Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 37/Number 1/News and Comment

NEWS AND COMMENT

HISTORICAL RECORDS SURVEY

A SURVEY of historical documents in Oregon, one of the projects of the WPA, was begun in February and will be conducted until May 15, 1936, under the supervision of Alfred Powers, dean of the extension division of the state system of higher education. The purpose and scope of the survey is set forth in the following announcement of the director:

"The purpose of the Historical Records Survey, which is being launched in Oregon and throughout the Union, under the Federal Writers Program of the WPA, is to discover, preserve and make accessible the basic materials for research in the history of our country. The survey will embrace, so far as possible, all things of historical value, including public records in the state capitol, county court houses, city halls and town houses, historical and pioneer societies, universities, libraries containing manuscripts of historical value and privately owned collections. It will be concerned with such things as old diaries, letters, maps, statuary, newspapers and published interviews with old-timers, photographs and paintings, furniture and farm implements. The variety of potentially valuable historical materials is virtually limitless. The survey in Oregon will also include material concerning the history of other states, as well as that pertaining exclusively to Oregon history.

"Field workers will be employed in all sections of Oregon and the success of the survey will depend to a great extent upon the cooperation of public officials and private citizens with these workers. Whoever wishes to report the existence of an historical manuscript, ledger, diary, etc., may either inform the field worker in his county, or communicate directly with the Historical Records Survey, Bedell Building, Portland.

"At the completion of the survey, the findings in Oregon will be published in a book by the state university press, according to present plan."

MARKERS AND MEMORIALS

THE REPORT of the Oregon chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution on their work in historical research and the marking of historic sites shows a gratifying accomplishment. A marker was placed on the grave of Webley Hauxhurst, Trout cemetery, Tillamook. Yamhill Chapter, McMinnville, placed a tablet on a Kentucky coffee tree that was grown from a bean brought to Oregon from Mount Vernon in 1901. Champoeg Chapter, Newberg, marked the graves of two Oregon pioneers in the Goodrich cemetery, Dayton, and also secured a copy of the 1850 census of the county. David Hill Chapter, Hillsboro, dedicated a plaque on the Philip Harris bridge, honoring the builder of the first bridge across the Tualatin River at that point. Linn Chapter, Albany, is keeping a file of clippings on Oregon history. Many of the chapters are making records from gravestones in old cemeteries, and records from family Bibles.

Fort Stevens, at the mouth of the Columbia River, on the Oregon side, is to be restored as a historical monument by the federal government. The original fort was completed in 1864 and named for General Isaac I. Stevens, governor of Washington Territory, who had been killed in the Civil War, 1862.

The Sedgwick Woman's Relief Corps of Salem and Owen Summers Camp, Sons of Veterans, Portland, marked the graves of twenty-six war veterans who are buried in Marion County, February 16, 1936. The markers were provided by the federal government.

ANNIVERSARIES

The 77th anniversary of Oregon's admission to the Union was celebrated at the Portland Hotel, February 14, 1936, under the sponsorship of the Sons and Daughters of Oregon Pioneers. Harvey G. Starkweather represented Uncle Sam, who accepted “Miss Oregon," impersonated by Bettylou Swart, as his valentine. George W. Caldwell was principal speaker. He urged the beautification of Champoeg Park, as a memorial to the pioneers. Rufus C. Holman was toastmaster.

Saint Marys Catholic Church, Corvallis, observed its 75th anniversary February 12, 1936. The church was blessed February 17, 1861. For many years it was the only parish in the southern part of the Willamette valley, although the church records show that on August 19, 1853, Father Croke celebrated the first mass in that section of the country. A history of the church and parish will be found in the Oregon Journal, February 2, 1936.

MISCELLANEOUS

The Lang Syne Society, Portland, elected David S. Stearns president at its meeting December 4, 1936. Other officers elected were Earl C. Bronaugh, first vice president; Leslie M. Scott, 2nd vice president; William Adams, treasurer; H. L. Idleman, secretary. Mr. Adams was made a life member, one of the highest honors of the organization. Others thus honored have been Joseph Simon, A. H. Devers and B. B. Beekman. The annual dinner of the society was held February 19, 1936. There were 24 members of 80 years or older, who occupied a table of honor. J. O. Stearns, 80, a native Oregonian, was spokesman for this group, of whom George H. Himes, 91, was the eldest. Frank Branch Riley, a new member, was the principal speaker of the evening.

