PAGE SIX
HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, JULY 22, 1937.
o Motor Cruising for Fun o
A Motor log to the Wallowa Mountains of Northeastern Oregon . . and
a Visit with "Silver Tip" Charley Seeber
Thli newspaper 1i co-operating with the
Oregon State Motor association and The
Oregonlan In presenting a series of motor
cruises under the title, "Motor Cruising for
Fun." It 1 hoped thereby to stimulate
travel In the Pacific northwest. The follow
ing article haa been condensed from a
full-page article appearing In The Oregonlan
on July 25.
BY VINTON H. HALL
Silver Tip shoveled a spoonful
of beans into his mouth, leaned
back in his chair and 'lowed as
how we should make ourselves at
home, being, as it was, cold and
sopping as an overworked dishcloth
outside the cabin.
A fire blazed its welcome in Sil
ver Tip's neat little cook stove, and
steam arose from our water-logged
Levis as we huddled together in the
small room. A mountain rain, the
tail-ender of winter storms, beat on
the roof. We were glad to be inside.
A mile and a half high, we were,
in the Wallowa mountains of north
eastern Oregon. We had found Sil
ver Tip's cabin a veritable haven of
refuge after the arduous and
sometimes perilous horseback trip
from Wallowa lake, 6 miles in
back of us. Silver Tip's trim cabin,
hewn from the mountain forests,
rests near the shore of beautiful
Aneroid lake.
"So you thoueht it was nretfv
tough going, did you?" cackled the Motor log party transfers from one form of transportation to another, before the lodge
Miici-iioucu man, wiiuac x etu name
is Charles Seeber, amused at his
guests' apparent exhaustion.
1 - YC ? JJ - '4W'W' r - 1 1
Part of Mountains
Silver Tip is the "o" 1 man of the
mountains" the Wallowa moun
tains. He loves them. He has lived
in them so long that Silver Tip and
the Wallowas have become almost
synonymous. He will always be a
part of them. None can really know
those towering, jagged peaks with
out knowing him.
Forty-eight years ago the doctor
looked at 15-year-old Charley See
ber in Walla Walla, shook his head
and said there was virtually no
hope. Charley, a smiling, ambitious
lad, had tuberculosis. They called it
consumption. One chance remained
to save his life, the doctor said. Get
him away to a higher, drier air.
Charley's father, desirous of doing
everything possible to save his son,
chose the Wallowa mountains. Out
fitting themselves, the Seebers
began the long trek to Aneroid
lake, which back in the '80s was
wild and untouched as the moun
tain sheep that still roam there.
Charley Silver Tip didn't die.
Instead, his lithe body became
rugged and strong as Aneroid point.
Now he can out-pack the average
horse.
"Some difference between this
and the city life you fellers are
used to," he chirped, scraping up
his dishes, carefully wiping the
oil cloth-topped table and finally
settling back in his favorite chair.
Names Motorloggers
"Let's see, now. You're Mr. Pang
born," pointing to Arden X. Pang
born, executive news editor of The
Oregonian, who by this time had
moved somewhat further from the
scorching little stove and launched
a vicious attack upon a ham sand
wich. "You're Mr. Gobble," Silver Tip
barked, indicating Richard Goebel,
Ford man for the advertising firm
of McCann-Erickson, who at that
particular moment was drying his
rearage and nursing a saddle blis
ter on his shin.
"And I guess you're Mr. Hall, the
AA.A. man."
, A great talker and fascinating
as a dime novel that really belongs
in the slicks Silver Tip stretched
out his long legs and moved on to
the subject of the weather and his
mountains.
"Ain't seen such a spring in all
the 48 years I been here. Been rain
ing constantly, and that ain't right,
you know. It's usually swell weather
even this early brisk and brilliant,
with the moon, the stars and the
mountains. Makes you wish you
could be in love but damital, I'm
too old and funny lookin' for that,
anyway,
"In a few days it'll all be over,
and summer will really be here."
That was a month ago, and the
Wallowas now bask under bright
blue sky, fishing is good in An
eroid lake and Silver Tip is happy.
Haven't Seen It AU
"Of course you fellows know that
you haven't seen all of the Wal
lowas just because you've been up
here to Aneroid," he began. "Take
a look at this little map. It'll show
you just how little you've seen."
Silver Tip related many of the
things John Conwell, genial asso
ciate manager of the Wallowa Lake
lodge, had related the night before
as we slumped comfortably in
large, rustic chairs before a mas
sive fireplace in the lobby.
