WINTER1982

Frances, Washington, circa 1910

$1.50

.50 UteSINCE 1966

0U9-We8teiC*8Published Quarterly by the

Pacific County Historical SocietyState of Washington

Volume XVIINumber 4

* ULe

SINCE 1966 8ou'W'e,5te:Cz6A Quarterly Publication of the Pacific County Historical Society, Inc .

A Non-profit Organization

Magazine subscription rate - $6.00 AnnuallyMembership in the Society - $3.00 single, $5.00 couple

Payable annually - membership card issuedAddress: P.O. Box P, South Bend, WA 98586

Historical articles accepted for publication may be edited by the editors to conform to size and other requirements .Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the historical society . All RightsReserved . Reprinting of any material approved by special permission from the Pacific County HistoricalSociety . Second class postage paid at South Bend, Washington .

PUB. NO. ISSN-003804984

Larry WeathersEDITOR

Karen Johnson and Esther Coates - SubscriptionsPrinted by Pacific Printing, Ilwaco, Washington

Our Coverby Larry Weathers

The photo on our cover is from a postcard made by Joseph Amrhein about 1910 . Amrhein was born inSwitzerland and moved to Frances in 1903 . He was an optometrist and lens grinder and also operated a jewelrystore and photography shop . His advertisements stated that he did lens grinding, filled prescriptions for spectaclesand eye glasses in all styles and sizes, and conducted thorough and scientific eye examinations . His photographswere often reproduced in local newspapers and on postcards . His business was located in one of the buildings onthe street behind the train depot .

All of the buildings shown in our cover photo are gone now . They have been replaced by houses, trees, andfenced yards . A vacant storefront (built in 1916) stands approximately where the Charles B . Handy store is on ourcover . The tracks of the old Northern Pacific Railroad (now Burlington Northern Railroad) are still used by freighttrains, but passenger service was discontinued March 19, 1954 . Today, an asphalt highway parallels the trackswhere once there was mud and wooden planks .

This photo is from the Don and Gloria Christen collection in the Pacific County Historical Society Museumfiles .

Table of ContentsTITLE

PAGE

Our Cover - Larry Weathers 62Frances: The Early Years - Larry Weathers 63Brand New Town of Frances - from the South BendJournal 68How the Girls Kiss - a poem by F . Handy and T . Soule 69The Frances Silver Band - Larry Weathers 70The Fern Creek Lumber Company - Miss Ethel May Handy 71Catholics to Hold Big Fair - from the Willapa Harbor Pilot 73Swiss Pancakes "Eiertatsch" - Mrs. Joe (Hermenia) Huber 74Rosettes - Mrs. Joe (Hedwig) Karnas 74Frances Post Office - from the Museum files 75The Church of the Holy Family - Mrs. Victor (Ruth) Habersetzer 76List of Burials in Holy Family Church Cemetery - Larry Weathers 79The Swiss Society - Mrs. Paul (Hedwig) Strago 82

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1

Frances : The Early Yearsby Larry Weathers

Editor's Note: The following history is a compilation and revision of several stories written by RuthHabersetzer and Virginia Olsen for The Willapa Country: a History Report in 1965 . Supplementary in-formation about the settlement of the vicinity of Frances was taken from the following sources : Pacific

County and Its Resources (a promotional booklet published by F .A. Hazeltine in 1909 for the Alaska-Yukon Exposition), "Wallace Campbell, the Story of His Life in Frances" (an unpublished 1936W.P.A. history), "The Habersetzer Family, from Germany and Switzerland to Pacific County" (a paperprepared by Ruth Habersetzer in 1982), "The Christen Family History" (a paper prepared by GloriaChristen and Anita Christen Dunsmoor in 1982), Our Pacific County (a book written by Valley HighSchool superintendent L .R. Williams in 1930), Willapa Bay: Its Historical and Regional Geography (abook written by Jean Hazeltine Shaudys in 1956), The Pacific County Edition of the South Bend lour •nal (a souvenir supplement published by F .A. Hazeltine in 1900), and "Echoes from the Past" (aweekly newspaper column written by Ruth Dixon in the late 1960's and early 1970's) . Pacific CountyAssessor's Records 1879-1910 and the Census for March 1, 1908, were also valuable sources .

Each of the works cited above, except the Assessor's Records and Census Roll, is on file in thePacific County Museum, 1008 W . Robert Bush Drive, South Bend .

This article briefly covers the years 1874 to 1910 .

Frances is the last community in the upper Willapa Valley on the highway (State Route

6) connecting Raymond and Chehalis . There was a time when Frances was a town, but that

was during the first half of this century . Today, Frances is a great deal quieter . The church

and cemetery are still used, dairy farms still dot the landscape, but the stores and industry

are gone and the train doesn't stop there anymore .The first inhabitants in the vicinity of Frances were a small band of Chehalis Indians .

