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News and Comment

their ninth annual reunion at the old Arnold homestead near Scio, July 26, 1936. James Arnold was reelected president.

Descendants of Robert and Joseph McLaughlin, pioneers of 1853, met at Linn-Benton Park, near Monroe, July 12, 1936. They elected G. W. McLaughlin, Independence, president; Mrs. John Hiltebrand, Independence, secretary; R. L. McLaughlin, Roseburg, historian.

A reunion of descendants of George Settlemier, pioneer of 1849, was held at Champoeg Park, July 12, 1936. E. E. Settlemier, Woodburn, was elected president; Mrs. C. W. Whittlesey, Portland, secretary. Irene Duley sang a song written by Wiley B. Allen in 1890 in honor of his grandfather, George Settlemier.

The Steward clan held its annual meeting at Mount Tabor Park, Portland, July 26, 1936. The Oregon pioneers who were members of the clan were George Harrison Steward and Robert Mills Steward, who came in 1850. Dr. Lelia M. McMillan, Portland, is collecting material for a Steward genealogy.

The Ferschweiler family had its fourth annual reunion at Saint Louis, Marion County, July 26, 1936. Joe Ferschweiler, Saint Louis, is president and Mrs. John Connard, Senior, Portland, secretary- treasurer.

Six of the ten original members of the Triangle Mountain Club, organized in 1896, had a reunion at Government Camp in July, 1936. Those attending were Frank Ramsey, Walter Rogers, of Portland; Dr. H. S. Brownton, La Grande, Fred W. Whitman, Toppenish, Washington, L. Adams, Oregon City, and N. M. McGowan. The other members of the original club were James Eaton, now dead, J. L. Mitchell, J. Presswood and H. C. Ainsley. The Triangle moraine on the south side of Mount Hood, between White River and Zig Zag glaciers, derived its name from the club.

School life of 1879 was recalled by former students and teachers of the Maple Lane school in the Oregon City district at a reunion on the grounds August 2, 1936. Lyman L. Latourette gave a history of the school.


CHURCH EVENTS

The Providence Baptist Church, between Scio and Crabtree, observed the 83rd anniversary of its founding June 21, 1936, with all day services dedicated to the Reverend Joab Powell, pioneer circuit rider and founder of the church.

In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Free Methodist Church in Oregon, services were held at Portland, July 17, 1936. J. H. Brown, the only living charter member, read a paper giving the history of the organization.

The 80th anniversary of the organization of the Pleasant Grove Presbyterian Church, near West Stayton, was celebrated July 19, 1936. The church building was erected in 1858, and many of the furnishings now in use date back to that time.


MISCELLANEOUS

An important chapter in the geological history of Oregon was the recent discovery of fossil beds of the pliocene epoch in the Deschutes gorge, nine miles west of Madras. Dr. Ralph W. Chaney, paleobotanist and research associate for the Carnegie Institution, has examined the sediment and found clear impressions of willow, wild cherry, maple and poplar leaves. Since the time of Dr. Condon's work geologists have searched for pliocene fossils and Dr. Chaney said that this is one of the most important discoveries in years.