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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 21, 2006 Vikki Pruden, stepdaughter of the late Eugene �Debbs� Potts, is with a nonprofit foundation trying to preserve Pottsville, envisioned by Potts as a sort of museum. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Hope in Pottsville A stepdaughter’s nonprofit foundation could revitalize a dream of the late Eugene ‘Debbs’ Potts for a state history museum By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune MERLIN — During a stroll through Pottsville in mid-June of 1998, Eugene "Debbs" Potts expressed his hopes for the future of the little town. "I want to perpetuate a place where a poor man or rich can go to look at things for free, and maybe learn a little about Oregon history," he told the Mail Tribune at the time. "People need to understand our past." The dream of the late state senator for Pottsville is alive and well. Potts, longtime chairman of the Oregon Lottery Commission, died in late 2003 at age 93. The nonprofit Eugene Debbs Potts Foundation, which formed a year ago, is dedicated to his dream of providing education, Oregon history and a place where people can gather for special events, said foundation President Vikki Pruden. Advertisement "We’d like to have more events out here so Pottsville can continue to grow," said Pruden, his stepdaughter. "If we can generate enough income here with events and other things, then Pottsville will be around for another 100 years," she added. Pruden, 50, who teaches school in Brookings, is the daughter of his second wife, Ruth Pruden, whom he married in 1994. Her late biological father, Vic, and Potts were longtime friends. Ruth died in 1999. Pottsville is on about 30 acres Potts owned along Pleasant Valley Road, about six miles north of Merlin. The other board members include Vice President Dick Strickland and Allan Poole, the secretary-treasurer. Two more board members will be added in April, Pruden said. "We knew what he wanted to do — he just wanted it to be Pottsville as long as it could be," said Poole, 70, a friend of Potts for half a century. "He wanted it to be a place where people could come — families — and enjoy while learning local history, how people survived in the early days and the tools they used to survive. "He wanted to share what he had with people," he added. A lifelong collector of all things Oregon, Potts created the town to house his unique collection for the 1959 state centennial. The town mushroomed to include a church, schoolhouse, mercantile, country store, library, blacksmith shop, hotel and museum. It now contains thousands of items commemorating Oregon’s history, from a 1,500-pound concrete step from the state capitol building, which had burned in 1935, to the stagecoach which once bounced from Kerby via Waldo to Crescent City. The trip took 30 hours, providing the road was passable. There is a heavy horse-drawn logging wagon which once hauled logs near Wilderville in Josephine County. Other items are from farther afield, like the siren from a horse-driven fire truck from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The little town even has a fleet of old cars, including the Pottsville Taxi, a 1928 Chevrolet convertible. Fare was 5 cents. A video inventory has been made of all the Pottsville items. Two annual events currently held at Pottsville include the local chapter of the National Early-Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association held every Father’s Day weekend. The event brings steam engine buffs from throughout the Northwest. The other is the Intertribal PowWow each September, sponsored by the Grants Pass Intertribal PowWow Committee. In addition to including more events, the foundation, which is remodeling some of the older buildings, hopes to provide tours of Pottsville in the near future, Pruden said. "The barn is now available to rent for meetings, reunions and other activities," she said. "We are working on the church right now and hope to start having weddings at Pottsville soon. "We want Pottsville to be here 100 years from now," she added. Named after Socialist presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs, Potts was born Dec. 10, 1910, at Buzzard Roost, a long-gone hamlet in southern Shasta County, Calif. The family story is that Potts, born to a Socialist father and a Republican mother, decided to become a Democrat to keep the peace, Pruden said. He began his political career as mayor of Grants Pass in 1959, serving until 1961, when he was elected state senator from Grants Pass. He served as senator for 24 years. Named chairman of the Oregon Lottery Commission when it formed in 1984, he served on the commission until retiring in November, 2003 shortly before he died. For further information on Pottsville, call 476-7319. A Web site will soon be available. Until then, send comments to: Pottsville, P.O. Box 324, Merlin, OR 97532. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at Hope in Pottsville ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Debt Consolidation Generic Viagra Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Advertisement s Advertisement