4
I Record-Courier
THURSDAY, JANUARY 7,2016
Editor’s Note: I found this article which Orville
had written for the Record-Courier and the
introduction about OrviUe which was perhaps
written by Belva (Maxwell) Ucknor. The photo of
Charles Swan is a photo belonging to Ucknor and
the Eastern Oregon Museum in Haines has a copy.
I have left Mr. Fisher's article as it was originally
written, so some of the names of business owners at
the time may still not be applicable.
Orville Fisher (1901-1988) was an active farmer in
the Rock Creek area. He, at 85 years of age, still put
in a full day on the ranch he ran with his son, Cecil.
As a valley native he had a wealth of experience and
memory to draw upon.
When younger, he followed rodeo and buckaroo as
a way of life for many years.He was marshal of the
Haines, July 4 Stampede Parade over the 4th of July
prior to 1980. He has served this area in many ways
over the years.
Readers who have the Baker County History book
could clip this article and include it in the book, friends
of Mr. Fisher suggest, and they urged him to write this
sketch for The Record-Courier.
Charles Swan, Haines Marshall
Early Haines As I Remember, Before 1912 to WW1 and Early ’20s
Ay Orville Fisher
There were four stores: Haines
Commercial, Haines Mercantile,
D.B. Womack's Dry Goods Store
and Weaver Grocery. Also Ida
Young's Confectionary (she was
Lonnie Young's mother), Durgan's
Bakery and meat shop, which was
first owned by Jake Jarman, then by
Rozier and John Toney, later by
Harry Bieber.
The Haines Commercial was orig
inally owned by the "Three Johns,"
namely, John Christenson, John In
gram, and John Hammond. It was
located north of the brick buildings.
Lee Duncan bought it about 1905
and it became the Haines Commer
cial. My dad, Geo. A. Fisher was
bookkeeper for the three Johns in
the 1890's when the McCarty boys
were trading there. He was well ac
quainted with them. Dad took the
receipts from the two stores to the
bank in Baker by rig. The Mc
Carty's had lived part time in a
house where Dick Camp's store is
now located.
The Haines Mercantile was origi
nally the Wilcox. This was a farmer-
owned store and was managed by
Johnny O'Bryant. I can remember
five saloons. First Young's, I don't
recall his given name but he had a
gentleman's place. He wouldn't
stand for any roughhousing by the
patrons. Then Hat Pearson, Berry
Jolly and Jess Toney. Charles Eilert-
son had a saloon but it burned ear
lier. Ed McCullough owned the Hat
Pearson saloon at one time. After
the saloons went out, Sam and Earl
Hearing had a pool hall. They sold
it to Louie DeLine who operated it
for several years. He ran poker and
blackjack games on Saturday
nights. If you wanted big stakes you
went upstairs. The original building
burned in 1918 and he built the
present pool hall building.
The bricks used in our present
, house built in 1919 were left over
from the pool hall. Louie DeLong
sold them to dad cheap
Lester and Ace Toney ran this pool
hall for several years. Later, it
changed hands several times includ
ing Ed Heard, George Loennig,
George Duncan, Ben Pearson and
others. Edna Ensminger Boyles
sold to Neil Aldrich and he to Gor
don Johnson. At the present time
(1987) the business is closed.
There were two hotels and one
rooming house. Mars owned the
Oregon Hotel. Jake Jarman (Geor
gia Scott's grandmother). Later it
was owned by a man named Tripp,
then by John Lang, the a man
named Steele. It was located north
of the present red warehouse, west
of the railroad. Mrs. Jarman served
meals. She had a triangle gong on
the porch, which she rang for the
meals, breakfast, dinner and supper.
The triangle could be heard all over
town.
The Ben Toney Hotel was east of
the Steak House in the middle of the
block. Mrs. Sumerall had a rooming
house where Sivan Calhoun's Baker
Mill and Grain office is now.
Toney's restaurant was on the main
street. Charles Swan owned this
place later. Fred Bull had d restau
rant in the Hat Pearson saloon after
the state went dry. Charles Swan
was Haines Marshall in the early
1920's. He rode a big pinto horse
around town keeping order. When a
boy in the 1890's, he lived with the
McCarty's. He left town and was
BP
gone for several years before return
ing.
Livery Stables
There were two lively stables: The
Red Front which was close to the
Oregon Hotel and the "Feed and
Living Stable, proprietor Albert
Hornbeck," on the east side. It was
probably first owned by Ben and
Lester Toney.
Ollie Robertson’s freight bams
were where the grange hall was de
veloped after WWII, and Lonnie Fi
dler's bams were where the John
Henner house is. These were big
bams; freighting was a big business.
Hitching racks were on both sides
of the three streets running east and
west of the main street
There were three blacksmith
shops, Bill Bell's located south of
Baker Mill and Grain near the ce
ment building; Charles Hoberg,
where the Myers Garage building is
(formerly Howden's, then Heimer's,
then Bahler's); and Scrivner and
Cook where the Bahler home
stands.
