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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News AP Entertainment Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Holiday Guide Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend December 31, 2006 Callahan's employees Keith Richardson, left, of maintenance, and bartender Wally Crum cut insulation for a new beer cooler they are building in the lodge's shop. The two long-time employees were kept on to help rebuild after fire destroyed the Siskiyou Pass landmark in September. (Photo by Denise Baratta) Slowly, slowly, Callahan's rebuilds By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune After pouring drinks for nearly a quarter-century at Callahan's Lodge, the thought of doing something else didn't sit well with Wally Crum. Yet one of the Rogue Valley's most beloved bartenders faced that possibility the first couple of days after Callahan's burned to the ground on Sept. 6. In the immediate aftermath of the blaze that wiped out the 59-year-old landmark near the Mount Ashland ski area exit on Interstate 5, owners Ron and Donna Bergquist weren't sure if they had the fire in them to rebuild. That left Crum and roughly three dozen other employees with uncertain prospects for a few days before the Bergquists announced intentions to rebuild. "I stood right up there by that fifth-wheeler (across the parking lot) and watched the fire, wondering what I was going to do for a job and how soon we were going to clean up and get to rebuilding." To this day, Crum finds himself looking around for personal items only to remember they were reduced to ashes along with everything else in the 11,000-square-foot building except for the fireplace that separated his bar from the dining room. Advertisement "All of my music, drink recipe books and knickknacks were burned up in the fire," he says. "I had a 'Cheers' I bought back east and lost it." For four or five days after the flames were out, Crum drove up the hill from Ashland, only be told to go home because fire inspectors weren't through sifting through the remains. While most of the other employees have found work here and there, the Bergquists have kept in touch, hoping to hire back many of their former staff members. The more-than $2 million rebuild project is due for consideration by county planners in January. Crum says loyalty to the restaurant, lodge and its owners kept him coming back to clean and help in the rebuilding effort. "Sooner or later the place had to be rebuilt and the sooner it was rebuilt (the sooner) I'd get my job back," Crum says. "My motivation was that I wanted to go back to work." The bartender has been working with maintenance man Keith Richardson to get internal elements ready once the lodge is rebuilt next summer. The two are building juniper table tops from wood purchased in Klamath Falls and have built a walk-in cooler and freezer for the kitchen. They're presently piecing together a walk-in cooler for the bar, which will allow Crum to serve beer on tap for the first time. "There wasn't room before," Crum says. Richardson made such an impression on the Bergquists when he repainted the dining room last spring that they kept him on permanently, not foreseeing pending disaster. He's both impressed and amused when a carload of hungry visitors pulls into the parking lot, unaware that the restaurant is gone. "They look, shake their heads and wave if we're out there," Richardson says. On Saturday, the two were cutting insulation for a walk-in cooler in a highly-organized but chaotic workshop. Down the freeway in his rented home in Edgewood, Calif., just north of Weed, musician Ken Hart, who entertained guests five nights a week for six years prior to the fire, was working on a novel and hoping to hear about a gig in the Redding area. In the first few weeks after the fire, Hart worked on a friend's wheat grass farm in the nearby Colestin Valley and helped Crum and Richardson for a while. Neither task was of a long-term nature. He went to work for a month at a Yreka restaurant called Angelini's. But four weeks after his interview, the restaurant closed. "I guess my music was their last-ditch effort," Hart says. He plays Monday and Friday nights at Liquid Assets, an Ashland wine bar and gallery. Prior to the fire, Hart referred to his "beautiful routine" of rising at 8 a.m., working on his book, going for a walk at 1 o'clock, then driving over the Siskiyou Summit where he played a daily game of cribbage with Ron Bergquist before tuning up and playing guitar and piano from 6 o'clock until 9:30 or so. With tips he earned $2,000 to $3,000 a month. "I was paying the bills, but not tucking away any money," Hart admits. "I wasn't planning for the restaurant to burn down. Next time, I'll take 10 percent off the top and invest it. It's been pretty tough, but exciting and adventurous at the same time. I'm looking forward to the rebuild." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or at [email protected] Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. 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