Long before the arrival of white men they knew the beauty of the land and the abundance of

its resources. On a seasonal basis, they set up camp on the tall-grass prairie now called Elk

Prairie, fished the waters of the Willapa River and its tributaries, and hunted the hills with

bow and arrow . As a matter of fact, until the 1890's, the Chehalis band continued to pass

through the area practicing their ancient ways . Nervous white settlers often felt compelled

to carry their guns to work .The Chehalis gave names to many of their seasonal campsites along the Willapa but

they did not leave one for this particular campground . They did leave a few archaeological

calling cards though . Many years after the arrival of white settlers, mounds of rock could beseen scattered across the burned-off prairie, and farmers tilling the soil frequently uncoveredarrowheads and broken cooking implements trapped just below the surface . Nothing was

ever found in the mounds but arrowheads are occasionally still being uncovered .

White settlers were first attracted to the area in the 1 870's . Settlement was late com-

pared to other sections of Pacific County because of the isolation . Giant trees, thick under-

brush and steep ravines stood in the way of all . Only the truly committed ventured into such

areas first . Most, especially those with families, preferred to stake land claims on the river-

banks and floodplains first, inaccessible hills and valleys last .

The first to come to the upper valley were squatters . They did not have title to the land

and paid no taxes . Many were bachelors escaping civilization or the law . Few stayed for

more than a few years. Among the first were two Scandinavians named Erick Erickson and

Hans (sometimes called Harry) Hanson . They lived on Elk Prairie between 1874 and

1879 . Some sources say they were placer miners .

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One morning in 1879, Hanson left his partner to go to Chehalis for business and sup-plies. When he returned he found his tent burned and Erickson missing . After searching thevicinity, Hanson went to Woodards Landing, a settlement at the confluence of the WillapaRiver and Wilson Creek, for help . Eventually, Erickson's body was found in a stream neartheir Elk Prairie claim . He was apparently the victim of drowning. The burnt tent and somemissing possessions aroused the posse's suspicions, however, and an investigation ensued .

The posse found evidence that a man named Yurick, who was squatting with someroughnecks on land south of Elk Prairie, had some of Erickson's possessions hidden on hisclaim . The evidence proved circumstantial and Yurick was freed . Disgusted, Hanson de-cided to sell his claim and move on .

Genuine settlement of the area followed in the 1 880's . The first family was that of theCampbell's . William Wallace Campbell, his mother Margaret, sister Nell, and a nephew,came to Pacific County during the last days of December 1879 . Wallace's brother-in-lawJames Fowler, who was already living in the Willapa Country, had written to him about thelarge parcels of timberland available in the upper valley . Shortly after their arrival, Mrs .Campbell bought the squatter claim of Yurick, and Wallace bought out Hanson . TheCampbell's could only obtain a "squatter's rights" to the land because that section of theCounty had not yet been surveyed by the Government Land Office .

The Federal government completed the survey of public lands around Elk Prairie in

June-July 1882 and Wallace and his mother quickly filed their claims in Oysterville . Duringthe intervening years they built a cabin of split cedar and worked the land . They were soon

joined by others .

The first neighbors the Campbell's had were mostly sons, daughters, and in-laws ofMargaret Campbell. They included the James Fowler family, Capt . Tom Sparrow who mar-ried Nell, the Wesley Campbell family, and the families of Alford S . and Charles Patton . Allof them, except Tom and Nell Sparrow, had large families . Following on their heels werethe Chapman, Lusk and Souther families .

In 1885 the first school was taught in a bunkhouse on Fowler's claim on Elk Prairie .School was held in the building while the men were out logging . A real schoolhouse wasbuilt on the Edward Souther farm in 1887 . (A new school was built in Frances in 1893 .Frances School District No . 14 was organized in 1897 . In 1946 the district consolidatedwith Lebam No. 140 and finally with Willapa Valley School District No . 160 in 1955 . Aparochial school was taught by Catholic nuns between 1908-1914 .)

Settlement north of Elk Prairie occurred in late 1886. Three men, Alois Custer,William Duckwitz and Leonhard Habersetzer, living in Mt . Angel, Oregon, were led to thearea that year looking for homestead land . A Mr. Weiss served as guide and manager of thetrip . He took them to Chehalis by train, and then, led them over the Willapa Hills coastrange to the upper valley .

After looking the land over, the three Mt . Angel men drew straws to see who would be

allowed to choose the first homestead . William Duckwitz was the winner but when he filed

his claim he found that it was railroad land and not a true homestead claim . He purchased

the land from the railroad for $7 .50 an acre . It was his claim which was later platted as the

town of Frances (February 1893) .Leonhard Habersetzer was given second choice and had the same luck as Duckwitz .

He chose a claim which was railroad land and had to purchase his acreage for the sameprice .

