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Gordon Leonard Smith, 91, of Elsie, died on Oct. 5 in Seaside.
Gordon was born in Astoria on Jan. 13, 1932, to Frank Albert Smith and Elizabeth (Larson) Smith. Gordon was raised in the Vinemaple region of Jewell, where his father was a logger and his mother was a homemaker. Gordon was one of four children, and was the last surviving of the siblings with Frankie, Robert and Billie.
Gordon attended Jewell School in Vinemaple, and accumulated his famed stretch of perfect attendance his first seven years of school, which ended with a story, as most things did for Gordon. In June 1950, Gordon graduated from Jewell High School, and he went to work logging for Bill Music Logging Co. in Jewell.
On Jan. 3, 1951, Gordon enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He was stationed at Camp Lindsey in Wiesbaden, Germany, under the 93rd Motor Vehicle Squadron. While enlisted in the Air Force, Gordon took up judo and was a member of the Wiesbaden Judo Club.
Gordon was a prolific judoist, becoming a first-degree black belt and a highly respected martial artist. He practiced the sport throughout his enlistment, and continued to do so after being discharged in December 1954. He then joined the Northern California All Star Judo Team, and competed against some of the best while being a part of the club.
Later in life, he was always known to be a little jumpy, and the judo training added to the excitement. A startle turned into a judo chop you didn’t want to be on the other end of!
Once back in his home region, he went back to work for Bill Music Logging. Famous words of his while being stationed far away were: “I just want to go home and go logging.” So he did, and soon after returning, he married fresh out of high school Roberta Lee Ramey, of Jewell, on May 31, 1956. They quickly moved to Petrolia, California, where they started their lives together. Gordon worked as a timber faller in the redwood forest.
In 1957, they welcomed their first child, Elaine (Smith) Sweeney, and soon after, two boys, Mark and Clay Smith. The family moved back and forth to California for some years, spending the summers logging in the redwoods. During this time, Gordon, who was known to be as hard a worker as they come, started his own logging operation, where he could call the shots and create his own success.
Gordon L. Smith Logging started up, and he found himself logging and developing. He even once got into some bridge work when he was hired to remove the erection equipment on the Oregon side of the Astoria Bridge in 1965.
Gordon’s love of land, timber and logging led him to purchase any piece of timberland he could get his hands on. He became a land developer, and started the dream he had of building a museum to capture the history of logging in the Northwest.
In 1966, Gordon and Roberta purchased a parcel of land at mile marker 18 on U.S. Highway 26 that is now the home of Camp 18 Restaurant and Logging Museum. For 14 years, he worked on preparing the land for the structure and, in 1986, Gordon and Roberta opened the world-famous restaurant and museum to the public.
As iconic as Camp 18 became, nothing meant more to him than his family. Gordon was a legend of his generation and will be for many more to come, based on his character of hard work, being a man of his word and his loving and involved persona that stretched deep into the family and throughout the community, even to strangers who were passing through. He never minded any person, no matter their social status, and was always looking to help someone get back on their feet whether that be with a job, pair of shoes, a couple of bucks or even a place to live. Many strangers got to hear the shocking “timber!” he would holler out at the drop of a hat in the restaurant over the years. The family expected it, as it was Papa’s staple. Gordon was also an avid hunter. He lived off the land, and was always known to have a buck or two under the hood, or maybe buried in his firewood load in the back of his truck. He loved to hunt elk and deer, and could name a story at nearly every turn in the valley. He was eager to pass that tradition on to each one of his children and grandchildren.
Woodcarving was another attraction of his. He loved a good woodcarving, and collected many of them that were kept at the museum. He was often found supporting chainsaw artists around the region. He also dabbled in carving himself, most notably with his dancing bear collection at Camp 18.
Gordon loved trees! In fact, if someone was taking a photo, instead of “cheese” it was always “trees!” He especially loved big trees. From the massive ridge pole at Camp 18 to the spar trees that he fell and raised, he was a tree connoisseur who would never pass up a moment to get a photo with a big tree or log, or teach a “greenhorn” the species and how to identify them.
Later in life, he would rarely leave the area unless it was a surprise blitz to Northern California to redwood country to say hello to a couple of old friends and carve on a redwood stump to bring home a new table slab, a chunk to carve on and likely get a photo next to a big tree.
Gordon is preceded in death by his parents and siblings, along with a grandson, Lee Smith.
He is survived by his wife, Roberta (Ramey) Smith; his daughter, Elaine (Smith) Sweeney, of Jewell; son, Mark Smith (Noel), of Sisters; son, Clay Smith (Karma), of Elsie; his grandchildren, Kyle Smith (Roxanne), Elly Smith (Sean), Chris Corder (Nina), Shane Sweeney, Emily Browning (Jared), Jaxon Smith, Rylie McDonald, Dylan Smith and Taylor Smith; and his great-grandchildren, Ethan, Noah, Max, Evan, Jaden, Cruz, Gracie, Cash, Carly, Allie, Daphne, Kylee, Ryin, LJ, Faith, Mackenzie, Timber, Christopher, Avery, Kolbie and Paisley.
Gordon loved his grandchildren so much, and was always ready to teach them a judo trick, tell a hunting story or a good, clean “dirty” joke. As hard as Gordon worked to fulfill his dreams, he never lost sight of the importance of time spent with the grandkids. Sleepovers, numerous trips to logging shows, Buster Creek cruises, teaching them how to drive, hunt, cut wood and even how to peel chittum were just a few of the lessons and experiences he shared.
He was 100% a legend to the family, friends and anyone who got the opportunity to spend a few minutes with him. As he would always say, “Old loggers never die, they just lose their bark.” We will miss you, Papa!
A celebration of life will be held at Camp 18 Restaurant and Logging Museum at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5.
In lieu of flowers and donations, contributions to the Gordon L. Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund can be mailed to P.O. Box 2038, Gearhart, OR., 97138.
