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About Ashland tidings. (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1914)
ASHItAIfD TIDINGS J. M. BEAVER Secretary Beaver Realty Company. Publisher of Everybody's Bible Study. M' Some Birds The f Tourist May See ! About' Ashland. ! I II (By Jennie Faucett Greer.) There are over 150 varieties of birds native to Oregon and some choice species wtych have been Intro duced. Many of the commoner kinds are " xv t E, E. MILLER ' Proprietor of the Vienna Bakery. He is well adapted to his profession, and food from bis bakery can al ways be reckoned as clean, palata ble and first class. constant residents of southern Ore gon. Some migrate from the Rogue Valley to the nearby mountains dur ing the nesting season, returning in the fall to winter in the vicinity of town. During the winter numbers of I r, , ,,.r. lift y ' t J J. N. DENNIS Owner of the Ashland Feed Store and Grocery, where all fancy and staple articles in the food line are kept. PAGE FIFTEEJT ..-y 7 'I I III m 1 1 1 1 II HHH II IIIKlin ! fi W A QUER Y. Historic Spring Home ODDfrfoi: of Oldest Resort in &t0itHJte& Southern Oregon. u C. A. WESTER Division engineer of the Southern Pacific. Is stationed at Duns-muir. itimiH mint ! them seem to visit up and down the alley, doubtless influenced by weath er and food supplies. The majority of Oregon birds may Beem to be nearly Identical with their eastern cousins, the western variety being generally of larger size and darker color tone; but there are some species, especially charming to the bird lover, v.-bich are peculiar to the Pacific slope. Many of those which seem at first glance to differ but little from the eastern bird of the same name will be found to vary in plumage much more upon closer acquaintance. Such birds are classed as western variety. Some mild afternoon in midwinter, with the sun shining softly through a haze of silvery atmosphere, take a stroll along one of Ashland's scenic streets, or, if fond of horseback rid ing, jog easily so as not to startle the birds. The foothills east of town will be a panorama of varied shades of pur ple and tawny brown, with lights of pale misty blue and golden rose, capped with a liberal sprinkling of snow on Old Grizzly's peak. Each point of view will give a little differ ent composition of the picture, all charming. When the eye is satisfied with the distant view, one looks for something of closer interest, and the bird lover looks for birds and won ders what specimens may be seen in this strange new country. Near an apple or prune tree will surely be two or more robins, and the ears will be gladdened with the fa miliar cheery chirp, just like the old robin at home. Up in the tree tops catch sight of some brown birds the size of an English sparrow. They are richly trimmed with crimson on head, throat and rump. This is named variously Purple Finch, House Finch, Linnet or Cherry Bird. You hear another familiar cry, "Wick, wick." A Flicker; but as he swings past you catch a flash of scarlet, lin ing the wings. Western Red Shafted Flicker, not the eastern Golden Winged. As you near an almond tree there may be a variety of scolding and chattering. A dark blue, ele gantly formed bird with long, erect crest will appear for a moment and dispute your right of way. Stellar's Jay, a royal i brigand and a cheery good fellow too. His companion in mischief will likely be the Red Crowned Woodpecker, California or Carpenter Woodpecker. Other birds that one will probably see on this winter day are Gambel's White Crowned Sparrow, Oregon Jim cos (black capped) in abundance, an occasional Towhee Bunting meking in the underbrush. You may catch a glimpse of a bkick head, black and white wings, white shirt front and russet red vest and a flash of red eyes. There is another Towhee here also (more abundant in California), however , a larger bird, more gentle, quite often seen in the road, a soft rich brown in color with a touch of red about the tall coverts; a dainty Winter Wren, Chickadees, black capped; red-breasted Nut-hatch; a di minutive gray warmer ouuieuuieo, a crested Titmouse; Goldfinches in dull winter dress, and one of Ore gon's grandest song birds, the west ern Meadow Lark, who sings winter and summer, rain or shine. Of course the nature lover will take a "hike" up Ashland Canyon, Twenty or thirty years ago the mention of "Soda Springs" immedi ately suggested to the average resi dent of Jackson county and southern Oregon the place now known as Wag ner's Springs, where "Siskiyou Nat ural Mineral Water" comes from, lo cated