What are the Republicans doing these days in Pleasant Hill?

What are the Republicans doing in Pleasant Hill?

That question often popped into my mind as I drove through Pleasant Hill on Highway 58 before I became an over-the-hill reporter — and columnist — for this newfangled online newspaper.

John Large answered that question recently while I talked with him in the Lane GOP headquarters where folks of any political stripe are welcome to sit a spell, drink coffee and talk about any subject, especially politics.

As you walk into the office, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, you likely will be met by a couple of affable oldtimers who love to share yarns about yesteryears when they were not spending time promoting a political party.

Bob Ware, who has volunteered there for 18 months, can help you shop for hats and other clothing that sport GOP messages. He once worked a number of jobs and ran a business before retiring.

“I’ve been fired as office manager twice,” he says with a straight face, laughs and admits that Julie Bivens is much better suited and qualified at handling the paperwork for the Lane GOP.

Meanwhile, Howard Faught is the official coffee maker and often brings lunches for other volunteers. He’s known for his chili and beans.

These men and other GOP volunteers sponsor a potluck and show a movie every other month. As many as a dozen may attend the festivities.

“It’s usually an educational movie,” Bob said, and after naming a few, it was obvious that a conservative view is preferred among Republicans in Pleasant Hill.

You might not recognize John Large as the Lane County Republican chairman in a crowd discussing the latest community news around the coffee pot.

Large is chairman of the Lane County Republican Party, and he’s all business when it comes to reshaping the party.

“I didn’t have time for politics,” he confessed during an interview. “I owned the Willamette Valley Pump Co. in Springfield, and I wasn’t interested in politics.”

That changed in 2010 when he sold the business and was invited to support a friend’s bid for political office.

“I discovered a disfunctioning Republican party (in Lane County),” he said. “It was self-destructing.”

By 2016, Large was invited to become chair of the Lane County Republican Party and is now serving a second term.

He feels the Lane party is “about 200 percent” in better shape now than when he became chairman.

So, why invite criticism and move the party headquarters from big city Eugene to Pleasant Hill, which only sports a block-long business section fronting on Highway 58?

You guessed it: Traffic. The 87-mile highway is Oregon’s busiest highway freight and tourist route between Oregon and California during various times of the year.

After renting the building, Large, who lives a few miles away in the Rattlesnake Road area, wondered how the party would pay the rent.

Donald Trump came to the rescue.

Large and Terry Weinheimer, party treasurer, decided to open a store in the front part of the building.

“In the first year we sold $138,000 in hats and other stuff,” Large said. Today, you can still buy hats, clothing, flags and other party paraphernalia there.

While there, you will be greeted by a 6-foot-high replica of Donald Trump decked out in golden hair, black suit and red tie. It was carved out of wood by chainsaw artist Ellie Keeland of Roseburg and given to Lane Republicans for a June 4, 2020, auction. COVID-19 interrupted that plan.

For the present, the Republicans in Pleasant Hill welcome everyone who visits the office.

“It’s a safe place to come in here to talk politics,” Large said. “You can’t do that in many places today.”

If you hang around long enough, you may learn what the Republicans are doing in Pleasant Hill.

Longtime Oregon journalist Dean Rea, widely known for his years as a University of Oregon journalism educator and editor at The Register-Guard in Eugene,  serves as a founding board member, correspondent and columnist for The Herald.