The lake basin trip, made by a
trail hewn through an area of 33
glacial lakes ranging in elevation
from 7000 to 8500 feet, would have
been the ideal trip had weather
been favorable and had we al
lowed two days instead of one, he
said. Here we would have found
live glaciers extending to the very
edge of troMt-filled lakes. We would
have ridden around or over Eagle
Cap, from the 9675-foot summit of
which we could have seen the en
tire basin with all its lakes. We
could have camped out, over night,
we could have scaled The Matter
horn, 10,004 feet up, the highest
peak in the primitive area.
Other Routes Desirable
Better yet, had we been better
horsemen and allowed three extra
days, we could have traveled the
Lostine-Minam loop and camped
the first night in the lake basin,
from where we could have gone to
Minam lake, at one end of which
is Minam river; at the other end
Lostine river. We could have fol
lowed either of these for some of
the most spectacular scenery in the
Wallowa mountains.
"Oh, you've got to come back,"
said Silver Tip. "You ain't seen
nothin' yet."
Pangborn spied a carpenter's
saw, a fiddle bow and a peculiar
contraption like a hock-shop ver
sion of a collar-bone splint, hang
ing on the wall beside the spice
rack.
HIGHWAY
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- JOSEPH I
pm mm Am- 5
ICE LAKE II I "JiL Jfi
' n"
under the pines and a billion wink
ing stars.
Or, rambled Silver Tip, we could
have chiseled our way along the ad
venturous trail to Ice lake, no fur
ther away from Wallowa lodge than
Aneroid lake. Our route would have
taken us over the most spectacular
horseback trail in the west, the
last mile and three-quarters of
which rises fully 3000 feet Ice lake,
too and his eyes twinkled under
the silver mop of hair teems with
eastern brook trout that are glut
tons for flies, spinners or bait the
entire season. Had we possessed
Silver Tip's vigor and endurance
PNDLbT
Map shows Wallowa moun
tain district trails and points
of interest, while smaller
map shows location of Wat
lowas in state of Oregon.
"Do you play the saw?" he asked
of Silver Tip.
Blushing as well as the weather-
beaten old face could blush he
ventured he could a little bit. Prac
ticed for years, but the saw. was a
mighty hard instrument to master.
Hard, sometimes, to remember
what you started in to play.
"Here, I'll show you." He brought
down She bow and the saw,, which
was of-spSecial steel but used about
the place for sundry construction
and repair jobs. Carefully, he lifted
down the strange contraption,
which, lo, was a harmonica fixed
to a brace designed to fit firmly
around the neck and shoulders to
keep the instrument in place be
fore the lips.
Looked Like Character
Rigged out, Silver Tip looked
like a character from "Banjo On
My Knee." He played, earnestly and
well. The music sounded like the
mountains, which had listened to
the mellow, ng tones of the
saw and the i . .king notes of the
mouth harp for many years. We
could visualize a winter night, snow
as high as the roof, with the wind
and sleet howling a weird accom
panimentand Silver Tip all alone.
It was three o'clock. Time had
passed like magic in Silver Tip's
cabin. It had been like an amazing
dream, or a chapter in an absorb
ing novel.
The rain had not ceased. W
would have to make the hard down
hill trip to the lodge in the same
rain that had softened the trail
and soaked us to the skin as we
ascended to Aneroid lake.
It was with some apprehension
that we mounted our hnrwo. nrnvpil
good-bye to Silver Tip and started
aown me precipitous 6 -mile trail.
Constant hammeriner nf rain vm
bound to soften the trail, we knaw.
Carefully and expertly built, as it
was, mere were places so abrupt
ana so narrow tnat it seemed in
evitable the pounding rain would
weaken it to the point where one
iaise step Dy our horses would send'
us Dluntrtner and rollinsr tn destmo.
tion. .
Finally Safe Again
Finally back on level ground at)
the fOOt Of the trail, the hnnum I
too, breathed a sigh of relief. TheyJ
were anxious to reach their ntAhl!
and we let them run, despite saddle-
soreness 01 wnicn we ail complained,
Harley Hamilton, head guide and
owner of a string of 50 fine saddle
horses, which he rents to recrea
tlonists, met us at the stables. He
was scheduled to make the trip
with us, but business that day pre
vented it Harley, like Silver Tip;
knows mountains, and someday, he
said, he'd show us the lake basin
Ice lake or the Lostine-Minam
country.
