The Columbia Press
May 20, 2022
Old cemetery was a lure to schoolboys
Editor’s note: Ken Shoop
was a longtime Warrenton
resident who died in March
2020. He was also a friend
of the Columbia Press, occa-
sionally submitting first-per-
son reports about his child-
hood in Warrenton. This
report appeared in the May
18, 2007, issue and seems
appropriate to reprint after
a recent find in the area.
By Ken Shoop
The year was 1949 and
World War II was over. Fam-
ilies had returned to normal-
cy. Our nation was victorious
and unified.
It was a warm, sunny, lazy
day for us boys. We had no
television, so we lived to roam
the woods and sand ridges.
Oral histories were riveting
and, at times, our daydreams
had no boundaries. We were
heavily influenced by stories
of war and battles and loved
the tales of high-sea pirates
and local Indian wars.
We would re-enact the bat-
tles, fashioning guns out of
boards, and bows and arrows
from willow trees.
Three of us boys lived on
Southwest Ninth Street; in
those days it was simply
called “the dump road.” It
ran from Main Street, past
Warrenton Grade School
and stopped at what is now
Southwest Juniper Street.
At the top of the hill was the
old dump. Folks simply drove
up there and threw their gar-
bage over the side.
In the evenings, Dad would
take me up the old dump
road and turn north on a dirt
trail that led to Burk Lake
(behind the present-day soc-
cer fields). We would fish for
bass and perch.
The eldest boy in our group
was giving the commands – a
skill he would use later in life.
Our mission was to go to the
“Indian Graveyard” and ex-
plore the graves. The site was
Bob Ellsberg
Warrenton City Commissioner Rick Newton, right, found what
appears to be a historical sign near the entrance to the old
county cemetery, sometimes referred to as the Indian cemetery.
He was roaming through the area in January with historian Bob
Ellsberg and Ellsberg’s wife, Claudia, left.
known by the adults as the
“old pauper cemetery.”
Our leader furnished us
with a garden shovel and led
the way. We arrived at the
scene about 100 yards east of
the intersection of Ninth and
Juniper, on the south side of
the road. There is still an old
trail there, with a steel gate
that goes south to Oceanview
Cemetery.
As we ascended the plateau,
our hearts beat wildly upon
entering that sacred ground.
There were small wooden
crosses before us and the
tips were burned with fire.
I felt uneasy, but was over-
whelmed with the excitement
of exploring forbidden terri-
tory.
“The Indians always bur-
ied their ponies, bows and
arrows, knives, beads and
full-feather war bonnets with
them when they died,” our
leader told us.
Wow! I felt like I was in an-
other world!
Then he commanded us to
begin digging at one of the
graves. He told us that we’d
dig up the treasure and share
it (although there were three
3
County’s health score: Just OK
A national study released
last month that exam-
ines community health by
county found that Clatsop
County residents are in
the “higher middle range”
compared to other Oregon
counties.
The
County
Health
Rankings & Roadmaps
program is produced an-
nually and is a collabora-
tion between the Robert
Wood Johnson Founda-
tion and the University
of Wisconsin Population
Health Institute.
Out of Oregon’s 35
counties, Clatsop County
ranked:
• 13th in health out-
comes, which measures
how long people live and
how healthy people feel
while alive.
AGENDA
CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WARRENTON
REGULAR MEETING
TUESDAY
May 24, 2022 – 6:00 P.M.
Warrenton City Commission Chambers – 225 S. Main Avenue
Warrenton, OR 97146
Ken Shoop with wife, Eileen
of us and only two shovels).
He then left his younger
brother and me to dig, vow-
ing to return in an hour.
We soon ran into roots and
hard soil and made little
progress.
Our leader returned and
was disappointed that we
were unable to dig more than
about 10 inches deep. So we
abandoned the project for
another day, which never oc-
curred.
Recently, I returned to the
scene of the “ghastly crime
of grave robbery.” It had
been nearly 60 years and the
graveyard is now a jungle of
salal brush and trees.
Want to know more? Con-
tact Gil Gramson, the mayor
of Warrenton, and the leader
in this adventure.
• 15th in health factors,
which influence the health
of a county. It includes
measurements of health
behaviors, clinical care, and
social, economic, and phys-
ical environmental factors.
“This 2022 report is a
snapshot that shows our
community strength as
well as areas needing at-
tention,” said Margo La-
lich, Clatsop County’s
interim public health di-
rector.
The annual county health
rankings measure vital
health factors, including
high school graduation
rates, obesity, smoking,
unemployment, access to
healthy food, air and wa-
ter quality, income, and
teen births in nearly every
county in America.
This is a Preliminary Agenda. A final Agenda and full meeting packet
will be available on the City’s website at www.ci.warrenton.or.us and at
City Hall after 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 20, 2022.
Public Meetings will be conducted in the Commission Chambers and
will also be audio and video live streamed. Go to https://www.ci.war-
renton.or.us/administration/page/live-stream-public-meetings
for
connection instructions.
BUSINESS ITEMS
•
Presentation – Recology Rate Review; Dave Larmouth
•
Consideration of July 4th Parade Event Application; Spruce Up
Warrenton
•
Consideration of Professional Services Contract for ERP, RRA, and
O&M
•
Consideration of Business Oregon Contract – Tide Gate #9 Project
•
Consideration of Resolution No. 2623; Updating Business License
Fees
DISCUSSION ITEMS
•
Sanitation Rates
•
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Under the authority of ORS 192.660(2)(e); to conduct delibera-
tions with persons designated by the governing body to negotiate
real property transactions.
Warrenton City Hall is accessible to the disabled. An interpreter for
the hearing impaired may be requested under the terms of ORS 192.630
by contacting the City Recorder, at 503-861-0823 at least 48 hours in
advance of the meeting so appropriate assistance can be provided.