station, which draws visitors in Shaniko’s direction, Brown became the local liaison for Travel Oregon’s Destination Management Studio in Central Oregon, which aims to drive visitation to rural communities. Additionally, the couple bought the town’s chapel, which they love to use as a music venue. This year they threw the first annual Memorial Day weekend Hoot, Holler & Sing Bluegrass Campout, which drew 40 people. The event garners support for their nonprofit Shaniko Music Sanctuary — which brings music education to the South Wasco County School District and has reignited music in the schools after nearly a decade without a program. “I had a carful of folks coming through the gas station who only spoke Italian,” Brown says. “We ended up playing music. I tell you what, if that Italian guy didn’t sing some Johnny Cash. Music breaks down barriers. Whether you share a language or not, music teaches listening. Sometimes in this world, we are waiting for our time to talk, but playing music, you have to open your ears and respond.” Like Brown, Marrs also fell under the spell of Shaniko and moved there in 2017 with his wife, Diana, after he retired as a maintenance and facilities manager with the State of Oregon. “Once Shaniko gets a hold of you, it’s got you. It’s a mystery.” Marrs was key to reopening the Shaniko Hotel in 2023 after a 15-year closure. Its owner, Robert Pamplin Jr., had closed it after a heated dispute over water, neither leasing nor selling the hotel afterward. When he moved to Shaniko, Marrs realized that the town was in a no-man’s land for emergency services. “If you called 911, an ambulance was an hour away,” says the former volunteer firefighter. Subsequently, Marrs and fellow volunteer David Long founded the South Wasco Fire & Rescue Association (SWFRA), a nonprofit that responds to fire and medical emergencies for 400 square miles. But even with grant support, they needed a funding source. Having Fire & Rescue was in Pamplin’s interest because he owns the 80,000-acre R2 Ranch in the area. “In Central Oregon, it’s not if you are having a wildfire but when,” says Nichols, the R2 ranch manager. “Our buildings and property are vulnerable.” After brainstorming with Nichols, Marrs hatched a plan to reopen the Shaniko Hotel and Firehouse RV Park down the road (another of Pamplin’s properties) PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN Pam Brown and Mark Haskett opened the gas station, left, and bought the town’s chapel, which is used as a music venue. Shaniko City Council president David Long co-founded the South Wasco Fire and Rescue Association (SWFRA), which has a 400 mile response area. 48
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