Document text
ef,14-0-1C,
Accession_
W 9658
WPA L. C. PRO Writer' UNIT
Forp-3
FOlkl.QZSL________Collection (or Type)
Date received Title Ca.Iliyon ctty
10/10/40
Consignment no.
1
Shipped from Place of originP_OrtlandOr_egon__ Date....31 39
Wash. Office
Label Project worker William Q Haight
Amount 11p. Project editor
incl. forms
Remarks
Form A Federal Writers' Project
Circumstances of Interview Works Progress Administration
OREGON FOLKLORE STUDIES
Name of worker William C. Haight Date March 10, 1939
Address
1225 S. W. Alder Street, Portland, Oregon.
Subject
Canyon City Folkways.
VENN" •1111101111MMINIMIlt
Name and address of informant Mrs. Ford, 14th and Yamhill Street, Portland,
Oregon, Brown Apartments.
Date and time of interview March 8, 9, 1939. Between 9 and 12, and 9 and 1.
-Place of interview 14th and Yamhill_Street, Brown Apartments, Portland,
Oregon.
Name and address of person, if any, who put you in touch mith informant
None.
Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you
None.
Description of room, house, surroundings, etc.
Moderate priced, comfortable three -roam apartment. Well furnished and pleasingly
arranged.
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, each bearing the proper heading
and the number to which the material refers).
W9658
Form B Federal Writers? Project
Personal History of Informant Works Progress Administration
OREGON FOLKLORE STUDIES
Name of worker
Address
Subject Canyon City Folkways
William C. Haight
1225 S. W. Alder Street, Portland, Oregon
Date March 10, 1939
Name and address of informant Mrs. Ford, 14th and Yamhill Street, Portland.
Inforinabion obtained should supply the sollo-Jiin7,
1. Ancestry 6. Ocupa:::lons ,?ad accomplishments with dates
2. Place and date of birth 7. Soc::1T.1 5r,treFts
3. FaAly E3 C;ommun:.-1-7 rensr)us activities
4. Place: lived in, with dates 9, Do.5,1.rition of
5. Education, with dates 10. Other points gainea in interview
1. English.
2. Canyon City, Oregon, approximately 1868.
3. None.
4. Canyon City, Oregon; Ohio, (no town, or date); Portland, Oregon.
5. None, although she speaks excellent English, and has a fairly large vocabulary.
Has none of the marks of an uneducated person.
6. None. Housewife.
7. None. Singing.
8. None. A member of the Episcopalian church.
9. Mrs. Ford is a small, white-haired, blue-eyed lady. She has a great deal of
grace in her walk. A pleasant laugh and voice. She is best characterized
by the phrase "a gracious lady."
10. She had a proposal from a Chinese, but refused to divulge particulars.
She learned to speak Chinese, a little, in return for teaching English to
Chinese.
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, each bearing the proper heading
and the number to which the material refers).
Form C Federal Writers' Project
Text of Interview (Unedited) Works Progress Administration
OREGON FOLKLORE STUDIES
Name of worker William C. Haight Date March 8, 1939
Address 1225 S. W. Alder Street, Portland,Oregon.
Subject Canyon City Folkways.
Name and address of informant Mrs. Ford Brown Apartments, 14th Yamhill Streets,
Portland, Oregon.
Text:
WAS the second child born in Canyon City. Jennie Nunes Towers MRS the
first. She certainly was no credit to the village.
My father left Kentucky in 1849 and went to California. He heard of the
big gold strike in Canyon City, and left California to settle in Canyon. You know,
then you could almost pick up gold nuggets by the handful; at least it was much
easier than it is now.
Father made a great deal of money out of the mines and started a grocery
store in partnership with Poindexter. The store was known as the Poindexter
Clark Mercantile Store. My father started in this business with a great deal of
money and no experience. Mr. Poindexter started in with no money and a great deal
of experience. The partnership ended with Poindexter having the money and my father
the experience.
Father worked for the Wells Fargo company, and had the stage line from
The Dales to Canyon City. Every Saturday morning the Chinese would line up out-
side of my father's business with their bags of gold dust to be weighed and shipped
to San Francisco. I can still hear the clock -clock -clock of the Chinese as they
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, each bearing the heading given
above).
Mrs. Ford Form C 2.
talked to my father. They seemed to like him quite well. Often, father would
have me come over to the office and sew the canvas he had into bags to hold the
gold dust.