Alois Custer drew the last claim . He chose land on Fern Creek which turned out to be

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-Victor and Ruth Habersetzer collection

-victor and Ru

collection, PCHS

Rosa and Leonhard Habersetzer and daughter

Alois Custer and family, circa 1890Mary, circa 1870. Mary was one of thirteen

Standing : Othmar, Alois and Louis . Sitting :children born to this couple .

Mrs. Custer and Cecelia .

the only true homestead claim of the three . His homestead certificate was finally issued bythe General Land Office at Vancouver, Washington, on August 25, 1903, and signed byPresident Theodore Roosevelt .

Having staked their claims, the men returned to Oregon for their families via Indiantrails and train . When they returned, they came by boat up the Columbia River to Ilwaco .Up the peninsula at Oysterville, they took another boat to the town of Willapa (formerlyWoodards Landing, renamed Willapa in 1884) and on to Elk Prairie by nearly impassibletrails .

The Duckwitz and Custer families moved onto their claims and started building cabinsand barns, but the Habersetzer family decided to move to the John Wood place nearWillapa for a year of adjustment. Leonhard finally moved his family to the upper valley inthe summer of 1888. Having no house, the Custer family kindly let them move into a newbarn behind their house . (The barn is still standing but the farm now belongs to the VictorHabersetzer family. Victor is one of the many grandsons of Leonhard Habersetzer .)

While the Habersetzer family was still living on the Wood farm in 1887, new familieswere arriving in the upper valley . The lack of adequate conveyance to the area was stillhampering rapid settlement but word of the available land was a strong conductor . SusanCampbell Prentiss, who was born into the Wm . Wallace Campbell family in 1893, wrote in1964, "It took years to build good roads into that country. I was grown before a passableroad was built over the coast range (to Chehalis) . The road to South Bend was only

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passable in good weather for years . We traveled horseback during the winter and it took

hours to Menlo by horse and wagon because the road wandered from farm to farm ."

A few of the 1887 arrivals took timber claims around Elk Prairie and then moved to

established settlements on the Willapa . Others came to stay. Joseph Guggenbickler, John

Kain, and Joseph M . Christen were three who took parcels of land in the vicinity of

Duckwitz, Custer and Habersetzer . Guggenbickler and Kain were originally from Bavaria,

while Christen was from Switzerland . Like the first three families, they had settled in Oregon

first, spoke German and had large families .New arrivals continued to reach the upper valley between late 1888 and 1892 .

Among them were the families of Gregor Vetter, the Gehrman Brothers, J .P . Lemons, the

Handy Brothers, S .A. "Forney" Soule, Wolfgang Lengauer, Peter Stanley, Frank Sigrist,

Leonard and Peter Switzer, and many more . Through hard work and confidence they built

rich dairy farms, sawmills and businesses, and transformed the countryside . In 1892 they

were still living in an unnamed community, but in 1893 the situation changed dramatically .

The last decade of the 19th century was the era of a phenomenon known as the

"boomtown" . These communities rose rapidly across the face of the Northwest frontier and

usually disappeared just as quickly . Frances was one of the boomtowns but it survived

longer than most. Unlike many, which were the product of the active imagination of a land

speculator or professional shyster, Frances was the happy result of the need to exploit itslocal resources (timber and farm produce) and the arrival of the railroad .

The railroad, which was started at Chehalis in August 1890 by the Yakima and PacificCoast Railroad and completed at South Bend by the Northern Pacific Railroad in December

1892, officially established Frances as a depot stop in 1893 . According to some sources,

the community was given its name when the railroad survey crew passed through the area

in 1892. E . H . McHenry, an NP Chief Engineer, used his wife's middle name .

Railroad Survey Crew, circa 1891

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-Cliff Ellis collection . PCHS

-an Amrhein photo from the Anita Christen Dunsmoor collection, PCHS

Frances in 1906This view of Frances was taken from behind the Handy store shown on our cover. To the left of thedepot is the Columbia Saloon . To the right is the town hall and public school .

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-Don and Gloria Christen collection, PCHS

Columbia Saloon in 1909The Columbia Saloon was a combination saloon, bowling alley, ice cream parlor and boardinghouse . It was built and operated by the Louis Christen (he had twelve children) family . Louis movedhis family from Switzerland to Lebam (Halfmoon Creek) in 1893, then to Frances after the saloonwas built in the late 1890's .

The town plat of Frances was filed in the County Auditor's Office (Plat Book C) onFebruary 27, 1893, by the Northwest Lumber Company of San Francisco (A.M . Simpson,president, and E .J . Holt, secretary) . The company had timber holdings in the vicinity andpurchased the claim of William Duckwitz for the town .

