Oregon City, Ore., March 28, 1851 Salem,- Ore.,t March 23, 1931
Page Seven
BETHANY SPOT
OF OLD CHURCH
80th Anniversary in April;
Many of its Pastors
Yell-Known men
"The aahes of an oak in the
chimney are no epitaph, to tell
me mm nigh or how large that
oak wasV It:' tells me not what
flocks uVheltered while it stood.
nor wwr-raen it nun wnen it
ti mi
fell." And Ilk Dr. John Donne's
ashes of .the oak," the pioneer
churches standing along toe
highways do not tell the passing
motorist of the days when they
were prominent as "meetin'
houses", in the tires of Oregon
pioneers.
Such a church is Bethany,
standing at the side of a ceme
tery near the Silrerton-gaiem up
per highway, a lltle orer a mile
out of Silrerton. Records tell
that this la the oldest of the oTer
300 Christian churches on the
Pacific coast.
Well-Known Pastors"
L - . M Tl i 1
ocrreu bi oeiiuuiy
Bethany church will celebrate
its 80th anniversary in April.
Pioneers say it was organized in
April, 18 51,. at the home of Ellas
Cpx. ReV. c. C. Chapman was lta
- first pastor. Among other early
pastors were such well-known
"pioneer men as J. E. Roberts of
Turner, Glenn and Peter 'Burnett,
the latter a nephew of Peter
Hardman Burnett, first gorernor,
of California.
Original membership of the
cnurcn included ... wulburn ana
Marcella King, Margaret Miller,
Frederick Mascber, Mary Ann
Robinett, Josephine Shaw, Sam
uel and Sarah Tucker, Mary Dar
is, Isaac and Margaret Hedrick,
Ellas Cox, Illy Cos, Peter, Gideon,
Susannah, Samuel, Harriet and
josepn cox, ueorge ana Julian
Woolen and Jane Shaw.
By 1858, the congregation had
prospered sufficiently to build a
church, the building which, still
stands. Bethany church is no
longer used. ; When Silrerton he-
ram better ' nettled a Christian
church was built within the city.
You Read 9 em and
Then Tell Large
One You Recall!
"William Torrance, Esq., of Mil'
waukie, lately plucked a gooseber
ry at Astoria which measured six
inches in circumference.! States
man, June 27, 1851.
"Mammoth Radishes . . Half a
dozen radishes . . one measured
13 inches in circumferance and the
others were not far behind. They
were upwards of 18 inches long,
and grew at Molalla settlement.
Statesman, July 4, 1851.
"Large Melons. Mr. Horace Bak
er last week placed upodt our table
a huge muskmelon. It was raised
on the Clackamas and was the
largest one we ever saw, measur
ing three feet and one-half in cir
cumference one. way and two and
one-half the other." " Statesman,
October 7, 1851.
Wedding Bells
Chime at Cross
Baskett Rites
. From the Statesman of Apr. 15,
1884V. i ... .
."Married: Cross-Baskett At the
family residence of the bride's
mother, near Dixie, in Polk , coun
ty, on Wednesday April 14, 1886,
Miss Jessie N. Baskett to Edwin C.
Cross of Salem." ;
The guest list included: Mr. and
Mrs, John G. Wright, Mr. and Mrs.
m w n 1 If. 1m T
J. A. XlOSCnu jrg, MX i. ww -
O 'Donald, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. T.
Cross, Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Brislow.
R. J. Hendricks, Harvey Jordan,
Frank Cross, Ed Cross, Miss
Ida Hendricks of Eugene City, Mr.
Stutsman of East Portland.
Walnuts Trees in
Valley Put Out
By Mrs. Huttoh
"Onlyj God can make a tree,"
we hear; in song, but it cannot be
denied that! Mrs. Leah Hutton did
her bit when she carried seven
black walnuts across- the plains In
her handbag. Mrs. Hutton was at
one time known up and down the
Willamette valley as "Grandma
Hutton,! who once killed a lion
with an axe." .
It was In 1852 that Mrs. Hutton
brought! her seven walnuts to the
Silrerton country. Fire of these
grew and are still growing where
they were planted at the Hutton
pioneer home In the Erans ralley
a few miles east of Silrerton. The
place la now owned by Mr. and
Mrs. B&lca, and the huge walnut
trees are not the least of their
pride, i
One tree . Is particularly large,
and Is often called "the father of
the Oregon! walnut Industry. It
measures 4 feet through and
has a spread'of 140 feet. The tree
is still rigorous and each year
adds to its: tremendous size. A
few years ago a Portland fnrc I
ture company offered $1,000 for
this tree, hut it was not sold.
Whitman Rescue
Of Mare is Told
Milton Kester of Hubbard tells
this one: "I well remember Jinny,
a bay mare owned by my grand
father. The old mare was a pet of
everyone. She had been stolen by
an Indian in the Whitman mass
acre near the present city of Walla
Walla,; Wash. My Uncle William
(Judge William Hubbard) was rid
ing her and an Indian pulled him
off, jumped on and rode away. Dr.
