school

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

Written by: Jerry Cox Nicholson, great-great-great grand daughter of Jesse and Ruby Bond Looney

“Jesse Looney was born near Knoxville, Tennessee and spent his youth and early manhood in the South. He was a first cousin of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States.

“Jesse Looney inherited land and many slaves as his heritage. Slavery was one of the local conditions under which he was reared, but early in life he espoused the idea of human freedom and decided to leave the land of his birth and its tradition of human slavery. He sought a place where he could rear his family under better influences. Jesse, with his wife and six children, joined a wagon train made up of many families. With Dr. Marcus Whitman as their captain and guide, they headed for the Oregon Country. They started on May 22, 1843 from Independence, Missouri and arrived in October of that year in what is now called Jefferson, Oregon.

“Jesse Looney showed his good business judgement in fitting out his family wagons. There were three. One was built like a boat, with a tight bottom, so as to ford the streams without getting the contents wet. One was called ‘fiddle’ because of its peculiar construction. In these wagons they had packed everything they could think of that they would need in the new country.

“Jesse and his wife Ruby Bond Looney chose for their donation claim a beautiful location about twelve miles south of Salem, known later as ‘Looney Butte’. The Looney cemetery is only 1/4 mile from this home and Jesse Looney (1802-1869) and his wife Ruby Bond Looney (1808-1900) are both buried there.

“Jesse Looney packed the wagons for their new home in Oregon Country. A jar of apple seeds was a dream for their new land. Jesse developed one of the largest orchards in the new country. When the apple trees all came to bearing, folks came all the way from California to get apples.

“The old Jefferson Institute which was located near where the present elementary school now stands was in operation from 1857-1899. The first enrollment was 89 pupils. Courses were taught from the elementary level up to the equivalent of two years of college.”

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

Written by: Weltha Jo Goin Johnson

“My Dad’s family, the Goins, came to Oregon in the late 1850s by covered wagon. They first settled east of Jefferson near Green’s Bridge. In about 1898 my grand dad, Alfred Goin, bought the property north of Jefferson that my husband and I live on now. My dad was born on the farm in 1903 and died there in 1993. My children, Kari and Blair, and their families, including Danielle, live on this same property. That’s five generations to have lived on this property. The farm used to go from Danielle’s house all the way to the Jefferson Middle School, but most was sold.

“My dad went to school at Jefferson. So did I, my children and now my grand daughters. My dad walked 3 miles to school and home. Sometimes he rode a horse or drove a buggy on the dirt or mud road, but it was too much trouble to take the horse to livery stable downtown Jefferson in the morning and pick it up after school, plus the horse was ‘barn sour’ and really didn’t want to be taken to school. So my dad just walked or jogged. Our neighbor says he was the original ‘jogger’ way back in 1916.

 

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

Written by: Margie Chrisman Powell

“I was born in Kansas and when I was 2 1/2 years old my mom and dad moved our family (one sister, two brothers and me) to Jefferson, Oregon. We had lived on a small farm that my dad farmed. Jefferson was small then and everyone knew each other.

“I especially remember the bridge that was brand new and so clean that it sparkled. That was in 1934. Jefferson had an onion festival before mint was grown here.

“There was no Interstate 5 so all the traffic came through town. During World War II the troops would ride in their trucks and jeeps through town. We would stand on the sidewalk and wave to them.

“There was a movie theater where the Masonic Lodge is now. It cost 10 cents to get in. There were wooden floors and sometimes when the film came off the roll everyone would stomp on the floor until Mrs. Curl, the owner, would come down the aisle and tell us to stop.

“My mom always took me to pick strawberries and pole beans to buy my school clothes. She never just sent me, but came with me because she liked to pick beans too. When I started first grade in the fall of 1938, the brick building which is now the elementary school was brand new. We were the first class to go all 12 years there. Mr. Pat Beal came as our principal in 1940. We had a great band that played at lots of parades. Our motto was “Not the biggest, but the best.”

“I graduated in May of 1950 and married my sweetheart on June 1950 in the Jefferson Christian Church where we still attend. We have 3 grown children who all graduated from Jefferson High School. We also have 6 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter.

“I can’t imagine living any place but in Jefferson.”

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

Written by Nadine (Croft) Larabee

“My name is Nadine (Croft) Larabee and our family moved to Oregon in March, 1947, first living in the Grizzel place. My aunt and uncle (the Cole family) lived in Charles’ big house and we in the little green one. With 7 kids, it was just a little crowded!

