Exp 05/07/2016
A
Est. Haines 1901 ~ Haines, Baker County, Oregon
Teddy
Roosevelt
Historical
Tribute to
Visit Haines
May 9
land,
and
more.
Volume 115, Number 16 • 12 Pages • $1
John Osborn Honored for
Dedication to Scouting
Kick Off Wildfire
Prevention Month
By Gina Perkins
Greater Bowen Valley Rural
Fire Protection District
would like to invite the
community to attend their
open house May 7, 2016
from 10- 2 p.m. The event
will be held at the
at the fire station on Hwy-7
at mile post 41 to help
kick off wildfire community
preparedness month.
For more information, call
the fire station at 541-523-
3688 or visit our website.
Teddy Roosevelt’s Oregon
Roadshow, a live performance by
historical recreator Joe Wiegand,
will visit Haines for a special event
at the Eastern Oregon Museum
(610 Third Street) at 2 p.m. on
Monday, May 9 as part of a week­
long tour of schools and museums
sponsored by the Oregon Histori­
cal Society and Wells Fargo. This
event is co-hosted by the Eastern
Oregon Museum and the Rock
Creek-Muddy Creek Mutual Im­
provement Club. The event is free
and open to the public, and dona­
tions to the Eastern Oregon Mu­
seum are appreciated. Tea and
cookies will be served at this after­
noon performance.
For the past four years, Wiegand
has entertained and educated peo­
ple of all ages as he traversed more
than 5,000 miles across Oregon.
This year, in his fifth annual visit
to Oregon, he will travel to On­
tario, Eugene, Hood River, Port­
From left: Drew, Marci, Joyce, Brandi and Mark Osborn were presented with the James E. West Fellowship
Award to honor the late John Osborn.
"Time is the most precious commodity we have," said keynote speaker Randy Guyer at
Friday's Boy Scout breakfast honoring the late John Osborn. "John gave of his time." added
Guyer.
Osborn's family was presented the James E. West Fellowship Award in recognition of
decades dedicated to Boy Scouts.
Other special speakers addressed the early morning crowd including Matt Hibbard, an Eagle
Scout and John Gaarsland, District Eagle Scout Board Chairman. Porter Cline, a senior at
Baker High School and an Eagle Scout, also had a display of his project at the event.
The event which was held at the Elk's Club and organized by Emily Braswell of the Eastern
Oregon District, will be held annually. The breakfast was also used to raise funds for
Scouting.
■
,
If you were unable to attend, but would like to make a financial donation, please make your
check to Blue Mountain Council and mail to P.O. Box 866 in La Grande, OR 97850.
Visit
www.ohs.org/events to view the
complete schedule.
“I have personally seen ‘Teddy’
perform over 75 times, yet each
time I am blown away by his en­
ergy and how he truly embodies
our 26th President,” said OHS Ex­
ecutive Director Kerry Tymchuk.
“OHS is thrilled to again partner
with Wells Fargo to bring this ed­
ucational experience to schools
and
historical
organizations
throughout the region.”,
Wiegand has been bringing T.R.
to life for years with his unparal­
leled grasp of history and uncanny
resemblance to the famed Rough
Rider.
Thursday, April 21,2016
Burnt River Students Learn Welding
Story/photos by Gina Perkins
This week students at Burnt River School learned how to weld. Rodd Isham of
Behlen Manufacturing and Dan Koopman, Director of Blue Mountain Community
College, spent four days in Unity.
"Starting next year, we will be bringing a new CTE (Career Technical Education)
program to Burnt River each quarter," said Koopman.
See WELDING on page 11
Story and photos by Gina Perkins
A few weeks ago, I wrote a story about Jennie Bennett, a mail
order bride who answered an ad for a wife from George Rollins,
a homesteader and rancher in Rye Valley.
This past Sunday, her great-granddaughter Patti Jester, do­
nated to the Haines museum Jennie's trunk. This steamer carried
her belongings during her 1884 trek by train from Indianapolis,
Indiana to Weiser, idaho. Jester, who is from Coeur d'alene, Idaho
also donated a very old wooden, handmade tool chest complete
with antique tools belonging to Jennie's husband, George Rollins.
Some of the tools also belonged to their youngest son, Percy.
Jester shared additional information about Jennie including a
copy of their 1884 wedding license. Her legal name was Nancy
Jennie Bennett. Jester stated her great grandparents corre­
sponded several times by mail before Jennie decided to board
the train to Weiser. George drove his horse and buggy from Rye
Valley to Weiser, crossed the Snake River by ferry, and put her
up in a hotel for four days prior to their wedding. .
"I've always wondered whether or not she bought a one-way
ticket," mused Jester.
In addition, Jester shared the name of the orphanage where
Jennie's mentally disabled (perhaps mentally ill) brother had lived
following the death of their parents. Their father died as a result
of an infection from a head injury received in battle during the
Civil War. Their mother remarried, but then died a short time after.
The name of the orphanage was the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors
Children's Home, which was founded in 1865 and closed in 2009.
George Rollins, husband to Jennie, was born in Farmington,
Minnesota on July 19,1860. When he was 13, he moved with his
parents to San Francisco and later to Sherman County where his
father, a doctor, platted the town of Grass Valley. In 1882, Rollins
took up a homestead in Baker County at Rye Valley.
See TRUNK on page 2
Powder Basin
Watershed
Sprint Clean Up
April 23, 2016
10-1 p.m.
Meet at Geiser
Pollman Park
541-523-7288
Who is
the Oldest
Subscriber
to the Record-
Courier?
One of our favorite readers,
Lucille Verbeck of Redmond,
is about to turn 100....
perhaps she is the oldest
subscriber to the Record-
Coune/7
Or is she?
Drop us a note or give us a
call (send us a picture!)
before our Open House on
May 1 and let us know if
you're the oldest! We will
have special prizes for our
oldest
Baker
County,
regional (Union, Grant, and
Wallowa County), and out of
area subscribers. Need not
be present to win.
Sumpter
Valley
Railroad
Depot
Eligibility
for Listing
By Gina Perkins
Mail order bride, Jennie Bennett's trunk which held her belongings on the
train when she arrived from Indianapolis, Indiana in 1884. She married
George Rollins from Rye Valley.
AAUW
Candidate
Forum
On March 25 a letter was
received by the County from
Diana J. Painter, PhD, archi­
tectural historian, and Na­
tional Register Program
Coordinator in response to a
request from Shawn Peter­
son regarding the eligibility
of the Sumpter Valley Rail­
road Depot located in Baker
City for listing in the National
Register.
Currently,
the
building houses the Baker
County Parks Department.
The letter outlines several
criterion in which the Depot
may qualify for listing includ­
ing: its association with the
railroad and the railroad's
importance to Baker City
and the region's history; it's
the only building of its type in
Baker City; and the Depot is*
a good example of its type
that also retains good in­
tegrity.
Remember Mom!
Mother’s Day
Sunday, May 8
April 26 at 6 p.m.
Baker High School
Commons
4005 23rd Street • PO Box 226
Baker City, OR 97814
(541) 523-3616