One of Notis first stores, Courtesy Helen Burton.

The Lane County Historical SocietyVol. XXXIV, No. 2 Summer, 1989

The Lane County Historical SocietyEthan Newman, President, 2161 University, Eugene, OR 97403

Membership Secretary, P.O. Box 11532, Eugene, OR 97440

Lane County Historian, Vol. XXXIV, No. 2, Summer, 1989Lois Barton, Editor, 84889 Harry Taylor Rd., Eugene, OR 97405

Janet Burg, Assistant Editor, 2229 Blackburn, Eugene, OR 97405

CONTENTSNO TIE - NOTI, OREGON

by Helen Burton 23

FIRST TRIAL IN LANE COUNTY 30

GEORGE COFFEE'S MEMORIES OF EARLY EUGENE 34

THE EARLY PIONEER FAMILY OF WILLIAM NELSON LUCKEYby Eugene E. Luckey 38

WAITING IN OREGONby Eugene E. Luckey 40

BOOK REVIEWS 45

Has your family story been told? Do you have pictures of early Lane Countypeople, places, events? We would like to help you preserve these valuable bitsof history for posterity, if you have something to share, please write your editorat the address above, or phone me at 345-3962, and we will plan to be in touchto work out details.

ISSN 0458-7227

Portola Inn and Noti in 1910 or '11, courtesy Helen Burton.

NO TIE - NOTI, OREGONby Helen F Burton

About 20 miles west of Eugene,Oregon, straddling Highway 126, is asmall town with the strange name ofNoti. Until 1912 this ruralcommunity was called Portola, afterDon Gaspar DePortola, who was thecommander of a Mexican expeditionsent to find the first Europeansettlement believed to be somewherein northern California.

DePortola came too far north,entering Oregon, so the oldtimershave said. Noti is located whereseveral meandering creeks jointogether, forming the west fork of the

Summer, 1989

Long Tom River, which then runsthrough the Coast Range Mountainsto the Pacific Ocean.

According to the old legends, thename change was due to thecontinual mix-up of mail, sincePortola and Portland, when written,looked so much alike. When the earlyresidents seemed unable to decide ona new name for the community, theyfell back on an earlier Indian storywhich said that a white man and anIndian who were on a trip fromEugene to Mapleton contracted toshare a horse. Since the trip took

23

several days in those early years, thewhite man was to ride the first tenmiles then tether the horse to a tree,and walk on. The Indian, who hadwalked the first ten miles, would thenride the second ten miles. And so, inthis fashion, each man would walkand ride the same distance, makinglong rest periods unnecessary.

After his turn, the white mandecided he no longer wanted to leavethe horse for his Indian companionand so, he rode on. When the Indianreached the place where the horseshould have been, he found it missing.Shaking his head sadly, he muttered,"No tie. No tie."

Since post offices in the early yearsestablished a settlement's identity,they were carefully recorded. And therecords for Portola say that James P.Cheshere, acing as postmaster,established a post office in his homeon April 1, 1875. It was namedChesliere. He had, in 1862, purchasedthe 600 acre donation land claim ofEdwin Bagby and John W. Crooks.The Cheshere post office was closed inFebruary 1892, since George Hale, in1886, had established one in his home,which continued in use until 1907. In1892, the Varien post office was alsoestablished by Paul Varien Boleman,its postmaster, and it was locatedabove today's railroad trestle acrossfrom Elk Creek.

The first house built in Portola wasconstructed for Angie Jay. A secondhouse was built for Bessie Gates. Andin 1908, Ed Mix built the third house.At that time, Earl and Edna Parsonsowned most of the land in Portola,and it was the Parsons who dividedthe land into streets and lots for the24

town. They also bought the big housethat Ed Mix had built and turned itinto a bed and breakfast station fortravelers. It was named Portola Inn.

In 1911, Herb Suttle, in partnershipwith Edward Rapp, built the firststore in Portola. A few years later,Rapp sold his share to Suttle and thefront facade bore the name, "H.G.Suttle - General Merchandise".Shopping in those early days was a farcry from how it is today. As there wereno shopping aisles or displays ofmerchandise, customers had to ask aclerk for the items they wanted tobuy. The clerk would then climb aladder to the upper shelves wherethings were kept, and bring down theasked for articles. The Portola PostOffice was also housed in Suttle'sstore and he acted as postmaster.

In 1911, the railroad began to builda branch line that was, uponcompletion, to run from Eugene westthrough Cushman and on down thecoast line to Coos Bay. Everyone wasexcited about this project because itwould give work to a lot of men, andit would also make the transportationof farm and household supplies easier.It was said that a trip to Eugene inthose days took all day, so transpor-tation would also be much faster byrail.

On March 27, 1913, Portola's namewas officially changed to Noti.

Railroad records say that the railshad reached Cushman by the fall of1914, and when the first train rolledinto Noti on September 14, 1914,there was a large celebration with1,500 people attending. Horse racesand baseball games entertained thecrowd while the tables were heavily

Lane County Historian

25

laden with homemade picnic goodies.Like most of Oregon's rural

communities nestled in the tallforests, Noti became a lumber milltown when, in 1922, the Forcia andLarsen Mill was built at Star Campwest of Noti and its planer built inNoti. The lumber was floated down tothe planer through a flume. The millemployed a large number of men andthe payroll was sizable each month,but it is said that Noti had no policeforce because none was ever needed inthose early years.

In 1924, a Mr. and Mrs. Alleybought the Portola Inn and made itinto a rooming house for the men thatworked in the mill.

As the lumber mill brought morepeople to Noti, the Suttles built theirthird store, which replaced the secondone built in 1918. Here with his wife,Edna (Hale) Suttle, he served as post-master for 45 years and continued tooperate the store until his death in1967. Mrs. Suttle died in 1968.

After Suttle retired as Noti'spostmaster, postal records say that a

Summer. 1989

Lola Moorehouse took on this job.In 1939, the Swanson and May

partners built a second lumber milland Noti became a true mill-town.Then Mr. May sold his interests in themill to the Swanson brothers, whothen operated it for the next twenty-nine years until, in 1968, Sam Konniebought a share.

