Vol 2 No. 2 - January 2008

Errors & Oversights

Here's a new feature for you. Hopefully one you'll never see again. Last issue I was a little cramped for space and inadvertently forgot to thank some folks. For the nice check from Lewis County we want to thank Hoy Baker, Hal Blanton and Lee Grose. They took a LOT of anxiety out of our first year's operating budget.

The August meeting in the Packwood Elementary School/Museum was the best attended meeting to date, thanks largely to the presentation by Forest Archeologist Rick McClure and Cowlitz Valley Ranger Kristi Miller. We noted them in our meeting report, but neglected to officially thank them in the Acknowledgements section of the newsletter.

Same went for Joe Kulig, who put on a fantastic slide show which received rave review from all attendees. Additional thanks go to the Packwood Fire Department for letting Joe use their laptop and projector.

Henceforth, it would be appropriate if we gave more appreciation for folks like Hoy Baker and Mildred Dunaway, who graciously allowed us to interview them and record the sessions for posterity. We and our ancestors are deeply grateful for these opportunities to capture history.

As for errors, how many caught the missing “s” on page 5? Cleverly hidden? You may have noticed that last issue no errors were admitted for the July newsletter. The reason is either that there were no glaring errors, or someone conveniently forgot them before press time.

Folks around Packwood and Randle likely noticed that the print on page 8 was a wee bit smaller than the other pages. Let that be an example of what can happen should the wrong button on the copier be pushed. Wouldn't it be a shame to waste all that paper because of one errant finger?

If anyone missed the scheduled “mission planning” meeting of October 10 th because of bad information, an apology is in order. No fault, mind you, just that the meeting was postponed to an undisclosed date after many copies of the newsletter were printed. Only got five delivered before the situation was rectified.

One serious oversight was the non-mention of the crucial contribution of John Mullenix to the publication of the 2008 Pioneer Calendar. They have been selling well, but without John they very likely never would have appeared. A HUGE thank you to John Mullenix.

Last issue, we should have extended a big thank you to all the members who supported us out first year of operation. The newsletter was conceived so you nice folk would get a little more out of the Historical Society than the promise of a museum. Then and now, we sincerely appreciate all the help we receive. Thank You.

It wasn't until the Busy Bee meeting November 20 th that a glaring error on the front page of the newsletter was noticed. Although the asterisk was dropped for the October issue because we had finally secured the schoolhouse for a museum, somebody also replaced the cover photo. Apparently it went generally unnoticed so no harm done there?

Meeting Reports

Where do we address the other pertinent information, work days and the Grand Opening? Here seems like a logical place.

Preparatory to the Grand Opening of October 13 th – timed to coincide with the 9 th Annual Packwood Art & Craft Show – we had a work day Monday October 8 th . A handful of volunteers put in a long day and got a lot done toward getting the museum ready for the big day. One of the items which didn't get done that day was the installation of the sign provided by David Owens. Come Thursday afternoon, October 11 th , Bill Thacker had the sign all framed and ready to put up. That afternoon Bill, Bud Panco and Fred Little climbed ladders to attach the sign above the doorway. Yours truly posed behind Bud's ladder as Martha Garoutte took a photo to submit to the Chronicle. The photo appeared in the October 12 th edition of the Chronicle, thanks to Edna Fund.

We had another full work day Friday, October 12 th to complete the preparations not finished Monday. Among other things, we hung paintings by Irene Anderson, Jackie Heinrich, and Novella Legler to tie in with the coming weekend's Packwood Art Festival. We could have done more but we ran out of time and energy. Who knew opening a historical museum could be such a challenge?

It was a lovely Indian Summer day for the Grand Opening. By the time Jack Bower and Larry Potts had sung their last song, Bud Panco had told his last story, the Caroline

Kerr video had played numerous times, and all the paintings and displays were well viewed, a total of 257 signatures filled the pages of our guest book. Of course, a few of them were society members who manned the various stations that day. All in all though, the president declared it a successful grand opening. One of the distinguished guests was Buddy Rose, who honored us with a nice article in the East County Journal.

Winners of the Grand Opening raffle were: a 1 year membership to the White Pass Country Historical Society/Museum, Sharon Embum, Randle; a 1 year membership to the Lewis County Historical Museum, Bonnie Brazil, Packwood; a stamp album collection, Shirley Schwall, Onalaska; a Virgina Squires original afghan, Druschba; a Stewart's Meat Basket, Novella Legler, Packwood; a Lauretta Halverson stained glass rooster, Laura Sawyer, Packwood; a Bonnie Hanson painted item, Charlie Bowen, Packwood; a White Pass Country Historical Society 2008 Pioneer Calendar, Bronica Baker; and a LaVonne Sparkman book, Bill Legler, Packwood. The raffle brought in a total of $280.

