At 90, WrenFrain Looks With Contentment On Life, Recalls Many Days Of Years Ago
By KITH KING
The fruit in the plum thickets
along the river was showing prom
ise of being heavy with juice and
sweet, when Betsy Frain present
ed her husband Martin Roderick
Frain, a fur trader, with a son.
It was June 11, m3
The last echo of musketry in the
Modoc Indian War was heard
that early summer, when Wren
Frain of Klamath Falls a life
time resident of Klamath County
was born near Shovel Creek, close
6y the California line.
This year he celebrated his 90th
birthday with oid friends, those
who had known him 6ince his
youth, who remembered the old
ways with him and cherished the
memories,
The open house on his birthday
brought 40 guests to the home of
his daughter, Vera Clemens, where
Wren Frain lives happily.
The family record and old tin'
types in a picture album, have
kepy fresh the story of his fath
er and his mother and the events
that have led up to Wren Frain's
contentment in his later years.
The name of his father, Martin
Frain, was first heard in York
State, now New York, in Decem
ber, 1833, and almost before he
was out of short leather britches,
he had cut family ties and turned
westward, drawn by the lure of
gold to the land of adventure, now
California.
Although this is a bit of history
about his son Wren Frain, the
telling is needed of the travels of
the elder, whose determination
was passed from father to son.
It took the youth, .Martin Frain
from the east, six months by sail
ing vessel, to weather the temp
ests of Cape Horn, that precipi
tous headland that juts far out
into the sea, at the crossroads of
the Atlantic and the Pacific, and
to sit out the calms, while he en
dured the waiting.
He landed at San Francisco and
found there too many settlers. He
thrust onward to Yrcka to the
north. He traded gold for five
strong mules, packed them with
colored beads and red blankets
and struck out for the Klamath There was one kind of pelt, say
country where the Klamaths andcarly historians, that Martin Train,
the Modocs. a band of the Snakes never traded for. the skin of the
and the Cayuse had learned that white deer, which the Indians
furs stripped from the muskrat sometimes displayed but rarely
and the beaver, the bear and tire parted w ith.
cougar were worth many beads On Martin Frain's first trip into
and some blankets. the hunting grounds of the Indian,
it'- It
V, dLj
WREN FRAIN
Judge Valker
Takes Post
County Court Judge Robert
Walker has been appointed as an
Oregon representative to the ad
visory committee of the National
Rivers and Harbors Congress,
Wash., D.C., the Klamath County
Court announced.
Judge Walker had been recom
mended to the post sometime ago
by Congressman Al Oilman of the
Second Congressional District.
The appointment was officially
announced in a letter received
by the Judge Friday from Wil
liam H. Webb, executive vice
president of the Congress.
Webb stated in his letter dated
June 24. "We are happy to have
you serve with us tor the advance
ment of a sound and orderly de
velopment of our national land
and water resources."
The Congress is composed of
7.361 individuals located through
out the United Slates and was
established in 1901 as a non-profit
organization dedicated to the con
servation and development of the
nation's natural resources.
The membership is made up of
representatives of chambers of
commerce, waterway and ship
ping associations, business firms,
municipalities, and individuals in
every state of the union.
All members of the Senate and
House of Representatives are hon
H3ry members and many of
them are active in the organization.
Occupany Of Salt Cave
Goes Back 6,000 Years
A sequence of Indian occupan
cy, stretching back some 6.000
years and ending shortly after the
first contacts with the white man.
has been established at Salt
Caves on the Klamath River near
the Oregon-California border.
Details on the finds are con
tained in an interim report from
the Department of Anthropology
at the University of Oregon to
tlie Copco Division of the Pacific
Power and Light Company.
The report has just been sub
mitted by Dr. Luther S. Cress
man, head of the anthropology
department, and Michael D. Oli
cn, research fellow. PP&L is
supporting the archaeological sal
vage work which has been under
way for the past two years.
Another research team has re
cently left for this area to con
duct a final summer's excava
tions before flood waters from
Card Player
Wins Twice
PP&L's Salt Caves Dam inun
date the dig sites on the south
bank of the river.
