Thur» . January 7. 1982 (Sac 2) SANDY (Ora ) POST
3
fierce s bear killing became legend
by MICHAEL P. JONES
P w l Correspondent
She came to the moun
tains as a refuge from the
city sometime prior to the
1900s. and soon became one
of Mt. Hood's most in
teresting legends.
Her name was E A
Pierce, but she was better
known as Grandma Pierce,
or ‘the Bear Woman "
She took up residence in
Brightwood on what is now
known as the Barlow Trail
Road
She lived in a two story ,
cedar «split by hand*
house
Grandma Pierce weigh
ed less than a hundred
pounds, and was a few in
ches short of five-foot
She was said to have
been as rough as the bark
on a tree, and meaner than
a bear
She had short, curly hair
that was wound up on her
head like a bun. but always
ended up sticking out on the
sides
Most old timers describe
her features as sharp,
almost "w itch like ” They
say her small, beady hazel-
green eyes would sparkle,
almost as if they could “see
right through you ”
Grandma Pierce was a
legend It wasn't her self
sufficient nature that made
her a conversation piece.
nor was it her ability to out
work any man No. o i
E A s claim to fame was a
fight with a black bear She
was armed only with a
short handed hoe The fight
occurred on March 6, 1914
Grandma Pierce was 70
years old.
Needless to say. the inci
dent created quite a stir
amongst the community's
m o re
g o ssip in c lin e d
residents And. the facts
changed some as the story
was passed along One bear
later became two. then
three and eventually it
became a Grizzly
A year later Grandma
Pierce penned her own ac
count of the fight, which
was
p u b lis h e d ,
and
although a clipping re
mains. no one knows what
magazine or newspaper it
came out of
" I was working in my
garden hoeing.” wrote
Pierce, "when the woman
at the next place came over
and told me there had been
a bear in her yard, and that
her husband had gone to
the neighbor’s after a gun
and a dog ’ *
While Pierce and the
neighbor were waiting for
the man's re tu rn , the
chickens began to "make
an awful noise." The bear
was close at hand
Grandma Pierce drop
ped her hoe and made a
beeline for the chicken
house But by the time she
got to the coop, that hungry
old bear had a change in
appetite The bear decided
to dine on the m ilk cow in
stead of the chickens.
Pierce distracted the
bear long enough to allow
the cow a chance to escape
Snarling mad. the bear
made for the tiny and
w irery grandma
The old lady ran back to
her garden where she pick
ed up her hoe and stood her
ground The neighbor yell
ed for her to run. but she
knew it would be fruitless
A bear can outrun even the
best ra c e h o rs e at a
distance of :J50 yards
“ I ’ll do my best," Pierce
yelled to her neighbor, "but
if you see I'm getting the
worst of it. help me ”
Pierce had killed hogs for
food, but was now about to
take on one of the most
powerful creatures in the
forest The bear, six foot
tall when standing on its
hind legs, and weighing
about 350 pounds, made the
situation appear helpless
" I have killed many hogs
and knew just where to
s trik e to k i l l , ” w rote
Pierce "So I raised the hoe
and braced myself and
waited for the bear to come
right at me.
"When he got almost to
me he reared right up; then
1 struck him between the
eye and the e a r—just
where I aimed for He
tumbled on his nose
The first hit was no ac
cident. but when he raised
up again I hit him right in
the same spot, that was an
accident, as by that time I
was getting a little ner
vo us
"B ut I never moved He
fell again, then the third
time he tried to raise I hit
him again, not an eighth of
an inch from the first hit
He fell and never came up
again "
Pierce's third blow was
the fatal one. but as she put
it. she was taking no
chances and "played the
drum on his head" until she
was positive the bear was
dead.
With the aid of neighbors,
the bear was dragged into
her house, where she skinn
ed and tanned her trophy
Grandma Pierce quickly
became a heroine. Her
bear killing tale put most
hunters, who had their own
whoppers to tell, to shame
People came from miles
around just to visit with the
old woman. Lutie Bailey,
who now lives in the lower
W elches
v a lle y ,
remembers that there was
t' well beaten path from the
early day resort (which
was operated by her father,
B illy Welch) to Grandma
ESD gets the opportunity
to polish closure system
With w inter o ffic ia lly
h e re , sch o o l s yste m s
around the state had Mon
day to polish their pro
cedures for dealing with
emergency closures from
ice and snow
For organizations like
Clackamas Education Ser
vice D istrict (ESD) the
p ro b le m s c re a te d by
emergency closures were
many times more difficult.
"T h re e fa cto rs com
pound hazardous weather
problems for our student
tra n sp o rta tio n system ,”
said ESD Superintendent
Bob Burns "F irs t, the
children we transport are
those in our programs for
the tra in a b le m e n ta lly
retarded Many of these
c h ild re n
have o th e r
physical handicaps as well,
so they can’t take care of
themselves in an emergen
cy as well as a non
handicapped child.
"Also, our transportation
system stretches over the
entire county. Our 12 han
dicapped transportation
vans and wheelchair buses
traveled almost a quarter
of a m illion miles last
year,’’ he added. "Road
and weather conditions can
change considerably as you
cross the county.
"F in a lly, students in our
program may cross school
district lines to attend a
cla ssro o m in a n o th e r
district A student may be
picked up in one district
2 receive
academic
honors
Two persons from Sandy
received academic honors
recently from the Oregon
Institute of Technokgy in
Klamath Falls recently,
auto-diesel technology ma-
eluded on the fall quarter
Inclusion on the list re
at least a 3.70 grade point
John M Stroup, an elec
technology major, was one
fall quarter dean's list,
quires that a student attain
I • ’S
where he lives and be bus
ed into another district
where there is a classroom
suited to his particular
needs. This can lead to con
fusion when one district is
open and the other is clos
ed," Burns said
The ESD, lik e most
school districts in the t r i
county area, is a member
of the school announce
ment system which an
nounces school closures
each morning over area
radio stations
In addition to the school
announcement system, the
ESD has five guidelines to
help prevent confusion for
parents and others who
work with the handicapped
transportation system
ESD buses are based in
Oregon City. If Oregon City
School D istrict is closed
due to bad weather, ESD
buses w ill
n o t ru n
anywhere in the county.