Whitman rescued the pony and re
turned it to my grandfather after
he came here. This -happened while
the Hubbard were crossing the
plains."
German Bond Men
Look Over State
"Recently a deputation of repre
sentation of the Germans, who are
so-fdrtunate as to hold SI 6,000,000
of Oregon railroad bonds, have vis
ited Oregon and have on their way
investigated for themselves to
form an opinion as to the propriety,
financially considered, of building
the rest of the road through to
California." S. A. Clarke corres
pondence in Sacramento Union,
1874.
r
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if
-1
rst KBRlt-EUi
AlvmB., Stewart
conducts Salem's leading nov
elty business. Mr. Stewart
specializes in expert grinding
and umbrella repairing. A
nice line of high-grade cut
lery is always in stock. Keys
and locks fitted or repaired.
Mr. Stewart has been in bus
iness in Salem for twelve
years. Location, 251 Court
St.
'53 SAW SURVEY
FOR RAILROADS
Gov. Stevens, Capt. MeCUIlan
Survey Northern Route
For Road . ,
1 l . "
In the Statesman! of June 21,
1853, there is an order signed by
Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War,
dated April 8, 1853, which was to
carry out the act of Congress to
survey routes for a railroad framj
the Mississippi River to the Pacific
ocean. ;The survey if or the route
to Puget Sound was placed . in
charge of Isaac I. Stevens, newly
appointed governor of the territory
of Washington. .
Brevet Captain, George B.' Mc
Clellan, was assigned to duty- for
this survey. One of the officers
assigned to the party was. Brevet
The Salem Y. M. C. A. h 1J
a consistent record of fjn
from its early beginning. It was
started in Salem when the city
was small and has grown with
the increase of the population
and business.
The inception of! the Salem
Y M. C. A. runs back to IS 90,
when a little group met in the
offices of the old State Insurance
company, which later became the
home of the association. The first
gathering we are told by R. J.
Hendricks, was in the natur of
a sprayer meeting. There were
frequent meetings which resulted
in the incorporation Of the Salem
Y. M. C. A. The Incorporation
took place on March 18, 1892.
The incorporators were H. S.
Gile, T. A. Van Eaton, Wylid A.
Moores, and F. N. Gilbert.
The Salem Y. M. C. A. began Us
activities, on May 4, 188 2 and
wag housed in rooms on the- sec
ond floor of the Patton building,
so it is now nearly 89 years old.
The first equipment of the Y. M.
C. A. was purchased by John Al
bert, from the Vatoldla Athletic
club which had just discontinued
activities, this gave the Y a good
start and it soon outgrew its
quarters. The next home was in
the Gray building, ; that soon
proved too small and again the
quarters were moved.
The third home of the Y. M.
C. A. was on th second floor Of
the building now occupied by the
Salem Hardware company, up to
this time the work had been done
by rolunteers but it had grown
so rapidly that It was necessary
to employ a secretary. The man
chosen for this position was J. R.
Wetberbee, now a physician in
Portland, he proved to ba a cap
able and successful leader. -
Mention should be made of
some of the devoted women of
the Women's Auxiliary whose
faith and courage helped ; when
the work was new and not well
understood.
Among those who should be
mentioned are Mrs. R. S. ' Wal
lace. Mrs. C. P. Bishop. MissSina
McNary, Mrs. Anna McNary, Mrs.
R. P. Boise, Mrs. McKlroy, Mrs.
Mildred Brooks an4 Mrs. S. R.
Jessup. j
The fourth home of the Y. M.
C. A. was opened on July 1. 1S98
In the Hughes building, orer
Johnson's store. This was a larger
place, than bad been previously
occupied, but like the others it
SALEM
second lieutenant, John Mullan, Jr.,
Mullan later surveyed the old Mul
lan Military road from Walla Wal
la' north across the Snake river to
Old Fort Colville. j .
. "Pacific Railroad-northern route
-We learn from, Mr. Jeffrey who
has 'lately arrived in the valley
from the plains that Gov.' Stevens
who has had charge of the survey
of the northern route of the Pacific
railroad, came down the Columbia
to Fort Vancouver last week that
Capt. Mcdellan and Lt. Donaldson
with their parties would soon fol
low. Lieut. G rover and party are
crossing the Cascade range 'direct
t Puget Sound. MaJ. Stevens gives
assurance of the perfect feasibility
of the whole route, and says that
the ground has been found much
more favorable than was antici
pated." Statesman, Nov. 29, 1853.
Y. M. C. A.
'"i.'-o ..rV.
r
soon became too small. About
this time, William Ladd of Port
land became the owner of the
State' Insurance company build
ing and the T. M. C. A. bought it
for the sum of $10,000. On De
cember 24th, 1901, the Y. M. C.
