History
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
B5
Tragic news of missing girl has happy ending
Poem shares the 5-year-old’s harrowing story
Blue Mountain Eagle
Five-year-old Emma Nelson
went missing on July 4, 1896, for
five days at Cress Hollows, west of
Susanville. She was found by John
Pierson at Hawkins Flat.
Former Bates resident Pat Cary
Peck happened to meet Nelson’s
daughter, Irene Behymer, also a
former Bates resident, on a trip to
Alaska.
Behymer shared her mother’s
story with Peck, which appears in
the book “Bates-Austin Remem-
bered,” a collection of memories
compiled by Sonja Morgan.
Behymer said settlers came
from miles around to celebrate at a
Fourth of July picnic in 1896, but
as the festivities began, tragic news
of the little girl’s disappearance
spread.
She disappeared into the dense
forest, and crews of men and dogs
searched from daylight to dark.
After the fourth day, hope dimin-
ished, but some didn’t give up, in-
cluding family friend John Pierson.
On the fifth day, Pierson walked
into a clearing in the forest at Haw-
kins Flat when he saw little Emma
sitting on a log.
He quietly said hello, and the lit-
tle one said, “Hello, have you seen
my daddy?”
A poem at the Grant County His-
torical Museum in John Day, along
with a picture of Emma, paints the
amazing search and rescue.
HOTEL
Continued from Page B1
floor. A spacious lobby gave
the men a place to relax, talk
and play cards. A basement
provided storage space for ex-
tra belongings.
A Mountain Idyl
Amid grasses on the cold, hard ground.
No Mamma there to sing sweet rhymes,
Naught but the winds sighing through the pines,
Or the screeching of the night owl,
Or the wild beast’s more angry growl.
By Miss Charlotte Brown
God and Angels heard her sighs
When she closed her baby eyes.
When the night dews kissed her cheek
Angels there a watch did keep.
Settle Mountain is a dangerous place,
The bravest hunter fears to trace,
He fears to meet the old brown bear
In the fire pines and the black pines there.
Little Emma, beautiful child
On that dangerous mountain wild;
Naught but the starry Heavens above
That spoke of home, of joy or love.
Dangers beset it on every side,
There wild beasts roam, and reptiles hide.
The mount looks wild as a storm at sea,
And it’s ever dense as the waves would be.
But amid all those vicious things
The Guardian Angel spreads its wings.
A child only four years old
Was lost six days on that mountain fold.
Her father searched night and day,
And parties, too, in full array.
They searched hills, valleys and plain,
At first their efforts seemed in vain.
Six days is no little time
To live on berries what she could find.
But God, who hears the raven’s cry,
Much more His children will supply.
Her father came to a pretty brook,
Running through a lovely nook
Nearby grew a group of willows,
Sighing, waving, like the billows.
She wandered from the picnic ground
To gather flowers that grew around.
Her brother saw her going that way,
But did not think she would go astray.
Her brother said, I think she’s here,
Then came a voice so soft and clear,
“Oh papa! I know you would come,”
It was his child, his own dear one.
She wandered away many miles
Through trackless paths and dangerous wilds;
There she was with flowers in hand,
Amid beasts of prey on that mountain strand.
Five-year-old Emma Nelson, who went
missing for five days at Cress Hollows on
July 4, 1896.
The lost was found — great was his joy,
No wealth could buy, nor wealth destroy.
The Lord he thanked in praise and prayer,
For His tender, loving care.
She saw when she awoke from sleep.
She was too young to know much fear,
When the shades of night drew near,
When weary and along she lay down
Oh could we have that child-like faith
While traveling o’er life’s thorny path.
Her hope and faith, and trust were one;
“Oh, papa, I surely knew you’d come.”
Courtesy photo/Mr. and Mrs. T. Gail DeWitt
Did she laugh, or did she weep?
What thoughts into her mind did creep?
Thoughts of Mamma, Papa and brothers, who?
And the flowers she gathered, too.
She did get frightened, once, she said,
Frightened at where she made her bed.
It was upon a fearful steep,
Cooking was not allowed
in the rooms, so the workers
ate home-style meals in a
“cookhouse” restaurant near
the store at the south end
of the lodge. Lunches were
packed for the men to take
along on their long work days.
A steam heat system kept
the lodge warm during Sene-
ca’s frigid winters.
The lodge closed in 1962,
when Hines began to shut
down its logging operations
in the Seneca area.
Since that time, the former
boarding house has been a pri-
vate residence, a bed and break-
fast and, for a time, vacant.
In 2014, Grayback For-
estry bought and restored the
building for housing for its
employees, returning it to its
purpose as a home for wood-
land workers. While the trans-
formation included several
modern upgrades and recon-
figuring of some of the single
rooms, great care was taken to
preserve the historical ambi-
ance of the nearly 80-year-old
building.
The stately Bear Valley
Lodge is a gem in the treasure
chest of Seneca’s rich history
and a reminder of its logging
heritage.
The Corner Cup
LIVING
Shirley Rushing with
her dog, King, behind
the Bear Valley Lodge
in Seneca, 1960.
Continued from Page B1
logging operations in 1962,
Harrison’s parents bought the
lodge building and continued
to live in it.
Harrison attended Seneca
School through eighth grade and
then Grant Union High School,
graduating in 1964. She lived
at the lodge until she was 21,
when she moved out to attend
school in Portland. Her mother
lived at the lodge until 1969.
Harrison, who lives in the
Portland area with her husband,
Jerry, reflects fondly on her
growing up years in Seneca. In
fact, it was there where she and
Jerry met – in the third grade.
She loves telling people
about her years living at the
Bear Valley Lodge.
“I would have to say I
had the perfect childhood,”
Harrison said.
MABEL’S CAFE
EVE’S SWEETS
Mon-Sat 7am-3pm
295 S. Canyon Blvd
Canyon City
6am-3pm 7 days a week
Enter on Washington St.
Canyon City
Courtesy photo
Shirley Rushing Harrison
06124
their right mind would bring
a girl of 7 to live in a room-
ing house with up to 60 single
men.”
Harrison said the men who
roomed there ate their meals
in a cookhouse. She recalls her
mom washed all the sheets in
the basement and handled all the
paperwork. Her father enjoyed
his supervisory position, which
allowed him to work indoors.
During the holiday season,
they made sure there was a big
Christmas tree in the lodge’s
lobby, Harrison said. She added
her mother had a green thumb
and even had a knack for get-
ting geraniums to bloom during
Seneca’s bitter cold winters.
“They were happy they had
good jobs,” she said. “Every-
one respected my folks.”
When the Hines ceased
• Coffee • Tea • Hot Drinks
• Cold Drinks • Smoothies
• Baked Goods • Free WiFi
100 E Main St., John Day • 541-792-0425
Open Mon-Wed 6am-9pm, Thur-Sat 6am-12am & Sun 8am-8pm
The
historical
Silvies
School
Boyd, Bo
Hawk, Cl nnie,
aren
& Sheila ce
541-575-3553
S ILVIES
V ALLEY
R ANCH
NEED A
GOOD WELDER?
We’re
here to
serve
you.
•
•
•
•
Established 1883
We are proud to be a part of Grant County
and its history. We take pride in caring for
our history, our environment, livestock
and our families.
Repair & Fabrication
Steel & Aluminum Inventory
Complete Machine Shop
Welding Supplies & Gases
8 am - 5 pm, Mon. - Fri.
841 W. Hwy 26, John Day • 541.575.0763
06096
BOYD BRITTON WELDING, INC.
Silvies, Oregon
www.silviesvalleyranch.com • 1-800-SILVIES