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This Week in The Source

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It has been a fun week at the Source, and it is a fun issue.
Our Outdoor Advisor, Corbin Gentzler, points readers to a series of ghost towns sprinkled around Central Oregon, reminders about a past that has come and gone, mining towns that time left behind.
But this issue is more about what from this legendary time still exists; in fact, it is about what is thriving—a young hat maker who is refashioning (quite literally) the cowboy icon, a couple from Arizona that brought the spiciness of Arizona to this high desert region with a line of salsas and our beer reviewer Kevin Gifford collects a six pack of beers that boast the wrangler and cowpunch swagger. Our annual Made in Central Oregon issue is both an archeological dig into the past and also a recognition about how much the “cowboy lifestyle” is still part of everyday life in 2015 in Central Oregon.
And, we present a number of articles that show off how that independent spirit that drove pioneers and cowboys is still here driving the cultural life in Bend—a Q&A with Diane Lane from Get-Lit who will present at next weekend’s MUSE conference; a look at the booming kombucha industry; and Delano Lavigne’s report from last Saturday’s Boulder Bash, the first-ever cash-prize climbing competition in Central Oregon.
No, this is certainly not Mr. Rodger’s neighborhood. It is community of daring and bold entrepreneurs that could ride tall with any cowboy. Giddy up!

NEXT WEEK: Debunking Bike Town USA