“My older brother Marion and I registered for school with the District Clerk Ruby Pesheck at her house. Little did I know that a few years later I would be part of that family. Marion drove our big Studebaker President to Jefferson each day, along with Betty and Bonnie Brannen who had just moved here from Iowa. They lived in the Dever area but were assigned to Jefferson High School, same as we were.

“My younger two brothers and sister attended Conner School; Don graduating from 8th grade in June 1947. Summer time meant lots of work, but we were glad for the opportunity–hoeing mint for Noah shelby, working 10 hours a day. At 50 cents an hour, that was $5 a day. Big money to us. We soon got a raise to 75 cents an hour and felt quite rich (after a week)! Bean picking at Charlie Grizzel’s occupied the latter part of summer. Our move to the ‘Davis Cabins’ that fall changed our school to Albany High, the younger ones still at Conner. A big flood came late fall, with neighbors riding around in boats. I remember wading out to the outhouse at various times (no inside plumbing). Our next move was to the Harnisch house around the corner–a little more room, but with 7 kids, still crowded. We experienced the blessings of electricity here for the first time, and indoor plumbing a little later. Our fun times included summer softball games, riding on Harnisch’s flatbet truck down to the floating bridge for a swim after a long day of work, neighborhood kids just getting together (we walked everywhere). When we were lucky, we got in a car and went to Albany for a milkshake at Linn Creamery, sometimes (when we had the money) to In and Out or Cleo’s for a hamburger.

“Winters of 1947, ’48 and ’49 were the coldest I can remember, maybe into 1950 also. But there again we had our fun times: skating on frozen ponds, where surface water had collected from earlier heavy rains, then frozen solid. We managed to ‘skate’ without skates and it was fun. During snow times, my brothers Marion and Dan, along with Dave Harnisch rigged up snow skis from barrel stoves (how, I don’t know). We used the hill behind the Case’s for a good downhill run. Youth group times at the church were fun with Wyman and Mildred Bohl, our first full time pastors at Dever Conner Community Church. One sunday night we wanted to get out early from our meeting to go see the fireworks in Albany. It was kind of difficult to persuade Wyman to close early, but finally he did let us go.

“Before the freeway was built, we could walk across what is now Dever Conner Road, over to Bender’s. Sometimes clear into Jefferson, as the Greyhound bus stopped at the Jefferson Terminal Cabins on its way into Albany. We could also catch it at the intersection of 99E and the Bluff Road for a day of shopping and fun in Albany.

“We sometimes went swimming in the Santiam by the Bluff — Pat Bender, F. Kuvaas, Conners, Wanda Cole and I, along with others. We almost drowned one time when 3 of us girls all got into one innertube and it tipped us over. Later a man did drown in that same place, so that put a stop to our visits.

“Early in 1951 our family moved to the Elbert Chambers place (same place Syracuse School was). My younger brothers then attended Dever School. Marion had graduated from Albany High School by then (1948) and joined the Army. I also graduated in 1949 and lived in Albany where I worked. My youngest sister was born in 1951 — our only Oregonian. We as a family really enjoyed our early Dever-Conner experience and all the original ‘home-made’ fun of those days.

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

Written by: Connie Baillie

“I was born on a hop farm near Amity, Oregon. I went to Wheatland Grade School through the eighth grade and then to Amity High School. After graduating in 1945 I moved to Salem and got a job with the State of Oregon. There I met my husband to be, Charles Kerper who was employed with the State Tax Department. We raised four boys who have presented me with 10 grandchildren. I served as Den Mother for eight years and also as Room Mother. We did a lot of traveling all over the Northern states, back to where Charles was born in Pennsylvania. We also went to Washington D.C., twice to Yellowstone Park and to Disneyland with the boys. Charles passed away in 1972. I went back to the State Revenue Department and worked until 1989, seeing that my boys went to college. I married Glenn Baillie in 1984. We did some traveling to Nebraska, Wisconsin, California, Mexico and Canada.

“When he passed away in January, 2001 I sold my home and moved to The Springs at Sunnyview.”

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

Written by Mrs. Wenger

“Bush School, 1939 – 1945

“I lived south of Salem about where Walling Sand and Gravel Company is located. We rode the school bus. We rode even farther south and up the hill where Morning Side School is. The homes and that hill were mansions, at least to a little girls’ eyes. I remember one girl who lived there. Her name was Norma Paulus.

