The Tillamook County Pioneer Association will hold it’s first quarterly member meeting and lunch in South Tillamook County. It is to be held on Sunday, February 11, 2024 in the Sandlake Grange Hall. TCPA gathers about 1 p.m. to enjoy a generous lunch (no longer potlucks, $5.00 donation appreciated for lunch) at 1:30 p.m., with a meeting and entertainment to follow. We will have a moment of silence for the yearly Silent Roll Call, honoring our Pioneer friends that have passed this last year.
Please plan to attend and bring a friend.
This is a BIG YEAR for the TCPA – celebrating 90 years of education and preservation of our cultural hertiage through the continuing support of the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum and other historical projects.
When the pioneer families gathered at “Aunt” Rhoda Quick Johnson’s 90th birthday party on March 23, 1934, the idea to create an association dedicated to preserving the history of Tillamook County was formed. The first official meeting was held at the Fairview Grange Hall on May 25, 1934, and according to the minutes – “The meeting after a potluck lunch, which turned out to be a bounteous repast, including lemon pie a-la-mode, was called to order by William Maxwell.” Dues were set at twenty-five cents. The first officers were President A. G. Bials, Vice Presidents (representing north, central and south areas) were Albert Easom, Emil Wooley and Henry Leach, and Secretary/treasurer/historian G. H. Ward. Donations were solicited over the next year that would begin a small museum located in a single room in the retired county courthouse. The first donation listed in the archives was a rifle from Rollie Watson, publisher of the county’s first newspaper.
Since the Museum opened in 1935, the Tillamook County Pioneer Association has collected and maintained thousands of genealogical and historical records concerning past Tillamook County residents. The records are housed in the Museum’s Library and are available for public use. Please contact the museum to make arrangements to use these records.
To celebrate the 90th Anniversary, TCPA is planning a special exhibit for May, 2024. We would like to identify descendants of the original Pioneers, below is a list of those present at the first meeting, and also the photo from Aunt Rhoda Johnson’s birthday. Do you know people in this photo? Are you related?
Formation of Tillamook Pioneer Association, May 25, 1934
Pioneers at the first meeting of Tillamook County Pioneers, May 24, 1934:
Wm. Maxwell, Mimiel? Maxwell, Frances Steinbach, D. R. (Dolph) Timmerstett?, Edward Weston, Rachel Weston, H.L. Jensen, Adella Jensen, Lewis Johnson, W.J. Stephens, Emil M. Wooley, E.L. Robertson, Anna Robertson, Susan Price, Mrs. W.J. Stephens, Grace L. Beals, Mrs. Emil Wooley, May Johnson, Eva M. Leach, Rhoda Quick Johnson, Anna Neilson, Lena Tohl, Dolly Miller, G.H. Ward, W.H. Leach, E.H. Neilson, H.J. Tohl, G.W. Olson, Wm. E. Easom, Lizzie Easom, Albert Easom, Mathis? Easom, Katie F. Wilkes, May Thomas, Mrs. G.W. Olson, Frank Bester, Grace Bester, Jimmie? Timmerstet?, Chet Thomas, A.G. Beals
Please get in touch with the TCPA by email – tcpa@gmail.com or for information contact Ruby at 503-842-4553 or ruby@tcpm.org or write: Tillamook County Pioneer Association PO Box 992 Tillamook, OR 97141. TCPA wants to recreate this photo with the descendants of the original Pioneers.
The TCPA welcomes anyone that has lived in Tillamook County for 20 years to join, dues are $15.00 a year and include free admission to the Museum and “Pioneer Perks” – discounts at sponsoring local businesses.
Check out the website for more: www.tillamookcountypioneerassociation.blogspot.com to find out more about joining the Tillamook County Pioneer Association.
