Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1967)
ii. 6 HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES. Thursday. Sfptcmbor 21. 1967 TO THE EDITOR... Out of the Past To the Editor: For some time I have been reading stones of the past in our home town paper, and I would like to share with the many people a little story of mv own. My father, Percy C. Cox. was the son of Franklin Dee Cox. upper Hinton Creek farmer. Many people will remember Grandpa Cox sitting on a high stool on the platform at the back of the store owned by M. D. Clark, or in later years, on his favorite mount, "Chub." heading the parade with the American flag. He was just about three months short of i0 when God called him home. His parents, Samuel and Har riet Cox, came west by wagon train in 1S4S and while still in his earlv 20 s. Dee Cox came to Heppner. bringing some horses from the valley, and liked it so well he returned to Hinton Creek to spend the remainder of his life. He met and married Elizabeth Havman, and 16 children were born to this union. Three of these were buried on the Cox farm. His sons, Ben and Dee, Jr., still live in Heppner, as does his grandson, Stanley Cox. Per cv. who spent the most of his life near his home, died in 1955. Grandpa Cox rode his horse on the day before he died, and I remember well the stories he told of the Indians watching from the top of the hill while he went about his chores. He told of an attack on a wagon train at the site of the old slaughter house by the bridge above Heppner. On his way to town for supplies he stopped and buried a little three-year-old girl who had been killed. During these times, when the Indians became hostile, he would tie his dog at the house and sleep in the brush along the creek. Many years later when the CCC boys were clear ing brush from along the creek he would not part with his fol iage that had been his protec tion in earlier days. Many Descendants Here Dee Cox' father. Samuel, was a nephew of Joseph Cox. who has many descendant in the Heppner area. Among them are the Gontys, Marlatts, Morgans and Stanley Minor, to name a few. All of this has led up to telling you of a visit to my an cestors. On Wednesday, July 5, 1967, I got into my car in Beaverton and drove to Junction City, ar riving at the Brockner Mikkel sen farm about noon. They were just having lunch and asked me to share with them. Due to a mixup thev were not expecting I me until the followine day. and I they had been spraying trees. Arlene (Mrs. Mikkelseni quick ly showered and changed, and we were off on a visit to our ancestors. Perhaps I should pause here to say that Arlene, like myself, is a great-great-granddaughter of Solomon Cox, Sr., who was born in Tennessee in 1793 and who at the age of 22 joined the Missouri Mounted Militia in the war of 1812, along with a bro ther, Jesse, who was later mas sacred by the Indians in Illi nois. According general's office year was 1814, in Boons Lick, to the adjutant in Missouri, the and they lived Mo., when they entered Sarshel the service under Capt. Cooper. Solomon was a private and he furnished own rations and forage which he was paid $15. He his ! for ' re- ceived $15 for his pay and for the use of his horse. $24 He was the son of Jesse and Margery Cox and besides Jesse he had a brother, William, and a sister. Rebecca. Sometime be fore 1818 Solomon settled in or near Warrensburg, Mo. His wife died before he and his children, Benjamin, William, Harriet (Dee Cox' mother), Ju litha Ann, and Mary started their long trek to Oregon in 1848. Different sensuses show him living with different child ren, and his war records show that he received a pension of $8 per month. He was quite deaf and very disabled by then. Sons Settle in 1851 His sons, Jesse and Solomon, Jr., came to Oregon in 1851, set tled near Junction uty in ihd John also came to Oregon, but I do not know the year. Elijah seems to have stayed in Mis souri. Solomon, Jr., married Di ana Coffie Cox August 4, 1842, in Johnson county, Mo., the same day Harriet Cox married Samuel Standfield Cox, brother of Diana. I am told that Sam uel and Diana were half-cousins to Solomon and Harriet. Harriet died in Silverton, Ore- fever. lived there until his death. Ar lene and Brockner Mikkelsen now own the original land claim and have a very nice Cen tury farm there. - Arlene should have been pull- insr beets but instead we were off on two wonderful days oil seeing people who might tell us about our ancestors and visit ing their homes. First we went to the court house in Eugene and there we found the estate papers of Sol omon, Sr. Jesse had been ad ministrator for his father, and Ben had done the same for Sol omon. Jr. A note to De paia in gold bore the stamp of J. K. gon, in lisbZ 01 lung iever. couia see on ine rigni me iiuie .sse, Benjamin and Solomon, cabin of Emily Cox Carter still Jr., settled around a knoll standing. known as Cox Butte seven miles Merle and Arlene had just re west of Junction City in Lane ceived a letter from a lady in county. After the death of Solo-1 Missoui and we were thrilled mon, Jr., in 1878 his