The Magazine of the Southern Historical Society I Our Own Voices Otto J. Frohnmayer 1906-2000

ith the death of Otto Frohnmayer on January 31, the Society lost one of its strongest supporters W and the Society Foundation lost one of its founding directors. Frohnmayer carne to Medford in 1933 after graduating from law school. He manied MarAbel Braden in 1936 and they raised four children. For sixty-seven years, Frohnmayer practiced law in Medford as a senior partner in Frohnmayer, Deatherage, Pratt, Jamieson, Clarke & Moore. He was a founding member of Mercy Flights; served as committee chair for the group that raised more than $2 million to build Memorial Hospital (now Rogue Valley Medical Center); raised funds for the renovation of the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater; was a leader in the development of downtown Medford; and served on a host of community non-profit boards. Otto Frohnmayer, devoted husband and father, respected attorney, philanthropist, and community builder, will be greatly missed.

Otto and MarAbel in 1936 shortly after their wedding.

Otto Frohnmayer feeding nine-month-old daughter Mira, the first offour children, 1939.

Five-year-old twin brothers, Herman, left, and Otto, about 1910.

Otto, right, and Bill Bowerman (co-founder of Nike, Inc.), enjoy a winter picnic, about 1937.

Pl-laroGRAPHS COURTESY OF TH E FROHNMAYE R FAMll~Y

VOL. 2, NO. 3 In This Issue Vol. 2, No.3 March 2000

SOUTHERN OREGON HERITAGE TODAY Editorial Guidelines SOUTHERN OREGON at ure articles average 3,000 to 4,000 (pre-edited) wo rds. Other materials range fro m 500 to I ,000 words. Electronic Fsubmissions are accepted on 3- 1/4-inch disks and should be accompanied by a hard-copy printout Cite all sources and construct endnotes and c ut lines using the Chicago Manual of Style. The aut hor is responsible fo r verification of cited facts. A selection of professional. unscreened photographs and/or line art should accompany submission-black-and-white or color. The Southern HERITA

DEPARTMENTS

SUNDAY DRIVING OuR OwN VoicEs Upper Klamath Lake Otto J Frohnmayer, 1906-2000 ••• p. 2 by Doug Foster p.4 SOHS News and Notes Exhibits and program updates and calendar p.6

MEMBERS AND DONORS p.lS PRESERVATION PROFILE Wallpaper for the Masses fROM THE COLLECTIONS by Margaret Watson Everyday Items are the p.14 Artifacts of History by Mary Ames Sheret p.S

:;;;~ THE PIONEERS: :r:"' 0 "' Amos Willits and the Legacy of Persist Glasses with a grape by Brian Kinsey motif, a bottle of Britt port, an p.16 antique clock, and an artist's brushes and paints reflect the life of Peter Britt, photographed PHOTO COURTESY OF M EDFORD M AIL TRIH UNE Southern Oregon Historical Somety in his later years. -----~

Southem Oregon Historical Society Ann /11\oore, Medford, SfC()N) ~ Ma 'ne Staff Southem Oregon Heritage Today is produced Board af Trustees Alice Mullaly, Central Paint, ""-"l.m Cynr'Wicklund, EXECUTM ASS!SfANr/CCWMI.NI0110NS using Quark XPress on Macintosh computers and is Allen Alsing, Ashland, ...... ,.., Marjorie Overland, Medford, FRST """"'""'NT CCOR:OINATO« printed by Ram Ofhet lithographers. Chervl Breeden, Medford Bi ll Powe ll,

ince 1946, the Southern Oregon Historical Society has collected, preserved, researched, and interpreted artifacts, Sdocuments, and photographs that connect us to our region's In a small suitcase came the tools of George Laidley's past. Each year through a careful screening process, the Society life as a timber cruiser: a measuring stick, a tape, adds hundreds of donated items to its general history and library maps, notebooks, and a drinking cup. collections that record local events, businesses, people, culture, and changes in the region over time. These artifacts play a crucial what it was like to work for the old California Oregon Power role in preserving our cultural legacy. Company, usually referred to as COPCO. From George Laidley came the tools he relied on when he worked in the woods as a timber cruiser, measuring the volume of lumber in the forests. A large donation came from the descendants of Fred and Nancy Deuel, who moved to Medford in 1894 and lived on South Oakdale. They owned the Deuel & Kentner store and Del Rio Orchards. Among the artifacts were local school pennants, games, and sporting equipment as well as items from the store and business correspondence. The Society also acquired a number of items associated with local schools, including a quilt given in 1940 as a farewell present to Eunice and Wallace Johnson, who taught at the Rogue Valley Elementary Christian School in the 1930s. The North Medford High School bass and snare drums that graced the window of Mountain Music store in Medford are now in the collection. And we were also delighted to receive three high school letterman's sweaters dating from a half-century ago: two worn by Bill Pruitt when he attended Prospect (1948-49) and Medford (graduated 1951) and one worn by Dean Sheldon in his senior--- year at Medford (1944-1945). These items reflect a small portion of the objects donated The family of merchants and orchardists Fred and Nancy to the Southern Oregon Historical Society in 1999. We thank Deuel donated musical instruments, local high school sports everyone for their help in preserving Southern Oregon's cultural pennants, and games. The late-1940s Prospect High School legacy for today and tomorrow. letterman's sweater is from Bill Pruitt. If you have an object, document, or photograph relating to the region's history that you would like to consider donating, please call the Society at 773-6536 to inquire about the donation and In 1999, some of the artifacts added to the general history acceptance process. i collection originated from local businesses, including Mann's, J.C. Penney, and Newberry department stores, Heath Drug Store, Mary Ames Sheret is Micro-Trains and MEDCO. curator of collections Other donations tell more personal stories of the men and and exhibits for the women who have lived and worked in Southern Oregon. For example, W.J. Gebhard's lineman's gear gives us a glimpse of Southern Oregon Historical Society.

