Dreampt of living in The Shire?

Builder sites Middle Earth in Central Oregon

The Shire - The Bend village may look quaint (check out the PVC thatch), but cottages top half a million.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006
MATTHEW PREUSCH
The Oregonian

BEND -- Ron Meyers isn't given to long discourses on Hobbits, elves or any other inhabitants of J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination.

In fact, the man building The Shire -- a new subdivision recalling the mythical home of Tolkien's most famous characters -- hasn't read the author's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, though he does own the DVDs.

It was a friend who came up with the name for the development on Bend's east side. "He is the one that's the Tolkien freak," said Meyers, The Shire's sire. "Not me."

Meyers has taken the liberty of renaming an irrigation canal next to The Shire as Brandywine Brook. He's happy to show off two Hobbit holes otherwise known as storage sheds.

"If you look inside there right now," said Meyer, pointing to one, "you'll find a lawn mower."

But for now the spot is overrun -- not by orcs but by backhoes, dump trucks and surveyors. You have to overlook the Caterpillar equipment and the mobile home park next door to grasp The Shire's magic.

Still, the parts of The Shire that are complete -- the small amphitheater, paved pathways, flowery gardens -- have an undeniable Middle Earth quality.

Meyers said he hasn't been flooded by Tolkien groupies eager to live in a re-creation of the fanciful Hobbiton, though his Web site has gotten a lot of hits originating from LOTR fan sites.

"I'm not selling 'Lord of the Rings,' " Meyers said. "I'm selling finely crafted homes with a European flair."

Read the rest at Oregonlive.com or visit The Shire.