Mary Skeins Salsbery

My Harney County history: David and Rebecca Cary came to Harney County from Linn County in 1863 and spent the first winter at Egan, and then in the next year, they homesteaded on Crane Creek where they resided until their deaths. The homestead cabin was there for a long time, and my understanding is that Crane school kids accidentally burned it down on one of their outings.

The big house there was built by my grandfather and his dad, Claude and James Brown, and is still there today. They had five children, three girls and two boys, one of which, Mahalia, was my great-grandmother, and she married George Shelley, a blacksmith who was also sheriff of Harney County from 1900 to 1902. They had two daughters, Lenore and Frances. He died in 1905, and she later remarried and moved to Pasadena, Calif., and lived out her life there.

My grandmother, Lee, married Claude Brown, who came to Harney County with his father, James Brown, in 1900. They were both carpenters. My grandfather, Claude, lived his life in Harney County, building many houses and buildings, and he built a house for me when he was approaching 80. He and my grandmother had two children, Claudia, who was my mother, and Shelley. My grandmother passed away from complications from surgery when I was young.

My mother, Claudia, married Willis Skiens, who came here with his family, Tom and Mary Skiens, a little after 1900 with their seven children, five boys and two girls. She is who I am named after as she died a few months before I was born. They raised all their children here in Harney County. My grandfather, Tom, had a delivery service with horse and buggy, and retired when cars put him out of business. I guess I can say I came from three pioneer families.

One of my early memories was when my stepfather and I used to go on the other side of Wrights Point and shoot jackrabbits when they were really thick. When you shot them, you ran over and cut their ears off, and when you had 50-pair in a gunnysack, you would take them to the courthouse, and they paid you 5 cents a pair for them. I remember how bad that courthouse basement smelled.

Another good memory was the year we lived at Fish Lake and ran the rentals for Harry and Florabell Smith. We had boats and wood-floored tents for rent, but not many of either. We kind of lived on fish, sage hen, and deer meat, and when the sheepherders would butcher, they would bring us mutton and sour dough bread, which tasted very good. That summer, Maryanna Brown Otley lived in their cabin a few miles from the lake, and she and I rode horses all over the mountain. We lived in an old log cabin, and that fall, after my mother and I left for school, John and Harry built the A-frame cabin that most of you remember. That was probably the best summer of my life, and I still have a great love for Fish Lake. I spent a lot of vacations there and still go fishing up there every chance I get.

Another great memory I have is of the swimming pool that Edward Hines built for the community, and up until I went to work, I spent a good deal of summer there. We used to hitchhike if we got out on the road before the mill workers went back to work at noon. In those days, they came home for lunch and not everyone had cars so they carpooled a lot, and sometimes we would have to sit on their laps, but thought nothing of it. Then we would try to get back to the mill before 5 p.m. so we could get a ride home again. That pool was never locked up and no one ever drowned. My kids even got a lot of use out of this pool. It was just one of the many things Hines did for this community, and it was all free.

I was born in a house on East E Street, which is still there today. I attended Burns Grade School and graduated from Burns Union High School in 1946. I went on to attend the University of Oregon for two years and studied business administration, and came back to Burns to work for Edward Hines Lumber Co.

I married Bud Salsbery in 1951, and we had two children, Scott in 1952 and Terri in 1954. Scott is now retired and lives in Hines with his wife, Dawn, and has two children, Collin, who is still going to college, and Rachel, who is pursuing a nursing career. Terri is married to Fred Hellbusch, and both are now retired and live in Hines also. They have two children, Tony and Angela. Tony also has two children, Jordyne and Dustin. They reside in the Baker City area. Jordyne has a son, Ryker, which makes me a great-great-grandmother. Angela is married to Olin Sitz, and they live in Sisters and have two daughters, Kendra and Natalie. They are both athletes, and I have enjoyed watching them play many games.

Over the years, I have done many things: worked in a confectionery all during high school; spent one summer working as a welder in the shipyards in Portland; spent a summer working at Safeway; kept books for four different businesses; babysat; worked on building two houses; drove taxi; worked some at Gayway Motel and trailer park; got my real estate license and worked at that for a while; and it was my idea to build B&B Sporting Goods after a trip to Bend to buy fishing supplies, which we stayed in for five years. We then bought 80 acres of alfalfa and another 50 acres of bare ground and put alfalfa in, and I found out what I really liked to do — farming and haying, and even changing sprinklers. We stayed on that place for 32 years and only left because our health went bad, so we ended up moving back to Hines.

