Our Story...
It’s
hard to believe that nearly 25 years have passed since I opened my first
hostel in Bandon on the southern Oregon Coast. A friend and I were trying
to save an old building from demolition. We had convinced the owners to
sell it to us for "a song", but we faced one small problem. We had lots of
vision for the building, lots of energy, renovation skills…but no money!
We talked some friends into each kicking in $1,000 and …, so started what
I never imagined would be my life long career.
We saved a building that needed a lot of work, and now we needed a use for
it. We wanted to do something more than opening a business, something for
the community, something meaningful. But we hoped to make a living as
well: community meeting space, a vegetarian restaurant, an Irish pub, a
coffee house, a hostel for travelers! I had just traveled throughout the
States and Canada staying in hostels. It was fresh in my mind. So, in the
fall of 1979 we toured an American Youth Hostel inspector through our
condemned building showing him where the common room, dorms, and kitchen
would be and sharing all the improvements we would make, hoping he would
see the same visions we say. We must have been quite convincing because
HI-USA licensed us and believed we’d be open in 9 months, and, went so far
as to list us in the hostel handbook opening June 1, 1980.
With no time to waste we began buying lumber and digging ditches under the
80’ long building lifting it off the redwood beams that had supported it
for 50 years. We added a foundation, upgraded the entire plumbing and
electrical, moved and added walls. Friends helped, and friends of
friends, and a few out of work carpenters with the promise of money as
soon as we made some.
We made a lot of progress that year! But, June 1 came faster then we
hoped!! People with back packs started showing up needing a place to stay.
So we charged $2.50 for an overnight and started our first work exchange
program. Those who actually arrived on June 1 got to assemble the bunk
beds they would sleep in that night, and no one seemed to mind the table
saw in the middle of the common room for the first few months.
We opened that summer with 18 beds and 2 bathrooms. I remember getting up
in the morning and finding a line so long at the bathrooms that I’d head
over to the gas station to use theirs. Later I’d share that tip with a
chosen few hostellers to shorten the line. That summer of 1980 was a good
one! I knew I was on to something!
Being travelers ourselves, we wanted the hostel to feel like home on the
road for our travelers. At a time when most US hostels locked you out all
day, had nighttime curfews, rules that didn’t always make sense, and
treated you as someone lucky to be staying. We wanted travelers to feel a
sense of freedom, to feel at home, to be able to come and go, and no
senseless rules…a user friendly hostel…no curfews, open all day, helpful
and friendly staff, a well equipped hostel with a homelike feel, and lots
of information. We would have only informational signs – No “don’t do
this, and don’t do that”. Each guideline was established weighing how many
positive experiences it might hinder, how many times we really needed it,
and could our staff simply handle it on a one on one basis. At first other
hostel managers didn’t like us. They heard a lot of, “but in Bandon we
could stay in on a rainy day…”. But soon other hostels would catch on and
begin to think of the traveler over their conveniences.
A few years passed and my original friends/partners would move on to other
interests. For 10 years I, with the help of many travelers, staff, and
special friends, would live, work, and renovate Sea Star Hostel. We added
a second story to the main building, bought the property behind and built
another building, and opened the Sea Star International Coffeehouse in the
hostel. Many special people from many countries would come into my life,
the most rewarding part. From a traveler who would stop for a night and
leave 2 weeks later, to the many incredible staff that have devoted a part
of their lives to this dream. I remember one of the first travelers, a
young German man. He planned to stay for one night, but would leave 3
weeks later. Each new day he’d say, "maybe tomorrow"! And the two Swiss
women who got so involved helping us nail wood shakes on the roof, they
stayed 2 weeks. Many of them I’d later visit in their home country. These
are the people who over many years have added to this story, and added to
my life.
Many travelers from around the world would experience life in this small
coastal town, and Bandon got a taste of the world. It was that summer and
many to follow that made me realize I was dealing with the best of the
travelers - those who hostelled. It is all of you travelers that have
offered to help during construction, or did an extra chore, or shared a
story of your travels, or simply smiled at the right moment, that have
kept me creating and running hostels.
Coinciding with the birth of my first hostel was the birth of my son. In
October of ’79, Calen was born. The hostel would be the ideal environment
to raise a child. From the time he was crawling around the common room
looking for the next hosteller to pick him up or play a game, to this past
summer when he and his girlfriend would head off to Europe to do his first
big hostelling adventure. He is now a graduate of CalArts, back in
Portland pursuing his thing and together with his girlfriend Terra, managing our newest venture, the International Student House.
A bit about me: Born in Rhode Island, I moved west to my fathers home
state of Washington when I was 15. I’m a carpenter, union trained. The
only one of 3 kids to finish high school. With divorced parents and my
mother raising us while working full-time, we didn’t have a lot. My high
school girlfriend got me interested in college. Not just any college! She
was going off to The Evergreen State College, an alternative school in
Olympia, Washington, and I wasn’t going to be left behind. "Evergreen"
turned out to be the perfect place for this self motivated, determined 23
year old still looking to find himself. I attribute a lot to Evergreen for
shaping who I am. I had the privilege to work with great professors such
as Willie Unsoeld, a philosopher and mountain climber. He was in the first
group of Americans to summit Mt. Everest. He lead me and 50 other students
to the top of the mountain that 2 years later would take his life, Mt.
