EIGHT MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Sunday. May S, 19S7
osk5yw
IPDOimeeir
Cooties
Hornbrook Mrs. Emma C.
Parshall, one of the few remain
ing early-day pioneers of Siski
you county, Calif., whose father
rode with Kir Carson in the days
of the "wild west," celebrated
her 87th birthday at her Horn
brook home recently.
Most of her 87 years have
been spent in Siskiyou county
in or near Hornbrook or Mon
tague. She was born in Henley,
called Cottonwood then, in 1870
in a house on the flats above
Highway 99 near the present
site of the California Division
of Forestry building.
House Burned
When she was seven years old,
this house burned down, and the
family moved into the house
where her son, Emory now lives.
T.ms, ana the brick house, now
owned by Oscar Barnum, were
the only two plastered houses
in Henley at the time.
School in her day, she relates,
was rather a hit-and-miss affair,
the children coming and going
when, and if, they could. She,
however, completed all the
grades then offered. The school
she attended was one of three
in the county, a little red one,,
located on her father's property
at what is now the southeast cor
ner of Highway 99 and Henley
Way. Her father had a big vine
yard adjacent to the school yard,
and every year when the grapes
ripened, he would bring bunches
of them over to the schoolhouse
at recess and between classes.
Gets Education
Her last two years of school
ing were obtained in Yreka. The
first of these two years, her fa
ther took her over in a horse
and buggy, and she boarded with
friends, coming home only infre
quently. An epidemic of the
dread diptheria closed the Yreka
school that year, and she herself
had a bad case of it.
By the beginning of the sec
ond year, however, the railroad
had been completed and she
went over by train on Sundays,
and returned on Fridays.
She has vivid recollections of
her father, and of the colorful
role he played in the history of
the county.
Tells of Father
She relates: "My father, Wil
liam Henry Smith, was one of
the early pioneers of Siskiyou
county. A vigorous, handsome,
spirited man, he was born at
Rochester, N.Y., on Feb. 3, 1832.
His father died when he was
very young, and he was sent to
live with relatives in Michigan
near Detroit. He voted for the
first time when James K. Polk
was elected president. When he
was 14 years old, he crossed the
plains twice from St. Joe, Mo.,
to Santa Fe, N.M., with Kit Car
ton and two of his partners,
Maxwell and McDermott."
"He drove a "ten-mule team
with a jerk-line, hauling whis
key and other provisions. As
they reached various Indian set
tlements, they would have horse
races with the Indians at the in
stigation of Maxwell who was a
gambler and race horse man,
My father, being small then,
and a great hand with horses,
alwavs was chosen to ride in
the races. But the white man's
horses were no match for the
fast little Indian ponies, and the
Indians, who would bet on any
thing and loved races, "took
them every time. .
Angered Maxwell
. "This angered Maxwell, and
on his return to St. Joe, he took
all his money, and bought ' a
fine, thoroughbred, trained race
inirtlh)dtay
n
S" '
ALL IN
THE EAR
What you see m this girl's
ear is Sonotone's new hear
; ing aid complete. "IT'S
WORN ENTIRELY IN
! THE EAR no cord, no
- extra "button." Weighs only
, half an ounce. .
Women's hairdos hide if
completely.' On men, this
amazing hearing aid is
' barely noticeable from any
: j angle.
: COM IN, mONf OR WftiTf. fUt
DEMONSTKATION NO OtUOATfOM
S0N0T0NE
C. R. Adamson, Dist. Mgr.
MO E. Jackson Ph. SP 2-5904
PIONEER HOME The old house above is
one of the first ever built in the Hornbrook,
Calif., area, and is where Mrs. Emma C.
Parshall, 87-year-old Hornbrook pioneer
woman now lives. The home belongs to her
son Emory Parshall. In front of the house,
horse. When they reached the
Navajo country on the next trip
out, Maxwell again promoted a
race, and this time with a fine
mount, father won easily. The
Indians almost lost the whole
Navajo nation to them blan
kets, weapons, food, even some
of their squaws. But when Kit
Carson arrived at the scene, he
would not allow his men to col
lect, and those that had already
collected, he made them return
their loot. When his mule teams
arrived at Santa Fe, he would
trade the mules for cattle and
horses and return to St. Joe and
sell them."
