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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1934)
Page Thirteen DUNHAM WRIGHT TELLS OF FIRST FLAG RAISING Old Glory -Made in 1863 By Mrs. Henderhott And Mrs. Lewis. THIS VALLEY'S SOIL IDEAL FOR MAKERS OF FIRST FLAG HERE . APPLES, CHERRIES, PRUNES LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER, LA GRANDE, OREGON I i The story of the making and raising of the first flag in Union county Is one of the stories the oldest pioneers like to repeat. It was a long time ago, July 4th, 1863, and Dunham Wright Inter estingly tells the history of this particular banner: These photographs are the pic tures of the two pioneer women who made the first American flag which v.ds unfurled to the breeze on the Fourth of July, 1863, at the town of Union. Our country at that time was in the throes of the Civil wnr, when father was armed against son and brother against brother; These two pa triotic women were loyal to' the ' preservation of our Union and felt that the flag of our country should be unfurled on Liberty's day In the sparsely settled coun ty of Baker, the county having derived its name from the gallant officer who fell In the battle at Ball's Bluffs while leading his army in deadly conflict. The county nt Baker then embraced all that territory In Oregon lying cast of the Blue mountains, and which now includes Malheur, Ba ker, Union and Wallowa counties. There was no material In the little stores of our country In that day, suitable for making an American flag. So what were these two patrlotlo women to do to gratify their ambition? True to the unyielding spirit of the pioneer, Mrs Hendershott remem bered that she had carefully laid away as a very dear keepsake, a beautiful red dress which had be longed to a deceased daughter. She wisely decided that It could be used to no better purpose than to form the red stripes of the flag of our country. So this mother cut up this precious treas ure into strips and pieced them by hand to take their place In the contemplated flag. Mrs. Lewis contributed & beau tiful white linen sheet for the white stripes and the 13 stars. Whence was the' blue field to come? That was the great wor ry. Here is where more real pio neer headwork was used. Mrs. Hendershott remembered having seen the 16-ycar-old daughter of the local minister pass her home at different times, riding horse back with a long, flowing riding habit, the real pride of a girl's life of that age. Could it be pos sible that she might be persuaded to part with enough of that beau tiful skirt to make the blue field She was told of the sacrifice that Mrs. Hendershott had made in cutting up the red dress1 that had been laid away as a keepsake In remembrance of her daughter and how necessary it was to the gov ernment for the preservation of the Union by unfurling the Btars and Stripes on Liberty's day in this far-off, isolated country at that particular time. . To the ap peals of this argument, the loy alty of that 16-year-old girl proved equal. The big undertak ing of obtaining the cloth from which to make the first flag was completed. The flag was made, and made by hand Just as Betsy Ross made the first flag of our country. The stars were placed on the blue field In Betsy Ross fashion, with all the meaning they conveyed. These women were Just as brave and loyal as the men. Their love of country was Just as great. The two women were .Mrs, Hen ;dershott, tho ;Wife of) the Hon. 'James Hendershott', who lived at Hendershott's Point ' near the Cove. Mrs. Lewis was the wife of E, H. Lewis, of Union. The Lewis homestead is a part of the town plot of Union, the fine Un ion hotel being built on the site of the little homestead log cabin. The 16-year-old girl was Miss Martha Koger .daughter of Uncle Billy Koger, of Cove, later marry ing David Clark and moving to Eagle Valley. They were all real early settlers of the Grande Ronde valley of the year, 1862. They have all now answered the final summons. ; i3fi ' As a fruit center, La Grande and Union county rank among the leading districts in the state, especially In regard to apples, cherries, and prunes. Other fruits also are raised in appreciable quantities, but these three are the biggest money makers for the orchardlsts, and their quality Is always