Herbert Hoover Pays Us A Visit

On August 31, 1926, it was reported that Herbert Hoover (then Secretary of Commerce) was fishing on the Rogue River.

Before entering the political arena, Herbert Hoover, our 31st President,  was a mining engineer and geologist.  In 1899 he was employed by a London-based mining company.  He worked at several different gold mines in Australia before going to China, where he served as the leading engineer.  

 In 1901 he was made a partner at Bewick, Moreing & Co.  After observing mining operations in New South Wales, he discovered a way to effectively to use the froth flotation process to recover zinc from tailings. 

With this type of background, it makes one wonder if he didn't also do a little gold prospecting while enjoying our magnificent Rogue River!

Man Pays Fine With Onions

The following is an excerpt from an article published August 24, 1933 in an out-of-state newspaper.

"'The fine is strong, but I guess you can stand it,' said the judge, penalizing V. O. Bishops for failing to stop his truck for a through street."

Mr. Bishops did not have the $5 to pay his fine, so the Josephine County judge agreed to accept 200 pounds of onions instead.

Teddy Roosevelt and Teddy Bears

No one can resist a cuddly Teddy bear.

Baby Mahto with his favorite teddy!

 In November of 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt was on a hunting trip in Mississippi.  One of his hunting companions had trapped a black bear cub and offered it to the President as an easy kill.  

Theodore Roosevelt refused the offer by saying, "What's the point of shooting an already trapped bear?"

A reporter for the Washington Post that had accompanied the hunting party, telegraphed the story back to his editor.  The Washington Post ran a cartoon of the story by showing a scene with the bear cub and the caption:  "Drawing the line in Mississippi."

 A hopeful toymaker from Brooklyn, New York, who had been trying to sell some toy bears made by his wife, saw the cartoon and had an inspiration.  He sent a letter to the White House asking Roosevelt's permission to use his name for his toy bears.  Roosevelt gave his permission, and Morris Michton started selling "Teddy's Bears" in his New York toy store.

They were a huge hit, and soon the name was shortened to the now very familiar "Teddy Bears."

photo of a "Teddy Bear" in the Steiff Museum Giengen Germany courtesy of Matthias Kabel.

Theodore Roosevelt didn't invent the "Teddy Bear," and who knows if he ever even owned one, but without his charisma and charm, we may still have toy bears, but not "Teddy Bears."

Happy First Birthday Mahto!

  Who can resist a Teddy Bear?

Diary Of A Mormon Missionary - Louisiana, December 1898

The following is a transcript from the diary of an LDS missionary from December 22, 1898.

"Girard, La             December 22nd 1898

Thursday

Stayed at Depot and occupied a bench which we laid on with quilt which the young man (the agent), gave us, but we did not sleep much, but were thankful for his kindness to us.  Elder Raymond wrote some Gospel letters to his friends, and after mailing them with some papers, we started out without any breakfast, expecting to go about eight miles south.  After walking down a short distance, ate some cake which Elder Raymond had on hand, it was very nice and so rich that we discovered two more pieces of silver in it making forty cents in all.  We then walked on our way.  I was not feeling well, stopped occasionally to rest short time.  We called at the home of Mr. John Young.  He invited us in, and the time was taken up in chatting and conversing upon the gospel until night having walked about 8 miles.  The weather was clear and warm for this time of year.  After eating supper, then conversed some time, sang a few songs and Elder Raymond read chapter in bible explaining the organization of the church.  Mr. Young and family are a going away to the southern part of this state in a short time to make them a new home with some other persons.  After speaking upon the way the church is organized, with Apostles, Seventy, Elders, Etc.  Then explained some other principles of the Gospel.  The day being passed again, all retired, after offering prayers with the family."

This LDS missionary was my great great grandfather Lewis Albert Warren.  He had just turned 32 years old, and was only six months into his mission.  He left a wife and six year-old son behind in Price, Utah.  Lewis Albert Warren was born in Spanish Fork, Utah and had never left Utah before starting on this mission.  

During this time, Mormon missionaries had to rely on "the kindness of strangers" to provide them with a place to sleep and food to eat.  This was usually done in exchange for sharing Mormon doctrine with the people they met, and helping out with chores.

It was not uncommon for my grandfather and his companion to walk many miles each day.  They were unaccustomed to the wet, humid weather of Louisiana, and it took its' toll.   Two months after this diary entry, Lewis Albert Warren had died from pneumonia.  

Alice's Road Trip - 1909

Alice Huyler Ramsey, with three companions in tow, arrived in San Francisco, CA on August 7, 1909.

 22 year-old Alice, accompanied by her two "forty something" sisters-in-law, and a 16 year-old friend was the first woman to drive across the United States.

It was originally meant as a publicity stunt for the Maxwell-Briscoe auto maker, but it turned into a step forward for women.

These four ladies left Hell's Gate in Manhattan on June 9, 1909 in a Maxwell 30, and set off on a 3,800 mile journey, of which only 152 miles were paved!  The route they took would later be named the "Lincoln Highway."

Alice Ramsey was the only one of the four women that knew how to drive.  Her husband had bought her a car the summer before, and she wasted no time in putting 6,000 miles on that car.

Over the course of the 59 days, the ladies learned how to change tires, clean spark plugs and to check the fuel level.  They ran out of gas in the Midwest after forgetting to check the tank before they left one morning.  To check the Maxwell's fuel level, you had to remove the front seat cushion, and insert ruler into the fuel tank.

The next day, their engine overheated and they didn't have any water with them.  Nettie Powell and Margaret Atwood, Alice's sisters-in-law found the solution.  They used their sterling silver and cut-glass toiletries holders to bring water, an ounce at a time, from road-side ditches to refill the radiator.

While traveling through Nebraska, the adventuresses were surrounded by a group of Native Americans with bows and arrows, but quickly found out they were just hunting rabbits.  

 In Wyoming they were stopped by men on horseback, who turned out to be a posse on the trail of a murderer. 

During her driving career Alice Huyler Ramsey would make this cross-country trek more than 30 times.  She was on her way to have driven all six passes of the Swiss Alps, when her doctors forced her to not drive the final pass because of her pacemaker.  Alice died at the age of 96 on October 9, 1983.

Finally, on October 17, 2000, Alice was the first woman to be inducted into the Automobile Hall of Fame.  It sure took them long enough!

A first-hand account of Alice's adventure, can be read in her book "Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron," which was published in 1961.

 

By 1909, only a handful of men had successfully completed the journey of driving a car across the county; the first time was only six years prior, in 1903, by Dr. Horatio Nelson.

As for the Maxwell-Briscoe company, it did not experience the longevity that Alice Huyler Ramsey enjoyed.  The company was absorbed by Chrysler in 1926.