By Melissa Wagoner
When Jim and Martha Kosel moved to Mount Angel from Oregon City seven years ago, they made a pact to attend every town function and not leave until they met at least one other couple. They also agreed that they wouldn’t join anything.
It was an agreement that didn’t last.
Jim is a member of the city’s budget committee, served on the Charter Committee; is involved in the American Legion and the Boys and Girls State committee; is credited with rewriting the Mount Angel Chamber of Commerce bylaws; and together the couple co-chair the committee to maintain the downtown kiosk. Jim also serves on the chamber’s Wurstfest Committee.
“It’s a lot of hours and it’s a lot of stresses but when you come back and debrief, while you are exhausted, you sit and say, ‘oh, we did it!’” Jim said of Wurstfest.
In recognition of all his areas of service, Chamber President Pete Wall is presenting Jim with the first President’s Award at the community awards banquet Feb. 23.
“Jim’s service to the chamber is invaluable to many of our community activities and he can always be counted on to help,” Wall said.
Martha has made peace with the way the pact to remain uninvolved was left behind.
When they met, Jim was in the Air Force, she in the Army. They married, have raised three children, and he’s had s career in warehousing and distribution; Martha still works in hospice. For years Oregon City was home.
“I retired and we decided we wanted to move away from the city and downsize,” Jim said. For 30 years, they had had two annual date nights, Portland’s Benson Hotel at Christmas and the Mount Angel Oktoberfest. As they began to explore options for a new home, their thoughts returned to the small town they had enjoyed. On their first scouting trip, they found the perfect house.
“Moving here was like moving to Mayberry,” Martha said.
“I would open my door and there would be a bag of something fresh out of somebody’s garden,” Jim said.
“I think moving here was healthy for Jim because the town is welcoming and really receptive to Jim fixing things,” she said.
When asked what he thought when he found out about the award Jim said, “It’s fun when you sit back and reflect. Mount Angel’s very quiet, a great group of people, lots of community support. But I’m not one for recognition. I just want to go back to my projects.”