son Jef- over the information it contain ferson Davis Cox or J. D., as ed. Mrs. Ruff, who had written, he was affectionately called, 1 although not of our Cox family, bousht out the other heirs and i had some information of our .Gill's of Portland. Also we wore 'able to settle a little dispute on I the death of Solomon. Sr. Our I information had not gone along with dates on his marker, and it turned out that the marker was in error. Had Been Scout I From there we went to the library where we learned Fen- , jamin had been a scuut. Jesse a second lieutenant, and Willi am also had been in the Cayuse Indian War. Next we visited Mr. and Mrs. Loris Inman. a rvl.i- itive through the Richardson family who had written "The Applegate Trail" for the Lane 'Countv Historian. He loaned us a copy of a book which had In formation on the Richardson family. Pern' Richardson had 'married Julitha Ann Cox on the Platte River on the way to Ore gon. Thev were married Juno 10, ISIS, and I am told had for their wedding breakfast ante lope pie. William married Maty (Pollvt Cox in 1SI;. Mr. Inman showed us how the "Old Trail" .went through Lane county. I Among the names of people who lived along the old trail were Marv Hayes, daughter of Richard Hayes, who married Jo seph Haves and lived in Hepp ner. (I find in the Centennial Historv of Oregon 1S111911 a storv of Joseph Hayes, tormor sheriff of Heppner). There was a John M. Ferguson, born 1S4T. who married Melvina Jane Hin ton, and who also moved to Heppner. Next stop, a Cox neighbor. A verv nice old man of SS years. Yes, he remembers Ben Cox. a verv old man who received six dollars a month pension. He knew best Arlene s grandfather, J. D. He talked of the old har i vest crew run by J. D. They were i quite well known bv all the old timers you meet. We left him then and headed down Frontier Road across the once-covered bridge where J. D.'s 12-year-old son. Solly, had met his death on the wav home from working for a neighbor. His horse got tangled in some wire on a wag on on the bridge, and. accord I ing to the family. "Just knock -!ed his brains out." This was !in 1911. Surrounded by History We passed the cemetery where our ancestors sleep. The gate was locked so we would ' return tomorrow. Further on we turned on to Cox Butte Road. Now we were really surrounded s by history. We opened the gate i and drove up to the old house, got out and walked around iback. Ruth Wolford, another de I scendant of Solomon, had told I me of the old spring house, and ! horp it was 1nt ahead The spring still runs beneatn it, ana couiu dmwi arc me uiu a..u butter sitting in it to keep cool. They were restoring the old barn. Visualize, if you can, 30 ft. beams all hand hewn, the uprights were about 6x6. Think of the ingenuity it took for these old pioneers to raise them. , I couldn't fasten the catch on the door, but Arlene remember ed her grandfather's strange I combination. i Stopping along the Long Tom . we took pictures of the Cox holdings, and from there to the cemetery where we checked once again the many Cox stones. Each generation had laid its loved ones there Now down Frontier Road we turned left and were at the home of Wilda Hostich. also a great great granddaughter of our Solomon, Sr. It was through her I had first met Arlene. She talked to us of our ancestors and we learned that Solomon's wife, Diana, had been captured by the Indians. She wore a gingham dress and she tore pieces and dropped them along the way. She looked back and saw her husband and other rel atives coming, and she wheeled her horse. The Indians threw a tomahawk which hit its mark in the beaver pelts, and her life was saved. WTe went to Harrisburg to the home of Emmett Cook. His grandomther was Julitha Cox Richardson. Once again we headed for Eu gene, and we met Dr. Silvy Kraws, editor of the Lane Coun ty Historian. Later we were off again to meet two very charming young people, Merle and Arline Cox. He was a grandson of William or Uncle Bill Cox. Cabin Still Stands Going west from Junction City we could see Cox Butte in the distance. Out past Cheshire and now each house was or had been owned by the Cox family. We went up this beautiful val ley, pausing only to take a pic ture of Bill Cox' old home. As we turned to our destination we Solomon Cox. Her Solomon Cox, however, was an ancestor of Charles Elbert and Claude Cox, all well known Heppner men. Friday morning Arlene went back to being a farmer's wife, and I headed up the road to- wards home. I had a last glance at Cox Butte, and I paused a little while and chatted with Emmett Cook. He tells me Aunt Polly is the grandmother of the Portland born singer, Johnnie Ray. Now I hit the freeway, leav ing behind me all the wonder ful people I'd met, people who preserve the past as best they ican. They have old lamps, old irons, and old iron teakettle, I old chairs, churns and even a I tar to put the hair combings in to bo used later for pillows. I, even brought home a recipe fori I boot loll. But best of all I ! brought home the memories of pioneers I wasn't privileged to ! 