Watts Books at the Scappoose Library with Signatures

Watts Books at the Scappoose Library with Signatures

Gefchichten and Marchen, by Lillian Foster, 1899: John Russell Collier

Germelshaufen by Griffin M. Lovelace: Helen Watts Clothier

Marchen und Erzahlungen by H. A. Guerber: 1914-15 Helen L. Watts, S.H.S.

Marchen und Erzablungen by H. A. Guerber, vol. 2, Helen L. Watts, S.H.S. ‘17

Sober als bie Rirdje by Mills Whittlesey, A.M., Helen Watts

Frau Sorge by Gustav Gruener, 1911, Presented by J. G. Watts, Feb. 17, 1930

The Footprints of Time And a Complete Analysis of the American System of Government, by 

Charles Bancroft, 1880, Jas. G. Watts, 1881, 17 yrs. old, Scappoose, Ore., Bought May 2, 1881, $5.00

Business Law for Business Men, State of Oregon, by A. J. Bledsoe, 1915, Watts and Price 1915

With receipt, received payment A. J. Bledsoe Mgr., Watts & Price, Scappoose, Or., Aug. 24, 1915

Nasby In Excile or six months of travel, by David R. Locke, 1882, Presented to Scappoose Public 

Library by Miss Vera Price May 1940, Mrs. D. W. Price

Story of One Hundred Years, by Daniel B. Shepp, Presented to Scappoose Public Library by Miss 

Vera Price May 1940, Mrs. D. W. Price

History of The Oregon Country, by Harvey W. Scott, 1924, Presented by Mr. & Mrs. Henry Collier (Miss Maude Watts) Feb. 15, 1930, sticker in book Presented by Henry E. Collier, Maude E. Collier, In Memory of John R. Watts and Elizabeth M. Watts, Pioneers 1852

Joab Powell, Homespun Missionary, by M. Leona Nichols, 1935, from the library of A. E. Burns, a grandson of William Watts, Scappoose Pioneer of 1852

A History of Oregon, by Robert Carlton Clark, Ph. D., 1926, from the library of A. E. Burns, a grandson of William Watts, (a pioneer of Scappoose (1852) ), Ira W. Burns 1955

Life on the Plains of the Pacific, Oregon: History, Condition and Prospects, by Rev. Gustavus Hines, 1881, Given by Ida Watts Burns in memory of her father William Watts (1803-1873) on whose donation homestead the town of Scappoose is located, A. E. Burns

History of the Columbia River Valley, by Fred Lockley, 1928, Presented to the Scappoose Public Library by Mrs. Henry Duncan of Warren, Oregon in memory of her brother Wm. Fullerton born in the Scappoose vicinity in 18??

No Man Like Joe, The Life and Times of Joseph L. Meek, by Harvey Elmer Tobie, Our Pioneer Association, May 1875, sticker in book Presented by Friends In Memory of J. G. and Rose E. Watts

Life and Letters of Mrs. Jason Lee, by Theresa Gay, 1936, Presented by friends of J. G. and Rose E. Watts.

Sacajawea of the Shoshones, by Dela Gould Emmons, 1949, Presented by friends of J. G. and Rose E. Watts.

The Empire Builders, by Robert Ormond Case, 1949, Presented by the Scappoose Parent Teacher Association founders day February 18, 1959, in memory of Mrs. Rose Watts, sticker in book Presented by Friends In Memory of J. G. and Rose E. Watts

The Rand-McNally Guide to the Great Northwest, by S. H. Soule, 1903, From the library of Archie Burns who was a grandson of William Watts the 1852 Pioneer of Scappoose, Presented Ida W. Burns, 1955

The Use of the National Forests, by Gifford Pinchot, Forester, 1907, Given to Scappoose Public Library, 1946, Mary Ewing

Sunset’s Flower Arrangement Book, by Nell True Welch, 1942, Presented to Scappoose Library by Mrs. W. D. Burg, 1950, Mrs. Lena Burg

There are some books that we were unable to locate and they are probably set aside somewhere. They include:

Beasee Hero? by Ruth Bender, 1959

The State of Oregon General & Special Laws, Legislative Assembly 1899

The Tender Heart by Archie Bearns, 1944

Days with Chief Joseph: Diary, by Erskine Wood, 1950

Northwest Exploration, by Gordon Speck, 1845

Report of Materials at the Watts House and the Public Library in Scappoose, Oregon September 2017

After a year of sorting, organizing, reading, typing, putting into notebooks, making lists and taking lots of notes I am drawing to a close on the Watts House Collections Inventory for the Scappoose Historical Society. There are still a few odds and ends to finish now that the overall project is completed. There are several posts on my blog gophergenealogy.blogspot.com if you are interested in seeing what we found. Today I created two notebooks, one for the overall board information and the other for all of the collections. That is how I preserve the memories and compilations in a format that documents the many hours spent on this project. My thanks to Tricia Oberndorf, Karen Holmberg, Dorothy Gallagle, our board member Mardi's daughter, Mardi's high school students and anyone else I may have overlooked. It has been a great learning adventure which has enhanced my working skills immensely!

Watts House Progress - 8 months later

     Attended the library board meeting on Saturday to present our inventories of the Watts books from the original library in the Watts house. Shared the story of discovering who the third library founder was and her contribution. We also provided a list of the 20+ books that have family signatures in them. The Historical Society is hoping they will be placed in the Watts House Museum for preservation. After that I went to the house and transitioned the picture collection to smaller tubs for ease of working with them. Then all was taken down to the basement. It was great going down there and seeing the progress. From 20 open boxes there are now only eleven smaller tubs that are sorted. The notebooks are labeled for the use of anyone wishing to research their families.

Who Was Lena Burg?

As noted in past newspaper articles Lena Berg was one of the founders of the Scappoose Public Library in 1929. She worked with Rose Watts and Caroline Dorris in establishing the library in the second floor of the Price/Watts store. There they managed to collect hundreds of books and provided hours of service making those available to the community. They were involved in the rescue of the books from that building before it was destroyed by fire in 1932. The books were moved to the Watts house where they were open to the public until a formal public library was opened in 1959, at the then fire station building. That move occurred shortly after the death of Rose Watts, who was quoted as saying, “there were four to five thousand books at that time.”

Scappoose Library - Fabulous Opal Whiteley

My mother, Yvonne Olsen Barker, loved the book Opal by Opal Whiteley. She left two copies of the book in her large collection of books. The one I kept for myself is a 1976 edition arranged and adapted by Jane Boulton, with 181 pages. The cost of the book was $2.95 after being reduced from $6.95, probably found in a used book store. On the inside front page she left this inscription:

"This book reminds me so much of how your great grandmother was as a child from the stories she told me. I have this same book in my library so I thought you might enjoy reading this one.
Yvonne Olsen Barker 6/5/93."