At Douglas County’s Longest Table, Strangers Became Neighbors

ROSEBURG, Ore. - For one evening, a stretch of Jackson Street became more than a downtown roadway.

It became a place where hundreds of people sat shoulder to shoulder, shared a meal and talked about the community they call home.

The third annual Douglas County’s Longest Table was organized by Thrive Umpqua, with staff, community partners, and volunteers working together to transform the downtown street into one long gathering place.

The meal at the center of the evening was crafted by Chad and Denise Northcraft of Jackson Street Provisions. With help from volunteers who served guests along the table, they provided a farm-to-table-inspired dinner for hundreds of community members. Their contribution helped turn a closed downtown street into a place where people could gather, eat and feel at home together.

The third annual Douglas County’s Longest Table brought families, friends, community leaders and complete strangers together in Downtown Roseburg on Sunday. The Roseburg Receiver and The Roseburg Plug attended the gathering, meeting participants and hearing what the evening meant to them.

At first glance, it was an impressive sight: one long table stretching through the heart of downtown. But the real meaning of the event could be found in the conversations happening along it.

People introduced themselves to someone new. They traded stories, discussed ideas and talked about what Douglas County already does well, along with what could make it an even better place to live.

John Dimof, one of the event’s organizers, described the Longest Table as an exercise in communication and cooperation.

“One of the things that bonds people and brings people together is food,” he said. “If we can sit, we can enjoy a meal, we can talk with one another, we can become friends. And friends make for a happier community.”

That simple idea was visible throughout the evening.

People who may never have otherwise met found themselves seated beside one another, sharing not only a table but a common interest in the future of their community.

Steve Loosley said seeing so many people gathered downtown was exciting and an important part of bringing more life to the area.

“This is just a huge step toward revitalizing,” Loosley said. “It’s such a wonderful thing to see what Thrive has done here. It’s always the people,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the people, I wouldn’t be here. This is where my friends are. This is my home.”

Loosley also thanked Thrive Umpqua and the volunteers who helped make the evening possible. For him, volunteering offered another opportunity to meet people while serving the community.

“I’m really in my happy place when I’m out there working to serve our community,” he said.

The conversations at the table were not limited to broad ideas about community. Participants discussed specific ways to make Downtown Roseburg more active, welcoming and vibrant.

Raeann Malone, manager of Experience Roseburg and the city’s tourism office, said her group had been talking about ways to bring more activity downtown during the afternoons and on weekends.

“There’s a lot of positive momentum downtown,” she said. “People are really excited about the businesses that exist down here and the new life that is here.”

Even the table itself told a story about the place everyone had gathered to celebrate.

Sam Starns, a local business owner and member of the Thrive Umpqua Longest Table Committee, designed this year’s tablescape around the idea of the Umpqua confluence.

A ribbon of blue represented the Umpqua River, surrounded by native plants from Elder Oaks Nursery and rocks gathered from the river. Markers along the table traced the landscape from Maydew Lake and the headwaters of the South Umpqua River to Reedsport and the Umpqua River Lighthouse.

The rocks will eventually be returned to the river.

“It really is all about this place that we all share,” Starns said.

For Starns, the event also provides something that can sometimes be difficult to find: an opportunity for people of different ages and backgrounds to listen to one another.

“Everybody has such a unique perspective,” Starns said. “When we all come to the table together, great ideas come from it.”

Those ideas do not necessarily end when the tables and chairs are taken down. Previous Longest Table gatherings have helped inspire community projects, and Thrive Umpqua works to turn participants’ suggestions into real efforts.

Among the ideas discussed Sunday were more activities for children, including hands-on science, sensory exhibits and opportunities for young people to make art.

Zach Weiss said the event stands out because it gives people a space to move beyond criticism and instead talk about solutions.

“The world in general is filled with a lot of pessimism,” Weiss said. “This conversation at this table is around what can we do to make things better.”

Weiss said bringing hundreds of people together with the shared goal of improving their community was “a pretty beautiful thing.”

For some, however, the most meaningful part of the evening was simply being reminded of what is already here.

Julie Lowe attended the Longest Table for the first time last year and returned Sunday because of the impression that experience left on her.

“You meet so many neat people that you would have never had a chance to sit by,” Lowe said.

When participants were asked what they loved about Douglas County, they spoke about its mountains, rivers, forests and proximity to both the coast and Crater Lake. But again and again, the answers returned to the people.

Raeann Malone spoke about neighbors who know one another, a community that steps forward when someone needs help and the feeling of belonging somewhere.

“We take care of each other,” one attendee said. “The community aspect here, you know your neighbors, and we care about each other. I think that’s really beautiful.”

By the end of the evening, Jackson Street would return to being a street. The tables would come down and everyone would head home.

But the conversations, introductions and ideas carried away from the table are the reason the event exists.

Because building a stronger community does not always begin with a major project or a sweeping plan.

Sometimes, it begins with pulling up a chair.