Welcome Home!
This beautiful lodge, part of the Vial Family Farm, Scholls location is located amidst the working farm and family homes of an extended family that has become part of the fabric of the community of Scholls. Once the family home, the Lodge retains the spirit of family and gathering that is palpable to all who experience it. We sincerely hope that the information you find here will inspire a visit and ultimately an opportunity to enjoy this unique place.
art of the scholls valley lodge
You may notice as you experience the Lodge many interesting items of “art”. Many of these have significance for the Vial family, and are being added to all the time. We thought it would be fun to document and discuss some of these here on the website.
BIRD ART
Rich Vial, or Grandpa Vial to many of us is a birder. He has been all over the world chasing birds, and his motto is “he who dies having seen the most birds wins”! Some years ago he began to photograph birds, and found it extremely challenging. He kept at it however and today has a collection of many thousands of bird photos represent several thousand species. He publishes a calendar which hangs in the library of the Lodge for his grandchildren, and gives each of his more than 40 grandchildren a framed bird photo of their choice with a letter attached to the back each year for their birthday.
HARDWOOD FLOORING
Both stairwells, and all of the rooms and hallways upstairs in the lodge boast hardwood floors that are not only beautiful and durable, but each unique and containing significant artistic elements. The work of local craftsmen Otto ……… and Terry Mecham, notice for example the celtic knots which outline most of the rooms, or the moon, stars and sun on the back stairs. The inlay on the first landing on the main stairs is a symbol of plenty and fertility. At the entrance to room 3 is an inlay that creates the optical illusion of a convex element in what is really an absolutely flat floor.
BARN HEX ON THE EASTERN UPPER DECK
Around the Scholls area you will see many colorful barn “hex” art. These are the work of local resident Leslie Fredericks. She began doing them many years ago as fundraiser’s for the local elementary school, and remains recognized for her work throughout the valley.
WOOD CARVINGS ON MAIN LEVEL EAST DECK
Local Native American artist Mike Welch is known for his intricate wood carvings and marquetry pieces. Mike and Rich are friends, and as the Lodge was being remodeled, Rich asked Mike to consider creating a railing for the first section off the parking area. After many days sitting in a lawn chair and trying to “feel” the spirit of the place, Mike created the two pieces which make up this part of the railing. The first is a native American motif for a “family wheel” with sets of spokes for both sides of the family. Because the Vial family also has the blended family which includes children born in Vietnam, the colors of the center set of spokes represent both the US and Viet flags. The herd of deer on each side represent the 4 daughters (doe’s) and 9 sons (buck’s). The second panel is two sided with a male red tail hawk on one side and a female on the other. The ridge where the Lodge sits has been the nesting site for Red Tail Hawks for many hundreds of years according to local Native American mythology and tradition, and it remains so today.
SLIDING BARN DOOR UPSTAIRS
The door which makes possible the creation of two bedroom, two bath suite from rooms 1 and 2 is also the creation of Mike Welch. Again, at the request of Rich, Mike spent considerable hours sitting in various locations on the main and the second floor before creating this piece. Mike’s feeling was that the entire Lodge has a spirit of life and fertility to it, and in order to balance that, he made the body of the door into a weeping willow, which does not reproduce by seed. The seed of the tree however is used in Native American tradition as a medicine to treat infertility, and the Indian maiden shown on the piece is mixing these seeds to treat her own condition.
SOFFIT ABOVE ENTRY DOOR
Terry Mecham, who worked extensively on the house during the remodel, surprised Rich with several features. He built from scratch, the “mudroom” door off the east breezeway, the door to the pumphouse, and notably, created the design and built the soffit above the entry door. He also refinished the entry door which was salvaged from a century old home in East Portland. Other examples of Terry’s work are the mirror surrounds in rooms 4 and 5, and the tub in room 4.
TRIM IN UPSTAIRS ROOMS
Finish Carpenters with James Harris and Cedar Mountain Construction produced detailed window, wainscot and door trims according to Rich’s instructions. Each was a bit different, and was carefully chosen to match the spirit of the room.
INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR ENTRY SLATE
The Vials are a long time part of the “Mormon” community in the area. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, they were excited in the 1980’s when the temple was announced and built just miles from their home in Lake Oswego. Being familiar with some of the contractors, they learned one day that the leftover slate scraps from the temple were going to be discarded. Rich loaded up several of the kids, attached a trailer to the old pickup, and went to the site.
He was able to “save” a number of pieces of the green Vermont slate that is commonly used around the temple. A new entry floor was laid, and in the remodel decades later, that same slate was salvaged and used again. Interestingly, Mike Welch is now working on a wood inlay for the round center piece of the entry.
