We’re Paige and Mason. The Bend Banner is our way of keeping tabs on this wild, beautiful place we call home. To the mornings that start with coffee and mountain air, the trails that somehow always lead to a brewery, and the kind of small-town stories that remind you why you chose to live here in the first place.
Sponsored Locally by Greensavers
Quick reminder because a few people asked after last time.
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From Sawdust to Sidewalks
There's something you walk past almost every time you go to REI or walk the river.
Three big smokestacks, just standing there.
Before the wine bars and the weekend events and the concert lawn, the land along the Deschutes was something entirely different. Loud. Smoky. Industrial. And completely essential to everything Bend became.
Two Mills, One River
In 1910, Bend was a town of 536 people. That's not a typo.
Then, in the spring of 1916, two competing lumber companies from Minnesota fired up their mills within a month of each other. Shevlin-Hixon on the west bank of the river, Brooks-Scanlon on the east. When Shevlin-Hixon opened, the Bend Bulletin declared that the dream of Bend as a lumbering center had finally become real.
By 1920, the population had jumped to 5,414. By 1930, nearly 9,000 people called Bend home.
These were not small operations. At their peak, they were two of the largest pine sawmills in the world. The ponderosa pines that had been standing for centuries in the forests around Bend were leaving town as framing for homes across the country, and reportedly as far away as Cuba, China, and the Middle East.
For nearly 80 years, that was Bend's heartbeat.
The Log Boom
If you've ever walked the river trail through the Old Mill and tried to picture what this place once looked like, here's a start.
The Deschutes was split down the middle by a log boom. Shevlin-Hixon's logs on one side, Brooks-Scanlon's on the other. Men sorted and floated the timber using pike poles, working a log deck that stretched nearly to where the Bill Healy Bridge stands today.
That brick powerhouse building where REI lives now? Originally, it powered the mill by burning sawdust. The boilers ran on pure mill waste and generated so much excess electricity that they sold it back to Pacific Power and Light to keep the rest of Bend lit up.
That's the kind of operation this was until it all wrapped up by 1990.
The Gamble That Worked
Then, in 1993, a developer named Bill Smith bought it and pitched a vision for a riverfront district that would keep the industrial bones intact, the smokestacks, the brick powerhouses, the Little Red Shed, and build something new around them. The city approved it. The Amphitheater opened in 2001. The shops and restaurants followed.
What could have been a parking lot became what it is now: the place where Bend goes to remember it's a river town.
The next time you're down there at a show, or grabbing coffee on the patio, or just walking the path at golden hour when the light hits those smokestacks, you're standing on the foundation that built this city. The workers who floated logs down that river and raised families here made Bend worth saving in the first place.
Those three smokestacks aren't just landmarks. They're a thank-you note that never came down.
Secondary Story
This Week’s Conditions |
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☀️ Sunrise: 7:15 am |
🌅 Sunset: 7:12 pm |
High Temp: 73°F … Summer? |
Mt. Bachelor: 44” base depth |
Local Shop of the Week: Locavore |
Local Artist of the Week: Linda Klein Art |
The Bend Food Truck Guide: Every lot in town, what they serve, and why this is one of the best ways to eat, drink, and hang out here.
The Best Trivia Nights in Bend: Where to go, what to expect, and how to find your new regular spot at a trivia table.
🐾Bend’s Best Good Boys & Good Girls 🐾
🐶 Luna – 7 years, Chinese Shar-Pei/Saint Bernard
Luna is friendly and affectionate and can’t wait to be a part of a new family. She is housetrained and has previously lived with young kids.
🐱 Domino – 1 year - Australian Cattle Dog/Mix
This 1-year-old Australian Cattle Dog is an absolute love bug who is ready to find his forever home.
🐶 Harley - 1 year- Pitbull/Mix
This sweet boy is just over a year old and still very much in his puppy era, playful, loving, and full of energy. Harley has been a little shy meeting new pups here at the shelter.
The Bend Banner is as local as it gets. Written here, for the people who actually call this place home.
No big media machine, no out-of-town editor guessing what Bend cares about. Just a weekly letter built from real conversations, real places, and real curiosity.
If you choose to support it, every bit helps me bring you more of the good stuff. The stories, the characters, the weird corners of this town that deserve a spotlight.
Appreciate you, friends. Thanks for being part of this.
Want more event tips every week? Follow The Bend Banner on Instagram.
March 17th - Tuesday
Open Mic @ The Cellar | 6 pm
Irish Rambling House @ Tower Theatre | 7:30 pm
March 18th - Wednesday
March 19th - Thursday
Thermic Thursdays @ Gather Sauna House | Opens 9:30 am (drop-in)
Josh Blue (Comedy) @ Tower Theatre | 7:30 pm
Yoga + Sound Bath @ Hanai | 6:30 pm
March 20th - Friday
Vintage Rendezvous @ Crux | 4 pm
March 21st - Saturday
Kids Apres @ Mt. Bachelor | 12-2 pm
2026 HUMP! Film Festival @ Volcanic Theatre Pub | 6:30 pm + 9 pm (21+)
March 22nd - Sunday
Trivia Night @ On Tap Bend | 5 pm
How'd you like this weeks newsletter?
Until Next Week,
Paige & Mason
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