Deja-moo
Clover’s Day returns for a 40th year
By Eliot Sekuler
For the TODAY
On Saturday, July 2, Clover the Cow will build upon a 40-year tradition by leading a parade downhill from Nestucca High School through the cluster of galleries, antique and crafts shops that form the heart of historic downtown Cloverdale. The parade is one highlight of the town’s annual Clover’s Day celebration, beginning at 10 am and continuing through early afternoon.
The town’s center, a 100-yard stretch of early 20th Century structures huddled along a curve of Highway 101, is a harmonious blend of old and new Oregon. The annual Clover’s Day presents an opportunity for locals and visitors to celebrate its traditions and enjoy some family fun.
Organized by a handful of long-time residents, the day includes the parade, a petting zoo and feel-good music by local favorites, the Perry Gerber Band. Mascot Clover the Cow, selected for her amiable disposition, has a day job in the dairy herd of the Hale family, who are among the event’s principal organizers.
“This community is based mostly on dairy,” said local artist, gallery owner and town booster Tom Goodwin.”Dairy people really work hard, long hours, but on the 4th of July weekend, they take some time out to celebrate their town and it’s a great small-town experience.”
The event is certainly postcard Americana. Burgers and hot dogs. Horses and tractors and hot rod cars. Kids tossing candy from floats devised from festooned tractors and pickup trucks and, of course, the fire department vehicles on proud display.
These days, Cloverdale has good cause for celebration. Not so long ago, much of the town’s small commercial district had become ragged around the edges. Businesses had closed and buildings were vacant. Cloverdale was clearly in a slump.
Described as “a dairymen’s trading center” in the 1940’s-era “The Oregon Guide,” the unincorporated town of Cloverdale was founded in 1884 along the banks of the Nestucca River, about five miles from Pacific City. In earlier times, small ocean-going vessels were able to navigate the narrow river, delivering goods and loading produce from the surrounding farms. The town was booming in the early years of the past century and its cluster of main street buildings included a hotel, barbershop, restaurants and a movie theater.
Goodwin recalled driving with his family through Coverdale as a child some decades ago and being struck by the Old West feel of the little town.
“It felt like an old cowboy town,” he said. “There was a general store and an old-fashioned grocery. It had a great feeling. Years later, though, there were a lot of empty storefronts.”
Having had some experience with rehabbing buildings in Portland, he became intrigued by the prospect of repurposing one of Cloverdale’s vintage storefronts. So, in 2012, he bought a building and embarked on extensive renovation, converting it to an art gallery.
“It became a very cool scene. We had live music, art and poetry. People were coming to hang out and for the first time, there was an art gallery in Cloverdale,” he said. “Marilyn Burkhardt, an artist I knew, began hanging out at the gallery and had very good ideas for it.” Goodwin sold the building to Burkhardt in 2015 and it now houses her art gallery.
Next, local dairy farmers Dave and Debbie Hale purchased a building that had housed the local pharmacy and converted it into the now-thriving Rusty Cow all-purpose gift and antique store, expanding on the classic soda fountain to include food service and even creating a hair salon in one corner of the building. Cloverdale’s renaissance had begun. The town was on a roll.
After selling his first Cloverdale rehab, Goodwin began renovating other properties — six in all — before settling his gallery and studio in the middle of town, where he exhibits his own considerable artistic output and the work of other local artists. Visitors began to stop and shop. On a good weekend, Goodwin said, a few hundred visitors might stroll through the town, stopping to sample the hand-crafted cheese and ice cream at the Seymour family’s Nestucca Bay Creamery and making their way through the town’s eclectic mix of galleries and boutiques. Highlights include Burkhardt’s paintings at the gallery that bears her name; exquisitely hand-crafted carpets at the Istanbul Rug Bazaar; intricate wood sculpture by artist Jay Ylvisaker at the Shrine Gallery; and houseplants, terrariums, handmade and vintage collectibles at Linda Fielder’s Curious Plants and Treasures.
“People started to believe there was an opportunity here,” Goodwin said “People from the area and new people were all contributing. We were really getting going before COVID came. Then things slowed down for a while but now, we’re back.”
Clover’s Day runs from 10 am to 2 pm, with the parade starting at 11 am.