In February of 1946, the old Forciaand Larsen mill burned down. SinceSwanson's mill was the only one leftin Noti, the brothers enlarged theirmill to have added drying kilns, achipper and a new planer. When Ray,the last of the Swanson brothers,retired in 1984, Sam Konnie boughtthe mill and is now sole owner.Konnie says the mill is still in fulloperation at this writing, althoughmany of Oregon's lumber mills havehad to shut down due to a logshortage.

As you travel to the coast, throughNoti, the big old Portola Inn, nowminus its sign, is still being used asa private home. And on out the high-way, on the north side of the road,

Old Noti school, 1918. Echo Spores, Teacher, Courtesy Helen Burton.

standing like a worn dowager, is thelarge frame house that was built byGeorge Hale and later became thehome of the Farmer Hale family. Thishouse is still occupied by somemembers of the family and has beengiven the rich standing as one ofOregon's Century farms.

When the present grade schoolbuilding in Noti was constructed,Farmer Hale was a member of theschool board. Mr. Hale was instru-mental in getting major improve-ments for the Noti school, such asdistrict ownership of school buses, andindoor restrooms for the students.

The first church in Noti was builtby the early residents. It was aPresbyterian Church then, but waslater changed to The Church ofChrist, which it has been for the pastforty years.

From about 1920 to 1945, dairyproducts were supplied to Notiresidents and to families of workmenat the Forcia and Larsen mill fromthe dairy farm owned and operated byFarmer Hale.

The old covered bridge spanningone of the creeks at Noti was one ofmany built by John Taylor, who wasalso an early-day stage coach driver.Two other drivers were Darwin Haleand Ernest Duckworth. Some of thestories have been set down in recordsthat these men told of their trips tobring supplies to the settlers beforeSuttle built his store. Sometimes, therail-freight wagons would get miredso deep in the muddy narrow roadthat the only means to free them wasfor the driver to throw his cargo underthe wheels, and it might be much26

Old School above Blue School in Noti, 1918.Courtesy Helen Burton.

needed sugar, flour, sides of bacon, orwhatever else he was transporting.Prior to the road for the freight-wagons, and until Eugene grewlarger, the men from Noti (Portola)made a trip to Oregon City each fallto buy their winter supplies fromincoming boats. This trip always tookthem two weeks. After the corduroyroad was built, mail was delivered bya man who drove a one horse cart.People hung a bag on a post by theside of the road and the mail wasdropped into it.

Bits and pieces of other informationtell that the early stage lines were

Lane County Historian

terminated in 1916 as the railroadwas finished to Coos Bay by then andwas transporting passengers andmerchandise of all kinds.

During World War II, the people inthe community of Noti, wishing to dotheir part in the war effort, mannedobservation posts. The first one wasa small shack established in March of1942. Since it had no phone, thewomen who manned it from 6 am. to6 p.m. had to walk to Suttle's store tomake their reports. Another smallbuilding was turned into a secondpost with a telephone installed, andenough watchers were appointed thatthe posts could be manned on a24-hour day. Then on April 22, 1943,a new larger post was dedicated,complete with phone, log books andother necessities. Many of the womenhad to walk to and from the posts inpitch darkness as no bit of light couldbe used.

The first dial telephones were putin the settlers' homes in 1948. Untilthen, people had used the old crankphones and everybody was on thesame line, so no conversation was ona one-to-one basis.

Following the war, army trucksserved as school buses for a time.

The Sailor Cemetery, located onHighway #126, serves both Elmiraand Noti. Records show that the firstburial there was that of Thomas KentDuckworth of Elmira, but many ofNoti's first citizens are also buriedthere.

In 1959, street lights were installedin Noti.

The Noti tavern in operation todaywas built in 1924 (about) by JohnSawyer for an ice cream parlor. HeSummer, 1989

sold it about a year later and sincethen the building has been used forseveral kinds of businesses.

Vesta Kull, an 80-year-old life-longresident of Noti, recalls that a dancehall existed in the town many yearsago. And she says that only three ofNoti's original buildings still remain.Of course, one of them is the oldPortola Inn and the second one isbelieved to be the one built for AngieJay. But the third house was question-able. Vesta Kull also had in herrecords a story on the first baby bornin Noti (Portola). He was DonaldHackelman, born July 4, 1912.

The first school Mrs. Kull attendedin Noti was located on the hill abovewhere the "blue school" is today. Mrs.Kull believes it was built in 1904, butLee Withrow remembered it some-what differently.

Mr. Withrow was a retired professorfrom the University in Modesto,California, who passed awayFebruary 25, 1986, at the age of 82.He was born in the Noti area, growingup and attending school there, andbeing a Noti resident for many yearsbefore he moved to California. Thisreporter corresponded with Mr.Withrow many times before his death,and he related some interesting, andoccasionally humorous, facts abouthis home and the people in Noti.

Mr. Withrow's recollections say, "Iremember there was an elementaryschool on the old Montgomery ranch.It was a small building, had up anddown boards with a shake roof.Darwin Hale was the last teacherthere before the school was moved toNoti. The building stood empty forseveral years." Withrow said that his

27

These two photos were taken by O.M. Shields of Noti. Can you identify the school, the teacher, thepupils? Please call or write your editor with any information you can supply. Lane County HistoricalMuseum photos.28 Lane County Historian

29

father and several other relatives allattended this school, and that one ofhis aunts was a teacher there. Hefurther relates that, "After the schoolwas moved to Noti, the parents in thearea got together and formed a newdistrict. Number 145?' Lou Crabbdonated a full acre of ground, and thebuilding was constructed in 1911 byMark Glass and Lou Peterson. Thisschool was later called the EversSchool, and Withrow was a studentthere in 1912. He said that when herode his pony to school in Noti, he wasnever out of sight of the workers thatwere constructing the tunnel aboveNoti. He said there were about onehundred in the group, and very few ofthem could speak English. He saidthat in the winter, the road was a seaof mud, "and the mud often ranthrough the lower part of the horse's

Summer, 1989

collar," but there were trails at theside of the road which the railroadcrew used and he did, too.

In the summer, Withrow said thisroad was the same one that he helpedgrade from Elmira through the Notibridge. He drove a team pulling aFresno scraper full of dirt through thebridge. The men were cutting downthe hill on one side of the bridge andfilling the low pass on the other side.Mose Evers and Bert Trout were theother two men working with him.They each received $6.00 a day inwages.

