O’ Oregon Pioneers!
contributed by Sharon Riffle & Marilyn Russell
La Pine, OR
La Pine resident and 14-year SMART volunteer reader Marilyn Russell has true Oregon pioneer roots. Upset at her mother’s re-marrying when her sea captain father was lost at sea, Marilyn’s grandmother, Emma Chapman, ran away from Sweden at age 18 with her friend, Tilly—boarding a ship and landing in Portland. When Marilyn’s grandfather Henry was diagnosed with tuberculosis, it was recommended they move to a sunnier climate. Emma and Henry travelled by boat through the Dalles, and by stage coach through Central Oregon to homestead in Freemont.
Marilyn’s strong pioneer stock has served her well through the years. She graduated in a class of nine students from Bend High School in 1949, married civic-minded Marvin Russell—La Pine’s first Fire Chief and owner of Russell Industries saw mill, survived the disastrous burning and later re-building of their business, and raised five children with her husband (all of whom still reside and own businesses in La Pine). On Marvin’s death in 1994, Deschutes County named Marvin Russell Day to honor his impact and contributions to the community.
Their 43-year marriage was founded on “team work, honesty, belief in a strong work ethic, adjusting to changes that inevitably come, staying involved with young people, and accepting what life hands you even if you don’t like it”.
Marilyn’s only daughter, Sharon Riffle, owner of Sunwest Redi-Mix, Inc., is a pioneer of a different kind. Motivated by her parents’ message to “give back to the community and make it a better place than when you came”, in 1992 she volunteered for a children’s literacy organization called SMART (Start Making A Reader Today), then serving just four schools in Central Oregon and four in Portland. She was most impacted when she saw community prejudices and misconceptions break down as 130 volunteers from two economically divergent communities came together for the common good of young children at the La Pine Elementary School.
That first year in SMART, Sharon was honored as Volunteer of the Year. She witnessed firsthand what “community in the schools” could do and convinced her mother to volunteer. Marilyn has volunteered with SMART for a total of 14 years—reading once a week with more than 28 children over the years to help them get a good start in life.
Marilyn and Sharon are proudest of Oregon for its “independent people and spirit, the beauty of the state, and citizens who help each other whether or not they like each other”. Because of community-minded people like them, SMART has grown to serve 10,000 children annually in 250 schools around the state. They are true pioneers of Oregon.
