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The Oregonian, Portland, OR., December 12, 1915, section 3, page 12
Includes portrait of D.A. Turner

WOMEN CREDITED WITH HOOD RIVER PROGRESS
Faith of Pioneer Wives Held Men to Rich Country When Early-Day hardships Were of Most Discouraging Sort.

HOOD RIVER, Or. , Dec. 11. - (Special) - On land, some of which has been sold since for $1000 an acre, the Hood River Valley homesteaders a half century ago found difficulty in making a living. Some of these pioneers today are among the apple districts wealthiest orchardists. "But had it not been for the wives of these settlers," says David A. Turner, the earliest surviving pioneer of the community, "I do not believe that a single one of them would have remained here."

No man knows better the history of the mid-Columbia region than does Mr. Turner, for he has lived it. Mr. Turner was born in Randolph County, Missouri, September 21, 1826. His mother was a Kentuckian and his father had immigrated to Missouri from Virginia. The lure of gold carried Mr. Turner to El Dorado County, California, in 1857, but after four years of the life there he came with William Odell to Hood River, where he purchased the squatter's rights to a homestead plot in the Odell district, the place now being owned by Dr. M. Thrane. Mr. Turner has lived more than ten years longer in the Hood River Valley than any other surviving pioneer.

Tribute Paid To Pioneer Women

"I pay my tribute to the wives of us pioneers," he says, "because I have seen their husbands pleading with them to pull up stakes and leave for a more fertile region. I have seen women helping their husbands saw wood day in and day out; I have seen them assist with the farm work. But a woman is more home-living than a man. These mothers of the Hood River Valley had grown tired of the ceaseless moving from place to place. Perhaps they had some foreknowledge of the days of prosperity that were to come. They certainly had more faith than the man had, and they have deserved all of the reward that they have received.
When Mr. Turner and his partner reached the district now known for its hundreds of acres of flourishing orchards, the families residing in different parts of the community could be numbered on one's fingers. Nathan Benson was occupying the place now owned by F.J. Button. Nathaniel Coe, known as the founder of Hood River, was residing on the Hood River town site. William Jenkins, who met death by drowning in the Columbia, was residing on the place later owned by Dr. W.C. Adams and now known as Paradise farm. On Indian Creek was the pioneer home of James M. Benson. On the east side, now the most thickly populated section of the valley, were but two families, those of Peter Neal and Jerome Winchell.

Whiskey Key Industry First

Mr. Turner recalls but one other man in the valley at that time. This was A.C. Phelps, who was engaged in making whiskey kegs on a little creek west of the city that bears the name of the Valley's first manufacturer.
"For many years," says Mr. Turner, "this keg manufacture was the chief industry of a present day dry community. The hillsides west of town were all covered with oak trees, the timber of which was of fair quality. There was a great demand for the kegs at The Dalles. Whiskey was shipped there on board the Columbia steamers in barrels. But the barrels were too heavy for burros and the fire water would be transferred to five and 10-gallon kegs to be packed to the mines of Idaho and the eastern part of the state."
The first man ever to drive a team of oxen direct to the Hood River valley was Davies Divers, who, with his family, settled in the Summit district on the ranch now owned by George T. Prather.
"I remember how astonished we all were when we drove down by a way of Mosier," says Mr. Turner. "There were no trails even in those days and the feat was considered the most remarkable one we had any record of."
The Winter of 1861 and 1862 with the most severe in their records of Oregon's history.

13-Foot Snow Falls

"The country was paralyzed from Portland to Walla Walla," says Mr. Turner. "On New Year's Day ice in the Columbia put an end to boat traffic. One of the boats was forced to tie up here at Stanley's Landing. The caretaker, who swept the decks of the craft each day, measured each day's snowfall. His records showed at the end of the snowfall a total of 13½ feet. The river remained frozen until March 19.
"It would be impossible to tell you what we went through that winter. My partner, who had taken up an adjoining claim, and I had laid in a lot of barley. Our food for weeks consisted of barley and poor venison. The Neals, our nearest neighbors, were without flour for five weeks. We finally grew so desperate that Jerome Winchell and I set off for The Dalles for provisions. The trip consumed four days.
"We came down to the Columbia and walked up on the ice. At Rowena George Sniper had a settlement. I became terribly thirsty when we were opposite his place, and, fearing to drink from one of the air holes in the ice we went ashore and called at his place. There were five dead cows on the man's front porch, and between the Snipes place and The Dalles we counted hundreds of dead horses and cattle.