Interviewing Noti residents for thisstory, it was interesting to find thatsome of the "old timers" still live inthe area, and many of the descendantsof those passed on also live there andsay that they, "just hope they neverhave to move away?'

FIRST TRIAL IN LANE COUNTYThe following material was provided by Ken and Jim Mortensen who got

the details from the State Archives. Ed.

Action of TroverIn Willamette Territory District Court for the first judicial district in theTerritory of Oregon within and for the County of Lane in said Territory, A.D.1853 - October term.

Jonathan Keeney

William and Eliza Masterson, courtesy KenMortensen.

The defendants were summoned toanswer to Jonathan Keeney, Plaintiff,in an action of Trover, and thereuponthe said Jonathan Keeney by W.S.Brock and L.E Grover, his attorneys30

defendantsWilliam MastersonAlexander KingRobert CampbellJohn ThornburgJ.K. McCormackGreen BoydJohn W GilmoreGeorge Rugland?Franklin GreenJoseph GrayHenry GrayJohn FryWilliam MillerWilliam CoxJames BiddleWilliam CrowJacob CrowLewis HardwickJohn DelemattinFurman WestFielding McMurry

YoungHenry Young

complains for that whereas hereto-fore, to wit, on the 5th day of June,1851, he said plaintiff was lawfullypossessed as of his own property ofcertain goods and chattels, to wit, ten

Lane County Historian

cows, ten heifers, ten steers, tenyearlings and four oxen of great value,to wit, of the value of fifteen hundreddollars, and being so possessedthereof, he, the said plaintiffafterward, to wit, on the day and yearaforesaid, at the County of Laneaforesaid, casually lost the said tencows, ten heifers, ten steers, tenyearlings and four oxen, and the sameafterwards on the same day came intothe possession of the said defendants.

Defendants by findingYet the said defendants, though

they well knew the said ten cows, tenheifers, ten steers, ten yearlings andfour oxen to belong to the saidplaintiff, yet intending to injure anddefraud him thereof, refused todeliver the same to the said plaintiff,though there unto requested, butafterward on the same day committedthe said ten cows, ten heifers, tensteers, ten yearlings and four oxen totheir own use, to the damages of thesaid plaintiff two thousand dollarsand thereupon he sues.Filed Sept. 7, 1853

E.F. Skinner, clerkDistrict Ct. Lane Co.

Filed Oct. 25th, 1853J.G. Wilson, cik, S.C.

On 9-7-1853 a summons was issuedto the Sheriff of Yamhill Countylisting all of the defendants "if foundin your county, to appear at the CourtHouse in Eugene City, Wednesday,October 5."

A reply from the summons wasreceived 9-22-1853 signed by J.G.Baker, sheriff, Yamhill Co.

Summer, 1989

Similar summons were issued onthe same date to the sheriffs ofBenton, Lane, Linn, Clackamas, andMarion Counties.

Trial begun October 5, 1853,continued because the plaintiff wasnot ready to proceed. Thursday, sixthof October, a jury - twelve good andlawful men of the county, to wit,Marion Scott, T.J. Holland, A.W.Patterson, James Breeding, WilliamC. Spencer, William McCabe, MathewWallis, Josiah M. Lakin, JohnFurguson, William Dodson, Wm.Smith and Hiram Richardson, whowere duly empaneled and sworn welland truly to try the issues joined insaid cause, and said jury, afterhearing the proofs and allegations ofthe Plaintiff and Defendants as wellas the arguments of Counsel, and thecharge of the Court, retired undercharge of a proper officer, to considerof their verdict and said jury after ashort absence returned into court thefollowing verdict. We the undersignedJurors find the Defendants, LudwickHardwick, William Masterson,Alexander King, Robert Campbell,John Thornberg, John M. Gilmore,Fielding McMury and William Coxnot guilty, which verdict was receivedby the court and ordered to be enteredof record, which is herby done.

Whereupon came counsel for theplaintiff and gave notice of a motionin arrest of judgment and for a newtrial.

And the court having heard theargument of counsel and being fullyadvised in the premises overruledsaid motion and refused to grant a

new trial in said cause.The plaintiff moved for a new trial,

saying that Edward Mulholland andJohn Muhiholland saw the two yokesof oxen in the possession of AlexanderKing and Robert Campbell while theywere on their way to Oregon in 1851and they each identified the said oxento be the property of Keeney.

Reasons given for a new trial wereas follows:

The court erred in admitting aswitnesses to testify on behalf of saiddefendants the following namedpersons, to wit, Jona. Crow, WilliamMcCarty and J. Galloway, who eachseverally testified on their vois cisthat he was a member of the companywho took up the cattle which areclaimed as the subject of this suit,that said cattle were sold by saidcompany, that he was present at thesale of said cattle by the companyaforesaid and received his equal shareof the proceeds thereof.

The court erred in charging thejury empaneled and sworn to try theissue found in said cause as follows towit. "That if the jury believe from theevidence that the cattle in thedeclaration charged to have beenconverted to the use of defendantswere taken up and sold by defendantsand others to preserve said cattle forthe plaintiff and without anyintention to injure them, orconverting them to their own use tothe exclusion of the plaintiff, the jurywill find for the defendants.

The jury disregarded the directtestimony of tow unimpeached as tothe identify of said cattle (enroute)whose statement under oath did notmaterially conflict with other32

evidence in the case.Other and material witnesses

have been discovered since thereading of the verdict in this cause,whose testimony will be vital to therights of said plaintiff in this suit.Brock and Grover, attys for pltf.

Charge to the jury1st. The defendants ask the court to

charge the jury that if they believefrom the testimony that the deft.sfound the cattle in controvesy in thecountry east of the Rocky mountainsand west of the State of Missouri andnot in any organized state or Territorythat they did not commit them totheir own use within the limits ofOregon or any other organized Stateor Territory then this action will notlie, and they must find the deft.s notguilty. Refused.