The Annual Meeting was held in the conference room at the Packwood Elementary School October 22. Fourteen folk were in attendance. We fairly quickly ran through the required business, including electing Bud Panco as a three year board member (replacing Fred Little), and set up for a presentation by Stan Lawrence. We have a video which captured his very interesting presentation and slide show about the beginnings of the Packwood Fire Department.

The last membership meeting of 2007 was held November 19 th . The routine business meeting was followed by a gripping slide show and talk about High Rock Lookout by the celebrated longtime lookout himself, Bud Panco. The evening would have been complete except for somebody forgetting to bring the video camera to capture the event for posterity.

The December membership meeting was cancelled because the date was so close to Christmas it was considered inconvenient for most folks.

We continue to have the Museum open Saturdays since the Grand Opening, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. A couple of the Saturdays were specially themed days: November 17 th was “Kid's Day at the Museum,” and December 8 th was “An Old-Fashioned Christmas.”

Kid's Day featured Novella Legler in full Indian dress telling Native Indian legends, a display of Indian baskets and natural items by Norma Boren, and Janice Grose hosting kids art.

There was a 75 th Anniversary event at the Glenoma Elementary School November 17 th . Fred Little was alone in representing the White Pass Country Historical Society there because everyone else was tied up at Kids Day. Thanks Fred.

For an Old-Fashioned Christmas, a Christmas tree was decorated in the display room, and various decorations were hung around the museum.

Acknowledgements

Extra credit goes this time to Bud Panco for personally delivering many of the local newsletters, to both Betty and Bud for printing up a number of the copies in preparation for mailing, and to Twyla Bates for the use of her shop and ingredients to assist Bill Thacker in his construction projects.

The “White Pass Country Historical Society” sign provided by David Owens has been placed over the entryway to the Elementary School/Museum. It may not look quite the way many had anticipated, mainly because someone muffed the measurements. Still an all, the inventiveness of certain members were able to make it fit. Hope y'all like it.

Notice the shelters built over the basement windows out front? Bill Thacker again, folks. The objective is to divert water which might otherwise cause water damage downstairs

Bill and buddies also attached the casters to the display case bases and the cases to the bases and so on. Now they'll roll so moving won't be such an ordeal. Bill might not be on the newsletter committee, but no doubt he is one busy bee.

We certainly appreciate the fact that Bonnie Brazil went and volunteered to put up Grand Opening posters all over Packwood.

That recently retired school teacher has done an excellent job for the Historical Society. She was able to secure the permission of the Lewis County Commissioners (Ron Averill, Richard Graham and Lee Grose) to procure some surplus county furniture. Jan and her muscle motored to Chehalis October 5 th and retrieved a load of desks, tables, cabinets and chairs.

The article in the May 17, 1973 issue of the Morton Journal was entitled “Fearless Scotchman” by Geneva Mead. We reprint it here for the enjoyment of our readers.

Shortly after the turn of the century, a Scotchman named McVickers moved into the “Big Bottom” and homesteaded across the Cowlitz River . His place was located where Clifford Orr lived later, and most of the original homestead is now owned by Steve McMahan.

McVickers and a young man named Lewis Stump who was from a large family and had several brothers, agreed to farm the homestead on shares.

During the summer they harvested a lot of hay, which a man wanted to buy. McVickers made a deal with the man, but Stump said, “No! Half of that hay is mine, and I don't want to sell my half.”

That lead to an argument and McVickers pulled a six gun from his belt and emptied it into Lew Stump's body. Stump, barely alive, was taken to the home of Charles Gardner where he was nursed back to health. (It took over a year for him to recover.)

McVickers made a trip “outside,” returning with a new rifle and six gun. He crossed the Cowlitz River on the ferry operated by Matt Randle, below the present site of the Randle bridge and he told Randle about his new guns and said, in his Scottish brogue, “I'm nae afraid of no man nor the Divil.”

He had about a three mile walk to get home. When he got across the valley and started around the hill side, someone started shooting at him from ambush. The bullets struck behind him, then in front and on both sides and he ran the rest of the way home, his adversary seeming to keep pace and bullets whizzing around him.

The next day he was working in his field, when again, the bullets started buzzing around him. He “didn't stand for it long” but made a dash for the house where he barricaded the door.

From then on, his wife had to do all the outside work.

Sometime later the County Sheriff stopped in at the R. T. Siler place and was invited to stay for supper. After supper, Mrs. Siler (as was the hospitable custom in those days) offered to fix a bed for him. He said, “Thank you, but I can't stay. Mr. McVickers sent for me. He wants me to take him to Chehalis, but he doesn't want to start until after dark.”

The Scotchman was never heard from again in the Big Bottom.

The people who moved into his cabin later, said that, working at night, he had stacked logs and firewood around the walls of the house approximately shoulder height and he had dug a tunnel leading into a grove of trees and roofed it over with poles in case his enemies tried to set fire to the cabin.

He still may not have been afraid of the “Divil,” but he surely had found some men that he was afraid of.