'meet and new-found friends. I! plan to go back and go arrow-1 head hunting on the old land claim. It was thanks to my I cousin, Elsie Stephens, that I, started this hobby and I'm so grateful. Looking up my ancestors can be a very wonderful hobby. You meet wonderful people and your mailbox becomes a treasure chest .filled with records of the past. Yes. I found a horse thief. His pioneer file roads "Bill Cox Horse Thief." but I haven't had the heart to look him up. He might not belong to us, and I think every family should have one. don't you? Sincerely. Frances Cox Griffin tWS5 Highway 217 Beaverton, Oregon Teenagers Dear Wes and Helen Sherman: Thanks for publishing tlu nice letter tront sirs. rraiiK,"1 u mvn-i Barklev. 1 always like to hear wr ws working on the now from old friends. I also like the storage tank in Heppner down letters from Art Crawford. Art I polow the depot at the time lTn came upon the Heppner scene 'n Pacific tO.W.R. & N.) was several years after I showed up converting Its locomotives from as a babv in the year of 1SS5. ! l burning to oil. This was a I still consider Heppner as my ; 01- 'l,;' "1 attracted the cus home town lomary crowd of onlookers, of Mr. Sherman, I think you were raised somewhere near Castle Rock and know what a sleepy little town this Is. The only payrolls here outside the little stores are the public schools. Most people living here either work as loggers or work in Longview at the largest saw mill in the world. The Weyer hauser Timber Co. So, also, this is a town of retired people. Down in my neighborhood, there are more than 20 teen age girls living here, and the only way they can get to the stores or post office is to go right past my front door. A few days ago I began to compare them with the teen age girls of Heppner when I was a ten aior there mvself. Now the eirls dress like boys and seem to I like to be dressed in overalls, i with their shirttails hanging out. I remember four pretty ! girls that lived on upper Main : street somewhere near where ! the old power house used to ; stand. My father's furniture : store was where Ed Gonty's . shoe store is. Next door, south, . was Gilliam & Bisbee's hardware I store. Lou Bisbee and I used to play out back there, but Lou was about three years older than I was. But what I liked i best was to sit out front on the window ledge and watch for four pretty teenage girls, all dressed in white with ruf fled dresses. Their names were, Valajo McAtee, Sadie and Nina Garrigues and red head, Oma Smith. I still think they were the most beautiful girls in the word. I do not know if any of them are still living, but I think Nina is still in the land of the living. Al and Irene (Zinter) Huit, of Heppner and Lexington came to see me. Al has a good job as piano tuner with Korten's music store. Irene called me and said she has a temporary Job there, too. Mrs N. D. Bailey called me from Kelso where she i was vsiting Mrs. Halvorsen, her sister, then she left for Olympian My good old friend, Niamey lmnur, Keeps me posiuu as to things in Heppner. Good old friend, too, as his father was. If Bob Lowe ever comes down this way, I wish ho wouid call here. Sincerely, O. M. Yeager Box 476 Castle Rock, Wash. Cutting Controls To the Editor: The citizens of Oregon have the right to know that the Ore gon Liquor Control Commission I is proposing to throw out most controls and restraints on alco holic beverage advertising. They propose to allow Sunday adver tising, advertising on point-of-sale items (swizzle sticks, etc.), use of sports heroes, testimoni als, children, family scenes, car toons, Christmas, Easter, or nearly anything else that any branch of the liquor industry might dream up. They propose to triple the amount of advertis ing space available at cocktail lounges, etc. They propose that it shall be legal to advertise alcoholic bev erages on billboards anywhere that there are not presently regulations against it outside incorporated cities. The OLCC proposes, Instead a number of "housekeeping regu lations". These will take the place of the legitimate "controls against exploitation" which so ciety has a right to demand. Only a few of the many drastic changes are listed here. The hearing will be at 9:30 a.m. on September 20. Oregon has been fortunate to have strong regulations regard ing advertising and sale of al coholic beverages. Drinks are available to those who wish them, but this is a "Control State". Consumption of alcohol ic beverages is much lower here than in open "licensed states'". It follows that our rates nf al cohol problems are lower. Citizens are urged to write for a copy of the regulations and proposed changes so they can see for themselves. Write to: Oregon Liquor Control Commis sion, P. O. Box 22297, Portland, Oregon 97222. j You have a right to protest abdication of re Sincerely, Andrew G Executive OREGON ALCOHOL . Hauliers, Director OH'NCIl. ON PROBLEMS . . More MOSOUltOCS To the Editor Mosquitoes!! They have brought misery to Man these many vears and the Minnesota "skooters" no doubt rank In feats of achievement that bor der close to the impossible. But 1 bring no dispute here