Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 14, 1959)
. . 5 ".,8 e s . .e - Q MA It THIBUNI, Medford, Or. Smulay, June 14, 1939 d by CmsllDdi'SQp 12 JDim Early-Day Travel Kept Schools in County Smaller (Editor's not: Clarence Daviee, English and jour nalism instructor at Eagle ' Point High school, recently compiled a history of the Eagle Point district in con nection with Oregon's Cen tennial. (Excerpts of the history, which is in detail about the various districts since 1854 to the recent consolidation, are included In the follow ing article.) - ; By CLARENCE DA VIES . Eagle Point Instructor J The recent consolidation of the Elk-Trail, Shady Cove and ; Eagle Point school districts brought together some of the oldest school units into one of j the largest districts in Jack , son county. The consolidation into dis ' trict 9 is the reverse of the practice in earlier days when the few original districts t tended to break up into frag ' ments. Settlements then fol i lowed river bottom or foot , hills, and when a community became large enough to feel the need for a school, a new " district reaching intd the hin terland would be organized. Small districts were neces sary because it was not possi ble to travel tar over the ' poor roads and sticky mud. InJ 5 fact, schools were rarely held ' in the winter and common , 1 practice was to run two short .-. terms spring and autumn. Teaching Tough Teaching must have been a J tough business, in the pioneer atmosphere as rarely .did the I same teacher remain for a second term. - Records-show early enroll ments in the Eagle Point area were extremely large, sometimes reaching 100. Against this is the moderate average daily attendance of 15 or 20 students. - . The first district in the area was formed in 1854, the same year as Jacksonville school ' ! district No. 1, under the name " of Butte Creek school. It was ' designed to embrace the re C gions north of Butte creek - from the Rogue river east to a point a mile past the meri- dian line, and it extended as far- north as the mouth of ' Trail creek. The town of Eagle Point did not exist and that name was not applied to the school district for many years. All the present town site lying southeast of Butte creek was a part of the Antelope, in- - eluding the region where the school now stands.1 ; Petitioned Back- - - - In 1877,- these parcels of I land, known as the Fryer and Emery donated land claims, - were petitioned back to Eagle Point. The petitions seeking ' the transfers came out of ' Butte creek and the Antelope V- districts and contain , many names famous in the region's history, such as Inlow, Booth by, Daley, Mathews, T ink ham, Taylor, Potter, Rader, . Lewis, Hurst, Culbertson and . Mayhami. Data in the county school i office indicate that the first school house was up Little Butte about three miles from the present site of Eagle Point. .- The earliest certain infor mation places one building where the logging railroad tracks of Medford Corpora tion crosses the Crater Lake highway near Eagle Point. Later a rough-hewn structure was built just south of the . present city park. Lottie Van Scoy, a member of the Brown family, tells of attending this school where the building was set up on blocks with 1 hogs dwelling beneath. She recalls that fleas which inhabited the hogs "oc casionally left their abode and came through cracks in the floor, assailing the urchins within." Four-Room Structure In 1898, a four-room struc i ture was erected on the south - side of the creek "just above the bridge. It served all the - school purposes for 25 years, housing both elementary and :: high schools until the first y stucco building was complet ? ed beside it in 1926. On the teaching roster are many familiar local names in 'cluding the late Gus Newber t ry, Medford attorney who t once served as county' school v superintendent, and A. L. IV Hazelton. . '" A crisis arose in the district in the mid 1940s when state aid to schools gave control of standards to the state depart ment of education and the old red school houses were re minded of their deficiencies, v In 1945 some large mergers took place, though not with- out strong opposition from , . H- PrkMii if s 4i onraa PRESIST SCHOOL - The area in which Presist school, above, was organized from the Trail district in the northern part of the Butte Creek watershed along with several other small districts. Many of the buildings in the small districts in the late 1890s and early 1900s still remain, but the Presist school building has been torn down, after the district joined Elk Creek in 1930. ft"' 7- EAGLE POINT SCHOOL - The first floor of the Eagle Point school building shown above still stands. It was constructed in 1900. The history of the Eagle Point consolidated district starts at the same time the Jacksonville district was or ganized, n 1854. ' - BROWNSBORO SCHOOL - Boundaries of the Brownsboro school were drawn in 1873, when the district was organized as the Bethleham school. Three years later it was recorded as Brownsborough. It is now Eagle Point district. some quarters. It was at this : time that Glen Hale was em ployed as superintendent and he- was largely responsible for acquisition of buildings from disbanded Camp White. Growing Pains Growing pains were severe, but as the White City indus trial area has 'developed, val uations