His business depended on the
Indians' good-will, and on this
he had built his reputation as a
square shooter," and there was
no room in his outfits for crooks
or shysters, iatner never iosi
his love for horses."
Rode Horse
"Later, . in his gold mining
days, when he made big money,
he rode a beautiful black horse
named Brigham. When he would
go into a saloon in Yreka, he
would give a boy $20 to hold his
horse for him. On his second and
last trip to Santa Fe, father hired
out to Carson's other partner,
McDermott, and came to Calif
ornia' with him. In Los Angeles,
he met up with. John Hill who
had come out from Illinois, and
together they walked to Hang
town (now Placerville) with
their blankets on their backs and
pushing a wheelbarrow contain
ing pick, pan, and shovel with
which they aimed to make their
fortunes in gold. Arriving m
Hangtown, they heard of a rich
er strike near Yreka, so they set
forth again."
"There were only a few cab
ins in Yreka then, and things
did not look too promising, and,
besides they- had heard of the
discovery of gold in .Henley.
Reaching the mouth of Cotton
wood Creek, just up the Klam
ath river from where Camp Lowe
is located now, a man brought
them across the river in a can
oe, and here they stayed. They
took up mining, and it was their
hydraulics that made all the cuts
in the hills above Henley.'
Had Store .
"Father also had a general
store, blacksmith shop, and
stage express, and was in part
nership with John Hilt in a saw
mill business near their Soda
Bar mine. This was located two
miles southwest of Hilt on the
west branch of Cottonwood
creek, and on the bank of the
creek below the mine, a soda
spring was found, and that is
bow the mine got . its name.
"He sold out his interest in the
sawmill in the early 70's, and
devoted his time to stock rais
ing and farming. It was in this
operation at Sod Bar that the
elephant and mastadon tusks
were hydraulicked out that are
nw on display in the museum
of the Siskiyou County Historic
al Society in Yreka. Hundreds
of Chinese were hired by father
and his partners to work the
mines, and it is not known how
many thousands of dollars worth
of gold were taken out."
"In 1869, father went back to
Michigan and married my moth
er, Ellen Shetler, and they re
turned to make their home in
Henley. When I cam along, he
gave me a middle name of Calf-
ernia, after an old sweetheart of
his back in Michigan. Albert, my
brother was killed when he was
11 years old, in a fall from a
hay wagon in a field across the
road from Oscar Barnum s pace,
Mother was always one to im
prove herself, and she had many
accomplishments. She took tele
graphy lessons, and when I was
seven years old, she took over
the Western Union in Henley.
Telegraph Office
"Her telegraph office was the
room which is now my bedroom.
Mother handled the telegrams
left to right, are Mrs. Parshall's father, Wil
liam H. Smith, an uncle, Deloss Smith, John
Hilt, a cousin, Del Smith, and E. J. Smith,
father of William and Deloss Smith. The re
production above was made from an early
day photograph.
KIRBY CO.
Sales & Service
1028 Murray, Med.
Phone SP 2-8355
(Sjlesnue Needed)
I
State Mouse Avoids
Session Saturday;
Six Fund Bills Pass
OLD LOCK Mrs. Emma C. Parshall, Hornbrook, Calif.,
pioneer woman, points to one of the 100-year-old locks on the
door of her home. A three-inch brass key, which her father
bought when the house was built, is still used by Mrs. Par
shall to lock the house at night. Mrs. Parshall, now 87, was
born in the Hornbrook area, and in the accompanying article
relates many of the experiences she had as a child. Her
father was a friend of Kit Carson.
concerning Black Ban s noia-
up of the stage in the Siskiyou
mountains."
The lock on the door is the
original one installed on it near
ly 100 years ago. One just like
it is on the front door of the
house, . and Mrs. Parshall still
has two huge solid brass keys
each about-tS'i inches long
made for them, and they are
used each day.
