Oregon state Route 62 in the 1950s was a very curvy road from the Rogue Valley to Crater Lake. Children crammed in the back seat of a stuffy car welcomed a stop for fresh air and a cold drink at Wildwood Camp’s Cascade Gorge Store just south of Prospect, Ore.
In 1922, “Mim” and William Sherwood had bought an old homestead and turned it into Wildwood Camp. An ornithologist, William loved the peace after having been gassed in World War I. Mim opened a store at Wildwood when William was hospitalized for tuberculosis. Pop Gates’ Groceteria in Medford gave her discount prices to supply the store.
Tragedy struck Mim several times. Fishing accidents killed their 6-year-old son, William, and later another son, Tommy. After her husband’s death, Mim and a new husband, Jeff Richey, continued the Camp. They ran electricity for two miles, turning the place into an ideal camping area. A fire in 1953 burned down the store, but the Richeys rebuilt and added a gas station.
Richey died in 1957, but Mim ran the Cascade Gorge Store another 20 years until she was in her 80s. She died in Corvallis at age 100.
Source: Hutchinson, Peggyann. "Mim Richey, 100, Dies in Corvallis." Medford Mail Tribune, 23 Aug. 1997.
