USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II > Part 24
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finally placed on the eastern market and it is there to stay. Mr. Gile and his associates are interested in five ranches, four of which total five hundred acres, and of this three hundred and five acres are given over to the production of fruit. The fifth ranch contains eight hundred and sixty-two acres, three hundred acres being devoted to fruit raising. They also own and operate prune packing plants at Newberg and Rose- burg under the firm name of H. S. Gile & Company and their interests are now most extensive, it being their constant endeavor to extend their markets.
In 1915 Mr. Gile was chiefly responsible for the organization of the Pheasant Fruit Juice Company, which in 1918 was consolidated with the Northwest Fruit Products Company, becoming known as the Phez Company, under which style it is now con- ducted. Mr. Gile was the president of these corporations until January, 1921, during which formative period the business has enjoyed a phenomenal growth, its transactions for the year 1918 amounting to about two million dollars. Since the enforcement of prohibition the consumption of sweet soft drinks has increased tremendously and the business is now one which affords unlimited possibilities. The Phez Company has confined itself to the manufacture and merchandising of pure fruit juice products, Phez being made from the juice of the loganberry, which grows here in abundance. They also manufacture Applju and pure sweet cider, using for this purpose from five to ten thousand tons of apples annually, and their products command an extensive sale throughout the United States. Five well equipped plants are owned by the Phez Company, the one at Salem being located in the center of the city and given over to the manufacture of loganberry juice. The huildings are of concrete and brick con- struction and include ice and cold storage facilities of large proportions. The cold storage is not only used by the company but is also open for public use at profitable rates. The receiving and fruit-pressing equipment in this building includes a system of huge hydraulic presses connected up with thorough pasteurizing, filtering and condensing appliances. The Olympia plant is the most extensive and is located on the extreme south end of Puget Sound, being connected with all of the railroads which enter the city. This is devoted to the manufacture of Applju and is a model of sanitation. Great quantities of apples known as packing house seconds are used, which means sprayed, clean fruit, all bruised and discolored portions being removed before the crushing process in order to avoid the least discoloration in the juice. The jam, jelly and preserve plant is housed in a building ninety by five hundred feet, the property of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, located on its main line tracks in Salem, close to its passenger station. This building is supplied with the most modern and sanitary equipment and the capacity of the plant is about one carload a day when running at full capacity. The junior plant at Wenatchee is used chiefly as a receiving and shipping station for a large part of the apples which are used at the Olympia plant. The products manufactured by the company are unexcelled for purity and excellence of flavor and have gained well merited popularity throughout the United States.
Mr. Gile is an affable, courteous gentleman whose initiative spirit and powers of organization have led him into important relations, wherehy the state has greatly benefited. An analyzation of his life record indicates that close application, determina- tion and industry have been the salient factors in his present-day success. He possesses a natural inclination to stick to a proposition until the desired result is achieved, and while attaining individual prosperity his labors have been an effective force in promoting the development of the state along horticultural lines, his efforts proving far-reaching and resultant.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM GADSBY.
In the death of Captain William Gadsby, which occurred on the 20th of September, 1918, Portland lost a representative citizen and business man who had long been identified with its commercial interests as proprietor of a large furniture and carpet house at the corner of First and Washington streets. He was ever actuated by a laudable ambition and his energy and determination enabled him to overcome all obstacles and difficulties in his path. In fact, in his vocabulary there was no such word as fail and the trials which always beset a business career seemed to serve but as an impetus for renewed effort on his part.
Mr. Gadsby was of English birth and lineage. He was born January 18, 1859,
CAPTAIN WILLIAM GADSBY
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in Birmingham, England, where the family name has long been associated with mer- cantile enterprises. His father, William Gadsby, was but forty years of age when death cut short a career of great promise. He had married Frances Anne Moore, a daughter of Richard Moore, the owner of Prestop Park, in Leicestershire, England. She, too, spent her entire life in that country. In the family were five children.
Owing to the death of his father and business reverses which came to the family William Gadsby was forced to start out in life on his own account when but twelve years of age. He was employed in various ways for a period of four years and then joined the British army, being assigned to the Seventeenth Foot, then stationed in Ireland. In 1877 he was sent to India and while in that country acquired a thorough knowledge of Hindustani, one of the languages of Hindustan. This qualified him for appointment to a staff position in the Bombay commissariat department and while thus serving he assisted in the embarkation of the army corps sent from India to Malta and to Cyprus during the Russo-Turkish war. On the outbreak of the Afghan war he was detailed to take charge of the stores of the Third Brigade, Kandahar Field Force, and accompanied the division under General Roberts to relieve Kandahar. After serving with the movable column under General Ross in the Hurnai valley he returned to India.
