Graveyard Tour - Presented by the Josephine County Historical Society & Living History Players

 Joining the Josephine County Historical Society & Living History Players at our annual Graveyard Tour. 

 This is "Tin Lizzie" Opal Gentner as played by Lyn Snell.  "Tin Lizzie" was the first woman to drive a car in Grants Pass, and also the first person to receive a speeding ticket in Grants Pass.  She fell in love with the owner of the local bicycle shop when she was a young teenager.  Her parents could not figure out why her bicycle kept breaking down, as she was spending most of her time at the bicycle shop.  Eventually they found out when she ended up marrying the man who was twice her age. 

She went through numerous automobiles, as her exploits in the world of driving continued to overwhelm and frustrate the population of Grants Pass.  She would purposely drive close to the women walking on the sidewalks, and stir up dust that got on their clothing.  In rainy weather, she would purposely drive close enough to splash mud on the un-admiring women. 

The crude road between Grants Pass and the sea-port at Crescent City, California was the only route to the ocean in those days, and the local men could make the trip in 10 hours.  "Lizzie" could do it in eight hours, and her husband ended up buying her a larger automobile so that she could haul more passengers, as she had a waiting line of people willing to pay for the privilege.

 This is a photo of Opal Gentner's beloved husband, and willing financier.

 "Indian Mary" Peters was played by Sue Faubion.  "Indian Mary" is a very famous part of early Southern Oregon history.  Her father was named "Umpqua Joe," and was an important part of the local tribes.  "Umpqua Joe" came home one day with news of an impending Indian attack on the local settlement near what is now the town of Galice on the Rogue River.  "Indian Mary," who had been befriended by the local settlers, and who had married a white man, rushed to warn her husband's people, thus saving an unknown number of lives.  Her act of bravery was of such significance, that "Indian Mary" was given a homestead on the Rogue River, which now houses the "Indian Mary" campground. 

It wasn't long after this act that her father and her husband got into a heated argument during their excessive drinking of alcohol.  Her father shot her husband, and before Mr. Peters died, he returned fire and succeeded in killing "Umpqua Joe."  Left with no means of support, "Indian Mary" moved to a small cottage in Grants Pass, and leased out her homestead.  She took in laundry, in order to support her children, and due to a secret her mother had taught her regarding the use of peach pits in the laundering process, she was said to have the "whitest" laundry in town!

 Jesse Applegate is played by Mike Anzalone.  Applegate is a name that need no introduction in Southern Oregon!  The Applegate family settled in the area, and had to get her by traveling down the Columbia River, which in those days could be counted on to take more lives than the Indians.  Jesse lost two children en-route, and the family decided an easier way had to be found for people wanting to locate in Southern Oregon. 

Oregon, of course, was just a territory at that time, which encompassed a huge area from Montanta, including Idaho, the state of Washington, and what is now Oregon.  There was another overwhelming reason to find a Southern route, as the British were threatening to blocade the Northern route in their quest to claim the Oregon Territory for Great Britain.  It was feared by American settlers that if the British could blockade the Northern route, they would control the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean to Portland.  Since they had already established themselves heavily through the Hudson's Bay Company, and their forts, that they could effectively block all supplies of arms and ammunition to the Americans.

The Applegate brothers established the Southern route, thus assuring that the Oregon Territory remained in America's hands.

Jesse Applegate, his brothers and many other family members now reside in the Applegate Pioneer Cemetery in Yoncalla in Douglas County, Oregon, which is just North of here.

The Applegate family recently had their annual family reunion, at which our Mike Anzalone was present as befitting the role he plays for the Josephine County Historical Society Living History Players.

 Caroline Briggs was played by Sherry Bullock.  Caroline Briggs was living with her family at Kerbyville, Oregon, which is now named Kerby. 

Her oldest daughter had just died in childbirth, so picture her as a very distraught woman; when shortly thereafter, her young daughter, Callie, notifies her that she is pregnant, and the father-to-be was her school teacher John Delamater.  Upon hearing the news, Caroline took her son David with her to the school to confront Mr. Delamater.  The story goes that the confrontation took place in the classroom, and when Mr. Delamater denied the affair, Caroline began pummeling him with her cane.   With Delamater on the ground, and still denying his guilt, Caroline ordered David to "shoot him."  Which he did.  Caroline and David were sentenced to the state penitentiary in Salem, Oregon.  Caroline was one of the first women in Oregon to be sentenced to maximum confinement.  Fortunately for she and David, Caroline's husband George was able to put enough pressure on the Governor to release them after a few years. 

The name Briggs of course is prominent in Southern Oregon because one of her grandson's soon discovered one of the richest gold strikes in the territory.

Caroline and George Briggs are buried in the Laurel Cemetery in Cave Junction, Oregon, which is but a few miles from her homestead in Kerby.

 Lona Belle Dudley Blakely is played by her granddaughter Joan Momsen.  How ironic can this get?  Talk about a unique circumstance.  We all know Joan as the Josephine County Historical Society's expert on dams and bridges.  Between Joan's knowledge of the structures and Jean Boling's knowledge of where everyone is buried in Josephine County, we really only need to ask these two ladies for any information we seek.

Lona Belle was born in the part of Missouri made famous by the James Gang.  Jessie and his brother Frank were well known by Lona Belle's family.  She told a story about when she was a little girl out riding with her father, and she was introduced to Jessie James.  Later on after Jessie had been murdered, and his brother Frank had finished his prison sentence, she told stories of her father going downtown and sitting, visiting with Frank James on a regular basis.  It seems they were quite good friends.  Those were tough times for people back then, and the James family seemed to have born the brunt of what would be considered now days to be simply defending ones own property and territory.