“Bush School is located on Mission Street. That is for awhile yet. It will be torn down this (2002) year. This is sadness for me. I remember the playground where we climbed in a big tree’s roots, where we played dodgeball. We got so dirty because sometimes the ground was very wet.

“I remember Mr. Beck, our principal. he was a very kind man. I remember my first grade teacher, Miss Dimick. She taught me how to tell time while I waited for the bus to take me home. I remember my fourth grade teacher who believed in ‘good health habits’. she said we should brush out teeth three times a day. she did. Also, every morning we had to raise our hand, handkerchief in hand, to show we carried one.

“I recently went back to Bush School with my daughter and grandson. Ryan wanted a picture of me in front of the school. While we were there I noticed how close to the floor the drinking fountains were. I never noticed that during the years 1939 – 1945.

“This wonderful school that I remember so well was a happy place.”

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

As told by: Edward E. Kahut

“There was a woodbox along the kitchen stove. Matches were kept on the warmer. I was almost 3 years old. I would crawl up there and get those matches, so the adults moved them. But one day i stood on the woodbox and saw one match which had fallen down in the crack between two pieces of metal. I worked and worked and dug it out with my little fingers.

“I went out to the barn with the match in hand. I was thinking about how the other kids took matches, stood them on the striker and flicked them. They would light and spin like fireworks. I got down to the barn thinking to see if they hay would burn. I stuck the match on the wood like I saw my brothers do. I put it on the hay right there. Then I saw the hay would burn. I blew on it to put it out but I saw that it was over my head. So I got scared and ran to the house and hid under the bed. I stayed under there for a long time.

“The barn was burning. They didn’t know where I was. They were scared I was in the barn. I don’t remember if I came out or if they found me under there. They didn’t know I did it. They asked me and I shook my head back and forth for weeks.

News article from March 30, 1933

Three Horses Burn to Death

Woodburn — A large barn on the Joe Kahut farm two miles southeast of Woodburn was completely destroyed by fire Saturday which was thought to have started from defective wiring. Three horses were burned to death and a fourth was badly burned but may recover. 

Tony Kahut, 14, bravely entered the burning structure and led a valuable bull to safety. Two silos, one full and the other about half full of silage, a large amount of hay and other feed, a number of farm implements and several sets of harness were also destroyed. The Woodburn fire department with the chemical truck was able to save the house and other adjoining buildings. The fire broke out about 2:30 o’clock in the afternoon shortly after Kahut left for town and there was no one at home but Mrs. Kahut and six children of which Tony was the eldest. 

The barn was built about 20 years ago and was 60×60 feet in size. Loose hay in large quantities in the lower part of the barn caused the blaze to burn rapidly, and it was impossible to save anything from the burning building. The loss is estimated at $2500, partially covered by insurance. 

Sixty nine years later, the truth comes out:

One day my dad and I were on a walk together. He asked me if I did it and I told him the truth. Maybe it was six months later but it seemed like years. It was too late to give me a spanking.”

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

 

Written by: Irene Reeves

“My two sons were the fourth generation on their father’s side to attend school in Jefferson — each generation in a different building. When my older son started school in the first grade in September of 1938 the present elementary school was brand new and housed all 12 grades. He graduated from there in 1950.

“The present middle school was built and housed the high school in 1950. Later 7th and 8th graders were housed there as well. I believe the class of 1953 was the first to graduate from there.

“In the early 1970s the present high school was built to meet the needs of an increasing enrollment. During these years the Parrish and Conner Districts consolidated with Jefferson.

“Many of the Jefferson graduates have gone on to college and found lucrative careers in either education or business. Jefferson has some excellent teachers and the success of these students has been a credit to them.

“Jefferson has had much success in athletics as well, as proven by the trophy case. Be proud of your school and do your part to help make it a good school. ”

 

Algebra

Afraid of life, she listens to

them tell her how different

she is; she takes it to heart

at first. Watch her try, try

try to be like them but

no matter how hard she tries,

she is not like them.

Somewhere along the equation

she realizes that different than

is not less than;

it is equal to. Sometimes (maybe

mostly) different than, plus

different than equals a sum

far greater.

The Color of Your Heart

(Written for my art students at Howard Street Charter School, 2012)

The color of your heart is deep and wide–

It gathers all around me

And fills my days with laughter rich

And teaches me to be

More colorful myself, spilling all

My deepest hues

(Those I tend to hide inside)

Instead of showing them, like you.

Together we can paint the world to

Create a masterpiece

Of love and harmony and then

Our world can be at peace.