Thursday, May 25, 1972
Harper and Madge Mann, former residents of Cave Junction, are in the Valley for a short visit, but hope to come for a longer visit in the summer. They have enjoyed visiting their many friends. The Manns are now living at Lucerne, Calif., on Clear Lake. Madge was Jenny Palmer’s guest at the dinner given by the Cave Junction Bible Church at the County Building, May 18.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph R. Carter, Oakview, Calif., are visiting their daughter, Beulah Higgins and husband, Herbert, Dick George Road. They arrived in Cave Junction May 18.
Marvin and Emma Thomas have bought property on Holland Loop Road and plan to build their new home there. Temporarily they will live in the Kerby Trailer Park until they can get settled in their trailer home on the property waiting for the house to be built. The Thomases, with their daughter, Hope, and son, Mark, formerly lived in Waterford, Cal., near Modesto. When the fall school term begins, Hope will be a freshman, and Mark will enter the 6th grade.
Emma Thomas is Elsie Barlow’s sister. They are happy to live near each other.
Mrs. Richard Westerfield of Ashland met with Mrs. Harry O. (Effie) Smith at the Smith residence for a meeting of the State Horticulture Awards Committee May 20. Mrs. Westerfield is the Jr. Past President of the State Horticulture Society.
Also visiting at the Smith home Saturday morning, were Effie’s sister, Mrs. Ann Telvik of Albany, and Mrs. Jessie Leonard of Grants Pass. Both Ann and Jessie are former residents of Cave Junction.
The three visitors were luncheon guests.
Jim and Viola Higgins drove to Eureka last week to be present at the retirement party given by PG&E for all their retirees. The dinner was at noon, so there was time to renew acquaintances and visit with friends of former years. There was a large crowd, and the Higgins enjoyed seeing their many friends. One lady was a schoolmate of Viola’s in 1918.
After the party, Jim came home, but Viola stayed with her daughter, Flourilla Nelson, for two days and also visited her sister, Edith Woolridge. Flourilla brought her mother home, but went by way of Smith River to visit granddaughter Rhonda Pusch. When they arrived home, Dale and Ethel Bankston of Medford, Jim’s cousins were visiting on their way home from the coast.
With thoughts of the election held last Tuesday, and the national, state, and county results, still the talk of voters. I think a few firsts of Josephine County government and two national and state issues of the early days will be of interest.
The earliest miners’ councils to organize into mining districts-embryo governments-were Sailors Diggins’ (Waldo) and Althouse in April, 1852. The districts were the law of the land in the absence of any formal government.
The first election held in Josephine County was held in Waldo, the first Monday in June 1856. Sam White was the first accessor; L.H. Gutherie, first county treasurer; George S. Rice, first county clerk. He was also first justice of the peace. The first jury list comprised 82 names taken from the assessment rolls, September 1, 1856.
In 1853, Matthew P. Deady was approved first associate territorial justice for Southern Oregon district. He held court at the “Village of Waldo.”
The first steps taken toward the formation of a county were taken as a result of the settlement in Waldo and the first Josephine County officers were elected from the group of miners and others there.
The first elected county commissioners were R.S. Belnap, C. Caldwell, and George W. Jordan. The first public business transacted by the board of commissioners was the purchase from James Hendershott, of the log house occupied by him at Waldo by him for use of the county, for one hundred dollars. The auditor was directed to secure “suitable desks for the safekeeping of the books and of the different officers.” The Hendershott house, the first court house of the county, was thereafter repaired and improved for county purposes at the expense of $46.75.
The county seal was adopted September 1, 1856. Later that fall, the county seat was moved to Kerbyville.
In 1857, record shows that election votes counted in Josephine County were as follows: accepting the State Constitution, 445 for, 139 against; slavery, 155 for, and 435 against.