high. Cove and Union are the centers of the cherry industry, annually shipping scores of carloads of both Royal Annes and black varieties to coapt and interior friar kets, Present indications are that this year's crop brought nearly $50, 000 to the growers, and during times of high prices, the cherry Industry is on of the most valu able In the county. Apples, of quality that demand high prices In Europe, are raised throughout the valley, with the bulk of them produced in the El ! gin and Imbler territories, where 1 300 to 400 carloads are shipped annually, winter Bananas, itomo Beauties and Delicious perhaps form the chief crop, and a crop failure in apples is simply un known in the Grande Ronde val ley. Year after year bumper or near bumper crops are harvested. Hundreds of acres of prune or chards dot the valley, particular ly in the Cove and Union sec tions, and an excellent quality fruit Is produced here, of which a large part is shipped to out side points, mMch of It for dry ing. . ; In addition to these fruits, Un ion county produces many vari eties of peaches, pears, apricots, besides a sprinkling of other fruits. Mrs. Harriet Hendershott, early pioneer of UnlorU county, who with Mrs. Harriett Lewis (insert) made the first flag to be unfurled to the breeze In Union county. The flag was made for Fourth of July, 18fi3, Just 71 years ago. FIRST BANK HERE FORMED IN YEAR 1887 The La Grande National bank, In existence until a few years ago when its assets were used In. the formation of the present First National Bank o La Grande, was the pioneer bank of La Grande, being organized in the year 1887. Seven directors were elected to the first board, Including M, Ba ker, M. F. Honan, H. Anson, R. J. Rogers, J. Steel, J, Lowenberg and W," H, McDonald. The bank had 32 stockholders to start with, among them Sam Williamson, W. G. Snodgrass, A. O. Huntington, P. A. Mahaffey, Dan Somjner, James D. Slater, J, K, Romlg, Charles Goodnough, Aaron Som mer, H, W. Corbett, Henry Failing and Ben Selling, . The La Grande National, how ever,, was not the. oldest In the county as W, T. Wright organized the First National Bank of Union one year previous. O. R. & N. SHOPS BUSY Two engines on this division of the U. P. were sent to Albina last week to be completely overhauled. On account of the rush of work at the shops In La Grande these engines could not be repaired. La Grande Chronicle, May 17, 1893. FROM UNION Dr. Dee ring, of Union, visited La Grande Monday. La Grande Chronicle, May 18, 1893. All Hail to The Pioneers Who Built La Grande - Those of the Early Wagon Days, and Those of the Early Railroad Days. They were a hardy lot folks of great faith and vision. And we are proud to say that our family was among them, coming to the Grande Ronde valley in 1876. This town and valley has always teen our home we want no other and we appre ciate the patronage that allows us to remain here and progress as the com munity advances. CHAS H. REYNOLDS INSURANCE and LOANS - Sommer Hotel Bldg. VES- I CAN fAKE THE CLUB FOR LUNCHEON, TO-DAY SORRY XOURE ILL At First A Luxurious Convenience Now A Modern Day Necessity In Every Home WHEN telephone exchanges were first installed crude in equip ment and limited in service facilities a telephone was looked upon as a luxuri ous convenience available only to a few. Progress to modern ways of living have changed it from a convenience to a necessity. Business today would be dwarfed without the modem telephone ; homes would be isolated and inconven ience would be multiplied. To be de prived of it would mean stepping back ward a complete generation. THROUGHOUT Union and Wallowa counties "from a modest beginning in the early days, the West Coast Tele phone comfpany has built an enviable system and service unexcelled anywhere in the Northwest. All old equipment has long since been discarded. Improve ments are being made constantly. No development in the, direction of better v yorvjefe iftv-fiv,- ptroife Kite been oyer- 5 looked. Service and technical staffs are ; constantly schooled in the newest effi ciency practices. OUR system and our organization is pledged wholeheartedly to a service for and in perfect keeping with the growth and progress of Union and Wal lowa counties in which we operate. WEST COAST TELEPHONE COMPANY FRED HENNING, Mgr.