The site is near the old Wren
Frain Ranch, one of the first in
this country, which will also be
inundated by tire water. Wren
Frain still lives in Klamath Falls.
Carbon - 14 dating has estab
lished a time of approximately
6,000 years ago for the lowest
levels of the excavations, ac
cording to the report.
A group of 14 pit houses has
been discovered, and several of
these have been thoroughly ex
plored. The houses, some of
w hich were similar to those found
in the Klamath Lake region, were
roughly oval-shaped with a cen
tral fire nit and an entrance-
way through the top of a wooden
superstructure.
The people who lived there re
ceived cultural influences from
the Great Basin Area in the be
ginning, but later developed their
own local technology in weapons-
making.
The Indians remained primari
ly hunters and gatherers through
out their history, and although
they may have done some fish
ing, they never appeared to de
velop a fishing economy like that
which grew up around Klamath
Lake.
Various types of points, scrap
pers, drills, mortars, and other
artifacts, made chiefly of chert
and obsidian, have been found. In
addition, two decorated objects, a
bird bone whistle and what is
a head scratcher
the Klamath country, his son
Wren has recalled many times,
he camped overnight beneath a
rocky ledge near Link River.
An Indian woman, eager to
glimpse his wares, crossed the
slow-moving stream ?n a tule raft
to meet him. Her feet, that
dropped through an opening in the
woven craft's center portion, pro
vided the power for locomotion.
She paddled the waiting Frain,
his beads and blankets and his
saddle, hack across the river,
leaving his mules to graze along
the iar bank.
His camp made, Frain kindled
"two smokes" which meant friend
ship and the promise that beads
and blankets could be bought with
furs. The Indians came and bar
tered, and some, before the next
sun rose above the hills, had lost
to others in a gambling game
their new possessions.
On one of his trips through the
Sliasta Indian country, Martin
Frain took a wife, Betsy, the Bet
sy who mothered his five sons and
a daughter, the Betsy from Shasta
Valley, California, who could trace
her ancestry to Rising Sun and
Sitting Bull, the Betsy who died
before her family was grown.
With a wife, Martin Frain set
tled on a ;iece of land and the
family grew. He built a homo
nearby on the river at the foot of
the present Topsy Grade, contin
ued his trade with the Indians
and sold fish and furs to settle
ments away from this valley. He
bought flour and meal and the
growing children learned from
their mother the foods that the
earth provided.
Betsy died when her son Wren
was six. One son and her daugh
ter were younger.
Martin Frain worked far afield
from the one-room cabin where
the older brothers stayed "close
by" to keep the younger ones
from harm.
The memory of Wren Frain is
sharp and clear of the time when
they were once alone in an old
house that had known the roister
ing feet of men before a bar.
A wooden porch clung to the
front of tire shake-roofed building
and a single door, swelled from a
recent rain could not be held
shut by the latch and bar.
Steps outside sent the six chil
dren cringing into a corner, be
fore they remembered, the older
ones, that small Nellie wun nair
braided to her waist, was to be
protected.
Thcv threw their weight against
the stubborn planks but the crack
between door and the jamb was
still wide enough to permit the
oassage of a man's brown hand
palm up. The newcomer made no
further effort to enler out asueu
for matches. The children Idled
his hand from a meager store
and the Indian visitor went away
The time came when the boy
.im. .a ..c ... MUui-jr dipiics. movea io a rancn on me Asn- tended nis Herclord cattle until nc tnal June in 1873 when he was
sought work wun Hooert tmmelt. The old Frain ranch was miH land Highway. That. too. went to was well oast 80. born, and he is content to remerrl-
tuamatn
pioneer, who built the 1(1 tlw CaWornia 0re(;on Powcrncw owners alter W ren Frain had
'r,v-., nr- n)w..-A V'1-iTn-.tk
River. It was over this road that I lmPan-v and lhe Krai' family
merchandise and men and women
came to the valley and the town
of Linkville.
Young Wren applied for a job,
and in the telling of that happen
ing so many years ago. his voice
filled with pride. "He looked me
over and he said that I was pret
ty small, and that he doubted
some if I could stand the work.
but he put me on. 1 worked as if
hard as I could and he told mc
later that I was the best durn
lilllc Indian on the job."