It was while at Bombay, on the 4th of February, 1880, that Captain Gadsby was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Slater, a daughter of Oliver Slater, of Newhall, Staffordshire, England. After he had been on military duty in India for about six years his health failed and he was compelled to resign his position in the army and return to his native country, hoping that the change of climate would prove beneficial. On the contrary, however, he found the climate of England very trying and thus was induced to come to the United States. He made his way to Colorado and the dry air of that state proved extremely beneficial to him. Accordingly he decided to locate there and took out naturalization papers, after which he established a furniture store in Denver, meeting with very substantial success in the conduct of the business until 1889, when the condition of his wife's health caused him again to seek a change of climate. Portland became his destination and after establishing his family here he again turned his attention to the furniture trade and from the beginning met with notable prosperity. For a long period he conducted a large store at First and Wash- ington streets, in the very heart of the commercial center of Portland. He carried an extensive and attractive line of furniture and carpets and his sales reached a notable figure. He ever realized the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertise- ment and, moreover, he ever felt the truth of the old axiom that honesty is the best policy. His business methods were entirely straightforward, winning him a high standing in mercantile circles. Energetic and progressive, he kept in touch with the trend of the trade at all times and the finest that the markets in his line afforded could be at all times found in his store.
With Captain Gadsby's removal to the United States he became a loyal citizen of his adopted country and when the United States entered into war with Spain he joined the army. He had previously served in the Oregon National Guard for several years, rising from the ranks to the captaincy of Company G. Therefore at the out- break of hostilities in the Spanish-American war he was commissioned by Governor Lord, becoming captain of Company G of the Second Oregon Volunteer Infantry. In that capacity he accompanied the regiment to the Philippines and was present at the capture of Manila, remaining on the islands until invalided home. He resigned his commission in December, 1898, and thereafter spent three months in recuperating in southern California.
To Captain and Mrs. Gadsby were born two sons, William B. and Walter M., both of whom were born in India and are now engaged in the furniture business. They also adopted a daughter, Alice. The eldest son, Benjamin Gadsby, was born in Bom- bay, India, in 1881, while the birth of the second son, Walter Moore, occurred at Neemuch, in central India, in 1882. Both were educated in the Portland Business College and in the Bishop Scott Academy. They became the associates of their father in business and upon his death succeeded to the ownership of the furniture and carpet house, displaying the same sterling qualities of business which won success for the founder of the store.
The death of Captain Gadsby occurred September 20, 1918, when he was fifty-nine years of age. Politically he had become a republican following his naturalization and he remained a stalwart supporter of the party. He was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Portland, of the Commercial Club and of the Board of
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Trade and fraternally was connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He belonged to the Episcopal church and his life was ever guided by high and honorable principles that brought him prominently to the front as a business man, that made him a citizen whose loyalty was above question and that constituted him a firm friend and a devoted husband and father.
WALTER L. HEMBREE.
Walter L. Hembree, serving for a second term as postmaster of McMinnville, is widely and favorably known in Yamhill county, for he has here spent his entire life. He was born in the city in which he now resides October 6, 1871, and is a son of Waman C. and Nancy Ann (Garrison) Hembree, the former a native of McMinnville, Tennessee, and the latter of Iowa. When a small boy the father went to Missouri and in April, 1843, he crossed the plains to Oregon as a member of a large train of immigrants, arriving in this state in October of that year and driving an ox team the entire dis- tance. He was at that time fourteen years of age and had made the trip in company with his parents, who settled on a donation claim in Yamhill county, six miles north- east of McMinnville. He had attended school in Missouri, and in Oregon he completed his education, remaining with his parents until he attained his majority. He traded his squatter's right to a half section of land for forty bushels of grain and a cow, con- ducting the transaction with the father of Judge Burnett, a leading jurist of Salem, but the family ate the grain and the cow died. Subsequently Mr. Hembree took up land three-quarters of a mile northwest of Carlton, in Yamhill county, which he cleared and developed, continuing active in its cultivation and improvement for several years. On the 14th of October, 1855, he enlisted for service in the Yakima Indian war as a member of a company of volunteers commanded by Captain A. J. Hembree, an uncle, who was killed the following April. The father remained in the service until 1856, when he was mustered out, and, returning to Yamhill county, he engaged in general merchandising in McMinnville in association with his father conducting that business for several years. Subsequently he purchased a tract of land two miles south of the town and this he continued to operate until 1891, when he took up his residence in Monmouth, Oregon, in order to educate his children but later returned to McMinn- ville and there made his home throughout the remainder of his life, passing away on the 22d of March, 1920, when he had reached the venerable age of ninety-one years and two weeks, while the mother's demise had occurred on the 7th of September, 1891. He was prominent in the local councils of the democratic party and was a member of the Grange. His life was ever an upright and honorable one and for about seventy years he was a devoted and faithful member of the Christian church. A short time prior to his death he took an airship ride over the surrounding country, greatly enjoying the trip. He was one of the honored pioneers of Oregon and through his activities contributed in substantial manner to the upbuilding and development of his section of the state. He was twice married, his first union being with Nancy Ann Garrison, who became the mother of the subject of this review. She started across the plains to Oregon with her parents in 1845 and in Nevada her father was killed by the Indians. In 1892 Mr. Hembree was united in marriage to Nancy Beagle Crisp, who passed away in April, 1914. In 1843 she made the long journey across the plains with her parents, who settled in Washington county, Oregon, near the present site of Forest Grove, and there they continued to reside until called by death.
