t Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon, Saturday, May 14, 194
Native Growth Bulea borne
Willamette valley are found in pioneer cemeteries, such as the
Sand Ridge cemetery, shown above, in Linn county. Oak,
cedar, fir and maple predominate and many of the finest speci
mens of dogwood are to be found in these isolated places.
(Lebanon Express photo)
Memorial Day Recalls Early
Days of Pioneer Cemeteries
By KATHRYN HARRIS
Lebanon On Memorial Day a traditional ceremony will be re-
enacted at the pioneer Sand Ridge cemetery a few miles southwest
of Lebanon. Accented by a sprinkling of majestic fir trees. It lies
at the base of Peterson Butte in a fold of lower foot hills.
Here on May 30, George W. Simons, a native son of Linn county
tall, white-haired, scholarly 1
bearing his 80 years witn erect
dignity, will raise one of Ore
gon's historic flags. Here lie his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Emmet
Simons, and the patriarchlal
heads of the Shedds, the Mc
Knights, Coyles, Kirkendahls,
Wheelers, Hustons, Morgans,
Frums and Hazens.
The flag which George Simons
raises each year was made by
his mother during the winter
of 1862, eight years after their
covered wagon came to rest in
the valley of the South Santiam.
Fashioned of fine cotton, it has
retained to a remarkable degree
Its original colors. It is a large
flag with 36 stars in its field
and every tiny stitch is hand
sewn. It was first publicly dis
played at a Fourth of July cele
bration in Brownsville in 1863.
The raising of this treasured
flag each Memorial Day is sym
bolic of other rites In more than
a score of pioneer cemeteries
throughout the Cascade low
lands, where other commemora
tive services will be held by the
clans whose fore bearers blazed
the foothill trails. By accepted
custom it is an annual homecom
ing for native sons and daugh
ters. ' It Is doubtful if any man now
living knows so well the location
of these old cemeteries as does
George Simons. Certain it is that
no one has been called on more
often to pay the last tribute to
passing members of the old fam
ilies. During the past 50 years
he has conducted so many ser
vices in these remote spots that
he himself is unable to calculate
their number.
Tranquility marks these hal
lowed grounds of the first fam
ilies. Without exception they
are sentineled by great trees,
beloved by the founding fathers
after cruel months of struggle
through flat horlzoned plains;
the sagebrush wastes; the pas
sive rocks of the Snake and
Columbia gorges.
For the final resting place of
their people, high knolls were
ought, marked with stands of
fir, oak and cedar; their roots
strong in the soil, matching the
pioneer's determination to sink
deep his life line in the lands
of the Santiam. Hence though
many of these spots have been
little used for many years, the
great trees remain Intact.
The Providence church with
its adjoining burial spot is as
quaint a scene as any of old
England. Situated near Sclo, It
occupies a rolling knoll with a
view of the lush valley farms
and the mighty Cascades as a
gackdrop. Stately firs guard
these grounds and line the wind
ing roadway to the hlllcrest.
Circuit Rider Rests
Here lies Joab Powell, famed
circuit rider of the 80's, for
Providence was his church and
formed the nucleus of his wide
ranging gospel missions through
out the foothill settlements.
Joab Powell first came to Ore-
ion in 1845, according to the
reoords of his great, great
nephew, Cortis Stringer of Le
banon. Acquainting himself
with the westward trail, he then
returned to Missouri to bring
back his family and other rela
tives, including his sister and
brother-in-law, Jane Powell
Beeler and John Beeler. AU set
tled in the Providence vicinity,
John and Jane acquiring the
donation land claim from which
they set aside the knoll where
the church was built. From the
time of the arrival of the Powell
train In 1832, this spot was a
meeting place for religious and
civic conclaves, and In 18S4 the
church was built. It stands to
day serving the community as
in the days of a century ago. Its
cemetery continues to be a fa
vored resting place for descend
ants of many of the old families.