It wasn't long before the train depot, which was built in the middle of the plat, becamequite a center of building activity . The railroad was operating two passenger trains and twofreight trains on a daily basis, businessmen leased or bought lots from the company on bothsides of the depot, and sawmills, logging camps and farms crowded the landscape .

Among the businesses in town between 1893-1910 were several saloons, a bowlingalley, a shoe repair shop, several general stores, a jewelry and optometrist shop, aphotography studio, a creamery, several sawmills, a post office, a barbershop, a meatmarket, a blacksmith, shingle mills, a hotel and restaurant, a theater, a town hall and anewspaper (the Frances News) .

To name all of the men who operated these businesses would require more space thanis available, but among the more enterprising families of the community were those of theHandy Brothers and Louis Christen and sons . The Handy's operated general stores andsawmills, while the Christen boys operated almost everything else, including a carpentryshop, saloon, bowling alley, theater, creamery, electrical plant, shingle mill and loggingcamp .

Louis Christen even acted as unofficial doctor and dentist for a time . He was a masterof home remedies (among them pitch salves) and when anyone was suffering from atoothache they went to the Christen Brothers Columbia Saloon, where, after getting aliberal dose of whiskey to deaden the pain, had their tooth extracted by him .

In 1960, Mrs . Charles B . (Amelia Habersetzer) Handy recalled the early days ofFrances, saying appropriately, "Really, Frances was quite a town!"

Brand New Town of Frances(from the South Bend Journal, August 4, 1893)

Editor's Note: The following article was taken from the August 4, 1893 issue of the South Bend Jour-nal. It was a reprint of an article originally published in the Willapa Pilot that same week. The Pilot wasprinted by C.A . Heath of Willapa, while the Journal was published by F .A . Hazeltine .

Frances consists of a depot building at present unoccupied, a station house wherePeter Demmer and his excellent wife, board the section hands and occasionally dispensemeals and beds to the hungry and weary traveler . Near the depot is the store of W .A. Curtis,who has but recently established himself there. Nearby stands the town hall, a fine building32 x 50 feet which was erected by several of the enterprising young men of the place andhas already been found a great convenience as well as a source of revenue .

On a gentle eminence in a very pretty and commanding location stands the CatholicChurch which has just been completed ; this building though small - 24 x 40 feet - is indesign and ornamentation very handsome and a credit not only to the town but the architectas well. Besides the station house there are only two dwellings in the town, C .W .Campbell's and Wm . Duckwitz's, and these being farm houses, but being on the very edgeof the plat, may be justly considered in the suburbs .

The country in the immediate vicinity of Frances is thickly settled on all sides and thereare several very fine farms although all are newly settled . The crowning glory of Frances isher sawmill; Messrs . Brown, Brooks and Newton, formerly of Centralia, have cast in theirlot and erected a sawmill with a capacity of about 20,000 feet per day . These gentlemenare all practical mill men and are making a most excellent quality of lumber .

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How The Girls Kiss(a poem revised by F. Handy and T. Soule)

Editor's Note : This poem appeared in a Pacific County newspaper circa 1900 . It was written by FredHandy and Timothy Soule, young men of Frances. There is no record of how many girlfriends theymade or lost with this revision of an old poem but obviously they thought themselves experienced .Fred remained a bachelor. Timothy married Emma Patton of Lebam .

A clipping of this poem was placed in the Museum files by Victor and Ruth Habersetzer .

The Ilwaco girl bows her stately head,And fixes her stylish lids

In a firm hard way, and lets them goIn spasmodic little sips.

The Oysterville girl removeth her specs,And freezeth her lips with a smile;

And sticks out her mouth like an open book,And cheweth her gum meanwhile .

The Bay Centre girl says never a word,And you'd think she was rather tame,

With the practical views of the matter in hand,But she gets there just the same .

The South Bend girl, the pride of the world,In her elicit soleful way,

Absorbs it all with a yearnful yearnAs big as a bale of hay .

The Willapa girl gets a grin on herself,As she carefully takes off her hat,

Then she grabs up her prize in a frenzied way,Like a terrier shaking a rat .

The Lebam girl so gentle and sweet,Lets her lips meet the coming kiss,

With a raptuous warmth, and the youthful soulFloats away on a sea of bliss.

We have sung of the girls who kiss,And it sets one's brain in a whirl,

But to reach the height of earthly blissYou must kiss a Frances girl .

The closer together your lips do draw,Till they meet in a raptuous glow;

And the small boy hidden behind the fenceCries : "Gallager, let her go . "

Willapa Valley Location Map

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The Frances Silver Bandby Larry Weathers

Concerts in the park, musicales at the local "opera house", and band receptions fordignitaries at the train depot were important social events in the life of almost everyAmerican community at the turn of the century . There being an absence of such passiverecreational distractions as listening to the radio and watching television, people found timeto participate in community activities . This usually translated into performing plays, par-ticipating in community sports, or playing an instrument in a community orchestra .Frances, being a typical American town of the time, had its share of such communityorganizations .

