The Name is Boots

Mayor Boots Churchill in downtown Elgin. She moved to Elgin in 1963 and was employed at the plywood plant before going to work for Bob Miller at Elgin Electric, where she stayed for 20 years. She served 12 years on the Elgin City Council before being elected mayor in 2000. (Observer photos/PHIL BULLOCK).

By Mardi Ford

Observer Staff Writer

ELGIN —

In 1963, Berta "Boots" Churchill picked up, packed up and left Oklahoma, looking for a fresh start.

For the ordinary single mother of four, a small logging town in northeast Oregon might not be a first choice for a brand new life. But in Elgin, the extraordinary Boots found a home.

"It wasn't the wild frontier town everybody says it was. The town was full of good people," she lifts her chin, "still is."

Looking back, Boots agrees moving across country alone was a pretty daring thing to do in the early 1960s.

"Women were still mostly second- class citizens in those days," she said.

Looking for work, she heard the plywood plant needed someone in the office. What she thought would be a temporary job lasted four years.

"I lucked out because I understood their time sheets," she said.

In Elgin, Boots also found a new man — Wesley "Wick" Churchill.

"You know, he was really good to my kids," she remembers. So, in 1965, Wick and Boots got married.

Eventually Boots went to work for Bob Miller at Elgin Electric, where she stayed for 20 years.

"I still go in once in a while and help out Bob's daughter when she needs it," Boots said.

One favorite memory of her days at Elgin Electric goes like this:

"I remember one day when this call came and Bob answered the phone.

" ‘No,' he said to the caller, ‘there's nobody here by that name.' Then he hung up the phone, kinda irritated," she recalls.

"I asked him, ‘Who was that for, Bob?' And he said, ‘Somebody askin' for Berta.' I said, ‘Bob, you know that's me — what'd you hang up for?' And he said, ‘Everybody knows you're "Boots" — if they can't ask for you by your right name, they can just call back!' "

"He was the best boss I ever worked for," she chuckles.

Boots says she has gone by her nickname for so long, "if someone called me ‘Berta,' I'd have to turn around to see who they're talking to."

As for Boots: "My dad started calling me that when I was just little," she recalls. "To tell you the truth, I really don't know why. He died before I was old enough to think to ask him."

Whatever the reason, the nickname conjures up romantic visions of an independent woman of the West. And whether the name was chosen to fit her, or she evolved to fit the name — it suits her.

Labeled feisty by people who adore her, today the independent Boots Churchill is serving a second term as mayor of a feisty, independent town. The town, the woman — the two are a good fit.

Will she seek a third term?

"I don't know," she says. "It depends on my health. This job takes a lot out of you." Boots says she works harder now than she did before she retired.

The worrying type, she lies awake at night and thinks too much. "Luckily, I've always been the sort who could function on four hours of sleep a night," she said.

Anyway, Boots says she has plenty of time to make up her mind about the 2004 campaign. "There are others who can take my place," she says.

Before running for mayor in 2000, Boots served 12 years on the Elgin City Council. It never occurred to her to seek higher office until the former mayor showed up at her door with some council members and asked her if she would.

"I thought, ‘What the hell,' I never really thought I'd get it, but nobody else really wanted it. And I didn't think I'd get reelected, either. But one thing I've always tried to do is be a mayor for all the people," she said. "Everybody knows who I am and where I live. They can show up at my door any time and I'll talk to 'em about whatever's on their mind."

It's a strategy that has worked because the people in town seem to really love her. She gets a lot of hugs and squeezes wherever she goes. "I'm a huggy person," she said.

Boots has a way of getting people to work together. "I like everybody to get along and I don't like to lose my temper," she said. The city has accomplished some good things during her tenure.

"Some of the projects I really wanted to see get done were the RV park, the industrial park and the new city hall," Boots said.

She expressed some frustration that as a council member projects didn't move as fast as she wanted. As mayor, she hoped she could accomplish more. But she gives credit to the people she works with every day.

"I have a great bunch of people to work with — all the city departments — they make me look good," she says. Boots calls city manager Joe Garlitz. her right arm.

"I don't know what the town would do without Joe. I just hope they appreciate him. Every time he comes up for re- election, I sweat bullets," she said.

Boots leans forward, lowering her voice, "You know, Joe was in Turkey a while back and they had an earthquake over there. I was scared to death for him. And the town. I don't know of anyone who could take that job on."

Boots loves Elgin. Elgin loves Boots. Her philosophy for government seems to be the same as her philosophy for life. And it's simple.

"I look at things a little bit different, I guess. I think we spend too much time talking about the bad things. There's a good way to help people and a bad way. You can't get people to do something by making them feel bad about themselves. You have to show them, not tell them — if people realize you have pride in yours, they'll have pride in theirs."