2nd. The defts ask the court tocharge the jury that if they believefrom the testimony that the cattle inquestion were found in the plains eastof the Rocky Mountains and not inany organized state or territory andwere estrays and lost by their ownerand that they were taken and drivenby order of Zedrig Riggs who wasCaptain and had command of thecompany in which the defts. traveled,and that said cattle were afterwardssold at public auction by the saidRiggs to pay and satisfy the expensesand trouble of their care andmanagement and that said Riggs isdead, and that the defts. did notafterwards convert said cattle to theirown use in Oregon or in any otherorganized state or territory, then thisaction will not lie, and they must findthe defts. not guilty.

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3rd. That unless from the evidencethat the cattle in controversybelonged to Jonathan Keeney, orunless they believe from the evidencethat said Keeney was the general orspecial owner and entitled to theimmediate possession of said cattle, orsome of them, they must find fordefendants.

4th. That if the jury believe fromthe evidence that the cattle in thedeclaration charged to have beenconverted to the use of defts., weretaken up and sold by defts. and othersto preserve said cattle for the benefitof the plaintiff and without anyintention to injure them, orconverting them to their own use tothe exclusion of the plaintiff, the jury

will find for the defendants.5th. That if the jury believe from

the testimony that the cattle incontroversy belonged to Keeney, andalso believe from the evidence thatthe defendants disposed of the cattlewithout any intention of divesting theowner of his property in said cattle,and also believe from the testimonythat the cattle were disposed of for thepurpose of enabling the owner torecover his property no recovery canbe had against the defendants unlessthey believe from testimony that theplaintiff has demanded the cattle andthe defendants have refused to give upthe possession of them or a portion ofthem.

GEORGE COFFEE'S MEMORIESOF EARLY EUGENE

George Coffee, recently deceased, granted an interview on August 12, 1988,in which he detailed early street car routes in Eugene. He also spoke of manyother things he remembered. George was born in Benton County and grewup in the Monroe, Belifountain, Irish Bend area, moving to Eugene when hewas 13 years old, in 1922. The following material is excerpted from theinterview. Ed.

Lois: You said you used to delivergroceries.

George: I delivered groceries foreverything from McMoran and Wash-burne. I worked for the Merchant'sDelivery. They had five or six trucks.We collected groceries, dry goods. Wedelivered groceries for Otto Smith'sgrocery. We delivered meat forNebergall Meat Market, which wason east 11th. We delivered groceriesfor Beaver market which was a littlehole in the wall about midwaybetween the alley and Oak Street onthe south side of Broadway . . . Wedelivered meat for Green's Marketwhich was across the alley fromHaskell's Market. Haskell had theirown delivery. We delivered meat andgroceries and hay and feed forGranger's Market which was onBroadway ... People called in andordered their groceries and they'dcome out in boxes. We also picked upfreight for all these stores at theSouthern Pacific freight depot. Therewas a little grocery, Thng's Market, oneast 13th right where the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle was last.Henry's Knife Shop used to be on thecorner where Williams retail store is.The motorcycle shop was there at the34

time I rode motorcycles. I had threeof them.

Originally I started out, when I wasgoing to grade school when I firstmoved to Eugene, working for theEugene Auto Wrecking Company,which was the first automobilewrecking company outside of Port-land. Their operation was on West 8thacross from Brenners. They towed thecars in and totally disassembledthem, one at a time. Washed the partsin raw gasoline. I did, by hand. So youcame in and asked for a rear end ringgear out of a certain model auto-mobile, and you walked to the bin andpicked it up and sold it to the man -for half the price of a new one.

I worked there while I ws going tograde school. I went in - I needed ajob because across the alley wasGarret's bicycle store. Harry Garretwas the uncle of Earl Hutchinson whohad Hutch's bike store. He sold out toEarl when he left and went toCalifornia. He had a $15 second-handbicycle and I didn't have pennynumber 1. So I went in - Chet Goodwas manager of the wrecking housebecause Cogs Campbell was playingfootball at the University of Oregon.He weighed 260 pounds and he didn't

Lane County Historian

have an ounce of fat on him and hecould do a back flip just, bingo, likethat. He was the anchorman on thetumbling team. His partner, MackMcLean, was the tumbling professorat the university, and they werepartners and started this wreckinghouse. They were both going to school.Chet Good was the manager andIsaac Newman was wrecking the carsin the back. He was an uncle of theNewman Fish Market brothers.

So I went in. Good told me to comeat noon and his boss would be there.I went in and Cogs Campbell wassettin' there with his feet on the desk,half as big as a skinned mule, with anOregon sweater with a big 0 on thefront of it.

"What d'ya want, kid?""I want a job.""What can you do?""Anything anyone else can do.""How much money do you want?""50 cents a day." At that point I

didn't realize a day was nine hoursand was six days a week.

"Go back and start washin' parts."So I worked for a couple of weeks

and I could see that I was kindaspinnin' my wheels. I'd gained sixdollars toward this fifteen dollarbicycle. So I asked him for a raise andhe gave me six bits a day, 75 cents. Iworked for another couple of weeksand hit him up for another raise, andhe gave me a dollar a day for the restof the summer. That paid for thebicycle, and it was my chore to takethe money to the Bank of Commerce,which was on the northwest corner ofEighth and Willamette.

L: The money from the wreckingyard?Summer, 1989

G: Yeah.L: How did you get into the pump

service business?G: Well, when we moved to Eugene,

I dropped out of school and I helpedbuild the first Crystal Ice plant,which was a wooden building. Webuilt it from scratch. We poured thefooting out of five gallon buckets ofconcrete that we mixed out onFranklin Boulevard in the rain. Fourof us. Another kid by the name ofBennett and I and Mack McLean andCogs Campbell. And we built it onpart of the ground that MannerudHuntington was using for a woodyard. The ground belonged to A.C.Mathews sand and gravel and webuilt the building right there whereRomania R.V. Center parts and officebuilding is. We started on that in thefall, and I pulled the first 300 poundcake of ice out of the tank the 5th ofJuly, 1925. I worked there for a while,then McLean -- they decided to builda new plant where the building wason the west side of the railroad tracksat 777 East Broadway. So I helpedbuild that plant and they moved themachinery out of the old plant intothat plant, and at that point, whenthe plant was about ready to startoperating McLean sold out toCampbell, as he did in the wreckinghouse. He and his wife separated andMcLean and I went to Alaska onesummer to work. I was nineteen. I'dbeen delivering ice for them andoperating the ice plant, the old iceplant, the original one. We spent thesummer in Alaska and then I cameback and went to work for thisMerchant's Delivery when I returned.

