Soap Creek Valley oral history series · Monograph #9
Eugene Glender
Monograph #9 in the Soap Creek Valley oral history series: Eugene Glender, recorded in 2 sessions between January 6, 1990 and 1994-07, printed 1994.
Growing Up on a Tampico Family Farm, Benton County, Oregon: 1910-1941
Zybach, Bob and Janet Meranda 1994. Eugene Glender. Growing Up on a Tampico Family Farm, Benton County, Oregon: 1910-1941. Soap Creek Valley History Project, Monograph #09. Oregon State University Research Forests and College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon: 155 pp.
Provenance
- Creator
- Dr. Bob Zybach
- Narrator
- Eugene Glender
- Recorded
- 2 sessions, January 6, 1990 to 1994-07
- Transcribed, audited, edited
- Bob Zybach (interviewer); Bob Zybach (co-author); Jan Meranda (interviewer); Janet F. Meranda (co-author); Dr. William Atkinson (authorizer); Lisa Buschman (transcriber); Holly Behm Losli (editor); Tanii Torres (editor); Md. Shahidul Islam (editor); Pam Beebee (editor); Bonnie Humphrey (other); Elvera Glender Muller (other); Viola Glender (other); Royal G. Jackson (other); John B. Homer (other); Laura Glender (photographer); Bob Zybach (photographer); Jan Meranda (photographer); Mary Payne (photographer); Samuel H. Moore (photographer); William Ball (other)
- Printed
- 1994 · Oregon State University Research Forests and College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon
- Pages
- 155 printed pages
- Original
- http://www.nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Oral_Histories/Soap_Creek_Valley/09_Glender/Zybach-Meranda_1994.pdf
- Accessioned
- From Bob Zybach’s upload, 23 August 2026
- Source file checksum
- sha256:f7f1469d9b5b1d0f14f48d38c64a98d0…
What is not here, and why
- Withheld from this edition.
Front matter, as printed
Cover, as printed
EUGENE GLENDER
Growing up on a Tampico Family Farm
Benton County, Oregon: 1910-1941
Oral History Interviews by
Bob Zybach and Jan Meranda
Soap Creek Valley History Project
OSU Research Forests
Monograph #9
1994
Cover photograph
Cover Photo: Courtesy of Myra Moore Lauridson and the Soap Creek Schoolhouse Foundation. Pictured is the Moore family farm on Soap Creek, taken about 1899 or 1900 by Mrs. Lauridson's father, Samuel H. Moore.
Acknowledgments
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Soap Creek Valley History Project was authorized by, and is under the direction of, Dr. William Atkinson, former Director of the OSU Research Forests. Funding for the project is provided by the OSU College of Forestry.
Lisa Buschman, former OSU Research Forests secretary, transcribed interview recordings to computer ifies and assisted with draft editing, formatting, and indexing. Holly Behm Losli, Tanii Torres, and Md. Shahidul Islam, OSU Research Forests text editors, completed final formatting and indexing under the direction of Pam Beebee, OSU Research Forests Office Manager. This project could not have been completed without the help of these people.
Cover Photo: Courtesy of Myra Moore Lauridson and the Soap Creek Schoolhouse Foundation. Pictured is the Moore family farm on Soap Creek, taken about 1899 or 1900 by Mrs. Lauridson's father, Samuel H. Moore.
Title Page Photo: Sisters Leone (left) and Elvera (right) Glender pose in front of the Glender family farmhouse in the early 1920s. Coffin Butte appears to the north in the background, while the Beatty fir trees (reputed to have been planted in 1858 along the old wagon road to the California gold mines) are seen to the immediate east of the home. These trees are the earliest known planted Douglas-fir trees in Benton County and are still growing in 1994.
Soap Creek Valley History Project
THE SOAP CREEK VALLEY HISTORY PROJECT
The Soap Creek Valley History Project was undertaken by the Oregon State University's Research Forests in 1989 for the purpose of better understanding the history, ecology, and culture of an area that has been impacted by OSU land management practices for nearly seventy years. An important part of the project has been the location and publications of existing recorded oral history interviews with individuals who have had an influence upon the valley's history. New recordings have also been made with significant individuals who have not been previously consulted, as well as "follow-up" interviews with a few people who have continued to contribute to our understanding of the Soap Creek area.
