Community reacts to massive snowfall in Oregon
By Grace Smith
Click here for updates on this story
EUGENE, Oregon (KEZI) — It’s a winter wonderland in the Willamette Valley.
People in Eugene haven’t seen this much snow in nearly two years. Some built snowmen, created snow angels and had snowball fights.
For others, like Justin Geddis and his family, they came to the skate park and traded in their wheels for a sled.
“We built a snowman in the front yard and played with the dog now we’re sledding,” Geddis said.
For some local businesses, the question to open or close their doors due to the snow was a tough one. Especially with many places being closed for Christmas.
Ryan Rogers is the owner of Fisherman’s Market in Eugene. He said normally they would be open the day after Christmas, but they decided to close up shop for the day.
“The short time I’ve been here, the phone has been ringing a bit; people checking to see if we’re open. We normally say pretty busy during the snow time; we’ll be back at it tomorrow,” Rogers said.
While some businesses decided to shut their doors because of the snow, others welcomed people with warmth.
Across town at McMenamins High Street Brewery and Café, waiter Luka Mahkovtz said their doors are wide open on this snowy day. “Surprisingly, we’re a little busier than I would think,” Mahkovtz said.
He said they didn’t even think about closing their doors.
“This place for the last 20, 30 years has kind of been a hub that we’re always open, people can always walk in no matter what the weather is, we’ll have a place for you,” Mahkovtz said.
He said while some choose not to drive in these weather conditions, people are still finding a way to come on in. And it helps that they have a place to warm up.
“We do have a nice fire pit inside, so I think that’s attracting a lot of the people here,” Mahkovtz said.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
