IIKITNKU (OKE.) GAZETTF.-TIMKS, Thursday. AugUKt 2. 1973
Little Butter Creek
waggart' Ranch has new owners
Jl'STINK WKATIIKRFORD
Gerald and Violet Swaggart
are leaving Little Butter
Creek and the 5,200 acres on
which three generations of
hard riding Swaggarts have
worked cattle and harvested
alfalfa and wheat.
The new owners, Ron and
Beverly Lewis, are also acqu
iring the Swaggarfs 13,000
acres of leased Boise-Cascade
land in the Meacham area
which the Swaggarfs cattle
have grazed since l9. The
Lewises are cattle ranchers
from Enterprise who will soon
be bringing their grade school
age son and daughter with
them to get settled in the
attractive home the Swag
garts built a few years ago.
The Swaggarts have pur
chased a place five miles east-by-north
from Pendleton
w'here they will live just
across the Umatilla River
from their daughter, Gerald
ine Shroll, and her three sons.
The Swaggarfs other daugh
ters, Loraine and Christine,
are each the mother of a son
and a daughter.
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are also
buying the Swaggart cows
that are now summering on
the leased mountain pastures.
Gerald and Violet are retain
ing their calves. The Lewises
will be moving their cattle
from Wallowa County to
Morrow this fall.
Both Gerald and Violet are
from "crossed-the-plains"
pioneer families. Gerald was
born at Enterprise and came
to Butter Creek as a five-year-old
when his father, Frank
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HOME FRUIT DRYER
With owr plom ond inrwcion,
you ton ok your own fruit
dryf Ming iolirog. porti and
inpntiv nolool. Only bi
nary ooli " nquini. Driod
pwclni, pwn ond opp) torpau
any eondy mod. lor bng mny
dliK. Thit witt hoi a taroo
capacity ond will cat jwet a
dollar, to b.iW. Copl pl"
and inttnKhoni ore $3-00.
TKRIFTWAY
P.O. Box 914
Prove, Utah S4601
Swnggart. purchased the
nucleus of the present ranch
in 1916. Gerald went to closehy
Pleasant Point School and to
Heppner High School.
Violet llinton'8 family
moved from Ukiah to the
place just north of Heppner
where the Norman Clows now
live when she was in high
school. Her father. Will
Hinton, made his home with
Violet and Gerald on Butter
Creek until his death at
Christmas. 1972.
All the Swaggart were
skilled horsemen. Their three
daughters were princesses
and queens of several rodeos.
Gerald enjoys recalling the
old every-other-weekend Lena
Rodeos which pre-dated Hepp
ner's fair and rodeo.
The Swaggarts have enjoy
ed several interesting trips in
the last few years. They saw
much of Mexico with their
travel trailer; Gerald flew to
Taiwan with a load of cattle
last fall; they recently travel
ed about the San Juan Islands
and British Columbia waters,
boating and fishing and watch
ing white salmon being
caught.
Three generations of Swag
garts have gathered an unus
ual assortment of bone and
stone Indian artifacts from
their acres. Little Butter
Creek must have delighted the
native Americans as it still
pleases its present-day resid
ents. The little old cemetery
north of the Swaggart -Lewis
place that joins the shell of the
old Pleasant Point Grade
School contains several
graves of white men who were
Mr. and Mrs. David Paul Denning are at home in
Ashland following their marriage there on July 7. Mrs.
Denning is the former Judith Dee Jones, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Marcel Jones.
Lively Story Time j
1-1:30 p.m. at the Library j
Every Monday j
thru July and August j
Children 4
killed in buttle by the Indians.
Several old letters give
interesting facts about the six
generations of Swaggarts who
have lived in Oregon. Gerald's
great-grandparents, the Nel
son Swaggarts, were pioneers
in the Athena area, and the
home place there is still in the
family. His aunt, Blanche
Flews of Astoria, and uncle,
Wayne Swaggart of Bellevue,
Wn., own it.
One letter relates how his
niaternal great -great
grandfather, George Wash
ington Harper, was "a school
mate of Abraham Lincoln's in
Illinois."
Gerald's great-grandparents
crossed the plains in
1S53 to the Willamette Valley.
They left the valley in 1878 and
settled on government land
two and one-half miles north
of Athena, where they had a
family of 16 children, each of
who they named after a
famous person they admired.
Their son. Abraham Lincoln
(called "Line") Swaggart,
was the father of Frank and
INVITATION TO
A WEDDING
Mr. and Mrs. Robert C.
Shuman and Mr. and Mrs.
Ray Johns are inviting their
friends and relatives to attend
the wedding of the Shumans'
daughter, Marie, to Tim
Corwin, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Johns.
The wedding will take Dlace
at the Nazarene Church in
Heppner, Aug. 4, at 10 a.m.
A reception will follow at the
Shuman residence.
- 8 years
the brother of Gerald's great
uncle. Benjamin Franklin
Swaggart, who settled at
Swaggarts Butte east of
Lexington where he became
noted as the breeder of
unusual horses and Kentucky
Jack mules. His Cremoline
horses were outstanding and
won many prizes.
Two of Gerald's great aunts
married prominent Pendleton
men. Louisana became Mrs.
William Matlock and Rosetta'
Along Duller
A very special day along the
creek is Aug-4, the birthday of
Phebe Thomson Bartholo
mew. This year she is 99 years old.
She is the oldest graduate of
Oregon College of Education,
and is a real pioneer heroine.
She was born along lower
Butter Creek in 1874 and was
one of the boatload of women
and children who were sent to
The Dalles during the Indian
scare of 1878.