Almost from its birth in 1893, the town of Frances had a community band . Around1895, a Mr. Brewer of Frances founded the Frances Silver Band . All of the members weremale and all had store bought uniforms. Their caps even displayed the band monogram"FSB" in front . The band performed at dances around the county, marched in parades,serenaded the community at picnics, and met politicians and others at the Northern Pacificdepot . They were tremendously popular from Chehalis to Ilwaco .

It isn't known whether Mr . Brewer died, left town, or just disbanded the group, but in1906, the Swiss friends of Ferdinand Lawrence Calouri wrote to him in Portland, Oregon,

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-Victor and Ruth Habersetzer collection, PCHS

The Frances Silver Band, circa 1898Front row: Othmar A . Custer and Mr . Marsh ; second row : C .B . Handy, Fred Handy, Tim Soule,Will Habersetzer, Joe Habersetzer ; third row : Louis Custer, Archie Handy, John Waters, LeonhardHabersetzer ; and back row : Mr . Brewer (founder of the band), Art Sloan, Cornelius Habersetzer .

of the need for a musical leader in Frances . Calouri, born and educated in Switzerland, wasthe music professor on the faculty of Columbia University (now Portland University) at thetime. After reading the letter, Calouri decided his young family of five children neededsome country air and opted to move .

Calouri took up residence in Frances in 1906 and commenced giving musical lessonsimmediately . He commuted by train between South Bend and Chehalis to teach piano, andreorganized the Frances band .

In April 1964, Agnes Calouri Lincoln, one of the daughters of Professor Calouri,wrote from her home in Portland, "When we lived in Frances, it was a lively, flourishing,small town . We had a dramatic club which (was similar to) today's "little theatre" and wehad a town hall in which we did musicals, decorating and serving refreshments . It was agood place to grow up and prepare for life in a city .

"My father played the church organ while Doris Habersetzer, my sister, a teacher nam-ed Edna Crea and I, were the choir . We did some rather pretentious things . . .1 have on mypiano a volume of music titled "In the Olympics" written by Father Victor Couverete underthe pen name of Victor C . O'Leary . The form and proper musicality of this volume wasedited by my father previous to its publication ."

When Professor Calouri returned to Portland in the 1910's, Frances was again leftwithout a bandleader but it wasn't left without music . Many of his pupils continued in infor-mal dance bands and quartets playing polkas and schottishes on special occasions .

The Fern CreekLumber Company

by Miss Ethel May Handy

Editor's Note : Frances has been the site of several logging camps and more than a dozen sawmills inits long history . The first logging camps were established in the Elk Prairie vicinity in the 1880's andthe first sawmill was probably operated by S .A. "Forney" Soule around 1890 . Among later sawmills inthe area were those operated by Brown, Brooks and Newton of Centralia, William McKeever andBrothers, the Christen Brothers, Forner and Lux, D .J . Platt, Alois Custer and Sons, and the Handy andHabersetzer Brothers. This last partnership called themselves the Fern Creek Lumber Company .

The history of the Fern Creek Lumber Company is printed here because it is somewhat typical ofthe history of sawmills in the Frances area. It was written in February 1964 by Ethel May Handy, thesister of the Handy Brothers . She was living in the family home in Portland at the time; the last of theHandy children .

Ethel May Handy was the daughter of R.D. Handy, who had moved his family to Pacific Countyfrom Point Arena, California, in 1889 . Mr . Handy built a house on the Job Bullard farm near Willapaand worked as a carpenter there, before moving his family to Frances in 1895 . Around 1902, the Han-dy family purchased the general merchandise store from J .E . Pease and during the same year boughtthe Custer Mill on Fern Creek . Ethel tells the rest of the story in her remembrances .

In 1902, Charles B . Handy, Fred A. Handy, Joseph A . Habersetzer and Cornelius J .Habersetzer purchased a small mill on Fern Creek near Frances from the Custer family(Alois Custer and sons Othmar A. and Louis) . They also bought the Custer timberholdings . They formed a partnership and called the mill the Fern Creek Lumber Company .

The lumber company also operated a shingle mill . The new owners continued to run it

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-Victor and Kuth Habersetzer collection, PCHS

Fern Creek Lumber Company, circa 1909The buildings in this picture were built after the devastating fire of 1906.

and make cedar shingles, turned porch columns and fir and cedar bevel siding .From time to time improvements were made at the mill to increase the output . Timber

claims were purchased from Peter L . Stanley, W .C. Fields, Anton Wildhaber, JosephStocker, and later a tract of timber was purchased in the upper valley from the SimpsonLumber Company of South Bend .