All Cattle Dead

"I shall never forget the horror of that Winter. It caused the death of all the cattle in the Hood River Valley. Of course, the Neal and Winchell families slaughtered some of their animals for food, but the beef was so poor that it had but little nourishment. Actually the cattle were so thin that they would scarcely bleed when stuck.
"On our return trip from The Dalles we were accompanied by George Carrom, a saddler. He, too, carried a bag of flour thrown over his shoulders.
"As we passed up through a lot by Stanley's Landing the last remaining poor cow of the community was standing in the road ahead of us. Carrom was ahead. You know a starving cow is fractious. The cow thinks man should feed her. She attacked the Carrom. However, she was so weak that she did little harm. But her wild bellowing and lunges frightened the man, and, dropping his bag of flour, he took to a willow tree. The cow then turned her attention to the flour bag, making wild hooks in it. Flour, however, was too precious for cows, and we drove her away as quickly as possible.
"When spring came you may guess that we were all ready to leave, but the faith of those women held us."

Many Come, But Soon Leave

For the next 25 years, according to Mr. Turner, settlement in the Hood River Valley did not progress rapidly.
"I know of at least 50 families who came, lingered a while and then went somewhere else," he says. "The real development of the valley did not begin until about 25 years ago, after David Sears and J.C. Porter, the pioneer East Side orchardists, had planted a large tract of commercial apples. T.R. Coon, too, had given the valley a boost by demonstrating that strawberries could be grown here successfully.
"The pioneer settlers in the Upper Valley were Andrew H. Telman and Mason Baldwin, who took up land in the meadowland country of that region and began stock raising."
Mr. Turner was married March 18, 1866. "I cooked my own wedding dinner," he says, "and it was a good dinner, too. The minister, Rev. Mr. Ramsdell, had to walk on skis a part of the way to my Odell place, where my bride, Mandy J. Neal, and her family had assembled.
"The next day I went out and began grubbing bushes on my homestead. As soon as my wife had finished washing up the breakfast dishes she joined me and burned the brush while I grubbed. You see, pioneer wives helped all they could."
Three sons and a daughter were born to this hearty pioneer couple.

Song Birds Protected

Following the death of his first wife Mr. Turner was married again 19 years ago, his second wife being Laura E. Frost. Mr. Turner has now retired from active business life. He and his wife reside in this city.
Mr. Turner devotes his time to the protection of songbirds and his gardens. He delights in getting a crowd of children around him and telling them of the joys that birds will bring them, and many a local lad has learned from him not to molest the robins and the birds that come here in springtime to build their nests. Mr. Turner usually has the first sweet corn in the valley.
"I have been amused the last year," he says, "over the talk about the possibilities of corn raising in Hood River. I have known for 50 years that Hood River would grow fine corn. I bought 10 pounds of ear corn in The Dalles 50 years ago, paying a dollar for it. I planted the seed, and since that time I have not been without corn, and plenty of it. My neighbors always used to grow it. In the early days we hauled our grist to the old Harbison mill, on Neal Creek. I have seen wagonloads of corn bought from Mosier to be made into meal."

79 Years Carried Well

Mr. Turner carries his 79 years well. He is one of the oldest members of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church in this city, having become a member of this faith in California almost 60 years ago.
Mr. Turner is an optimist, and likes to leave smiles. He is a musician too, and a pioneer meeting is never complete until after Mr. Turner has rendered some old-time melody on his beloved fiddle.
At a recent pioneer reunion someone mentioned the quest of Ponce de Leon for the fountain of eternal youth. E.L. Smith, another Hood River pioneer, was still smiling at the rendition of "The Arkansas Traveler" by Mr. Turner on his violin, and speaking quickly, he said: "Ponce de Leon did not come far enough West. That fountain, I think, is located up here on Davy Turner's old farm."