It Is used annually for Easter
sunrise services, and every sum
mer the Powell family picnic
and reunion it held there, bring
of the proudest old trees in the
ing together members of the
clan from widespread points in
the West.
Cemeteries Weil-Known
Beside the Powell and Beeler
families, other clans of this early
decade who used the church and
Its cemetery were the Gaines,
Pomeroys, Smails, Bilyeus,
Thomases, Davanneys, Leevers,
Stringers, Arnolds, Sheltons and
Rodgers.
Most of the early cemeteries
bear the names of the families
on whose donation land claims
the ground was located. Neigh
bors on adjoining claims like
wise brought their dead here,
and as the claims broke up into
smaller holdings, the cemeteries
continued to be used by the en
tire community until the earlv
1900's when interment began to
follow a formal and established
line.
With one notable exception,
however, not one of these his
toric spots can be said to be en
tirely abandoned. Impelled by
associations of the past, the
clans still bring their loved ones
back for the last sorrowful
homecoming.
Magnificent oaks identify the
old Dodge cemetery near Rock
Hill. Members of the Nichols,
Jackson, Steen, Wilson and
Blackburn families also lie
there. Their descendants are
well known Linn county citizens.
The Klum cemetery near
Waterloo Is reached by means
of a pasture trail, hence up a
steep incline to a hill top. As
is the case with many of these
spots, its roadway is Impassable
during rains. This past winter
a service was held there, and
all vehicles had to be pulled by
tractor to the hill top.
The Franklin Butte grounds
near Sclo commands a panor
amic view of mountains and val
ley. George Sutherlln, bora in
Sutherlin, Oregon, March 13,
1856, has lived near its site for
91 years and he recalls many
older members of the first fam
ilies who rest here. -Among the
Crabtrce family's numerous
headstones are those of Ike and
Newton Crabtrce, twin boys
born on a log raft which ferried
their parents' wagon train across
the Columbia river.
The Shellbum cemetery south
west of Sclo Is marked by wide
spread oaks. Both Franklin
Butte and Shellburn grounds
and the Bellinger-Powell ceme
teries near Berlin are in current
use.
The Claypool and Richardson
plots, the old Baptist cemetery
at Brownsville, and the Keeney
grounds between Crawfordsvillc
and Brownsville are rapidly be
ing reclaimed by nature but the
families still tend them each
Memorial Day.
In the Sweet Home vicinity
are the Nye, Gilllland and Ames
cemeteries. Ames was named
for the first family to settle In
(Q3IE
033
I . . 1 "
,1 -
I '
True Pioneer George W.
Simons, 80, who is in constant
demand, is the son of wagon
train pioneers, born in Linn
county and educated at the his
toric Santiam Academy at
Lebanon. Though an ordain
ed minister and has conducted
innumerable rites in the se
cluded burial grounds dotting
the Cascade foothills, he pre
fers to be known as Elder
Simons. (Miner studio photo)
that section and is now little
used, but many services are still
held at Gilliland and Nye.
Resting in Peace
On a secluded hill of the road
from Foster to Quartzville, lies
the Lewis burial grounds. So
steep and rock-ribbed is the
trail leading to it that it is the
current practice for a farmer
living nearby to furnish a team
and buckboard to transport the
casket up the hill. The mourn
ers follow on foot. Interments
there are infrequent but they
still follow the pioneer pattern.
There Is one pioneer ceme
tery which will receive no com
memorative attention on this
Memorial Day, nor has it for
many years past. No public or
private sight will so much as
acknowledge Its existence. Yet
it lies In the heart of Lebanon
an eerie and desolate waste.
Sightseeing visitors are rout
ed away from it. Curious new
residents ask questions and are
given evasive answers for there
is no answer.
Its area grows more valuable
by the year. A closely knit
residential district nudges it.
Even Industry eyes It specula
tively. But all schemes of en
croachment stop dead at its
boundaries.
