Luther Metke at 94 Transcription
LUTHER METKE AT 94
A film by Jorge Preloran and Steve Raymen
Transcription edited by Beverly Patterson
(Transcriber’s Note: Secondary speakers are not named in the film. If viewers recognize any of the unidentified or incorrectly identified speakers, Folkstreams would welcome that information and will include it.)
Academy Award Nominee: Documentary Short Subject, MCMLXXXI
The Ethnographic Film Program, University of California Los Angeles
Presents Luther Metke at 94
(The film opens with sounds of psaltery music accompanying a portrait of Luther Metke and scenes of the snowy winter landscape outside of his log cabin in Oregon. In a voice-over, Luther recites one of his poems as the music ends. During his recitation, the scene shifts to him speaking indoors.)
00:40
LUTHER METKE:
We cannot measure morals by the rod
Or the consequence of the disobedience to God.
From dust thou art, to dust thou will return
May also be said to the lowly worm.
But when God breathed into man the breath of life
A soul was born with hope for paradise.
It matters not from whence our body came
Grant unto earth that to which it has a claim.
And unto God, the soul He freely gave
Friends of the dust of the earthly grave.
That's one of my poems. Yeah.
(Luther carries an axe and a chain saw as he walks outdoors to select a tree to cut.)
LUTHER: Three of them all here at once. Well, I don't know which one we, oh, I think that one. I think we can get that in there. I'm a wood butcher. Well, that means that you're a rough carpenter, that you can work on logs and rocks and so forth, and you can't work on bricks and lumber and do a good job. I was building these cabins when I was 15 years old back in Minnesota. That's the only kind of cabins they had. When the homesteaders had come in to take up a homestead, why, the neighbors would all go over there and build them a cabin. Within a week, they'd have some place to live in.
I did have one brother up in Seattle and decided to come back out here. And there was a lumber company grabbing all this timber land up here. And, of course, that interested me because I was interested in timber by working with it back there in Minnesota. So, I came down here from Seattle and took a homestead in 1907. It cost $1.25 an acre, which was $200 for 160 acres. Then I got to contracting. Building these here houses when I didn't have anything else to do. They were cheaper. Well, now you get a log cabin for a couple hundred dollars, you know, and it was cheaper than sod stuff even at that time. I got $300 to build this cabin.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Dusty and Taylor?
04:20
LUTHER: Well, they wanted a—at first they wanted a job, I suppose [that was] the main thing. And then they did want to learn to build a log cabin. And both of them was interested in building a log cabin. And I said, "The best way to learn is to come over and go to work at it." I says. "And that's the best way." In my 35 or 40 cabins that I've built, I've had probably a new man every time I try. Every time I build a cabin, I have somebody new, you know. But it's just a matter of being able to handle an axe. It took them some time to get used to using an axe. They never used an axe, you see, before in their lives. And it takes time for them to break in. And about the time we got through, why, they were broke in pretty well, you see. Taylor, you know, he was handy, you know. And he was intelligent. And the little gal was, too.
06:04
Well, I suppose I got to do it. Advisory committee, they call it. I have no business to be on it, really. One man from the Spanish-American War. I guess it's just a publicity proposition. I enlisted in Chicago, and we went out to the Orient. You know, China and Japan, the Philippines. And we were the flagship on the Pacific Fleet at that time. The old Oregon was out there, and I came home on the Oregon, the Battleship Oregon.
06:52
(Luther attends a meeting of veterans.)
Hey John.
How you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED: We'll get them all straightened out here. He represents the Purple Heart, and he represents the World War I veterans, and he represents the VFW, and you represent the DAV, and you represent the Spanish-American War veterans, okay?
LUTHER: There's only four of us left in the state now.
UNIDENTIFIED: That's all you do.
UNIDENTIFIED: That's all you want.
LUTHER: It's just for to take care of this money to loan to veterans, young people. Oh, don't have to be young people. They're a very good committee.
(Luther exchanges comments with unidentified speakers.)
UNIDENTIFIED: How old are you?
LUTHER: 93.
UNIDENTIFIED: 93?
UNIDENTIFIED: Just getting started.
