Street Talk: Annual Chuck Benton benefit headed by Timbers Saloon owner

This Saturday in Carson City, Timbers Saloon presents the sixth annual Chuck Benton Benefit. The owner of Timbers, Bette Larsen, will tell us what that's about after we find out a little bit about her.

"My family moved to Seattle when I was 3 years old and I grew up there," said Bette, 60. "When I was 15 we moved to Ely and I graduated from White Pine High School. When my mom and dad (Lyle and Delna) divorced, Mom moved me and my three younger siblings there. Mom had lived there before and she was a graduate of White Pine too."

Her dad was in the Army and that's why the move to Seattle came about. After the service her dad was a superintendent and inspector for Chevron Oil Co.

"He traveled the world building oil refineries," added Bette. "Dad died five years ago from lung cancer. He was a smoker and was 76 when he died. Mom is 85 and healthy. She lives in Dayton with my sister Kathy. My brother Lyle lives in Elko and my sister Jean lives here in Carson City."

We were visiting in Bette and her "loving companion" Mike VanOverbeke's Carson City home. Mike is "almost 54" and was born in Olympia, Wash. The couple have been together 17 years now.

"I was married to Pete for 23 years before he died from kidney cancer," said Bette sadly. "He was only 42 years old. We have two children. Cheryl is an RN at Carson-Tahoe Hospital and Mike is a superintendent for Ray Heating Products in Reno. I have five grandchildren."

Mike and Bette also have two new additions at home. They are Bear and Keno, and they are young puppies.

"Bear is four months old and Keno is 3 months old," said a smiling Bette. "They are registered Labs."

Mike and Bette met through her sister Kathy and her husband Paul.

"We've been together ever since we met," said Bette. "Mike has worked his whole life as a surveyor and a heavy equipment operator ... He's retired now from that."

Bette had done a lot of things before she bought Timbers, including four years working for Nevada Bell in Reno as a telephone operator and later a long distance supervisor before leaving Bell.

"Most of my working life was in education," she said. "I was a secretary at Sparks High School and at Sonoma Heights Elementary School in Winnemucca and I was a management assistant to the president at WNCC."

Bette retired from that in 1983 and moved from Washoe Valley to Carson City and set out on a different road in her life.

"I bought the Highway 50 Club in 1985, which is next door to The Crackerbox," she said. "I changed the name to The Blarney Sister and operated it until 1991, when I sold it."

Bette says she missed that business, so just six short months later she bought Timbers (124 E. 8th Street) and that's where Bette spends a lot of her time.

"I manage Timbers and once in awhile I'll pull a shift as a bartender, but not too much anymore," she laughed. "I'm there just about every day of the week. We're open from 7 a.m. to midnight seven days a week."

TELL US ABOUT CHUCK - "Chuck Benton is 28 years old, a quadriplegic who is paralyzed from the neck down," said Bette. "He was injured in an automobile accident on Oct. 28, 1994. He is a remarkable young man and he truly appreciates what is being done on his behalf."

What's being done is the annual fundraiser, which includes a golf tournament - at Empire Ranch Golf Course - plus a raffle for prizes like dinners and stays for two at Lake Tahoe, an auction for vacation trips, guns and slot machines, an Oakland Raiders Super Bowl plaque and more. Part of the festivities include a barbecue dinner. The dinner, raffle and auction start immediately following the golf at approximately 2 p.m. Everything but the golf tournament takes place at Timbers Saloon.

"The golf tournament is a four-man scramble with a maximum of 144 players," said Bette. "I've got 10 spots left for that. We'll also have live music by Fault Line, a local group, and you don't have to enter the golf tournament to attend the auction and other events."

Anyone wishing to enter the golf tournament or wanting more details about the benefit can call Bette at 883-2416.

"All the proceeds go to Chuck to help him in his daily needs like food and clothing and we raised over $90,000 for him in the previous benefits," said Bette proudly. "It's gone to purchase a wheelchair, a handicap-accessible van, a computer and things like that. We raised $17,000 for him last year."

She did note that Chuck will be at the benefit and he looks forward to meeting many of the people who have helped him over the years.

"It'll be a fun event as well as a fund raiser," added Bette. "We hope you can make it."

I told her I would stop by and I hope many of you get a chance to also ....

(ALAN ROGERS is a Nevada Appeal columnist. His message phone is 887-2430, ext. 402.)