The publication of these interviews as a series of cross-referenced and indexed monographs has been undertaken in an effort to make them available to resource managers, researchers, and educators. An additional use is accurate and available references for a planned written history of the area.
One of the primary accomplishments of the project has been the creation of a computerized concordance file. This was made possible through the assistance and expertise of Bonnie Humphrey, of the former Homer Museum staff, Lisa Buschman, former secretary for the OSU Research Forests, and Holly Behm Losli, Tami Torres, and Md. Shabidul Islam, text editors for OSU Research Forests. The file allows for both the efficient and systematic indexing of the monographs in this series, as well as providing a method for cross-referencing other research materials being used in the construction of a scholarly history of the Soap Creek Valley.
The Soap Creek history is being assembled from the written and spoken words of the people who made it and lived it. The use of the concordance file allows information from the journal entries of botanist David Douglas, the transcribed words of Kalapuyan William Hartless, the memories of pioneer "Grandma" Carter, and the recordings of Eugene Glender and his sister, Elvera - a history to be systematically searched and organized. The index to this monograph is an example of the applied use of the file.
Gene's cooperation and encouragement during the recording and writing of his story will prove to be of value to students and teachers of local history, horticulture, economy, agriculture, and fish and wildlife in the years to come. Gene's story covers the period of 1910by which time his parents had helped to establish the Glender Brothers farmuntil 1941, when many local families (including the Glenders) were moved to make room for the WW II training facilities at Camp Adair. Most of the other oral histories in this series also cover this specific period of time. As an aid to better understanding the names, nationalities, and migration patterns of the people who lived in the Soap Creek area during this period, two appendices of general use to the entire series have been added: the 1910 census of the Soap Creek Precinct and the entire listing of individuals from the 1941 Corvallis telephone book.
Citations should mention both the OSU College of Forestry and OSU Research Forests.
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
In the early 1900s two young Illinois men of German parentage, William and Charles Glender, began talking about moving West to Oregon. Sometime before 1910, they had arrived in the Soap Creek Valley, purchased 400 acres and an old farmhouse at the corner of Tampico and Soap Creek roads, and started farming as a partnership. Will married a young neighbor woman, Laura Metge, and in 1916 Charlie married her younger sister, Selma.
Charlie and Selma had two girls, Elvera and Leone, before their Tampico farmhouse burned down in 1920. Elvera remembers her mother carrying baby Leone from the house and a neighbor woman offering the frightened girls a stick of chewing gum to help them calm down during the emergency. Eugene was born and raised in the new house that arose from the ashes of the old.
This monograph represents Gene's recollections of farm life in the Tampico area during the years prior to World War II. The establishment of Camp Adair during the early stages of the war caused the U.S. Army to force local farmers to sell up and move out. The united Glender families moved to Albany in 1942 and were never allowed to return to their Tampico home. After Camp Adair was dismantled, Oregon State University acquired the Glender property. The house was moved in 1992, not long after Bob and I first began our search for the "lost" town of Tampico.
It was a great pleasure to participate in the interviews upon which this monograph is based. It is our hope that other researchers and lovers of history will use and enjoy this work into the future. Perhaps they will be encouraged to extend human knowledge through their own efforts at capturing not just the facts but also the spirit of our ties to the past. It is a never-ending journey on the ever-flowing river of time.
Janet F. Meranda
Corvallis, Oregon
July 1994
The map
Glender Tampico Tour Map: Map of tour on January 6, 1990 by Gene Glender, Jan Meranda, and Bob Zybach. Circled letters correspond to tape recorded stops along the tour route and to specific chapter headings in the table of contents.
