Tag Archives: Clackamas County Courthouse

A “Presidential” Taproom

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Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. This is a long post. If you are receiving it through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top and to see all the photos the narrative isn’t clipped or shortened. 

Followers of Thebeerchaser know that Oregon City – the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains – became my family’s home when we moved to Oregon from Ohio in 1960 when I was just starting junior high. (# External photo attribution at the end of the post – #1)

My paper route for the Oregon Journal took me throughout the historic McLoughlin Neighborhood and on Main Street in Oregon City. I took care of the historic McLoughlin House lawn in the summer and graduated from Oregon City High in 1966 after spending countless hours (okay – one afternoon) at the Oregon City Carnegie Library…

After the Navy, I returned to Oregon City, worked for Clackamas County in the Courthouse on Main Street for six years, bought my first house and was appointed to the City Planning Commission. (#2 – #5)

(# External photo attribution at the end of the post #3 – #5) (Clockwise left to right – Oregon City Municipal Elevator, Clackamas County Courthouse (2 photos), Oregon City High School, Oregon City Carnegie Library, John McLoughlin House.)

It was at a Planning Commission meeting where I first laid eyes on the young woman who was to become my wife (now 46 years) after she had just been hired as the City’s first Citizen Involvement Coordinator in 1979. We were married in the Oregon City First Presbyterian Church on March 29th 1980. (#6)

Oregon City First Pres.

Oregon City Watering Holes

This historic city has some great establishments which I’ve covered in previous blog posts. Those I’ve chronicled include the Falls View Tavern, Howells’s Lounge, the Highland Still House and Corner 14. (#7)

Now perhaps an Oregon City dive was not the first saloon in Oregon – that evidently was the Pioneer Saloon and Restaurant – dating back to April 1883 – which still operates in the tiny berg of Paisley in south central Oregon. Paisley has a current population of 250. (Determining how many residents are regulars of the saloon is beyond the scope of this post.)

There are still a number of breweries and bars in Oregon City I haven’t visited.Thus, I was excited about the tip of my personal computer expert in nearby West Linn, Scott Andersson of Ace Computer Repair LLC. who I recently featured in Thebeerchaser and I highly recommend.

Knowing my affinity for public houses of all kinds, he told me after a brilliant fix on a PC problem, “Don, you have to visit the Madison Taproom in Oregon. Jeff, the owner, is a great guy and they have what is probably the best collection of old pinball machines in the State.”

The Madison Taproom – What’s in a Name?

This little “hole-in-the-wall” has great character although I wouldn’t label it “presidential.” It’s not stately, bold or commanding, and besides, from a national perspective, those synonyms are currently woefully inaccurate. The rationale for the name is that it’s on the corner of Madison and Seventh Streets on Oregon City’s second level. The streets have past US Presidents’ names and numerical designations in a grid.

It brought back memories of the other bar on Madison Street (in Portland) I visited in 2016 – Mad Sons Pub – now gone but not forgotten.

The Madison Taproom is located across the street from the former A and W Drive-in (now Mike’s Drive-in) where roller-skating car hops brought us burgers and root-beer on dates when I was in high school. It’s also three blocks from the aforementioned library in which I spent so many hours..?..

The former OCHS campus I attended is within seven blocks and three blocks away is the former residence of my favorite science teacher – Eli Jimenez – a Renaissance Man and former NASA engineer before he started teaching.

My rationale for that description is described in detail in Thebeerchaser post (February Figuring – Part II | Thebeerchaser). Now in his nineties, besides still being a musician, Eli is also the most physically fit men I’ve known. I reconnected with Eli several years ago and he now lives in New Mexico.

Moreover, I used to deliver the Oregon Journal to this little building when it was the Carpenters’ Union headquarters and its head – one Dick LaManna – used to greet me every day. (#8)

Walking into the Taproom is like a trip back to the 50’s – or at least the 60’s. There’s two old-fashioned pinball machines squeezed into the small foyer. Entering the main room, there is a nice bar with all kinds of memorabilia on the backbar and classic beer signs on the walls.

There’s even a small Zoltar fortune-telling robot machine sitting on the bar – the first I’ve seen in over 400 establishments I’ve visited. Some of the bigger antique life-size Zoltars sell for over $10,000.

But the big attraction is the pinball machines – the pride and joy of owner, Jeffrey Hogan and his wife, Chris Gassert, who opened the bar in 2019. Jeff is also the owner of Cash Box Enterprises, a corporation based in Oregon City which sells and maintains juke boxes and other coin-operated amusement devices such as pinball machines throughout the state.

I chatted with Jeff for about twenty minutes over a beer and his eyes light up when he talks about his machines. When I left, he was hard at it, playing at a Star Wars pinball – one of the nine or so in his taproom which also has a Pac-Man machine.

Jeff has created a nice community-oriented ambiance in the place. His bartender, Tai, was a jovial and articulate guy who told me while I was talking with Jeff that he plans to buy the bar when Jeff retires.

They also have a robust tap list (13 beers, a hard seltzer and a hard cider) although no hard liquor. I had one of my favorite beers – the Irish Red from Ancestry Brewing. When one of the women sitting next to me at the bar (strangely) asked for a Mai Tai, he answered, “I’m the only Tai in this establishment.”