UNIDENTIFIED: Just getting started.
07:28
LUTHER: There's a lot of serious things in life that aggravates you and gets you off. But if you have a little sense of humor, you can take it. And otherwise, without a sense of humor, you're in tough proposition as near as I can see. And I think that's one of the main things. You can't take everything too serious.
The TV boys, they came from Baker, And they came over here about 10 o'clock or 11 one day. They wanted me to--they wanted to take some pictures. And I said, "Go ahead, take your pictures." I didn't know who they were at the time. And they wanted to know if we could go out in the woods and do a little work out there, you know. So we went out in the woods and split some-- some posts out for them and cut them up. But I think the whole thing was the fact that you're 90-some years old and you're building a log cabin. Well, I don't see anything unusual about that, you know, excepting everybody don't live that long. But then, gosh, I had three brothers that was older than me. Quite often, we make heroes out of people that have no particular reason to be.
Now, my health and one thing and another, I attribute to my parents. I don't expect any reward for what I did. I didn't do anything about my health. And fact of the matter is, I think I was a little bit just the opposite because I am rather obstinate then, I guess. Why, I hate to be forced into anything, you know.
UNIDENTIFIED: It's not that nice.
09:43
LUTHER: You don't have to have much intelligence to build a cabin. After you see how it's done, you know, and do a few logs, then it's just work. Strong in the back, weak in the head proposition.
And of course, I'm not like I used to be about 40 years ago or 50, which was, I was quite active at that particular period. But now, you know, you can't lift so much or anything. I've been taking pills and one thing or another for some time. It's supposed to have too dang many white corpuscles and so forth in your blood. And I was supposed to be ready to die here some years ago. And if I got all excited about it, I probably would have.
Well, I sensed that they were reliable people. They were honest, and they were people that you could rely on in regard to what they were capable of doing. You can't judge people the first day or two that you're with them. You have to take time before you really find out what they are and what their beliefs is and how they arrive at these beliefs and all that kind of thing. I thought they were married for several months. I didn't know. Of course, you gotta accept what it is. It isn't a question of what you think. You have to accept a lot of things, whether you like it or not. When Dusty said that they were going to get married, I said, "Now you're talking my language." I said, "Now I can deal with you."
11:43
(Wedding scenes)
UNIDENTIFIED WEDDING OFFICIANT: This becomes a thanksgiving moment, our Father. One of blessings and one of riches, with the feeling of privilege upon us as friends and loved ones as we stand with these two as they come in the moment of their commitment. Make a blessing here by this presence. May Thy grace attain, and the comfort of Thy peace be upon them.
Do you promise to love and honor and cherish him, leaving all others, cleave only unto him? And do you have rings by which you wish to have these vows sealed? You've promised and pledged yourselves one to another. I now, therefore, pronounce you husband and wife. You've got a wife. You'd better kiss her.
BRIDE: Thank you, Luther.
LUTHER: Thank you. Yeah.
BRIDE: I think you helped it along.
LUTHER: Well, I hope I did.
BRIDE: You really did.
(Indistinct background conversations.)
UNIDENTIFIED: This is the third one, though.
UNIDENTIFIED: Got a house and got married.
UNIDENTIFIED: Yeah. They used that house to celebrate in too.
12:59
LUTHER:
Youth looks for things they can explore.
They seek the truth through nature, Lord.
Created things are plain to see
But the how and why is a mystery.
Knowledge is a search for facts,
A worthy cause, but often lacks.
A broader base from which you start
May be found within our heart.
Daddy's little girl, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED: You guys have been hamming all week.
LUTHER: You know it.
13:33
(Luther and others watch a television program that features him. Quotations that follow are from that broadcast.)
TV NARRATOR: “This 4th of July experience we have every year always seems to give us the chance to tell a few stories we've never gotten around to the rest of the year. Like the Spanish-American War veteran who is leaving a legacy of log cabins in central Oregon. Ray Summers reports from Camp Sherman.”
RAY SUMMERS: “If you're going to do something right these days, you've got to do it yourself. After seeing Luther Metke work, we decided he's probably right. Luther Metke is a builder of log cabins. The newest log cabin, numbered somewhere in the 40s or 50s, is different. For one thing, it's got eight sides.”