The recording sessions
- January 6, 1990 — Tampico area, Soap Creek Valley, Benton County, Oregon
- 1994-07
Contents
- Cover p. [front-1]
- Title page p. [front-2]
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS p. [front-3]
- THE SOAP CREEK VALLEY HISTORY PROJECT p. [front-4]
- SOAP CREEK VALLEY MAP p. [front-5]
- Glender Tampico Tour Map p. [front-6]
- TABLE OF CONTENTS p. iv
- Photograph # 1167 in a series of 1936 aerials p. v
- INTRODUCTION p. vi
- January 6, 1990 Tour pp. 1–97
- A.. The Mennonite Camp pp. 1–2
- B.. The Old Sawmill pp. 3–4
- C.. Fir Timber pp. 5–6
- D.. Sheppard's Farm pp. 7–8
- E.. Sheppard's Farmhouse p. 9
- F.. Lawrence Blasch and Cordwood as a Cash Crop pp. 10–12
- G.. Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife pp. 13–20
- H.. Subsistance and Specialty Farming pp. 21–25
- I.. The Old Swimming Hole pp. 26–30
- J.. A Fatal Accident at Govier's Mill pp. 31–34
- K.. Beal's Swamp pp. 35–37
- L.. Tampico: From Elephants to Camp Adair pp. 38–72
- M.. Beef Barn Road pp. 73–74
- N.. Stage Stop Lane pp. 75–76
- O.. The Old Schoolhouse pp. 77–79
- P.. Elmer Govier's House pp. 80–81
- Q.. The Hildebrand Fire pp. 82–91
- R.. Neighbors pp. 92–95
- S.. The Gold in "Them Thar Hills" pp. 96–97
- Tampico, c. 1860 p. 98
- Appendix A. The Legend of the Gold-Filled Boot on Calloway Creek pp. 99–104
- Appendix B. Hunting Elephants in the Oregon Country pp. 105–110
- Appendix C. Family Photos pp. 111–118
- Appendix D. 1910 Soap Creek Precinct Census pp. 119–128
- Appendix E. 1941 Corvallis Telephone Directory pp. 129–146
- INDEX pp. 147–155
Maps printed in this volume
- SOAP CREEK VALLEY MAP
- Glender Tampico Tour Map
- 1929 Metsker's map of Tsp. 10 S., Rng. 5 W.
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1944. Camp Adair. Corvallis. OreQon: Training Aids General Layout.
Photographs
- Cover Photo: Courtesy of Myra Moore Lauridson and the Soap Creek Schoolhouse Foundation. Pictured is the Moore family farm on Soap Creek, taken about 1899 or 1900 by Mrs. Lauridson's father, Samuel H. Moore.
- Title Page Photo: Sisters Leone (left) and Elvera (right) Glender pose in front of the Glender family farmhouse in the early 1920s. Coffin Butte appears to the north in the background, while the Beatty fir trees (reputed to have been planted in 1858 along the old wagon road to the California gold mines) are seen to the immediate east of the home. These trees are the earliest known planted Douglas-fir trees in Benton County and are still growing in 1994.
- Photograph # 1167 in a series of 1936 aerials on file with the OSU Kerr Library map room. An enlargement from this series is referenced in the text to this history. Notations show the 1936 locations of the Glender House, Tampico road, and the Tampico Schoolhouse.
- Tampico, c. 1860. This watercolor was painted by William Ball in 1925 under the direction of OfAC history professor, John Homer, based upon the memories of several 1850s-era Tampico residents. The building on the hill to the left (west) was thought to have been an old schoolhouse by both Gene and Elvera Glender, who found evidence of a building in that general location during the 1920s and 1930s. The main road through town formed a link to the southern route of the Oregon Trail in the 1840s and was probably developed into a race track during the 1950s. The peak to the Glender's home can be seen in the middle background; Smoth Peak is in the background; and Coffin Butte is the hill to the east.
- The Arcade Saloon, 1904
- Mastodons and Elephants in Early Oregon. This illustration appeared as the frontspiece to John B. Homer's 1931 text book, Oregon History and Early Literature, published by the J. K. Gill Company, Portland, Oregon.
- Dr. Homer, the Glenders, and the Elephant Tooth, c. 1919. The finding of this tooth caused a big stir in Benton County, and was featured in an article in the local newspaper. This formal photograpph commemmorated the event. Back row, left to right: [unknown], Dr. Homer, Ed Blake, [unknown], [unknown]. Front row, left to right: Selma Glender, [unknown], Laural Glender, Will Glender (with tooth), Lottie Blake.
- Will Glender and the Elephant Tooth. This photograph appreared in local newspapers that reported on the find at the Glender Brothers farm.
- Gene Glender stands at the site of the spring in which elephant fossils were recovered between 1919 and 1941. Photograph taken in 1989 by Bob Zybach.
- Early Tampico school photograph (1923) by Laura Glender shong infant Gene Glender, teacher Lottie Blake, and Mother Selma Glender. Students are Mildred Schmidt, Edward Schmidt, Virginia Schmidt, Gerald Mackie, George Mackie, Fern Barzee, Leah Barzee, Leone Glender, Elvera Glender, and an unidentified girl that may have been named Ethel. Handwriting (and identification) is by Viola Glender in 1994.