# 1999. 141.3 1• . 33. & .34

A fencing helmet and a pair offoils reflect the interest in sports in the Deuel household. SOUTHERN OREGON HERITAGE TODAY 5 tr~~ SOUTHERN OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY -!!!! Things To Do in March

PROGRAMS: {see listings below for complete descriptions)

DATE&TIME LOCATION DESCRIPTION March Craft of the Month Museum hours Children's Museum "Children's Museum Search" Conversations with ... Sat., Mar. 4, 1:00 p.m. Ashland Branch John Enders: Ashland's Business History Archaeology of the Upper Rogue Sat., Mar. 4, 1:00 p.m. Lake Creek Hist. Society Lecture accompanies traveling exhibit Photo Preservation Workshop Sat., Mar. 11, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. History Center Preregister by March 3 The Women of Hanley Farm Sat., Mar. 18, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. History Center Heritage & legacy of the Hanley sisters Public Heritage Fair Day Sat., Mar. 18, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Jacksonville Museum Hands-on activities for families Honoring Talent Women Sun., Mar. 19, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Talent Historical Society 3 part program

PHOTO PRESERVATION history. A free family day at the Children's Program Details WORKSHOP and Jacksonville museums will provide For times and locations, see schedule above. Society Library/Archives Coordinator hands-on activities including basket Jacque Sundstrand presents a workshop on weaving, butter churning, and using a MARCH CRAn OF THE MONTH proper techniques for photograph storage, printing press. Come join the fun! "Children's Museum Search" handling and display. Bring your problem Where in the museum can you fmd a photos for discussion. Space is limited, so HONORING TALENT WOMEN bulldog holding an open sign? Visit the sign up early. Preregistration and prepayment A 3-part program at the Talent Historical Children's Museum for a free museum are required by 5:00p.m. March 3. $10 for Society honors women this month. The search and find out why museums are Society members; $15 for nonmembers. program begins with a presentation by so much fun! Families; 25¢. Call 773-6536 for more information. Diane Allen, titled " and the Politics of Oregon Feminism," CONVERSATIONS WITH ••• CELEBRATE WOMEN'S HISTORY made possible by the Oregon Council for John Enders, editor of the Ashland Daily MONTH with "The Women of the Humanities, affiliate of the National Tidings, joins us this month. His great­ Hanley Farm" Endowment of the Humanities. Next is a grandfather, Henry G. Enders, built the Join Society Programs Associate Dawna reading by Antoinette Claypole, author of Enders block in 1912 moving the business Curler for a trip into the past as she explores "And Who Shall Unbraid Her Hair." The out of the "hole" as he called the Plaza. the family he1itage and legacy of the Hanley program concludes with a recognition John, a fourth generation Ashlander, sisters. Climb the Hanley family tree and ceremony honoring Talent women. For continues the family tradition of trace the contributions that this pioneering more information, call the Talent Historical prominence in our community. Come and family made to its community. Letters, Society at 512-8838. share in Ashland's business history. Free. photographs, and family papers reveal insights into the actions, thoughts, and ARCHAEOLOGY OF ~~ we'i-e.- ~~oking i~r a_re\v ch~~~~~ers :~ .' attitudes of those from earlier _. - .. ~ - -- ~ - . THE UPPER ROGUE generations. See what such For almost 30 years, archaeologists Teenagers to senior citizens who love documents have taught us about have studied the history of the history and enjoy talking with people are the women whose heritage links native peoples of the Upper needed to become costumed greeters and them to the farm and the rich Rogue. The BLM and Southern living history interpreters for the Society's pioneering heritage of Oregon Historical Society have 1911 Beekman Living History program. Southern Oregon. Preregister designed a small traveling The six-week training begins in April. by calling 773-6536. Fee is exhibit reporting this Participants are asked to commit to one $3 for Society members; $5 archaeology work. The day a week, four hours per day throughout for nonmembers. This program is exhibit is traveling to local the summer. Both volunteer and a few a repeat of the presentation given during historical societies over the part-time seasonal paid positions are Womens History Month in 1998. course of the year. The BLM will present an available. Pick up applications at the Jacksonville Museum or History Center. archaeology slide show at each site. Call the PUBLIC HERITAGE FAIR DAY Call 773-6536 for more infonnation. Lake Creek Historical Society, 826-1513, Families are invited to find out why over Deadline for applications is April I. for the location of this March 4 program. 2,500 fourth graders are so excited about

6 VOL . 2, NO. 3 EXHIBITS: (see listings below for complete descriptions)

LOCATION MUSEUM HOURS SOUTHERN OREGON Century of Photography: 1856-1956 HISTORY CENTER Mon. - Fri., 9:00 am - 5:00 pm HISTORICAL SOCIETY Ernest Smith, Butte Falls Photographer Sat. 1:00 - 5:00 pm SITES Miner, Baker, Furniture Maker JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM Wed. - Sat., 10:00 am.-5:00 pm Phone: (541) 773-6536 Jacksonville: Boom Town to Home Town Sunday, noon - 5:00 pm unless listed otherwise Politics of Culture: Collecting the Native Fax (541) 776 7994 American Experience Email [email protected] Hall of Justice Website www.sohs.org Yesteryear's Children's Playroom: One HISTORY CENTER Hundred Years of Toys (1890-1990 106 N. Central, Medford Ongoing 'hands on history' exhibit CHILDREN'S MUSEUM Wed. - Sat., 10:00 am.-5:00 pm Mon - Fri, 9:00am to 5:00pm Sunday, noon - 5:00 pm Sat, 1:00 to 5:00pm The Private Life of a Non-Public Place ASHLAND BRANCH Wed. - Sat., 12:00 -4:00 pm RESEARCH LIBRARY 106 N. Central, Medford Streetscapes and City Views Tues- Sat, 1:00 to 5:00pm Public Places and Private Lives JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM & CHILDREN'S MUSEUM Archaeology of the Upper Rogue LAKE CREEK HIST. Soc. call826-1513 for hours 5th <'Jnd C, Jacksonville Wed- Sat, 1O:OOam to 5:00pm include a 1920s doll swing, a child's rocker, pull Sunday, noon to 5:00pm Exhibit Details toys, and a hobby horse on springs. THIRD STREET ARTISAN STUDIO For times and locations, see schedule above. 3rd and California, Jaeksonville CHILDREN'S MUSEUM Sat, 11 :OOam to 4:00pm CENTURY OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Explore home and occupational settings from the (beginning March 4) 1850s to the 1930s through "hands on history." U.S. HOTEL 1856-1956 3rd and California, Jacksonville Highlights the work of two area photographers THE PRIVATE LIFE OF A Upstairs room available for rent. Peter Britt and James Verne Shangle, with NON-PUBLIC PLACE HANLEY FARM cameras from the Society's collection. Features Dunn House: a safe haven to abused 1053 Hanley Road (between Central women and children in Jackson County. Point & Jacksonville) Open by appointment. ERNEST W. SMITH, BUTTE FALLS STREETSCAPES AND CITY VIEWS (541) 773-2675. PHOTOGRAPHER Explores the visual history of Ashland through HISTORY STORE The Butte Falls Historical Society exhibit features Rogue Va lley Mall, Medford the eyes of yesterday's photographers. Ernest W. Smith, Butte Falls photographer and Daily, Mall hours (541) 774-9129 surveyor (north window, History Center). PUBLIC PLACES AND PRIVATE LIVES ASHLAND BRANCH Focuses on people and landmarks of Ashland. MINER, BAKER, FURNITURE MAKER 208 Oak, Ashland Wed- Sat, 12:00 to 4:00pm Explores the development of the Rogue Valley (541) 488-4938 and the impact the industrial revolution had on the settlement of Southern Oregon. JACKSONVILLE: Boom Town o you have a collection-buttons, n preparation for an exhibit titled to Home Town Dstamps, war memorabilia-you would I "Ashland Under Water," we would like Traces the development of Jacksonville. like to share? The Ashland Branch has to gather your memories and photos (for POLITICS OF CULTURE: Collecting the space available for community members duplication) of Ashland's floods during Native American Experience to display personal collections. the 20th century. Cultural history of local tribes and discussion of contemporary collecting issues. Please contact Ashland Program Associate J ay Leighton a t 488-4938. HALL OF JUSTICE MYSTERY OBJECT bruary's _ my~tery object is History of the former Jackson County Courthouse. OF THE MONTH Ra percussiOn mstrument. YESTERYEAR'S Congratulations to December's CHILDREN'S March Mystery Object: Mystery Object Winner, Kay J. PLAYROOM: o you know what duty this Maser of Ashland, whose One Hundred D mechanism performs? When name was "picked from the Years of Toys the trigger is released the plunger (1890-1990) hat", one of several entries pushes forward. Here's a clue: It identifying this still mysterious This Southern has something to do with cheese! object as a printing press. Oregon Antiques and Collectibles Club exhibit It measures 3.75"L and 1"W. Send will run through May. One hundred years of your answer on a 3-1/2 x 5 card February's Mystery Object: childhood memories as antiques and collectibles with your name, address and a percussion instrument fill the playroom., Delightful toys on display phone number to: News & Notes Mystery Object, SOHS, 106 N. SOUTHERN OREGON HERITAGE TODAY Central Ave., Medford, OR 97501. L...:...=o-=...;-..""'-==---• 7 Feature