ten miles southeast of Ashland on the Ashland-Klamath Falls route across the Cascades. But its history dates far back of that and it can be modestly claimed for this spring that it is the historic mineral spring of this section of Oregon. For more Jhan sixty years people have traveled to it and drank of its sparkling wa ters. Before the days of commercial bottling of this water hundreds of people from southern Oregon and other sections of Oregon and Cali fornia made their annual summer pll- C. B. LAM KIN Real estate dealer. Widely known for his successful summer ranch ing of last year, when be harvest ed some 20,000 bushels of grain. grlmages to these springs, took a few weeks' course of treatment and returned to their homes as well satis fied with the results obtained in re juvenated stomachs and kidneys as if they had made a trip to Carlsbad. Tradition tells us lhat these springs were first discovered, as far as white men are concerned, along in the forties by one of the Applegate parties engaged in an exploration trip through southern Oregon and north ern California, the party, it is re lated, camping over night at the springs. With the first real settle ment of Rogue River Valley and the southern end of it in the vicinity of Ashland in the early fifties, the fame of the waters of these springs grew. There are several Oregon . pioneers now residing in Ashland who recall the springs and partaking of the wa ters as early as 1S53. At that early date settlers were yet few and far between throughout the entire Rogue River Valley, but the "soda springs above Ashland" were well known, and Indeed practically the only known mineral springs in this section. The United States patent to the land on which the Wagner Springs are located was issued- in the name of Samuel D. Whitmore, who had lo cated upon the property as a home stead presumably in 1859. The pat ent was dated in 1864, but .in 1862 Whitmore had given a quitclaim deed to Matthew Caldwell, according to the records, and Caldwell located ad ditional lands adjoining. Caldwell was a practicing physician at Phoe nix, of first-class professional reputa tion. He removed to the springs, built the first hotel, and practiced medicine successfully, with the aid of the mineral waters, in which he had much faith. He lived at the place i f piiiiltliliii lisp I 4 V 1 f I 1 vy 7 E. B. PHIPPS Bx-merchant of Ashland, now n aspirant for appointment at post master, t bond signer for devel opment work. H. N. LOWE Of the Cafeteria, a new and popular eating place In the Endera build ing on East Main. "Home style cookery" is bit slogan. - j A 7 I x is W. B. BEEBE A. E. KINNEY The pictures above are of W. B. Beebe and A. E. Kinney, owners of the Dig ary gooas ana mens furnishing store situated on the Plaza. A3 signers for quite a sum for springs development work they have en graved their names on the tablets of Ashland history. NEW VINING THEATRE. . Modern fireproof structure of concre te and steel, complete in appointment and one of the most beautiful an d harmonious in decoration in Amer- ica. starting in at the City Park. Here at the outset you may chance upon a strange, interesting creature, the Water Ousel. Yes, it is a bird. American Dipper Is his other cogno men. He seems a mixture of snipe, wren and lark. He is a. bird of the rushing current and foaming cascade, but sometimes in winter will conde scend to visit the quiet pool in the City Park. He will be oftenest seen well up in the canyon standing on a rock at the edge of the stream. You may hear a merry song if your ap proach is quiet On discovery he will dance and bob, flirt his tall, wink repeatedly and suddenly step off into the water out of sight, to reappear away down stream. Later in the winter when the snow is deep in the mountains some morn ing the yard will be full of birds not like anything seen in the east. The size and shape of a Robin, the back, head and tall a general greenish slate color, throat and breast a rich orange, orange stripe on side of head, white and orange wing bars, and vel vety black orescent on throat. A royal bird. This is tbe Varied Thrush, sometimes called Alaska Robin. He is quite shy at first, but gets tamer toward spring. Does not sing bere. Has a liquid whistling call note, and a sort of wiry spiral vocal effort at times. His nesting I E. N. BUTLER Butler's Confectionery ig a favorite place for Ashlanders to get re freshment and sweets, and no less of a favorite 1b its proprietor, who is vitally interested in everything beneflcal to Ashland. place is in the far northern mountain regions. Said