Mv dearest Gag te -
O w in g to th e fa c t th a t we a re g o in g to y o u r fia n c e s house f o r d in n e r I h ave a
h it o f lim e f o r w h ic h I h a v e been v a in ly s e a r c h in g e v e r s in c e R a ym o n d got hom e
I w a n t so m u ch to ta lk to y o u th a t I can h a r d ly w a il e v e n u n t i l W ednesday Yes I
co n fe s s 1 was a lit t le s u rp ris e d I t h in k c h ie f ly because I h a ve s p e n t a ll s u m m e r
t e llin g fo lk s 0 no you are m is ta k e n n o th in g s e n tim e n ta l I assure vo u ju s ta
co m m o n lo v e f o r horses o u t d oors etc etc u n t i l I had c o n v in c e d m y s e lf too B u l l
guess y o u don t need to see it s p la tte re d o u t in in k to k n o w (h a t n o th in g on e a rth
th a t I k n o w o f co u ld please me b e tte r In fa c t it is one o f those t h in g s th a t seems so
id e a l th a t it can t possible be tr u e R aym ond I suppose to ld you h o w he b ro k e th e
new s he came up to th e house to b r in g th e m occasins an d baskets an d b e in g as
E lls w o rth and m o th e r w e re th e r e he iu s t beam ed a ro u n d on fo lk s in g e n e ra l But I
needed to go d o w n to w n so I w e n t o u t to go w ith h im h u t in ste a d o f s ta r tin g dow n he
s ta rte d up and lo o k in g o u t o f th e c o r n e r o f h is eye he asked me i f 1 k n e w w h e re I
was g o in g and o n m y d e c la r in g co m p le te ig n o ra n c e he said n o n c h a la n tly To look
o v e r th e o ld C u rtis s place
He 11 n e v e r k n o w how close I cam e to g r a b b in g h im
a ro u n d th e n e c k b u t 1 th o u g h t th a t m ig h t be p re m a tu re So we w e n t on u p and
c lim b e d out and w h e n we got in s id e by th e c re e k I faced h im and o p e n ly accused
h im o f b r in g in g Gagie C a rte r up h e re m th e c a p a c ity o f M rs R a ym o n d M c K e n n o n
and he lu b ila n t ly fessed up He goes a ro u n d in th e most e c s ta tic fiz z o f h a p p in e s s
yo u e v e r saw A nd 1 am o n ly on e peg b e h in d h im ’
l e tte r J B to G C
S e p te m b e r I I 1914
up beneath their feet They dropped down vertical trails to tiny, sweet
meadows picketed among the cliffs A Stellar s Jay oversaw the setting
up of their camp one evening
Biscuits were started and the girls lay in the flowers washed in the
tcy stream, and Jean scaled a pine tree further up the trail to better visit
w ith Grace
The moon began to tip over the ragged inky horizon and paused
elegantly for a timeless moment in the prickly spear of a fir The stew
murmured gently in a black pot over the flames and trout browned in a
skillet The Dutch oven squalled, steaming half buried under glowing
embers Someone shook out a blanket Nearby, a horse sneezed into the
dusk starting up a toad s grumbling down by the creek
tip in her pine tree Jean s head was careening w ith memories and
voices and people, and most of all. spinning clearest of all. were the words
of a nine year-old girl
I w r ite you th is w ith a h a p p v face
Goodbye
w ith lo ve y o u r tru e fr ie n d G race
R aym ond dear -
So y o u w e re n t able to s u r p r is e a n y b o d y I don t see how p e o p le a re su ch good
m in d re a d e rs 1 guess it w o n l be a case o f k e e p in g people g u e s s in g w i l l i t ’ U nless
it is about th e date T h a t was too f u n n y about G eorge g r e e tin g y o u w ith
c o n g r a tu la tio n s th e m in u te y o u came in
1 w is h I co u ld h ave been in h e a r in g d is ta n c e w h e n you and J in n y w e re ta lk in g
about it Wasn l she e v e n a lit t le l i n y b it s u rp ris e d
P in g it I suppose n o t M y la m
glad she is p la n n in g to come dow n soon
So yo u t h in k th e C u rtis s p lace w i l l do?
