American Cowboy praises Hermiston

The magazine American Cowboy has named Hermiston one of the top 20 places to live in the West, where “Old West charm, open rangeland and outdoor activities come together like nowhere else.”

The list includes Roseburg, Ellensburg, Wash., and Red Lodge, Mont.

“An outdoor playground awaits in Eastern?Oregon,” the magazine reads, “where the natural beauty of the Columbia River is ideal for horseback riding, water skiing, hunting, fishing, or plain old peace and quiet.”

American Cowboy Editor Phillip Armour said the magazine decided on the list from talking to chambers of commerce, Web research, and polling its freelance writers. The list is not scientific, he said – it doesn’t consider things like average income or jobs available.

“Hermiston is small, it’s authentic and it just seemed to fit our criteria,” he said.

American Cowboy is for two types of readers, he said: people who live on ranches or farms and people who wish they did. It is geared toward travel; it helps readers decide where to go for a western experience. Lovely places that people would like to visit and possibly move to, he said.

Debbie Pedro, the director of the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce, said she couldn’t be happier with Hermiston’s appearance on the list.

“It’s just really cool,” she said.

Pedro said it could help Hermiston’s effort to become a destination for western travelers, people who would enjoy the Farm-City Pro Rodeo or the Hermiston Horse Sale, things that are unique to Eastern Oregon.

Debbie Hulen, an office manager at the Hermiston Pendleton Grain Growers’ retail store, a lifelong Hermistonian, said she has always enjoyed the country life.

“Just the openness of the people – the friendliness,” she said.

Hulen’s daughter, Leslie, said Hermiston’s rural lifestyle is great for raising her two children.

“Your kids can run around and you don’t have to worry about them,” she said. “People look out for each other.”

The Hulens like to go four-wheeling, they said, and where they live they don’t have to travel to do it. They just drive their ATVs to the nearest recreation spot.

“It’s like camping in your own backyard,” Leslie Hulen said.