Category: Homesteader

Homesteader

Father Luke, The KKK, and the doctrine of Americanism in Bend

Tor Hanson

Originally published in The Homesteader (Deschutes County Historical Society newsletter) on May 2017 If you have attended a History Pub at McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend, you may have seen an illustration of an audience of white-clad KKK members seated in front of a Catholic priest. You may have surmised that the incident happened elsewhere. After all, history books tell us the Klan was a racist movement in the southern part of the United States – far away from Bend, Oregon. The event actually took place in Bend, almost 100 years ago, when Father Luke Sheehan stepped onto the … Continue reading Father Luke, The KKK, and the doctrine of Americanism in Bend

Homesteader

Moonshine Rooftop Parties at Reid School

Tor Hanson

Published in the Deschutes Historical Society Newsletter “Homesteader” Juvenile delinquency was running rampant in the winter and spring months of 1923. The Bend Bulletin was reporting rooftop parties at Reid School, bootleggers selling moonshine to high school students, kids taking joy rides at the rail yard, and underage patrons getting caught at the local pool halls. In the early 1920’s, Bend’s youth were hard pressed to find an outlet for entertainment beyond school-sanctioned activities. “One of the reasons for the continuing and growing number of juvenile activities that verge on or actually are infractions of law is the utter lack … Continue reading Moonshine Rooftop Parties at Reid School

Homesteader

Excuse Us While We’re Playing Through: The Golf Tourney Up Pilot Butte

Tor Hanson

Published in the Deschutes Historical Society Newsletter “Homesteader” – July 2010 Today Pilot Butte is a beloved place for Bend’s many “butte walkers.” And every Fourth of July, spectators wager how much of the butte will catch on fire from fireworks gone astray. But in April 1927, Pilot Butte was the setting for serious game of golf. The backdrop for the Pilot Butte golf challenge was a bet between Frank R. Prince, the editor of Brooks-Scanlon’s company newspaper, “Deschutes Pine Echoes” and Carl A. Johnson, the manager of the Bend-Silver Lake Stage Company. The wager: Play from where the pavement … Continue reading Excuse Us While We’re Playing Through: The Golf Tourney Up Pilot Butte