I visited Yachats for the first time ten years ago this weekend.
I lived in northeast Portland at the time. My yoga teacher Alison Alstrom decided to host a Labor Day weekend retreat in Yachats, which would become an annual event.
My time at the Oregon coast up to that point consisted of a couple hours on the north coast earlier that year. I hadn’t heard of Yachats before. But it sounded like fun.
I look back on this weekend, ten years on now, as a special one that sticks out during a tumultuous time in my life.
In 2010 I would have been flabbergasted to learn that one day in the near future I would not only live in this little town, but engage with the community in ways I never had elsewhere, and even step into leadership roles.
Sometimes you make an unexpected connection with a person or place.
That happened to me in Yachats, though I didn’t understand it at the time. But Yachats never left my mind, even as I moved away from Oregon.
I remember hours spent after yoga sitting by the ocean, watching the waves, and meditating.
I’m embarrassed to admit that I was even one of those ignorant tourists who didn’t sufficiently respect the ocean. While sitting on a rock a wave gave me a big splash, soaking me and ruining my smartphone. Lesson learned! Fortunately just a phone.
On Sunday, the final day of the workshop, I found the Amanda Trail, and chose on a whim to skip the afternoon yoga session and follow the trail to the top of Cape Perpetua. Had my phone remained operational, I would have captured breathtaking photos that day.
It’s interesting how your memories get shaded when you gain new context years later.
Fish and chips at Luna Sea Fish House. Ice cream at Topper’s. Walking by the recently closed Landmark and remarking on the wonderful location.
I’ve been leading the visitor center and marketing efforts for two months now. I’ve spent many days talking with people about why they live here, visit here, or run a business here.
I want to know what makes Yachats special to each person.
I believe by connecting with that special feeling — and sharing it — we can bring our community together and welcome the right visitors here safely.
And there’s one sentiment I keep hearing.
That is, I think, what I felt ten years ago.
During a tough time in my life, when I felt like I knew less and less who I was, I came here. And I could love and accept myself as I was.
An experience like that, even for a moment, can leave a lasting mark.
It can create a spiritual tether between you and that place.
It’s why I came back. It’s why I believe in Yachats.
I know I’m not alone in that experience.
I want to end by sharing two visitor center conversations I had with recent visitors.
About a month ago, when we experienced a large arrival of visitors from farther away states, I met a family with two young children.
The kids were delighted to pick out free agates from my table while I chatted with their parents. They came here from Arkansas, they said.
I sat there as the father, who was positively glowing, told me about how he had visited Yachats many years ago. I was blown away by his excitement in finally bringing his family here and being able to share it with them. He was one of the happiest people I’ve ever seen.
Last weekend, a couple came by with questions about restaurants in town. After chatting for a few minutes, the man revealed that he was here in town for the first time in more than 40 years. They had to come back.
A special place indeed.
If you have a connection to Yachats, I invite you to leave a comment below and share your experience about why it is special to you.
I’d love to hear from you. 🙏
Moved here April 1, 1986, and have not regretted it one bit. Yachats seems to have a special beaconing to folks that are just meant to be here. People who care about its heritage, volunteers who basically take care of this little village, and the acceptance of everyone regardless of race, religion, politics, or life style. We manage to show the kindness we are all meant to share with one another. We somehow manage to take care and care for one another and those are just a few of the things that makes Yachats so enticing.
I just say “ditto” to what you write Carl. You and Karl are two of the friends that make Yachats so special. The many contributions you have provided and your current effort to raise the necessary “community” funds to rebuild the Little Log Church & Karl’s leadership of it’s board will be a lasting legacy of your love and work for our beloved Yachats Community. Thank You!
As I have told you so many times, Carl — you were the first man to kiss me in Yachats. You came dancing down the aisle, as the Maharishi, in the One of Us production of “HAIR” that July 4, 2000 — aimed straight at my face and planted one! Over the years, One of Us Productions was an essential part of creating the relationships, the sense of belonging, and the fun that became Yachats for me.
How I found and fell in love with Yachats:
My late wife, Marie Soward Green, spent her “growing up years” in Oregon. I was from Okla, where my grandparents were home-steaders in the 1893 “Cherokee Strip.” I was raised on a hard scrabble farm, with electricity but no indoor plumbing. Our careers were focused on helping the marginalized, low-income people and communities–Marie created the hunger program in Colorado and I worked with the “left out communities” in the 13-state Appalachian region.
In July 2000, we planned a camping trip on the Oregon Coast. As we planned for retirement, I wanted to see if Oregon was still Marie’s roots. While camping at Beachside State Park, we discovered, fell in love with and bought our retirement home in Yachats.