About 1906, the Fern Creek mill was destroyed by fire . Much of the piled lumber inthe yards was also burned . It was a considerable loss .

After the fire, the Handy Brothers (Charles, Fred and Arthur), purchased the holdingsof Joseph and Cornelius Habersetzer and began rebuilding the mill on a larger scale . W.B .Murdock was the millwright and his son Gordon worked in the office . Charles Handy wasgeneral manager and Arthur Handy was overseer . Fred Handy, who had an interest in themill opted to buy and operate a small grocery store from Albert Shore in Lebam .

The capacity of the new mill was increased by the Handy's. Circular saws were installedand improved logging methods were used . By this time steam donkey engines had been in-troduced in the woods. A short, narrow gauged railroad was also built . The small enginebrought the logs to a mill pond near the lumber company .

Cabins were built for the workers and a cookhouse was operated . Loggers and millworkers were hearty eaters and the food had to be plentiful and good .

All kinds of timber was cut and the lumber was good quality . Some of it was finishedand put through the dry kiln . All of the lumber was shipped by rail, either in box cars or onflat cars, brought to the mill on a shore spur from the Northern Pacific . It was sold to locallumber yards and in Eastern states .

The Fern Creek Lumber Company was operated until 1912 when it again caught fireand was destroyed . For the second time, thousands of dollars worth of lumber piled in the

yards was burned .After the lumber company fire, the Handys decided to dispose of all their holdings in

the upper valley. They sold their timber holdings and logged-off land, mill machinery thatcould be salvaged (the rest was sold for scrap iron), and logging equipment . The C .B . Han-dy General Merchandise Store was sold to Mr . Ingbert I . Kaasa . The Handys kept a smallinterest in it, but the name changed to the Frances Mercantile Company . Fred Handy'sLebam store had already burned to the ground in the Lebam fire of 1911 .

In 1914, after 25 years in Pacific County, the Handy family moved to Portland,Oregon .

Catholics to Hold Big Fair(from the Willapa Harbor Pilot, October 7, 1910)

Editor's Note : The Catholic faith isn't the only religion represented among the families of Frances, butfor over 80 years it has dominated the cultural landscape there . In 1910, the following article ap-peared in one of South Bend two newspapers, the Willapa Harbor Pilot.

The church debt mentioned in the article was probably incurred around 1908 when the churchwas remodelled and enlarged .

Frances, Wn ., Oct . 3 - The Catholics of this city, with the full approbation of theirdevoted pastor, Rev . Father Couverette, are preparing what promises to be the greatestsocial event held here in recent years . On November 10, 11, and 12 in the Frances operahouse, with a grand sacred concert on Sunday, November 13, the parishioners of the

Catholic church, here, are to conduct a church fair that seems destined to eclipse any heldheretofore in this parish or elsewhere in the county .

Headed by this efficient committee, the Messrs. Louis Christen, Paul Christen, JosephAmrhein, Peter Stroyzk, and O .A. Custer, the preparations for the "Fair" are rapidlyassuming the appearance of intense activity. The ladies of the parish are straining everynerve to collect an assortment of attractions that will out-rival any of their former efforts .Many booths will be heavy ladened with an array of articles that will appeal to the eye of thevisitors . The cuisine will be conducted on an elaborate scale and the most toothsomedelicacies await the patrons and visitors of the dining room . As a grand finale there is to be agrand, sacred concert on Sunday, November 13, under the direction of that eminent musi-cian, Professor Ferdinand Calouri .

The object of this great social event among the Catholics of Frances, and their non-Catholic brethren, is to liquidate the remaining debt on the beautiful church which is thepride of the county and one of the most beautifully finished edifices in the entire state .

"We are all united, believing that in union there is strength," said a member of thecommittee . "All we desire now is the support and encouragement of our friends, near andfar, and in sending this letter to the Pilot, we are sure happy results will crown our labors . . ."

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Swiss Pancakes"Eiertatsch"

a recipe from Mrs. Joe (Hermenia) Huber of Frances

1 cup flourY2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder2 cups milk

5 eggs (4 if they are large)

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder into a bowl . Add the milk, and then the eggs one at atime. Mix by hand with a wire whip . Heat 8" skillet at medium high and coat skillet withmelted butter . When the skillet is hot, pour Y3 of a cup of the batter into it, tipping skillet sothat the batter covers the bottom . When the pancake is brown, turn it and brown the otherside. This recipe makes 10 large pancakes . They can be served with sugar, syrup, jelly,jam, strawberries, applesauce or whatever is preferred . They tan also be rolled up as a jellyroll or crepe .