The food is limited to very reasonably-priced snacks like pizza, pretzels and breadsticks which people enjoy during good weather on the nice patio.

Jeff and Tai try to reinforce the “community” feeling with trivia nights on Wednesday and cribbage every Sunday afternoon. The 22-foot-long shuffleboard – a rarity these days – also promotes some good competition among regulars. As you might expect, the vintage juke box plays a great line-up of tunes and occasionally they have local musical acts perform. (#9)

As one recent review stated:

“Love the staff and owner. If you stop by they will make you feel like family.”

or

“This place is a sweet little hole in the wall. The staff were so great. Came in during trivia night on Wednesdays and we felt so welcome. Loved it.” (Yelp)

Regulars affectionally call this place “Mad-Tap.” It’s open seven days a week, but the hours are abbreviated from 3:00 to 8:00 PM except on Friday and Saturday when they close at 11:00.

I’ll undoubtedly go back, but on that day I had to make a difficult decision – to either hit the Historic Midway Public House – a dive one block away I’ve never visited or go back to see if they still have a card catalogue at the OC Library. (Eli, by the way, the next time you come to Oregon City, I’ll buy you a beer at Mad-Tap.)

Cheers!

External Photo Attribution

#1.  Linked-in ((21) City of Oregon City: Overview | LinkedIn).

#2. Wikimedia Commons (File:Clackamas County Courthouse, Oregon City – DPLA – eac6d13ccde3d205f7c31d6b3fb04cfc.jpg – Wikimedia Commons).  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.  Author:  Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives / Cc-by-4.0 – 6 August 2013.

#3. Wikimedia Commons). File:Clackamas County Courthouse, Oregon City – DPLA – 996e5aa7a8821ad111f89e8a4338bcad.jpg – Wikimedia Commons Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.  Author:  Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives / Cc-by-4.0 – 26 September 2006.

#4. Carnegie Library Oregon City – Wikimedia Commons – Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Srandjlsims 29 May 2012 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OREGON_CITY_OREGON_CARNEGIE_LIBRARY_copy.jpg

#5. Wikimedia Commons (File:McLoughlin House, Oregon City – DPLA – 955ec47bc35ab38851cee84bb2f4500c.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.  Author:  Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives / Cc-by-4.0 – 5 October 2006.

#6.  First Presbyterian Church of Oregon City Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1472816884870805&set=pb.100064275236319.-2207520000&type=3).

#7 Highland Still House Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1606880631446789&set=pb.100063746012983.-2207520000&type=3).

# 8. Mike’s Drive-in Oregon City Website (Mike’s Drive-In Oregon City | Burgers, Shakes & Fries – Mike’s Drive-In). #9. Yelp.com (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/madison-taproom-oregon-city-3?select=iXPGUhg5RKDjNiADRr3lSQ).

Court(s) are in Session – Part I

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Moda Center – Home of the Portland Trailblazers
The Clackamas County Courthouse in Oregon City.

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser.  If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please click on the title to bring up the post so the narrative isn’t clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post #1 – #2)

Well, it’s time for the NBA Season to “kickoff” and the Portland Trailblazers – rebuilding since their NBA Championship in 1977 – evoke a lot of good memories as well as frustrations.

The zenith was the 1977 victory over the Dr. J (Julius Erving – led Philadelphia ’76ers) where the underdog Blazers, coached by the legendary, Jack Ramsey, lost the first two games and then won four straight to win the series.

The late Bill Walton was named the MVP which led Philadelphia Coach, Gene Shue to comment, “Bill Walton is the best player for a big man who ever played the game of basketball.”  (Wikipedia)  (#3 – #5)

But there have been bad times as well for our pro hoopers.  For example, the Portland Jail Blazer era:

“One of the most infamous periods in Trail Blazers history is the era of the ‘Jail Blazers.’ Though the team had experienced its fair share of controversy and issues in prior seasons, many consider the ‘Jail Blazers’ saga starting during the 2000–2001 season.”

Fortunately, the players with questionable character during that era, were eventually traded and another rebuilding started in 2006 with better citizens running the floor. 

A fascinating Willamette Week article in 2018 gave an update on six of the most “notorious” and some of them at least turned the corner.  https://www.wweek.com/sports/2018/01/17/a-look-at-where-six-of-the-best-known-jail-blazers-ended-up/  

For example, Isaiah (JR) Rider who “….gave us a basketball gift to remember — the most unlikely shot in NBA history.” (Yahoo Sports.com)

“His life fell apart after his forced retirement from the league in 2001, but he seems to be picking up the pieces. He started a kids’ basketball training program in Arizona called Sky Rider. According to his Twitter account, he’s a ‘current family man’ and his 6-year-old son is a spelling bee champion.

But my best memory of the Blazers was from 1979.  I had one-third of a season ticket – two tickets to about twelve games that I split with some work colleagues. I asked Janet Dancer, who I met at a night meeting, for a date when she was working for the City of Oregon City and I was the Chair of the Planning Commission and our first date was to a Trailblazer game.