The Hood River Glacier, Hood River, OR., December 9, 1915, page 1

TRIBUTE PAID PIONEER WOMEN
Valley Mothers Possessed Faith
D.A. Turner. Earliest Pioneer Surviving, Tells Interesting Stories of Days Before Orchards

On land, some of which has since for $1,000 an acre, the Hood River valley homesteaders a half century ago found difficulty in making a living. Some of these pioneers are today among the apple district's wealthiest orchardists.
"But had it not been for the wives of those settlers," says David A. Turner, the earliest surviving pioneer of the community, "I do not believe that a single one of them would have remained here."
No man knows better the history of the mid-Columbia region than does Mr. Turner, for he has lived it.
Mr. Turner was born in Randolph county, Missouri, September 21, 1826. His mother was a Kentuckian and his father had emigrated to Missouri from Virginia. The lure of gold carried Mr. Turner to El Dorado county, California, in 1857, but after four years of the life there he came with William Odell to Hood River, settling where he purchased the squatter's rights to a homestead plot in the Odell district, the place now being owned by Dr. M. Thrane. Mr. Turner has lived more than 10 years longer in Hood River valley than any other surviving pioneer.
"I pay my tribute to the wives of us pioneers," he says, "because I have seen their husbands pleading with them to pull up stakes and leave for a more fertile region. I have seen women helping their husbands saw wood day in and day out; I have seen them assist with the farm work. But a woman is more home loving than a man. These mothers of the Hood River valley had grown tired of the ceaseless moving from place to place. Perhaps they had some foreknowledge of the days of prosperity that were to come. They certainly had some foreknowledge of the days of prosperity that were to come, Thwy certainly had more faith than the men had, and they have deserved all of the reward that they have received.
When Mr. Turner and his partner reached the district now known for its hundreds of acres of flourishing orchards, the families residing in different parts of the community could be numbered on one's fingers. Nathan Benson was occupying the place now owned by F.H. Button. Nathaniel Coe, known as the founder of Hood River, was residing on the Hood River townsite. William Jenkins, whose name is known to pioneers and who a few years later was to meet with a tragic death by drowning in the Columbia, was residing on the place later owned by Dr. W.C. Adams and now known as Paradise farm. On Indian Creek was the pioneer home of James M. Benson. On the East Side, now the most thickly populated section of the valley, were but two families, those of Peter Neal and Jerome Winchell.
Mr. Turner recalls but one other man in the valley at that time. This was A.C. Phelps, who was engaged in making whiskey kegs on a little creek west of the city that today bears the name of the valley's first manufacturer.
"For many years," says Mr. Turner, "this keg manufacture was the chief industry of a present dry community. The hillsides west of town were all covered with oak trees, the timber of which was of a fair quality. There was great demand for the kegs at The Dalles. Whiskey was shipped there on board the Columbia steamers in barrels. But the barrels were too heavy for burros and the fire water would be transferred to five and 10-gallon kegs to be packed to the mines of Idaho and the eastern part of the state."
The first man ever to drive a team of oxen direct to the Hood River valley was Davies Divers, who with his family, settled in the Summit district on the ranch now owned by George T. Prather.
"I remember how astonished we all were when we drove down by a way of Mosier," says Mr. Turner. "There were no trails even in those days and the feat was considered the most remarkable one we had any record of."
The winter of 1861 and 1862 with the most severe in their records of Oregon's history.
"The country was paralyzed from Portland to Walla Walla," says Mr. Turner. "On New Year's Day the ice that had formed in the Columbia put an end to boat traffic. One of the boats was forced to tie up here at Stanley's landing. The caretaker, who swept the decks of the craft each day, measured each day's snowfall. His records showed at the end of the snowfall a total of 13½ feet. The river remained frozen until March 19.
"It would be impossible to tell you what we went through that winter. My partner, who had taken up an adjoining claim, and I had laid in a lot of barley. Our food for weeks consisted of barley and poor venison. The Neals, our nearest neighbors, were without flour for a period of five weeks. We finally grew so desperate that Jerome Winchell and I set off for The Dalles for provisions. The trip consumed four days.