White Dress
One of Mrs. Parshall's proud
est possessions is a little white
dress she wore when she was
three years old, and which was
made entirely by hand by her
mother. She also did oil paint
ings, and three of these paint
ings, two of Mt. Shasta at dif
ferent seasons of the year, and
one of the mouth of the Colum
bia river at Astoria, now hang in
the Parshall home. "When I
was a young girl," Mrs. Parshall
said, "another girl and I were
riding on my' saddle mare. As
was proper in those days, we
wore long riding habits, . and
were riding side-saddle. The
saddle turned and I was thrown
from my horse at the corner
where Mollie Cole's house
stands,' and dragged as far as
the cemetery. I didn't seem to
be hurt at the time, but in later
years, a severe spinal injury be
came apparent, and caused my
back to bow in a letter S." Now
she is a tiny little figure not
much more than four feet tall,
white haired, and with her eye
sight failing her the past. year.
Her mind is keen as ever, though
and her spirit young. "Oh just
call me "Emma," she says,
"don't Mrs. Parshall" me
sounds too formal, and "Grand
ma" makes me sound so old." .
'Little Cricket'
' "A favorite nickname for her
among her neighbors is - "Little
Cricket," earned for herself by
her habit of going blackberry
picking and her agility in climb
ing over two gates, going into
the corral where the blackberries
grow. Up until a year ago, this
was a familiar sight each sum
mer. On a visit back to Michigan
as a young girl, she met Wil
liam Parshall, and they were
married Feb. 22, 1888 in Par
shallville, Mich. They returned
to California, and together op
erated a store in Montague
where she worked, behind . the
counter for 21 years. One son.
Emory, was born to them, and he
and his wife Eva now live in the
home Emma came to live in
when she was seven years old,
and where she has made her
home since the death of Mr.
Parshall in 1950.
Her father and mother lived
for several years in Ashland,
Ore., and he lived to be 93. Aft
er her husband's death, her
mother came '4o live with her in
Montague, and she passed away
there on Jan. 4, 1931.
Salem U.R) The Oregon
House avoided its second Satur
day meeting of the 108-day ses
sion by suspending its rules and
passing on six appropriations
bills Friday afternoon.
The Senate also finished its
business and adjourned until
Monday morning.
Joint Ways and Means com
mittee members spent Friday
afternoon cleaning up operation
al budgets for the next bien
nium and recommending out "do
pass" a bill to abolish the three
man board which now runs state
institutions and give control of
institutions to a director of pub
lic institutions to be appointed
by the governor.
Gov. Robert D. Holmes advo
cated the change in government
al structure and the Ways and
Means committee voted 9-5,
mostly along party lines, to sup
port his plan. Sen. Francis Zieg-
ler, Corvallis Republican, voted
with the majority in committee
but will probably oppose the bill
on the floor.
- Sen. Howard Belton, Canby
Republican, failed in a move to
postpone the bill indefinitely.
He was supported by Sen. An
thony Yturri, Ontario Republican.
Yturri argued that control of
institutions by a board was a
wholesome thing for the state.
He said there had been very few
clashes in the board since it
went into operation in 1915 and
that state government had never
been held up by board
squabbles.
Public Would Be Denied
"If the board were abolished,
the public would have no infor
mation on the conduct of state
institutions such as is supplied
by present open meetings of the
board," Yturri said.
He added that the governor
was too busy to attend to all
institutional - ntatters and that
there was always the possibility
that some governor would take
advantage of close control over
institutions to thwart the public
will.
Sen.'. Ward Cook, Portland
Democrat, supported the govern
or's program. He agreed that
Oregon's board government had
been good in the past, but said
it could be improved by closer
executive control and responsi
bility. "Now, a board member can
always point a finger -and say
'Joe did it'," Cook said. The
board is composed of the gov
ernor, secretary of state and
state treasurer.
. Belton said that under the
present board system the press
and public can always attend
meetings and get information on
state problems.