The accounts of this incident in the February 2, 1898 issue of the People's Advocate, and the June 2, 1899 issue of the Chehalis Bee-Nugget go into a little more detail than given above. Anyone interested in that information can contact the Historical Society.

A Christmas Memory

“Christmas At The Cortright”

By Bud Panco

In order to tell my story we must go back in time to a very snowy December in the year of 1936, I was seven years old. That's the year that Dad got the job of caretaker at the construction camp at the Cortright Bridge on the White Pass highway for the winter.

Now it was just a couple of days until Christmas and I was worried that Santa Claus wouldn't find us way up there in the mountains with all those trees around. So I went to my Dad and asked him what he thought. Don't worry Bud, as long as we have a Christmas tree he will find us. They're just like a magnet to him; if there's one around he will find it.

“Well we don't have a tree.”

“That's right, but we're going out and get one in the morning,” he replied. I could hardly wait.

Morning came, and right after a good breakfast we put on our warm clothes, then Dad went and got our home made toboggan he had made out of two old wooden flour barrels, He sat my sister Laurel on the little seat he made for her and we were off to get our tree.

We walked quite a way up the road looking at trees on both sides, when there on the right side up on the bank was the most beautiful tree you ever seen. We all decided that this was to be our Christmas tree. Dad went up and with a shovel dug around the tree to free its lower branches from the snow. Then with his ax he cut it off low to the ground. We loaded it on the toboggan and headed back to camp. There in the dining room of the old cookhouse he built a stand for our beautiful tree. We stood it in a corner of the room where we all had a hand in decorating it with popcorn strings, paper chains, tin can lids and jar rings. Dad had found a gallon can lid that had a gold colored inside, and from it made a star that we tied on the top of the tree. That evening we gathered around the old Philco battery radio and listened to Christmas programs. Oh how that star and those can lids reflected the light from the coal oil lamp that set on the table. What a wonderful evening we had!

The next day was CHRISTMAS, and there under the tree was the proof the tree had done its job. There were presents for my sister and I. She got a Dolly with a cradle and a pair of warm gloves, and I got a windup Red Fire Chief's car with a siren that sounded just like the real thing, and a wooden five car train.

It was a wonderful Christmas there at the Cortright camp in that snowy December in the year of 1936.

That Christmas is as fresh in my mind today as it was when it happened back then.

In Passing

Lois Mae Bowen , 91, Glenoma, died September 28, 2007. She was born November 15, 1915 to John & Maude (Shaner) Dunn in Harmony, WA. After graduating from Mossyrock High School in 1934, she worked as a mechanic during World War II. She married Eddie Bowen in 1947. They made their home in Glenoma.

Among those of local historical interest who died recently was Maurice Charles Ahlstrand , 87, of Centralia . He was born May 13, 1920 in Eatonville to Charles and E.M. Ahlstrand. His uncle, Herman Ahlstrand, built the lodge at Ohanapecosh, and served as Ohanapecosh caretaker from 1924-1926.

Maurice married a local girl, Martha Jane Mullins, in 1951.

Long-time Randle resident Donna Jean Lund , affectionately known as “Mom', died October 8 th , 2007 at the age of 76. She was born June 22, 1931 to Albert and Lillian Bossart. She married Don Lund February 25, 1950. She was buried in Silvercreek Cemetery beside Don, who died May 23, 2003.

Dale E. (Frog) Workman was born in Glenoma August 9, 1933 to William E. and Clara F (Tiller) Workman. He died October 23, 2007. He was 74 years old. His wife, Betty A. (Scalf) Workman, died February 2, 2004.

Hoy Stude Baker , 83 year old Packwood resident since 1941, rode off into the sunset November 28, 2007. He was born March 14, 1924 in Nisqually , WA to David and Ada Baker.

Hoy was a paratrooper during World War II. After the war he worked mostly as a truck driver. He was very active in the Packwood community and an avid horseman. He was instrumental in securing a significant grant so the White Pass Country Historical Society could get started.

Anna May Love , 66, Glenoma, passed away December 18 , 2007. She was born in Glenoma on Pearl Harbor Day (December 7, 1941) to Willard and Violet Morris. She attended school at Glenoma and White Pass , went off to college to become a teacher, returned to Glenoma to marry Gene Love, raise a family and teach at Glenoma Elementary for 30 years. She was quite active in the Glenoma community. Anna May was buried at Rainey Valley Cemetery beside Gene, who died June 23, 2001.

Cavard Monroe Choate died December 25, 2007 at the age of 86. He was born August 29, 1921. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army. He and wife Vivian have lived in Packwood for more than 40 years.

Douglas D. “Dutch” Brandt , 74, a longtime Packwood resident, died December 29, 2007 in Wenatchee . He was born April 2, 1933 to C.E. Dave and Minnie Mae (Church) Brandt. He served in the Navy during World War