached our older siblings and cousins.

I always felt lucky that I could grow up there. Every time Jon and I move, we always look for a town reminiscent of that hometown in Washington.

Going back home a few times over the years, I have seen it change.

Once where my dad would hay the fields has given way to development. The place where our old barn stood and my horses grazed on the grass is now a double lane road. Our little school on the hill is now an elementary or middle school and the new high school holds 1600 students and is a state of the art building. It's one whose football team now rolls over the larger schools.

And some of those kids that teased us are now parents who probably wouldn't mind if their kids were Papermakers.

Its looks may have changed, but the gem I always saw is still quietly tucked away under the evergreens. It has fabulous views of Mt. Hood and vistas as far as the eye can see. I don't know if we'll ever move home again. I'm afraid we'd be disappointed at the changes but it's good to know that family, friends and our Camas pride is still there.

So, we are the Papermakers.

What was your mascot? Any takers for the Banana Slug? Boll Weevil?

Do tell.