. In 1H98 on a creek bank in Jack
son County. Wren Frain married
Gussie Way. She too had been
born in the Klamath country, the
daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth
Way who ran an overnight station
for the comfort of travelers pass
ing through or those who came
to stay.
Wren and Gussie Frain saw hard
times and enjoyed the more lucra
tive years. He worked as a buck-
aroo and broke horses, often far
from home. Once, coming home to
his family after a serious illness,
they didn't know him. There were
no telephones to relay a message
that he had ncarlv died and Gus
sie Frain was too far away to
send a neighbor to seek him.
His thought go back to the "year
of the high water." when every
bridge that crossed the river had
been washed away. His horses
were across on "yonder bank."
The time came for putting seeds
into the ground to raise a garden.
The plot was still unplowed, the
waters were wild and unsafe fori
crossing. ;
Wren Frain hitched himself to
the singletree of a footburner plow
Gussie Frain held the share deep
in the soft loam, and together
they plowed the land and plant
ed it. 1
For 35 years they stayed on the
old home ranch settled by fur
trader Frain. They had one daugh
ter Vera.
Wren Frain and a brother. Rod. !
and a friend of the two by thcl
name of Frank Woods, worked
the log drives down Die Klamath :
River from Klamath Hot Springs i
to Klamathon, year after year.
Some there wore, said Wren
Frain, "who couldn t take the riv-i
er's beating, the canyon's rough
ness, the thi cat of death, and they
left the river. Some, unatraia.
lost footing, and died in the rapid
waters.
But Wren Frain and his brother
Rod and their partner. Frank
Woods, rode the logs to mill until
progress left the rapids uncrowned
by logs of fir and pine and the
swoosh of logs into the streams
was drowned out by tire sound of
Ninety years have passed since ber them.
1 HERALD AND NEWS. Klamath Falls. Orr-con Sunday. June 30. 1963 PAGE
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Mrs. John Lake teamed up
with Lena Smith and placed first
in the north-south section of the
early bird duplicate bridge tour
nament at the Lakeshore Dupli
cate BC Tuesday and then re
peated the feat with her hus
band as partner in another tour
nament at the same club Thurs
day evening.
Other winning teams last week i believed to be
were Ruth Quinn-Nell Killion. made from a large mammal bone,
Mrs. V. C. Kexford-Mrs. Bobihave been uncovered.
Chilcote; Mrs. George Myers-
Pauline Officld: Bob GoLshall
Frank Tarr, and Lucille Honzel
Margaret Owens.
Next Thursday's regular dupli
cate bridge tournament at the
Lakeshore Club has been em
celled because that day falls on
July 4. a national holiday, Mrs.
Grace Kresse, the tournament di
rector, has announced.
Last week's complete results:
Lakeshore BC 'Tuesday'. NS. I.
Katie Lake - Lena Smith: 2.
George McClary - Helen Schacf
fer: 3. Pauline Officld - Leona
Cardinal May
Get Freedom
Father Kills
4 In Family
DENVER iL'PIi A 43-vcar-old
falher ran amok Saturday and j Robertson. EW, 1. Lucille Hon
slabbed and bludgeoned his wife zel - Margaret Owens 'Red Bluff1:
and three of their ten children tol2. Mrs. C. O. Moore - Mrs. Emil
death in their beds, police report
ed. Denver police detective Stan
Griffith said the father, Luis J.
Monpe. of Denver, admitted the
slayings in a signed statement.
Patrolman Clinton Lombard
said the four victims apparently
were sleeping in their beds at the
Griffith said Monce told him hei"" -i"-"-"
. . Oiil inn n Vt 1 Mrn fl a t r rr n
had intended to kill his wliole ' ' ','-'. . f icials in Budapest next week and
Medical Aid
Liberalized
SALEM lUPP The medical aid
to the aged and public assistance
programs were liberalized, and
increased fees for nursing home
care were approved Friday at a
lengthy meeting of lire State Pub
lic Welfare Commission.
