Stories by Martin Middlewood

Columbian freelance contributor

William Shoenig stands behind the bar at the Lehthle Saloon at 502 Main St. in Vancouver in this undated photo. Before Prohibition, local groups fiercely debated the propriety of saloons, and how to regulate and tax them.

Clark County history: Liquor licenses come to Clark County

June 29, 2024, 6:09am Clark County Life

The first house built on Vancouver’s Main Street was a saloon. On July 4, 1854, Pete Fergusson opened it as a tenpins bowling alley with liquor sales. Vancouver wasn’t incorporated until 1857, so getting a liquor license wasn’t a problem for him. From the start, Clark County residents split into… Read story

This “revival tabernacle” used in Yakima County possibly resembled the one constructed in 1909 in Vancouver for a similar “spiritual awakening” religious event.

Clark County history: “Tabernacle Day”

June 22, 2024, 6:08am Clark County Life

Vancouver unofficially declared Jan. 11, 1909, “Tabernacle Day” as several local churches erected a space large enough to house the attendees expected for the “Cyclone” Dan Shannon revival. The Oregon evangelist wasn’t scheduled to speak until April, but the 10th Street building held 1,500 people when the county’s population was… Read story

In August 1924, Kolumbia Klavern No. 1 flew an illuminated cross over the Clark County Fairgrounds at Bagley Downs. This photo, taken at an unknown location in 1922, shows two Klu Klux Klansmen climbing into a plane as they prepared to drop propaganda leaflets.

Clark County History: Ku Klux Klan rally at the Clark County Fairgrounds breaks records

June 15, 2024, 6:10am Clark County Life

Thousands attended the Ku Klux Klan rally at the Clark County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Aug. 23, 1924, according to The Columbian, making it the most attended event ever held in Southwest Washington, outstripping the total of every revival and Chautauqua held locally. Vancouver’s Kolumbia Klavern No. 1 had planned to… Read story

Sitting on a biplane, Edith Foltz sports the Foltz-Up outfit she designed to make it easy for women pilots to go from the cockpit to dinner. Her experience racing in the 1929 Women’s Air Derby inspired her versatile design because on stopovers, the pilots had to go immediately to dine with local officials. Portland department store Meier and Frank sold her dress in the 1930s.

Clark County History: Edith Foltz, who often flew out of Pearson Field, won the 1930 dead stick landing contest at the Municipal Field dedication

June 8, 2024, 6:10am Clark County Life

When America entered World War II, male pilots were at a premium here and abroad. Jacqueline Cochran, an able pilot, lobbied Army Air Corps Gen. “Hap” Arnold and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt to recruit women pilots for the British Air Transport Auxiliary. Among those Cochran recruited was Edith Foltz, who… Read story

The Witness Tree, seen in this undated photo, was a legal point for surveys and property disputes for decades. In 1909, it fell as the Columbia River’s north bank eroded.

Clark County history: Vancouver sits atop conflicting claims

June 1, 2024, 6:12am Clark County Life

The land the city of Vancouver now rests on has a contentious past. Supposedly, its first owner was Ermatinger, a Hudson’s Bay Company employee who traveled to the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii) and never returned. Then came Job McNamee, who grabbed the land in the absence of the original owner.… Read story

Clark County history: Dorothy Hester, pilot

Dorothy Hester examines a silver bracelet she received in November 1930 for her stunt flying accomplishments. She held the world’s record for 69 outside loops — 62 deemed perfect circles — for 58 years until it was broken in 1989.

As a child, Dorothy Hester chased a hot-air balloon, hoping for a flight. The balloon eluded her, but flying didn’t. When the blue-eyed blonde was barely out of her teens, she became one of the nation’s best stunt pilots and held the women’s record for outside loops for nearly 60… Read story

Clark County History: Minnie Hill captained steamers on the Columbia and Willamette rivers

Born in Albany, Ore., in 1863, Minnie Mossman Hill was only about 19 years old when she was licensed to pilot a steamship after learning the trade from her husband, Charles. She was the first female west of the Mississippi River to captain a steamship.

When Minnie Mossman married Charles Hill in 1883, she signed on as a life mate and as first mate on his steamer. Minnie Mossman Hill soon became the first licensed woman steamship operator in the West and the second in the nation. Read story

Clark County history: General Nelson Miles

General Nelson A. Miles (1839-1925) assumed command of the District of Columbia and quartered in the O.O. Howard House. As Gen. Howard’s aide during the Civil War, he became a dear friend. But taking credit for the surrender of the Nez Perce in 1877 led to a bitter dispute.

At the 1862 battle of Fair Oaks, Brig. Gen. O.O. Howard was wounded twice. His trusted 21-year-old aide, Lt. Nelson Miles, nicked in the heel by a bullet, limped into a slave hut to visit his suffering commander. When the surgeon arrived with four burly soldiers, they placed the general… Read story

Clark County history: Tom Murphy is likely the only Curtiss Pusher pilot in the Pacific Northwest

Aviator Tom Murphy pilots his Curtis Pusher biplane replica through downtown Portland on Sept. 16, 1995, after flying off a ramp on top of the eight-story tall historic Multnomah Hotel in a re-enactment of a 1912 flight to Vancouver.

Tom Murphy is likely the only Curtiss Pusher pilot in the Pacific Northwest, possibly the country. In 1995, the antique airplane pilot and mechanic flew the plane, also known as the Curtiss Model D, down the Columbia River Gorge from the Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum in Hood River,… Read story

Clark County history: Phil Sheridan at Fort Vancouver

Gen. Philip Sheridan was one of Ulysses S. Grant’s top commanders and a hero of the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. He visited Vancouver both before and after the war, and at one time commanded Fort Yamhill, Ore.

In 1830, John and Mary Sheridan left their leased holdings in Ireland to purchase passage across the Atlantic Ocean, emigrating to America with their two children. Their third, Philip, was born in America a year later. Eventually, he would rise to command the Army of the United States in 1888… Read story