Mythic state forms chamber
Jefferson Chamber founders clean I-5 By DANI DODGE YREKA -- Brian Helsaple may have applied to Cal-Trans to become a litter picker-upper along Interstate-5 near Yreka, but his Mr. Clean act isn't intended to benefit the Golden State -- instead it's to promote the mythical State of Jefferson. Four signs proclaim his commitment along I-5 south of the Oregon/California border: "ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY STATE OF JEFFERSON CHAMBER.'' "What we are trying to do is get people to recognize the fact that this is the State of Jefferson," said Helsaple, 54, of Seiad Valley, Calif. "Our area is in such dire need for tourism and we hope this will just plant the state of Jefferson in the mind of people." The imaginary state of Jefferson stretches between Medford and Yreka, or between Roseburg and Williams, depending on whom you ask. The notion of the state originated shortly before California was admitted to the union in 1850. The idea was revived in the 1940s when residents of Southern Oregon and Northern California got fed up with dilapidated roads and began a secessionist movement. The movement died with the country's entry into World War II. Helsaple and his friend Brian Petersen, 33, of Klamath River, Calif., are trying to resurrect the idea as a tourist draw. Helsaple learned what a lack of tourism can do when he had to close the winery on his vineyard in 1997 because no one was making the trip down Highway 96 -- the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. So, along two different 2-mile stretches of I-5, about 20 miles south of the state border, Helsaple and Petersen patrol the dusty highway four times a year picking up beer cans, dirty diapers, and Taco Bell burito wrappers to promote their chamber. The chamber was formed last year as a way to promote the Siskiyou County region of California as well as the rest of the "state.'' On their Internet site at www.jeffersonstate.com , 62 people have signed up as members, including four Jackson County residents. "It's not an official body where we have a chairman and this and that," said Petersen. "All you have to do is support the State of Jefferson to be a member. If you aren't against us you're for us." The preamble of the chamber reads: "The State of Jefferson Chamber is formed to be a volunteer membership that promotes the identity of the `State of Jefferson' and the `State of Jefferson State of Mind."' It states the group promotes "success, not secession." The only dues for membership are activities. The last rule of membership is to have as much fun as legally possible with the chamber. Unlike the Chamber of Medford Jackson County, or the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, the State of Jefferson Chamber is unabashedly "for profit." "Anything for profit and anything to promote the chamber," Helsaple said. Despite their enthusiasm, Helsaple and Petersen are toiling in obscurity. "I've heard of the state of Jefferson movement," said Chamber of Medford Jackson County executive vice president Bill Haas. "But never the state of Jefferson Chamber of Commerce. Haas said, though, there is a movement towards larger and larger chamber of commerce organizations. "This sounds like a group of people having a lot of fun ... who put a virtual chamber on the Internet and said we'll clean off the wine bottles off the street," Haas said. "It's interesting though, because a lot of serious things start in crazy ways." Petersen and Helsaple aren't perturbed by the their lack of recognition. They put a float in Yreka's Christmas Parade. They got their highway signs up this past month. And a barn along I-5 even bears the Chamber's name. And plus, even if their chamber never gets off the ground, they find a lot of fascinating things by the side of the road. "I found a $20 bill once," Helsaple said. "And there's always a whole bunch of rubber bungee cords." |