mounted so that by gradual steps a school plant of 21 elementary and 15 high school rooms has been devel opend, along with a gymna sium, cafeteria, shop and vo cational agriculture building. Eight buses now serve the district. Incorporated in the present Eagle Point district are 'five dinstinct areas. They include the upper portions of Little Butte creek, Antelope creek basin, the desert area center ed ' by White City, Elk and Trail creek regions and the Shady Cove area, a section along both sides of Rogue river between Elk-Trail and Eagle Point. The former district No. 12, known as the Antelope school lay in the lower part of the creek basin. From 1854 to 1869 it was part of the pres ent Eagle Point district, but when the enrollment reached 100, that area set up a school for itself. Considerable Agitation .. Considerable agitation at the move resulted, for the next year Butte Creek (Eagle Point) failed to open its doors and Antelope showed an en rollment of 76. Carl von der Hellen, an old timer in the area, gives the location of at least four build ings used for school. The first layout on the des ert a short distance from the present Meridian rd. The next site was up the creek about a fourth of a mile from the present von der Hellen resi dence. Nothing remains there now but an indentation indi cating a former well. A school was then built on the John Rader place where Harvey Stanley now lives. This was later torn down and re-erected at the site of the present school,, where the present structure was built in 1910. School was held there until 1945 when a large block of the district was petitioned into Eagle Point land the re maining students were trans ported to Medford for a time. Later, however, the remain K1 a part of the consolidated der of the district .joined Eagle Point. Boundaries Constant Boundaries of the Antelope remained fairly constant ex cept for one major change which occurred in 1886 when district No. 51, Liberty, was formed out of an area over half of the south side. When Camp White sliced heavily through the. region, what was left of the district was attached to Antelope, and when the camp was abandon ed the enire region came back to Eagle Point where it start ed in 1854. One reeion of chaneins for tune and interest lay in the upper reaches of the Ante lope. Dry Creek District District No. 11 was formed there under the name of Dry Creek. "Situated, entirely east of ' the meridian, its north boundary was 2V4 miles south of the present Welland rd. While it soon lapsed as a district and its number was assigned to the mountain dis trict north of Antioch, it tend ed to rise again under new names. About 1890 it became the Wyland school and contin ued to operate until 1913 when most of it was trans ferred to Liberty. A part bor dering Climax was incorporat ed there. Again, in 1916, the district appeared under the name of Westerlund,' but this time reached west into the head waters of Dry creek. It, too, was abandoned in 1922, with parts going to Lone Pine and Dewey. . -The solid nucleus of the area was the Liberty school, and rhen a number of fami lies appeared in the Antelope bottom south of Yankee Creek rd. and , up .Yankee creek, the new East Antelope district No. 76, or Yankee Creek school, was formed. It was the same year that Wy land was formed. Recall School Old timers still living there recall attending the school, but it was close to the Liberty school house and the two dis tricts finally consolidated. taking the name of Liberty and the number of the other district, 76. Far back in the mountains beyond any of these districts .and nestled under Old Griz zly was another ancient-unit now known as Climax. It took f. Wit ..T3 storey v: . gM - XV J the name of Lost Creek No. 13. When Camp White reached deeply up Antelope for its maneuvering range, the pop ulation ebbed and it became a part of Eagle Point schools. In the early days, school was usually held there in the sum mer because' the elevation moderated the heat. Just when and by whom the first school house was built, no one seems to know, but the ruins of a little log building can still be seen near the Thompson place. The wreck of another built over 70 years ago by Alfred, Rummel lies just below the present road. District Formed Another area that has be come a part of district 9 is that lying in the upper basin of Little Butte creek. ' That unit, district 15, was formed when a school was needed in the area. Enormous by dis trict standards, No. 15 began at the southeast corner of No. 9, which lay along the north border of township 38 south, ran to the Cascades as far north as Mt. Pitt and fol lowed the South fork of the Rogue to the meridian which was its western boundary. This was later divided by following down the ridge, di viding Little Butte from Big Butte. About 1870, Lake Creek school came into exist ence. Among early teachers were the familiar names of Swingle, Bybee and Grigsby. In 1816 there were so many students that it was necessary to employ two teachers for the same room. . About five buildings have been used for school purposes since its be ginning. The last, which was abandoned in 1945, after the general consolidation, lay far out on the desert on the hill near the Lake Creek highway. Boundaries Definite The boundaries of the Brownsboro school were defi nitely drawn in 1873 and its east