I l l bet Jean was tic k le d w h e n you m e n tio n e d it V h a t is th e house l i k e 7 You II have
to get J in n y to sneak m th e r e a nd size it up w h e n no one is lo o k in g
l e tte r G C to R McK
S e p te m b e r 14 1914
"O f course I m ig h t w a il a n d see w h a t J in n y has to say b e fo re I w r ite to y o u b u t I
re c k o n 1 11 iu s t w r ite a lit t le note
to s o rt o f le t o f f steam I can h a r d ly w a it fo r
Jean to come th e re s so m u c h to ta lk about I got $u< h a fu n n y lit t le le tte r fro m h e r
today t e llin g how tic k le d she was
a lm o s t as m u ch so as you w e re She e ve n said
she w as a lit t le h it s u rp ris e d V e il th a t s s o m e th in g to have s o rta s u rp ris e d tw o
fo lk s -- h e r and M ile s
V h a t do y o u suppose I'v e been d o in g th is m o r n in g 7 C a n n in g i r u i l f o r o u r c e lla r
S tra n g e b u t c a n n in g n e v e r did seem so in te r e s tin g b e fo re
Jean says th a t she fin d s she w i l l have to b r in g me hom e w ith h e r 1 guess you
k n o w h o w I w o u ld lo ve to com e 1 h a r d ly see how 1 can as 1 w i l l h a ve to m ake tw o
t r ip s to P o rtla n d b u t m aybe it w i l l w o rk o u t n o c w ay V o u ld n t it be (m e i f I could
be th e r e a ll th is f a ll to p la n t h in g s w ith y o u 7 Don t you suppose yo u 11 h a ve to come
d o w n w ith c a ttle s o o n 7 1 re a liz e th a t y o u h a v e n t been hom e a w eek ye t b u t o f
course it seems lo n g e r
L e tte r G C to R McK
S e p te m b e r 16 1914
Grace and Raymond were married in January. 1915 They lived in La
Grande and had three children. Jean. Martha. and Dallas Now lhat Grace
and Jean were both married women they began to organize Hen Party
camping trips w ith their friends into the near by mountains Over the
years dozens of women joined the forays into the wilderness (Xten men
were banned from the eipedilion. the girls preferred to lough it out on
their own Sometimes George and Raymond went along hut they were
usually set the task of wrangling the horses (Once the English author
Neville Shute learned of the trips, became intrigued, and managed io get
himself invited along ) Grace loved these trips She put together scrap
books and albums documenting the outings She loved to stand on top of
Eagle Cap and look down on the rivers lacing away in all directions like
spokes in a wheel
T he span o f li l e is n o t lo n g e n o u g h
N or broad e n o u g h th e sea
N or broad e n o u g h th is w e a ry w o rld
To p a rt m y fr ie n d fro m me
F rom Jean B ir m e s notebook
T h e re a re s tra n g e th in g s done in th e m id n ig h t sun
By th e m en w h o to il f o r gold
T he A rn e tr a ils h a ve t h e ir s e cre t tales
T h a t w o u ld m ake y o u r blood r u n cold,
T h e N o r th e r n L ig h ts h a ve seen q u e e r s ig h ts
But th e q u e e re st th e y e v e r did see
V a s (h a t n ig h t on th e m a rg e o f l ake l.e B arge
I c re m a te d Sam McGee
R obert S e rv ic e
C lo iste re d w elco m e d wooed by th e M in a m
D re a m in g d ro w s in g , s ta m p in g o l horses.
Sun on th e h ig h peaks
a n d we m ust be g o in g
- M im a G Cooper
Stand on th e c o r n e r o f Eagle Cap
Gaze on th e B asin o f Lakes
Those are th e p laces I m g o in g to
Pack t r ip s th e Hen P a rty takes
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After her three children w'ere born Grace s health became a little run
down She was so busy w ith her fam ily she payed little attention to
herself A persistent bronchial infection would not leave her alone and
eventually she had to be hospitalized for tests, and to give her a chance to
put on some weight She remained cheerful, mainly worried about
Raymond and the kids Grace spent her last year in La Grande She had
her friends Jean and George. Raymond and her sweet children to fill her
world Quite suddenly a bout of scarlet fever took the last of her energy
and fight Grace was fo rty one years old It was the 28th of August,
1926
Jean Birme stepped in and helped raise Martha and Dallas For the
rest of her eighty seven summers, she continued to go on her Hen Party
trips into the Wallowa Mountains, riding eighteen miles across the dusty
Grande Ronde Valley io the foothills, then on up into the high mountain
meadows Soon they would wake up on a rough, springy bed of grass
Friend Mima w'ould be cooking peaches for breakfast, words beginning to
fly up inside her as she watched the sunrise brighten the forest Jean
would be saying good morning to the horses They would spend the ne it
few days on the high trails, where mountains carved of solid stone rose
1 L.-54
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T h is ends o u r th re e p a r t s e rie s o n G race C a rte r M c K e n n o n V e t h in k
G race is th e ty p e o f p e rs o n w h o m we w o u ld e n jo y s p e n d in g tim e
w ith no m a tte r w h ic h lim e we m ay be l i v i n g in a n d we w is h we co u ld
h a ve k n o w n h e r o u rs e lv e s But h e r m e m o ry a n d h e r s to ry s t i l l re m a in
a nd f o r th a t we are g r a te fu l
A lt th r e e co pies o f A S h o rt T r ip to A la ska in 1914 T he J o u rn e y and L ife
o f G race C a rte r are re a d ily a v a ila b le th r o u g h th e U p p e r L e ft Edge o r at
J u p ite r s Rare and Used Books in C a n n o n Beach
V e s h o u ld m e n tio n a g tm
th a t th e s to ry was c o m p ile d a n d w r it t e n b y M a r ti Reece a nd Jessica la c k a f f
G race s d a u g h te r and g re a t g r a n d d a u g h te r r e s p e c tiv e ly a nd r e s p e c tfu lly