- Original Glender farmhouse. This home may have been built as early as 1856 by the William Beatty family. It was known as the "Smith house" when the Glenders purchased it between 1905 and 1910, and may have been owned by Green Berry Smith in the late ISOOs. The peak of the house roof can be seen in the watercolor painti of early Tampico (Appendix A).
- After the fire. Will Glender was burning gift wrapping paper in the fireplace the Sunday morning after Christmas in 1920 when the flue caught fire and burned the house down. While recounting the event in later times he always observed that if he'd "gone to church that morning, as I was supposed to do," the fire would have never taken place. Photo by Laura Glender.
- The new house, summer 1923. Cousin Lily Giender (daughter of uncle John Glender in Linn County) and aunt Laura Glender stand in background, next to new home. Selma Glender holds baby Gene, while sisters Leone and Elvera stand close by. Photo by Mary Payne, a family friend visiting from the East.
- (lene (3lender and sister Elvera Muller stand in front of the Glender home for the first time since leaving nearly 50 years earlier, in 1941. A few months later the house was sold and moved. Photo by Jan Meranda, 1989.
- Elvera Glender plays in front of the family barn, c. 1920. Photo by Laura Glender.
- From horses to steam. Will Glender drives the frnii1y tractor while Charlie Glender attends to the hitch. Photo by Laura Glender.
- Gene Glender stands between uncle Wifi and Stub (the dog) in front of family's new red barn, c. 1928. Photo by Laura Glender.
- The Glender barn in 1989. Photo by Bob Zybach.
- The Glender house in 1989. Photo by Jan Meranda.
- Gene Glender and Jan Meranda stand in front of a depression to the north of the Glender house. As a child, Gene was told that the depression was the site of an early day Tampico tavern. Photo by Bob Zybach, 1989.
- Glender fields, c. 1905. Named hills in background include Writsmans Hill and Forest Peak. Trees in field line the course of Soap Creek. Background hills now form the eastern extent of OSU's Dunn Forest.
Index to this volume
Animals, Domestic
Baker Family 89
Bakers Mountain [Benton Co.] 26
Bald Hill [Philomath, Benton Co.] 26
Ball, William 98
Barzee, Fern 111
Barzee, Leah 111
Beal, Clara 35
Beal, Enid 94
Beal, S. Eugene "Gene" 35
Birds, Wild
Blacksmiths 101
Blasch Family 13
Blasch, Alma Maxine (1932-1988) 10
Blasch, Anna Gertrude (1929-) 10
Blasch, Ethel Mabel Boyer (1891-1985) 10
Blasch, Frederic Arthur (1918-1962) 10
Blasch, John (1883-1964) 10
Boyers Family 7
Brenneman, Rod 52
Brown Family 82
Brown, Annie 101
Brown, Lyle 82
Cabins 97
Creeks
Crops
Crouch, William S. 101
Davis, David D 101
Depression, Great 37
Dobrinin, Agnes 14
Dobrinin, Annie 14
Dobrinin, Charlie 14
Dobrinin, Fannie 14
Dobrinin, Mary 14
Europe 59
Farm Equipment & Tools
Federal Government
Fish & Aquatic Animals
Fruit & Nuts
Germany 59
Glender Hill 44
Glender, Charles Fred (1875-1962) 114
Glender, Viola Thomas (1925-) 111
Grabe, Lorna Dohrer 86
Griffin Family 80
Griffin, John 74
Griffin, Lola 74
Griffith, William 101
Hale (Gold miner) 99
Hanish, James 19
Hoffman, Aladean 94
Hogan Family 55
Hosteter Family 89
Hughart Family 26
Hughart, David E. (1830-1855) 26
Hughart, Joseph T. (1804-1886) 26
Hughart, Martha IAnnaN Henderson (1808-1846) 26
Hughart, Mary F. (1839-1856) 26
Hughart, William T. (1836-1857) 26
India 109
Ivers Family 95
Jackson, Royal 103
Johnstone, Dr. Arthur E. 35
