Sweet Home Genealogical Society January, February, March 2024
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From the Past President’s Desk
As outgoing president of the Sweet Home Genealogy Society, I would like to say a few things. First, I would like to thank all the volunteers who have put up with this newbie that didn’t know a thing about being president here. I have been president at the East Linn Museum, but this was a whole different ballgame. So how did I get this job in the first place? Then President, Angela Thoma, resigned and as vice president, that meant the job was mine. This was February 2023. So many projects were in the works, like getting our new website started, nothing had been done yet. We were trying to become a Family Search affiliate, which was quite a bit of paperwork. But it has all been achieved. The Family Search is a done deal, and I’m working on the website almost daily, so it is up and running. Go check it out at shgenealogy.org. Thank you everyone that helped me through this, I asked questions and advice and I was probably a pain in the butt, but we made it through. I really didn’t mind being president after I got going, but now I will be vice president to the new President, Laura Mather, so we will help each other. It’s been a fun exciting year, looking forward to more.
Terri Lanini
From the President’s Desk.
Greetings, As incoming president I do not see any changes for 2024. We have good volunteers, there is always room for more. Several ideas have been discussed at board meetings, hopefully some of them will be put into motion. If you have any suggestions or questions, please share them. January 9, 2024 will be our next board meeting at 10:00 am.
Laura Mather, President
Hours Open
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
10:00 to 4:00
For appointments during closed hours call:
541-818-0578
Our Annual workshop is being planned for March 16th. We do have Liz Rapp as a confirmed speaker as of this writing. More information will be sent out as soon as things are confirmed. Let Terri know if you have any other speakers or topics in mind. see classes/workshops.
Upcoming 2024 Meeting Dates
Board meeting Jan. 9 th at 10:00 a.m.
Board meeting February 6 th 10:00 a.m.
Board meeting March 5 th 10:00 a.m.
General Meeting
January 19 th 10:00 a.m.
February 17 th 10:00 a.m.
Tentative date for Workshop March 16 th watch your email for more information
SWEET HOME GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
1223 Kalmia Str.
Sweet Home, OR 97386
541-818-0558
Email: shgs1223@gmail.com
Website: www. shgenealogy.org
We are also on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/SweetHomeGenealogicalSociety. com
2024 Board Members
Laura Mather, President
Terri Lanini, Vice President
Chris Barnes, Treasurer
Velma Cook, Librarian
Gladys Seifert, Secretary
Membership: Terri Lanini
Life at the Library
Christmas Bazaar Follow-up: The annual Christmas Bazaar was held December 1 st and 2 nd . Kim Partridge organized and directed everything that we usually do for this event. THANK YOU KIM!!!! Tickets for Baskets were purchased, as well as tickets for a quilt that was donated, and for a hand-made donated knife made by Foy Cochran. The winners were announced at the Christmas luncheon on December 9th. It was a potluck dinner and about 18-19 were in attendance. So far the income generated from this fundraiser was about $1,159. (P.S. Have you noticed how creatively decorated our library is? Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, Kim is doing a fantastic job with all the displays she creates! Be sure and thank her!)
Family Search Affiliate: is now working in our library. There is one computer designated for this program, so that anyone, member or non-member can use this one computer for their research on Family Search free of charge. To become an affiliate we had to offer this free service to everyone. Members can still use other computers with the other programs we have such as Ancestry, Find a Grave and Newspapers, but this one computer, only has Family Search on it. Ask a volunteer for help locating it.
Website: The website is live! Thank you Terri for the long, long hours you have put into getting the data entered and ready to use. She is still a little busy, probably more than a little, entering data, but she is off to a great start. If you would like to have a login number please contact Terri. There are still some areas under construction, but there are quite a few areas that are accessible. She still needs volunteers to help with data entry and scanning.
Our website is going to be great, there is so much information I am putting on it.
o Sweet Home Funeral Chapel records from 1955 to 2004, I am up to 1985. They all need to be put in separately, so it takes a while. These records hold an immense amount of information. Not all records have all the information in every record. Some include: Birth and death dates, spouse, cause of death, where they lived, where they died, parents names, military info, where buried, and some have the cost of the funeral, and much more. We also have the funeral home from Lebanon, already on the website. Not as much information, but still great.
o We have books that we sell on the website
o You can renew your membership
o In the future, we will have access to the Eggen photography negatives, which we have thousands of. They are mostly pictures of Lebanon, Sweet Home and surrounding areas.
o The Newsletter will be on the website
o We will have the names of our Family Files, by surname, for you to look up.
o With more to come.
Terri Lanini
Elections: On November 18 th the following were elected as our society’s officers. Laura Mather, President, Terri Lanini, Vice President and membership, Gladys Seifert, Secretary, Velma Cook, Librarian and Chris Barnes, Treasurer. Good luck to our new officers! They could all use your support, so come down to the library and volunteer some hours.
