One Last Buzz

As many of you know already, in August 1998, a memorial plaque honoring Buzz Holmstrom was placed at Sturdivant Park in Coquille, Oregon, Holmstrom’s hometown. At the time one memorial, even for a man like Holmstrom, seemed quite enough. Now we have gone and done the unthinkable; Buzz would never forgive us.
On Friday morning, June 14, 2002, a second plaque honoring Buzz was placed at Rondowa, the confluence of the Wallowa and Grande Ronde Rivers in eastern Oregon, where he died more than fifty years ago.
Kevin Hoskins, (b.l.m. river-ranger and navigator of bureaucratic waterways,) Mike Miller, (master of stone, heavy equipment, and the open road) and myself (ex-suntanned-idiot boatman and eternal rowmantic) secured the plaque to the abutment (river left) of the trestle bridge spanning the Grande Ronde River without mishap, for the most part.
We raised our bottles of Guinness and toasted Buzz, the plaque, the River, the beautiful day, our mothers; you see what I mean…
There are a couple of ways to reach Rondowa. You can, of course, do a river trip on the Grande Ronde which can last from three to five very slow days. It’s a wonderful piece of water, especially from May until early July. Put-in on the Wallowa River at Minam on Highway 82. Before you depart, stop in and say hello to the owner of the Minam Store, an original eastern Oregon curmudgeon of legendary stature. He might even talk you out of buying his warm beer or using his shuttle service or even going down the river.
Anyway, it’s a leisurely ten mile float to the confluence where the Grande Ronde River intervenes.

And though carrying less volume than the Wallowa River, the Grande Ronde is longer and therefore trumps the clearer, fresher Wallowa. Rondowa—the last of the Wallowa, literally and syllabically. Row across the confluence and pull your boat up on the cobble stone beach. Most confluences have an air of mystery and wonderment about them. Rondowa is no exception.
You can also reach the plaque by walking a couple of miles along the railroad tracks from Palmers Junction, a peculiar place where the road ends. It is a pleasant stroll out to Rondowa with the Grande Ronde River rollicking along beside you. Takes about forty-five minutes unless you lollygag (an activity I highly recommend) along the way. To find Palmer’s Junction, however, you should stop in Elgin, Oregon (please check your map carefully) first and ask for directions. Likely as not, you’ll get a long gaze and a bit of head scratching, followed by a lengthy explanation with some world-class hand waving and finger pointing. Once you have the directions, you should probably stop again and ask another friendly soul to verify the first set of directions. If you are still feeling, uhhmm, directionless, try again. The drive to Palmer’s Junction takes an hour or more. It is beautiful, especially in fall.
For moral and financial support, we offer thanks to the Holmstrom family, Richard from Pennsylvania, and Brad of Fretwater Press.
As Buzz said after his amazing river journey and we heartily agree, “Everything O.K.” (But please, no more damn plaques.)

Vince Welch