Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-05-31
PIONEERS HAVE DAY

| IN ANNUAL REUNION.
Speeches, Music, Luncheon and Out
door Sports Furnish tDay of
Rare Enjoyment.
Once more the pioneers of Polk
County have met and celebrated their
annual picnic and anniversary. Again
they have grasped the hands of their
early comrades and have reviewed the
I trials and hardships experienced on
the old Oregon trail. AS the years go
| by, great decrease is seen in the
number of pioneers that assemblies on
such occasions. From sturdy band
of two hundred or more that previous
ly gathered in Dallas in annual reun-
ion, only a few score of the men and
women who have developed for us
this glorious country now remain to
tell the tale
The first sign of a picnic Saturday
morning was the appearance of the
Dallas band, twenty strong and in
handsome uniform. After listening to
a program of late and popular music
on the court square, the crowd gath
cred in line and marched to the City
Park, where a choice band selection
opened the program of the day.
Hon. T, ]. Hayter, President of the
n; \
a pioneer of 1850, presided and offered
a few remarks concerning the picnic
and its purposes. The Dallas College
young mems quartette then sang THE
Boys of the Old Brigade" a highly ap-
propriate selection which elected
rounds of applause. Prayer was Of
fered by the Reverend Joseph Corn
wall, one of the early pioneer minis
ters of the state. A beautiful song
was sung by a mixed quartette, the
members of which were Mrs. D. M.
Metzger, Miss Edna Morrison, Isaac
Goodell and Willis Simonton The
musical program was, as usual, under
the direction of Mrs. Metzger and was
greatly appreciated and enjoyed by
the pioneers.
Pioneers Are Speakers.
In former reunions of the Polk
County pioneers it has been the custom
to have an orator deliver an address
appropriate to the occasion, but this
custom was abolished this year and
n1sTnr q
speakers. The Reverend Cornwall
spoke briefly, but entertainingly, about
conditions in the Oregon country when
he came; of how it was nothing more
than wilderness, inhabited by In
dians and with a few trading posts
scattered here and there. He told OF
the hardships endured by the early
settlers and compared the conditions
of today with those of former years.
speaking of the advance of civiliza-
ton and knowledge and the growth OF
the church from a few small missions
to its place at the present time.
DR.. T. V. B. Embree, a pioneer OF
1874, told of the pioneers who were
Applegates, Easts and Shaws, who
were the earliest settlers in this re-
gion. He told of all the pioneers who
came to Polk County in the '4Os;
where they lived; of their families, and
their occupations.
The speaker described the schools
of the early days. He told how, on
account of the lack of teachers, young
women were imported from the East
to take charge of these schools. When
these teachers arrived and found
schools scarcer than they had expect
ed, the greater number of them be-
came the wives of bachelor pioneers
The Doctor paid a feeling tribute to
the pioneer wives and mothers, who
through those days of hardships and
Indian Wars, had remained fearless
brave and true. He ended his excel
lent address by reviewing the Indian
Wars, telling of the companies organ
lied among the early settlers for SER
vice in the Yakima country and South
ern oregon, and how the savages were
defeated and the pioneer homes saved
from destruction. Too great praise
could not be paid those fearless men
and women who had crossed the con-
tinent, enduring innumerable hard
ships and privations, to seek homes
and in later years to build up this
great oregon country.
New Officers Chosen.
The morning exercises closed with
DR. Embree's address, and the noon
hour was spent in the enjoyment of
basket dinner in the park. The con-
tents of well-filled lunch baskets were
spread on snowy cloths under the
spreading naples, and appetites made
keen by the bracing morning air en-
abled the large and happy crowd tc
make short work Of disposing of the
feast of good things.
The annual business meeting of th'
association was held in the park al
1:30 o'clock in the afternoon. Hor
George Myer, of Dallas, was elected
president; Cass Riggs. of Crowley. wal
Installed as vice-president, and DR.
Embree was reelected secretary and
treasurer.
Following the annual custom Of Civ
ing prizes TO the Oldest pioneers pres
ent, a rocking chair was awarded t'
Mrs. Alice Dempsey. a pioneer Of 1874
and another chair TO B. F. Smith. wh'