Historic Hood River
You Will Need This Hospital
3-28-2013
Notes
Here we have the fund raisers for Hood River Memorial Hospital in 1956. I particularly like their motto: “You will need this hospital. Help make it possible.” Honest and direct.
Back Row (left to right):
- Ella McDonald Blanchar Moe
- Margaret Emry
- Dorene McKeown
- Jane Cooper Franz Rice
- Leah Abraham
Front Row (left to right):
- Betty Calmettes Foster
- Virginia Baldwin
- Lucille Wallace Howell
- Betty Ogden
- Barbara Nunamaker Ireland
charlott
I know most of them. Ella Moe actually was a childhood friends of my grandmother and her brother in Biggs, Oregon. Her father and my great-grandfather were two of a very limited number of residents in Biggs in the late 1880’s and 1890’s. Ella’s father and my great-grandfather "salvaged" the entire Grant distillery out of the Columbia during the 1894 massive flood. Helped that my great-grandfather owned the ferry and they had use of his tub "Nellie". Ironic that both families ended up in Hood River, where they all remained life long friends.
l.e.
Those beastly high heeled shoes!!
They made a ladies legs look nice, but that was all they were good for.
Charlott…..did your great grandfather have the ferry at Biggs?
charlott
Yes he owned and operated the Biggs ferry for a number of years. He also had a huge warehouse there and had the grain receivership for all the grain coming down out of Sherman County to be put on the railroad for Portland.. He had the first so called school in a corner of his grain warehouse and the children around there went to school. He was also the first postmaster at Biggs, having his little pidgeon hole thing set up in the parlor.
I don’t know exactly what if anything that
Dixon McDonald had at Biggs, other than a store.
Susan Bell
There’s my mom in the back on the right; and Margaret Emry, my dear friend Ellen’s mom; Lucille Howell was my father’s Secretary; who braided my sister’s hair when my Mom was busy birthing me at the HR Hospital. Dorinne (not Dorene, I think) McKeown, who is living in Down Manor. All lovely ladies, who worked hard, to raise money for the hospital.
Norma
Betty Ogden was married to Junior Odgen and there is a room in the hospital dedicated to their son that died after opening a jar of spray. I think he was 6 years old. They owned an orchard on the south end of Wy’east drive near the crest before you head down into Dukes Valley. J.R.’s folks owned the house on Country Club that is now owned by the Rosemont’s.
charlott
Betty Calmettes was originally married to Dr. Oscar Stenburg. In her later years she did a lot of work at the museum. Dorene McKeown lives at Downs Manor and was married to David McKeown, the son of Martha Ferguson McKeowen, the author of many wonderful books and a teacher at Wy’east High School. I know Jane Franz used to write one of the district weekly columns for the HR News, There was a dentist in HR named Homer Ireland, and I am not sure, but Barbara might have been his wife.
charlott
Leah Abraham was the wife of the attorney Kenneth Abraham.
Arlen Sheldrake
Spent some interesting time during a couple of teen years (late 1950s) being a fill in janitor @ HR Memorial Hospital. Good memories on the roof painting hospital beds…..bad memories shoveling waste into the incinerator…..ALL good people to work with. Nothing like waxing floors in a 24×7 facility…..
Sue, does sister Janet look at this site?
Bill Seaton
Yes, Barbara Ireland was the wife of dentist, Homer. They lived in the NE corner apartment of the Downing Bldg (Yasui Bldg prior) when I first moved there.
Marla Ireland
My MIL is Barbara Nunamaker Ireland, I love seeing her in this picture.