Bud died in 2006, and we had been married for 54 years.

I have traveled with family and friends on many trips, a little bit all over the world, but Africa stole my heart. I have been there three times and would go back tomorrow if I could. We have gone to Puerto Vallarta for a week or 10 days for more than 20 years, and it was a lot of fun.

The last 20 years or so, I have worked with the Historical Society, and a few years with the Pioneer Association and have enjoyed that very much. All my life I have loved to fish and hunt, so I am right at home here. Harney County is where I was born, and I have loved all 87 years of it.

•••

Robert Alvin Connall is a native son of Harney County. He was born May 12, 1935, at grandpa Tom Baker’s ranch on the Sandhill north of Burns.

Robert’s parents were Lionel and Roselle (Baker) Connall.

Lionel was from Eagle Valley in Baker County, Oregon. He was born in 1915, and grew up near Sparta and New Bridge, Oregon, in the Eagle Valley. Lionel had two brothers, Ellis and Wilbur.

Roselle was from Harney County. She was born in Burns  in 1917 to Alvon and Emma (Kesterson) Baker. Roselle lived in a variety of places all over Harney County — from the Trout Creek ranch in Silvies Valley, to the Poison Creek ranch, to the Dixon ranch near Sandhill, and even at a homestead where Krumbo Reservoir is now located.

Roselle had five sisters, Arlene (Chick) Shaw, Twyla Turner, Arlice (Smokey) Gunderson, Katherine (Kitty) Barstad, and Betty Cheek. The Baker sisters were well known for their many adventures, community involvement, and love of Harney County.

In 1934, Lionel and Roselle met near Eagle, Idaho, were soon married, and moved to Burns, where Robert was born. Dr. Holman delivered Robert for $30. His great-aunt Maybelle administered the ether to his mother during the delivery. In 1936, Robert’s brother, Lyle, was born.

Lionel worked at Edward Hines Lumber Company, for Cyc Presley at the Burns Richfield Station, and finally in 1950, he purchased the Hines Richfield Station. Roselle stayed home to care for Robert and Lyle.

In May 1953, Robert joined the Navy. He was in boot camp in San Diego, Calif., and then was sent to Tacoma, Wash., to work on dry-docked aircraft carriers. He was soon transferred to the USS Renville APA-227 based in San Diego. The USS Renville transported Marines to Japan and various Pacific Islands for deployment during the Korean War. The USS Renville also patrolled off the coast of Korea. Robert spent Christmas 1955 and New Year 1956 in Subic Bay and Manila, Philippines. Robert also visited ports in Okinawa, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and several in Japan.

Robert returned to San Diego in 1956, and it was there he met Peggy Parnell. Peggy was born in Kingsland, Ark., in 1938, to Fred and Mary (Campbell) Parnell. Peggy was visiting her sister, Jean, whose husband, Bennie, was also in the Navy. Robert and Peggy were married Oct. 27, 1956.

The newlyweds soon returned to Burns, and in 1957, Robert began a 38-year career at Edward Hines Lumber Company. He worked in a variety of positions in the sawmill, the plywood mill, and finally, in the log yard. Robert ran the 966 and the Wagoner front-end loaders, and for a few years was on the high gantry crane.

In June 1958, Robert and Peggy’s daughter, Robin, was born at the Harney County Hospital. Robin grew up in Hines, and graduated from Burns Union High School in 1976. Robin attended Oregon State University (GO BEAVS!) and the University of Portland, and received bachelor’s degrees in education and nursing. Robin worked at Portland Providence Hospital and in 1989, moved to La Grande and began a 27-year career at Grande Ronde Hospital.

Robin married Marc Mitchell from Chiloquin in 1989. Marc and Robin have two children, Robbie Lynette and Marcus Allen.

Robbie married Gunner Winde in August 2013. They currently live in La Grande.

Marcus is engaged to Sabrina Warner, and they have one daughter, Elena Fey.

Robert lost both parents, Lionel in 2006 and Roselle in 2011. His brother, Lyle, also passed in 2006. All the Baker sisters, except for Kitty Barstad, have also passed.

Robert and Peggy continue to live in Hines with their two dogs, Zoey and Manny. They are very much loved by their family, and we are all very proud of our Harney County Pioneer President.