Story of Flood Told in Rhyme
(Editors Note: The following poem, written by tho late
Charles J. Dcvln, was furnished to Tito Giurlti'-Tlmin by Clair I
11. fox of CorvullU, who obtained it from the widow of the author.
It U printed In commemoration of tho tkiih. anniversary of the
lieppner Hood. In Mipplvtng It to the paper. Mr. Cox Mutes, "My
Impression Ik thut Mr. uevin was a brother to lieppner lute city
in archill, r. iM'vln. and an uncle to llurlnn Uevin. a leading Ion-
don mercantile owner and exlleppner lad. Harlan wan a classmate
of Judge Jones, Terrel Bengo and myself, as well as others In
the liC'U lit ppner High class).
MT HOME TOWN
I have a storv I want to tell,
Of lieppner, mv home town, and how It once fell
It wax June the Mill, the Year of 1U03.
That awful picture 1 still can see
It wns a Sundar evening, Just about six.
The skies were darkened with clouds black and thick
There was thunder and lightning, rain and hail poured down.
A terrible flood swept thru the town
Trees were uprooted, bridges went out.
Buildings destroyed and scattered about
Where the cloudburst fell on the uplund farms,
It took out fences, sheds, and barns
Rome of the things that happened In my home town
So in the month of July, VX2,
I fully decided that Is what 1 would do
So UiU is my story lor those who didn't see,
The lieppner Flood In 1903
In !Mi3 1 was twenty-four,
Now I can add fifty more
So you see I am getting old.
And now I am clad my story U told.
CIIAS. DEVIN
Margaret Marks Writes
Of Visit to Fon Compound
All kinds of debris came floating down,
Lodging in various parts of the town
Many kinds of wreckage piled high and wide,
All around on every side
I am telling you It was an awful spill,
The water spread from hill to hill
One thousand eight hundred people composed the town,
About three hundred of them went down
Injuries were sustained to many more.
Who miraculously ecsaped death, and floated ashore
Matlock and Kelly, two Heppnerites
Made a. daring ride that very night
They were highly commended for not being slow,
To think of tho danger to the people below
They saddled their horses and took out around,
To warn the people In the neighboring town
They beat the flood to the city line,
Warning the people In plenty of time
They quickly responded to the call,
But the water had receded and their loss was small
Perhaps it's hard for those to understand,
Who don't know the lay of the land
Willow Creek curves thru the town,
That is where the main flood followed down
The west part of town is not so low,
The homes out there didn't go
But most of those along the stream,
It wiped them out, slick and clean
We gathered up a little crew,
There were so many things we would have to do
Soon when the main flood passed thru,
We started out with our little crew
We made It over to the creek,
The sight we saw would make you sick
I took one look and at a glance,
I knew my friends and schoolmates had no chance
Fathers and mothers, husbands and wives,
Looking for dear ones who had lost their lives
Dead animals lying around.
Where human bodies were being found
Some soaked with water all spattered with mud,
Clothes torn to pieces and covered with blood
Others in wreckage jammed in tight,
Covered all over and out of sight
Some so badly beaten, crushed and bruised,
Their identification was quite confused
It was hard for relatives sometimes to tell,
Only by clothing, or marks they knew so well
Personal belongings here and there,
Lots of jewelry and silverware
I mentioned before our crew was small,
But volunteers soon answered our call
The following day just about ten,
They poured into town both women and men
They brought their equipment, tents and supplies,
And were working next morning before sunrise
When they got their tents all staked down,
It would make you think of an army town
Farmers came in and brought their teams, '
To tear down wreckage and heavy beams
Around the morgue was a heart rendering sight,
Crowds of people day and night
Watching for a lost one, shedding tears,
Over someone, they had loved for years
For the worker in the morgue it was a mess,
So many bodies to clean and dress
The carpenters, too, had quite a task,
Bodies were being picked up so fast
It kept them busy night and day,
Making boxes to lay them away
The crew at the cemetery worked very hard,
But never complained of being tired
The hacks and hearses were on the go,
From the morgue to the cemetery, to and fro
The sheriff was busy night and day,
Keeping the looters scared away
Doctors and nurses were on the run,
Rendering aid to the injured ones
There are so many miracles a flood can do,
I can hardly explain them all to you
It would pick up buildings large and tall,
Break them to pieces and let them fall
And some of the small ones close around,
It never moved them off the ground
There was one big drift we tore down,
Lodged against the depot, at the North end of town
I will mention some of the things in there we found,
Scattered all through, from the top to the ground
There lay a Chinaman with a broken neck
We climbed on top to make a check,
We pulled off some boards and part of a floor,
And under them lay two bodies more
I can't recall how many bodies we found,
As I remember, three in the drift and two on the ground
Household furniture of most every kind,
From top to bottom now and then we would find
Farm machinery, both old and new,
Some good, and some broken in two
A saddle and harness all tied in a knot,
Nails and staples washed down from a hardware lot
Money boxes and kiddies' banks,
In broken up furniture and under planks
Lots of dead chickens, mice and rats,
A couple of dogs and several cats
Two barrels of bottled beer had floated down,
From a wrecked saloon in the main part of town
That was a miracle how it got through,
Not a single bottle broken in two
The beer was cold and looked very good,
But the boss shook his head and we all understood
Lots of miscellaneous articles large and small,
Just toe many, to name them all
I think I have surely said enough,
So you can see a flood doesn't bluff
As I recall it was about a week,
Before the main search for bodies had reached its peak
Still there were a few around,
Somewhere yet to be found
Now with ail the wreckage torn down,
There was lots of work to clean the town
It certainly was an awful scene,
It took months to get it clean
The work was slow with team and men,
There were no trucks and tractors then
Now just before I end.
