According to her obituary, Betty Smolinski Crutcher was born June 6, 1939 to Wallace and Bertys Smolinski and grew up on their farm in the Fraser area. She enjoyed working outside with her father. She graduated from Weippe High School in 1957.

In 1958, she married Robert Pollock and moved to Pierce. They had two daughters, Susan and Peggy. They spent a lot of their summers out in the lumberjack camps of the region. The marriage ended in divorce and she moved to Lewiston for a short time.

Betty moved to Orofino and in September 1966 married Jim Crutcher who had five children. She and Jim celebrated 44 years of marriage. While raising her children, she also worked in the lunch room at Orofino Elementary and then Orofino High School. While working for the school district, she learned to make her infamous cinnamon rolls.

In 1978, Jim and Betty purchased the Oasis Bar and, along with his brother, Bill, turned it into "the hottest bar in town." They owned the bar for 25 years and during that time, Betty prepared many holiday dinners for local patrons and friends.

Betty took great pride in her home and beautiful flower garden. Her gardens were decorated with yard sale items. She loved yard sales so much that she started having one annually. Many local folks came just for her cookies, pies and infamous cinnamon rolls.

She passed away July 11, 2012.

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