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Frank Hill Family History

Page 2 (of 3)

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FRANK HILL FAMILY HISTORY

Later, I ran across a news item that said “Residents of Dead Ox Flat held an old-fashioned watch party at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Sam Hill.” The Hill house was the first brick building erected on the Flat.

Frank Gribbin was the first one to have a telephone put in here. He didn’t have the big poles put along, he strung it on the fence posts.

When they got the water in here, Ty Raney, who used to live in the neighborhood where Charlie Joseph lives, was a tall man and quite a bit over 6′ tall, and Billy Littleton, who used to live down where Weitzel lives now, met one day and I guess Billy said something about him being so tall. Billy wouldn’t make over 5′ and Ty said “Well, Billy, I’ll tell you. It just goes to show you the difference between dry land farming and irrigation.”

Down in the Annex District were some people named Patch. They had quite a bit of property. There was Ed and Edna Patch. Their home was just torn down last summer. Wilmer and Josephine Patch, in later years, built that little stucco house across the road from the Annex School. They lived there, I think, until they both passed away. Myron Patch, a bachelor brother of Ed and Wilmer, had a little store down where Mack’s Grocery now stands. He wrote poetry and things for the papers and signed them “One Legged Gas Man” and sometimes he just signed “from Patch.” The following was a New Year’s greeting written by Myron Patch:

“You fat-legged cherub, if you knew what lay before us all the way, Me both of us might wish to do penance for our birth today, But since the future keeps its own and time will neither stop or stay, Let mirth be right and care unknown on your happy natal day. So though your fate, we will not weep for sorrows far away, A joyous holiday we keep to start you on your way. And though you lose your supple grace and age gives you a beard of gray, These festive times hurrying pace we will keep the memory of today. So here’s your health, O dimpled host, you reign supreme today. God grant you may make good your boast and lead us on a happy day. December, 1932.”

His sisters, Kristy and Jennie Patch, lived where Ferrants live now. Jennie Patch conceived the idea of having a club for the women and organized the Annex (Local) Progress Club which, as far as we can find out, is one of the oldest clubs in Malheur County, and could be one of the very few older clubs in the State of Oregon. My Secretary’s Book says June, 1906 was when it was organized, and they met at the homes when they had their whole family dinner, which we have in February now.

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They used to have the Family Dinner in the Fall, and met outdoors. I can remember them talking about one they had with the bonfire and were serving what they called “Dog Stew.” Their kids were running through the sagebrush having a good time when a bunch of Indians swooped down on them. It caused quite a stir until they found out it was their own folks, fathers and brothers, etc. There were Indians around at that time. They used to tell about the Indians coming up to the Slides to fish and cursing them for their winter food. Frank’s Mother told about a bunch of Indians stopping there and wanted water. She gave them water. She had some peaches and gave them a few, but this old Indian buck opened his saddlebag and dumped them all in. She was kind of put out because he didn’t divide them up.

Frank’s Mother always used to say about the weather being milder and would soon be Spring, “Not until after the 25th of January.” I don’t know what year this was. But she said one of the worst blizzards this country has known came up. They had a place in between here and Payette and Frank’s Dad was down there taking care of the stock, and she was here with the children. She tried to feed the stock, but the wind would whip the hay until she couldn’t feed them. The snow drifted so deep over their pig pen she was afraid the pigs might smother, but the next day, they came out walking on the crust of ice. She kept the kids in bed all day to keep them warm. When she brought water in, the wind would blast in and the water would flood the floor and it rattled like a shot. I think that was the time Frank said the Snake River froze over. There might have been floating ice from it. They traveled over the ice in the winter. Someone told him they put dirt on the ice so they could have better traction for the horse’s feet. In the summertime, they went by ferry, and by boat to Weiser.

They didn’t have any bridge until later. Some of the old people around here were Applegates, Graces, Rogers, Scritchfields, and Chadwicks. Scritchfield planted Lombardy Poplars, a whole string of them, clear to the schoolhouse. Teddy lived back up in here at Highway 201 and Flyline Road, her name was Kleinfelter. One day she came driving along there and wanted a switch for her horses. He had just set them out, just like a switch, he had just sent off and out then. She pulled up and tried to use one on her horses and he didn’t like it one little bit. The Turners came in 1916, and Frank never told me when the Josephs came.

The Schoolhouse, I don’t know which one it was, had a man named Applegate. Frank said he was one of the rough and ready preachers. He wasn’t ordained but he used to preach in the schoolhouse. He chewed tobacco and quite often would have to go to the stove and spit in it, so back and continue with his sermon. Some of the preachers were from Weiser. They came and held church in the afternoon in the schoolhouses. One was named Korn. Frank said they usually brought their own books, and were based on the Psalms. They were Presbyterian in those days. They didn’t want to sing anything except what was based on the Psalms. At least, she didn’t, and said when they would sing the other songs, she would sit there and not sing a note.

The Applegate Sunday School was close to where the Park District is now, I think it was a dual fare as Frank mentioned his folks were Lutheran Swede and Olsens, of course, were Swedes and they met there. I think the Presbyterians met one time and the Swedes the other, from the way Frank told it.

From Mrs. Frank (Ruby) Hill

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