Next day we loaded the motorlog
car and started on the 367-mile re
turn trip to Portland. Rounding
calm Wallowa lake, we gazed back
into the towering peaks and bade
a silent good-bye to Silver Tip and
his "Switzerland of America."
HUMAN
CONSERVATION
By LUCY E. RODGERS,
County School Superintendent.
(Reprinted by permission from
the "Sagebrush Chronicle," publi
cation of Camp Heppner, CCC.)
Not long ago, Robert Fechner,
director of emergency conservation
work, said, "With no disparagement
to the huge work accomplishments
of the CCC nor to its collateral ec
onomic and relief aspects, I feel that
the creation and preservation of hu
man values has been and continues
to be the signal service of the CCC
to the nation."
The truth of this statement is
proved by the accomplishments of
the CCC. Nearly 2,000,000 men have
been members of the CCC since its
organization four years ago. These
men came from all walks of life,
from cities, from small towns, from
the rural areas. Some came from
homes where living conditions were
unwholesome and unsanitary, from
families that had never known any
thing but poverty. Some came from
families that had been accustomed
to a good standard of living but were
victims of the depression.
Many of these men had but lim
ited educational opportunities. Some
had become discouraged and dissat
sified with what the schools had to
offer and dropped out. Most of them
were undernourished. Long periods
of idleness had killed their ambi
tions, sapped their energies and left
them indifferent or hostile to every
wholesome influence. Many of them
were on the move "thumbing" lifts
and existing as they could regardless
of the means employed. Crime was
definitely on the increase and these
thousands of unemployed young
men were fast becoming a menace to
the welfare of our country.
Not long ago after the opening of
the camps, it became evident that
the project was a contribution to hu
man conservation. The camps sup
plied a new and wholesome envir
onment. The hard work in the open
air, the abundance of nourishing
food, the association with the mem
bers of the camps, both men and of
ficers, the recreational and educa
tional opportunities and the pride in
being able to take care of himself and
do an honest day's work, have all
contributed to the physical, mental
and moral development of the young
man who has enrolled in the Civilian
Conservation corps. Not only have
they showed a decided development
of the physique, but their attitudes
toward life, toward their fellowmen
and toward the nation have become
immeasurably improved. Many of
them have shown a desire to plan
intelligently for the future, and have
chosen vocations and are preparing
for them.
The educational programs in the
camps have done much to help the
CCC in its problem of human con
servation. More than 50,000 illiter
ates have been taught to read and
write, more than 300,000 have re
ceived instruction in the elemen
tary school subjects, over 200,000
have pursued high school courses
and some 50,000 have taken college
courses. Instruction on CCC work
projects have developed the voca
tional skills of over 1,000,000 men.
These men have also learned the
value of regular habits of living and
of work, and the necessity of good
management.
A review of the CCC educational
program shows the unpreparedness
of our boys and demonstrates the
worthwhileness of the work project.
The fact that 2.7 of the CCC en
rollees have been found to be illiter
ate and 38 of them on the elemen
tary school level indicates that our
American youth is unprepared to
take his place in our great common
wealth as a useful citizen.
The CCC is no longer an experi
ment. It has proven its worth and
usefulness to the unemployed youth
of our land. Surely it should become
a part of this country's educational
program. The possibilities of build
ing youth into a useful and desirable
citizenry should be a major problem
not only to the federal government
but also to our educational leaders
and to everyone. There should be a
closer integration of the CCC edu
cational program and our American
schools.
The greatest service the CCC can
render is to take large numbers of
out-of-school unemployed boys and
prepare them for employment and
citizenship.
The regular living habits, the dis
cipline, the training that comes from
the labor and the educational op
portunities of the CCC cannot but
help give the men enrolled a new
outlook upon life and a better idea
of how to get a job and the necessity
for keeping it.
WHEAT QUALITY GOOD
Five hundred sacks of the new
wheat crop had been delivered at
Lexington Tuesday morning, said G.
J. Ryan, manager Morrow County
Grain Growers at that place. The
wheat, white federation, tested 61
plus, and 10 plus protein content,
with a little extra high moisture
content indicating that it had been
cut a trifle too soon. He expected
that the new crop would be rolling
into Lexington full tilt by the first
of next week.
John Carter, extensive livestock
operator from Long Creek who has
assisted at Heppner"s annual Rodeo
as race timer for several years, was
in the city Saturday on business and
visiting local friends.