If the school district in
which the student lives is
closed as happened Mon
day in Sandy, Welches, Cot
tre ll and Bull Run districts,
ESD buses w ill not pick up
the student
If a school district bet
ween Oregon City and the
student’s home is closed,
such as Boring’s, the stu
dent w ill not be picked up.
This also applies if a school
district is closed between
the school district where
the child lives and the
school district where the
classroom is located.
I f the school d is tric t
w h e re th e s tu d e n t’ s
classroom is located is
closed, then the bus w ill not
pick the student up.
In cases w here the
students lives in the same
d is t r ic t in w h ic h the
classroom is located, the
child is transported by the
local school district is clos
ed, the child w ill not be
picked up either
The sam e
g e n e ra l
guidelines apply if schools
open late, and should
hazardous weather require
schools to end the school
day early.
According to Burns, the
12 ESD bus routes cross 24
of the 28 school districts in
Clackamas County.
He said that the ESD’s
main concern during bad
weather is for the safety of
children.
If there is any doubt
about student’s safety, the
ESD sometimes closes its
classroom even if other
districts stay open.
ESD buses are also
radio-equipped, and should
the weather turn bad, the
radio base station stays
open as long as any ESD
buses are on the road.
Burns added that ESD
bus d riv e rs c a lls the
parents of students who
ride their buses if the
children w ill not be picked
up r
Speaker to discuss
migrant workers
An International Com
munity Forum Luncheon,
sponsored by Mt. Hood
Community College and
the
G re sh a m
A rea
Chamber of Commerce,
w ill c o n c e rn m ig ra n t
workers, on Jan. 11 at noon
in the Town and Gown
Room at the college.
The speaker w ill be Dr.
Thomas Gonzales, presi
dent of Linn-Benton Com-
munity College. The topic
is "M igrant Workers: Cur
rent issues and future
directions.”
He w ill address the pre
sent and future status of
migrant workers, especial
ly in relation to future
agricultural systems.
The cost for the buffet
lunch and presentation is
14.75.
For reservations, call
667-7313.
Pierce's
Bailey said that a visit to
the area also would always
include a stop at "Granny's
place." which woud be a
highlight of the excursion
Bailey said that she can
s t ill p ic tu re G randm a
Pierce today, sitting on her
fro n t p o rch ro c k in g ,
rehashing the events ot her
match with the bear again
and again
In her hand would be a
crude looking pipe, which
she fashioned herself out of
a cob of corn Next to her
would be a |ug of "white
lightening ”
came from Bailey said
that she never spoke of her
past, but it was rumored to
have been a bit on the
shady side
Grandma Pierce had two
c h ild re n who live d in
Portland, a son and a
daughter, and they would
visit occasionally
She lived alone with with
She had seemingly the
her parrot and cat. and she
largest and finest flower
spoke to both when she
and vegetable garden on wasn't talking to herself
the mountain
The p a rro t had a
She raised her own hay,
vocabulary that might be
and naturally, cut it herself
associated with that of an
by hand
old salty sailor
Nobody knows lor sure
Bailey said that Grand
But Bailey 's memories ol where G randm a Pierce
ma Pierce was also quite a
cook Her biscuits were
v e ry
good.
B a ile y
remembers, as long as one
didn’t break them open to
see what the mice might
have left behind in previous
rendezvous in the flour
sack
Even when Grandma
Pierce was whipping up a
b a tch of her fam ous
baking powder biscuits, it
was difficult for Bailey to
watch
She had long fingernails
that were generally filled
with dirt from doing work
in the garden
" I used to cringe over
that but I would just go out
and look the other w ay,"
Photo courtesy of S I, TÍpitíñ
Bailey said " I'd think,
surely she puts them in that
(•räntiin, Pierce
Upon successfully com
pleting the A ir Force’s six-
week basic training course
he w ill receive fu rth e r
tra n in g in his chosen
career field, mechanics.
He w ill be e a rn in g
c re d its
to w a rd
and
associate degree in applied
science through the Com
munity College of the A ir
Force w h ile a tte n d in g
basic and other A ir Force
technical training schools.
hot oven That ought to
disinfect them "
Bailey also remembers
Grandma’s artistic ability
She made tiny little baskets
out of straw from the field
Bailey said that this task
seemed almost impossible
to her as Grandma Pierce’s
hands "were all knarled up
from hard work and ar
th ritis "
Bailey doesn't remember
how old Grandma Pierce
was when she died, nor
even when she died
She thinks the free
spirited lady probably just
dropped over working out
in her garden one day
But she'll never know for
sure, nor does it really mat
ter. for Grandma Pierce
s t ill liv e s on in her
memories
•'She had a lo t of
characteristics and traits
that I think went into mak
ing America." said Bailey
"She was tough She could
take it and she could make
the most of nothing She
wasn’t afraid of anything "
Bailey said that her ad
miration for the old bear
woman has not ceased
after all these years. She
was one of a kind, and so
much part of the mountain
Bailey said that maybe,
ju s t maybe. Grandm a
Pierce may have had an ef
fect on her life
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Grandma Pierce go back
beyond the bear killing As
a child she was one of the
o ld w om an s clo se sts
friends She spent many
hours by the woman’s side
Grandma Pierce had
single handedly built her
own springhouse out of
boulders, where she kept
her food stored
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