Stephanie Trowbridge photo Mert Menge creates a fish out of a 5-foot red cedar log.
The Herald did a story on Mert Menge, The Man who Creates Bears, a little over a year ago. The then 80-year-old Mert was still producing bears and an assortment of other creatures with his chainsaw. Mert’s daughter informed The Herald that her Dad passed away from sepsis due to complications of colon cancer. His work still adorns that short stretch of Highway 58 about two miles east of Pleasant Hill.
His celebration of life will be September 11 at the Bear factory where he resided.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