The famous white board-front
Twilight Theater was located where
Jan's Beauty shop is located. The
Theater was tom down in 1966.
Thè first drag store that I remem
ber was owned by N.E. Dodd and
Vic Devall.
In 1904 when Dad started carrying
the mail the post office was in the
old mercantile store. Johnny
O'Bryant was postmaster. Later the
office was in the drag store, then on
3rd street in quarters behind the cor
ner restaurant on the main (front)
street. Frank Caston was Postmaster
in the Republican years into the
early 1930s.
The first telephone company was
former owned and in the Haines
Mercantile building. Then Vic De
vall had it in the Three John's store.
He sold the company to my uncle,
.WallerHeard, then on the H.O.
Wiswell, then to Vance Dix and
then to the present owners, Cascade
Utilities. The first operators that I
remember were Mabie and Mildred
Toney.
Tom Parker had a pool hall and
sporting goods store here in the
early 1900s.
W.D. Nelson established the
Haines Record in 1901 on the cor
ner north of the Odd Fellows hall.
The newspaper plant and office
burned in 1926. The paper was pur
chased in 1928 by Charles and Eliz
abeth Brinton's as publishers and
Byron became editor and was pub
lished as The Record-Courier. It
continues now, with sons joining
him.
The Bank of Haines was started in
1912 by John Toney, Henry Fisher,
Frank Loennig and Ben Harder. The
bank eventually moved to the
county seat in 1934.
The Thomas Murtha Grocery
store was opened in the early years
of the century. It was sold to Del
Hall who operated it for many years
then changed hands several times
and is now closed.
Stock Yards
The original stockyards were on
the east side of the railroad tracks
near the south crossing. It was then
moved to the northwest side of
town. Ed Coles installed the scales
and shipped from 1 to 104 carloads
of cattle and hogs to the Portland
market every week for many, many
years.
The Jim Mitchell lumberyard and
planer mill was located where the
old Gillette service station was lo
cated. It was sold to Riordons about
World War I.
The first creamery was just south
of the Joe Henner. House (Tom
Duncan place) on Rock Creek west
of the railroad track. It closed and
later Lonnie Young had a creamery
station in the east of town.
The first baseball park was on the
west side and here the first stam
pedes were held. The present Stam
pede grounds were built on the John
Christensen property in 1922.
There was a large grandstand and
race track. Louie LeLine, Ernie
(Wamp) Hearing, John Christensen,
Jr., Elmer Simon and Albert Fisher
were the principal boosters. All of
we young guys did a lot of donation
labor during the years.
I remember Dr. Francis. He was a
big jolly fellow and pulled my first
tooth. Dad was with me and I yelled
"Kill him, Kill him," Doctor always
laughed about that.
Dr. Roger Biswell, Sr. practiced in
Haines for several years. There was
another doctor for a while then Dr.
C. D. Houser from the late 20s till
moving to Baker. There was also a
dentist, Dr. Hall, for a short time in
the mid-20's.
Churches Built
There were three Churches, the
Baptist on the east side, Methodists
on the west and a Catholic church
which was later moved to the coun
try where is was used as a bam.
Barber shops: By a man named
Page who sold to Dewey Burton,
later owned by a Mr. Critchfield.
Tom Smith, a colorful character,
who claimed to have been with
Teddy Roosevelt at San Juan Hill
and we often heard about it. He en
tertained with tall tales of his expe
riences. He had one of the first flush
toilets on the main street of Haines.
He said "All the people keep com
ing in here to use my Sanitarium
toilet.
They had one son, Buster, and one
day when his mother was taking a
bath he got out in the street. There
was a ran away team dashing down
the street. Mrs. Smith dashed out of
the home. Tom later said, "Mom as
naked as a Jaybird and the prettiest
damn sight ycfti ever saw.
Jess and Albert Heard had a lunch
counter and card room where the
Fred Bull restaurant was. Ray and
Norva Pullen operated it for many
years. It is now the Steak House.
Clyde Siman had a shoe repair and
saddle shop north of the Oregon
Hotel. It was a gathering place for
the livestock.
Haines was known as the Biggest
Little Town in Oregon during the
teens and twenties. It was a big
shipping point for cattle ship, hogs
and horses. Ed Cole was the major
shipper. Later it was Coles and
Charles Duby, the Coles and N. E.
Dodd for several years. Others who
shipped livestock were principally
Billy Green, Charles McCullough,
D. M. Cartmill and others. Lee
Duncan of Haines Commercial
shipped thousands of tons of hay
each year. There was not much
grain until World War I and after.
A popular rhyme was:
Toney's town
Wilcox treat
Gilkey's restaurant
And nothing to eat.
Allow
me
introduce
myself. I am
"Tillie" and I’m a
senior female Black
Lab. Retriever mix. I am
not sure how old I am, but
probably between 8 and 10
years. I am not sure how long I had
been in the sagebrush, stickers, dirt
and cold, but I was certainly happy when
a family found me and put me in their
warm vehicle. I am currently living in a
clean, warm, indoor kennel where I am happy. I walk well on a leash, know
basic commands and am trained not to go to the bathroom in my clean kennel.