The Chinese were an honest, industrious race of people. Most everyone
in Canyon had at least one working for him. Too, the poor fellows were often
the source of much amusement, and the butt of many a practical joke in this rough
and ready mining camp.
The mining they did was quite different than the white man's. Usually,
the Chinese washed the gravel which the white man had thrown out as waste. They
made a good deal of money by using the tailings left by the whites.
Joaquin Miller, the poet, is so often mentioned today, and people look at
me with a new interest when they find out I knew him. It seems strange to me. He
WAS just another man aid not a very nice one.
I WAS named after his wife, Minnie Myrtle. The clearest memory I have
of her were bursts of jealousy, and her long, dark, beautiful tresses. One time
I WAS visiting with her. She WAS sitting in front of a mirror combing her hair.
Joaquin came in and made some remark about her hair. Although it was a compliment
as I remember it, she
Joaquin was noted for
Many of the pioneers
snapped back, "I thought you preferred a squaw's hair."
his weakness for squaws. The weakness is understandable.
had Indians for their wives. No other women being around,
they would naturally take a squaw.
Cooking in pioneer days was a real problem. There WAS hardly anything
to cook. Father was a good provider and we always had the things we could buy,
but there were not any choices. One example, was bread. We had to make our awn
yeast, first, before we could start to make the bread. Always on Saturday, we
would make enough bread to last through the following week.
Coffee WAS quite expensive. We paid 50 cents for a very small package.
Parching the coffee was my trial and tribulation. Ohl Haw I hated to do it.
Mrs. Ford Form C 3.
Often I would burn the green coffee beans. When this occurred I would bury them
in back of the house, then run to the store end buy another package. I knew father
would scold me if he found out I had burned the green coffee beans. Fortunately,
he never itemized his grocery account. So, I was not caught.
Green vegetable s were a luxury almost never had. How many times I
used to look at the green grass and wish I could eat it. Onions, little seed
onions, were about the only green vegetables we ever had. Ohl How glad I was when
they came in.
Fruit we seldom if ever had. Occasionally dried prunes and apples were
served on our table. One man had an apple orchard but his prices were almost
prohibitive. We considered them a great luxury.
The spring would bring with it literally millions of wild flowers. There
was one flower that had a small bulb on it, something like an onion. I can't
remember the name of it. I would often eat these. It's a wonder I wasn't poisoned.
(Ed. Probably camas).
The stores used to keep huge barrels of pickled mackeral and salmon
bellies. The fish was a real Sunday treat in the winter time. Fresh meat was
plentiful. We killed the chickens, pigs, stock (cattle) and had plenty of wild
game, Too, we could usually catch fish in the small stream that went through the
center of our town.
Soda crackers were a luxury. I used to steal these when my father had
his store. A cracker to we children was much like a piece of candy to children
now. These crackers were always kept in a large barrel back in the store. I
suppose they were kept in back because there was so little call for them. People
could not afford such luxuries in those times.
Coal oil was another expensive commodity. A very small can cost fifty
cents. You see, all of our foodstuff was freighted in from The Dallas. These
Mrs. Ford Form C 4.
trips would always take at least a month. Haw tragically often the coal oil
would spill into the sugar and flour on those trips.
Life VAS so hard. It demanded the most fromeveryone for mere existence.
However, it was the only life many of us knew so we accepted the hardships fairly
willingly.
It seems strange to me haw much the weather has changed. Canyon had
long, cold, hard winters when I lived there. Now, quite often the minters are
open. Too, it seldom gets as cold there now as it did in early days. Why, I
remember that even our bread would freeze as hard as a rock in the worst part
of the winter. (Ed. This change in the weather has been noted by many).
I was fourteen when my mother became very ill and passed away. The
tragedy of her death has been with me all these years. Mother desperately wanted
an orange. Oranges were a real luxury then. In order to get mother the oranges
father had to dispatch a man to Baker City to buy her some. Mother died, asking
for orange juice. The rider got back too late with the oranges. Baker City VAS
over 100 miles across two mountain ranges from home.
I remember a lady, Mrs. Dean, gave to we children what she called a
missionary hen. All the eggs this chicken laid we children were to sell and
give the money to the Methodist Church for foreign mission work. We made quite
a little money for the church from the sale of these chicken eggs.
This Mrs. Dean kept house for us for two years. Dear, she was a trialS
She was as deaf as a nail, which used to irritate us. Along with being deaf, she
was quite religious.