Since 1971 Mrs. Bartholo
mew has lived at the Good
Samaritan Center in Hermis
ton. She frequently visits at
the Jasper Myer Ranch which
she and her husband, Judge
Charles Bartholomew, found
ed and built up.
She enjoys her daughter,
Lila Myers, grandson Jerry
and her great-grandchildren
who live on the place. Her
other children are Mary (Mrs.
Arthur Sether). Faye (Mrs.
Marion Finch) and Oscar F.
Bartholomew.
Ron and Judy Currin and
their sons Ron, Tony, Mike
and Steve, recently returned
from a 10-day Canadian vaca
tion. They all enjoyed the
Calgary Stampede, and had a
visit with Ron's Heppner
schoolday friend, Larry Lov
gren, and his family at
Barratts here
from Arizona
Mr. and Mrs. Garnet Bar
ratt of Mesa, Ariz., are in
Heppner this week on their
annual summer visit.
The Barratts have extensive
land and property holdings
here. He was county judge of
Morrow County from 1949 to
1958, and before that was a
county commissioner for two
and a half years. He is also a
past president of the Chamber
of Commerce, and once
served in the Oregon Legisla
ture. The Barratts will be here
untill Friday. They left here
for Mesa, Anz., in 1961.
FIND
1
OF THE
WEEK
Si
i
Silverplated duck bank
with knitted scarf and
cap. Blue for boys.
Pink for girls. Fill
it up and have a
Quacking good time
spending the
Ston Heart: t A.M. to ".K.
177 MAIN ST. HEFPNEH
PH. 178-9200
2
VT JEWELERS
married CArl Wheeler.
Gerald and Violet have been
"Involved" citizens of this
county. Gerald served for
many years on the rodeo
board; he has been active in
both county and state cattle
men's associations; and as a
member of the Heppner Elks
Lodge.
Violet, an always busy
ranchwife and mother, is a
past-president of the Morrow
County CowBelles Club.
Creek
Kamloops, B.C. Daughter
Jenifer stayed with Grandma
and Grandpa, the George
Currins, but will probably
want to go along next vaca
tion. The Brosnan Ranch above
Lena has had many visitors
recently. Mrs. Brosnan's
brother, Larry Good, and Mrs.
Good came from California;
son Dan Brosnan and wife
Doris and children, Damon
and Darci, came from Gol
christ; and daughter Joann
Robison's three children,
Craig, Susie and Shawn from
Portland, have had good visits
with their great-grandmother
Zeta Brosnan, and grand
parents, Jerry and Marian.
This week lucky Craig has
accompanied his grandpar
ents up to their summer
pasture where they will trailer
camp until next week.
MARQUARDT, OWEN
Friends are invited to the
wedding of Billee Marquardt
and Ira Owen on Aug. 18 at
1:30 p.m. in the garden of her
grandparents, Mr. and Mrs.
Truman E. Messenger, in
Lexington.
The reception will follow in
the garden also.
Billee is the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Bill Marquardt of
Lexington and Ira is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Owen of
Eagletown, Okla.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Heard, accompanied by their
grandsons, Gard and Chris
Becker of Gold Beach, were in
Joseph over the weekend.
They enjoyed the gondola ride
to the top of Mr. Howard.
The Golden Age annual
picnic will be held Aug. 7 at
6:30 p.m. at the Library City
Park. The picnic will be
potluck but coffee and punch
will be furnished.
proceeds
$8
"SooMthlag Iran Um (owoten
ii always omclbina pockrt"
V,..-. ;
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.'St -- ''''
Localites at Chief Joseph Days
Morrow County Rodeo
Queen Jeanne Daly and her
Court attended Chief Joseph
Days, Joseph, Ore., July 25-26.
This year the queen and her
court were not judged, as they
moooDonnnnnt n ir
You're invited to welcome members of the
Japan-Oregon Teen Exchange
at a Potluck Dinner
Friday, Aug. 3, 6:30 p.m.
At the Morrow County Court House
This is a get-together to afford
residents of Morrow County to meet
and welcome 12 young Japanese
students who are in the area to
further their language education
and promote international under
standing through the home-stay
experience.
Bring a dish of food and meet
the Japanese students.
Host families for the students
in this area, and who will be
present, are:
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Bennett,
Heppner; The Swansons, lone;
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Davidson,
Lexington; Mr. and Mrs. Roger
Palmer, Heppner; Mr. and Mrs.
Leonard Toll, Heppner; Mr. and
Mrs. Delbert Piper, Lexington;
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Sargent, Heppner;
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Meyers, Heppner;
Mr. and Mrs. Del Larue, lone;
Mr. and Mrs. Roland Bergstrom, lone;
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Laughlin, Heppner;
Mr. and Mrs. C.R. McElligott, lone.
The Bank of Eastern Oregon presents
this invitation as a public service.
nANK OF
UjZastern Oregon
n
21:
Front view of the Swaggart home showing the chimney
with their brand, the utility S. or Bent Bar S.
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Violet and Gerald Swaggart trace their most recent
travels to Canada on a map at their home on Butter
Creek.
have been in past years.
Floats and other parade units,
however, were judged.
Some of the local people
were among the winners. Cliff
Adair, Pendleton, and Roice
Fulleton, Heppner, teamed up
MlflKKB iottiiiMxron
rxsxxUi cxrccrr xxitnuurcz cotfOtUTios
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to win first place in the team
roping event, in the second
go-round.
V
Patti McCoin, lone, was aiso
a contestant in the barrel
race.
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