My eyes look like I might have some cataracts, but I am still active and get
around without difficulty. I would love to find a home with a family that has
time to provide me with some light exercise, play time and lots and lots of
love and attention. I want to be a family pet living inside where it is
warm and cozy. My vaccinations are current and I am spayed.
Please give Best Friends of Baker, Inc. a call
Call Best Friends of Baker, Inc.
Charles Swan was Haines Marshall in the early 1920's. He rode
a big pinto horse around town keeping order.
Haines Trailer Fire
Photo by Gina Perkins
This travel trailer was consumed by fire on New Year's Day. The
owners live at the old Florence Daugherty place east of Haines
and are building a beautiful new home. The Haines Fire Depart
ment responded and protected the other structures.
Mark Luker and LeAnne Woolf
sumptervolunteers@gmail.com or
541-894-2303, leannemywo@gmail.com
At mid-elevation in Sumpter,
the low for Dec. was 3oF, the
high 43 oF, and the amount of
snow settled against the snow
stake was 23”. January started out
with some negative lows then
warmed up enough for another
couple of inches of snow Sunday
morning. Measuring snow as it
fell shows 11 inches in Novem
ber and 54.5 inches in December.
The ,2014-15 winter total was 52
inches for the whole season. Def
initely making progress. Another
7 inches and we’ll have 2013-14
beat.
Calendar (as of Jan. 3)
Thursday, Jan, 7 - Planning
Commission, City Hall, 7 p.m.
(alley vacation hearing at 6:45
p.m,)
Saturday, Jan. 9 - Sumpter Valley
Railroad Board Meeting, Baker
City, 10 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 9 - Sumpter Valley
Blue Mountain Snowmobile
Club, Schoolhouse Community
Center, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 12 - City Council,
City Hall, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 14 - Sumpter
Valley Community Volunteers
Meeting,
Schoolhouse
Community Center, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 15 - Bingo, School
house Community Center, 7
p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 19 - Sumpter
Volunteer Fire Department,
City Hall
Tuesday, Jan. 19-Powder River
Rural
Fire
Department,
Mosquito Flats station
Thursday, Jan. 21 - Bag Ladies,
Schoolhouse
Community
Center, noon-?
Thursday, Jan. 21 - Planning
Commission, City Hall, 7 p.m.
assets was the only negative.
Organizations
Cracker Creek Museum of
Mining (CCMM) held its annual
meeting at the Sumpter Munici
pal Museum and Library on Dec.
30. 2015 saw work done on the
giant (nozzle for washing away
hillside to get to fresh dirt) and
cone crasher (style of crusher that
did first reduction in size of rock
and ore, which were then further
reduced by a stamp mill or arras
tra). The Sumpter Dredge State
Heritage Area has items in its in
ventory that don’t relate directly
to the dredge and has offered
them to CCMM. President John
Young is excited to get those
items moved over. In 2016, plans
are for more signage and contin
ued restoration of exhibits.
Sumpter Valley Blue Mountain
Snowmobile Club held its annual
New Year’s Eve Bonfire and
Chili Feed at Volunteer Park this
year. The function started about
5:30 p.m. and was attended by
30-40 people. Cary Clarke
cleared parking, walkways, and
an area for the fire several yards
away from the back door. Picnic
tables inside the storage/restroom
building gave people a place to;
eat and chat, or they could stand?
by the fire and tell trail stories.
Other than that, most organiza- ■
tions and people have had a quiet-
couple of weeks for the holidays.'
By the time you read this, though,"
the Masons will have had their;
January meeting, Sumpter Volun
teer Fire Department Auxiliary ;
met on Tuesday, and the Christ-,;,
mas Activities Committee could;
be holding their Thursday mom-.
ing debrief as we speak, depend-j
ing on when you got your paperl -
Churches
City
On Dec. 29, Jacob Collier of
Guyer & Associates presented the
Reviewed Financial Statements
for the City of Sumpter for the
Fiscal Year ending June 30,2015.
His job is to analyze and review
the bookkeeping for the City. He
found no changes necessary to
meet accounting and budgeting
principles. On the plus side, the
City has a reduction in long-term
liabilities. Depreciation of capital
J Frame & Craft
-—Custom & Ready Made
Framing & Matting • Art Supplies
Scrapbooking & Craft Supplies
Baker City
Sunday morning services are
held at St. Brigid’s in the Pines at
Auburn and Bonanza in Sumpter*
on the first and third Sundays of
the month at 11 a.m. followed by
a coffee ‘hour.’ Weekly services
at McEwen Bible Fellowship in
clude Sunday School at 9:45 *
a.m., Morning Worship at 11
a.m., and Wednesday evening •
prayer at 6:45 p.m.
Seethe
Record-Courier
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