J%v

Rosettesa recipe from Mrs. Joe (Hedwig) Karnas of Frances

2 cups milk4 eggs

dash of salt1 teaspoon sugar

capful of Real Lemon juice2 cups flour

For this recipe you will need a deep fat fryer, rosette iron and ingredients . Pour the milk,eggs, dash of salt, sugar, Real Lemon juice into a blender . Mix to liquefy. Gradually add theflour to the mixture . If the batter is thick and bubbly, add a little more milk . If the batter is toothin or has small bubbles, add a little more flour . Set deep fat fryer at 400 degrees . Diprosette iron into batter. If the dough is heavy on the rosette iron, add a little more milk . Tapthe batter off gently before putting the rosette iron into the deep fat fryer . Brown as youwould doughnuts. (Tap grease off iron before dipping it into batter so that grease does notget into batter) .

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Frances Post OfficeEstablished May 26, 1894

Postmasters

Name

Date of Appointment

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(In 1973 Jake Kaech was transferred to Lebam as Postmaster . He posted a sign at theFrances store notifying residents that the Frances Post Office would be permanently closedas of November 23, 1973 .)

-Victor and Ruth Habersetzer collection, PCHS

Emerson Avenue, Frances, circa 1900This is a closer view of the street behind the depot on our cover. Handy's store is on the extremelefthand side . The store in the middle of the picture has a tattered poster on the side wall advertisingthe Ringling Brothers Circus in Centralia. Emerson was an executive in the company that platted thetown .

Solomon A. Soule May 26, 1894

John N . Phillips

Alfred S . Patton

September 29, 1898

July 15, 1901Charles B . Handy

Ingbert I . KaasaSeptember 25, 1908

July 8, 1914

Earl Kaasa

Zelpha Richmond

September 17, 1932

June 14, 1945

Jake Kaech, Jr . May 20, 1948

The Church o f the Holy Familyby Mrs. Victor (Ruth) Habersetzer

Editor's Note : A significant part of the social life of the early pioneers revolved around their churches .The earliest settlers in the Elk Prairie area were Protestants . Circuit riding preachers ministered to thefar-flung families of the upper Willapa River by horseback and boat . In 1886 things changedsomewhat when a number of Catholic families moved into the area above Elk Prairie . Most of thesefamilies were Swiss or German immigrants ; some newly arrived in America, others migrating fromOregon and the Midwest. It wasn't long before there were enough of them to warrant building achurch of their own . Today, the Church of the Holy Family is the only prominent landmark still stand-ing from the era when Frances was a town .

The information in this article was compiled by Ruth Habersetzer . Ruth is not a native of Francesbut there are few people living who know as much as she does about the rich personal history of thearea . Ask a resident about some aspect of their family history and they will tell you what they know,and then send you to Ruth for more.

Ruth was born in Idaho but living and working in Chehalis when she met Victor Habersetzer ofFrances, one of the grandsons of Leonhard Habersetzer . She married Victor in 1948 and moved tothe family farm in Frances with him where they raised three daughters . Having married into a pioneerfamily, and taking part in the social life, she was privy to the stories of the pioneers. There are anumber of people still living in Frances who can tell you stories about the early days but few haverecorded so much of it for us as she has.

The first Mass to be celebrated for the early Catholic settlers of what was to becomeknown as Frances, was held on the Fern Creek homestead of Alois Custer by Rev . Bar-

nabas Held, Order of the Society of Benedictines, of Mt . Angel Abbey, Oregon, in the year

1888 . The Custer, Duckwitz and Habersetzer families had recently come to the upper

valley from Mt. Angel and knew Father Held personally . After Father Held left, a series ofcircuit priests visited and celebrated Mass in the homes of parishioners in the area . Services

were held about every three months, so the priest often stayed at private homes for severaldays before moving on .

In 1892 Bishop Aegedius Junger of the Diocese of Nisqually instructed Rev . Henry

Deichman, pastor of the Aberdeen and Hoquiam churches, to visit Willapa Harbor to ac-quire land for a church . Father Deichman knew the families of the upper valley and was ableto acquire land from William and Margaretha Duckwitz .

The Duckwitz's donated one acre of land for a church and school and one acre for acemetery in 1892. The deed for the land was officially recorded at the County Courthousein South Bend on March 2, 1893 . The filing was witnessed by John Kain and WolfgangLengauer, and the deed said the land was given to the trustees of St . Joseph Church :Leonhard Habersetzer, Gregor Vetter, Alois Custer, William Duckwitz, J .M . Christen and

Joseph Guggenbickler .In 1892, the craftsmen of the community set to work and built a small but attractive 24

x 40 ft. church . Joseph M . Christen, a carpenter, and Alois Custer were probably in charge .The interior of the church was beautifully furnished with carved altars and communion rail

but there were no pews . Parishioners had to kneel on the floor for several years . Rows of

pews, a bell tower and sacristy were added later as the church was remodelled .

Father Deichman continued to visit the area until 1898 . From 1898 to 1902, the

Benedictine Fathers of St . Martins College in Olympia filled in as missionaries to the parish .

