Kinzi Rasmussen’s hometown of Unity has never been anything like a metropolis, but she remembers when the town in southern Baker County was a bit more bustling.

Those memories motivated Rasmussen and her husband, Travjs (spelled with a “j” rather than an “i”) to start The Comity Place.

Operating under a local nonprofit that Kinzi Rasmussen helped to start in September 2024, the Unity Citizens Action Council, The Comity Place has offered free meals to residents, either at the Unity Community Hall or by delivery.

But that’s only the start of the couple’s vision.

“We really wanted to do something for the community,” Kinzi Rasmussen said. “We want to have a space where people could come and get together.”

Future plans including kids nights with a variety of activities, as well as dances for all ages.

Rasmussen, 29, said she remembers community dances at the hall when she was growing up.

She and her husband, who live in Unity, have three children, ages 9, 7 and 3. She works at the Burnt River Market, one of the few businesses in town.

By renting the hall in Unity, which is operated under a local property tax levy, Rasmussen also hopes to support the venue that has been a social center for Unity, which has a population of about 40.

She said they also hope to make donations to the hall itself, in addition to renting it for events.

In the longer term, Rasmussen said she’d like to revive Bull Run Days, the annual community festival named for Bull Run Rock, one of the peaks that rise south of the Burnt River Valley, and Bull Run Creek, a major tributary to the South Fork Burnt River.

“We want to be a center for good things that people are excited about,” she said.

Rasmussen said her husband, who works as a ranch hand and at the Burnt River School, conceived the name, The Comity Place.

She likes that people tend to assume the word is “comedy,” as in humor.

And stand-up comedy is a possible addition to the schedule in the future.

But the definitions of comity — a friendly social atmosphere, and courtesy and considerate behavior to others — exemplify the purpose of The Comity Place, she said.

The Comity Place started in early 2025 with monthly community meals, as well as a “pop-up pub” selling drinks with a small food menu, Rasmussen said.

That was “received pretty well,” she said.

The Comity Place hosted a Super Bowl party on Feb. 9, and the next week a Valentine’s Day dinner sold out. The menu included local donated prime rib — appropriate for a valley where cattle significantly outnumber people — as well as homemade desserts by Kathy Moothart.

Later in February, the monthly community meal included 40 meals delivered to residents in the valley by volunteers.

“We are so thankful and grateful for the volunteers and friends who have helped us,” Rasmussen said.

Donations are welcome but not required, she said. The Comity Place and its nonprofit parent are also seeking grants.

The Comity Place’s schedule has slowed recently since Rasmussen suffered severe burns during an accident at her home in late March.

But she said she’s recovering, and while she does she’s envisioning a variety of events, including a spring dance, potentially in partnership with the community hall in Hereford, an unincorporated town about 12 miles east along the Burnt River.

The Comity Place has a Facebook page with updates about events.

Growing up in the Burnt River Valley

Rasmussen is the fifth generation of her family to live in the Burnt River Valley.

She said her great-great-grandfather started a cattle ranch near Unity.

She graduated from Burnt River High School, and her mother, Kimala Parret, owned and operated the Waterhole restaurant and tavern from 2012 until it closed in 2022.

“I grew up in Unity,” Rasmussen said. “I’m thankful for that background.”

Unity’s population has shrunk by more than two-thirds in the past quarter century, due in part to the closure of the Forest Service ranger district office and compound, which employed more than 20 people. The town’s population in the 2000 census was 131. It dropped to 71 in 2010, and to 40 in 2020.

Both Rasmussen and her husband worked at the Waterhole.

After it closed, she said she felt that the community needed some sort of replacement venue for social events, particularly during winter.

When she learned that a friend was starting a nonprofit with a goal of promoting community events, she was eager to help.

Rasmussen said her interest in community service also inspired her to run for, and be elected to, the Burnt River School Board.

She said that as an adult, and a mother, she has a newfound appreciation both for what the Burnt River Valley offers, but also what it lacks.

“It’s not easy living out here, but I can’t see it any other way,” she said.