Rainer. The loss of Willie was a loss to all of us. Evergreen did me well
and with a focus on counseling, combined with carpentry, it would turn out
to be just the right mix for starting and running hostels.
Seaside Hostel
After 10 years operating Sea Star, I needed a break and a taste of the big
city. I sold the hostel in 1990 and planned to travel for a few years, but
a summer turned out to be enough. I took on the job of Executive Director
for hostelling in Oregon and Idaho for 4 years but, my longing to get back
to the grass routes of hostelling was calling me.
The northern Oregon coast needed a hostel and it was just an hour and a
half away. I wanted to continue my life in Portland. Calen was in a grade
school here and Portland felt like home. So came the experiment! Can I
start and run a hostel from 80 miles away. Seaside must have been “in the
stars” because the very first weekend I looked for property on the coast,
I found the place that is now rated in the top ten hostels in the country.
At that time it was rated as the worst motel in Seaside. It had a
foundation, I swear I’d never go through that again, and it was
structurally sound. I looked beyond the twenty year old cigarette burned
carpets, smoke colored walls, leaky roofs, and saw a wonderful hostel on
the banks of the Necanicum River and so close to the beach you wondered
from the sound of the waves if one was going to roll right up to the
window one night. I "wheeled and dealed" with what money I had and was
able to reach an agreement to buy the Chief Motel. This time with work
parties of friends, family, and hostellers, we got Seaside Hostel ready to
open in "no time"! And yes, the experiment worked to run a hostel from 80
miles away, but, not without the help of many great staff members. And
today as I write this, Seaside Hostel is 10 years old and I’m passing on
another hostel to a new owner, Trung.
I got a call one day back in 1996 from a woman in Indiana. “I want to have
my own hostel someday and I heard you were the person to learn from”, she
told me. “Can I come work in your hostel?” “I don’t really need anyone
right now.” “But, I don’t want to be paid, I want to learn.” “OK, come on
out!” I had sensed that this was a special person who would someday have a
special hostel. What I didn’t sense was that 8 years later it would be
her hostel. Knowing that Seaside is going into special hands, and that we plan
to keep Portland Hostel, Northwest and Seaside as sister hostels, makes it
so easy to let go. After all, I may actually get to go to the coast and
walk on the beach!!
Portland Hostel - Northwest
1998 … I’d been looking for a building for over a year and finally found
one in the perfect location! Not only is it in Portland’s historic
Northwest Neighborhood, but so centrally located travelers can walk to
everything!! Now the test of operating 2 hostels. I think I can do it.
There are so many people out there that want to be involved. The first 5
months, the renovation stage, was a challenge. Two days off in that time,
and I'd seen many 14 to 16 hours days getting this new hostel open for
travelers. We got it open, and the atmosphere grew more with each new day!
And now, nearly 5 years later Portland Hostel - NW has its reputation as a
great hostel from those who count most: the travelers! We had a lot to
start with: a sound historic turn of the century building, a location that
couldn’t be better for the traveler, a great staff and manager team, and
yes, over 20 years of having done it all before.
The International Guesthouse
2002 … branching off a bit from the true sense of hostelling - sleeping in
a bunk, hunting down your partner for the tooth paste - we venture into
expanding our private rooms by opening the Guesthouse. It all came about
with the desire for me to live closer to the hostel, provide more staff
housing for managers and our international interns coming from abroad, and
a way to add more of the much requested "private room". When we came upon
this great old 4 story house just 4 blocks from the hostel, our hopes were
answered. Another year long renovation would give us all of the above!
And, the guests who stay in one of the 5 guesthouse rooms seem to be quite
pleased. After all, our rates are less than half of the traditional hotels
in this popular central neighborhood. Having most of the staff living in
one location brings back the community feel that my other hostels have.
The International Student House
2003 … branching off yet once more, in keeping with our philosophy of
keeping the hostel for travelers, we saw a need to provide longer term
lodging for the many international students coming to Portland. We found
another great old house just 3 blocks from the hostel and half a block
from the guesthouse. It had been owned by an ESL school and set up just as
we had in mind – with students and all. We made the purchase, moved Calen
and Terra in as managers and are currently underway to make some
improvements.
In closing, I can not say enough of all the great volunteers, staff, and
managers that have given so much to make all this a reality! I dare not
mention names simply because there have been hundreds over the 25 plus
years. Some stayed for a few months, others for years. You know who you
are and you know how grateful I am! I've always said, "great people move
on and do what they need to do in life, and other great people come to
take their place". As for you who have stumbled upon us as your home on
the road, we hope your experience here is a good one!
