The Hood River News, Hood River, OR., March 31, 1939, page 10
WILL ISENBERG HERE 47 YEARS
Looking up at the First National clock at 9:45 a.m. Monday
of this week, Will Isenberg recalled that it was at that hour, 47 years ago
to the day, that he first set foot in Hood River. He, together with his mother
and two younger sisters, had come to Hood River by train from Stockton, Kansas,
to join husband and father, M.P. Isenberg, who had come to Hood River two
months earlier, as a special agent of the land department.
"Judged by what we see from this corner (Third and Oak)
today, there was not much to Hood River 47 years ago. The business street,
in parts large pools of sloppy mud, had three general stores, one run by
Mr. Crowell, another by Mr. Rand and the third, owned by Hanna and Harrison.
There was also a livery barn, operated by Bill and Elmer Rand, and there
was a small hotel, operated by Robert Rand. The latter was a frame building,
located on what is now Cascade avenue. Another small frame building housed
the Glacier, owned by John Cradlebaugh and edited by Samuel Blythe. This
building was located on the present site of the court house on Oak at Third.
Another frame building stood where the First National Bank now stands, but
it was empty at the time. Later, Mr. Harrison ended his partnership with
Hanna, and opened a store in this building.
"If there were other buildings, I do not recall them
at this time. The schoolhouse was located on the lawn above State street
at Third and the first teacher I recall was Perry Snyder. I attended school
there that year. The following year no regular school was held, but some
of the folks got together and arranged a subscription school, which was run
by C.L. Gilbert.
"What was then Hood River's main business street was
very different to that of today. There were many huge oak trees, some of
them right in the center of the street, and I remember standing on the corner
watching the teams splash through the mud, as they pulled the wagons up to
and away from the ramps in front of one or other of the stores. In the summer,
there was dust in place of the mud, but the dust problem here was never as
serious as it was in The Dalles at that time," concluded Isenberg.
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© Jeffrey L. Elmer