Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 2000)
Edition M orrow County Fair & R odeo • Heppner Gazette-Tim es, W ednesday, A ugust 9, 2000 Dorris Graves 2000 Fair and Rodeo Grand Marshal therefore the Wilcox girls were cars at the depot and "wheeled" natural candidates for rodeo motorized equipment to the royalty roles. A sister, Eva service shed. Wilcox-Brosten, now deceased, When the war ended the family was the 1929 Heppner Rodeo returned to Morrow County Queen and Dorris and Kay where they raised wheat and Bisbee were her princesses. shorthorn cattle for 10 years Dorris and John Graves were while ranching in the Sandhollow married at lone in 1928, just area. They rejoined the before the "boom and bust" years Lexington Grange and led 4-H and the Great Depression. They clubs. John was superintendent farmed in the Heppner area when of beef cattle at the fair and "sheep skin" script was used as Dorris was superintendent of local, legal tender when the different home economic banks closed. Teachers were paid departments during fairs. Like by script which could be sold to their mother, daughters JoAnne, money lenders at a 10 percent Betty and Rieta were Fair and discount. Of necessity, most R o d e o princesses Dorris Graves families like the Graves had to (representatives from the By Merlyn Robinson depend largely on home-grown Lexington Grange) during the Appropnately selected for the food produced from gardens, middle 1940s and into the 1950s. year 2000 is the Morrow County milk cows, chickens and farm Their son, Deane, and their girls Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo animals. Dorris recalls the were active 4-H participants. Grand Marshal Dorns Graves, a drought years that reduced wheat Along with her commitment to descendant of Oregon Trail yields to the point where 10 Home Extension, 4-H and school pioneers. bushels per acre was considered activities, Dorris was an active Her lifetime of many a good crop. In some fields, participant in the agendas of the accomplishments in agriculture rodents harvested what little Livestock Growers and the and home economics fields is a gram did develop. Later here was CowBelles, helping to promote lasting legacy that will J>e also a Morman cricket invasion beef. She also worked on farm remembered as striving to that worked their way southward programs to further Soil and improve rural lifestyles and into what fields, stripping Water Conservation practices. preserving a way of life that vegetation as they came. She joined the "Association of stems from her pioneering She also recalls when public County Women of the World" to heritage. works programs began in the gain in-depth knowledge about Dorns, the third child of Robert 1930s. The Civilian Conservation agriculture in other parts of the Wilcox and Ethel Eskelson- Corps gave unemployed young world. Wilcox, was bom in Morrow men, mostly from large cities in In 1954 the family purchased a County, January 1, 1911, near the past, jobs at low wages. At cattle and wheat ranch on Rock Willow Creek close to Heppner they were stationed in Creek near Hardman that Lexington. In 1915 the family barracks buildings located on the continues to be managed by her moved to Oakland, Oregon, near present fairgrounds. These men grandsons and families. Always the Calapooyia River for a year worked at conservation the busy person, she continued before relocating at Klamath measures, building dams and working with Home Extension, Falls. She was indoctrinated into cleaning creek charnels to 4-H , the Wheat Growers, a rural, 4-H way of life at an prevent flooding as well as CowBelles, the Rhea Creek early age by parents that were working on mountain projects. Grange and the fair and rodeo. active 4-H leaders. When WWII boosted the John Graves was the recipient of The Wilcox family returned to slowly recovering economy in the Willow Creek ranch in the 1940s the Graves family numerous awards from the Wheat League, Livestock Morrow County when Dorris was moved to Hermiston. John was a Growers and the Soil and Water 11 and 4-H continued to be an guard at the Umatilla Ordinance Conservation agency, along with important part of her growing-up Depot dunng the war years. serving 12 years as a Morrow years. She attended school at Dorris, who was still involved in County Grain Growers board Lexington, playing tennis, home extension and 4-H, joined member. Unfortunately he passed basketball and taking part in the Oregon Women's Ambulance away from a major heart attack other school activities. Summers Corps and stayed on active duty in November 1965. were spent herding cattle on until the end of the war. She Doris never let her grief slow horseback in Blue Mountains in drove fifth-wheel vans loaded •her down. She was appointed by the Cutsforth Park area. Horses with bomb fins, transporting the Morrow County Court to the were a part of her everyday life, them from the igloos to railroad County Planning Commission prior to the passage of the land use controls, serving in that position for 12 years. She received the "Women of the Year" award in the 1970s and received state and national awards for her work in 4-H and home extension. She served three years as director of District 7 for Home Extension at the state level, focusing on the development of subject material for county extension groups. As one of four voting delegates from Oregon to attend the triannual meeting of Associated Country Women of the World, she traveled to Perth, Australia, for the 1974 conference. As a home extension member representing land grant colleges in the United States, she was a qualified voting delegate on the board of The United Nations. Recognized for her dedication to rural affairs, she was appointed by Governor Tom McCall to the Oregon State Soil and Water Commission, holding this position for eight years. Adding to the jewels in her crown, Dorns was honored with the "Diamond Jubilee Pioneer" award in 1984 by Oregon State University. Without resting on her laurels, she spent the 1980s traveling the United States to gam a broader prospective. Then she decided to spend winter in Mesa, Anzona, where she could continue to play golf or billards, pursue crafts or bask in the sunshine. She enjoys traveling back- roads to visit national parks or scenic sites when traveling south in the fall and returns to her roots in Morrow County for the summers. Family has always had top priority with Dorris and she now enjoys her 12 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and three great, great "triple grand" grandchildren. "Hats O ff' to the 2000 Morrow County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo Grand Marshal Dorris Graves. Influenced by her pioneering heritage she has dedicated her life to improving and preserving a rural lifestyle for generations yet to come. POLARIS SNOWMOBILES & ATVs • Full Service •Certified Mechanics We also have clothing & accessories! Morrow County Abstract & Title, Co., Inc. 269 North Main Street • P.O. Box 576 Heppner, Oregon 97836 COMPLETE TITLE & ESCROW SERVICE Locally Owned & Operated Since 1929 Phone: 1 -541-676-9912 or 1 -800-436-9912 Fax: 1-541-676-9951 WELCOME T O THE FAIR & R O D E O ! Agricultural Testing EXPERTS IN THE LAB! EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD! A G R I - C H E C K , INC. AGRICULTURAL TESTING LABORATORY Experienced in Farm Equipment Repair LEXINGTON MACHINE WORKS 405 W Main Street Lexington. 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