Sweet Home Genealogical Society January, February, March 2024
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The Tale of Two Cities’ continues
In 1893, Sweet Home became an incorporated city in Linn County, Oregon. It was no longer Buckhead or Mossville but good ole Sweet Home. What attracted people to the new metropolis? Sure there was farming, some mining, the beautiful outdoors, fishing (until the year the fish all died), ranching and logging, but it was the opening of the Santiam Wagon Road between 1861-1868 which helped the area to become a vital commercial link that connected our Willamette Valley with the central part of Oregon.
Thomas McKay was authorized to open a road from Malheur River (around Ontario, Burns, and Vale) to Albany. He was only successful with part of it. (The motivator-- access to the grassland of central Oregon for cattle and sheep). Our own Andrew Wiley had the idea of the Cascade Wagon Road. He and a few others started at Wiley Creek on Andrew’s land and reached the Deschutes River (Bend, Sisters, and Redmond area) which they then could connect to McKay’s route, in other words they were successful.
In 1864, the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road Company was incorporated. A tollgate was built a few miles east of town on John Gilliland’s claim, with John being the first gate keeper and road superintendent. The eastern tollgate was at Cache Creek in Deschutes County. In 1800, John McKee was the western gatekeeper and moved the tollgate to a spot west of the Lower Soda Falls. The Nye family replaced McKee in 1891. A lot of the early traffic was teamsters carrying wool to mills in Brownsville and Waterloo, and cattle. What were the toll charges used for? Road construction and road repairs. In 1887, $86,805.75 was spent to improve the road. The primary workforce back then were Chinese immigrants. In 1914, the tolls were discontinued. An example of toll charges are as follows: 6 horse team $3.50, 2 horse team $2. 1 horse team, $1, and saddle horse 75 cents. Livestock were charged by the head-sheep and pigs 3 cents each, cattle 10 cents each, packhorses 20 cents each. The first transcontinental automobile racers in 1905 followed the Santiam Wagon Road. The leading driver, Dwight Huss, in an Oldsmobile Roundabout, was charged 3 cents as his car was deemed a road hog. (The tollgate pictured here is the old Barlow Road Toll gate replica circa about 1883) (Information for this issue came from the New Era, Mona Waibel, & Oregon Historical Society)
Amenities: As the road opened, campgrounds and road houses were established. In Mona Waibel’s memoirs, she noted by horse or wagon, it took one day to get from Sweet Home to Cascadia, and one more day to reach the Mountain House. At one time there was the Geisendorfer Hotel at Cascadia.
In the early 1900s, George Geisendorfer built Cascadia Mineral Springs Resort with a large hotel and a garden. However, the main attraction of the resort was the mineral water of Soda Creek. Visitors drank the natural water believing in its health properties. As many as 2,000 people would visit the resort on Sunday afternoons. George and Jennie Geisendorfer ran the resort for nearly 45 years before selling the land to the state of Oregon in 1941.
The Cascadia Park is also the home of the Cascadia Cave, a spiritual place for the Santiam Band of the Kalapuya and Molala people. They gathered there for collecting camas and regenerating their spirits, and taking the water and to do their salmon fishing. The “cave” has dozens of petroglyphs. There have been many archeological studies done in the area supporting evidence of human habitation as far back as
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Drawings on the cave wall.
7,900 years ago. The Linn County Parks took ownership of the park in 2022, but the “cave” is still on land owned by the Hill family, and managed by the Forest Service.
Love is in the air.
Valentine’s Day has a tragic and sordid beginning that dates back sometime around the third century. Instead of chocolate and flowers it began with someone being martyred, possibly St. Valentine. However, modern day celebrations and gift giving was not seen until about the 1800’s. About that time friends and lovers began to exchange keepsakes and notes which evolved into valentines. In 1840, Richard Cadbury a British chocolatier introduced the idea of eating chocolates, and packaged them in a heart shaped box. (Yes, it’s the same family that created the Cadbury Easter egg J) (Valentine at left and below is from Lillian Starmer to Blanche Greco her daughter, about 1930)
Keeping in mind Cascadia Park and the water, there was a search of local love stories, and the following were found: Mona Waibel’s grandparents met at the Mountain House. Her grandmother Lettie Thompson who we met in the September issue, was a school teacher and worked at the Mountain House in the summer. Her grandfather Andrew Jackson Daugherty, was a sheep herder who stopped at the Mountain House for dinner. Mona notes that they must have been very “smitten” with each other as they were married within the year!
Another love story is that of Bill and Blanche Tilson, which was published in the 2009 The New Era. Bill lived in Sweet Home on and off during his lifetime and then retired here. He worked for the Amos Horner Mill in 1963, among other mills. Blanche worked at the Waterhole Tavern in Foster where they met. They saw each other on and off about a year, then they were married in Reno. This was the second marriage for both. They were married for 37 years. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about 2006 and then resided at Twin Oaks. Bill visited her everyday sometimes 3 or more times a day. On Valentine’s Day he gave her flowers and cards and stuffed animals. Even though she could no longer speak, he was truly devoted to her and their love for each other. He died in 2011, and she died in 2015. Their love for each other was noted by staff at Twin Oaks as they had never seen someone as devoted to each other as Bill was to Blanche. Now that’s a true love story!
