Verna Oller at home in Long Beach, May 2007.

When checking historical archives for information about Verna Oller, you’ll easily be able to find a video of ABC’s “World News with Diane Sawyer” story on this “feisty and frugal” secret millionaire, a long-time Long Beach resident who passed away on May 10, 2009. After having amassed a fortune of over $4.5 million through a combination of an inheritance, using her self-taught investing strategy and adhering to a frugal lifestyle, her final wish was to have “every cent of her fortune spent on her hometown.”

This wish was confirmed in a story written by Sydney Stevens (SydneyofOysterville.com). According to a May 17, 2010 story, Stevens began the first of several interviews with Oller in early January 2007 after being contacted to do so by Guy Glenn Sr., Oller’s friend and attorney. Originally, the interviews with Oller were used in Stevens’ Chinook Observer series “North Beach Girls of the Teens and Twenties.” It was during their time together, Stevens also learned of the secret Oller wanted kept until after her death.

Verna’s secret: After initially considering the construction of a new library, Oller settled on a swimming pool for the residents of Long Beach because it would benefit everyone, from infants to the elderly. She believed those living in a place on the Pacific Ocean should know how to swim. While the Pacific Ocean is beautiful to look at, it is far too dangerous a place to learn this sport and potentially life-saving skill. It frustrated her there was no place in town to swim. During the interview, Stevens promised Oller to keep her secret until after she died. However, following her discussion with Oller in 2007, Stevens wrote her story and shared it with Glenn. As instructed, Stevens didn’t release the story to the Chinook Observer of the bequest to Long Beach until 2009 following Oller’s death.

According to news accounts, in Oller’s will, it indicated $500,000 was to be donated to a public-school endowment and another $500,000 to a foundation to be used for student scholarships and grants to teachers. Per a Sept 30, 2014 article, $1.1 million had already been distributed for education and there was over $5 million in the trust. At that time nothing had yet to be decided on the pool for Long Beach after consideration of a local building project stopped in early 2013, when Long Beach officials and a citizens’ committee declined the roughly $4 million donation after determining that the city couldn’t afford long-term operations and maintenance expenses not covered by Oller’s bequest. Subsequent to this Glenn hired a Seattle attorney to modify the language in the trust which would allow him to explore other possible swimming-related projects because Oller specifically asked that a pool be built within Long Beach. Ultimately, the language of the trust was changed to read as follows:

…Under the terms of the new agreement, the money may be used for any charitable or educational project “…with an emphasis in promoting swimming and water safety in Pacific County, Washington, and Clatsop County, Oregon”…

It is difficult to understand why the scope of the trust was broadened to this extent given Oller’s intent was to have “every cent of her fortune spent on her home town.” It was very easy to understand why access was negotiated for Long Beach and other Peninsula residents to participate in free swimming activities offered at the Dunes Bible Camp pool in Ocean Park due to Oller’s generosity after the city of Long Beach’s decision that they could not afford to accept the gift. However, after the covid pandemic hit the Peninsula, residents’ access to this pool has no longer been an option and there have been no stated plans to have the former access reestablished. On the other hand, why was a relationship chosen to be established with the Astoria Aquatic Center, which is part of the Parks and Recreation Department?

How realistic is it that residents from Long Beach and north on the Peninsula will actually drive 30-45 minutes to the Astoria Aquatic Center? Without transparency related to the distribution of funds from the trust, many Peninsula residents are suspicious of the motivation for changing the terms of the trust as it most recently was. It is understandable that questions related to these changes are being asked with many speculating as to why it was done. For example:

• What is the current value of the trust?

• What and how much are the annual expenses charged against the trust?

• How do those managing the trust (in the past or currently) benefit directly or indirectly from the changes in the trust language?

• Are there plans to reestablish access to the Dunes Bible Camp pool in Ocean Park?

• How many Peninsula residents use the services at the Astoria Aquatic Center?

If no pool access could be given, Oller’s money should have been retained in the community she loved and explicitly stated it was to be used even if it was restricted to only the education-related options specified in her original trust. Changing her trust that allowed funds to be moved outside her community not only resulted in significantly reducing access to a wide range of swimming related activities for residents of all ages on the Peninsula, but it reduces available funds that can directly benefit our teachers and students.

PETE SCOTT

Long Beach