to sing In the summer. The western Evening Grosbeak also descend upon ns in a flock some fine morning in late winter, but they do not remain long are on their way to northern regions., There are the summer birds yet, An Ode To I Oreg'on Rev. H. A. Carnahan i "Ht-H (Parody on Dunroy's Nebraska.) Fertile fruitlands, on slope and steep, That far afield with fragrance scent the breeze; While here and there are forests deep, i for a number of years, conducting a H hotel and in a way a sanitarium, with a more or less widespread reputation.. Later Dr. Caldwell died. His widow became Mrs. Courteney and removed back to Phoenix. The property re verted to his daughter, Mrs. Lillie Caldwell Blackwood, now living at Phoenix, who with her husband, the late R. T. Blackwood, resided upon the place, which now embraced some fifteen hundred acres or more of land. However, they leased the ho tel and springs portion and for three years, beginning with 1875, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Russell (the latter of whom is now a resident of Ashland, Mrs. A. H. Russell), and their family conducted the resort, and the place held a high reputation for the culi nary excellence of the hotel under their regime as well as for the min eral springs. They were followed by L. B. Tucker and family, and during their term the stage traffic across the mountains between Ashland and Klamath Falls was an important fac tor, Soda Springs being a station for both man and beast traversing the route. In 1885 the Blackwoods sold the Soda Springs property to the late Jacob Wagner, who, retiring from a long term of service In the milling business in Ashland in impaired health, was attracted by the health- giving possibilities of the waters and always attributed a new lease of life In his own case to their liberal use. He made extensive Improvements upon the hotel and the ranch in gen eral, charge of which was after a short time assumed by J. M. Wagner, his son, who has ever since been the managing owner of the property. Since early days visitors to the springs had carried away its waters in jugs and bottles to their homes, but It was under J. M. Wagner's di rection that the ooinniercial bottling of the water began. AVith up-to-date equipment and under the suggestive name he gave it, the fame of "Siski you Natural Mineral Water" became widespread and demands for it ex tended from Portland on the north to San Francisco on the south. He has recently been developing and has demonstrated successfully within a few weeks a new process of bottling the water without in the slightest impairing its medicinal or pleasant, potable qualities, that now promises to revolutionize the demand and sale for it. A. J. BIEGEL Recently elected councilman from the third wurd. Succeeds A. M. Bea ver. Is the proprietor of a large and snappy hardware store on East Main street. ind The sighing of the pines brings happiness and health. but that is another story. I will Just mention a few migrants: Bullock's Oriole, Red Capped Tanager, Yellow Breasted Chat, Lazuli Bunting, Au dubon's Warbler and several other Warblers, two Vlreos. Kinglets, Wrens, Violet Green Swallow and others, and there are other birds yet. You will Just have to come and find some for yourself, and bring a pair of field glasses, for some of the trees are so tall that when a small bird gets in the top you can only guess about him. Of very tall and stately trees And this is Oregon! A canopy of bluest sky That gladly smiles and smiles smiles, And winds that bend the golden grain For many miles and miles and miles And this Is Oregon! A stretch of hill and mountain land, A city here, and there a town, A chain of lulies, with waters grand. Majestic rivers, flowing down And this is Oregon! "A multitude of kindly folks, For home, for country and for God, A yeomanry bt loyal souls, That tread upon a fertile sod" And this Is Oregon! There is a quulnt old town As you ride down Toward southern Oregon's sunny clime; Her heart a vale. In a sequestered dale, While nianzanita, laurel, oak and pine Her hillsides crown. As you glide through the beautiful Sla-Ll-you. She is the pride of the countryside, This quaint old town Ashland, Ore gon! 3. S. JORDAN Electrical contractor and agent for Indian motorcycles. Has an elec trical supply shop at S07 East Main street Financially Ashland Is one of the strongest communities of Its size on the Pacific coast. HARRY II. HOSLER Owner of the Ewauna Cigar Store Prominent in all sporting circle and la known all over the valley tor his ability at landing fish from our mountain streams.
