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.