A glimpse at lesser-known facets of this ILLINOIS AND THE famous pioneer photographer: his head for In 1845, when he was twenty-six, Britt and his family left business, his love of horticulture and his Switzerland and settled in Highland, Illinois. With his brother personal philosophy (usually) ofpeacefulness, Kaspar, Peter bought a 120-acre farm. While most settlers grew only enough for themselves, the Britts joined many Swiss settlers equality, and good works. in practicing commercial agriculture, selling their produce in St. Louis. Britt's wit, skill and aesthetic eye soon found a more creative hen we think of famed Rogue Valley pioneer Peter outlet in portrait painting (photography was then only six years Britt, we generally think of either his accomplishments old). Britt wove his own canvases from flax he grew, and since in photography or his namesake Britt Music Festival, there were no aJt supply stores on the frontier, he made colors whose grounds now occupy his f01mer homesite on a hill just by grinding minerals and mixing them with oil.2 above downtown Jacksonville. Peter soon left farming to his brother and set off wanderina the However, this Swiss itnmigrant was also a ceaselessly Mississippi River basin in search of portrait commissions. industrious businessman and h01ticulturist who planted the first H~ earned "just enough money to pay for his food and lodging," grapes in Southern Oregon, marketed wines, planted an immense wrote Alan Clark Miller in the defmitive 1976 biography, botanical garden, ran a pack train and-after arriving here poor­ Photographer of a Frontier: The Photographs of Peter Britt. -grew so wealthy that he became a major lender in the area. In 1852 Britt set out for Oregon in a small pa~ty of three other Britt was also a pioneer at something that would challenge the Swiss men, with one wagon and a few horses between them. nation a century later-racial tolerance. "He was a gentleman of Britt's pacific nature is revealed in an anecdote about the band's pe1fect honor and SOHS # l7008 encounter with a Sioux Indian party just west of Fort Laramie, in perfect kindness of present-day . The Sioux swept down from a ridge and heart," wrote Silas J. raced in a cit"cle around Britt and his companions. The other three Day, secretary of the men wanted to kill as many Indians as they could, but B1itt, though Pioneer Society of armed with a Colt revolver and a combination rifle-shotgun, argued Southern Oregon, after for waiting to see what developed. Sensing little danger from the Britt's death. "There settlers, the Indians soon drew up and spread their blanket. Britt was no uncharitableness threw in some ha~·dtack and the Indians rode away. or bigotry in his nature. He never made a man look dark nor caused a EARLY MINING AND PACKING IN JACKSONVILLE tear but when he died."' Britt reached then-tiny Portland in early October, but soon heard about Table Rock City (later Jacksonville). "Where so r------~------. much gold was being found," Britt's Jacksonville home SOHS #12843 started as this simple square Britt wrote, "I could undoubtedly structure with a skylight, built do well in my business." He in 1854. The sign by the door arrived in early November 1852 says "Britt's Photographic with a two-wheeled cart (his Daguerreotype Room." party had sawn their praitie schooner in half), a yoke of Mollie, Emil, and Jacob Britt oxen, a mule, 300 pounds of picnic on the lawn of their photographic equipment and father's house near his banana five dollars. tree in this 1880s photo. The Where Britt camped on his first wine is likely from Britt's night, just southwest of town, he Valley View Vineyard. would later come to own land stretching from Jackson Creek to