boundary coincided with the west one of Lake Creek. It was "organized as Bethle hem school, but three years later the name of Brownsbor ough was recorded. The original clerk, Joseph Clift, was still serving in 1888. This district would have no part of the consolidation movement in 1945 when oth er schools in the area joined with Eagle Point. , Later, however, the district capitulated and is now a part of the consolidated system. The most distant of the dis tricts in the Little Butte wa tershed was Lost Creek No, 42, which lay up the south fork of . Little Butte at the mouth of Lost creek. Estab lished an 1880, a log school was built by donated labor the same year, with lumber for the interior carried by burro for several miles. First Frame Structure The first frame structure was built in 1893 and the last in 1911. Attendance was nev er large. . Little Butte district No. 65 was formed of parts of Lake Creek and Brownsboro. It op erated school until 1938, when it began transporting students to Eagle Point. . When the consolidation movement was afoot, the dis trict joined the others. The building, which was built on land donated for school pur poses, is now gone. An attempt to consolidate the three eastern districts was rejected by Lost Creek. Oldest, Largest Of the northern districts now in the large consolida tion, Trail No. 45 was the old est and largest. It covered an area out of which Persist, Elk creeK, North Trail and Hatch ery districts were later form ed. The first school was of logs and lay on donated land. In 1894 a frame building was constructed near the log one, but both were destroyed by fire shortly after. Another frame house was built in 1896 by donated labor and was us ed until 1928 when the pres ent structure appeared. After the consolidation with Elk Creek, " Laurelhurst and Hatchery, the building was sold to Trail Community church. North Trail, farthur up Trail creek, became de funct. It was a small district cut out of district 45 in 1887. The last school hquse was built 'in 1913, five years be fore the district was abandon ed and reverted back to Trail. Attempts to Consolidate Unsuccessful atempts were made to consolidate the schools in this locality until 1936, when Laurelhurst, Trail, Elk Creek and Hatchery all gave approval. The affair was largely a comprpmise be tween Trail and Elk- Creek with both names incorporated v 4-1... .T ." J 1 X j!., . ... I iii uic aisinci u Lie aiong wim J the larger unit's number 76. . By 1937 the new district had a two-room school situat ed about one mile from the Elk Creek junction. The new board carried the names of Ditsworth, Sandoz and Zim- " ' " ' ,'! ANTELOPE SCHOOL - The above building was built in 1910 in the Antelope district after the area decided to form its own district in 1869. School was held in several merlee, all families well es tablished in that locality. The little district of Persist lying upstream toward Pros pect, joined Elk Creek in 1930. i Lakehurst, No. 66, another district entering this consoli dation, was unique. It lay en tirely on the southeast side of the Rogue river from Mc- Cloud upward. The first school was said to be a 9 by 9 room built on a Sunday by men of the neighborhood, and school was held there the' next day by Miss Myra Bedford. The unusual thing about the district was its operation of a high school for a number of years. Although information conflicts, it is certain that the high school operated a four year program over a number of years. It finally closed in 1928 when the single teacher left. The high school building later burned. Elementary System The other elementary sys tem up the Rogue which has become a part of the consoli dated system ' was t hat of Shady Cove. The first district existing in the area was Black (Laurel Hill) district 63 lying between the medidian and the Rogue river north of Reese creek. Next was Long Branch 64, lying north of Long Branch and west of Rogue river. The first school, of logs, was near the Peile place. It was follow ed by a frame building farth er u pthe creek somewhere on the Houston homestead, which served until 1907 when Central school, Shady Cove, came into being. In 1924, the Long Branch closed its doors to become a part of Shady Cove and the building was destroyed when a forest fire swept through the region. -Marks Spot Nothing but an apple tree marks the spot of the Laurel Hill district school house which stood near the present Crater Lake highway immedi ately north of the Black and Conover places. When Shady Cove was formed in 1907 it took the name of "Central" and was composed of portions of Trail, Long Branch and the north part of Debenger Gap. The school, itself, situated down the Rogue about a mile from the present site of Shady Cove, was built of rough boards vertically placed. A two-room structure was erected in 1927 in Shady Cove. At one time near the end of its service, the roof is said to have caught fire and Mrs. Eula Minter, the teach er, succeeded in extinguishing the flames with the help of students, although she burned her hands badly. Joins Shady Cove In 1924 Laurel Hill (Black school) joined Shady Cove, and since that time the plant has continued to grow to the present well-equipped school with eight classrooms, gymna sium, library and cafeteria. The fifth region to become a part of Eagle Point is that lying south