Kings Valley [Benton Co.] 102
Kirk Family 76
Kruse, Leone Josephine Glender (1918-) 111
Laurel Hill [Clackamas Co.] 6
Lauridsen, Myra Moore 5
Lefever family 96
Lewisburg Saddle 92
Livingstone, [Col.] 99
MacFihane, Florence 39
Mache, Gerald 111
Mackie, George 111
Mammals, Wild
- Bears 15
- Beaver 6, 18, 20, 74
- Bobcats 15
- Cougars 15
- Coyotes 21
- Deer 15, 16, 31, 65, 91
- Elephants, Mastodon 63, 107, 109
- Elk 15
- Fox 16, 20, 21
- Mice 19
- Mice, Field 19
- Mice, House 19
- Mice, Kangaroo 19
- Moles 19
- Mountain Beaver ["Boomers"] 18
- Nutria 20
- Otter 20
- Porcupines 18
- Rabbits 15, 19, 37
- Rabbits, Brush Bunnies 19
- Rabbits, Cottontails 19
- Rabbits, Jack 19, 37
- Raccoons 15, 36
- Rats 20, 36
- Skunks 15
- Wolves 21
Marcks Family 70
Marcks, Lena 70
Marcks, Lewis 70
McDonald, Mary J.L. 44
Metge, Charles 58
Metge, Laura 58
Metge, Selma 57
Montgomery, Eula 39
Moore Family 89
Moore, Myra [Lauridsen] 5
Moore, Samuel H. 5
Morss Family 96
Mount Hood 6
Mountains & Named Peaks
Murphy, Bessie Gragg 16
O'Neal, James 101
Olson, Charlie 26
Oregon Cities & Towns
- Adair Village 70
- Albany 7, 8, 14, 32, 43, 59, 60, 72, 75, 76, 102
- Bend 58
- Corvallis 11, 14, 33, 55, 72, 81, 93, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103
- Dallas 100, 102
- Dayton 107
- Eugene 3, 35
- Florence 39
- Fossil 107, 109
- Hoskins 100, 102
- Jefferson 102
- Kings Valley 102
- Lewisburg 92, 95
- McMinnville 102
- Philomath 44
- Portland 44, 100, 102, 106, 109
- Salem 99, 102
- Sheridan 107
- Siletz 102
- Silverton 99
- Suver 10, 101
- Tampico 3, 8, 13, 38, 39, 56, 93, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 111, 112, 117
- Wells 52, 95
- Wellsdale 95
Oregon Donation Land Claim [DLC] 26
Post Office
- Soap Creek 101
Recreation
- Baseball 52
- Cards 45
- Coon (Racoon) Hunting 36
- Dancing 45, 46, 100
- Drinking 90, 105
- Fishing 13, 17, 20, 28, 30, 31, 45, 73, 74, 90, 107, 109
- Genealogy 44
- Hiking 5
- Horseback Riding 30
- Hunting 13, 15, 16, 18, 28, 30, 31, 36, 37, 45, 72, 91, 105, 109
- Music 45, 46
- Picnicking 29, 90, 91, 94
- Radio 31
- Shopping 95
- Softball 30, 52
- Swimming 26, 29, 30, 74
- Target Shooting 16, 28, 70
Roads & Trails
Roberts, George W. "Wash" (1824_****) 101
Schmidt, Edward 111
Schmidt, Mildred 111
Schmidt, Virginia 111
Shoemaker Family 51
Smith Family 96
Smith, Eliza J. Hughart (1828-1849) 26
Smith, John 2
Soil 64
Stambaugh Family 22
Stambaugh, Joseph 22
Stambaugh, Uoyd 22
Tampico Tavern 117
Trees
Turner, Mary Louise Blasch (1924****) 10
Vanderpool, Lois 39
Virginia 111
Wilamette River 107
Wiles, Martha Ann Hughart (1833-1895) 26
Windmill 27
Zimmerman (Gold miner) 99
Zundt Family 34
Zundt, Albert 32
The printed original
How to cite this item
The first line is the citation as it is printed in the original. Use it when you cite the work itself. Use the second when you cite this page.
- As printed
- Zybach, Bob and Janet Meranda 1994. Eugene Glender. Growing Up on a Tampico Family Farm, Benton County, Oregon: 1910-1941. Soap Creek Valley History Project, Monograph #09. Oregon State University Research Forests and College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon: 155 pp.
- This page
- Glender 1994. America's School Trust Library, The Zybach Collection. https://schooltrusts.org/collections/zybach/soap-creek/m09-glender/
More on citing this collection: How to cite the Zybach Collection.
Something wrong on this page? Submit a correction — this page is already selected. See how that works.
