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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 1999)
8 $ Fair Dorothy Lawe and her family of many generations stay close through the years Tribal Elder Dorothy McKnight Lawe was born in Grand Ronde, the eldest of 10 chil dren of Thomas McKnight and Elvira Lan gley McKnight. Now currently living in Wil lamina, Dorothy, with her stories, can take any listener back to the days when Grand Ronde was a very different place. A time when businesses were more abundant, streets had different names, and family homes were still standing and bus tling with guests for Sunday dinner. The year was 1919, and World War I had re cently ended. Thomas McKnight, who lived in McMinnville, worked for the post office. His job was to carry the mail from Willamina to the coast on horseback. "My father made stops in Grand Ronde on his way to Tillamook," said Dorothy. "He left McMi nnville, and then would stop to stay the night in Grand Ronde at the store and hotel that was owned by the Langley family." Dorothy said the long journey took several days. Thomas rested at the Langley family hotel, got a meal and a fresh horse, and in the morning, headed for Hebo. It was at the hotel where Tho mas met Elvira Langley, his future bride, and Dorothy's mother. They were married in 1919, and Dorothy was born in 1920. "I lived the first years of my life in Grand Ronde," said Dorothy. "We attended St. Michael's Church. I can remember Father Felix and my First Communion." Dorothy also remembers that Father Felix, as well as many other townspeople, would head over to her great-grandmother's house for Sunday din ner after church. "My great-grandmother, LaRose Quenelle, lived in a huge house near the church. I remember there always being lots of people there," she said. Dorothy didn't get a chance to meet her great grandfather, Frank Quenelle. He passed away before she was born. But Frank and LaRose Quenelle had a daughter, Mary Quenelle, who mar ried William (Bill) Langley, Dorothy's grandparents. Mary and William had Elvira, Dorothy's mother. So, Dorothy lived near her extended family in X . ir- . . ' s A : v . ' VI V 1 Grand Ronde for several years. Af ter leaving the postal service, Tho mas even had a dairy farm near the Nestucca River. But it wouldn't be very many years before Dorothy's parents moved the family to Brooks, Oregon, where Tho mas managed a hop farm. "I really grew up in Brooks," said Dorothy. "And I attended Chemawa Indian School." Dorothy loved Chemawa, and speaks of the kin ship and memories of her days there. It would be at Chemawa where Dorothy would meet her fu ture husband Reynold Lawe. "My husband was the son of one of the employ ees at the school," she said. "I had seen him at Chemawa before, but never talked to him. Then one day I went to a wrestling match in Salem, and I saw him sitting with one of Chemawa's teachers Lefty Wilder. Lefty introduced us." When they started dating, Reynold was attend ing Willamette University, studying corporate law. Dorothy was just 17. "We became engaged on my 18th birthday," said Dorothy. "My husband was a very romantic man." Dorothy said that Reynold always brought her a long-stemmed rose when he came to pick her up for a date (which he later confessed to picking from the university's garden), and when asking for her hand in marriage, was well-prepared with an engagement ring. During their marriage, the couple lived in Or egon, Nevada, and Arizona, where Reynold worked as a hospital administrator near Indian communities. They started their family right away, and had two girls Renee and Diane before Dorothy was 21 years old. It was about this time that another war broke out World War II. Dorothy and Reynold stayed in Grand Ronde at this time because people -1 , I I "7 I 'J, J A v J , f ' ""V V t, y Above: Infant Dorothy with her mother, Elvira Langley McKnight. Left: Dorothy and Diane in a photo taken only a couple of years ago. Diane and Renee Lane with their children, from left: Michael, Dorothy, Renee, Diane, Faye, Tony and Reynold. couldn't travel very easily. "Reynold worked at Murphy's Mill in Grand Ronde. And after the war ended, we moved to Phoenix," said Dorothy. And though Dorothy was busy raising a family, she found time to go to school to become a dieti cian. She worked in the same hospital as her hus band for many years. Renee and Diane, who by this time had gradu ated high school, were attending college in Or egon when their dad passed away. Afterward, Dorothy moved back home to Oregon. Of all the places they lived, Diane said that she liked Nevada the best. "I like being near the Tribe, and close to my fam ily," said Diane. "But I would love to live in Ne vada again. I love the climate, the people, the wide open spaces." Diane and her sister Renee stayed in Salem and ended up marrying two brothers. Renee married David Lane, and Diane married Clayton Lane. Clayton has passed away, and Diane now lives in Willamina. Renee and David live in Salem. "I introduced my sister to David," said Diane. "I met Clayton, and then the four of us became two couples." So, if this family story seems a little complicated, it is. And it gets even better. Dorothy's siblings are all tribal members and have all stuck pretty close to home. They are: Maxine Leno, Ramona Leno (passed away), Wayne McKnight, Robert McKnight, Beverly Cooney, Melvyn McKnight, Barbara Feehan, Judith Olson, and Richard McKnight. Dorothy has five grandchildren. Diane and Clayton had Dorothy and Michael; Renee and David had Tony, Faye, and Reynold. Great-grandchildren are: Elisha, Joseph, Kyle, Denea, Nathanial, Jeremy, Kishena, David Charles, Cassiopa, Crystal, Leonard, Amber, Jessie, Cheyanne, and Joseph William. And making it five generations of living rela tives are great, great-grandchildren Julian and Alexis. So Dorothy McKnight Lawe and her two daugh ters are the result of some amazing family his tory. And the generations of young tribal mem bers they have helped raise are their legacy for the future. Said Diane, "Our family is very close to one an other. My kids and Renee's kids are like brothers and sisters, not cousins. They always spend time together. They are all proud to be part of this Tribe. They all participate in tribal events. It makes all of us happy to see that."