and embracing the Camp White industrial area and the farm land lying south of Little Butte creek. This was simply attached to Eagle Point because its lines had been destroyed and much of its territory absorbed by Camp White. In 1869 Mound district 16 was created. ; At one. time it extended from Bear creek east as far as the Camp White rifle range and its southern boundary was indefinite. It was first divided by the section line that runs through the center of the industrial area, which forms Long Moun tain rd. To the east a new Prairie district 29 was form ed, a change which was pro moted by the Rev. M. A. Wil liams, who later became coun ty school superintendent and was for a time associated with Jacksonville schools. The southern part of Prairie was incorporated int6 Dewey and students attending school from this area were transport ed to Medford until the mili tary camp destroyed the district. locations before the building was con structed. Classes were held in the building until 1945, when a large section of the district went into the Eagle Point district. Reese Creek, Long Moun tain and Debenger Gap were numbered in the original con solidations of 1945, but both Long Mountain and Debenger transported children to Eagle Point for a number of years. The Reese Creek school still stands beneath a cluster of Oaks; the Long Mountain building was moved to the Eagle Point grounds to serve for storage. Nothing remains of the De benger Gap- building which was located a short distance above Dodge bridge north of the river. A total of 31 districts have in whole or in part joined together to form the single system. They cover 632 square miles and provide 1,050 students for the three elementary schools and high school. Each has a gym, li brary, cafeteria and class rooms. Fifty-eight instructors and administrators are in charge of the classes. Head-On Crash Takes Seven Lives , Tuscola, 111. (DPD A fiery head-on collision that shot flames "50 feet into the air" Thursday night killed seven persons, four of them young girls. r Leoc 'Gale, a Douglas coun ty deputy sheriff, said he was driving about 150 feet away on na'Tow U.S. 36 three miles east of here when he "saw headlights swing around. Then a ball of fire shot 50 feet into the air." - - According to sheriffs depu ties, the eastbound car, driven by Rosalee Ann Bragg, 21, At- wood, 111., swerved back sud- dently from a muddy shoulder and collided with a car driven by Joseph Bode Harmon, 38, Forsyth, 111. ' - ' The dead included both drivers and all five pasesngers in the cars. Police identified the other victims as Mrs. Ester Harmon, 52; the Harmons' daughter, Greta, 15; two friends of the Harmons, Agnes Pistorius, 59, and Connie Bean, both of Blue Mount, 111., and Evelyn Louise Smith, 22, Atwood, a passenger in Miss Bragg's vehicle. Instructors Course Planned at Pool A Red Cross water safety instructors course will be con ducted at Hawthorne park pool June 22 through July 3, Dr. William Roberts, Red Cross water safety chairman, has announced. Anyone 18 years old or old er with a Red Cross life sav ing certificate or equivalent may enroll, he said. The course will be conduct ed between 9 a.m. and noon Monday through Friday dur ing the two-week period.- v The first week will be de voted to swimming and life saving skills under the direc tion of Mrs. Helen Tweedy. The second week will cover teaching techniques under the direction of Ed Stocking, Red Cross area representative. Those successfully c o m pleting the course will be cer tified as Red Cross water safety instructors. Persons wishing to enroll may do so by Friday, June 19, 'by tele phoning the city recreation office,. SPring 2-7105; the Red Cross office,' SPring 2-4405, or Hawthorne pool, SPring 2 4005. CORN REMOVER ' Gym hutant rCf (rem pain and pari lively mnow hard com, toft coma btwn ton, collouii. wort papilloma, dwe mailt. It contains m ral different oSi that soften. laeeM and does nor cawie me irritation a do strong add mixtures When all ethers hav failed try this one. Try our tunioa Relief, which relieves pain, soreness, swelling first or tecond application. Both remedies Eight Students Attending JESSI Programs in State Seven Medford High school boys are attending the Junior Engineers' and Scientists' Summer Institute at Oregon State college, Corvallis, this week. Miss Linda Miller, daugh ter of Mr, and Mrs. Roy G Miller, 322 South Riverside ave., Medford, is the only girl from Medford High school at tending the JESSI for Girls at Linfield college, McMinn- ville. She left today. Attending the Corvallis ses sions are John Shaw, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Shaw, 919 Kenyon ave., Medford; Glenn Marin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Don Marin, 1868 Myers lane, Medford; Jim Spoerl, son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Spoerl, 1558 Ross lane, Medford; Bob Sheldon, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Sheldon, 521 South Grape st., Medford; Lauren Stayton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ptayton, 123 Elm st., Medford; Henry Olson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Olson, 1430 Euclid ave., Medford; and Stephen Drew, son of Mr. and Mrs. Chandler Drew, route 3, box 69D, Medford. Receive Preview During the two-week per iod, students receive a pre view of science and