|
4. Carlson and Sherk Building The Carlson and Sherk Building burned to the ground in 2001 A.D. after an extensive remodeling effort by former Sherwood Gazette owner Chris Corrado. Morback took the business over in 1901, after purchasing it from his father in law, J. C. Smock. Carlson and Sherk purchased the business from J.E.Morback in 1912. The important fact about the building is that it stood as long as it did. The longevity of this and so many other old buildings in Sherwood may be attributed to some incredibly bad business judgment of the Southern Pacific Railway Company. In 1913, when America was becoming enchanted with the private automobile, the S.P. instituted a brand new mode of passenger service known as the Red Electric (nicknamed "The Owl Eye" because of the twin oval windows in front that always seemed to be watching you as the train approached).
The electric train carried passengers all the way from Portland to Eugene until it slowly went out of service during the 1930s. The forest that had been so deliberately cleared was suddenly starting to grow back again (or at least the blackberry vines were). Sherwood finally had to face the fact that it was U.S. Highway 99 West, not the rail line, that had become the area's economic lifeline. A new version of the Lincoln vision, the Eisenhower vision, was about to be born (i.e., the Interstate Freeway would replace the passenger train as America's new economic lifeline.). Once the Eisenhower vision was in place, however, a model train enthusiast, Walt Disney, would open an exhibit featuring an idealized replica of Marceline, Missouri, his home town. Disneyland's Mainstreet U.S.A. would become one of America's favorite places to drive to. Mainstreet would even become the design model for countless strip malls across the country. Clearly, Walt Disney, the Southern Pacific Railway Company, and Old Sherwood Town shared this one fault: They all thrived in the afterglow of the Lincoln vision and wished it could last forever. |
