Historic Hood River
Down the Rabbit Hole with Pansy DeWitt
Notes
Since we have an extra day this year, let’s go down a rabbit hole with this Pansy DeWitt image from September, 1928. Pansy’s inscription says, “Helen and Art Van Sickle, yours truly, Minerva Ravlin and Ethel Kingsley in Ravlin yard. Helen is very sweet and attractive.”
The Ravlin name was a new one to me, but it lead to this wonderful history of the Hood River Country Club and the history of golf in Hood River. Golf on the sandbar in the winter?
One of our resident genealogists will need to figure out how Minerva Ravlin is related to Clarence Ravlin, but Clarence was not only involved in the golf course and country club, he was one of the key proponents of the Columbia River Highway in Hood River County. As a real estate developer his name is all over the Glacier. And like any good rabbit hole, learning about Ravlin’s role in the commercial club leads directly to reading about Angus McDonald and friends skating on the Columbia River in 1917.
The Van Sickles and the DeWitts were longtime friends as evidenced by this mention of a visit in 1911.
Attempting to tie Ethel Kingsley to Edward D. Kingsley, president of the West Oregon Lumber Company whose name was borrowed for the Kingsley Guard Station (built near his summer house) and later Kingsley Reservoir (built near the guard station) has so far been fruitless, but led me to this 1903 article which lists the all of the school districts in then Wasco county. And if your eyes wander you’ll learn about Mayor T.R. Coon and the Hood River City Council working to stop the spread of smallpox in the city.
Happy Leap Day!
Kristina
Edward’s brother George Pomeroy Kingsley II 1865-1929, was Ethel’s father. She was born in 1895 in Nebraska and died in Redmond.
ArthurB
Thanks Kristina, so Ethel Kingsley is Edward D. Kingsley’s niece.