Rush, George H. – Obituary

Auto Accident Well Known Man Killed at Railroad Crossing G.H. Rush, building contractor, was instantly killed when his auto was struck by train No. 21 a mile this side of Wingville Thursday evening. Wm. Hernsen of the Shockley Lumber Co. who was in the car with Mr. Rush is recovering at a Baker hospital. There seems to have been no witnesses to what transpired immediately before the accident. It is not known whether the car stalled on the track or an attempt was made to cross ahead of the train by too narrow a margin of time. The body of … Read more

Biography of Dr. John McLoughlin

DR. JOHN McLOUGHLIN. – Doctor McLoughlin has been very well called the first real governor of Oregon. As chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company west of the Rocky Mountains, he was more than this; – he was autocrat. He was a great man, – large physically, of large views and ideas, and above all, very large-hearted. He was nearly forty years on this coast, and during that time was the chief man in it. The Indians called him the “white-headed eagle;” and the Whites went to him with their troubles. In a pathetic little manuscript found among his papers, … Read more

Miller, Wayne Dale “Lucky” – Obituary

Richland, Oregon Wayne Dale “Lucky” Miller, 76, of Richland, died April 15, 2003, at his home. A Celebration of Life in his honor will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Richland Christian Church. Gordon Bond will officiate. Lucky was born Sept. 22, 1926, at Martin County, Minn., to Jay Desmond and Minnie Garrison Miller. He came to Oregon as a young man, where he met his lifelong sweetheart, Dorothy Maxine Jones. They were married at Astoria on Nov. 3, 1945. Lucky served his country during World War II in the Navy Air Corps. After the war, he and Maxine … Read more

Mitchell, Dorothy Margaret Schoenbaechler Mrs. – Obituary

Dorothy Margaret Mitchell was born Feb. 28, 1908, at Astoria to August “Gus” and Jeannette “Nettie” (Lawrence) Schoenbaechler. She died Sunday, March 9, 2003, at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston at the age of 95. Dorothy was raised in Baker City and graduated from high school there. She was a resident of the Hermiston area for the past 24 years. She was a homemaker and a member of the Catholic Church. She is survived by daughters, Mary Jane Guyer of Walla Walla Wash., Margaret Ray of Hermiston, and Jeanne Smith of Pendleton; brother-in-law, Rev. Thomas J. Mitchell OSB of … Read more

Biography of William H. Gray

WILLIAM H. GRAY. – This pioneer of pioneers, and historian of events in which he took so conspicuous a part, was born in 1810 at Fairfield, New York, of Scotch descent. While but a lad of fourteen, he lost his father and was apprenticed to learn the cabinetmaker’s trade, and even before finishing his time became foreman of the shop. Upon attaining his majority he studied medicine, and being a member of the Presbyterian church, and known as a promising young man, he was sought and intrusted by the American board with the work of going as missionary in company … Read more

Biography of John Hobson

JOHN HOBSON. – Mr. Hobson, with his father and brother Richard and three sisters, came to Oregon as early as 1843, being members of the first large immigration. The story of their trip and the influences which directed their footsteps hither is one of the pleasantest and most romantic among our early annals; and there is no novel nor history more fascinating than to listen half a day as we did to the recital of his adventures. He is a native of England, having been born in Derbyshire in 1824. His father was a hatter, and, losing his wife by … Read more

Biography of Col. James Taylor

COL. JAMES TAYLOR. – The immigration of 1845 was large, and furnished many of the leading men of the Northwest, among that number being Colonel James Taylor of Astoria, Oregon. Although now past eighty years of age, he is still one of the active citizens of a city which boasts of many men of energy. He is one of the fathers of the place, not only in point of time, but as owner of considerable property in the city and adjacent country, embracing the heights west of the city, which will one day be occupied with handsome residences, as they … Read more

Carlile, Dale Robert – Obituary

Durkee, Oregon Dale Robert Carlile, 63, died Jan. 9, 2004, at his home in Durkee. At Dale’s request, there will be no services. Dale was born May 10, 1940, at Kelso, Wash., to Harry Carlile and Frieda Valentine Carlile. He attended school at Kelso/Longview where he loved playing football. After graduating from high school, Dale joined the U.S .Army and attended Ranger school. He was involved in the early years of the Vietnam War. Dale left the Army six years later as a lieutenant colonel. He moved home to Kelso/Longview and began his career as a police officer. He worked … Read more

Clark, Julie – Obituary

Wallowa, Wallowa County, Oregon Julie Gudrum Olsen Clark, 67, of Wallowa, died Feb. 22, 2000, in Enterprise. Mrs. Clark was born March 19, 1932, in Astoria to Hans and Inger Olsen. Julie grew up in the Astoria area attending school in Warrenton receiving perfect attendance certificate from Warrenton High School in 1950. In June of 1950 she met and married Bill Clark. They lived in Warrenton until 1969 they moved to Wallowa County’s Leap area for awhile, then moved to Wallowa. Mrs. Clark had many careers but the one she loved most was being a loving wife, mother and grandmother. … Read more