A. moved into the building where
it had been born eleren years be
fore. It occupied that building for
25 years and did a marvelous ser
rice to the city of Salem and sur
rounding country. Many out
standing men grew up in the old
Y and some measure of their suc
cess is due to the training re
celred there.
A campaign for funds was
started in October 19X4 with
T. A. Livealey, as chairman, to
build a new modern home for
the Y. M. C. A. The effort was
successful and $201,000 was sub
scribed with which to erect , a
building, fully equipped and fur
nished. The actual investment in
the present plant is $175,000.
The buildins; was opened for use
July 1, 1928.
The Y. M. C. A. cost the clt
ixens of Salem a large sum of
money. Is it worth the invest
ment? About one of every ten people
In Salem have membership priv
ileges in the Y. M. C. A. The old
est members is A. T. Yeaton
about 9 2 years of age and there
are about 100 boys and girls nine
years or under.
One of the most popular" things
In the Y Is the physical activities.
These are enjoyed by all ages and
with the cooperation of the Y. W.
c. A. even large numbers of wom
en and girls use the physical
privilege in the Y. Some of the
features fere gym classes, swim
ming, volleyball, basketball, box
ing, wrestling, baseball, tennis,
and many others. Our representa
tive teams 'always make a good
showing in competition with oth
er teams in the northwest, the
wrestling team recently got first
place in the northwest champion
ship meet.
The boys work In the Salem Y
Is very important, more than 1 ,
006 different boys actually use
the privileges in the Salem Y ev
ery year. Among the actlrlties of
the boys is the use of the lobby,
and game room, participation ia
athletic actlrlties, swimming,
weekly clubs centered around Bi
ble study, personal Interest clubs.
Christian Cltisenship clubs, and
two older boys conferences each
year
Dobbin Party is
Ended by Treat
At Gilbert Home
"Driving Party Several Salem
young people enjoyed a very ex-,
hllarating driving party last Wed
nesday night, and were afterwards
entertained pleasantly at the resi
dence of Mrs. A. N. Gilbert. On
Friday evening after the band con
cert, the same party was invited to
an ice cream festival by Mrs. J. W.
Crawford, in the honor of the ap
proaching departure of one of their
number, Miss Laura Minto. They
were bussie Steiwer, Josie Brown,
Ella Abergast, Laura Minto and
Messers. Ed Crawford, Milton My
ers, Ray Gilbert and Joe Farrar."
The Statesman, July 29, 1888.
f'fli;1 j
"J
3
An outstanding feature of the
boys work Is the summer camp
which the Y has conducted for
nine successive years. Recently
the association received a gift of
about 20 acres of land at Ocean
side near Tillamook. This will
now be the permanent home of
the boys camps. About 125 boys
camped there last year.
Music plays an Important part
in the program of -the Y. Every
Friday evening w feature pro
grams in the lobby; which are
well attended. Also the Salem Y
has sponsored . the Salem - Sym
phony orchestra which , holds
weekly rehearsals.
The Y is endeavoring to secure
an endowment fund and already
has a small amount invested. In
many states every Y. M. C. A. in
the. entire state has a working en
dowment and our local associa
tion is trying to get an amount,
the interest of which would help
in times of depression and spe
cial needs. In many Instances
people take out life Insuranoo
policies in favor of the Y, make
estate pledges or put the Y in
their wills. An endowment fund
would be of very great value in
helping the Salem Y. M. C. A. in
crease Its field of usefulness.
The' Y. M. C. A. has'a resident
hall tfe accommodate 40 men.
These rooms are rented almost
entirely to members and usually
to young men who are just get
ting started. They form a very,
valuable part of the association
program in Uhat they provide a
clean, wholesome place for young
men to live at a moderate rate.
The Salem Y. M. C. A. has had
but four presidents during Its ex
istence of 39 years, H. S. Gile,
J. B. T. Tuttle, F. A. Wiggins
and W. I. Staley. Mr. Staley has
been president for 23 years. The
management 4s made of a board
of directors of 21 men: Carle Ab
rams, Paul Acton, Joseph II. Al
bert, Dr. F. E. Brown, O. P. Cosh
ow, R. C. Davis, D. W. Eyre, Dr.
M. C. Findley, John Farrar, it. J.
Hendricks. George Hug, T. M.
Hicks. Roy R. Hewitt, W. T.
Jenks, T. B. Kay, T. A. LiveBley,
B. E. Slsfion, C. A. Sprague, W. I.
Staley, Paul B. Wallace, Dr. R.
Lee Wood. These men have ren
dered outstanding service, several
of them hare serred for 25
years, some have served from the
very beginning. This long peridd
of time has been without one cent
Of remuneration.
(Space donated by a friend of
the Y.)