Through Boom or Bust – Sisters Maintains Identity

SISTERS, ORE. - The drive from Portland to Bend weaves through a few towns offering a chance to pause for food and gas on your way to somewhere else. Sisters is a good place to stop.

Arriving in the small town is a moment that just feels cheesy: Green Oregon forests end to reveal mountains in the distance. Leading to the view is Sisters' pseudo-western downtown with wood-shingle roofs and business names in a font typically seen on Hollywood's version of wanted posters.

As more people moved to Bend and Redmond in the early 2000s, roughly 22 miles away, the mayor of Sisters predicted the town's...