Rea, George Whitefield – Obituary

George Whitefield Rea was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Oct. 7, 1839. He was early thrown upon his own responsibility by his mother’s death. When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Rea was desirous of enlisting, but as he was in the railroad service when he was needed in the transportation of troops and supplies, he was not permitted to enlist till the year 1864. He served to the end of the war and was honorably discharged. After the war Judge Rea took up the study of law, and followed that profession ever since. He first practiced in Nebraska, and in … Read more

Weeks, Nancy E. Beason Mrs. – Obituary

Nancy E. Weeks, 77, of Portland, a former Baker City resident, died Nov. 16, 2001, at a Portland care home. Her memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Peace House in Portland. Mrs. Weeks was born on Sept. 8, 1924, at Portland to Walter and Nan Beason. As a child, she moved with her family to Baker City where she was raised and educated. She was a 1942 Baker High School graduate. After graduating, she returned to Portland where she met William G. Weeks. Mr. Weeks was honorably discharged from the military after serving in World World II. … Read more

Biography of John J. Owen

The history of the first things is always interesting. In any town the first settler’s is the name most carefully preserved. The places where he established his home and first worked at his primitive vocation are carefully noted, and his deeds and words are recounted often and with increasing interest as generations succeed one another. There lives in Genesee, Idaho, a man, now the postmaster of the city, who was its pioneer in more ways than one and it is the purpose of the biographer to record now a brief statement of the facts of his life and of his … Read more

Biography of Hon. Wilder W. Parker

HON. W.W. PARKER – There is no name in the city at the mouth of the Columbia better known in the business and social circles than that of Parker; and of those bearing it Wilder W. Parker wields an influence perhaps the most extended. A pioneer not only in name but also in fact, he ha brought to bear upon public affairs a mind keen, quick and powerful, and has been able to give the people the benefit of opinions carefully elaborated and lucidly stated, and held by himself with conscientious firmness. In intellect and character he is the ideal … Read more

Nelson, David Henry – Obituary

David H. Nelson, 67, long prominent wheat grower of Umatilla County, and one of the first four in this county to use caterpillar-and-combine, died at 8 o’clock this morning [May 22, 1939] at his farm home. Death came without warning, his passing being due to a sudden attack of heart disease. Mr. Nelson was born in Finland, Nov. 30, 1872, and came to America in 1881 with his parents who settled in Duluth. He came westward in 1889 to Clatsop County and with the industry which was characteristic of him, worked as a life guard and fisherman at Astoria, where … Read more

Biography of J. C. Trullinger

J.C. TRULLINGER. – There is scarcely a man in Oregon who has been engaged in more various, or, on the whole more successful enterprises than the man whose name appears above. With a tendency, possibly, to push his efforts a little beyond the line of safety, and to overcrowd himself with different schemes, he has nevertheless a substantial grip on property and business which proves his sagacity. If his love of making inventions and introducing improvements incline him to temerity, his career shows that he has a solid judgment which warns him when to put on the brakes. Oregon owes … Read more

Biography of Col. John Colgate Bell

COL. JOHN COLGATE BELL. – Colonel Bell, enjoying a wide reputation from Southern Oregon to Idaho, and back again to the Pacific seashore throughout the state in which he has successively lived and made a multitude of personal acquaintances, merits a special recognition on account of his public services in official relations and in the early Indian wars of Southern Oregon. He was born at Sterling, Kentucky, February 24, 1814. His parents were from Virginia; and among his ancestors were those distinguished in the early history of the nation, his father having served with General Harrison in the war of … Read more

Biography of J. L. Stout

J. L. STOUT. – The proprietor of the townsite of Sea View on the weather beach, a city which boasts of a population of from five to eight thousand during the summer bathing season, is from the Buckeye state, having been born in Ohio in 1824. During his boyhood his father took him to Illinois; and he passed his early life on the frontier. he came up with a generation of men whose natural force and enterprise led them into the most exalted position in the great West which their energies had developed. While in Illinois he was ever restless, … Read more

Biography of Clark Nicholas Starry, M. D.

Clark Nicholas Starry, M. D. Representing the first class ability and skill of his profession and enjoying a large general practice, Clark Starry has devoted all his active lifetime to medicine as a profession, and began his career with an excellent equipment, the test of real practice finding him well qualified for important service. For the past fifteen years he has practiced at Coffeyville. He represents a family that came originally from England and settled in Virginia during colonial days. Clark Nicholas Starry, M. D., was born in Marshfield, Indiana, February 28, 1871, and his parents soon afterward came to … Read more

Allen, Alford B. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Alford B. Allen was born in Washington, Indiana, on July 23, 1929. However at the age of 17, he spent two weeks convincing the county clerk to change his birth records to indicate he was born in 1928 so that he could enlist during WWII. While in the Navy, in addition to performing duties as an electrician’s mate, he was a member of a Navy boxing team and was known for his fierce left hook, winning all of his bouts by knockout. Towards the end of his service, he was stationed in Astoria where he met Dora … Read more