Through the years many civic
groups have planned to clear
and improve this tract, restoring
Its original quaint charm and
utilizing a part of it for a mem
orial building and park. Com
plete frustration has met every
attempt. Progressive Lebanon
seems seized with a strange
lethargy when it comes to doing
anything about the old ceme
tery.
Here lies Lebanon's founder,
.Terimlah Ralston and his wife.
Jcrmima they, whose wagon
train made its final stop so near
FOR THE BEST
Hauling
Storage
Fuel
Phone or See
LARMER
TRANSFER
and
STORAGE
889 No. Liberty
Ph. 3-3131
Our Reputation la
sour Security
VAN LINES CP.
if. v. . , , .FT
the spot, 102 years ago. Many
of the city's proudest names are
carved on its headstones. Here
also rest Morgan Kees, owner
of vast lands in pioneer days.
It was he who set aside a size
able sum whose Income was to
provide a perpetual fund for the
ground's grooming. In the
course of years the entire fund
disappeared and with it, records
vanished. Investigations came
to naught. Bitterness arose, and
soon after the old cemetery was
suddenly abandoned.
Progress Is Defied
Nature took over. Tenacious
vines climb the headstones,
many of which are reduced to
rubble. Brambles run riot and
the exact location of many
graves is now impossible to
identify. A strange and forbid
ding aura hangs over the deeply
shaded expanse and it seems
protected against the Inroads of
change by some inexplicable
fate. Lost records involving
legal complications, or senti
ments of descendants of the pio
neer clans foil every effort to
modernize the area. Even the
state highway department, seek'
lng to carve through a corner
for one of its two through streets
was discouraged by the prospect,
It now appears that a higher
jurisdiction than that of the City
of Lebanon will be required to
effect any change and that noth
ing short of action by the state
legislature will end this peculiar
stalemate.
In the meantime it lies, de-
fiant in its desolation. Above it
rise its great trees, aloof and inv
perturbable. They guard the
strange secret of its obscure his
tory, even as they watch over
the last resting place of the
founding fathers. Among their
group, the mightier cedars saw
the dying fires of the vanishing
Calapooya tribes as they faded
into the mists of racial obscurity
They looked down on the van
guards of Western civilizations
as their wagon trains wound
through the tall grasses of the
valley to establish a toe-hold
west of the Cascades. They saw
the retreat of the pioneer as the
era of expansion drew swiftly
to its close and a new mechani
cal way of life moved into place.
Deportation
Cuts Life Line
Washington, May 14 VP)
Elizabeth Bentley, acknowled
ged former communist courier,
told senators today that deporta
tion of subversive aliens would
cut the life line" of the
American communist party to
Moscow.
Mfss RpntlAV nlnvpri a Irpv
role in last year s congressional
investigation of communist spy
activities.
She told a senate judiciary
subcommittee today:
"If you deport aliens who en
gage in subversive activities,
you will be taking the brains
away from the communist party
in this country."
The subcommittee is study
ing legislation designed to
tighten the nation's immigration
defenses and to get rid of any
subversive aliens already in the
United States.
The witness repeated much of
the testimony she gave before
the house committee on un-
American activities last year.
She testified again that she
once was a communist and that
she once had "some 40 to BO"
American government employes
feeding her information she pass
ed on to Moscow.
The senate committee today
sought more information In sec
ret from a Russian who split
with the Kremlin, on his charge
that all Soviet diplomats have a
"spy responsibility."
-P
Reserve Officers Meet
Portland. May 13 W - The
Oregon Reserve Officers associa
tion will open its annual con
vention here today. About 75
delegates are expected.
F3SW
VoDY SAYS WHtNIVER
Hi 41TS ON A FtRKYBOAT
IT MAKE) HIM CROSS.
