‘Chill’: Waldport honors quirky, kindhearted man

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In the mid-1980s, people in Waldport didn’t know that a very quirky and kindhearted man was about to permanently make his mark on the Oregon coastal town of about 2200 people.

For more than 30 years, Chuck Hill owned Waldport Video with more than 30,000 videos to choose from, many of them obscure. One of his customers was Justin Lowe, who grew up in Waldport.

Lowe often went to Hill’s store, which actually became a social hub for many teens.

“Chuck and I developed a friendship over the years. I was a big movie buff and I wanted to be a filmmaker so I’d go into the video store a lot. and he’d always share films that I’d have no other way of seeing,” Lowe told KOIN 6 News.

Lowe became a filmmaker and made a short, “Chill — A Short History of Waldport Video,” that included interviews with Chuck Hill.

At one point in the film, Lowe told Hill, “A lot of people would just come to talk to you and get what I would call free therapy.” Hill agreed.

Chuck Hill never had a computer. He used a handwritten system over all the years of Waldport Video. He didn’t charge late feesd or even really keep track of the videos. He was generous to a fault.

“If they had a problem and asked you for money, you just opened the register and handed them $10, $500, whatever they asked for,” Lowe said in the film.

“Whatever the need called for,” Hill replied.

There are Yelp reviews from people around the world who visited the store in Waldport, raving about the unique atmosphere he provided.

Chuck Hill sponsored all the youth teams, gave out scholarships to high school graduates and bought bikes for kids in need. He would donate any money he made off his art to local animal shelters, and signed each piece “Chill” — a combination of Chuck and Hill.

But after more than 30 years, he closed Waldport Video in January 2020. About 18 months later he died after battling an illness.

As the building that housed the store sat empty, the community wanted to make sure he was not forgotten.

Diana Buckley bought the building and turned it into “Cafe Chill,” a place not just for food and drinks but also for his are.

“We get people who come in and literally burst into tears. They’re overwhelmed with seeing the change and knowing the love is still here and we still want to carry on that legacy,” Buckley said.

That legacy includes providing a gathering place for teens, seniors and others — especially anyone who marches to a different beat like Chuck Hill did.

“I just am who I am and I can’t be anybody else,” Hill said in the film.

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