Sheet Metal Workers Set Strike Deadline '
Rep. Robert Duncan, Medford
Democrat, said that the govern
or had the responsibility for run
ning the institutions and should
have the power to act. Duncan
said that if the people objected
to the job the governor was do
ing they could always vote him
out of office.
Recommends Budgets
Operational budgets recom
mended favorably to the House
floor included $2,633,144 for
both Eastern Oregon tubercu
losis hospital and the state tuber
culosis hospital; $204,733 for the
state executive department;
$966,129 for the Department of
Finance; $2,647,000 for the sec
retary of state's office; and $2,-
601,781 for MacLaren School
for Boys at Woodburn.
The MacLaren budget was up
$228,000 but Belton said it was
justified because of increased
enrollment at the school. Also
provided for was a school camp
in Lincoln county.
Other legislative highlights:
Penal institution: The House
approved expenditure of $712,
000 for completion of work on
the first two units of the new
intermediate penal institution to
be built near Salem.-The insti
tution will be designed to reha
bilitate younger prisoners.
Finance: Expenditure of $6,
218,032 by the State Industrial
Accident Commission for the
next biennium was also ap
proved by the House.
Retarded children: Senate
joint resolution 6, calling "for
an interim committee to study
the problems of mental retarda
tion in children was passed by
the Senate.
Forestry: Reorganization, of
the State Board of Forestry to
provide a nine-member " group
appointed for four-year terms
was okayed by the House and
sent to the Senate.
Spokane U.R) Representa
tives of the Sheet Metal Workers
Union . and the Inland Empire
Sheet Metal Contractors Associa
tion met here Saturday with
Federal Me-.liator Louis Ziman in
an effort to reach agreement on
a new labor contract. .
The old agreement expired on
April 30. The negotiations affect
about 550 union members in
eastern Washington, northern
Idaho and northeastern Oregon.
The workers asked for a 28-cent
hourly wage increase. The as
sociation, representing 75 firms,
offered an increase of 14 cents
-an hour with a six-cent hourly
increase for health and welfare
programs. -
Although the strike deadline
was reported to Monday work-
ers at Pendleton; Ore., left their
jobs at 4:30 p.m. Friday and a
spokesman for the group said
the strike was on and workers
would not return Monday un
less a settlement was reached
during the week end.
i :
Western-Allies Issue
Statement on Display
Berlin (U.R) The three
Western Allies issued a joint
statement Friday protesting the
military demonstration of East
Germany's armed forces during
Wednesday's May Day parade
in East Berlin. .
The Communists paraded
units of their 120,000 man army
among the four powers occupy
ing Berlin. -
Two Appointed to
State Livestock Group
Salem (U.R) Dr. Kent Ma
gruder, Clatskaine Demorcat,
was reappointed Friday by Gov.
Robert D. Holmes to a new term
on the. Livestock Advisory com
mittee which he has been serv
ing as secretary. ,
. Gov. Holmes announced the
appointment of C. Alfred Bo-
quist of Tillamook to succeed
Chris Hoffman of Bay City on
the committee which advises
the State Department of Agri
culture on matters relating to
livestock identification and theft
prevent. Terms of both are for
three years.
WEATHER By United Press
. Northern California: Fair Sun
day but patches of fog on coast
in morning.
You See It
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Seattle Gambler
Refuses fo Testify
' Portland tfU.R) Seattle gam
bler Joseph P. McLaughlin re
fused to testify when called as.
a witness Friday in the federal
wire tap trial of racketeer James
B. Elkins and his henchman
Raymond F.-Clark.
The Seattle restaurant and
cardroom operator pleaded the
fifth amendment when question
ed by the prosecution about tape
recording which have been in
troduced as evidence in the trial.
McLaughlin is under several
gambling and conspiracy indict
ments in Multnomah county.
. The tapes purportedly contain'
telephone conversations between
McLaughlin and others, includ
ing District Attorney William L.
Langley. Both Langley and
Thomas E. Maloney, Spokane
racetrack figure, -have testified
about the tapes and have identi
fied the conversations.
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But a home needs protection, too. Could your
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