The press used for printing the first newspaper west of the Rocky Mountains is now at the University of Oregon, and has once more been equipped for printing. The press was brought to Oregon in 1846, and on February 5, 1846, the first number of the Oregon Spectator was issued. In 1855 it was sold to W. L. Adams, who used it for printing the Oregon Argus. The Salem Statesman owned it in 1863 and in 1864, H. R. Kincaid bought it and used it to print the Oregon State Journal at Eugene. In 1915, Mr. Kincaid and his son, Webster, presented it to the University of Oregon. A picture and sketch of the press appear in the Oregon Journal, February 16, 1936.

An important addition to the Oregon Historical Society museum is the fine collection of Indian baskets formerly belonging to Mrs. James G. Gauld, presented by her daughter, Miss Isabella Gauld. It will be known as the Mrs. James G. Gauld Indian collection.

Lincoln County residents are desirous of having a building at Otter Crest state park. The building would contain a museum for preserving specimens of the various Indian arts which are fast becoming extinct, and an information bureau. A committee, represented by Mrs. Helen Warren, has presented the project to the state highway commission, the county planning board and the state park engineer.

On January 8, 1936, officials and residents of Clackamas County met at the old courthouse to open the cornerstone which was laid June 26, 1884. Frank Glennon, 91, who had cut the original cornerstone, opened the copper box containing documents and relics. As the box had come unsealed the documents had deteriorated as illegible. The old courthouse has been razed and is to be replaced with a new structure.

Linfield College, McMinnville, announced in January, that the new women's dormitory will be known as the Jane C. Failing Hall, in honor of Mrs. James F. Failing. The Failing famliy has been interested in the college since its inception and have contributed generously to its support.

A marine biology laboratory is to be established by the University of Oregon at the south entrance of Coos Bay, known as the Coos Head Park reservation. The government will grant eighty acres. The laboratory will be administered by the school of science of the state system of higher education, under the direction of Dr. E. L. Packard. T. J. Starker, professor of history at Oregon State College, Corvallis, is gathering information on trees of Oregon, which are notable for their age size, or historical association.

Esther Ann Hill Morgan, Independence, is one of four people in the United States receiving pensions from the War of 1812. Her father was John Hill, a private in the New York militia.

NEWSPAPER NARRATIVES

A LETTER from Dr. E. T. Hodge in the Oregonian, February 15, 1936, suggests that the ground surrounding the old blast furnace at Oswego be made into a state park. In the same paper is an editorial giving a brief account of the first efforts at iron manufacturing in Oregon.

“Peacock Spit—Remnant of the Columbia Bar," by Lawrence Barber, in the Oregonian, February 9, 1936, tells of early navigators along the Oregon coast and of the engineering projects at the mouth of the Columbia River.

The memory of Mart Frain and his trading ventures with the Klamath Indians have been revived by the finding of beads and trinkets in Klamath burial pits. An article on Frain, with his portrait, is published in the Oregon Journal, February 2, 1936.

Articles in the Oregonian and the Oregon Journal, February 23, 1936, sketch the history of the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club, Portland, which reached its forty-fifth anniversary February 24, 1936. Some of the rare books and incunabula belonging to the Library Association of Portland are described by Douglas McKean in the Oregon Journal, December 15, 1935.

A sketch of Joseph H. Sherar and his activity as a road and bridge builder, by Donald von Borstel, is in the Oregonian, February 16, 1936.

The story of the introduction of China pheasants into Oregon by O. N. Denny, is told by Lester Halpin, in the Oregonian, December 1, 1935.

A history of the old Portland Academy that flourished from 1889 to 1916, by Wallace S. Wharton, is given in the Oregon Journal, December 22, 1935.

The Evening Astorian Budget, February 24, 1936, has a historical section containing accounts of important episodes in the history of Astoria and Clatsop County, with interesting illustrations from old prints.