RADIOS
I REPAIRED
Horn
Auto
All Mokes
Phone 3-7681
Fire District
Petitions Ready
Liberty There will be a pub
lic meeting of all property own
ers of the Liberty-Salem Heights
proposed fire district next Wed
nesday night, at 7:30 o'clock in
the Liberty school gym at Lib
erty. The petitions for the fire dis
trict have been prepared. All
interested property owners are
requested to attend to sign the
petitions and to have their ques
tions answered. Contributions
for the fire truck can be made
then.
Motion pictures of fire fight
ing equipment in action will be
shown and explained. A. J.
Butsch, deputy state fire mar
shal, will also be at this meet
ing. All property owners in the
area are urged to attend.
The fire district committee
members are Wayne Hardman,
Ted Cotman, William Linfoot,
O. W. Oorton, H. W. Fasching,
John VanLoh, Mrs. Donald
Griffith, Mervin Seeger and
Gerald Knepper.
Mrs. Bennett Heads
Little Garden Club
Salem Heiehts Mrs. Robert
Hawkins was hostess to the Lit
tle Garden club of Salem Heights
in her home on South High St.
Officers were elected ith nr.
ident, Mrs. L. L. Bennett, vice-
president, Mrs. Ed A. Carleton,
and secretary-traesurer, Mrs.
Emmett Wellincr
Mrs. Kenneth Zwicker is in
Charffe of the flnwr nrrnniM.
ment entry to the Men's Garden
club flower show to be held May
14 and 15 at the VMCA. The
club's entry will compete with
other garden club entries. Mrs.
Carl Harris will assist Mr.
Zwicker.
Plans Wm0 mnrln tnv n nmrw.
ed-dish dinner and installation
to be held at the hnmn nf ATi-o
Lewis Judson on" Judson St.
Six Flying Discs Seen
By Ex-Flier of Boise
Boise. Ida.. Mav 14 (UP) PnV,.
ert Smith of Boise, a former B-
pilot reported Friday to the
Idaho Eveninir Statesman that
he saw what he described as
six Hying discs at 11:05 a. m., 10
miles west of Shafer Butte here.
He said he saw thm twhn.
driving from Caldwell to Boise.
omiin reported the discs were
flying in tight formation at 14,
000 feet; that they spiraled
down 3,000 or 4,000 feet and
then shot up rapidly until they
were out of sight.
"I'm not kidding," he laid.
"I know what I saw."
He said the nhWf, h . a .
black bottom and silver ton n
were about the relative size of
a lour-engined plane. They ap
peared to be intelligently con
trolled, he added.
When You
Think of
LIFE
Insuronce
Think of
NEW YORK
LIFE
And when you think of New
York Life think of
Walt Wadhams
SPECIAL AGENT
578 Rose St
Salem. Oregon
Phone 27930
H m Ilk. an .B W.H"
u
I, J f
f.iui,iiii(jiiiu Hi.. I ii mum in I ,imynmiu UUMJUP!
' -' y - -
': t.t '
"The Eye Appeal" Look
Emphasize your own "eye appeal" by letting us
replace your present frames with those that spar
kle with personality. You will like wearing per
sonality glasses for you will know you have that
all important "eye appeal" look!
Dr. Henry E. Morris
ml
Dr. Kenneth W. Morrii
Optometrists ot
Morris Optical Co.
444 State
rhene l-SSil
Dr. Henry E.
Mnrte
Aymong Freed on
Embezzlement Charge
Portland, May 14 UP) Amyot
F. Aymong, 40, former employe
of the First National Bank of
Salem, was free today on his
own recognizance on an embez
zlement charge.
He appeared yesterday before
Federal Judge James A. Fee
who ordered the release.
Deputy District Attorney Ed
ward Twining said the actions
charged involved writing checks
on his personal account and by
mis-routing within the bank
preventing them from showing
on the books. The total sum
involved was $445 and restitu
tion has been made, Twining
said.
Amyot F. Aymong was em
ployed by the Salem branch of
the First National Bank of Port
land in 194S, after leaving war
service, and his services were
terminated at the bank last fall
He had banking experience in a
large bank in New York City.
