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44 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, January 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend December 14, 2003 Retelling a century of Rogue Valley memories When it comes to living large in Jackson and Josephine counties, Lyle Sams has been there, done that. For more than a century, in fact. "A lot of history has happened here while I’ve been around," says the congenial Medford resident. "Automobiles, airplanes. Just about everything came here after I did." Born Dec. 20, 1900, in Nebraska, he moved with his parents to a farm near Woodville overlooking the banks of the Rogue River in 1902. Woodville would become the city of Rogue River in 1912. "People didn’t like the ‘ville’ part of it, so they changed the name," says the man who will be 103 on Saturday. Advertisement A dapper gentleman who wears a cheerful smile, Sams retired in 1965 as a district superintendent after 38 years working for what is now Pacific Power. He survived two wives and has two children, a son in West Linn and a daughter in Folsom, Calif., as well as numerous grandchildren. Although he has traveled to Mexico and the East Coast, he prefers his beloved Southern Oregon. Over the years he has lived in Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass. He and longtime family friend Joan Pomeroy frequent local restaurants. He doesn’t wear glasses or use a cane, but he does leave the driving to her. "I quit driving when I got to be 100 years old," he says. "Right after my (100th) birthday my son said, ‘Dad, don’t you think you ought to quit driving now?’ I thought it over and figured that’s what I ought to do." He can tell you about silent movies featuring the genius of Charlie Chaplin, about vaudeville coming to town with its comedy acts and chorus lines, about barnstormers swooping down in newfangled flying machines, about horses bucking at snorting automobiles. When Sams arrived in the Rogue Valley, horses were the main mode of transportation. "In Woodville, all we had was a team of horses," he says. "The very first ride I had in an automobile was when the doctor paid a house call." Hailed by a telephone that was hand cranked, the doctor came from Grants Pass. "After he was done, he’d let me ride with him from the house out to the road," he says. "That was a great thrill for me." Places were more distant in terms of time back then. "The folks wanted to go to Crescent City to see the ocean when we lived in Woodville, but all we had was the team of horses," he says. "It took us three days to get to the coast." Another trip took them to the Oregon Caves National Monument created in 1909. "I remember going through the Oregon Caves when you carried a little torch — we didn’t have electric lights," he says. That first spelunking trip was with parents and two of their adult friends. "The woman was kind of heavy and almost got caught in the caves — they weren’t opened up like they are now," he says. "We had quite a time squeezing her through." The family moved to Ashland when he was in the fourth grade. That’s where he first started driving an automobile at age 15, eventually acquiring a Model T Ford. It would get up to a hair-raising 30 miles an hour. One day when a goggled barnstormer landed near town with his scarf flying in the wind, Sams longed to soar with his group. "But they said I had to have my parents’ permission," he says. "Well, I ran back and got that but by the time I returned they had left." The man who would be the father of Charles A. Sams, an Air Force pilot rising to the rank of two-star general, stayed on the ground. He would graduate from Ashland High School in 1918. Back in those days, Medford and Ashland were grid-iron rivals, he says. "In 1917, I played right end for Ashland," he says. "We defeated Medford in those days." Sure enough. Ashland whomped Medford 48-0 when they played on Nov. 3, 1917. But Grants Pass beat Ashland 26-7 that fall. Sams has a black and white photo of the Ashland team that year showing young men wearing what looks like striped convict clothes. Sams was living in Ashland when the notorious D’Autremont brothers robbed the train at Tunnel No. 13 in fall 1923, killing four people. They walked away without a dime. "A friend of mine had a motorcycle so we went up there to the tunnel" within hours after it happened, he recalls. "One of the men that was killed was still alive there alongside the tracks." When World War II erupted, Sams joined the Navy, serving in the Bay Area. Since he was in his early 40s, his uniformed buddies ribbed him for being an "old man." Now, more than half a century later, he would agree he has achieved that status. "For my birthday I just want things to continue as smoothly as they are now," he says. "Life is very pleasant." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [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 3 WEEKS FREE! 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