"Printers Ink also Pioneered," by Frank Tierney in the Oregon Journal, December 1, 1935, is a history of the Oregon state printing department.

Dr. Dexter Merriam Keezer, president of Reed College, Portland, is the subject of an article by Fred Lockley in the Oregon Journal, December 1, 1935.

Wallace S. Wharton writes an account of the Wilkes expedition in Oregon, 1841, for the Oregon Journal, December 8, 1935.

Gwladys Bowens' series of articles entitled "Socially Speaking," beginning in the Oregonian, January 26, 1936, comment on the social life of Portland from the 1850s.

The development of the civic theater movement in Portland is sketched by E. L. Brown in the Oregon Journal, February 9, 1936.

"Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man,” by Fred Lockley, in the Oregon Journal, 1935: December 2, 5, 28, Nellie Meacham Reddington; December 3, Mrs. William Ladd; December 4, H, R. Kincaid; December 6, James Tindall; December 9, Amanda Glenn Rinehart; Vale; William Glenn; December 10, 13, Thomas Jefferson Munkers; December 11, William Grooms; December 17, Freeman W. Brown; December 19, 23, 25, 27, Ellen Chamberlain; December 20, 24, 26, Nathan H. Bird; John Beal Talbot; December 21, Davenport family; Charles Hopkins; December 22, Mrs. Hamlin Smith; Samuel Wilson; December 30, Jarvis Bonney; 1936: January 1, Pacific Power and Light Company; H. C. Leonard; January 3, Paul B. McKee; January 4, D. M. Risdon; John Cogswell; M. L. Wilmot; Wesley Shannon; January 6, Early landing stages on the Willamette River; January 7, 9, Ellen Clymer Walker; William Johnson, Johnson Creek; January 8, Clanrick Crosby; January 10, 11, 16, Etta D. Crawford, Medorem Crawford; January 11, 17, 21, 22, 24, Frank Emerson Wilson; January 19, Ellen Pelton; January 30, Harold Simeon Gilbert; January 31, J. T. Apperson; February 2, 5, Mrs. C. H. Blanchard; February 4, 5, 7, 10, Albert H. Lee; February 8, Early settlers of Clackamas; February 11, The Reverend Richard M. Steiner; February 15, Samuel L. Woodward; Tyler Woodward; February 18, 20, Jane Byrd Michell; February 23, 26, Dr. Belle Ferguson; February 25, A. L. Parker; February 28, Rose West Johnson; Josiah West.

NOTABLE BIRTHDAYS

BALDWIN, MRS. L. E., Independence, December 29, 1935, 95th.

CARTER, ANGELINA, Benton County, December 18, 1935, 101st, pioneer of 1845.

CLAGGETT, NANCY, Independence, January 1, 1936, 98th.

KELLOGG, THEODORE M., Portland, December 18, 1935, 89th.

KOHR, J. W., Portland, January 18, 1936, 90th.

PELTON, ELLEN, Portland, November 29, 1935, 102nd.

RIDGLEY, JOHN NELSON, Portland, December 7, 1935, 103rd.

STRANAHAN, C. HOWARD, Portland, February 12, 1936, 92nd.

VIGGERS, THOMAS, Rockaway, February 2, 1936, 92nd.

WADSWORTH, F. M., North Plains, December 14, 1935, 99th.

WOODWARD, SAMUEL L., Portland, February 15, 1936, 80th.

WRIGHT, DR. J. B., Portland, January 16, 1936, 101st.

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

CRABTREE. MR. AND MRS. CHARLES. Corvallis. February 18, 1936, 60th.

FRENCH, MR. AND MRS. F. M., Albany, January 12, 1936, 55th.

JENNINGS, MR. AND MRS. C. J., Creswell, January 19, 1936, 57th.

McCANN, MR. AND MRS. J. A., Dallas, January 29, 1936, 56th.

SNIDER, MR. AND MRS. N., Beaverton, January 6, 1936, 55th.

STEELHAMMER, MR. AND MRS. A. G., Silverton, January 5, 1936, 65th.

STILL, MR. AND MRS. H. E., Portland, December 15, 1935, 60th.

WARNER, MR. AND MRS. THOMAS, Oregon City, January 11, 1936, 59th.