Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2018)
4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL FEBRUARY 7, 2018 O PINION Offbeat Oregon History: Was Joe Drake a murderer? good friends with Mary Swartz, had absolutely no use for her husband. So it’s understandable that Joseph Drake would feel fairly well protected from any kind of trouble David Swartz might make for him. Understandable — and dead wrong. The trouble started on May 3, 1884. On that evening, while Emma Henry and mother Delin- da were cooking dinner, William went out to bring the cows in, and Joseph came with him, hop- ing to do some hunting. When they returned, Mary Swartz The city of Salem as it appeared looking west from the dome of the capitol was at the house with her son building in the late 1800s. (Image: Salem Public Library) George, and everyone had sup- By Finn JD John per together. For The Sentinel It’s what happened after supper that’s in dis- pute. n April 1, 1884, an event occurred that According to Joseph, he passed the evening probably should have tipped 25-year- quietly, going outside to smoke his pipe and relax. old woodcutter Joseph Drake off that Presently young George ran to fetch him inside, bad things were coming his way: where Mary Swartz asked him if he could take His neighbor, David Swartz, fi led for divorce some eggs into town for her. He agreed, and then from his wife, Mary, and listed Joseph as the pri- she and George left, and Joseph went off to bed. mary cause. Specifi cally, David claimed Mary But according to all three of the Henrys, that’s had committed adultery with Joseph on March not what happened at all. 21, 1884. Delinda and Emma both testifi ed that Joseph With most frontier Oregonians, this would Drake and Mary Swartz had an “intimate conver- have been cause for some discomfort, whether it sation” in a quiet corner of their house, then left was true or not. But for Joseph Drake, it probably together for the Swartz house, having learned that should have been his cue to slip out of town in the David Swartz had gone to the mill for a load of middle of the night. That’s because Joseph was lumber and would not be home until very late. African-American, one of a tiny handful of black Both the Henry women testifi ed that Joseph and people living in Salem and the surrounding coun- Mary were having an affair, and both testifi ed tryside — and the Civil War had ended less than that they had heard Joseph threaten to kill David 20 years before. Swartz, and that the next morning he was openly Joseph apparently felt safe enough, though. He boasting about having done the job. was boarding with the Swartzes’ neighbors, Wil- And William? William testifi ed that he and liam and Emma Henry, and Delinda Henry, Wil- Joseph went out that night and waylaid David liam’s mother. The Henrys, although they were Swartz as he was coming back home with his load O of lumber. William had stepped out to stop David, and then Joseph had shot David from ambush, badly wounding him; then, William said, he had run up and snatched William’s pistol away from him and, as David writhed on the ground, shot him in the neck to fi nish the job. So, was it true? Was young Joseph Drake a cold-blooded killer — ready and willing, with no particularly strong motive, to murder his alleged lover’s ex-husband after fi lling the ears of three witnesses with the details of his plan and letting one of them witness it directly? And after having done this, did he calmly go home, climb into bed, and carry on with his ordinary life, waiting for the sheriff to come slap the cuffs on him? Yes, the jury decided; that’s exactly what hap- pened. It’s hard not to see the taint of post-Recon- struction racism at work here, both in the Henry family’s willingness to throw Joseph under the bus and in the jury’s willingness to swallow that whopper. It’s also hard not to look at the details of the case and spin out other possible sequences of events: an angry exchange between David Swartz and William Henry leading to a gunshot, then an- other one; a hasty retreat to the Henry house to huddle with Emma and Delinda, hashing out a plan to save William Henry from the gallows by pinning the murder on the black guy now peace- fully sleeping off a long hard workday; and, the following morning, the betrayal. Delinda nearly blew the whole game, because she couldn’t keep her story straight; she testifi ed at the preliminary hearing that Emma was sick and she was up all night taking care of her, and then testifi ed at the trial that she went to bed early. But the jury was, it seems, in a forgiving mood, so to speak. Perhaps to his surprise, William Henry found himself in almost as much trouble as Joseph. If he did make up the whole story, he rather overdid it by placing himself at the scene of the murder and giving himself a minor role in the actual killing. Hauled into court for his role in the ambush that he’d essentially confessed to in open court, he was sentenced to life in the Oregon State Peniten- tiary, and had it not been for Governor Sylvester Pennoyer pardoning him out in 1893 after he’d served nine years, he’d have passed the rest of his life behind bars. As for Joseph Drake, he went to his fate with bravery and stoicism, if with some obvious trepi- dation. Although most of Salem had by that time come to believe either that he was innocent or at least that he was not guilty enough to merit hang- ing, a huge crowd gathered to watch the deed done, and to hopefully hear him fi nally confess to his crime, now that the scaffold was nigh and eternity near. What they heard may have made them pretty uncomfortable, because even now, with nothing to gain by dissembling, Drake was not only fi rmly and quietly insistent on his innocence, but surpris- ingly gracious toward the people who had appar- ently played the Judas Iscariot with his young life. “I am going to be hanged for the company I keep and not for the crime I committed,” he told them. “I have not much to say. I am going to be ex- ecuted for a crime I know nothing about. ... I lived with William Henry some time and did not think him a very bad man. Henry surely did the work if he knew anything about it. I think it is pretty hard that I have to lay down my life like this. I can’t say who did the work, for I was not there. I know I have been rudely dealt with. I thank the people who have tried to help me for their kindness. ... (Marion County Sheriff) Mr. Minto’s folks have done a good part by me and I thank them for it. They treated me kindly and given me all the priv- ileges possible under the circumstances.” Joseph Drake was hanged at 1:48 p.m. on March 27, 1885. His was the fi rst legal execution of an African-American in Oregon history. It would be interesting to know what became of the Henry family after the hanging, but I have been unable to learn anything further about them. