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LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER, LA GRANDE, OREGON
Page Five
GANGLOFF HELPED PIONEER LA GRANDE AND COUNTY
Mrs. Mary Foley, His'
A VIEW OF LA GRANDE TAKEN IN THE YEAR OF 1887
. Daughter, Tells of
Early Days Here.
."Yes, I was at the railroad sta
tion when the first train arrived,"
said Mrs. Mary Foley whose resi
dence in La Grande dates back; to
1864. "I was among the first to
get there, and well remember the
cheering and shouting which oc
curred on that day."
The history of the Gangloff
family and lta weaving Into the
history of the city of La Grande,
is well known to all who have
taken an interest in the begin
nings of this section of Oregon,
How Mr. Gangloff, Mrs. Foley's
father, came from their home at
Turn water, near the present city
of Olymipia, Wash., in 1863. How
the homestead was taken up at
the site of Gangloff park and
adjacent property between La
Grande and Oro Dell. How this
pioneer brought to the valley some
of the first fruit trees which were
planted here and, after the bring
ing of his wife and family here
the following year, 1864, a nursery
was started the first business of
Its kind in the valley. j
Ms, Foley was 15 months old 1
when her mother Joined Mr.
Gangloff at the new home, the
other daughter, Mrs. Julius Roesch
who also still lives in La Grande,
having been born after their ar
rival here, -
Other facts of ' interest that
Uncle Joe Palmer donated the land
on which the present town was
built when it was found necessary
to build the town around the rail
road, rather than south of here
where the town was originally lo
cated that the Bower sisters were
responsible for the building of the
first house in the new town that
the first hotel, the Blue Moun
tain House, was built on the loca
tion of the present Eagles hall
that Mr. Snodgrass, father of L. L.
and J. G. Snodgrass, started the
Gazette on the present location
of the Blue Mountain Creamer?
that the first store to open follow
ing the railroad's coming was
owned by Mr. Wlldy, the first
restaurant by Will Ford that Ben
Grandy was the first mayor and
that his successor wa C. H. Finn
who later moved to Portland.
These and other interesting facts
are related by Mrs. Foley from
her memory of the early days
here.
."Styles? Yes, they have changed,
but I will admit that styles today
are much more sensible if not too
extreme." A beautiful old dress
lli-r- In mi -AtcllOnt i 1 iii tiiftHt ili uf new tunii wlidi lJi d run tit? tvus yuuiiK threi; yt'ura uftt:r Mir rullnmtl tunic lirrt: In lntvt. The
depot appears hi the center, the yards at the right, and lit the left may be seen the city's business section, fronting onto the
unturned boggy streets of those days. Tills picture represents thi beginning of the modern Ui (irumle, the )urilng city In East
ern Oregon.
was produced to prove the point
padded shoulders, one petticoat
roado as a part of the long, flow
ing skirt and (confidentially) the
waist measured 21 inches which
was quite a customary measure
ment for the well-corseted lady of
the late nineteenth century.
Mrs. Foley relates also the in
cidents in connection with the
one Indian uprising which oc
curred in the Grande Ronde val
ley and it was at this time in
about 1874 that Mr. Gogglns, for
whom an addition to the city was
named It was at this time that
he was killed by the Indians.
With a partner (Mr. Gogglns was
co-owner of the Pelican stage line
from Boise) he had gone to Uma
tilla Landing on business and it
was somewhere near Meacham on
their return that these two men
were attacked and killed by the
red men before they were able to
reach La Grande.
UNION COUNTY LARGE
The area of Union county Is 2007
square miles, which is larger than
some European nations.
MANY FARMS IN COUNTY
There are more than 1200 farms
In Union county, the great major
ity of which are located in the fer
tile Grande Ronde valley.
IG Y1KLD OF WHEAT
Eastern Oregon anually harvestB
between 18,000.000 and 20,000,000
bushels of wheat.
When La Grande Was
Young
There no such thing as a soft "dress
.shirt' anL-other soft clothing of the present
age.1' In order to be well dressed, a- gentleman '
surrounded himself with starched linen that
gave him the stiffness and dignity of an arm
ored knight. .
Today . . .
The more -comfortable attire Is not only eaefer ,
" to 'wear but our up-to-date laundry metnoctt :
offer facilities for its prompt, easy -care.
Just Hand Our Service
Man Your Wash
. and in almost no time get every garment
and piece back immaculate and In perfect
trim. No scrubbing, pressing or back-breaking
at liome and a mighty low bill to
pay.
' STANDARD
LAUNDRY
PHONE: MAIN 56
UNION CLAIMS TO BE
FIRST TOWN IN COUNTY
Union, La Grande's neighbor 15
miles to the southeast, is the old
est municipality In this county,
even though Ben Brown started
the first cabin in Old Town before
that time. ' :
Actually, Union was laid out In
tho year 1863. There was only a
handful of settlers there at that
time, but a sufficiently large num
ber to inaugurate the new town.
White men had been there pre
vious to that time, in fact history
notes that as early as 1852, the
first wagon train went through
and the members ate their Christ
mas dinner on Catherine creek.
They had been lost and were guid
ed by an Indian girl from Boise
to Union.
The year Union was laid out was
one of the stormiest of the Civil
war, and like every other comprw
nity or group of people, large or
small, there was a division of
opinion, some favoring one side
of tho cause and some the other.
When it came to the question of
choosing a name for the new town
t.ha TMtnnlo truth a roil trrnt V or nnr?
ft vote was taken. Those In favor,
of the cause of the north were
to vote for "Union," the others to
select some name equally slgnl-
cant to the southern cause. When
the votes were counted it was
found that the northerners had
won by the narrow margin of one
ballot. And that's how Union re
ceived its name.
Today Union has much, to be
proud of, an active business sec
tion, fine schools, fine residential
section, the home of the Eastern
Oregon experiment station and
other thriving industries.
, VISITORS TO RKGIHTKR
All former La Granders and Un
ion county people here for the
celebration are asked to register
during the week at the chamber j
of commerce offices.
Cherries from the Cove district
in the Grande Ronde valley near
La Grande, are nationally known
for size and flavor.
It's a far cry from the clumsy
machine of the early period to
the splendid, well built stream
line car of today, but
STUDEBAKER
A
Has More Than
Achieved it!
TODAY
We Offer You The
New "Year Ahead"
STUDEBAKERS
-and' invite your inspection
at our salesrooms and to
take a ride rith us'
So that you may note, enjoy and. -approve the new "Skyway
Style", the new Bendrx power brakes, the comfort-and luxury,,
and the improved performance of the new Stuoebakevg for
1934.
M. J. GOSS
1415 Adams Ave.
La Grande