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62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 12, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 28, 2004 Lost town of Beagle brings back memories Former residents of Beagle (and offspring) gather for picnic and annual reminiscence By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune SAMS VALLEY — Their numbers may have dwindled over the years, but former residents of a nonexistent town have no shortage of memories. For just a few hours during Sunday’s annual Beagle Picnic, a town that was lost to war and the ravages of time once again came to life. "It’s wonderful to get to see all these people again and to know that we’re still going," said 89-year-old Charlotte Sweet of Medford. Sweet recalls the first picnic held 61 years ago. It was a year after the U.S. Army forced Beagalites from their homes, setting up a military training ground where the town’s school, post office, houses, barns and fences once stood. "We were awfully broken-hearted," Sweet said. Advertisement The Army purchased the Sweets’ 38 acres and home, which had been built just five years previously, for $3,209. Sweet and her husband moved to a house on South Ivy Street in Medford while her former neighbors scattered around the Rogue Valley. Seven years later, the Sweets bought back their land for $800, but there was nothing left of their former home except a few pieces of cement. The fields were all weeds. "We would have had to start all over," Sweet said. They remained in Medford, giving their son an acre of the property. Other neighbors bought back their land, and the nearby Antioch Cemetery was ransomed for a mere 50 cents at a government auction, according to the old-timers’ tales. But Beagalites could never buy back the sense of community they once shared. Living very near to the old town site of Beagle, 51-year-old Linda Tourville Davis is trying to recreate that sense of community by capturing Beagle’s history before it is forever lost. Only a half-dozen first-generation Beagle residents attended Sunday’s picnic. Davis has interviewed most of them over the years and hopes to put their memories in book form. "It’s one way of honoring the people, what they’ve been through," Tourville Davis said. Former Beagle residents swapped stories Sunday of cattle drives to Diamond Lake, families who moved their houses rather than surrender them to the government and efforts to restore Antioch Cemetery, the tombstones of which had been buried during the Camp White years. While fewer of the old faces are seen with each passing year, the Beagle Picnic should live on as long as children, grandchildren and present-day residents of the area remember, said organizer, 68-year-old Ken Bigham. "It’s our country life where everyone knew each other, and everybody helped each other. They’re one big family." The Beagle Picnic is held on the last Sunday in June at the Bigham home on Webber Road. For more information, call Ken Bigham at 826-2460. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities