East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1920-06-07

j. II. Lieuallen
ces Iof the early days. OF this county.
want To thank YOU for the honor of
being elected twice as president of
I this association. have always tried.
prior TO my election and since. to as
sst YOU in making this association a
success. Irealize as attempt to talk
to you that / am speaking to my SUI
| periors in words. acts and deeds. II
is hard for me to find words to ex-
lpress to you the honor aud reverence
(which should be bestowed upon you.
Who are the pioneers of this coun-
ty? If You will allow me to anawer my
own question would say they are the
men and women who crossed the
plains in the early SOS or eos by OK
or mule team. They are the men and
1 women who made the great sacrifice
and endured the real hardships in the
early days of this country. We de-
Hight to honor the great generals. of
the Civil war or the daring acts of our
brave men of the Spanish American
war, and above all we praise our brave
and noble boys OF the late worlds
war who put the Huns on the run at
| Chateau Thierry and in the Argonne
4 Forest. None of the actssand deeds of
these brave boys heroism. on the bat
tlefisld could have taken more cour-1
Iage or required more sacrifice than
those performed by the early, sturdy
pioneers of oregon,
Fifty-seven years ago this fall i ar
| rived in this grand UmatilIa county,
| only a small boy Of five years. 1t
took us almost fixe months to jour-
ney from The state of Missouri and /
am proud TO inform You that 1 am IS
karats pure, a native of Missouri. 1
lcould relate to you some of the hard
ships of the young men and women
of the early days of this county. how
ever, they are nothing to compare
with the hardships of our, pioneer
parents and comrades / am well
iaware that / am unable to express to
lyou in, my own language the kind re-
CARDS / have for the old gray-haired
pioneers of this county. When
clasp your haids and look at the gray
locks flowing over your wrinkled brow
it brings to my memory the kind
words and advice YOU gave me in my
boyhood days. ! stand before YOU to-
day not as one Of the oldest pioneers
Of this place hut as son of two dear
lpioneer parenM WHO have passed the
fbeautiful golden gates beyond. This,
the oldest city of this county, except
Umatilla was the ideal of my youth
ful days. When / look back on my
boyhood days often think of the
happy days l have spent enjoying
mingling with the noble pioneers of
this place. / well remember some OF
the hardships they had to endure in
Those trying days to make 1t possible
/ for their children and friends to en-
ljoy the blessings and grand privileges
ithey now have today.
r.. Young man, young woman, go back
! with me to those old pioneer days and
/ let us review some OF the hardships
Jour pioneer parents had to go through
to develop, civilize and christianize.
these our happy homes. Let us be-
gin with the long. lonesome journey
Iacross the barren plains from the East
to the West. Scarcely a trail or a
wagon road to guide them on their
Journey to this beautiful, fertile land
that we now possess, travelling days,
weeks and months through the parch-
ing sun heat and the sitting dust with
the prairie schooner and the old OK
team, sleeping at night on the cold
ground with the soft side Of a rock for
their pillow, and cooking their food
by the campfire.
All. this is only the beginning of
the .hardsfiips they. had to endure.
Just imagine the anxiety those dear
old mothers and fathers had for their
children and companions on this long
lonesome journey. They were sub
ject to the cunning, heartless, blood
thirsty red man of the western plains
seeking opportunity to rob them of
their teams and provisions. yet this
is not all. They we're in great danger
of being massacred on the barren
plains and what is still worse, of hav
ing their young daughters captured II
as bountes Of war.
An my dear hearers, you who have
followed your dear children TO their
last resting place on this hill above
your city. who can, every memorial
day and every other day. visit the lti-
tie graves and strew them with flow
ers and think of the dear ones who
have passed away; this is sad and is
hard enough for US to endure but
nothing TO compare with those pioneer
and fathers who had to lay
their dear ones to rest on the lonely
plains, never again. to view their lone
~ graves We'll do / remember, al
though only five years Of age the bu-
rial OF my grandmother on the lonely
DIain can scarcely keep from she'd
ling tears when think OF the trou-
,le and trials they had to endure ON
heir jourfey.
Now let US view our pioneers after
hey, have completed their long jour-
ley across tho plains. Let Us he hon
at and place ourselves An the same
,osition they we're IN when they ur-
fvad In this. county Of ours which we III