Father of Rudy Yallee
Dies at Maine Home
Westbrook, Me., May 14 (U.R)
Charles A. Vallee, 81, father of
Movie and Radio Star Rudy Val
lee, died at his home Thursday
after a long illness.
A native of Island Pond, Vt.,
Vallee was a druggist here for
many years.
Neighbors said that Vallee had
much to, do with his son's start
in the musical world and fol
lowed his career closely.
Salem Heights
School Notes
By PAUL HARVEY III
Seventh grader, John Wilbur,
sprained his ankle Wednesday
at school.
The fifth and sixth grade soft-
ball team played Liberty Fri
day at this school. They lost
to Liberty 10-4 last Friday at
Liberty.
The pictures of each class have
been received and they will cost
25c apiece.
FREE
SERVICE
Ladies
Be Ready for
.The busy canning
Rush
Bring in Your
Pressure Conner
Guages
for a thorough
check over
fjt 6EORGE ii
Allen
234) N. COMMERCIA ST.
mum. osiee-a
Or. Kenneth W.
Mwrls
Mrs. Fenimore'e sixth grade
has done finger painting with
two colors. They were displayed
at open house last Friday.
Cub Scout Pack 19 from our
district were Shmoos at the
Scout circus held last Saturday
evening at Sweetland Field.
The fifth grade English class
are spending their English per-
!
I
h ' 'J craoe A
iET
L5
it
Curly Comes Early Meet Leo Poppe, one of Curly'a
veteran employes. Leo, who lives at 1740 N. Church street,
started working for Curly's home owned and friendly dairy 21
years ago and has driven a milk route since 1932. He was
born in Salem, owns his home, is married and has two
daughters. Adv.
ft a
'Holly
99
Says
Sf
The beach and the sand a proposal. The river and a
boot a proposal. The summer the moonlight a pro
posal. The lake a canoe a proposal. This time of
year everything seems to go with proposal and with
every proposal should go a Holly Jackson (pardon me
for using my name) diamond ring. It just seems that
everyone who is becoming engaged likes our way of
doing business, and that makes me feel good, no end.
I get a kick out of this business anyway it's fun and
besides it is the means of me getting something to eat
(not every day but quite frequently), and several fel
lows have already reported as to how easy it was just
to hand the little lady that orchid. Or didn't you
know about our orchid deal? Well, each diamond
engagement ring we sell we place over the petal of a
real live, full grown orchid, placed in a box and beau
tifully tied with an orchid colored ribbon. All a fellow
has to do is hand the lucky girl the orchid and the
rest "just comes natural." No extra charge it's just
our way of wrapping up a beautiful ring in a beautiful
package.
225 No.
f
KX .
Just Around the
FREE PHOTOGRAPH
Six 5x7 Inches
OF YOUR CHILD
Age 2 Months to S Years
FIVE DAYS ONLY
Monday thru Friday
MAY U TO 20, INCLUSIVE
i
.wr 8sV J i F' ' '' -l '
'' J J fit ' V '
CHILDREN 2 MONTHS TO 5 YEARS
MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY PARENTS
SELECTION OF PROOFS
NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY
NO OBLIGATION TO BUY
To All Mothers of Salem and Vicinity
To make new friends and in appreciation of past patronage,
we have arranged with a specialist In child photography to
make a FREE PHOTOGRAPH of your child in our store,
Monday, May It, through Friday, Mar 20, No cost, no
obligation, nothing to buy . . , It's FREE!
STORK HOURS 1:3 A.M. TO !: P.M.
Toy and Hobby Shop
163 North Commercial St. Salem, Oreaen
iod giving reports. They are
using science unit texts for their-,
material.
The school girls craft classes
are finishing projects such as
weaving of baskets and textile
painting.
There are now 223 students
enrolled in this school. The fifth
grade has 31 students.
CREAfn 80TTES, BUTTFRmii if
"in. tnttSE. E
ORAnCEAOE
Liberty St.
Corner from Sally's