Former Student Helps Transform Century-Old Building Into Thriving Community Center
By Andrew Cutler
Jessica Wheeler first walked through the doors of Wasco Grade School as a nervous 8th grader, 1 of just 12 students in her class.
Fast-forward 30 years, and Jessica walks the same halls as the manager of Wasco School Events Center. As manager, her role is to preserve and invigorate the historic building where she once was a student.
“It feels good to bring people together and invest my time and energy in a place I know is worth it,” Jessica says. “I like to keep myself busy. I enjoy putting my skills to good use, and I’m just so honored to be a part of it all.”
The daughter of Martin Richelderfer, Jessica, moved from The Dalles to her father’s family wheat farm outside Wasco in 1993 and began attending the school.
“Moving to such a small town as a child was difficult,” Jessica says. “Sherman County has always been a very tight-knit community. It’s common for newcomers to feel like perpetual outsiders.”
In Jessica’s small class, 3 were Richelderfers—including 2 distant cousins she had never met. Yet her local connections run deep. In 1916, her forebears pitched in to help build the school— a stately Greek Revival-style structure created by Tourtellotte & Hummel, the architectural firm that designed such landmarks as the Idaho State Capitol.
Journey & Return
After Jessica graduated from Sherman High School in 1998, she could not wait to explore life beyond Sherman County.
“I couldn’t get out of here fast enough,” she says. “There was a great big world out there and, like so many of us, I was determined to leave small-town drama behind.”
The first step on her post-high school journey was the University of Oregon. There, she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science. Her senior year at the university, she served as managing editor of Oregon Daily Emerald, the school’s student newspaper.
Her journalism career kicked off with an internship as a copy editor at a small daily newspaper in Eastern Idaho. The internship turned into a full-time gig where she met her husband, Brian. After 5 years in Idaho, the couple moved to Eureka on the northern California coast.
In 2011, with twins on the way and weary of the high cost of living in California, Jessica and Brian decided to return to the family farm in Oregon. Now, more than a decade later, Jessica and her family are part of a trend of people returning to the area.
“For so many years—decades even-the population has been ever-shrinking in Sherman County, as kids graduated and moved away to start their lives,” Jessica says. “Job opportunities were few for those who stayed. But in recent years, especially with so many opportunities for remote work nowadays, more and more of us are moving back home, realizing what a true gem we have here.”
Preserving a Landmark
For almost 100 years, the cement structure at the corner of Barnett and McPherson streets hosted generations of Sherman County residents. The brick and stucco-covered structure witnessed the ebb and flow of rural education.
In the late 1920s, the school’s graduating class climbed to 28 students. In 1956, high school students moved to Moro. By 2009, declining enrollment meant younger students were bused to Grass Valley.
The last major transition was in 2016, when area schools were combined into the K-12 Sherman County School campus in Moro. The former Wasco school operated for a short time as the Sherman County Annex Building, but deferred maintenance meant the historic building faced demolition.
When faced with the specter of destruction, community members rallied to save the building.
In 2017, Sherman County turned over the building and grounds to the city of Wasco while also funding $250,000 for renovations and $50,000 annually for 5 years to help create a community center.
Community in Action
Jessica served as the Sherman County ambassador for the Oregon Frontier Chamber of Commerce before she became manager of the events center. She is a freelance writer for The Times-Journal newspaper in Condon.
Jessica volunteers at the historic Wasco Train Depot and is a founding board member of Sherman Kids Zone, a nonprofit children’s play space in Wasco, and helps organize the traditional Wasco Memorial Day celebration.
“Volunteering in a small community is an often thankless job, but endlessly rewarding,” she says. “We need enthusiastic young community leaders now more than ever. Volunteers from previous generations are retiring, as they have served their time.”
Jessica started as a volunteer at the Wasco School Events Center 5 years ago. Back then, she helped with marketing and event planning. Once she joined the board, Jessica worked alongside community members who had transformed the building with a complete renovation.
This team—including Carol Olmstead, Cal McDermid, Tom Lepinski, Gail Macnab, Linda Krafsic, and Jessie Fuhrer—painted, cleaned, and remodeled the 2-story building by hand. The group supervised the installation of a new roof and exterior paint job, overhauled the Wasco Community Library, and restored all 10 interior classroom spaces. The classrooms are now leased by local businesses and nonprofits.
A New Chapter
The facility operates on a carefully calculated business model, producing revenue through fitness center and gym fees, auditorium rentals for private events, and classroom space leases.
“This combination has provided just enough revenue to keep the events center afloat year to year,” Jessica says. “Aside from staffing, today the largest expense for this historic facility to absorb is heating costs in the winter. For decades, the facility relied solely on an antiquated and expensive diesel boiler system for heat. We’ve recently upgraded the heating and cooling to a modern HVAC system, rendering the old boiler system obsolete.”
When the 6-year county funding agreement concluded in 2022, the city of Wasco disbanded the first board of directors and took control of the events center. When the newly hired facility manager resigned after a few months, Jessica stepped in to temporarily fill the vacant position. The position has now stretched to 2 years.
“It is indeed a big job,” she says. “But I have a handful of volunteers who help, and I can call on our city clerk and city maintenance staff in a pinch.”
Thriving Today
The nearly 110-year-old building thrives because of dedicated volunteers and local businesses.
Gena Arthur and Jennifer Smith serve as longtime managers of the gym and fitness center. The community library, previously managed by Danee Rankin, now operates under Jennifer Smith and Mary Coats Macnab. The Sherman County Food Bank also maintains space in the building.
A series of recent grants helped fund other crucial upgrades, including new flooring on the main level hallway and the front offices. The building hums with activity, hosting events that run the gamut from memorial services and baby showers to birthday parties and holiday festivities. Movie nights, art classes, karaoke, bingo, kids’ activities, garden club luncheons, and vendor bazaars occupy the calendar throughout the year.
“In a rural area such as ours, with so many residents living miles apart, a community center like this becomes not just a luxury but a necessity,” Jessica says.
Jessica hopes to secure grants to refinish the hardwood floors and repair subfloor damage in the auditorium. She wants to fund a new roof and paint job for the adjacent gym and fitness center. Jessica says every improvement enhances the legacy of the structure that spans generations of her family and the local community.
“The hardest part of the job? Cleaning up messes I didn’t make,” she says. “But the best part? Seeing folks come together to celebrate their most important moments in life. Getting to decorate the space, bringing people together, hearing the laughter and music—that is the reason I’m still here.”