One evening she had all of we children down on our knees saying our
evening prayers. Dick, my brother started to snicker. She scolded him sharply
for laughing at God and told him to stand up. To punish him severely she told
him he couldn't pray again until he quit snickering. Well, you know Dick, I don't
Mrs. Ford Form C 5.
think he has quit snickering, or prayed, to this day.
Mrs. Dean WAS a widow, and casting around for a man her eyes lit on a
man by the name of Sagadoll. We used to call him sugar -doll. Sagadoll, was a
bachelor of many years standing, and quite wealthy. Mrs. Dean, undaunted by her
65 years and some 15 years the elder of Sagadoll started to work on him.
The Fourth of July picnic, a big event in those days, was to be the
turning point of the courtship. She felt that under the stress of patriotism
and liquor she could exact a matrinonial promise from Sagadoll.
Her hair was quite thin so she sent out (to SOME) larger city) for a
wig, and some material for a new dress. My, how we did work on that dress:
In those days bustles were all the rage. Mrs. Dean felt that bustles were too
heavy for the spine, and if God had wanted her to look that way he would have
made her a hump. I pointed out that paper could be used for the bustle and that
wouldn't hurt her spine. Mrs. Dean agreed with me, so she had a paper bustle,
instead of the usual wire one.
The day of the picnic dawned with nature more than playing her part
in the courtship. The morning was spent in putting the wig on, and pinning a
new bonnet in place. The dress, with its paper bustle was made and pronounced
a perfect fit. On the way to the picnic the mind lifted the wig and bonnet off of
Mrs. Dean's head. The humiliation must have been great, but she was a determined
and courageous woman. Undaunted, she re -adjusted the wig and bonnet and exacted
a matrimonial promise from Sagadoll. They lived quite happily until she died,
oddly enough, from tuberculosis at the age of 75.
The Fourth of July celebrations were the great events in our lives. A
typical celebration would be a picnic at noon, with barbecued sheep, hogs, and
young steers. The tables would be piled high with the good food prepared by
excellent cooks. After the picnic everyone would gather around a platform that
Mrs. Ford Form C 6.
VAS set up in the middle of the grounds. The band -would play patriotic pieces,
and popular music of the day. A preacher would usually open the services with
a long, thy-, exhortation to God to preserve and protect the union.
Judge Dustin, a noted character, of the day gave the Fourth of July
speech. Always he read the Declaration of Independence. Then, he mould deliver
an excellent address. Mrs. Sagadoll, of whom I have spoken of, usually recited
a patriotic piece of some kind.
I have often heard told an amusing incident that occurred several years
before my time. The Hon. J. C. Luce, arose to read the Declaration of Independence,
his voice boomed out in clear, rich tones nearly half of the ConstitUtion of the
United States, before, H. W. Lair Hill pulled the tail of John's coat and informed
him of his mistake.
The evening of the Fourth was always spent in dancing. We mould dance
the Virginia Reel, Polkas, Schottish, Fireman's Dance, Mazurka, and the Virsouvienne
At first these dances were danced to the hop craze. We would hop polka, and
schottish. Later the glide oraze came in and we would waltz to the Minuet and
other glide dances.
Other forms of amusement in the summer time were, swimming, hiking,
and racing. Of course, the men had the saloons in the minter and summer. The
winter time mould bring coasting and skating; toupe shows would come through;
home talent plays would be produced; candy pulls, church bazaars and parties
would be held.
The shows that mould occasionally came through were always an exciting
event. I VAS a most ardent attender of such performances. My secret ambition
was for the stage. My mother put a stop to such an ambition when she told me an
actress couldn't be a decent lady. However, I must have been fairly good for a
Mrs. Ford Form C 7.
child, because one troupe wanted me to go with them and play little Eva, in
/,Uncle Tom's Cabin:t
I can remember of sitting on the front raw and calling out in loud
protest at the villain. "The Last Loaf", a play where a man took a poor
widow's last loaf of bread, nearly caused me to be kicked out of the hall.
When the actor took the lady's last loaf, my protestations were loud and long.
A popular play often produced by troupes and home talent was called,
"The Good For Nothin". Often the charade, "Cinderella," was performed. "Old
Black Joe, a song, was sung by someone off stage and another person would act
the part of Old Black Joe. To MB, Old Black Joe was a thrilling performance.
Negro/Xinstrals came through once or twice, causing plenty of interest among
the settlers.