8 VO L. 2, NO. 3 Feature

COLOR PHarOS BY D ANA HEDRICK-EARP

Britt's wife, Amalia, in the portrait and much closer port of Crescent City, where it could tap into at left, was the love of his life, even goods shipped from the Bay Area. though they were only married ten Britt saw an opportunity and outfitted a string of twenty-six years before her death in 1871. Britt mules, each carrying 200 pounds, on the ten-day journey over the #8 324 (DETAIL) used the oils and brushes above to Cold Spring Mountain Trail. Britt exported mainly hides and tint photographs, and to paint. gold dust, returning with flour, whiskey, clothes, mining tools, boots, salt, and copies of the Crescent City Herald, the only Rich Gulch. In the 1860s, the town council would grant Britt paper read in the Rogue Valley until the Table Rock Sentinel clear title to this land, which likely was acquired through a began publication in combination of squatter's rights, barter and mining claims. Jacksonville in November Britt built a dugout log cabin to serve as living quarters and 1855. Britt's venture did studio. Within weeks, he opened the first "Daguen·eian Gallery" well. To the tax collector, in Southern Oregon. he reported his total Britt and several partners tried mining on Ashland Creek, valuation as $280 in which was said to be paying off 1ichly. However, Britt's operation 1854, $2,065 in 1855 and came up with only about seventy-five cents a man. After a week $5,000 in 1857. they gave up. It turned out the pmty had built their sluice box Britt had made the with the riffles pointing the wrong way, so that any gold was grubstake upon which he simply washed back into the creek. would found a fortune. Undaunted, Britt kept up claims throughout the 1850s. His By 1854, Britt had begun 1853 claim on the south fork of Jackson Creek paid as much as work on a new home-a $500 a day. The following year, he and two partners found a rich square, one-story building deposit at the head of Sterling Creek, six miles southeast of with a classic revival Jacksonville. cornice and a skylight. In its brief life up to that point, Jacksonville had known only Britt would make many wann, rainy winters. With chm·acteristic prudence, Britt had laid additions to this home, away a fifty-pound bag of flour. In December 1852, powerful including conversion to stonns choked the passes with snow, and the now-isolated the gingerbread "cottage Jacksonville found itself so low on meat that settlers stalked deer Gothic" style, but the with hammers. The Table Rock Bakery was about out of flour. basic one-story square Word spread that Britt was sitting on a flour stash. When Mollie Britt sits beneath her father's remained its heart Abyssinian banana tree, which had approached, he refused to sell, so bakery owner John Wintgen until it all burned soon whipped up public sentiment against Britt. Friends to be brought inside during the cold a century later. Rogue Valley winters. approached Britt to counsel that things might not go well for him The pack train in Jacksonville unless the he shared his flour. Britt saw their business was a wisdom and sold the bag for fifty dollars. risky one, with packers' lives threatened by freezing The first hard winter showed settlers the folly of relying for storms and constant attacks by Indians. By the time of the essential supplies on a 325-mile pack route to Portland, whose Indians ' defeat in June 1856, Britt got out of the packing merchants were selling goods that mostly came from San business and devoted himself full time to photography. Francisco, far to the south. A new supply trail was needed that WINE, ORCHARDS, AND WEATHER would open It was about this time that Britt made the first Jacksonville to the new plantings in what was to become a magnificent five­ acre horticultural garden and vineyard surrounding Britt's Valley View his home. Britt tenaced the garden with shovel and Vineyards produced wheelbanow and amazed townsfolk by inigating varietal wines as well as with permanent underground pipes fed by a ditch he port, and was the first dug to the headwaters of Jackson Creek. commercial vineyard in Noticing wild grapes growing abundantly in the . Britt hills around Jacksonville, Britt in 1854 bought may have sampled his cuttings from old Mission vines in California and product in these very four years later was bottling the first wine in the glasses. Oregon Tenitory--claret, muscatel, schiller, zinfandel, and port. SOUTHERN OREGON HERITAGE TODAY 9 Feature

His wine also attracted the Internal Revenue Service, which demanded that Britt get a retail and wholesale license. Britt claimed he was just selling wine to friends, but the IRS won the case and Britt soon went public under the name Valley View Vineyards, with fifteen acres producing up to 3,000 gallons a year. Britt's wine, fermented in two 1,000-gallon redwood tanks, went for fifty cents a gallon and was shipped in large wicker-clad demijohns throughout the Northwest. He supplied Jacksonville's City Saloon and Lunch House and sold to locals who came to his cellar to fill bottle or bucket. Britt supplied eucharist wine for local Catholic churches. He sent boxes of grapes to editors of the Portland Oregonian and to his friend Binger Hermann, An inveterate horticulturist, Britt grew ~~5!~~~~ yuccas in "Britt Park," upper left, cactus in his greenhouse, upper right, and iris and water lilies in the lily pond, right.

whom Southern Oregonians sent to Congress for twenty-two years. Britt's vineyard was a regular stop for traveling correspondents, including one from West Shore magazine who wrote of his claret, "We very much doubt if it can be surpassed in the much-boasted-of California vineyards." Britt brought in thirty-five beehives to foster pollination, and soon found himself selling honey in stores throughout the region. His wines, walnuts and honey were staples at area county fairs. Many of the flowers, ornamental shrubs and non-indigenous trees that graced frontier homes came from starts in the "Britt Park," of which the Oregon Sentinel reported in 1879: "It causes one to fancy he is in an enchanted world." Many descendants of these plants thrive in Jacksonville to this day. Britt is considered In this 1882 photograph, above, Britt's not only the father of Nmthwest home is surrounded by his botanical viticulture but also the father of the handiwork inluding everything from multimillion-dollar Southern ornamentals to garden vegetables. Oregon fruit industry. Britt's horticultural pursuits Never one to miss an agricultural bet, expanded when an Italian peddler Britt also raised bees to pollinate his wandered over the Siskiyous from crops and to produce honey, which he California in 1857, bearing a load packaged and sold. of fruit and grape cuttings, including a snow apple, pound pear and peach tree. Britt bought everything the man had.

At far right, this early 1880s view from the back of Britt's expanding home and gardens also shows the new Jackson County Courthouse under construction in the distance.