LUTHER: “It was principally, as I say, for to get the light in that center part. You see, I'll put trusses across from that post over there, that far one over to that one. And the same way on the other end. You think, if you keep a-working, you don't have time to worry about anything. If you lay around, why, I suppose a physical proposition is just the same as the mental. If you exercise a little bit, you, well, it's easier for to--you don't get sore and stove up.”
RAY: “We doubt Luther Metke will ever be stove up or stove under or any other way. He'll just keep on building these log cabins of his and trying to ignore those precut log cabins of modern industry.”
(Luther reacts to being shown an image of a modern log cabin.)
LUTHER: “Well, it looks like a manufactured thing. And I like the log cabin made out of logs. Natural.”
RAY: “Natural, the one thing you can say about log cabin builder, Luther Metke. He's natural. As natural as the material he uses. Ray Summers at large at Camp Sherman Oregon.
(Televised program ends.)
UNIDENTIFIED:I won't be able to go over to his place.
UNIDENTIFIED: That guy won't let you over there now.
15:40
LUTHER: Then I went out to China, and going up the Yangtze River. And the old Chinaman told me that these barren hills at one time was full of timber. They had cut all the timber off, and you couldn't even see a sign of a stump then. It was just virgin soil. There wasn't even grass growing on it. Of course, that reminded me of the fact there was a possibility that we may run out of timber. We thought we had enough to last us forever, you know. And we did have, if we'd take care of it. But we haven't taken care of it. They haven't done enough for the amount of men that's here, you see. What I have in mind, when they had a dozen men, they did just as much as they do now with the 500. It becomes a, I think after a period of time, it becomes a kind of a bureaucracy. And their principal object is taking care of their job.
16:50
LUTHER: I had the radical ideas that by organizing the working man, that he would be able to do something about these things. Well, when the working man gets in power, he does the same thing. He's looking after himself, and that's all. He's just like the employer. So, it isn't a question of who's in power, it's what they do when they get there. And therefore, I don't care who owns the timber or anything of that kind, as long as they'll take care of it.
17:30
LUTHER:
Nothing comes from nothing.
Everything from thought.
Not always what is what,
Or what we really sought.
With man, it's trial and error,
Although many to consult.
With God, who has the answers,
Already knows the result.
LUTHER: So, it's just an idea that thought is the thing that creates everything. And I actually believe that there's a superior intellect that created everything.
18:13
LUTHER: I'm living here alone because I'm independent when I'm alone. I'm independent as far as any of my kids is concerned. They all invite me to stay and one thing or another. And I probably will when I get helpless. But as long as I'm able to be around and do a little something and keep fairly healthy, I don't see any object. I've got to the point where I can live with myself, in other words. There was a time when it's pretty hard, when you hated yourself, you know, and you couldn't live with yourself. But then, of course, it's tough on you. But if you get to the point where you can live with yourself, it's not too hard.
19:00
(Luther’s daughter and family arrive for a visit.)
LUTHER: She's coming now. Oh yeah. Well, I'll have to go out here. Now put on your biggest smile.
MAE DODD: You're kidding me.
LUTHER: Well.
MAE: How are things a-going?
LUTHER: Hi. Fine.
MAE: Finally made it. Ah, good. How are things a-going? That was a long old drive.
LUTHER: Yeah. Yeah. Next time, you take this lady along. This is my daughter, John, Mrs. Dodd. And this is my granddaughter, Mrs. Montgomery. And this is her boy, Travis. Usually, he don't come, but then.
MAE: John, that's Vicky, and I'm Mae.
JOHN (NAME?): Okay. Yeah, we're trying to build a house for him. I don't know whether they'll ever get it done or not.
VICKY MONTGOMERY: I was going to say, if you ever get it done.
LUTHER: Yeah.
JOHN: Oh, really?
VICKY: Yeah.
MAE: They'll get there.
LUTHER: They're going to retire.
MAE: Oh yeah, it will.
20:14
MAE: He'll be 94 next month.
LUTHER: Next month, yes.
VICKY: 20th of next month.