L: What were you doing in Alaska?35

G: Helping build a canningcompany plant. It belonged to theFisher Eddy Corporation. It was inthe Narrows west of Ketchikan atCrow Point. We worked an eight hourshift. The cannery only ran two weeksbecause of the drought. The fish didn'tcome in. So they closed it up. Wecompleted that job, then we built ashed over a marine railway cradle.

L: What in the world is a marinerailway cradle?

G: That's a car that goes down ona railroad track into the water. Theytaxi a boat in on a cradle, then theybring it up in dry dock, see? SoMcLean went back to Carnegie Techto study engineering and I camehome.

I paid the hundred dollars Iborrowed to go up there on. I borrowedanother dollar in Portland and camehome with one cent. Then I went backto work for the Merchant's Delivery.I worked for them for a year or so, andthen I went back to manage the icecompany for Campbell. During thatperiod when Manerud Huntingtonmoved the fuel business from the coalshed right there on the spur back ofwhere our ice plant used to be, I tookthat over and went into the retail coaland wood business, for myself, inconjunction with deliverying ice.Then in 1934 came the depressionand everything went gunnysack. Ibuilt a cider and vinegar plant backof the ice plant there on eastBroadway and did custom cider press-ing. I've got some of the handbills thatI put out on that. I built that all bymyself. A five hundred gallon roundwooden tank, a thousand gallonround wooden tank, a 2,500 gallon

36

round wooden tank, and a 16,000gallon tank.

L: What kind of wood?G: Fir. A sixteen thousand gallon

round wooden tank, and assembledthe whole thing. Poured the concrete.I had the fellow, Ford Nelson,engineer the tanks. Had 'em cut sothe stays were beveled so you couldcaulk 'em and up six inches from thebottom they had a groove cut in 'emwhere they fit in the bottom of thetank. To assemble a tank like that,you cut the bottom out like you'd cutthe bottom of a barrel and you put drysplines in it that fit each plank andyou lay that on these wooden founda-tions. Then you get a bundle of No. 4cedar shingles and you put one upagainst the edge of the tank bottomand drive a six penny nail in it. Andreach up and butt a 1x4 brace on itand tack that to the bottom of thetank. Then you put another'n besideit and do the same thing, and goinside with a cedar shingle and tackit to the two of 'em. You go cleararound the thing. It's lined with cedarshingles at the top and tacked at thebottom. Then you take three twenty-foot bars of cold roll iron to make thehoop. The bottom hoop was threequarters of an inch, right around thebottom of the tank. And every footthere was another one. They wentdown to half-inch and then down tothree-eights near the top. You tackedthem - put a nail in and imbed it andput those around. You had clampsthat went around. You tightened astight as you could get it, or reasonablytight, and fill it full of water. And letit swell. It leaked profusely for awhile, and then it swelled up, then it

Lane County Historian

was ready to use. time half the juice was run out. AndL: Wouldn't the fir flavor the apple pressed 'em and when it came out the

juice? piece that was left was about an inchG: No. Wouldn't have any effect on thick and it was like a dry door mat.

the apples. That was a storage tank You could throw it like a pan.for the vinegar stock. The sweet apple And the vinegar plant, I got it goin'juice was put in bottles and put in cold a couple of years later. At that pointstorage and sold to customers. the price of vinegar had gone from

L: You made vinegar too? 25 a gallon in fifty gallon drums -G: I had a friend of mine who was at wholesale - down to 15 a gallon

a student at the University make me retail. I bought apples from this applea vinegar testing outfit. I assembled company in Monroe at 3 a bushelall the machinery. I bought a number and I got three gallons to the bushel,4 cider press from a fellow in Salem, the juice. At the end of three years Iand hauled it up and rebuilt the ended up with $600 and the plant waswhole thing and put all the complete and it wasn't payin' off. Imachinery in there and assembled wasn't makin' any money on it. I gavethese tanks. There was four floor the plant to Campbell, who was a fulllevels on it. Had a conveyor that took partner with me on it because hethe apples out of a washing vat with financed the material.an agitator in it - false bottom and I took the $600 and went to Sanan agitator that kept the apples going Francisco, worked as a salesman forinto the elevator, see? a while. Came back and worked for

And you stood there and you'd run Eugene Sand and Gravel for a while.the apples through a grater, which Then Mack McLean came back towas a little cast iron cylinder about town and I helped him build a shaketwo feet long with teeth like a planer and shingle mill. Then I went to workknife with grooves in it, and it had for the Vitus Electric as a salesman.concaves - spring loaded concaves - That didn't pan out and Vitus hiredthat fit right out within the thickness me as a pump mechanic. That's whereof a dime of these teeth. And you drop I started in the pump business. r

an apple in there and it would go Editor's Note:pfsst, like that, and you'd see a little The rather extensive picture files atfog come out. Nothin' much. You had the Lane County Historical Museuma rack, and you put a burlap cloth in do not include a photo of Cogsthere, and pulled a chute and dumped Campbell, nor of the Crystal Icethis sludge in there - it was just soup Company or the Auto Wrecking Com-- and fold it over like you'd fold a pany George Coffee told about. If youbaby didy and put a rack on top of have any of these pictures in yourthat. Took what I'd call the frame off albums, please consider making aand put a press rack on top of that, copy for the Historical Library, orset the frame down and repeated the loaning them to your editor forprocess until you got about six or publication in a future issue of theeight of those built up, and by that HISTORIAN.Summer, 1989 37

THE EARLY PIONEER FAMILYOF WILLIAM NELSON LUCKEY

by Eugene E. Luckey

James and Nancy Luckey lived inAthens County, Ohio and they hadsixteen children. Eight boys and eightgirls.

Their second son was named Wm.Nelson Luckey, who was born in 1807.He left home at age 12 and traveledto Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where hemarried Elizabeth Leasure in 1831,and they had children: Nancy,William Nelson Jr., and John.

About 1845 the family moved toMissouri where Warren and Allenwere born, then the family moved onto settle a few years in Des MoinesCounty, Iowa, where Wm. Nelsonlearned the blacksmithing trade.