Ever the observer, Britt also kept meticulous diaries recording business dealings, horticultural details and daily climatic data documenting Rogue Valley weather for thirty-jive years. 10 Feature dg e Soon Britt planted Bartlett At right, Britt's first vineyard pears on his ranch and initiated spread below his home, and was a practice that was to the first in Southern Oregon. Wine become a widespread from Valley View Vineyards was ritual (and a source of aged in large barrels such as these, much air pollution) in below, and shipped in wicker­ the Rogue Valley: covered demijohns like the one at smudging in orchards left, from the Britt collection. to protect against frost. Britt grew large rhododendrons, Chinese wisteria, "Getman edging" for local sidewalks, British ivy that still climbs on Hom to , boarded a ship to local buildings and in the Crescent City and took the new stage line Jacksonville Cemetery, and to Jacksonville. sweet bay, which flavored On August 11, 1861 , Peter met his many a local soup and stew. beloved at the Applegate stage stop, Once, Britt found a stray English where they were married by a justice of walnut in the packing of an order from a the peace in the home of longtime friend regular supplier, Louis Rothermel of San Kaspar Kubli. The couple returned to Jose. From this nut, the frugal Britt grew A greenhouse Britt built housed such Peter's lovely hillside home and a year a widespreading tree with nuts he exotic plants as cactus, kumquats, later, their son Emil was born. considered superior to any of the hybrid pomegranates, lemons, oranges, coffee To mark the birth, Britt planted a varieties. Many descendants of this one bushes and Smyrna figs. Also found on sequoia that is still growing. Another son tree dot Jacksonville today. the grounds were such subtropical fauna died young in 1864 and young Amalia, Britt grew the first palm tree in Oregon, as Monterey cyprus, magnolia, olive, and known as Mollie, was born in 1865. although he had to build a house around it Japanese persimmon. Free-thinking Britt was a member of for the winter. Equally improbable was From his earliest years in Jacksonville, the agnostic Secular Union and eventually Britt's Abyssinian banana tree, which Britt began keeping weather diaries, using became vice president of the Oregon grew well in his yard, but had to be dug only a pocket sundial and homemade rain chapter. Although he avoided church, up and removed to the warmth of his gauge. Later he joined the government's he and Amalia had their house for the winter. weather reporting system, keeping a children baptized as faithful record for some thirty-five years, Presbyterians. This did not Britt photographed his sleeping children, except perhaps for one October day in go off without a hitch: Emil SOHS 1889, when his journal notes, "some boy #6487 Mollie and Emil, circa 1870. became panic-stricken (DETAIL) hit the rain gauge with a sling shot and during the ceremony and broke it all to pieces." dove under a table to elude the minister, who LOVE AND FAMILY then grabbed Emil by History tells us of only one love in the his waistband. His life of Peter Britt-Amalia Grob. He had pants came off and a loved her in the old country, as his chagrined Peter had brother Kaspar had loved her sister, Ana to capture his semi­ Grob. Kaspar's suit was successful and clad son before the they married, but the father, Jakob Grob, ceremony was completed. 00 believing portrait painters "no better than "' actors or Gypsies," sent Peter packing. Amalia died in "''*:I: 0 Amalia married another man, but in September of 1871. "' early 1861 , Peter got a letter from Kaspar As did many a informing him that Amalia, now living in pioneer, Peter Wisconsin, had become widowed. Her bucked himself up husband, a carpenter, had suffered a and went on to raise stroke and died, leaving her with Jacob, his three children, her six-year old son, and few means. now ages sixteen, Peter immediately wrote Amalia, offering money for passage back to Switzerland as well as another alternative: Would she come to Jacksonville, where he would marry her and be a father to her Britt planted this boy? She accepted the proposal, steamed sequoia the day down the Mississippi and around the that his son, Emil, was born in 1862. Feature

purpose, according to the Democratic News, was to "aid the afflicted, council the distressed, succor the feeble, watch with the sick and bury the dead." B1itt was among the first members. Politically, Britt, like most German­ Swiss, sided with the Union during the Civil War. He was elected to the town council in 1865 and 1877 and served on many appointive and volunteer committees. Originally a Democrat, Britt switched to the Republican Party when he was about sixty-five. The Britt children paid for the rich Brussels Britt's lifelong dedication carpet (close up at left) with proceeds from to photographing frontier the sale of ice cream they made out of snow life has been widely from Siskiyou Summit. Above, Mollie Britt reported. Some tales from poses at her piano about 1885. his photography days speak eloquently of Britt's Toward the end of his life, character. Miller, his the white-bearded Britt was biographer, writes: instantly recognizable on "His most harrowing the streets of Jacksonville. experience occurred when the meanest cutthroat in camp swaggered into his studio and demanded a HUMANITARIAN, daguerreotype. The LODGE MEMBER, character posed with his pistol in prominent view MUSICIAN and Britt secured a In pioneer days, the community of marvelous image capturing all the German and Swiss immigrants formed menace of the situation. The cutthroat societies for mutual assistance, keeping seemed quite pleased to discover he was old customs alive and furthering social so handsome and the matter appeared to ties through leisure activities. One of be settled. But the next morning, the these was the Eintracht, or "Union," hooligan was back, plainly the worse and Britt was very active in it, handling for liquor, brandishing his pistol and correspondence and serving as a contact demanding his money back. It must have for those who wanted to settle here, were surprised him when Britt made the refund seeking friends and family they'd lost without argument, for he hesitated a Britt took this portrait of Emil, Mollie, touch with, or needed someone to moment at the do01way, laughed and then and Jacob in the 1880s. troubleshoot a government problem. walked down California Street and killed When Applegate pioneers Fritz and the first citizen who got in his way. (The nine, and six, alone. The children Anna Ruch committed suicide in 1875, man was hanged and) subsequently it was received good educations in local private orphaning five children, Britt took learned the murderer had vowed to 'get schools and apparently picked up their custody of their three boys, helping them me a man for breakfast.' " father's plucky entrepreneurial ways. to become successful local businessmen. While Britt was respected for his For example, as young adults, they As it is today, music was an important charitableness toward all members of the decided to raise money for new carpets part of Jacksonville's community life, community, he was no Pollyanna. The and drapes by selling ice cream at with the "Jacksonville Harmonie" homely daughter of a local saloon keeper Jacksonville's Fourth of July celebration sponsoring a string band, brass band and came to Britt seeking a portrait photo she in 1884. There were no refrigerators then, German Singing Club, in which Britt could trade with friends. Dissatisfied, she so the boys drove a buckboard to the participated. He fostered the love of music returned again and again. She implored Dollarhide Toll House at the crest of the in his children; his boys attended "singing Siskiyous, where there were still schools" and Mollie played piano. snowbanks. They packed snow in burlap In 1870, a lodge affiliated with the Britt helped organize the "Jacksonville and sawdust for the return to town, then Improved Order of Red Men sprung up Harmonie," which sponsored the Silver made ice cream and served it in small in Jacksonville. The fraternal order's Cornet Band gathered below. butter dishes for twenty-five cents each. The Britt siblings made a small fortune-enough to purchase a red Brussels carpet and heavy white lace curtains shipped via rail from Portland by December.