MAE: 94 years young.
LUTHER: Old George Washington and I, we were (indistinct).
MAE: He's almost as old as George Washington.
LUTHER: Well, I used to be older. I used to be two days ahead of him, but now he's caught up with me, and he got ahead.
20:37
MAE: Well, we picked up your mail.
LUTHER: You got a lot of money?
MAE: Yeah, I've got lots of money.
LUTHER: All right. Well, that's what we need.
(Shopping for groceries)
MAE: We better get another quart anyway.
LUTHER: I'll get you two quarts?
MAE: Well, unless you're going to use it, because I won't. One of them should be enough.
LUTHER: Oh. Just grab things.
MAE: You know those pictures? That old picture? Look at it.
LUTHER: Yeah.
MAE: This is Pat and this is me.
LUTHER: He was a baby.
MAE: I had this enlarged from the little picture he had.
UNIDENTIFIED: Who's that? Who's that guy there?
MAE: That's my handsome father.
21:13
(Brief film footage shows aspects of log cabin construction.)
21:46
LUTHER: My brother-in-law and I, we used to work together building bridges. We built practically every bridge between Bend and way up near Crescent. I built that upper bridge there at Bend and the footbridge. And then, of course, for the foresters, I built lots of bridges for them. Bob, because we used to work together a lot. We used to do a lot of bridge work and stuff. And I located them on a claim up there. And she'd been there two or three days, I guess, you know. And he was always kidding, you know. And so when I come in there, he said, "Lou", he said, "I'll tell you, what’ll you take for to marry this girl here," you know. That was the first introduction I got, you see. And of course it embarrassed her. "Well", I said, "I'll think it over and give you a price and so forth." "Well,” he said, "I ain't got anything but an old white horse out here now. But," he said, "you can have that if you marry her." Of course, she dashes off, you know, mad. So that was the way we was introduced. Well, I said, "I'm a tramp." I said, "If you want to take up with an old tramp, why, perfectly all right." But I said, "Don't look for any diamonds or anything. You'd probably had more rocks in your head than..." So. Well, she took a chance.
23:23
MAE: He always took care of mom. My mother was in a wheelchair for last eight years of her life. And he cared for her completely. He clothed her. They went to church every Sunday. They never stayed home.
LUTHER: When she passed away, I couldn't do any good just with brooding. And then therefore, I was feeling bad laying around all this time.
MAE: He was ready to retire. And we all thought that was right. After all, he'd worked hard all of his life. And he should have a chance like everyone else to enjoy life for a change.
LUTHER: Well, when I was 75 years old, I quit work temporarily. But I didn't find it very pleasant. I found laying around you don't feel so good, you know. And it wasn't long, because I was beginning to hate myself. So naturally, I went back to work. I got to work and I felt better. Felt lots better. And then May said she wanted a house over there. And I says, "All right, I suppose I better build you one." I don't try to plan ahead for several years. I got ideas of what I can do, what I should do next few years and 10 years from now. It's all right to plan a house or something that'll take you six months or a year to build. But I mean planning a way ahead and trying to look too far ahead. Because there's so many changes in the meantime that's going to change your plans. As long as we do the best of what we recognize is the best. That's the only thing I can say.
25:21
Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday, dear Luther, happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday, dear Luther, happy birthday to you.
26:15
LUTHER: I don't worry about death. I don't worry about it because it's a condition that we got to go through. And what's the use of worrying about it? There's no object in worrying about something that you can't do anything about.
Out of the past, we build our future.
Out of the darkness comes the dawn.
Out of God's grace, we hope to seek
Your courage and faith to carry on.
26:48
CREDITS
Directed by Jorge Preloran
Steve Raymen
Camera Steve Raymen
Ron Finne
Sound Barbara Raymen
Einar Moos
Ron Finn
Edited by Einar Moos
Psaltery music played by Twilo Scofield
Produced by Richard Hawkins
Jorge Preloran
The Ethnographic Film Program, University of California Los Angeles
We wish to thank KOIN-TV Portland, Oregon
And the people of Camp Sherman, Oregon for their warm hospitality.
This project was supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in
Washington, D.C., a federal agency
