Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1912-02-02

community. and that they have
achieved the success which they so
richly deserve.
Among the many virtues which
have characterized the life OF Mr..
Coe among us. his civic pride and
good citizenship shine forth predom-
inant. When he first cast his lot
among us, over twenty years ago.
North Fourth street and the Lincoln
Park district, now studded with
beautiful homes and grounds and
leading the rest of the city In civic
improvements. was. In the language
of the pioneer, bowling wilderness.
| can remember that all the country
lying north of our present "A"
street was considered the hinterland,
and my boyhood fancy pictured II
full of huge grizzly bears. mountain
lions and wolves. A thick growth Of
trees covered the land; and | can re-
member that as small school children
In the lower grades we we're never al
lowed to penetrate farther than "A"
street In our search for wild flowers
unless accompanied by the watchful
care of Prof. Benson, as we used to
call our much adored teacher. who
ia now the dignihed and learned Cir
cult Judge of the Klamath district.
"Yet into this primal wilderness,
with boundless faith In the future
stepped our host and laid himself
the foundations of the beautiful home
in which We are his honored guests
this evening. lot content with the
crude cabin OF his contemporaries
he built for himself a real home;
and the work OF making It a beauti-
full spot was early begun. From that
day to this Mr.. Coe has been prime
mover In bringing every material ad-
vantage to this part Of his city, and
in the work of installing city water,
telephone, electric light. sewer and
every modern convenience he has al
ways led the fight. The newcomer
who is living In comparative ease and
pleasure In beautiful bungalow un-
der the shade of natures grand old
oaks and madronas little realizes
how much he owes to this same r.
l.. Coe for the many conveniences
and municipal betterments which
make his home life so pleasant. for
many Of these betterments came only
after hard fought battle against the
unprogressives, who give away to the
modern idea only after hard dash
OF battle.
And so 1t has been In the broader
world OF municipal development.
remember 1t was our host who early
advocated a railroad't to the Illinois
valley and to Crescent City, that he
fought for It through a number of
years with every available resource,
and that his name occupied a con-
spicuous place on every subscription
list for that purpose He has ever
occupied prominent place In the van
movement for irrigation, nor has he
ever been too busy with his personal
work to attend every irrigation meet
ing and do valuable work on commit
tees. His purse has always been as
open as his advice and no one can
say that he has shirked single civic
duty. When mines we're our chief.
est resource Mr.. Coe helped organize
and sustain the organization OF citi-
zcns who placed and maintained IN
our city for number of years a most
creditahle mineral exhibit and free
reading room, and large amount OF
the mining development OF recent
years can be directly attributed to
the good accomplished by this object
lesson In mining. He has labored un-
ceaslngly In making our district fairs
the successes they have been, and In
every way has contributed largely In
the development OF Grants Pass along
the most progressive and ideal lines
His last and most signal achievement
Is the building Of beautiful brick
store and office building, which
would be credit to a city many
times the size OF Grants Pass. Simple,
yet elegant in outline and plan, and
furnished with every modern conven-
ience, II will stand for many years
as a lasting monument to the business
sagacity, as well as confident citizen
ship OF one OF Grants Pass first cit
i2ens.
But while pleasantly calling TO
mind the past achievements OF our
host and friend, we must not forget
the wife who has also played her part
ueii In the drama OF the past twen-
~ years. and whose influence. though