March 29, 1980

After being married for forty-four years this year, she still kids me about not taking her out to dinner before the game.  I have always responded, “Two Blazer tickets cost enough for one date!”

Mug Shots…

These days, I don’t go to many Blazer games; however, I always watch them on TV notwithstanding the fact that they haven’t gone to the playoffs in the last three years and in 2019-20 lost in the first round.

The team still offers some good basketball to watch and having a beer while “spectating” in my Lazy Boy Recliner while watching on a big screen is almost better than being at the game.

Photo Oct 16 2024, 8 39 41 PM

Now given my Beerchasing hobby, I have a lot of mugs and beer glasses. Shown below are just a few of my favorites from my exploits over the last thirteen years.

But to enhance the experience for the coming season, I decided to visit the NBA Store which offers a good selection of mugs including this one for the Trailblazers.  You can use this link to procure some discounts. https://capitaloneshopping.com/s/store.nba.com/coupon  (#6)

Rip City!

A Collaboration

And based on an announcement this week, the first beer in my new Blazer mug will be a Rip City IPA:

“Whether at the game or watching from home, this beer is the perfect game-time drink. ‘We wanted to create an IPA that embodied the taste of Oregon,’ says Rogue Brewmaster Joel Shields. ‘It’s piney, crisp, and perfect for cheering on the Trail Blazers!'”  (#7)

Perfect game-time drink

Players in the Other Court

I worked with lawyers for over thirty years during my career – first as the Business Manager at the Oregon State Bar and then retiring after twenty-five years at the Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt law firm – the last twelve as the Chief Operating Officer.  I therefore have a keen interest in legal issues and also love the lawyer mentality.

On the whole, the many lawyers with whom I worked, were dedicated and collegial professionals who worked diligently for their clients and to uphold the Rule of Law. 

My employment at the Bar and the firm as well as knowing so many lawyers, however, meant my service as a juror was, in all likelihood, not going to happen.  And jury duty was something I always wanted to experience.

One time in a criminal trial, I didn’t survive voir-dire because I answered the prosecutor’s question with another question.  I was the victim of her first preemptory challenge. The other times when I was a member of a jury pool, I knew either one or both of the trial lawyers and was excused. 

As a result of my long-term friendship with outstanding Portland lawyer and mediator, the late Susan Hammer, who was also a colleague on the City Club of Portland Board of Governers, I met and had lunch with Multnomah County Judge Jerome Labarre in 2013. (#8)

 We became friends and after I related my tale of woe of never serving on a jury, he said:

“Well Don, it’s not serving on a jury, but I have some interesting trials on my docket, and you are welcome to sit in my courtroom and observe.”

Susan Hammer
No jury service for you, Beerchaser!

Jerry, a Georgetown Law grad, was appointed to the bench in 1999, after serving for a number of years as an assistant district attorney and then in private practice specializing in complex litigation. 

He is a Past President of the Multnomah Bar Association and an adjunct professor at Lewis and Clark Law School.  He retired in 2017 and now has a mediation practice.

And in 2013 I subsequently observed a one-week murder trial (interestingly enough the victim was shot in an east Portland dive bar) and then a fascinating month-long trial which resulted in the largest verdict for a plaintiff in Oregon history – a class action suit against British Petroleum – described as “Oregon’s Landmark Class-Action Suit.”

But alas, Beerchaser.com followers, you will have to await the story of that experience and some other court-related tales in Part II of this post – stay tuned…. (#9)

And Vote on November 5th!

External File Attribution

#1.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Rose Garden Arena Interior.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Subject to disclaimers. Author: Tv145033 at English Wikipedia – 22 March 2006.

#2. Wikimedia Commons (File:Clackamas County Courthouse, Oregon City – DPLA – 13cd2d986b77594222b11d38c0491c08.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.  Author: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives – 6 August 2013.

#3. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Portland-Trail-Blazers-Logo-1990.png – Wikimedia Commons)  This logo image consists only of simple geometric shapes or text. It does not meet the threshold of originality needed for copyright protection, and is therefore in the public domain.  Author:  Portland Trailblazers – 1 January 1990.

#4.  Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Bill walton blazers photo.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1929 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. Author: Portland Trailblazers – 1977-78.

#5. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (Bill Walton and Jack Ramsay – Portland Trail Blazers – Wikipedia) By Unknown author – Sporting News, Public Domain, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31110876) – 1977.

#6. NBA Store Website (Portland Trail Blazers 32oz. Macho Mug with Handle (nba.com))

#7. Rogue Ale Website (Oregon rocks at GABF; Oregon City Brewing gets bookish – dwilliams2951@gmail.com – Gmail (google.com)). Andre’ Meunier column The Oregonian 10/17/2024.

#8. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Jury box in the courtroom of the Van Buren County Courthouse in Clinton, Arkansas.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.  The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work worldwide under copyright law.  Author :  Brandonrush -19 August 2020.

#9.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Balanced scale of Justice (blue).svg – Wikimedia Commons)  Licensed under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.  The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work worldwide under copyright law.  Author: User:Perhelion, color edited by User:Deu – 12 March 2015.