After arriving full-time from Anniston, Alabama, I sat for hours beside the ocean as through I was “drawn to it in a magical way.” Two things immediately caught my attention: the magical draw of the ocean and the open, welcoming spirit of Yachatians. I was allowed to be myself in ways I had never known. A friend with interests in history and languages shared we me that in some ancient texts the meaning of Yachats was “where the healers gather.” I came to realize that for me, the mysterious draw of the ocean must be the fact that my composition as a human is largely water and this element was connecting with the water surrounding me. Built up tensions and stresses from a workaholic career began to melt away. This definition fit perfectly for me as I found myself in new ways!
Likewise, the accepting, welcoming spirit of Yachatians, allowed me to be myself and increased my self-confidence in ways unrealized before. These new understandings propelled me into giving back to my new community. The many concerns and skills developed in community development for marginalized communities focused naturally on my new community. I continue finding self-fulfillment listening to and finding help for the marginalized here, largely the workers who serve our tourism industry and young families with children. Avenues for service include creating and administering two Facebook groups for Yachats: YACHATS FRIENDS, public group of over 7,800 persons who fell in love with Yachats & want to stay up with goings on & YACHATS VILLAGE RESIDENTS, a private group of over 700 who are local residents, the YYFAP board, Community Relations Council for Angell Job Corp, Social Service Grant committee for Lincoln County, advocacy for affordable workforce housing and serving on the Yachats City Council.
Max and Marie were the first people I met when we moved to the area. We had built halfway between Waldport and Yachats and loved the beauty but both of us have always loved people. We attended a senior dinner in Waldport but weren’t really welcomed so while my husband was back on the farm I wandered to Yachats and asked at the visitor center if we would be allowed to come to things in Yachats if that was not our address. The response was, “Well, we wouldn’t be very friendly if we didn’t welcome you.” The next day I appeared at the Lunch Bunch and was seated at the table with Max and Marie. By the end of the meal, Marie had asked me to volunteer at the library and I was hooked on the community. When we finally got the farm ground sold, we joined Lions Club and became part of the volunteer force of this community. As soon as a home that we wanted was available, we moved to Yachats and have never looked back. This is a very accepting community where you are welcomed no matter your education and background. People wave as you drive by, stop to visit in the stores, and genuinely care about you. Yachats is not only the “Gem of the Ocean”, it is a “Gem” of a community. All said, the best way that I can describe Yachats is that it is “home.”
I first knew Max and Marie from the congregation of the Yachats Community Presbyterian Church, where I attended after my late husband and I bought our home here in 2000. We were part-time residents for a few years, while we participated in delightful community events like the annual 4th of July, the summer classical musical festival, the Celtic Festival, the Mushroom Festival, the movie production of “The Ghoul from the Tidepool,” potluck dinners at the Commons, and City Council meetings. I noticed Max and Marie’s presence at all these events. They were seemingly everywhere and involved in everything–especially Max. To me they represented what I considered unique and special to Yachats: the chance to interweave all these different relationships into a common network. That underlying common network is what gave the community its tensile strength. I saw him as a primary force of goodwill, to keep that interweaving going on at many levels. That is the precious quality of Yachats that I fear may be endangered in these times, and that I see you — Max — striving to preserve: residents’ presumption of goodwill toward each other.
Max, I couldn’t agree with you more, Yachats is truly a wonderful, magical place. A little over three years ago when my much better half said she was considering an opportunity in Yachats I said where? At that point in time I had spent my entire life in the desert southwest. I was somewhat skeptical but up for an adventure so, we boarded a plane for Oregon. We arrived, spent time in the community, wandered the beaches and mountains and talked with many people. We weren’t here long but we knew we were moving to the Great Pacific Northwest. We found Yachats to be charming, beautiful and the people, warm and welcoming, a wonderful retreat from the hustle and hectic life of the big city. Here we have developed friendships, found a home and connected to a real sense of community. We have engaged in ways to support the community and volunteer to help make this little part of the world a better place. Max, thank you for making Yachats a wonderful place to live, play and grow. Your service to the community, families in need, and children looking for that extra spark in their daily lives is really remarkable. It is people like you and Fran that help make Yachats the Gem of the Oregon Coast.
I opened my business eight years ago. I was really apprehensive about that move because, you know, Yachats is “Yachats”. What that meant to me was that I might not be good enough. That I might not be accepted. My first official day I was greeted by my fellow shop keepers, presented a beautiful carnelian stone for prosperity. And gifted with friendships that have changed me for the better. I have never regretted a day spent in Yachats. I have loved the locals and visitors alike. Even in this trying time, there is a spirituality about the community that soothes my soul and I am grateful for and humbled by my acceptance.
Wow, it’s been 10 years! Life flies by. Glad to see you in your element over there. I walked by the Flying Pig the other day. Hopefully someday I can visit Yachats.