Opinions on Spray/Fossil area? (Portland, Wheeler: theater, school, living in)

[Austenfan]

Hi,

I am a Califonia-certified teacher recently moved back from living overseas. Not the best time, I know, to look for work in Cali but I began the process of certification for Oregon and have been looking for work. One of the jobs is in the Spray/Fossil area in inland Oregon. My questions for anyone who knows these areas is...

-why are the populations so small?
-why do some of these areas have negative population growth? Have major industries left the area?
-what do people do for work in these areas? Is ranching still a going concern?

Thank you

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Austenfan

Hi,

I am a Califonia-certified teacher recently moved back from living overseas. Not the best time, I know, to look for work in Cali but I began the process of certification for Oregon and have been looking for work. One of the jobs is in the Spray/Fossil area in inland Oregon. My questions for anyone who knows these areas is...

-why are the populations so small?
-why do some of these areas have negative population growth? Have major industries left the area?
-what do people do for work in these areas? Is ranching still a going concern?

Thank you

The populations are small because the towns are tiny, rural communities well off the main roads: there are many rural, agricultural communities like that all over the country, including California. There are no "major industries" and there never were, which is why people move away.

[bobmulk]

These communities are isolated from larger cities. The lumber industry collapsed twenty-five years ago and took most of the jobs away. I'm not sure what people do for a living--primarily agriculture, a few government jobs, some small businesses. Many retirees.

[AllieBaba10]

Actually, there was industry here at one point. The lumber industry.
But that's dead now, thanks to environmentalists in Portland and other heavily populated areas who don't know anything about managing forests or apparently, economics.
Fossil has a lively community and is the county seat of Wheeler County. It's a good place to raise kids, we have a charter school, and an active paleo institute. Our community is a little older, over all, than most Oregon communities, primarily because young people have to leave to work.

It is a lovely place, but can be overwhelming for people who are not accustomed to living in an isolated area. We're 68 miles from the nearest Freeway. We have one store in Fossil and no fast food or overnight outlets. One gas station and one card-lock station. No theaters, and we only got cell service in the last couple of years. The winters are cold and very muddy, sometimes very icy and snowy. Power frequently goes out and people have to be self-sufficient.