6 Fall 2012 Applegater
BACK IN TIME
To Victoria and return—Part One
bY EVELYn bYRnE WiLLiAmS WiTh jAnEEn SAThRE
I found a few pages written by my dad
about a trip my parents took in 1937 to
Victoria, Canada. I do not remember my
dad writing about this trip, but do recall
how unhappy my sister Gladys and I were
to be left behind. My Uncle Harold, Aunt
Maud, and their son Bernard were here
from San Jose and they planned to travel
north to Victoria. With my parents and
all their camping gear in the car, there was
not enough room for Gladys and me and,
who knows, maybe it was just nice to have
some time away from the kids.
I was 11, and I remember my Uncle
Harold giving me a five-dollar bill for my
birthday, which was the day after they left.
Gladys, several years older, and I stayed at
our house, though I did spend a lot of the
time at my grandparents across the river. I
ate with them and helped with the haying
by making many trips with cold water to
the fields where Grandpa was working.
Here are a few excerpts from my dad’s
notes, along with a photo. By looking
at the clothing they are wearing, hard to
believe they were camping along the way!
Dad’s Story
So the morning of the 21st of June,
1937, found us trekking across the wire
foot bridge. Harold, impatient to be away,
performed most of the menial labor, and
when everything was beside the car, started
stowing it away. It took a good deal of
maneuvering and repressed swearing to
get everything tucked in and our bed roll
lashed on behind.
At this point Dad, who was mowing
hay just over the wire fence, flushed a
rabbit, and the dogs were in hot pursuit.
Bernard hastily got his movie picture
camera in position, and no doubt would
have got a picture notable for its action, as
the rabbit and dogs came right down the
road and into the midst of us, then dashed
away and out of sight. Later we learned
that the film was stuck and did not register.
But this put us in a good frame of mind,
and we hurriedly bid the kiddies goodbye
and were off. It flashed over me that we
might not see them again—there are so
many things that can happen—but this is
life, and we put it quickly aside.
We went down the Applegate and
were in Grants Pass at 10 am. The road
between Grants Pass and Roseburg is noted
for its crooks and turns, but the country is
very beautiful, or at least it is at this time
of the year. We were pretty well wedged in
the back seat, and did not slide around a
great deal, but taking the turns at a pretty
good clip, we imagined we could hear
the car groan at every joint. Maybe it is
just a Scotchy idea of ours not to want to
subject such a fine piece of machinery to
so much strain.
There also developed at this time
the first faint rumblings of the back seat
drivers. It was destined to grow louder and
more confusing when we reached the cities,
but it seemingly was taken in good part
by the drivers—or at least we hope it was.
We ate lunch in Roseburg at 12:30.
Most notable through this section are the
wild roses in bloom in fields and pastures
along the highway. We noted cattle and
sheep and rolling green hills. Arrived at
Cottage Grove at 3:33 [p.m.] and visited
Ernest and Eileene. We were in Salem at
6:20 and decided to camp. The Lone Star
Auto Camp looked good, so we unpacked
and later were directed to the “Argo” hotel,
where we dined for fifty cents a plate,
family style. As we had had a strenuous
day, we retired early.
We had heard a great deal of the
Columbia River highway, and we were
not disappointed in the highway or in
the grandeur of the scenery. Multnomah
Falls has to be seen to be appreciated,
and all of the falls along here would be
a pleasant place to be on a hot day; one
could easily take a cold shower from the
Federal grant approved
to restore McKee Bridge
bY RObERT E. VAn hEuiT
On August 2, 2012, the federal
government awarded a grant to Jackson
County in the amount of $491,048 to
restore McKee Bridge. The grant was
among 22 issued nationwide as part of
the National Historic Covered Bridge
Preservation Program for 2012.
McKee Bridge was inspected in
October 2011. During the inspection,
a critical structural deficiency was
discovered and the engineer, Oregon
Bridge Engineering Company (OBEC),
recommended that the bridge be closed to
pedestrian use until it was corrected.
Jackson County, with assistance
from the State of Oregon, OBEC, and
the McKee Bridge Historical Society
spray. Numerous trails lead from here up
into the back country, and we believe we
could enjoy a few days following these trails
out with a light camping outfit.
