THE DALLES — Wasco County Pioneer Association named Robert L. “Bob” Bailey as Pioneer Man of the Year and Marilyn Lundell Urness as Pioneer Woman of the Year on May 4 at the organization’s 101st annual meeting at St. Mary’s Academy.
Attendees had a rare opportunity to view 50 of the association’s collection of more than 250 picture boards. Following the traditional salmon luncheon, outgoing President Myron Egbert opened the meeting, and historian Carolyn Wood announced Pioneer of the Year selections after the election of new officers.
Bailey is the oldest of Don and Edwina Bailey’s seven children. Growing up on the farm, all learned the importance of cooperation and teamwork. Education was important to the family, and after he finished high school in The Dalles Bailey earned college degrees in horticulture and business. He became the third generation to manage Orchard View Farms, which his grandfather purchased inn 1923 and his parents worked to build, raising apples, pears and cherries, and via a packing operation. Brothers Ken and Tom returned to the farm after completing their educations in horticulture and agricultural engineering. Jon, the business major, does the fruit sales and marketing worldwide. Two sisters became teachers, and one became a microbiologist.
Family history research by Don Bailey found that eight great-grandparents traveled the Oregon Trail between 1848-1863. Bailey’s grandfather told his dad, Don, many stories about driving a wagon over most of the Oregon Trail at 14 years old, but not down Laural Hill.
Baily’s mother, Edwina, was born in The Dalles in 1921 to Walter and Mable Ohlegschlager.
He went to work at midnight at the Union Pacific roundhouse where he prepared engines for morning runs. The family moved to Mill Creek in the 1930s on what was known as “Uncle Walts Park,” a popular Sunday gathering place for picnics, baseball and horseshoes. She attended school at the Mill Creek grade school near the Sandoz Farm. Edwina’s sister Winiford married Don’s brother Jack.
Bailey met Barbara Strickland on a blind date in Seattle and they married in June 1963. They have two daughters, Brenda and Bridget, and two grandchildren. Bailey has retired and passed the torch to Brenda, who now manages Orchard View Farms.
Bailey is a community volunteer, having served on the District 12 School Board and many local and state-wide boards and commissions. A founding member of the Columbia River Bank, member and president of the Wasco County Pioneers in 2002, he is currently a board member of Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum.
Lundell Urness can trace her history to 1066, when William the Conqueror invaded England. Her ancestors lived on the Welch-English border and sailed on the “Lions Whelp” to Stonington, Conn., in 1630. Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) records indicate family connections to Martha Washington and Ulysses S. Grant. Over the next 300 years, her family migrated west to Illinois. In 1869 they were in Missouri and Kansas. They took part in the 1903 Oklahoma Land Rush, then moved to Wyoming. Her Davis grandparents came to Idaho, then to Goldendale and Lyle, where they farmed. In 1923 her mother’s family moved across the Columbia River to work for the Union Pacific RR bucking ties.
Lundell Urness’ father emigrated from Sweden. When he reached New York, the quota was full. He accepted an offer to work in the timber of British Columbia until there was an opening to the United States. He arrived from Vancouver B.C. in the early 1920s and came to The Dalles to work in the Tie Plant, then found work as a plumber, for which he had apprenticed in the old country. Here Lundell Urness’ mother, Beulah Davis, met and later married Harold Lundell. They raised two children, Marilyn and her brother John, and operated a plumbing business.
Lundell Urness attended schools in The Dalles ,where she was active in Yell Squad, drama, band, GAA sports, Honor Society and ASB offices. She was the Junior Miss winner from TDHS to the Miss Oregon competition in 1952 at Cannon Beach. She played second base on the 1952 The Dalles Softball team that won the State Championship in 1952.
Lundell Urness graduated from The Dalles High School in 1952 and attended the University of Oregon. She married Ed Urness and followed his army and baseball career. They returned to The Dalles, where he joined his father in the car business. They raised four children Mark, Tim and twins Mike and Mary. Many will remember Urness as the English and drama instructor at the Dalles High School and Wahtonka High School for 20 years.
In retirement, she loves to read, travel, play bridge and research Chinese history, especially early Chinese history in The Dalles. Urness authored the book “Chinatown: The Dalles, Oregon 1860-1930,” published in 2017. She is fascinated by history, volunteers at the Fort Dalles Museum, and just celebrated her 90th birthday.
Wasco County Pioneers organized in 1922 and hold their luncheon annually on the first Saturday of May. Anyone interested in local history is welcome to become a member. For more information, contact Fort Dalles Museum or the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum.
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