Lured by free land in Oregon, thefamily set out from St. Joseph,Missouri in the spring of 1850, as amember of a covered wagon trainconsisting of fifty wagons.

At that time, Wm. Nelson was 42,Elizabeth 37, Nancy 18, William Jr.15, John 11, Jim 9 and Warren 5. Justimagine what a wonderous chance foradventure it must have semed to thechildren!

At the Platte River, eight membersof the wagon train died of cholera,including the train's doctor. Theystripped the bark from cottonwoodtrees to make coffins for the dead, whothey buried early one morning andheaded west again.

Mother Elizabeth cried and wantedto go back home, but Wm. Nelson wasdetermined to go to Oregon, so onthey went.

38

At least 30,000 died on the Oregontrail, a pioneer grave for every 80yards of trail, from the Missouri Riverto the Willamette.

The bluffs along the trail were blackwith buffalo. One morning a herdstampeded through camp, smashingwagon tongues, and ruining cookingsites. Their huge, black bodiesappeared enormous in the earlymorning light, scaring the womenand children, and raising hell ingeneral.

When the family reached TheDalles, they loaded their householdeffects into Indian canoes and drifteddown the river to the locks, and fromthere made their way to theWillamette.

The wagons, horses and cattle weredriven over the mountain to thevalley.

Coming down out of the mountainswas just as bad as going uphill. Theychopped down trees at the top of agrade and used them to drag behindthe wagons, to keep them from over-running the oxen. At the bottom ofthe worst grades, there would be greatpiles of logs, used by preceding partiesfor that same purpose. The trail wasbecoming well worn by 1850.

The first winter was spent on theSitletz reservation. The followingspring Wm. Nelson and his eldest sonWilliam filed two Land DonationClaims; 642 acres-TWP18S, R3W,Sections 7, 17, 18.; 139 acres-TWP17S, R3W, Section 5, which

Lane County Historian

39

included much of the northernportion of today's Eugene.

The family first located nearCoburg, Oregon, afterwards movingto a place at Butte Disappointment,which is present day Dexter, Oregon.

After arriving in Oregon, Wm.Nelson and Elizabeth had three morechildren: Allen, Thomas and Mary.

At first the family tried to keephorses to work and to ride, but theIndians stole them as fast as theycould buy them, so they finally settledon owning oxen for work andtransportation.

Wm. Nelson earned his living byfarming and following the blacksmithtrade. Macys had a blacksmith shopone mile north of "west point" andNelson had a shop west and south ofMacys. Nelson's son, William, broughtthe first anvil to Eugene by draggingit all the way from Portland, in anoxen-pulled travois.

William married Lucinda Andersonin Lane County in 1954 and theylater moved to Hood River Co. wherehe raised a large family. His secondwife's name as Amanda A. Miller.

In 1865 Warren and James Luckeyenlisted in the army for one year andfought Indians in eastern Oregon.Warren returned to follow theblacksmith trade in Eugene for theremainder of his life. He marriedLaura Wilmot, the daughter ofSpringfield's Rev. William Wilmot.

After being discharged from thearmy, James Luckey and his brotherJohn went to work for the Bureau ofIndian Affairs at the Warm SpringsIndian reservation, teaching Indianshow to farm.

Summer, 1989

This was at a time when the freeroving eastern Oregon Indians,especially the cruel War ChiefPaulina and his followers, were angrywith Reservation Indians, becausethey had given in to the white manand moved onto the reservation. Johnand James Luckey were called uponmany times to help protect reservationIndians during numerous attacks.

Later, when the army began operat-ing in eastern Oregon, John andJames were called upon to scout forthe army, because of their familiaritywith the terrain and Indian ways.

John Luckey established a residencein Prineville in 1869, a year afterBarney Prine settled on the Ochoco.He had two wives, Ella Miller andSallie Hodges. John was DeputySheriff for the Prineville area formany years and his personalresidence is still in use as an annexfor the Crook County Sheriff'sDepartment. James Luckey alsobecame a Deputy Sheriff inPrineville, then later, became IndianAgent for the Warm SpringReservation 1889-93. He marriedEunice Robbins and they later movedto Portland to live.

Wm. Nelson's son, Eugene, moved toa ranch near Prineville where helived for a few years until returningto Eugene to start a profitable drugstore at the S.E. corner of Broadwayand Willamette St. Eugene was alsoDeputy Sheriff in Prineville for ashort while, as was Wm. Nelson'sbrother, Jerry Luckey. Eugene dis-appeared mysteriously from thestreets of Portland after leaving theImperial Hotel and was seen taking

a cab. He was never seen or heardfrom again.

Thomas Luckey married NellieDavis of Lane County and moved tolive in Tacoma, Washington.

Allen Luckey was the victim of anaccidental gunshot which killed himin Oakland, Oregon in 1867.

Nancy Luckey married WilliamSmith in 1851 in Lane County andthey lived in Eugene.

Joe Luckey opened an early dayjewelry shop and was a familiar figurearound Eugene for years. He had twowives, Elizabeth Stewart and JennieSpencer.

Mary Luckey, the last child in theWm. Nelson family, never married,and died young in Eugene, at age 32.

The way west to Oregon in the earlydays was fraught with many dangers,no matter how one chose to travel.The machinations of fate and the willof God are difficult to understand.

Jeremiah Luckey traveled toOregon from Athens County, Ohio, in1863. He was the younger brother ofWilliam Nelson (Uncle Billy) Luckey,who came to Lane County in 1850.After becoming established he sentfor his wife, Catherine, and their twochildren, who had remained in Ohio.

Catherine Luckey and her twochildren, Charles and Margaret,accompanied by her brother-in-law,Samuel Nelson Luckey, his wifeElizabeth, and their daughter MissForbes, traveled to San Francisco. OnJuly 27, 1865, they boarded the 1359ton sidewheel steamship, the40

WAITING IN OREGONby Eugene E. Luckey

Wm. Nelson's brother, GeorgeLuckey, came to Oregon to join himat an early date, but he later returnedto Iowa where he would live out hisdays. Another brother, Jerry, came toOregon and stayed in Eugene, to liveout his days, as did bachelor brotherJoseph Free Luckey. Still anotherbrother, named Samuel, along withhis wife and children, were drownedon the Brother Jonathan, whileenroute along the Pacific Coast in1865 on their way to Oregon.