Hunger again assailed us, and we
reached Bonneville dam in time for
lunch. Plenty of eating places and a good
deal of a rush, as this is a busy place.
The government has built a small town
below the dam on this side of the river,
presumably for government workers and
officials. Numerous small houses are built
in all the nooks and corners along the
highway here. We drove on up a short
distance to the Bridge of the Gods, a toll
bridge, and crossed to the Washington side.
This seemed to be the main town for the
laborers. From an observation point we
watched the huge machinery in operation.
Towers, cables, cars, huge cranes, shovels,
and mixers, and men crawling around like
a lot of ants. We hope the power generated
from this great dam will be used wisely and
well for all the people.
Camas was our next stop. We were
in a heavy down-pour and pulled into a
filling station and took a look at our bed
roll to check the moisture. Here is a large
paper mill; the attendant told us the largest
of its kind in the world, but we don’t know
if this is correct. Vancouver, Washington
next and then North again. Gassed up in
Woodland, and then on to Chehalis, a very
nice town. We did some shopping here
as we have a light camping outfit with us.
Sun up about five o’clock June 23rd.
Just enough to induce us to roll out early,
and then it started raining again. We were
equipped with a waffle iron, and although
it was against the rules in all the camps we
visited, we plugged in and started making
waffles. It seemed like pouring sand in a
rat hole, but Harold stayed manfully with
it until we were all fortified for a day’s run.
At 11:30 we found ourselves in a
large public market [Seattle], and as the
Left to right, Dad and Mom
(John and Pearl Byrne) and Aunt Maud.
waffles and coffee seemed to have lost
their potency, we dined, overlooking the
bay or sound. This is a very large market,
and everything looked good. Wanting to
buy some strawberries, and kept looking
the stalls over. Harold wanted to boycott
the Japanese, of which there were a goodly
number, so we finally bought some from a
white dealer, but when we emptied them
out that evening the bottom ones were
small and moldy. Ahem!!
The nicest gardens we saw on the trip
were just south of Seattle. Left Seattle at
noon and it is still raining. A wonderful
new highway north to Everett. Stopped
a few minutes in Everett at 12:45 and
Bellingham at 2:30. This is all very rich
looking farming country through here.
We are now nearing the border, and this
is one of the high spots of our trip, as we
are about to leave the United States. We
checked through at 3:30.
To be continued…
Evelyn Byrne Williams
with Janeen Sathre
541-899-1443
Poetry Corner
Children
by John Taylor, Grants Pass, OR
(MBHS), submitted a request for a grant
to completely restore the bridge. Jackson
County submitted the grant application
through the State of Oregon in December
2011 for $491,048. MBHS has agreed
to raise the matching funds of about
$57,000. MBHS has made many contacts
with charitable foundations, but found it
difficult to get assistance until the grant
was approved. Now that the grant has
been awarded, we will be better able to
pursue assistance from these foundations;
however, almost all foundations also
require matching funds.
MBHS has established the McKee
Bridge Restoration Fund (MBRF) and has
successfully raised over $5,000 to date. If
you wish to help by contributing to MBRF,
please send checks to MBHS, P.O. Box
854, Jacksonville, Oregon 97530. MBHS
is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation and all
contributions are tax-deductible. If you
have any questions, please call Robert Van
Heuit at 541-899-2927.
Robert E. Van Heuit • 541-899-2927
President
McKee Bridge Historical Society
Let’s always be like children,
Happy, running free,
Rolling down a hillside,
Climbing up a tree.
Squeezing fuzzy kittens,
Drinking chocolate from a mug,
Feeling soft warm mittens,
Giving dogs a hug.
Like a child you giggle,
And my tummy turns its cogs.
I feel it do a wiggle,
Like a pocket full of frogs.
Time will pass and we’ll grow old,
But let us all recall,
Those happy laughing children,
They’re us after all?
z
Plain Murder
by A.G. Prys-Jones (1888 - 1987), Wales
I saw a wasp upon a wall
and did not like his face at all:
And so the creature had no time
To wonder whether he liked mine.