12 Feature

Britt to make just one shot of her with a Some Chinese lived in pretty face, to which Britt replied, "Miss, shanties behind the Britt if you want a beautiful face, you must house and he maintained a bring one with you." "bank" in a shed there. Britt often took his children on his long Britt found other lucrative summer outings to photograph the region. places for his money, His crowning achievement was taking the including an 1868 investment first photograph of , an image of $4,000 in Spring Valley, that later helped inform Congress as it California, water stock, voted to create the national park. Britt another in Sachs Brothers kept a diary for decades and his entry for Dry Goods, and in 1870 in that landmark day in 1874 was typical in a proposed railway from its brevity: "Photographed the lake. Very Winnemucca, Nevada, to cold and windy. Emil had a cough." Jacksonville, which would have joined the Rogue Valley to the transcontinental Britt used his cameras as well as his MONEY, LAND AND THE CHINESE Central Pacific Railroad. The project went easel to document the scenic wonders SOHS#L0401 bust in 1872. of the region, as in this oil painting of With the coming of the Lake of the Woods. Southern Pacific Railroad in 1887, it became apparent that County exhibit organized in part by Emil. the Rogue Valley was to be a It displayed many riches-fruits, wines, prime urban and agricultural photographs- that Peter Britt had helped area, drawing many new settlers. create. Emil offered to travel with his Britt bought larger tracts of land, eighty-six-year-old father, but the old man eventually totaling more than wanted to make the trip alone. On the 2,000 acres. These he operated way back, he caught pneumonia and, a with tenant farmers. week later, died at home in Jacksonville, Among his holdings were his the brief Eden he helped create. fit eighty-acre home, the 354-acre ranch north of Jacksonville, a 150- acre farm in Eagle Point, a 301- John Darling is an Ashland writer. acre ranch on Griffin Creek and ENDNOTES 812 acres on Little Butte Creek. By Britt photographed all manner of 1. Silas J. Day, "Biographical Sketch of Peter Britt," the tum of the century, he was the (Read at the thirtieth reunion of the Southern folks,Jrom the rough-hewn gentlemen largest landholder in Southern Oregon. Oregon Pioneer Association, Jacksonville, Ore., in the shapeless hats at left to this 1n old age, Britt returned to his fust August 30, 1906). Papers of the Southern Oregon Chinese couple in native dress. Pioneer Association, Southern Oregon Historical love, painting. In his upstairs studio, the Society Research Library . now white-bearded pioneer painted from Money stuck well to Peter Britt's 2. In preparing this story, the author drew heavily memory his beloved Swiss landscape. on Alan Clark Miller's biography, "Peter Britt, fmgers. After being in Oregon only four Miller writes: "Those who knew Peter Pioneer Photographer of the Siskiyous," (M.A. years, Britt had ready cash to loan. His Britt in these later years recall a dignified thesis, Dartmouth College, 1964). This thesis was first loan of $1,500 to his friend Kubli gentleman, strong, courteous and self­ later published as Photographer of a Frontier: and another man was secured by The Photographs of Peter Britt (Eureka, Calif.: contained: a man of great reserve but little Interface Publishers, 1976). promissory notes and a mule train. vanity who was often seen standing at his Hundreds more loans followed, usually balcony surveying the valley through a at 10 percent interest and often secured telescope or taking solitary hikes in the with 1arge acreages. Some were unsecured cool of the evening." and a good share of these went unpaid. When the railroad bypassed Some, of course, had to be foreclosed Jacksonville, the town went into steep on, but, wrote Miller: "He a~ways decline and many friends moved away to maintained the goodwill of his fellow Medford, now the region's main rail stop. townsmen and there was never any charge Britt considered returning to Switzerland. of sharp practice leveled against him." 1n September 1905, Britt visited the On one foreclosure, Britt allowed the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exhibition debtor to continue living on the property for three years with the opportunity to redeem the loan at any time. Britt was one of very few white settlers who treated the Chinese as fellow When he died in 1905, Britt left citizens. Beginning in the late 1850s, Britt behind a lush greenhouse granted a Chinese company mining rights crowded with plants and a on his property in return for a percentage photographic gallery reflecting of profits. He loaned start-up capital to a half-century of images of the other Chinese companies that were taking Rogue Valley and its citizens. over abandoned claims. SOUTHERN OREGON HERITAGE TODAY 13 Preservation Profile Wallpaper for the Masses by Margaret Watson

e~ o~ u ~ h~ve escap~d the d_esire to exercise some kind of printer used to print textiles. For the dtscrurunatmg taste m creatmg our home environments. And first time, wallpaper became readily although few of us rarely go all-out "country" or all-Martha available and was an "easy, F economical, and agreeable means of Stewart, publications aimed at home decorating crowd This fan-shaped detail is supermarket aisles and bookstores. This is not a new trend; home decorating or finishing the walls."2 As a result, wallpaper color and an example of stenciled decorating resource books have been popular in America for more wallpaper in the parlor at pattern choice became essential than 150 years. Hanley Farm. Andrew Jackson Downing was one of America's first ingredients in the design of decorating gurus, publishing The Architecture of Country Houses American rooms. By the 1870s, in 1850. Later in the nineteenth century, designers such as good taste called for a "tripartite" Charles Eastlake (Hints on Household Taste, 1868) had multiple wall treatment: a three-foot-high wainscoting, a field of editions of his books published in New York and London, and wallpaper, and a border or ornate cornice treatment at the ceiling. The first ready-mixed paints and new theories on color created an interesting color palette during the 1870s and 1880s. Each room was to have a different color scheme depending upon its use and the light it received. Entry halls were to be subdued and exhibit a color that was easy to keep clean, such as red, salmon, green or gray. Contrasting woodwork in olive green or dark blue was recommended. For the parlor, designer Harriet Prescott Spofford suggested highly personal environments: "a family of pale and sallow people not being able to have a great amount of green about them, for example, and a very rose lady being quite unwise to surround herself with ruddier colors."3 In a sunny parlor, however, house owners were encouraged to uy color schemes such as a peacock-blue carpet, olive-green window shades, bronze woodwork and lemon-yellow walls. Bedrooms should be quiet and This leaf pattern, very popular in the late nineteenth subdued with hues of "cream, amber, fawn, rose or blue in century, decorates a wall in a Hanley Farm bedroom. patterns of passionflowers, honeysuckle, wild roses, blackbenies, Wallpaper lends pattern to this room in the home of crow's-foot, oak leaves and acorns."4 Some wallpaper designs Reverend and Mrs. William Clyde, circa 1901. tended to be "exotic," imitating Turkish or Japanese elements; Eastlake promoted "commonsense" designs, tending to be flat publications such as Gody's Lady's Book had followers and and repetitive. A popular magazine, House and Painting subscribers numbering more than 150,000 in the 1860s.' These Decorating, recommended that homeowners avoid wallpapers books describe how every room of the house should be furnished with a pattern that gave a "look of motion," because "nothing is and decorated. more distressing to the eyesight than to be in a room where the Downing, John Claudius Loudon and other designers preferred pattern of the paper seems always crawling like a mass of worms."5 wallpaper to paint in decorating a room, but up until the 1840s, As the nineteenth century closed, wallpapers and ready-made only the wealthiest families could afford wallpaper. That was paints had revolutionized middle-class homeowners' abilities to because each individual piece of wallpaper was made by hand transform their living spaces; the decorating gurus were there in from cloth rags reduced to pulp in water. The papermaker droves to tell them how to do it, and they still are. So somebody scooped the pulp onto a wire screen having a wooden frame explain it-why, with all these color and decorating resources, do measuring about twenty by thirty inches, drained it, then removed most Americans today prefer to live with white walls? i it from the frame. The paper was then dried between sheets of felt. These small sheets Margaret Watson is curator of Hanley Farm for were glued together to form long strips, the Southern Oregon Historical Society. then painted with a background color and ENDNafES hand-printed with wooden blocks. I. Roger Moss and Gail Winkler, Victorian. Interior Decoration. In 1841, wallpaper-making was (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1986), p. 241. revolutionized by two technological 2. Andrew Jackson Downing, The Architecture of Country innovations which made mass production Houses, (1850; reprint ed., New York: Dover Publications, possible: the "Fourdrinier" machine, which 1969), p. 398. made continuous rolls of paper, was 3. HruTiet P. Spofford, Art Decoration. Applied to Furniture coupled with a steam-powered cylindtical (New York: 1878), p. 2 15. 4. Moss and Winkler, Victorian. Interior Decoration. , p. 139. This }leur-de-lis motif was extremely 5. Ibid, p. 143. popular in the nineteenth century, and decorates another Hanley Farm bedroom.