Those volunteers I do commend
So 1 often thought I would write down.
ltd. Note: This is another
In a series of articles written
by Margaret Marks, Heppner
High school graduate, who has
been with her parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Lcs Marks, In Cam
eroon, Africa).
By MARGARET MARKS
One of the most interesting
visits that I have made since
being In Cameroon was when I
visited the Fon of Mankon's
compound, Mankon. Bamenda
A Fon In this country can be
compared to a feudal king of
a past century. He has hundreds
of subieets, owns a great deal
of land, wealth, and power. This
particular Fon even has his own
representative in Parliament.
When we arrived at the com
pound we were disappointed to
hear that the Fon was away but
we were welcomed by his chief
clerk. Charles. In the inner
courtyard were flowers and rock
gardens, not quite what one
would expect. The first formal
ity was to be introduced to the
Fon's mother, a gracious worn
an in ceremonial dress. Her garb
was a long blue robe and around
her neck she wore two strings
of the porcelain slave beads,
which are a symbol of the past.
She kept repeating the word
"Welcome," as she doesn't sneak
English only her native Man
kon language.
Then we were taken to the
Council Room where the elders
were seated. Four of them were
in their native dress of hand-
embroidered robes, with necklaces-
which symbolized their
place in the community. Tho
other threi were in slacks and
white shirts. They were discuss
ing in Mankon and drinking
calm wine from native cuds
which are hollow cattle horns.
If there are problems to be
settled in the compound they are
brought betore the elders. II the
elders deem it important enough
to be presented to the Fon, then
the person who brought the
problem may gain an audience
with the Fon upon presentation
or a calabash or palm wine.
Later we were given a tour of
Physical Exams
Due for Incoming
1st, 9th Graders
Oregon School Law requires
all incoming first and ninth
grade students to have a pre
school physical and dental ex
amination, and to present the
completed forms at school at the
beginning of the school year, ac
cording to Mrs. Lowell Chally,
R. N., Morrow County Health
Department.
Parents are asked to have the
required physical and dental ex
amination done promptly, thus
allowing ample time for any cor
rective work, if indicated, be
fore school begins on Spetember
3.
The Oregon Pupil Medical
Record of "Goldenrod" forms
will be distributed to each school
where possible to kindergarten
children and eighth graders.
forms will also be available in
physicians' offices and the Mor
row County Health Department.
Birth certificates are required
oi nrst graders. Application
forms are available in the local
health department office and
will be mailed upon request.
Telephone .676-9911 between 8:00
a.m. and 12:00 noon dailv for
lurther information. -
Marine Corporal
Serves in Vietnam
Marine Lance Corooral ' Don.
aid D. Troxell. Jr.. son of Mr.
and Mrs. Donald Troxell of
bpray, ore., is serving with
force Logistic Command, head
quartered at Camp Books, eight
miles northwest of Danang,
vieinam.
He is helping to provide lo
gistic support for the 80,000
marines ana otner inendly for
ces fighting in the five north
ernmost provinces of South Vietnam.
POWER
CONTROL
ELECTRIC MOTOR SERVICE
WE REPAIR:
Electric Motors
Power Tools
Hydraulic Jacks
Alemite Equipment
421
S. E. 4th Pendleton
Phone 27S-5862
the remainder of the compound.
The Fon's Palace was out-of-bounds
but Charles told us of its
history.