Nursing home rates were in
creased $5 monthly, effective
July 1, for three types of care.
The present rates are $145 per
month for moderate care. $169 a
month for maximum care, and
$192 a month for exceptional care.
A 10 per cent increase in doc
tors fees was approved for medi
cal care under the public assist
ance program.
Benefits and eligibility require
ments under the medical aid to
the aged program were liberal-
the L'nited Slates.
Thant would not discuss the
n..c.,kilit, nl Uia Im 4 lin
',, ' , ' Vi. " case of Mindszonty. who was
Mrs. P. J. Calhoun. !trjcd b he HunRarian Commu.
Lakeshore BC 'Thursday. Kc-.. ,m c ha,
ii'.'n i, i, p'mti " i hecn
luiuon; 2. .mis. Liauue wavis-i
Mrs. David Vandenberg Sr.; 3,
UNITED NATIONS. N Y. UPIi
Secretary General Thant loaves
Sunday on a trip to Hungary andiizrd.
the Vatican that could lead tof The annual income ceiling for
freedom for Jnszef Cardinal eligibility was upped from $1,500
Mindszenly and ea tire tenseito $1,750 for a singlo person, and
relations between Budapest and; from $2,000 to $2,500 for a couple
Mary Juckeland-Kathleen Thomp.jf'an, SUI'PS'"
son. EW, 1. Mrs. V. C. Rex- 'dom revolt ,n
ford. -Mrs. Bob Chilcote: 2. Dor
othy Schupp-Gcrtrude Tolle; 3,
in rciugc in the U.S. lega
tion in Budapest since the Rus
sian suppression of Hungary si
liBtt.
But the case of the Roman
Catholic primate of Hungary
seemed certain to be on tlie
agenda of Thant's talks with ol-
family but "couldn't
of his audience with Pope Paul
with it." Monce telephoned police ' " s, ",'". ;." ..,,. , VI at the Valican on Julv II.
himself. VJ..1.-11 l-.i t '. - -i.,..'' Thant's trip, at the Invitation of
The victims were Lennarna Hungary, marks the first visit to
Monge. 43, Alan Moncc. 6. Vin
cent Monce. 4. and Teresa
Monce. 11 months old.
.1. Mrs Frank Tarr - Mrs. I
Gotshall.
lBudajpst of an official
of the
A single person can have liquid
assets of up to $1,500, and a cou
ple $2,000 and still be eligible.
The $100 deductablc feature has
been removed, and persons en
rolled in the program have medi
cal tHMicfils paid with their fiil
cost.
As a policy matter, people out
of work because of current labor
disputes will be placed under the
general assistance program, rath
er than being enrolled in the Aid to
Doiendenl Children (ADO pro
gram. The commission decided to ex
tend tire food Mamp program for
several more months on a trial
basis.
The commission also agreed to
Israel Buys
U.S. Missiles
Rebel Leader
Seeks Support
vorld organization since (he In.Vt.sifin a contract to have the roc-
revolt. rotary of Mate do statistical work
nn data prncein;i equipnnt In
be purchased by the sccrctvy of
4 Sentenced
VIENNA 'L'PIi-FoMr Czechs
were renlenced Friday to terms
WASHINGTON iL'PI' The De-1 ALGIERS l'PI - Premier ranging from 12 to 20 months for
fens Department announced Fri- Ahmed Ben Bella told an Alger- jfighting with African and Middle
dav that Israel will purchase $23ian cabinet meeting Friday that Eastern students in Prague last
million worth of I S. Hak nli-1 former rebel leader Mohammed May. tlie Communist Czech Radio
aircraft missiles. iBoudaif and three other "sedi-l.-iniounced.
The Hawk is designed to knock jtious persons were seeking sup
dnun attacking airplanes at low port from abroad. He did not
and medium altitudes over a bat- give details.
i;r;d. V communique published after
Toe Pentagon said Israel would the meeting charged the four
nuy enough missiles to supply one men, ail of whom are under ar
baitalion It did not specify how rest, with seeking "the dnision
many ".hat would be. 'and poisoning" of Alcena.
bale's otfice.
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