The East Linn Museum has a group of historic cards and Valentines donated by the Ireland Family. Some date back to 1908. Many were addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Gerry Coryell and others to Norma Ireland. Take a day and go visit the museum you will be glad you did.
Loves’ Recipes: One of our volunteers here at the library said January, February and March were hot cocoa months. But the following recipes could also apply. The first, is one of those recipes that many made in the 1950s and 1960s.
INGREDIENTS
· 1 1/2 cups of boiling water
· 1 cup Red Hots candies
· 1 (6 oz) box cherry Jell-O (can also use strawberry)
· 2 cups applesauce (I used Motts unsweetened)
· 1 cup chilled Sprite (or 7-Up)
FOR THE GARNISH
· Cool Whip or whipped cream
· Red Hots candies
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INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring water to a boil in pan, over high heat.
2. Add the red hot candies. Reduce heat to low and stir until dissolved.
3. Add the box of Jell-O and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat.
4. Add the applesauce and Sprite into the Jell-O-Red Hots mixture and stir to distribute.
5. Pour Jell-O mixture into serving glasses and cover with plastic wrap.
6. Chill overnight.
7. Before serving, add a dollop of Cool Whip or whipped cream and sprinkle with extra red hots.
In searching for interesting recipes the following was discovered from Two in the Kitchen, Bisquick recipes of 1973.
Now what about that hot chocolate? The first hot chocolate drink was seen in Mexico. As early as 500 B.C., the Mayans were drinking chocolate made from ground-up cocoa seeds mixed with water, cornmeal, and chili peppers (as well as other ingredients)—a much different version from the hot chocolate we know today. In the 15 th century the Aztec’s had their own version which was adapted and changed and then found its way to the Spanish court. The Spanish added vanilla and spices and sugar and began heating it. About 1650 the Europeans created another version
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but it wasn’t until the 18 th century that it was a very popular drink in London. In the 19 th century, cocoa powder became the norm so it was easier to make and tastier to drink.
Did you Know? March is known for several things:
Fun Facts about March
o March was the first month on the Roman calendar
o March was named for the Roman God of War
o If March comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb
o The birth flower for March is the daffodil
o The telephone was first patented in March
o The game Monopoly was invented in March 1933
o Coca Cola was invented in March 1866
o Girls Scouts were founded in March 1912
o March Madness hits T.V. for Basketball fans
o And lastly, St. Patrick’s Day falls on March 17 th
Spring is evident when: Flowers are emerging from the frozen ground, the pollinators-the bees are buzzing around, the vivid and joyful songs of the Red Wing Black birds and Robins are heard, and the noise of the woodpeckers, and the sounds of frogs croaking are also heard. But there is also one more thing that is an evidence of spring—our annual Genealogical Society Workshop! Don’t’ forget to watch for the updates that will appear on the new website and via emails. (P.S. If you want to see flowers in March visit the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn!)
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Famous Quotes for the more Mature
“You know you’re getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you’re down there.” George Burns
“I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap.” Bob Hope
“We don’t grow older, we grow riper.” Pablo Picasso
“Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.” Anonymous
What do the above three items have in common? Find out in the next Distant Trails
We can’t let March slip by without a brief mention of St. Patrick. He was originally from Wales and was captured at age 16 by pirates and brought to Ireland as a slave. He was a sheepherder during his captivity. He later escaped but returned to Ireland to teach about Christianity. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was March 17 th 1601, in St. Augustine Florida, a Spanish colony at the time. In 1772, English military soldiers, because they were homesick, began a parade in New York City. In 1848, all the New York Irish Aid Societies organized and created one parade. Today that parade is the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the U.S. with over 150,000 participants. In 1962, the Chicago Irish immigrants began dying the Chicago River green. Today besides parades, pubs, and the wearing of the green, we honor many of us who have Irish ancestors.
Trivia Questions Answers: Which one of our past presidents at the society was a model for Juverne’s in the 1979 November edition of the New Era for a Christmas event? (Anita Lewis)
Which families at our society, the husband and wife, were presidents? (Richard and Marge Lillich, Bill and Anita Lewis)
What year did the Crawfordsville Calapooia Roundup begin? (1920 it ended in 1953)
What holiday in Sweet Home has at least 3 different names? (Sportsman’s Holiday, Sportsman Holiday Calapooia Rodeo, and Frontier Days)
Which restaurant in town was first a home and then in 1970 became a well-known eating place?
(The Point)
Which industry in Sweet Home became very important in 1940 and helped to revitalize the community? (Logging)