engineer ing from the specialists in their respective areas of learn ing. The JESSI program is to have students understand what the field of scientific and engineering area are about, what the various branches in clunde, what is included in the college program of studies with emphasis on study de mands, and what they should master in high school if they expect to be prepared to pur sue the college program. A minimum of five hours per day in subject matter, with evening career discus sions by representatives of various industries, are sched uled. The platypus, rarely seen outside its native Australia, is duck-billed, web-footed, fur bearing, water-dwelling, egg laying, young-suckling and poison-spined. America's first agricultural fau was held in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1810. Endowed Qare . - ' Adequate funds are placed in an irrevocable trust II fund to fully insure future upkeep of your Memo rial. Call Mr. Driscoll for information. jjll """""" 1T Hillcrest Chapel jjllXCIIECT E!fifcs3 Bill Driscoll, manager North Phoenix Road III Phone SP 3-6162 or SP 2-7111 Oregon Candidates Get Degrees Today Eugene Baccalaureate and advanced degrees will be con ferred on the third largest graduating class in the history of the University of Oregon during the 82nd annual com mencement exercises here te day. More than 1,500 graduates and undergraduate students were candidates for degrees from the college of liberal arts, the graduate school and the professional schools. President O. Meredith Wil son gave the "Charge to the Graduating Class" and con ferred degrees on candidates who had successfully fulfill ed the requirements for their degrees. Candidates from Medford included: bachelor of arts Carolyn Mae Clogston, daugh ter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Clogston, 2138 Mainst.; Alexa Marsolais Hibbard, . daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd M. Hib bard, 23 Lincoln st.; Sandra Rae Hubbard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chester A. Hub bard, 2451 Lyman ave.; Rich ard Haviland Johnson, son of Rev. and Mrs. Perry M. John son, 819 West 13th st.; Jack K. Masson, 1112 West' Eighth st.; Dorothy Rhymes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. W. Rhym es, 1715 Crown ave.; Robert Wilfred Sherpher III, 132 Greenway; Terry Grey Sher wood, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Sherwood, 1020 Jasper sf. Bachelor of business admin istration - W. Keith Bates Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Edith Bates, 1714 East Main St.; Jacqueline Anne C a 1 1 a n , daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Callan, 6 Keeneway dr.; J. Bradley Morris, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Morris, 128 Mistletoe st. Bachelor of science Mar- jorie Helen Blind, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Blind, 127 Valley View; Norman Lloyd Chapman, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. U. Chapman; AFTER LUNCH U. S. Secy, of State Christian Herter (right) shakes hands with West Berlin's Mayor Willy Brandt following a luncheon at Herter's villa in Geneva. Also at the luncheon were the German, French, and British foreign ministers. On the same day, Soviet For eign Minister Andrei Gromyko publicly disclaimed any new ultimatum on Berlin, but said Russia "would never sign any document which would mean perpetuation of the ccci--ation of West Berlin." William B. Clegg Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. W B. Clegg, 213s Oak wood dr.; Susan Ann DeVoe, daughter of Mr. and Mi. K. J. DeVoe, 2200 Wood lawn ave.; Williard Tarns worth Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Williard Farnsworth, 1714 West-llth St.; Doreen Lucile Ford, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Al Ford, 200 West Jackson st. Laurence Jj. Han sen, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Hansen, 1370 Poplar dr.; Mrs. Ann Denman Hultgren, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.- Kenneth G. Denman, 104 Ge neva ave.; Daniel Fredrick Kellington, 87 Perrydale ave.; Nelson David Bruce; Nancy Louis Newton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Marvel Newton, 807 Grant St.; Donald Wallace Robinson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace R. Robinson, 29 Ross court; Hames Louis Shinn, son of Mr. and Mrs. Louis A. Shinn, 1320 Queen Anne ave.; Benjamin James Trowbridge Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben J. Trowbridge, 1675 East Main St.; Mrs. Gail Marilyn Tycer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Gatter, 28 South Grove land ave.; Joe Pat'Viles, son of L. C. Viles, 424 Edwards st.; Donald T. Wilkinson, son of Mrs. G. M. Wilkinson, 726 South Keene way; Burton Lee Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Williams. Master of science - Wal lace Earle Johnson, 725 East Main st. Doctor of education - Jus tin Leroy Dyrud, 413 Oregon terrace. . Other candidates included: Bernice Aletta Bigham, bach elor of science, . daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Bigham, rt. 1, box 122, Eagle Point; bachelor of business adminis tration, Thomas Jefferson An drews, son of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Andrews, Camp White; v bachelor of science, Dave W. Newland, son of Mr. and Mrs. D. W.' Newland, 1119 Fourth ave., Gold Hill. 4