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Embracing a Western Identity + The Jewish Oregon Story

Pioneers and Native Sons

One March 26, 1896, Gervais, Oregon, "was enthusiastic over the arrival home of her native son, McKinley Mitchell," after his nomination to the state legislature as a Republican. "The people en masse met him at the depot and welcomed him with addresses and the firing of anvils," reported the Daily Capital Journal. Although Mitchell's journey had been short -Gervais is located only fifteen miles from the state capital in Salem- "a procession was formed and he was escorted home amid much enthusiasm." - Ellen Eisenberg

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Gold discoveries lured Henry Heppner and hundreds of other young men to the prairies of northeastern Oregon. After first peddling goods in California and Corvallis, he took advantage of the homesteading opportunities in eastern Oregon. He began operating a mule pack train from The Dalles to Canyon City and the Idaho mines in 1861. Henry later met Colonel Jackson Morrow and together they opened the first mercantile store in the Umatilla area.
With pioneer resourcefulness and the desire to make good, Julius Durkheimer went east to Baker City at the age of 17. He prospered in eastern Oregon selling dry goods to gold miners and homesteaders. By age 30, Julius had bought and sold a half-dozen businesses and brought three of his brothers out to help run two of his most successful stores. While he was civic-minded and participated in building the community (he served as mayor of Burns for several years), Julius kept the promise he had made to his wife that she would only have to endure the hardships of frontier life for ten years. In 1896, he moved his young family back to Portland to enjoy the luxuries of gas lamps, sewers, and indoor plumbing.