"We came down to the Columbia and walked up on the ice. At Rowena George Sniper had a settlement. I became terribly thirsty when we were opposite his place, and fearing to drink from one of the air holes in the ice we went ashore and called at his place. There were five dead cows on the man's front porch, and between the Sniper place and The Dalles we counted hundreds of dead horses and cattle. I shall never forget the horror of that winter. It caused the death of all the cattle in the Hood River valley. Of course, the Neal and Winchell families slaughtered some of their animals for food, but the beef was so poor that it had but little nourishment. Actually, the cattle were so thin that they would scarcely bleed when stuck.
"On our return trip from The Dalles we were accompanied by George Carrom, a saddler. He, too, carried a bag of flour thrown over his shoulders. As we passed up through a lot by Stanley's landing the last remaining poor cow of the community was standing in the road ahead of us. Carrom was ahead. You know a starving cow is fractious. The cow thinks man should feed her. She attacked the Carrom. However, she was so weak that she did little harm. But her wild bellowing and lunges frightened the man, and, dropping his bag of flour, he took to a willow tree. The cow then turned her attention to the flour bag, making wild hooks in it with her horns. Flour, however, was too precious for cows, and we drove her away as quickly as possible.
"When spring came you may guess that we were all ready to leave, but the faith of those women held us."
For the next 25 years, according to Mr. Turner, settlement in the Hood River valley did not progress rapidly.
"I know of at least 50 families who came, lingered a while and then went somewhere else," he says. "The real development of the valley did not begin until about 25 years ago, after David Sears and J.C. Porter, the pioneer East Side orchardists, had planted a large tract of commercial apples. T.R. Coon, too, had given the valley a boost by demonstrating that strawberries could be grown here successfully.
"The pioneer settlers in the Upper Valley," says Mr. Turner, "were Andrew H. Telman and Mason Baldwin, who took up land in the meadowland country of that region and began stock raising."
Mr. Turner was married March 18, 1866. "I cooked my own wedding dinner," he says, "and it was a good dinner, too. The minister, Rev. Thos. Ramsdell, had to walk a part of the way to mt Odell place, where my bride, Mandy J. Neal, and her family had assembled, on skiis.
"The next day I went out and began grubbing bushes on my homestead. As soon as my wife had finished washing up the breakfast dishes she joined me and burned the brush while I grubbed. You see, pioneer wives helped all they could."
Three sons and a daughter were born to this hardy, pioneer couple.
Following the death of his first wife Mr. Turner was married again 19 years ago, his second wife being Laura E. Frost. Mr. Turner has now retired from active business life. He and his wife reside in this city.
Mr. Turner devotes his time to the protection of songbirds and to his gardens. He delights in getting a crowd of children around him and telling them of the joys that birds will bring them, and many a local lad has learned from him not to molest the robins and blue birds that come here in springtime to build their nests. Mr. Turner usually has the first sweet corn in the valley.
"I have been amused the past year," he says, "over the talk about the possibilities of corn raising in Hood River. I have known for 50 years that Hood River would grow fine corn. I bought 10 pounds of ear corn in The Dalles 50 years ago, paying a dollar for it. I planted the seed, and since that time I have not been without corn, and plenty of it. My neighbors always used to grow it. In the early days we hauled our grist to the old Harbison mill on Neal Creek. I have seen wagon loads of corn bought from Mosier to be made into meal."
Mr. Turner carries his 79 years well. His life has ben one of temperance. He is one of the oldest members of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal church in this city, having become a member of this faith in California almost 60 years ago.
Mr. Turner is an optimist, and likes to leave smiles. He is a musician, too, and a pioneer meeting is never complete until after Mr. Turner has rendered some old time melody on his beloved fiddle. At a recent pioneer reunion someone mentioned the quest of Ponce de Leon for the fountain of eternal youth. E.L. Smith, another Hood River pioneer, was still smiling at the rendition of "The Arkansas Traveler" by Mr. Turner on his violin, and speaking quickly, he said:
"Ponce de Leon did not come far enough west. That fountain, I think, is located up here on Davy Turner's old farm."