The palace which stands 15
feet high was constructed In
1918. It Is made of bamlsoo with
rafia palm mats for the inner
walls. The roof Is made of grass
and It is the only part ot the
building that has been added
to since its original construc
tion. New layers of grass are
added every few years and the
roof Is now over four feet thick.
The outer courtyard has the
wives hou.ves. Below them is the
fish pond, the plantation, a huge
vegetable garden, and a uiir
farm. Plans are now in progress
to start a chicken farm also. The
I-on has over 100 wives who do
all the work In the compound
However, only the head wives
are allowed to prepare his food
enter his palace, and they make
the everyday decision of run
ning the compound. The head
wives even decide which wife
will sleep with the Fon.
This particular Fon is prog
ressive in that he tries to send
most of his children at least to
primary school and the boys on
to secondary school. He has
started a library in the com
pound which is comprised of all
American books.
The Fon personally invited
our family to come and stay in
the guest house on the com
pound for a week-end. I am
looking forward to living in that
atmosphere for three days.
THE "
HEPPNER
GAZETTE-TIMES
Heppner, Oregon 97836, Thursday, June 13, 1968
Sec. 2
Many Residents Entertain Guests
By FRANCES ROSE WILSON
(Held over from last week)
IRRIGON Mr. and Mrs. WII
nam Craybcal drove to Walla
Walla last Wednesday and visit
ed their son-in-law and dauuh
ter. Mr. and Mrs. Dale Shingle
decker, Ricky and Randy. Mr.
Gravbeal remained In Walla
Walla while Mrs. Grnybeal went
on to Salem to visit another
son-in-law and daughter. Mr.
and Mrs, Bill Allen, Larry, Lin
da ana uayie. The Aliens ure
former Irrigon residents. While
in Salem, Mrs. Graybeal attend
ed Larry Jr.'s high school grad
uatlon.
Miss Ruth Miller, a mission
nrv nurse from Durbln, South
Africa, was an overnight guest
of the W. F. Coy family. Miss
Miller has been In missionary
wont ior i years.
Mr. and Mrs. Gene Berg hnd
Ronnie of Vancouver. Wash..
were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Al
bert Part low and Sherrill sever
al days the past week.
Mrs. Allyn Hobbs of Rancho
Cordova, Calif., visited at the
Floyd Hobbs home. While here
she attended graduation exercis
es which included Byron Hobbs.
On Sunday the family traveled
to Tho Dalles where Mrs. Hobbs
remained to visit an aunt.
The Little League parents are
planning a smorgasbord dinner
on June J3, at b p.m. at the
A. C. Houghton cafetorium. Pric
es will be S1.25 for adults, 75c
for students and 50c for pro
school children, or $4.00 a fam
ily. There will be a game ihat
day between the Braves and the
Indians. The score for Saturday's
game was the Braves 26 and the
Yankees 8. A game is schedul
ed for each Saturday. i
Mr. and Mrs. David Rand, they
Janet and Nancy were guests of
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Balle
Kami, recently, Tho Rands live
in Portland.
Guests In the home of Mayor
and Mrs. Chester Wilson recent
ly Included their son and fam
ily. Mr. and Mm. John Wilson
Tommy and Jerri of Seattle.
They were en route to Boise.
Idaho, to spend several days
with her parents. Mr. and Mrs.
Earl Wittell.
Others visiting were a broth
er. Joe Wilson with his wife
Phyllis and son Steve of port.
land, and Mrs Lois Land.
Kelll Snyder and Leon Wil
son of Irrigon and Ronald Ba
ker and Rick Partlow of Board
man received scholarships to
4-H Summer School at Orepnn
State University at Corvallis
this year. They will meet the
lieppner bus near Boardman ni
June 10 and make the trip with
other Morrow county young peo
ple to Corvallis. The Summer
school will be the week of June
10-16.
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Arl.nrw
and family took a vacation trip
to Long Beach. Wash., where
dujr elnms. They traveled
on to Government Mineral
Springs, Wash. They encounter
ed rain at both places. They
then toured Horsethlef Lake and
visited relatives In The Dalles.
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Jones and
Tammy of Prineville visited the
Pete Richards family.
Mrs. Daniel Creamer Joined
her husband at Sacramento
Calif., this week where she will
seek living quarters for tho fam
ily in preparation to movlno
there In the near future.
SPECIAL
Combination Pickup
Tool and Gas Tank Boxes
for Narrow and Wido Box
PICKUPS
Northrop Steel
Fabricating Co.
Hermlston McNary Hwy.
Phono 567-S757
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
That the co-partnership known as
Red Cloud Lawn and Tree Service
has been dissolved.
-LELAND W. ROSS
Box 429
Burns, Oregon
r ,
K.V-v.-,r :
m
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