Wm. Nelson and his wife, ElizabethLeasure Luckey, are buried inEugene's Masonic Cemetery, as aremany other members of the Luckeyfamily, along with many other earlypioneers.

"Brother Jonathan' operated by theCalifornia Steam Navigation Co.There was a total of 232 passengersaboard for the trip from San Franciscoto Victoria, with a stop at Portland,Oregon.

Among the dignitaries aboard wasGeneral George T. Wright and staff,who were to take command of Ft.Vancouver; Anson G. Henry,Governor of the WashingtonTerritory; Senator J.W. Nesmith; thenewly-appointed superintendent ofthe mint in The Dalles, H. Logan andwife; James Nisbet, editor of the SanFrancisco Bulletin; Major Eddy,U.S.A. paymaster, and a $200,000army payroll.

As the ship's cargo was beingloaded, the Captain, Samuel J.DeWolf, protested to a company

- Lane County Historian

41

official against what he consideredthe gross overloading of his ship. TheCaptain's warning concerning theoverloading was ignored and theloading continued.

At noon on July 28, 1865, BrotherJonathan slipped her moorage linesand set a course northward along theCalifornia coast, directly into asummer northwesterly.

After laboring up the coast for twodays, bucking increasing headwindsand a rough sea, she passed the townof Crescent City, California, whereshe fired the usual one-gun salute ingreeting.

On Sunday, at 12 o'clock, theCaptain determined the ship's posi-tion from a sun sight. The ship hadreached a point about 16 miles north-west of Crescent City and all forwardprogress was thwarted by wind andsea. Quartermaster on watch JacobYates, reported, "I took the helm attwelve o'clock. A northwest gale wasblowing and we were four miles abovePoint St. George. The sea wasrunning mountain high and the shipwas not making headway. TheCaptain thought it best to turn backto Crescent City and wait until thestorm had ceased. He ordered thehelm hard aport.

"I obeyed and it steadied her. I kepton due east. This was about 12:45.When we made Seal Rock, thecaptain said 'southeast by south'. Itwas clear where we were, but foggyand smoking inshore.

"We ran until 1:50 when she struckwith great force, knocking thepassengers down and starting thedeck planks."

Summer. 1989

David Farrell, the SteerageSteward, continues the report fromthe time the ship struck the reef.

"She struck very hard, apparentlyabout halfway between her stern andforemast. She did not appear to strikeher stern; but raised on the swell andsettled directly upon the rock. Thenext sea that struck her carried heras far on the rock as her foremast.Her bottom was badly torn to pieces,and her foremast dropped throughuntil stopped by the yardarm. Sheremained swinging at the mercy ofthe waves until she sunk. The officerswere very cool, and were doing all intheir power to save the lives of thepassengers, who were very calmunder the circumstances.

"When Captain DeWolf found theship was bound to sink, he walkedforward and coolly said, 'All hands aftand try to save yourselves.' The firstboat that was lowered was the forwardboat on the port side, and wasswamped; its crew were swimmingaround her. When we last saw herthere was one man sitting astride ofher, and she was upside down. Thenext boat that was lowered was on thestarboard side of the ship, directlyastern of the wheel. This was underthe charge of Campbell, the SecondMate, and contained a larger numberof ladies, but was swamped before shewas free from the davits; her stem wassmashed in against the ship's side.The First Officer, Allen, hauled herpassengers on board ship again.

"The Captain, who was standing onthe hurricane deck just aft off thewheelhouse, spoke to me, and told meto put the plugs into the boat

swinging at the starboard davits, justastern of the last that had beenswamped. I did so, and he then toldme to remain in her, for the purposeof keeping the men out of her, and toldme to take as many women as wouldgo. I did so.

"John P. Hensley brought twowomen and tried to get them into theboat, but could not succeed; theybegged him to let them go, which hedid. Seeing that the women would notget in, I said: 'John, you had better getin yourse1f but he said he would not;that he would stay and assist othersin saving their lives'

Under repeated urging by GeneralWright, Mrs. Wright reluctantly tooka seat in the boat and then sheinsisted that she return to theGeneral's side. Witnesses laterrelated how the loving couple stoodembraced as the ship went down.

David Farrell continues thenarrative, "I then said: 'John, if youwill not go, give me a bucket.' Heleaped from the hurricane to theupper or pilot deck, and gave me oneof the fire buckets that were in a rackon the wheelhouse. I tried again toinduce him to come, but he would not,saying that there were alreadyenough in the boat. Allen thencommenced lowering us down. JohnHensley was the last man I spoke to,and his last words to me were: 'Keepcool and save yourselves - goodbye!'When we struck the water the shiprolled over on us and nearly sunk us,but we escaped with only the loss ofall our starboard tole-pins.

"We had hard work to clear theship, which we could only do bypushing the boat around under the

42

ship's stem. In this manner wemanaged to get steerage way and theuse of our oars. We startedimmediately for shore. We wererunning quartering with the waves,which broke over us on nearly everycrest, at times nearly filling the boat,and had it not been for the bucketthat was given us by our brave-hearted shipmate, John Hensley,there would probably never have beena soul saved to give tidings of theterrible disaster.

"After we left the ship, there weretwo guns fired; we looked back at theship and saw her smokestack go bythe board. We then went down intothe trough of the sea so far as to makeit impossible to see the ship. When wearose on the next crest, I saw thesignal of distress flying at themizzenmast head.

"We were again let down into thetrough of the sea and when we cameup again, the ship had entirelydisappeared. I think the waves droveher over the rocks, and that she wentdown stem first.

"We were about three hours gettingto Crescent City, I should think Thewater was very cold, and I think itwould not have been possible for aman to have lived more than tenhours had any tried to save them-selves by means of life preservers ordrift of any kind where they wouldhave been exposed to the watery'

(This only surviving lifeboat was inthe command of James Patterson,Third Officer.)

"The people of Crescent City treatedus kindly; and there were three orfour boats, including the one in whichwe were saved, dispatched at once for

Lane County Historian

the wreck, but after getting outsidea short distance, they were forced toreturn, as the seas ran so high as tomake it impossible for them to gofurther.