Walter L. Hembree was reared in Yamhill county and there attended the district schools, subsequently pursuing his studies in the public schools of McMinnville and later completed a course in the State Normal School at Monmouth. On entering busi- ness life he became an employe in a bank at Monmouth, with which he was connected for a time, and then was for three years active in the further cultivation and im- provement of the old home farm, which is still owned by the family. In 1896 he pur- chased a book store at McMinnville, which he continued to conduct successfully until 1920, or for a period of twenty-four years, his large and well selected stock, reasonable prices and courteous treatment of customers winning for him a good patronage. On the 26th of January, 1916, he was appointed postmaster and his excellent service in that connection led to his reappointment in January, 1920, for an additional term of four years. He is prompt, efficient and reliable in the discharge of his duties and is making an excellent record in office.
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In September, 1904, Mr. Hembree was united in marriage to Miss Clara Irvine, and they have become the parents of a daughter, Helen, who was born September 29, 1907. He is a stanch democrat in his political views and in 1920 attended the democratic national convention held at San Francisco, California. For two terms he served as city recorder, proving systematic and accurate in the discharge of the duties of that office. Fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Woodmen of the World, and his religious faith is indicated by his mem- bership in the Christian church. As a business man and as a public official Mr. Hembree has made an excellent record, and his efforts have been an element in the general development and upbuilding of this section of the state. He has passed his entire life in Yamhill county, where he is widely known and highly respected as a citizen of sterling worth.
WILLIAM K. SMITH.
William K. Smith of Portland reached an honored old age and had passed the eighty-eighth milestone on life's journey ere "the weary wheels of life at length were stilled." For forty-five years he lived in Portland, contributing in notable measure to its development along many lines. His own business career was characteristic of the expansion and growth of the northwest and he aided in laying broad and deep the wide foundation upon which has been built the present progress and prosperity of this section of the country. He came to the Pacific coast from Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Fayette county of the latter state on the 3rd of August, 1826, his parents being Peter and Barbara (Showalter) Smith, who were of English and Holland Dutch descent, respectively. The father was a farmer and carpenter, who on leaving Pennsylvania established his home in Ohio, taking up his abode on a tract of wild land in Clermont county, and there devoting his life to farming until his removal to Indiana. He subsequently resided at different periods in Illinois and Texas, his death occurring in the latter state, while his wife passed away in Ohio.
William K. Smith was but six years of age when the family went to the Buckeye state. The various removals of his parents made him a pupil in the schools of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Alabama, and later he went with the family to Texas, where he engaged in farming until eighteen years of age. He then started out inde- pendently and went to Alabama, where he again attended school. He was also employed as a clerk in the mercantile establishment fo his uncle, who was also a physician, and while Mr. Smith was earning his living as a salesman he likewise read medicine. For five years he remained in Alabama and then located in La Grange, Texas, where he occupied a position as clerk in a mercantile establishment and before he left the Lone Star state had earned a cow and calf by splitting rails. With his return to Texas he took up the live stock business, in which he engaged for some time, but eventually sold his herd of cattle and removed to St. Louis for the purpose of im- proving his education. Experience had brought him to a realization of the value of education as a factor in the attainment of success and for a time he was a student in a commercial college of St. Louis and later attended the Shurtleff College at Alton, Illinois. He was also studying life, its opportunities and its possibilities, and while at Shurtleff formed a company to cross the plains, believing that he might have better opportunities on the Pacific coast, where his brother, Joseph S. Smith, was already living. He left St. Louis with about eight head of fine cattle and horses and a few men to assist him in the care of the stock but ere he reached his journey's end his horses were stolen and the party had experienced considerable trouble with the Indians while crossing the plains. Soon after reaching California Mr. Smith sold his cattle and took up the business of mining but was unsuccessful in this venture and opened a small store on the McCallum river. After he had been in California for a year he visited his brother, Joseph S. Smith, who in the meantime had removed with his family to Whidby's island in Puget Sound, Washington. It was on this trip that he passed through Portland in 1854, at which time the city was a small town of little commercial and industrial importance. From Portland he traveled on horseback to his destination and after a short visit with his brother returned to Oregon, becoming a resident of Salem, where he purchased a stock of books, paints, olls and general merchandise from Dr. Wilson whose donation land claim was the original town site of Salem. Mr. Smith carried on business successfully for fifteen years and it was
