He had seen an advertisement printed by the government, encouraging rural settlement of that promising agricultural area . . . Only 21 years old, the young Jensen was anxious to move west to seek his fortune in the agricultural or lumbering industry of the area, and to find a new home for himself and, eventually, for his mother, sister and stepfather, Wesley Shannon. Luhr worked in the woods and in various mills for several years, then finally persuaded his mother and stepfather to join him, and to purchase some land south of Hood River in Dee. Once cleared, they planted it with apple and pear trees, with strawberries set between the rows as an interim crop. These were happy, albeit hard-working times.
Family albums depict the scenes and the happiness they shared.
They often spoke of the very special train trips into Hood River for shopping and visiting and perhaps to take a boat ride on the Columbia, or to spend a Saturday night at the outside bandstand near the center of town. They were married in 1914 after he had purchased an additional 10-acre stump farm which adjoined the acreage that had been previously cleared. Luhr and Clarice settled down to what they thought would be country living at its best, on what his letterhead called The Stonegate Fruit Farm. But even the namesake stone gate failed to materialize. Though there were fun hobbies such as short wave radio, amateur photography, collecting Indian relics, and a few successful farm years, most of the times were very hard.