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The gift that keeps on giving By Mark Freeman CENTRAL POINT � Equally comfortable with a high-powered rifle as with a wildflower identification book, Pat Oberg was a outdoor woman three decades before it became fashionable. In 1965, her first year hunting, she shot a deer, an elk and a bear, "showing my dad up pretty good in the process," recalls Duane Dungannon, her son. When Oberg died in January 1996 after a 17-year battle with Parkinson�s disease, a bouquet of flowers didn�t seem like an appropriate send-off. Now 4� years later, a wooden kiosk overlooking the wildflowers, waterfowl and other critters at the Denman Wildlife Area stands to honor Oberg and others of the outdoor ilk. Oberg is one of about a dozen wildlife buffs whose name will grace a plaque at Denman�s new wildlife viewing kiosk built with donations in their names to the Oregon Hunters Association. Now visitors can stand in the kiosk�s shade to see an osprey dive into Whetstone pond, mallards meander along the pond�s banks and spy squadrons of Canada geese land en masse in the wetlands. "Some folks spend $100 on a bouquet, and that�s nice, but it�s not lasting," Dungannon says. "But it doesn�t go toward anything a person stands for, especially with people interested in wildlife. "This is something that can help folks appreciate wildlife," he says. The kiosk, which is nearly finished, is in a portion of the wildlife area where firearms shooting is banned, says Mark Vargas, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist who manages the 1,650-acre, state-owned wildlife area. The wooden kiosk is 14-by-14 feet and is being built by Mike and Tom Ziemba, a pair of contractor brothers and avid hunters who are members of the OHA�s Rogue Valley chapter. Similar viewing kiosks could spring up in other prime wildlife areas across Oregon when the concept starts to catch on, says Bill Kirk, a former OHA president whose wife, Edie, is also memorialized through the kiosk. "We wanted to try to do something where we can remember people, be they hunters and non-hunters as well," Kirk says. "(Edie) would have liked this." The concept started after Oberg�s death in January 1996, when Dungannon, the OHA secretary, formed the OHA�s memorial fund and began to take donations. As donations trickled in, he became perplexed at what eventually to do with the money. With almost 7,000 members, the OHA is Oregon�s largest sport-hunting group. Dungannon did not want the memorial contributions to somehow end up in the non-profit organization�s regular operating budget or get lost in some remote wildlife habitat project. "It bothered me to tell these people that we really didn�t have anything special to do with the money," Dungannon says. OHA leaders this spring telephoned Vargas, who has envisioned a pondside kiosk to help anchor a planned "nature-scaping" project aimed at showing landowners how to plant and care for a tract of native wild plants that benefit wildlife. About $1,000 of the memorial fund�s $1,300 went into the project, and the OHA�s Rogue Valley Chapter kicked in another $1,700. Most went for materials, Kirk says. The Ziembas completed their construction last week, and now just gravel pathways and a handicap-accessible ramp await, Vargas says. A plaque, listing all those in whose memory the donations were made, will be affixed to the kiosk, Kirk says. More names will be added as donations come in on others� behalf. "I think it�s good to give people a chance to donate toward something that benefits wildlife," Dungannon says. "I think this is something my mom would have liked." Staff writer Mark Freeman covers the outdoors for the Mail Tribune. Call him at 776-4470, or e-mail him at [email protected] ) Outdoor Journal Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA