Historic Hood River
Harry Post, 1913
11-4-2013
Notes
Now here’s a sentence which is full of information: “Harry Post with his catch before school on the first day of trout season, 1913.” The description is signed by the photographer, George Tonkin.
His fishing pole looks to me like a willow branch. Have any of you ever made your own fishing pole?
Can anyone fill in some information on Harry Post or George Tonkin?
l.e.
I love those suspenders!
I knew a little, old Indian lady who always carried string and hooks somewhere in her dress. She would make her fishing pole wherever she felt the urge to fish.
I see that in 1915 George Tonkin was registered as a delegate with the Umatilla County Fish and Game Assoc. attending a meeting in Portland.
I assume the young Harry Post is associated with Post Canyon?
charlott
I love his shoes, but bet they didn’t feel good later in the day with being so wet.
Yes, we used to make fishing poles, don’t know if we ever caught anything.
Wish we knew what the sign said in the back ground……..Possibly "No Fishing."
Rawhyde
Where on earth was that picture taken? It’s flat, the water is within a foot of the top of bank, the fence clearly indicates that the area doesn’t see high stream flows. I’m baffled.
connie
A museum favorite. In face we have this as a "huge" image hanging on the wall above the front staircase. It’s been in that exact spot ever since I’ve been here.
l.e.
Connie…..how did the Alva Day presentation go yesterday?
l.e.
George Tonkin was a game warden in Umatilla County. The 1915 book Oregon Sportsman has articles written by him. He was born in New Jersey in 1882. Died July 1967. Residence Pilot Rock.
He was married (1) Ella Arletta Craft (2) Gertrude Minnie Blinn
2 children: Marilyn and George William.
Sorry for such a long link but I don’t know how to shorten it.
A 1907 photo of George Tonkin with a horse.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gDfxMDT8MwRydLA1cj72BTQxNjAwgAykeaxRtBeY4WBv4eHmF-YT4GMHkidBvgAI6EdIeDXIvfdrAJuM3388jPTdWP1I8yx7DHzMkMZkpkTmp6YnKlfkFuaIRBlkkoAOYk_Xg!/dl3/d3/L0lJSklna2tra0EhIS9JTmpBQU15QUJFUkNKS28hLzRGR2dzbzBWdnphOTJBZyEvN18wTzQwSTFWQUI5MEUyS1M1NkI2MDAwMDAwMC9zYS5TVEVMUFJEQjUyNzUwMjU!/?pname=Forest%20Service%20-%20George%20Tonkin%20with%20colt%20-%201907&recid=&counter=null.384&actid=&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&ttype=photogallery&navid=150000000000000&cid=2300&pnavid=&ss=110614
Connie
i.e. The Alva Day program was a huge success. We had a wonderful turnout for a blustery Sunday November day. Arthur’s presentation was engaging and informative and having Alva come back to share another story was a treat. Watch for an annual Alva exhibit and program to hopefully celebrate Alva Day Day on November 15th.
l.e.
Harry Post appears to be a bit illusive. I tried to connect him to the earlier photo of the Crosby home since Mrs. Annie Crosby was a Post.
He intrigues me. He looks older than a school boy. Especially his eyes. The hands are not those of a young boy.
Jeffrey Bryant
Harry Post was born 5 Mar 1899 in Oregon and died 5 Mar 1979 in Santa Cruz County, California. He graduated in the class of 1920 from Hood River High School.
nels
I agree l.e. He would be 14 but those eyes are haunting. And the clothing and his choice of dress to go fishing before school on this day makes one imagine many scenarios.
Jeffrey Bryant
A correction to my last posting – The 1917 Hood River Mascot listed Harry Post as being in the class of 1920, but the 1920 Mascot does not list him.
Harry registered for the draft on September 12, 1918 while living in Lebanon, Oregon, and was living there in 1920. He lived in Los Angeles, California in 1930, and in Santa Cruz, California in 1940. The 1940 Census shows he had 1 year of high school. Harry enlisted as a Private in WWII in San Francisco, California on 2 Dec 1942, claiming he had attended 2 years of high school.
Jeffrey Bryant
Perhaps he was fishing in the spring at the park on the west end of State Street. We used to catch fish there. It is pretty flat in that area. It would have been close to school.
Jeffrey Bryant
Is it possible that the creeks/springs in town have never been named? Can someone check old maps? If they don’t have names, I propose the following: Coe Creek; Chautauqua Creek (for the park where it starts); and either Paradise, Adams, Jackson, or Vaughan Creek because it starts in Jackson Park, runs through property that was owned by the Vaughan family, and through Paradise Acres that was owned by Dr. Adams. Maybe the Mayor can make names official.
l.e.
Thanks for the info Jeffrey on Harry Post.
Now I am wondering what he did with the fish while he went to school?
AndrewB
I was under the impression that Post Canyon was named so because everyone went there to cut fence posts for their farms. Correct?
Arthur
AndrewB, Oregon Geographic Names reports, "David Cooper told the compiler in 1967 that this canyon southwest of Mitchell Point was named because it was an abundant source of fence post stock in the early days." Seems plausible.
Arlen Sheldrake
The Oregon Geographic Names is a golden resource…..just used it in pursuit of the origin of the Viento name…..first two initials of three railroad men last names….
l.e.
Guess I am wrong about Post Canyon. Might be wrong about some of this information also so keep that in mind when you read this.
With information given by Charlott and Jeffrey, I was able to come up with some of this.
Harry Post was the son of Frank M and Mary Post. Frank was a brother of Annie M Post Crosby featured in photo #690.
J.R. Post who wrote the Rabbit Drive post card in photo #652 was, I think the younger brother, of Annie and Frank, Joseph Roy.
Parents of the three, nine children total, were Wallace and Lucy Herbert Post.
Here is a history of Wallace Post and his family:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jtenlen/ORBios/wpost.txt
l.e.
I’m wrong about Frank M Post.
Annie’s brother Frank M Post was born in 1872
Harry’s dad Frank M Post was born in 1859
Kathryn Post Henton
I have the answer to your question! The winner of the 1913 opening day of fishing is Harry Post, my uncle. He is the son of William Morton Post and the (half) brother of my father, Ashley William Post. The William Post family lived in Hood River in the early 1900’s.
Harry V. D. Post was born March 26, 1898 to William and Nellie Post in Michigan. Harry’s mother, Nellie, died shortly after his birth. His father, William, remarried and moved to Hood River from Wisconsin with Harry and with his new wife, the former Florence Ellen White, and their son (my father), Ashley William Post. I estimate they arrived in Hood River sometime around 1910. They lived at 805 State Street and also at 728 State Street. For many years William had a dental practice in Rooms 1 and 2 of the Hall Building. William moved to the Pythian Home in Vancouver, Washington, in 1937 and died there September 1, 1938.
William and my father, Ashley, were active members of the Masons. I assume Harry would have also been a member. I believe Ashley and Harry were also volunteer fire fighters and both members of the National Guard.
Harry would have been 15 years of age at the time of the photo. Harry apparently did not graduate from high school. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 18, 1942. He never married and lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he was a skilled motion picture projectionist. He died in 1964 and is buried in Milwaukee.
The Museum also possesses one of William Post’s ship models. He crafted at least four ships (Harvest Queen, Regulator, H. S. Hilton, and The Dalles City). He used jackknife, hammer, saw and plane and made the models from photographs. I have the H. S. Hilton and don’t recall which ship is in the Museum. Sadly, I don’t know the location of the other ships.
Feel free to contact me if I can answer any questions.
Kathryn Henton