The home talent plays were always fun for everyone. I usually got to
tAt-44
play the lead, and a Mr. Mills, a professional tenor, that looked like a dying
calf when he sung, played opposite me. Our costumes were made from cambric
material. The scenery was put together by local carpenters, and the furniture
was borrowed from homes near the hall.
The festivals we had were enjoyable. I remember a strawberry festival
that featured a huge floating island pudding. At this bazaar (festival) I sold
candy, and wild flowers. My mother baked a huge sponge cake. I know she used
20 eggs and brown sugar in making the cake. She used brown sugar because we
didn't have any other kind. During the first part of our life there white
granulated sugar was unheard of. This cake was decorated with tissue paper
flowers, and cut in extremely small pieces, so every one could have some.
The biggest thrill in my life was during the fall round -up of cattle.
The buckaroos would drive the wild, ferocious, cattle right through the center
of the town. They tried to keep the cattle in order but quite often the beasts
Mrs. Ford Form C 8.
would get out of control and stampede, causing much damage to property.
One time I WAS walking down town with a bright red dress on. When I
was in about the center of the town I noticed the cattle come over the brow of
the hill leading into town. I can still remember haw I stood there literally
frozen to the ground as the cattle charged down the hill. Fortunately I WAS
standing in front of a saloon, and one of the men came out and quickly jerked
me inside, slamming the door of the saloon just in tine. The door slammed and
a long horned steer butted into it. I can still see that long horn sticking
through the broken panes of the window in the door.
I was caught another time with my small brother, Burt. This time we
laid as still and close against the building as we could. The buckaroos saw us
and headed the cattle away from where we were. My, but that was a frightening
experience.
Perhaps the second biggest thrill in my life was the Indian attack we
went through. Those miserable Indians were on the warpath all around us, but
for some reason all of us felt fairly safe. Which later events proved to be a
fool's paradise.
On a peaceful Sunday the horrible news came that the Indians were coming
to attack. Everyone WRS ordered to the caves above the town. My mother and I
were preparing dinner. She told me to gather all the clothes and valuable things
in the house and put them in a stone cellar we had.
Later mother and I joined the townspeople up in the caves. I believe
we were there for about three days. We had very little to eat and nothing to
prepare food with. We children slept in the caves. I can remember haw terrified
I was at the large rocks hanging over my head. Mother slept out under the stars.
The attack WRS stopped several miles before the Indians got to Canyon, and we were
allowed to go back home. No one in Canyon MRS injured by the attackers.
Mrs. Ford
Fonn
C 9.
The religious life in our mining camp was nearly as active as the hell
raiser's life. TN had three churches, Methodist, Episcopal, and Catholic. Each
church had its minister and life peculiar unto its needs. The Catholio priest,
with two sisters, had a private school for a short time. The Episcopal church
was built by popular subscription. It stands today, one of the most picturesque
and beautiful churches in Oregon. The windows in that church are real stained
glass. Strangely enough, though right in the center of town, it has survived
all the fires of the town. There have been either four or five serious fires.
Perhaps the most noted hell -raiser in the history of Canyon City was
Marie St. Claire. The wildest, toughest, and most beautiful light woman the
houses there ever had. Marie was kind and generous to everyone. If crossed,
though, she could draw and plug her man with the best of them. I remember that
she would go horseback riding in men's clothes; something no lady, scarcely a
light one, would do. When she dressed in her gorgeous velvet dresses she could
dazzle anyone. Marie lived extravagantly. Her home had every luxury known to
the world at that time. Her silver service was particularly beautiful. Wild,
beautiful, dangerous Marie St. Claire had the secret admiration of everyone,
despite her profession.
Form D
Extra Comment Works Progress Administration
Federal Writers' Project
OREGON FOLKLORE STUDIES
Name of worker William C. Haight ,Date March 10, 1939
Address 1225 S. 4. Alder Street, Portland. Oregon.
Subject Canyon City Folkways
Name and address of informant
Mrs. Ford, 14th Yamhill Street, Portland,
Oregon, Brown Apartments.
Comment:
Mrs. Ford was more than willin to talk. Although she hated the town
she was born and raised in, she seemed to enjoy the fact that she knew so much
of its history,
The town in which she was born and raised is noted for its picturesque-
ness. It is truly one of the great historical towns in Oregon. From this small
village many noted men have come. Joaquin Miller, is perhaps the best known.
The town itself has suffered every disaster a town could, but after
each disaster arose to flourish again.
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, each bearing the heading given
above).