[or-roots] The Brown Side

[Harguess, Dale]

I have to tell you that this is the most interesting read I have seen so
far on this list.  My family was both green and brown as you put it.
They started out green, getting donation land claims in the early 1850's
in Linn County but then because of the gold rush in the north east they
sold their very prosperous farm in the Willamette Valley and decided to
become teamsters in Hardman Oregon.  They ended up being very prosperous
sheep ranchers in Morrow and Umatilla and even Gilliam Counties.  I know
very well about the rattlesnakes.  I went to the old Hardman cemetery to
take pictures of their graves and was warned by one of the few citizens
left in the Ghost Town of Hardman to watch out for rattle snakes.  The
area has been converted from sheep ranching to cattle ranching and I
guess cows don't keep the snakes away like sheep do.

If anyone wants to see what the area looks like go to google and type in
Hardman Ghost town.  They have a wonderful site and it really gives you
the idea of what the place was like when it was a boom town and then
went bust when the railroad passed them by.

Dale

 

I have the impression, reading our postings over the past year, that
most of us are from the Green Side of Oregon (West of Cascades). So I
thought I'd put my experiences on the brown Side out to Y'all. (No I'm
not from the South, actually I was Born in Portland)

In the late '40 and Early '50s, I was a Student at OSC (Later OSU)
majoring in Geology. At the end of my Jr Year, Our Geology Prof,
(Professor ("Doc") Wilkenson gave us an opportunity to use our Summer
Vacation for a 3 month Field Trip to The John Day Country.  There were
about 10 of us that took him up on the Field Trip. So, in the middle of
June We Loaded up and went to The John Day Country (Cty Boy meets the
out door life!). 

Actually afterI got used to 100+ deg days and Freezing nights I found
that i really liked the Area.  We were camped on the John Day River
living in Tents and sleeping on old Army Cots. Our camp site had been
picked by Doc to be in a Sheep pasture!  He said that the Sheep kept the
Rattle Snakes away!  Must have worked 'cause we hadno Rattlers in camp.

Once I got used to the area I realized how beautiful it was!  Stark, Raw
but really magnificent.!!! It was very quiet, and at night the Stars
were someting else to see.

I got 12 hours of Credit for the Field trip (with at least a B
Guarenteed).

The Sad thing is that I never got to go Back.  The Air Force had
different plans for me.

 

--
Bob Goodman 
USAF Retired 
University Place, Washington

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