Lona Belle Dudley was born on the Fourth of July in 1877 in Cameron, Missouri, on the 101st anniversary of our country!  She married Chester Blakely on Christmas day in 1901, which was rather an old age, for women to marry in those days.

For the first couple of years they had no children, and everyone was saying they would just grow old without a family.  Finally the first girl arrived in about 1904, then followed by a son in 1905, and from that time on, the family grew steadily to 10 children.

Eventually one of Lona Belle's daughters moved to Grants Pass, and soon several more of the family followed.  It wasn't long after that that Lona also relocated to Grants Pass.  She passed on December 5th in 1963.

As a side note, as we study the history of the area, there are a lot of families that originally followed other relatives to this area, and once you visit here, you can see why it would attract entire families.

 Rosa Orme is played by Tina Carver.  Rosa Orme was born, raised and married in Grants Pass.  She had a daughter, but her marriage didn't work out, so she raised her daughter alone, with help from her family. 

She went to work as a waitress in a cafe, and then went to work in a bar.  The bartender took an unhealthy liking to her, so she had to quit.  She then went to work as a laundress to get away from him.  Her "suitor" soon found her, and began to follow her everywhere.  Finally, her brother had intervened, and had a very stern talk with this man, and threatened to kill him if he didn't leave his sister alone.  Shortly after that Rosa left her daughter with her parents and moved to Portland, figuring he wouldn't be able to find her, and she could try to resume her life.  She went to work as a laundress with other young women, and lived in a hotel not far from work.

One day her roommate had stepped out to run an errand, and had inadvertently left the door ajar.  What happened next is theory, but it is assumed her pursuer entered the room and fired two shots.  The first one missed Rosa, the second one going through her heart.  Having heard the commotion, the landlord came running and shot the killer dead.  The report indicated that the police dragged his body out by its' hair, down the stairs and threw his body into the back of the wagon.

Rosa was so well liked by everyone, that they took up a collection for her coffin, however her brother arrived from Grants Pass, and politely declined the offerings.  He purchased her coffin himself and had her sent home to be buried in this cemetery, the IOOF and Masonic cemetery, where we gathered to hear her sad story.

 Anna Schmidt was played by Leslie Culp.  Anna Schmidt is the oldest daughter of Claus and Hannchen Schmidt.  The elder Schmidt's were German immigrants who homesteaded in early Grants Pass.  The family opened a grocery store on 6th Street, which was the main north-south road in the late 1890's.  Eventually purchasing land closer to the store, Claus built a home made from bricks that were locally made.  The house was originally four rooms, but by 1910, the house had two new additions; and was now a two-story home.

When Anna was 13, in 1901, her father took her out of school to become the family's full-time bookkeeper.  Anna continued to work for the mercantile for many years.

Anna and her younger sister Flora had many suitors and enjoyed entertaining, but neither married.  They continued to live in the family home the rest of their lives.  When children, they shared a bedroom, and continued this tradition their entire lives.  Anna lived to the ripe old age of 99 and died in 1987.

Anna and Flora donated their home to the Josephine County Historical Society, who is continuing the Schmidt's tradition of hospitality.  The Schmidt house is now a museum and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  The Schmidt House Museum is open for tours, and can be found on the corner of J and 5th Streets.

Anna and her family are now residing in the IOOF (Idependent Order of Odd Fellows) Cemetery in Grants Pass.

 Dick Rowley is played by Bill Grotts.  Dick Rowley arrived in Oregon after a tour in the Colorado mining country in 1907.  When arriving in Williams, Oregon he met Elijah Davidson, who was the man who is credited with discovering the Oregon Caves while following his dog, who ran inside the cave opening in pursuit of a bear. 

Rowley joined Davidson in their effort to prevent cave visitors from destroying what is now a national monument.  The National Park Service asked Rowley, in 1910, to visit the caves and help in getting the newly formed Oregon Caves Company formulated.  Rowley served as a cave guide from 1910 to 1954. 

Dick Rowley had a son, George, who was six years old when Dick and his wife separated.  He had promised his ex-wife that he would stay away, and he kept to that promise.  George grew up believing that his father had died.

After more than fifty years, Dick was reunited with his son at the Josephine General Hospital, where ironically enough, George was working as a staff pharmacist.   At the chance reunion, positive identification was made when George saw the tattooed initials on his father's left forearm.  His mother having described the tattoo in detail during his childhood years confirmed the identification.  George, who had always thought he only had one near relative, now found not only his father, but aunts, uncles and cousins all in the area where he had ended up settling by chance.

Bill Grotts took the time, and did the research to authenticate the period clothing and even the lantern which was the only source of light for the cave guides to use in those days. 

The first electric lights in the Oregon Caves arrived in 1931, and the 22 mile road from Cave Junction to the Oregon Caves National Monument cost a record-breaking $10,000 a mile when it was completed in 1929.

Dick Rowley is referred to as the "dean" of the Oregon Caves guides, as he labored at his chosen profession for over 40 years, and seemed to love every minute of it.

Leaving the first presentation, and the parking area will soon fill up for the next tours, which begin in about an hour.

Thanks to all the volunteers, including the actors, graveyard crew, the "Rogue Valley Young Marine" tour guides, and the event chairmen, Cindy English and Joan Dougherty.