East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1917-10-10
RUNS away At 1S;
IS CAPTAIN At rs
FORMER PENDLETON AND PILOT
ROCK BOY HAS HAD UNIQUE
CAREER.

From d runaway boy at 10 to
captain OF ordnance in the Nationai
Army at Is is the jump made by Earl
Harkins, a former Pendleton and Pi-
lot Rock boy. He IS now stationed at
Benicia Arsenal. Benicia. Calf. Some
thing Of his career since leaving this
country is contained In letter te
the East Oregonian from Benecia. In
part 1t reads as follows;
Captain Harkins was former
Pcndleton boy. having lived at 500
Tustin street with family named
Sanford Strouts. his aunt and uncle.
| He went to the public school on Webb
street and quit in the seventh grade
which also concluded his schooling.
He worked at one time as mailing
| clerk in the Pendleton Tribune at the
age Of 13 when Ex-Governor Geer ed
tied the paper. He used TO drive
freight team from Pendleton to Pilot
Rock hauling merchandise for Pilot
Rock merchants at the age of eleven
and twelve. He lived at Pilot Rock
from 1903 to 1908 and was wen
! known there. his uncle. then runninL
the feed yard and chop mill. Young
Harkins ran away from Meacham
/ Oregon. where his uncle owned a
wood ranch. because he thought ne
was getting too old to be whipped by
his aunt this in 1907.
From that date young Harkins has
had a career which is quite unique
AT sixteen he owned restaurant In
Lewiston. Idaho. In 1910 he was fir
ing the largest locomotive on the
Great Northern Railway out of Spo-
kane. Wash, over the Cascades and
the Rockies. The same year he en-
listed in the United States Marines
and was sent to Mare Island, Calf.
where he was for almost two yeaFs
when he was disabled out on accouni
Of a broken foot received while play
ing Rugby. Then he attempted te
null off a large advertising scheme for
'the Panama Pacific Exposition. bun
running out of funds gave up the pro-
ject.
He went to cooking for the West
ern Pacific Railway company be-
tween San Francisco and Salt Lake
Getting in a fight at Wendover, Utah
he was fired and went to Salt Lake
where he enlisted in the United State
army. From here he went to Fort
Mcdowell. Cal. and from there he
was sent to Fort Mill, Corregidor Is
land, Philippine Islands. and stayed
there for two years. There he made
quite a record in the newspaper fielo
having become island correspondent
for the Cablenews American. and ed
iting a company paper called the 1StF
Company Daily Dingis. Losing f1is
health in the islands. Harkins was
sent back in 1914 and in June of the
same year was again disabled from
the military service. He then wen
to Motesano, Washington, to see hi
sister, whom he had not seen for Il
years and here ne became GONZALES
cent for almost a year. spending mos
of his time at a town ten miles From
Montesano. called Elna. At Flint
he saw fine field for the newspaper
game and became agent and CORE
spondent for the Washington stats
papers. the Oregon Journal and tht
Oregonian. On top Of this he build.
ed him a large news agency which Is
still owned by him.
! When the country declared war OF
the Imperial German government
Harkins. though married and the
proud father Of a prize baby girl
could not stay behind turned over hi
business and applied for admission tc
the officers reserve training camp a.
Preside where after three mnths o.
hard grind at the age of twenty-five
! he was commissioned a captain o.
ordnance.