schuster.html

The Klickitat County News, Goldendale, WA., September 20, 1934, page 7

INTERESTING PIONEER INTERVIEWS

William Schuster, Pleasant Valley or Schuster Valley, as many call it, farmer, and prominent man of the Goldendale vicinity, lays no claim for having moved to this portion of the country. "Bill,"as the greater part of his friends call him, was here already. He was born in Klickitat County long before Washington was a state, and has chosen to remain here, probably for the rest of his days.
William Schuster was a visitor in The News office recently and while he was talking over old times and some of his interesting experiences here, mingled the following statements in with a conversation:
"I was born September 17, 1865 down near the Columbia River below what was known as the VanVactor ranch. Of course, at that time The Dalles was the largest settlement around and until I was 12 years old, I spent a great deal of my time there.
"My father was sheriff of Klickitat County for 16 years and it was during that time that the family moved to Goldendale. In fact, our family moved here when I was 14 years old or at the time that the county seat was moved from Rockland (Granddalles) to this city.
"I recall that there were several efforts made to remove the county seat from Rockland to Goldendale but that each time the voters turned it down. Finally Goldendale managed to obtain enough settlers so that when the matter came to a vote, the preponderance of votes lay in this section and the county seat was officially brought to Goldendale. This was in 1879.
"My father, incidentally, was the first sheriff that this county had.
"I then resided here with my mother and father until I was 22. At that time I decided that I should get married. But, I am getting a little bit ahead of the story.
"When I was 15 and 16 years old I carried the mail between here and Bickleton. I remember one time when the post office in Bickleton burned and Mr. Dodge was postmaster at Cleveland. Mr. Dodge trusted me with the key to the mail sacks but for some reason or another, the Bickleton official would not do the same. The mail carrying, while probably difficult enough in those days, in some parts of the country and over some of the routes, was no joke. It had to go through regardless of the weather or road conditions and as a young lad, I recall many interesting experiences that I had. Of course, the horse was the mode of travel and the trip over was made in a day and a return trip the following.
"Cleveland was quite a stopping place in those days. There was the post office, a bakery, a couple of large stores and a hotel that attracted many travelers in those days. Even Bickleton was much larger and was certainly some trading center then.
"It was a long about 1885 and 1886 that I became interested in the meat business. I had a shop located just about where the McKee Drug store is now. Of course, you know that in 1888, on May 13, the city burned. I was in town that Sunday and when the alarm was sounded, I rushed to a hosecart shed and was ready for action but there were so few persons in town that I could get no assistance so I ran to the meat shop and started carrying out as much of the tools, lard and meat as I could.
"Our family lived then where Joe Abshier resides now, or in the big white house two doors east of the Methodist Church. The fire that day burned right up to our home where it was put out. It took the church and parsonage, as I remember.
"There was no chance to save the meat shop, so I just carried out as much 'stuff' as I could. The next morning I opened a shop in a shed or rather a barn in the rear of our home. I noised it around town and asked my customers to be sure to bring their own frying pans, broilers or containers and wrapping paper for the fire had ruined my whole stock of items like this. The customers understood my predicament and they did this thing. I butchered the stock and cut it up as best I could at the little shop that I established. I served the community in this matter for a week and at that time I had had a crew working at the former location cleaning up the debris and erecting me a frame building on the Main street which would house the business after the fire.
"I remember that I cut lots of meat in the barn with knives that had the wooden handles burned off and with cleavers that had seen better days before the blaze came. Charley Chappell and Oliver Soper assisted me during the time of the fire and immediately afterward. These two gentlemen are well known to many of the people in this locality.
"Just one thing before I have to leave. I told Joe Allyn, after reading his piece in your paper that I was going to tell the truth about him and his allegedly paying off the mortgage on his mother's farm following his father's death. Now, I told Joe what I was going to do and I've known him for a great many years and I'm sure he'll take no offense.
"Joe was too small and too young to have been of much assistance when he said that the mortgage was paid. It is my belief that it was his brothers and other friends that had more to do with the mortgage payment then he did. However, if he feels that some credit is due him, I say let the credit lay where he put it.
"I can recall, while I have resided in Pleasant Valley, many shooting scrapes and it least one serious stabbing. Of course, in more recent years there has been very little of this thing. I have known of those instances, probably more than my neighbors, for I have been constable in my precinct and have served as deputy sheriff under several officials.
"I have belonged to the grange for 30 years. I have held membership almost as long as the organization has been in existence. I was master of the Pleasant Valley grange for one year. I have held the overseer's job for 15 years. This is the next highest office in the order. I have also been the grange fire insurance agent in my locality for 20 years.
"I had almost forgotten, after you asked some time back, but I'll tell you now. I married Miss Alice Cowles. Yes, and I still live with her. She was a Pleasant Valley girl and was born and raised in this community just the same as myself.
"Well, I've got to be going now but I brought you pretty well up on my life. At least it is fairly complete, just the high points, to 1900 and if you want any more, you have to get that at some other time."
Agreeing that another interview with the some of his more recent experiences embodied in it would be a good plan, the correspondent thanked Mr. Schuster for his time and extended an invitation for him to produce more copy at an early date.