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Parent on retirement There are so many of you that I want to thank for all your love and support through this truly diffi cult time. You know who you are. My unwillingness to speak publically about my personal life has contributed to some very one-sided reporting of the events. Many of the details reported have been inaccurate, or in some cases, completely left out. I believe my 33 years of service to South Lane School District and my 24 years as the Assistant Superintendent or Superintendent speaks for itself. There is a reason the average Oh what a crying shame tenure of a superintendent in one district is a little less than three years. The work is hard and challenging, the hours it takes to do the job well are almost inhumane, and the constant criticism you get for decisions you make eats at your soul. There are times when you have to correct employee performance, tell people “no”, and occasionally even let people go. It makes you the prime target for constant attacks and criticism. Being a good superintendent takes a toll on your family and C ottage G rove S entinel (541) 942-3325 loved ones. I let this job destroy my family, especially all the time it took away from my children. I spent, on average, 65-70 hours per week doing this work. For at least the 24 years that I worked at the district level I was often the fi rst to arrive at work in the morning and the last to leave at night. I spent many weekends in the offi ce, catching up and planning future activities, meetings and events. Other than time I spent sleeping, I spent more time at work than I did at home. I have made mistakes both personally and professionally. That is the nature of being human. One indisputable fact is that I gave it my all every single day and will continue to do so until I leave the district on June 30th. In 2018 it is still diffi cult to be a woman in a leadership role. My personal life should be nobody’s business. When compared to men who hold the same professional positions, women are often held to a much different standard in terms of job performance and the scrutiny of their personal lives. I have worked to help kids be successful and to help build this district and community over a long period of time. I will continue to give this work 110% until June 30th when I leave South Lane School District. I choose to focus on the many great people in this district and community and the successes of decades of kids. Sincerely, Dr. Krista Parent Yes, what a shame that our town could not have a "cel- ebration" for our awesome Lions football team, state champs! Yes, the city council had a recognition for the team three days after the game which few community members were even aware of. They de- serve a parade, or a celebra- tion in our renovated commu- nity armory or a celebration for all at the high school. My wife and I are Cottage Grove graduates. We attend- ed their games and were amazed. Yes, these Lions in the mighty jungle didn't sleep-they roared! Bruce and Cheryl Woods (not related to Jacob but would be honored to adopt him) Cottage Grove Have something to say? Write to cmay@cgsentinel.com Administration James Rand, Regional Publisher IN BRIEF FEB. 7-FEB. 18 Gary Manly, General Manager ................................................. Ext. 207 gmanly@cgsentinel.com Aaron Ames, Marketing Specialist ........................................... Ext. 216 aames@cgsentinel.com • The Cottage Grove Genealogical Society is hosting an open house at the CG Community Center in the Activity Room on February 14, 1 to 3 p.m. The event is in celebration of the 43rd anniversary of the group. Call (541) 942-9570 for more information. • AARP free tax help is available on Wednesdays at the Cottage Grove Community Center through April. • Sunday February 11 at 2 -3:30 p.m. at Crescent Moon Yoga 819 E. Main Cottage Grove. Partner Yoga. Donations for children scholarships at Story Book Theatre and Opal. Jana Stelle, Marketing Specialist .............................................. Ext. 203 jsteele@cgsentinel.com Editorial Caitlyn May, Editor. ................................................................. Ext. 212 cmay@cgsentinel.com Zach Silva, Sport Editor ............................................................ Ext. 204 szilva@cgsentinel.com Customer Service Mandi Jacobs, Offi ce Manager ................................................ Ext. 200 Legals, Classifi eds .......................................... Ext. 200 mjacobs@cgsentinel.com • It’s free to fi sh, crab or clam on the Saturday and Sunday of President’s Day Weekend, Feb. 17-18, so take a friend! During these two days, no fi shing licenses or tags (including a Combined Angling Tag and a Columbia River Basin Endorsement) are required to fi sh, crab or clam anywhere in Oregon. Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor ............................................. Ext.215 graphics@cgsentinel.com (USP 133880) Subscription Mail Rates in Lane and Portions of Douglas Counties: Ten Weeks..............................................................................................$9.50 One year ............................................................................................. $37.65 e-Edition year ...................................................................................... $35.00 Rates in all other areas of United States: Ten Weeks $11.70; one year, $46.35, e-Edition $43.00. In foreign countries, postage extra. No subscription for less than Ten Weeks. Subscription rates are subject to change upon 30 days’ notice. All subscritptions must be paid prior to beginning the subscription and are non-refundable. Periodicals postage paid at Cottage Grove, Oregon. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Local Mail Service: If you don’t receive your Cottage Grove Sentinel on the Wednesday of publication, please let us know. Call 942-3325 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Advertising Ownership: All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by the Cottage Grove Sentinel become the property of the Cottage Grove Sentinel and may not be reproduced for any other use without explicit written prior approval. Copyright Notice: Entire contents ©2017 Cottage Grove Sentinel. Letters to the Editor policy In order to ensure that your letter will be printed, letters must be under 300 words and submitted by Friday at 5 p.m. Letters must be signed and must include an address, city and phone number or e-mail address for verifi cation purposes. No anonymous letters will be printed. Letters must be of interest to local readers. Personal attacks and name calling in response to letters are uncalled for and unnecessary. To avoid transcription errors, the Sentinel would prefer editorial and news content be sent electronically via email or electronic media. Hand written submissions will be accepted, but we may need to call to verify spelling, which could delay the publishing of the submission. The Sentinel reserves the right not to print letters that may contain libelous content.