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during that time that he also developed the water system of the city, bringing in an unlimited supply of pure water from the Santa Ana river. He also extended his busi- ness activity in various other directions, becoming the largest stockholder in the Salem Woolen Mills, in which enterprise he became associated with J. F. Miller, H. W. Corbett, W. S. Ladd, L. F. Grover, J. S. Smith and Daniel Waldo all of whom were numbered among Oregon's most prominent pioneer settlers and business men. From the Salem Woolen Mills was made the first shipment of wool sent to the east from the Pacific coast. Associated with practically the same partners Mr. Smith built the first large flouring mills and an immense wheat warehouse, his mills being the largest on the coast and operated by water power from the Santa Ana river. From point to point Mr. Smith enlarged his activities by acquiring the McMinnville Flouring Mills and he traded to Robert Kinney his stock in the woolen mills for a ranch of a thousand acres stocked with fine horses, and the McMinnville mills. His laudable ambition was still unsatisfied, for opportunity was ever to him a call to action and recognizing the fact that Portland had splendid natural advantages, which would contribute toward making it a city of great commercial prominence, he severed his business connections at Salem and in 1869 became a permanent resident of Portland. Here he established a sawmill and began the manufacture of lumber, becoming eventually the owner of three sawmills, which he operated on an extensive scale, becoming one of the leading lumber- men of this section of the country. He was also associated with C. H. Lewis, Henry Failing and H. W. Corbett in financing the Bull Run system of water supply for Portland and was a member of the original water commission, thus doing a service for the city for which future generations will need to revere his memory for years to come. He also became a conspicuous figure in the financial circles of Portland as a representative of the Portland Savings Bank, which was organized in 1880, and of which he was made a director and the vice president. He also represented the directorate of the Commercial Bank and was the vice president and one of the directors of the Ainsworth Bank. Portland further benefited by his labors as the builder of a dock and warehouse on the levee north of Salmon street in 1876 and he turned his attention to the question of urban transportation, becoming one of the promoters of the street railway system by aiding in the organization of the old Cable Car Company. He was also among the first to discuss and support the question of establishing an electric line and was interested with Ben Holladay in building the first railway in Oregon. Mr. Smith was likewise connected with shipping interests and became the owner of a four-masted bark, Hattie C. Bessie, which he chartered to Chinese merchants for twenty thousand dollars for a single trip to China. A con- temporary hiographer has said of him, "His business connections were so varied and important in Portland that it would have seemed that outside affairs could have no claim upon his time and attention, yet he had an important agricultural interest, owning at one time a ranch of a thousand acres in Yamhill county, stocked with fine horses and cattle. This property he traded for the Hattie C. Bessie. While in Salem he purchased the first bushel of apples ever sold in that city and afterward disposed of many of the apples at a dollar each, and sold one for five dollars to D. M. Durell, a banker and sawmill man, who said he would take the apple to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, for it was almost the size of a large cocoanut. Later Mr. Smith engaged in the real estate business and sold more land for railroad terminals than any man in Portland, He sold to J. J. Hill, the railroad magnate, realty that was worth more than a quarter of a million dollars and he furnished the site for two parks to the city of Portland. In 1894 he purchased Council Crest, paying fifty thousand dollars for sixty acres." It seems that there was scarcely a phase of Portland's business development with which Mr. Smith was not more or less closely associated and his sound judgment, keen business enterprise and unfaltering diligence were im- portant elements in the growth and progress of the city, as well as in the advance- ment of his own fortunes.
In 1864, in San Francisco, Mr. Smith wedded Miss Debbie H. Harker, a sister of General Charles Harker, whose title was proof of his service in the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Smith became parents of six children: Eugenia the wife of T. Harris Bartlett of Idaho; William K .; Victor H., who was a graduate of the Willamette Medical College, the Virginia Medical College and the Medical College of New York, and who died in 1915; Joseph H., who married Gertrude Eger; Charles H., who died when four ยท years of age; and Sumner, who was drowned in the Willamette river, while saving the life of a young lady whose rescue he effected at the cost of his own life.
Mr. Smith was a man of most generous nature and gave freely to the support of
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various churches and also to the Willamette University at Salem. He furnished the ground upon which the Willamette Medical School in Portland is built and was ever a stalwart friend of education. He loved literature and was familiar with many of the best writers and was particularly fond of Pope and of Thomas Moore. He became a life member and a director of the Portland Library Association and continued his interest in the work after the library was taken over by the city of Portland. Death called him January 15, 1914, when he was in the eighty-eighth year of his age. He had accomplished his task, had played his part well and there had come to him those things which men covet-honor, riches and a good name.
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