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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 2018)
B2 History Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, September 26, 2018 Can you name these historic items? SCHOOLS Continued from Page B1 schoolhouses that dotted the landscape were no lon- ger needed, while schools in towns were expanded to accommodate larger enroll- ments. In 1947, opening day at Mt. Ve r n o n School was de- layed a few weeks due to ad- ditions Eagle photo b e i n g completed The for a new Cummingsville gym and School today. two “mod- ern” class- rooms “to accommodate the pupils who last year filled the old building to over- flowing,” according to the Sept. 5, 1947, edition of the Eagle. The next year, Canyon City schools had what was at that time the largest en- rollment on record — 79 compared to 60 the year before. Remodeling work was finishing up as classes began the new school year. In fact, schools through- out Grant County were bursting at the seams in 1948. Seneca, with more housing opportunities, saw a jump from 110 to 137 over the course of a year. Monu- ment School saw its largest enrollment ever with 81 stu- dents in all grades, accord- ing to the Sept. 17, 1948, Trivia 1 Contributed photo/Grant County Historical Museum Seventh- and eighth-grade students at Mt. Vernon School, 1931 and 1932. Seventh- graders included Gayle Stockdale, Irma Ingle, Juanita Wheeler, Bob Athey, Mona Parrish, Pauline Thompson and Lois Yokom, not pictured. Eighth-graders included Wilson Jenkins, Violet Hammons, Francis Kiehn, Lillian Lemmons, Laura Dunn, Dollie Fletcher, Buster Hogeland, Dean Athy, George Harper, Anona Lee Hinshaw, Juanita Lofton, Dolena Vae Ingle and Wilfred Masson. Eagle photo The school bell from the first Prairie City School that was at the corner of Front and Main streets is now on display at the DeWitt Museum in Prairie City. Here’s a list of some of the small schoolhouses that, at one time or another, were scattered across Grant County: • Old Rebel School, 1864 — On Rebel Hill in Canyon City • Moon Creek School, 1876 — Between Mt. Vernon and Dayville • Brownlee School, 1880 • Marysville School, 1880 — On French Charlie Hill (now Dog Creek Road) • Indian Creek School, 1887 — On Indian Creek Road • Winegar School, 1890 — In Winegar Gulch, south of the Alfred Coombs Ranch, later moved to where the Riverside School stands today • Meador School, 1890s — Three miles above Prairie City • Strawberry Creek School, 1893 — West of the Roger Kent Ranch • Silvies School, 1898 • Bear Valley Lodge 1 School (District 37), 1900s — Served Seneca and Camp 1 • Bates School, 1900s • Round Basin School, 1900s — Near Monument • Junction School, 1910 — Kimberly • Cottonwood Creek School, 1900s • Cammingville School, 1900s — On Dry Creek near Moon Creek • Izee School, 1900s — In Walker Gulch, later moved to the old McCoffery home • Cant Ranch, 1917 — School held on the third floor of the Cant family home • Dixie Creek School — Near the Ernie Ricco Ranch • Lofton School — Fox Valley, log schoolhouse located in the Fox Cemetery, one of four one-room schools in Fox • Andy Thompson School — Below Blue Mountain Springs on the Thompson homestead • Lone Rock School — In the Cross Hollow District • Carter School — Three miles east of Long Creek • Cummingsville School — Halfway between Dayville and Mt. Vernon • Logdell School — Bear Valley • Ritter, Range and Three-Mile schools — In the Ritter area Contributed photo/Grant County Historical Museum Students from John Day School stand in line on the playground in 1916. edition of the Eagle issue. In 1963, extensive addi- tions were made to Prairie City and Humbolt schools. In 1978, Long Creek School gained a new football field — with goal posts. A few of the old school buildings are still stand- ing, though abandoned, like the Cummingsville School, on the north side of Highway 26, 11.5 miles east of Dayville, and the Bates School, which is now on the Prairie City School property. Some have been transformed into new lives. The Riverside School, southeast of Prai- rie City is a bed and break- fast, and the Silvies Valley School, 10 miles south of Seneca on Highway 395, became a wayside historic picnic area in 2014. However, standing or abandoned, those old schoolhouses hold end- less memories for those who passed through their doors, for those who taught and were taught in days gone by. Local People Serving You. That’s the cooperative advantage. Proudly serving Grant County for 30 years. Trivia 2 Trivia 3 Trivia 4 Trivia 5 Trivia 6 Trivia answers 150 Continued from Page B1 by W.E. Weir and J.H. Allen in 1908. Publication of the Long Creek Ranger was suspended in 1930. Two other newspaper busi- nesses existed in Grant County during this time, according to Turnbull’s history. Keeler H. Gabbert began publishing the Avalanche-Journal in 1896, but it faded away after three years. The Prairie City Miner began publishing in 1912 under W.W. Watson. It later changed its name to the Grant County Journal. YOUR MONEY - YOUR COMMUNITY - YOUR CREDIT UNION A fire in Canyon City in 1937 destroyed the Chandler & Haight printing establish- ment, which moved to John Day. In 1944, the John Day Valley Ranger and the Blue Mountain Eagle merged. Four years later, the newspaper was purchased by Dorothy and Elmo Smith from Chester and Vera Ashton. Donna and John Moreau bought the Blue Mountain Ea- gle in 1968. The newspaper merged into the East Orego- nian Publishing Co. in 1979 and moved to a new building on South Canyon Boulevard in 1997. The Blue Mountain Eagle went on online at bluemoun- taineagle.com in 2000. The parent company changed its name from East Oregonian Publishing to EO Media Group in 2013. 1. Butter mold from Greenhorn City, late 1800s, at the DeWitt Museum. 2. Chinese shoe found in a mine on Little Can- yon Mountain, at the Grant County Historical Museum. 3. Corn sheller, at the Grant County Historical Museum. The dried ears of corn were put through this machine. It would remove the kernels from the cob for planting a new crop. 4. Crumb tray and scrap- er, early 1900s from the De- Witt family, at the DeWitt Museum. 5. Snow shoes for mail carrier’s horse in the Sumpt- er and Greenhorn area, at the Grant County Ranch and Rodeo Museum. 6. Shuttle, possibly used to make fishing nets (miss- ing spools), at the Grant County Historical Museum. Serving Grant County Since 1984 Old West Member Owned and Member Governed Since 1957 Proud to be part of Grant County history for the last 60 years. The only locally owned financial institution in Grant County GIBCO 650 W. Main St., John Day, Oregon • (541) 575-0264 162 W. Front, Prairie City, Oregon • (541) 820-4601 • (541) 820-4725 Ag & Industrial