"The officers were all very bravemen, and though death was staringthem in the face, they were cool andsensible."

Mrs. Stott, one of the rescuedpassengers, says that Yates, theQuartermaster, did all in his power toget others into this boat, and says thatthe reason so many of the crew weresaved was, that this being thesmallest boat, the officers andgentlemen on board considered it lesssafe than the others, and sent all theladies into the larger ones, whichwere lost.

The preceding was an account of theattempted launching of two of thelarger lifeboats and the successfullaunching of the smaller lifeboat,which contained five women, threechildren and eleven crewmen. Therewas a total of six large lifeboats andthe smaller one that survived. Thereis no eyewitness report on attempts tolaunch the other four large lifeboatsas the surviving witnesses hadalready left the stricken ship.

James Nisbet, editor of the SanFrancisco Bulletin, sat on the deck of

Summer, 1989

the doomed ship and wrote out hislast will and testament, plus agoodbye note to a friend, Mrs. CasperHopkins. The pencil-written paperwas recovered two days later when hisbody washed ashore. (Eventually thewill reached the California courts butwas refused because of a lack ofwitnesses).

Captain DeWolf"s last words heardby the surviving witnesses were, "Tellthem if they had not overloaded us wewould have gotten through all rightand this would never have happened."

The Jonathan slid beneath thewaves, into 300 feet of water within45 minutes after striking the reef,taking with it 213 souls and $200,000in gold.

Samuel Nelson Luckey, his wife andtheir child, would never live in thepromised land of Oregon. CatherineLuckey and her children would neverfeel the affectionate embrace ofhusband and father, Jeremiah, whowas waiting - waiting for his lovedones in Oregon.

(There is a commemorativecemetery established in memory ofthose who perished aboard theBrother Jonathan, locatedoverlooking the sea, just west ofCrescent City, California).

Brother Jonathan Memorial Cemetery Marker, Courtesy Eugene Luckey.

S.

Brother Jonathan as rebuilt in 1852, from EARLY AMERICAN STEAMERS, Vol. 6 by Erik Heyl,courtesy Eugene Luckey.

44 Lane County Historian

Excerpt from Interview with Frances O'Brien,Blue River, OR by Jane Bigelow 10/29/83

Mrs. O'Brien taught school at Blue River in 1925 and recalled the gamesand activities of the children:

"A favorite game was prisoner'sbase. The important thing was to getsomeone who could run and dodge.There was a dare line out front anda safety zone behind. I was playingwith them one day. We touched thedare line and were trying to get back.Of course the grounds had some rockson them. I caught my foot on a rockand fell and it knocked all the windout of me.

"I couldn't say a word! I couldn't getup! I couldn't ANYTHING! The kidsthought I was dead. I could hear

THE COMPANY BY THE BAYA portrait of Edward S. Evans andthe people of the Evans ProductsCompany of Coos Bay, Oregon -1 928-1962

This is a history about one of themost successful wood productscompanies in America between 1928and 1962 and the people who made ita success. It is a book which examineswhy a far-flung group of formerlumber workers have gathered topicnic every summer for 26 yearssince the closure of the company onMarch 1, 1962. This book is arememberance and celebration of aremarkable company, a remarkableSummer, 1989

BOOK REVIEW

Charles Shultze say, 'She's dead, let'sget some water and throw on her tosee if she comes to!'

"I still couldn't say a word; Icouldn't get up. I just lay there, andhere Charles comes with the water!Just then I was able to raise upslightly and say only one word!D00000n't!

"Next thing they were telling me allabout it. They said, 'We were never soscared in our lives! We thought youwere dead and we'd have to have aNEW teacher!'

era and most important, some veryloyal and dedicated working people.

The Company by the Bay is nota company history nor an officialhistory. It is a book inspired, writtenand published by workers. It attemptsto document in an accurate and livelyway a unique period when goodrelations existed between workersand industry in a small lumber townin the Pacific Northwest.

The book is available from SandraBeebe/By the Bay Press, 3105Gateway No. 206, Springfield, OR97477. Regular price $20.00, include$1 postage per book.

SKOOKUM: An Oregon PioneerFamily's History and Lore.By Shannon Applegate.Wm. Morrow and Co., Inc. 1988.459 pp. Bibliography, Illustrations,Index, $22.95. Hard Cover.

This is the story of the famousApplegate family who settled inSouthern Oregon after an arduoustrip from Missouri, on which they losta child by drowning in the ColumbiaRiver.

Jesse, Charles and Lindsay Apple-gate built their homes in thebeautiful Siuslaw Valley. Charles'attractive home, completed in 1856,remains standing near Yoncalla,Oregon.

BOOK REVIEW

Desiring to plot a safe crossing ofmountains and swift-flowing rivers,they charted a route which enteredthe Willamette Valley from the south.Thus was born the Applegate Trail.

The Applegates had great rapportwith the Indians of the area and hada good influence on keeping themhappy and contented. The bookcontains many simple stories of lifeamong the whites and Indians, andhow they lived together harmon-iously. There is also a list ofApplegate descendants, of whom theauthor is one.By Daye Hulin

LANE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Term expires 1989John McWadeEthan NewmanMarty WestBob Cox

Board of Directors and Officers for 1988-89

President: Ethan NewmanVice President: Jim GuistinaRecording Secretary: Alfaretta SporesMembership Secretary: Alta NelsonTreasurer: David Ramstead

Board Members

term expires 1990Orlando HollisHallie HuntingtonDavid RamsteadA.J. Guistina

term expires 1991Alfaretta SporesLois BartonFrances NewsomDon Smith

YOU ARE INVITED TO BECOME A MEMBEROF THE LANE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Membership entitles you to receive THE HISTORIAN, published three times a year by the Society.Members are eligible to participate in periodic public interest meetings and in projects to preserve andcollect Lane County History.

I would like to become a member of the Lane County Historical Society in the classificationchecked:

Family membership, annual $ 10.00Sustaining Membership, annual $ 25.00

Eli Contributing Membership, annual $ 50.00LII Patron, annual $100.00

Lifetime Membership $500.00LI Contribution to Society's Preservation Projects