Applegater July-August 2008 13
MERCANTILLE
FROM PAGE 1
Upper Applegate area and bought a large
acreage from pioneer families. Rose’s
mother always envisioned a large area for
a senior park in the Applegate. Rose has
carried forward her mother’s visions of
helping the community. Family lands in
the Rogue Valley included the old Gore
Ranch and extended into the area of
the new U.S. Cellular Community Park
and the Southern Oregon Nursery. It
is from these lands that the Applegate
Valley community has been the recipient
of many donations.
Rose and husband Richard (Dick)
Leever’s background includes a history
of working through local organizations
to better our community. You may have
seen them working in many locations. In
the early 1990s, Rose put much effort into
starting a local community center and
received a Carpenter Foundation Grant
to research this project. At that time
there wasn’t enough community support
for a community center. The Leevers
volunteered at the Upper Applegate
Grange, and were regulars helping the
Rural Action Team, which is now staffed
by volunteers and used by Search and
Rescue and our local, county, state and
forest service for strategic command in
fire season.
Wherever the Leevers saw a need,
they stepped in. Ruch Library and Ruch
School both received generous grants
of funds or volunteer time. We are
appreciative of the Leevers for all their
contributions to the Applegate Valley.
It is hoped that the community
will enjoy and support this new addition
to the McKee Bridge area, especially
knowing the benefits it will bring. Visit
the McKee Bridge with your family and
guests. Enjoy a summer day browsing
McKee Mercantille and learning the
history of the bridge. Linger a minute
over the cool water of the Applegate
River under the wooden beams of the
covered bridge. Bring a picnic or enjoy a
meal at McKee Bridge Restaurant. Maggie
and Preston will take good care of you.
Be sure to try a slice of homemade pie!
It is said there was a gas station and
repair shop built around the 1950s near
the site of the Mercantille, and one up the
road owned by Bert Harr. What would
be your guess of the price per gallon of
gasoline in those days—15 to 20 cents?
Take a trip to the past, too. Imagine
walking the area, perhaps with a parasol
or straw hat, hearing the distant clang
of men at the horseshoe pits, and the
excited fun of children at the swimming
hole. Races and simple games of skill and
camaraderie. And always a watermelon to
enjoy, perhaps cooled in the stream. The
aroma of cooking at the campgrounds,
and later at the picnic shelter. Imagine the
happy days of hard-working Applegaters,
free from labor and responsibilities for
a day, walking over these same lands.
Come to the McKee area, eight miles up
Upper Applegate Road on the left, and
live the old fashioned way for a day. It is
one of the closest ways we can return to
the past!
The Mercantille Store
9045 Upper Applegate Road
Jacksonville, OR 97530
Hours: 10 am-4 pm - Sat. and Sun.
Hours may increase.
For information, call
Rose Marie Leever at 541-899-7188.
Ruth C. Austin • 541-899-7476
YOUNG
FROM PAGE 12
take. This is a wonderful place to live.
God has used his holy paintbrush to
decorate and design this beautiful place,”
added Connie.
But family is calling, so it’s off to
Aumsville she must go, taking with her
sweet memories of a life well spent in
the Applegate Valley. You can bet that
this unstoppable woman will stay active
in farming somehow, join another church,
and sing in another choir. And with
lifetime fishing and hunting licenses, she
is sure to enjoy the company of her best
friend for years to come.
Barbara Holiday
541-218-8606
Pssst !
Mark your calendar!
September 14, 2008 – 2 pm
APPLEGATER BENEFIT
APPLEGATER
BENEFIT
Afternoon Tea
Tea Party
Party & Silent
Afternoon
Silent Auction
Auction
Join us at Eve’s Garden Café in downtown
Applegate for their famous dress up tea
parties with all the trimmings.
Prizes for best hat, funniest hat & best tea
attire plus many items in our silent auction
donated by local merchants.
Help support the Applegater and have a fun
afternoon with your family or girlfriends.
$45 per person – tax deductible
Red Hatters – Get your group together!
Hats for rent!
Call 846-7673 or 846-9019 for tickets or
more information. Credit cards accepted.
Tales of the
Wild Wild
Applegate
C
onnie Young has some
interesting tales to tell
about the Applegate—
most were passed down by her
father, Clif. Some stories took place
in Williams, which, by her dad’s
account, was a known hideout for
notorious bank and train robbers in
the early 1900s.
Connie and her brother Willy
enjoyed a lively phone conversation
while recalling the following
stories.
Legend has it, according to Clif, that Bill Miner, the “gentleman bandit,”
hid out in Williams. This is the same Bill Miner about which the 1983 movie,
“The Grey Fox,” was based.
Clif himself told how he used to camp out with robbers “Tombstone”
Jones and his son “Oregon” Jones in a hideout around Williams Highway
and Powell Creek in Williams. According to a document on www.mugshots.
com, we know that Oregon was arrested at least once for assault and robbery
in Josephine County in 1923 (see photo).
Another story involved the local game warden, whose intent was to
bust the Swearingen brothers because of their illegal still, but who wound
up stripped and tied to a tree for three days. The game warden promptly
transferred to Klamath Falls, where he was killed on an Indian reservation.
“Something to do with the Chief ’s daughter,” Connie was told.
And then there’s Zeke Barnes, a friend of Connie’s brother Shorty,
who was a known poacher but was never arrested. Seems that everyone
knew Zeke was feeding six kids and close to a dozen grandchildren who were
living with him. One day while Zeke and Shorty were parked at the Williams
Store with a load of “wood” in Zeke’s truck, an officer of the law happened
to stop by. After inspecting the truck, the officer told Zeke that his “wood
was bleeding,” and let him go.
—BH
