Illinois Valley News

Cave Junction resident Terri Hill arrived in Illinois Valley in 1981, and remembers the local economy being “repressed“ then.

Now, nearly three decades later, Hill serves as vice president of the I.V. Chamber of Commerce. In that role, she has a vested interest in how the area“s business community is doing.

The national recession that began in late 2007 certainly is being felt in Oregon and Josephine County in particular. According to the Oregon Employment Dept., unemployment was at 9.7 percent nationally in January. Statewide, that figure stood at 10.7 percent and 13.1 percent in Josephine County that month.

As the nation struggles to regain its footing following the bursting of the housing bubble that fueled the economy“s growth for most of the last decade, Illinois Valley businesses are trying valiantly to keep their doors open.

That scenario has become quite familiar to Kenny Houck, who has lived in the area since 1985. At that time, California“s real estate market took a dive, and the ripple effect was widespread.

“Since I“ve been here, there have been three major dips in the economy,“ he said.

Houck, now the Business Development coordinator at RCC“s Kerby-based Illinois Valley Business Entrepreneurial Center, recalls Cave Junction“s streets filled with empty storefronts in the late “80s and again in the “90s. He“s seen at least four different banks occupy the Sterling Savings Bank location on Redwood Hwy. He also saw Hammer“s Model Market disappear, as well as Gibbons Market and Drive-N-Save.

He saw Shop-n-Kart evolve into Shop Smart Food Warehouse, and Pizza Deli become Wild River Brewing & Pizza Co.

Additionally, the city of CJ had a popular business, Pizza Pit, which was destroyed a few years ago by an out-of-control motorhome towing a car.

Energy Outfitters, Krauss Craft, Fire Mountain Gems, Family Tree Nursery, Embroidered Adaptations, a paralegal office, and a T-shirt shop also were located in and around Cave Junction.

As well, Rough & Ready Lumber Co. employed more employees than now due to a depressed lumber market. And there used to be two art stores, several more service stations and at least two other cafes.

Because of that, Houck said that he tends to take a long-term view on the local economy.

“I think it“s been worse,“ he said. “The year 2001 was pretty bad. Last year was pretty bad.“

After leaving the area in 1984, Hill returned in “87. She and her family moved back to Washington state in “89 due to economic reasons, then came back to Illinois Valley in “97 and have stayed since.

Hill said that in “87, the area“s economy was doing well. She was able to work at a salon and part time at Fire Mountain Gems, which has since relocated to Grants Pass, primarily due to its proximity to Interstate 5.

But Hill said that conditions now are worse than they were in the early 1980s.

Bill Reid of Oregon Mountain Real Estate has been in Illinois Valley for 30 years. At least four Cave Junction-based real estate offices have closed during that time.

“There are a lot less real estate brokers than there were 20 or 30 years ago,“ noted Reid.

At one point, the chamber of commerce had more than 100 members, Hill said. Now there are somewhere between 10 and 15 fewer members, she said, but there are still reasons to be optimistic.

Those reasons include some new businesses in recent times, such as Crystal Kaleidoscope in Selma, and Hampton“s Rock Shop in Kerby, and some “mom-and-pop“ stores in Cave Junction.

Then too, Taylor“s Sausage went big time several years ago, resulting in the popular Taylor“s Country Store. As well, I.V. Building Supply and CJ Video/Radio Shack have remodeled and expanded during the past several years.

“We are getting some new ones (businesses) back in and getting people asking to be part of the chamber too,“ said Hill, who served several terms as chamber president.

Hill, who has owned her own salon for almost 12 years now, takes that into consideration when weighing the costs of doing business these days.

“I“ve seen good times and bad times. But you have to keep moving on, have a smile on your face and be here for the customers,“ Hill said. “So much of it is looking at life and realizing you“re here for the long haul. If you“re not here for the long haul, you“re not going to make it.“

Bob Rodriguez, co-publisher of Illinois Valley News with his wife, Jan, sees the truth in that.

“We“ve weathered some financial storms,“ he said. “Although we“re not doing as well now as when we took over the newspaper in 1986, we are optimistic, and with our staff will continue to serve the valley community.“

Houck said that due to decades of struggle in the area, established business owners have grown used to handling challenging conditions.

“The joke around here is that we don“t have much farther to fall. We“re used to doing more with less, and that“s one of our greatest attributes,“ Houck said. “I think that“s a reputation that we“re starting to gain at the regional and state level to replace the “Dysfunction Junction“ stigma that we“ve labored under for the better part of 15 or 20 years.“

Avenues of communication are better this time around between business owners, local government and community organizations, Houck said, which helps all involved.

“Some of the businesses have learned from the past and used that to their advantage a little bit this time to tear down and revamp some of their operations a little bit,“ he said. “These kinds of upheavals and downturns create a lot of opportunities, as well as create hardships.“

As an example, Houck cites the Kerby Water District project. That provided much-needed wintertime work for the Grants Pass firm, Copeland Sand & Gravel, as well as local contractors.

“It couldn“t have been timed any better,“ Houck said.

And the new Siskiyou Community Health Center caused a spurt in construction work. Addition of Great Cats World Park has been a successful tourist attraction.

During recent months, the Goodwill store in Cave Junction has closed, along with Munchiez snack bar, and other businesses. Earth Friendly Kids is due to close in Cave Junction by the end of March.

But despite that, Houck said that he is determined to stay in the area and help make it thrive again economically.

“There are several little signs that some activities won“t be back to “normal,“ but certainly will improve and are rebounding,“ Houck said. “But there are all these attributes that we“ve always had here “ a tremendous mix of natural resources and a beautiful, healthy and vibrant natural environment “ all those things are extremely valuable, no matter how you want to slice it.“

Reid agrees.

“This is nothing new. Cycles happen and the pendulum swings,“ he said. “There“s money to be made, you just have to put your mind to it.“

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