WALLPAPER PHOTOS FROM 14 SOHS PHaro DEPARTMENT VOL. 2, NO. 3 *Mr. and Mrs. Allan Wright, Rev. B.J. Holland, Ashland Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Rowlett, Medford Carl Imper, Medford Ashland PIONEER/PATRON Kenneth E. Johnson, Redding, CA Mrs. Mary Tooze, Portland Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Eccleston, Doris Lundahl, Ashland Medford Susan Milburn, Talent Donors Carolyn Harris, Central Point Kathleen Olsen, Medford SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS Mr. and Mrs. R.A. Herndobler, Gregory L. Phillips, Ashland Colleen Tokar Ashland Shiena Polehn, Medford Corning Inc. Foundation Jeraldyn Jerome, Medford Ruth B. Preston, Medford Fred Meyer, South Medford Lifetime Ron Weatherford, Salem Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Richard, GENERAL COLLECTION Patricia Ingram Cook, Medford Mr. and Mrs. Donald L. Wright, Medford Los Altos, CA William Alley Peter Dale and Alan Cornwell, Ram Rogue River RV Park, Shady Cove Offset Lithographers, White City Janet Reter Baker FAMILY Elise Scheffel, Eagle Point Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hight, Medford *Mr. and Mrs. T.C. Barker, Medford Peter Deuel Vera E. Sherman, Medford Robert L. Lewis, Jacksonville Chuck Eccleston Mr. and Mrs. George M. Bennett, Gordon Solie, Portland Dr. Eugene I. Majerowicz, Hermiston John D. Howard Jody Sorensen, Medford Los Angeles, CA Mr. and Mrs. Stanley M. Bennett, John Aaron Kight Paul Sotos, Ashland Alice Mullaly, Central Point Eagle Point Joseph Leger Kermit Stevens, Medford Mr. and Mrs. B.E. Budge, Medford Alex J. Macknicki Christine Stole, Medford New Members Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Collins, Bruce McGarvey Medford Leah Stringer, Ashland Medford Police Department PATRON Mr. and Mrs. John G. Crawford, Mary Vandenberg, Medford Bruce R. Petty Douglas G. Detling, Medford Medford PIONEER/FRIENDS James Seals FAMILY Margaret Deuel, Medford Birdseye Becker, Spokane, WA Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Beall, Billianne Thomas Mr. and Mrs. James Dow, Medford Doris B. Boothby, Shady Cove Hillsboro EDUCATION COLLECTION Mr. and Mrs. D. Lorin Jacobs, Willard Bowdoin, Grants Pass Tim McCartney, Carson, CA Medford Hal Cloer John M. Cowgill, Redlands, CA Mr. and Mrs. Louis Murdock, *Yvonne Kitchen, Talent Peter L. Deuel Lawrence R. Fick, Forest Grove Medford Mr. and Mrs. Francis A. Kuntz, Ruth Ganett Elmore D. Spencer, Medford Medford Evelyn Godleski, Riddle IN-KIND GOODS & SERVICES Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wasser, Ashland Winston E. Lora, Medford Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Hale, Central Point Deli Down Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Wilton, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Mathern, Minute Man Press Ashland Jacksonville Alicia Applegate Hardy, Brookings Rogue Disposal & Recycling, Inc. Cynthia Wright, Central Point Jan Kelley Miller, Medford Glenn Hanison, Albany Alice B. Hatch, Rogue River Valley Web Printing PIONEER/FAMILY Mr. and Mrs. Rick Minear, Medford Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Jones, Medford Mr. and Mrs. Joe Musack, Talent Dr. Harlow Z. Head, Wilson, NC ANNUAL CONTRIBUTORS FUND Robet1 Bills Doreen Vaughan, Medford Jill Price, Medford Earl Hopkins, Tualatin Gary N. Afseth, Architect AlA Mr. and Mrs. Wayne F. Reavis, Dorothy McDougall, Central Point FRIENDS Jacksonville Virginia Moore, Eugene Lois Hamann John Cova, Grants Pass Dorothy M. Mumford, Medford Mail Tribune Dwayne Guthrie, Philomath *W. Harold Reichstein, Medford *Mr. and Mrs. James E. Richter, Annapolis, MD Dr. Emmy Lou Meniman Randall A. Hopkins, Ashland Medford Dorland Offenbacher, Jacksonville Julia Pogue LaDona Lindquist Parson, Medford *Mr. and Mrs. Paul Stance!, Medford Curtis Offenbacher, Springfield Security Insurance Agency, Inc. Donald T. Smith, Eugene Mr. and Mrs. Cleve Twitchell, Irma Van Slyke Potter, Talent Phoebe D. Staples PIONEER/FRIENDS Central Point Audra A. Smith, Medford Mr. and Mrs. Carl P. Strand Chet Ricks, Central Point PIONEER/FAMILY Lois Stanley, Eagle Point L. Todd Watson Tanya Shoemaker, Medford Rosemary Johannson, Medford Phoebe D. Staples, Eugene SOUTHERN OREGON HISTORICAL Dorcas Phillips, Grants Pass Mr. and Mrs. William J. Kirkman, Sharon L. Vail, Eagle Point SOCIETY FOUNDATION Ashland Gc. Wales, Yreka, CA Endowment Fund Contributors Renewing Members *Mildred Luschen, Medford Mr. and Mrs. Lester West, Birdseye Becker Mr. and Mrs. Doug Schrnor, White City CURATOR Medford John M. Cowgill Alfred Staehli, FAIA, Portland Betty C. Wheat, Ashland Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Sears, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Oldson Judi Drais, Medford Helen Hamish Wolgamott, Medford Eagle Point Mr. and Mrs. Delmer L. Wright Mr. and Mrs. Reeve Hennion, Mr. and Mrs. Maurice W. Williams, *Indicates upgraded membership Jacksonville Roseburg Circles of Giving *Mr. and Mrs. Stan Stark, San category or monetary contribution Eugene Peart Bennett in addition to membership dues for Marcos, CA FRIENDS Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hensley Ruth Acord, Medford Society programs. Samuel Whitford PIONEER/CURATOR Jean Ayers, Jacksonville Mr. and Mrs. Stan Smith, Medford Crater High School Library, Honorary Lifetime PATRON Central Point Mr. and Mrs. Vincent L. Armstrong, Mr. and Mrs. Lee Brennan, Pauline Dickey, Medford Jacksonville Medford William G. Dye, Medford MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES Dr. and Mrs. Mario Campagna, Francis and Mary Cheney, Ben B. Charles K. Eckels, Jr., Jacksonville Medford Cheney Foundation, Tacoma, WA Friend ...... $20 Kathy Everitt, Shady Cove Bill M. Dickey, Portland Robertson E. Collins, Jacksonville Family ...... $30 Claudia Gillispie, Renton, WA Yvonne Earnest, Medford Mr. and Mrs. Robert Heffernan, Patron ...... $60-$90 Susan Gleason, West Covina, CA Medford Dr. and Mrs. Peter F. Noyes, Curator or Business .. $120-$200 Ms. Jean W. Jester, Sandy Medford George A. Gregory, Jr., Prospect Director ...... $250 -$500 Mrs. Edna Knox, Medford Mr. and Mrs. John Purcell, Ashland Michael Hebrank, Oak Grove Lifetime ...... $1,000 Elizabeth Udall, Gold Hill Gertrude Hess, Ashland Marjorie O'Hana, Ashland