that would tend to tarnish the fine accomplishments of our own in sect )et bombers, such as (lying awav with that tent hack in the land of 10,000 lakes, more or loss. Ah ves, "the land of Skv Blue Waters." Nevertheless I hasten to give the crown to the Venezuelan mosquito. The storv of the groat .mosquito disaster of many years i ago happened in the outskirts of (Caracas, the capital city, when Ian American construction crew i was building a big "lank farm" of tanks to contain the new oil I gushers which were flooding the j landscape. I tie storv was related to me wmcn i napponeu to no to he one. The riveter said he was in side one of the almost complet ed tanks the dav It happened and only the man hole provided ingress and exit. When he real ized what was going on outside he ran and socured the man hole cover. Mosquito beaks were piercing the steel shell of the tank and he busily ran hither and thither clinching down the insect beaks. He said the dark cloud of skeetors swooping down upon the tank when he first looked out must have been numbered in the billions well at least a billion. Only a frac tion of the invading horde at tacked the tank but they must have known there was human blood to be had inside that A thus proposed sponstbllity. Heppner fighting The onslaught hours and finally hours and finally eontlini.'d for he decided to bo redded to man hole and creep through tin link, tank a ttasli awav from the while there was yet a chance for survival, lie had ben riveting down mosquito beaks until lie was most ex hausted. So It was super human effort born of complete desper ation which took hint from the tank, and Just In time, too; for as he looked back the flying drillers were making off with the tank and were already a mile high in the air with it. The riveter said the tank was never found It probably drop pod Into the sen and went down to the bottom, along with the super air carriers which by this time had hi-como exhausted. A most likely story, and like the Minnesota tent episode, who Is to deny It. Hut that riveter should have boon a bit more conservative In his estimate of the number of mosquitoes. A billion that was out of till rea son. Now sav one thousand mil lion that would have boon more creditable. Art Crawford IS520 Kingston Way San Jose, Caltf. Leader Offers 4-H Dog Obedience Class Four II Dog Obedience class es will soon In starting, accord ing to Mrs. Norman Clow, In structor. Any dog can be train ed, but the pot should be at least four months old. Dogs are taught to heol. sit. stay, and come. Included In the lessons will be the proper way to can for a dog. and classes wltl be held at the fairgrounds. A class of this type was hold during the summer and the stu dents put on a demonstration at the fair during the Style Re vue, showing what their pots had learned. Mrs. Clow is also interested in getting In touch with any adults who would like to start a dog obedience class and those Interested can con tact her at t76-92;8. TYPEWRITER Mimeograph available at Times office. RI11BONS and Stenel 1 s now the Gazette 49tfx ESS tank. He was certainly for his very life. MODERN Business Operation Demands QUALITY PRINTING HOW IS YOUR STOCK OF . . . LETTERHEADS & MATCHING ENVELOPES INVOICES STATEMENTS WINDOW ENVELOPES RULED FORMS BUSINESS CARDS PROGRAMS ANNOUNCEMENTS . . . Whatever Your Printing Needs May Be See Ua Guaranteed Satisfaction Prompt Service The Gazette-Times Dealer For Moore Business Forms Mi. Wavel Wilkinaon hoi re turned from ft throe weeks ex tended tr'p to l.nramie and Newcastle, Vo. She took the train to Laramie where she was mol by her two granddaughters and accompanied them to their home in Newcastle. Staving at the home of her son in law and daughter. Mr. and Mrs Francis Oslund, and family, Mis. Wil klnson reports a busy two weeks helping get the two girls roailv for college Carol Sue, a Junior, and Nancy, a freshman, aro going to Colorado Women's College In lvnver for the coin lug year. Mrs. Wilkinson re turned to llermlston bv train, whore she picked up her car and continued homo. Metsker maps of Morrow. Gil Ham. Umatilla, Wheeler em:ntie on sale at the Gazette-Time. IIW The 10th of the Month is The Business-Professional Man's PAY-DAY Alwayt PT Your bills by the 10th of the month. Remember, the war T Pn today. U the war Tu are building your credit record lor the next RED BOOK Credit Bureau of Umatilla County SLOW AND PAST DOE ACCOUNTS ARE COLLECTED BT THE ADJUSTMENT DEPARTMENT. PAT TOUR SLOW ACCOUNTS NOW AND AVOID HAVING THE ACCOUNT TURNED IN FOR COLLECTION Phone 676 Clow Spaniels Place High in Dog Show Mr. and Mis. Norman Cow at tended the Oregon llrlltnny Spaniel Specially Show in Woodburn last week. In which their dogs were entered. Hlack Botitto'n Toitcho, n 1 n year old fenwilo. won the oieit bitch class. The dog ulso took Winner' Hitch and won the Host of Opposite Sex, for which nho captured five imiIiiI toward the 1. utie needs to become a champion. Another dog of the Clows, Ju choir' Brownie Button, won sec ond In American bred bitch class. Need aeratch pads? Got them at the Gnette Time. - 9228