SOUTHERN OREGON HERITAGE TODAY 15 Amos W"illits and the Legacy of Persist by Brian Kinsey This road sign once pointed the lmost everyone has heard the old trek the ten miles of bad trail to attend way to Persist, on the headwaters ereotype about how men are school in Prospect. The school quickly of Elk Creek. ore reluctant than women to stop became the social hub of the Persist district.l and ask for directions. But reluctant or In the early years, the school had a company. He and Fire Chief Roy Elliott not, even the savviest Southern Oregon succession of teachers, among them Alice were examining the seene when the stage backroads explorer would likely need French and Ann Wells. The school wall collapsed, trapping both men for directions to pinpoint Persist. This pioneer teachers boarded at the Willits home, and more than an hour. Elliott suffered serious community-now mostly a private ranch in one case, this is where young love injuries to his head and chest, but Amos and a memory-lay ten miles by trail from began. The Willitses had four children, was killed instantly. He left behind his wife Prospect and twenty-two miles from Trail Roy, Merle, Inez, and Amos.• and his son, William, who was a year old.8 on upper Elk Creek. Amos and Alice fell in love. The Persist School District merged First homesteaded by William Willits At noon on August 14, 1910, Amos with larger districts long ago; the name and his wife, Irene, in 1884, Persist didn't Willits, then in his mid-twenties, and of Persist has disappeared off most maps; become official until 1902, when after Alice French, twenty-two, were wed. The and Amos has rested in peace in years of requests, the Willitses received a ceremony was held at Alice's parents' Ashland's Mountain View Cemetery for place in Ashland. Afterward, Amos and more than three-quarters of a century. But Alice took the No. 13 train to Colestin the persistent, pioneering spirit of those Springs for their honeymoon, then who created the small community and returned to Persist where they equipped those who came from it still lives on in themselves for a ten-day horseback trip to the history of Southern Oregon. I Crater Lake. Upon returning, they set up 5 house in Persist. Brian Kinsey is a history major at Amos and Alice later moved to Southern Oregon. University. Medford where they became active in the community. A mechanic for the C. E. Gates ENDNarES Auto Company/ Amos also was active in 1. Barbara Hegne, Yonder Hills: Shady Cove, Elk the Knights of Pythias and the affiliated Creek, Persist, Trail, Etna. (Eagle Point, Ore., 1989) p. I. The one-room Persist School saved Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan, and served as a volunteer firefighter. 7 2. Lewis A. McArthur, ed., Oregon Geographic children from local ranches a ten-mile Names, 6th ed. (Portland: Oregon Historical walk to the school in Prospect. In early January 1924, a fire broke out Society Press, 1992) p. 664. at the Page Theater in Medford. Amos 3. Hegne, Yonder Hills, pp. 1-2. responded to the fire with his fire Postal Service charter to distribute mail 4. Ibid, p. 2. from their home. William was postmaster COURlCSY OF M n.DRED 5. Ashland Daily Tidings, 15 August 1910. for thirty-three years.' The name Persist 6. Polk' s Jackson County Directory (Portland: R.L. carne from the persistent spirit the Polk & Co.) 4 (1921): 174. homesteaders had shown in settling the 7. Medford Mail Tribune, 4 January 1924. remote area-and in obtaining mail service.2 8. Ashland Daily Tidings, 2 January 1924. Local postal service wasn't the only new development in Persist. Around 1900, a one-room school was built a mile from Persist school teacher Ann Wells boarded the Willits house. This was so the children at the Willits ranch, and called her home above the woodshed "Squirrel Inn."

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