They commuted by train from Olympia .In 1899 and 1900, the oil paintings of the Holy Family over the main and side altars

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-Victor and Ruth Habersetzer collection, PCHS

Church of the Holy Family, circa 1909This picture was taken after the church was remodelled in 1908-9. The parish priest lived in the rec-tory to the right .

were donated to the church by the Christen family . They were painted by Karl Georg Kaiserof Switzerland . Karl was a cousin of Mrs . Louis Christen and a pupil of the great painterDeschwanden . New altars and jointed frames for the pictures were made by Louis Christenin 1902 on his water powered lathe . Louis also made the pews for the church .

During the same period of remodelling, the painted glass Sacred Heart windows oneither side of the main altar were made by Edward Vogel . Edward, a photographer andglass painter, was the brother of Mrs . Wolfgang (Theresa) Lengauer .

Around 1900 the trustees of St . Joseph church signed the property over to theDiocese . It was renamed Holy Family church by the Diocese because there was already aSt. Joseph church at Pe Ell, ten miles away. The Diocese also assigned one priest to serveboth parishes .

The Church of the Holy Family was dedicated by Bishop Edward John O'Dea on July17, 1904. Father Severinus Jurek, S .D.S., pastor of the Pe Ell church, was assigned tovisit the churches on Willapa Harbor between 1902 and 1907 .

In October 1907, Father Victor Couverette was made pastor of the churches in PacificCounty with his headquarters and parish house at Frances . In January 1908, FatherCouverette opened Sacred Heart parochial school in Frances with the help of the Benedic-tine Sisters . The school operated until the summer of 1914 . It was housed in a buildingdonated by the Christen family . The Christens had earlier operated the Crystal SpringsDairy and Cheese factory (incorporated in 1903) in the building .

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-Victor and Ruth Habersetzer collection, PCHS

Church of the Holy Family, circa 1904This interior view of the church was taken before the remodelling of 1908-9 . Remodelling openedup the sanctuary around the main altar and added painted glass windows on each side .

In 1908 and 1909 the church was enlarged to widen and lengthen the structure . Theremodelling allowed for the addition of new rows of pews on either side of the church, a big-ger sanctuary, sacristy and altar servers' room . This was the last major remodelling of thechurch with the exception of new outside steps and entry .

The parish house is gone now, the pastor again lives in Pe Ell and serves both com-munities, but the Church of the Holy Family is still the pride of the community .

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List of Burials inHoly Family Church Cemetery

by Larry Weathers

Editor's Note: The cemetery behind the Church of the Holy Family was originally deeded to thetrustees of St . Joseph Church by William and Margaretha Duckwitz on March 2, 1893 . The Diocesechanged the name of the church to Holy Family church around 1900 .

All burials in the cemetery were members of the Catholic faith . One did not have to be Swiss orGerman to be buried in the cemetery but they did have to be baptized Catholic . Non-Catholics madeother arrangements . Some of them, like the Wm . Wallace Campbell family, had family plots on theirfarms, others buried their dead in the Lebam church cemetery or Fern Hill in Menlo .

Epitaphs on most of the grave stones in this cemetery are written in English but a few are writtenin Swiss German. A few examples follow:

"Hier Ruht In Frieden Unser Innigst Geliehles, Kind Anna Huber, Was Wir Hoffen, Was WirFlehen, ist Ein Frohlich, Widersehen" - Here rests at peace our heartfelt sweetheart, child AnnaHuber. What we hope, what we implore, is be cheerful, goodbye.

"Hier Ruht In Gott, Marie Zumbuhl, Geb . Christen, 18 November 1858, 5 December 1916, NachGethaner Arbeit ist Gut Ruh'n, Geb. in Wolfinschissen, Switzerland"-Here rests in God, Marie Zum-buhl. Born Marie Christen, 18 November 1858, Died 5 December 1916 . After hard work, rest is good .Born in Wolfinschissen, Switzerland .

-Larry Weathers collection, PCHS

This wrought iron cross marks the grave ofAlois Kuhne, Sr ., born in Switzerland 1840,died in Frances 1920 .

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-Larry Weathers collection

This wooden cross with painted glass marksthe grave of one of the Wolfgang Lengauerchildren . The cross and glass were destroyedby vandals after this picture was taken in1978 .

"Hier Ruht Unsere Iniggehebte Mutter, Dorathea Fassbind, Geb . 15 Dez. 1854, Gest 19 Juli1919, Ruhe Sanft ." - Here rests our beautiful mother, Dorathea Fassbind . Born 15 December 1854,Died 19 July 1919, Rest quietly .

The following list of cemetery burials, row by row, was recorded in June 1982 . Several graves inthe cemetery are unmarked, or where marked by a wooden cross, the names are missing . Informationfor these graves was taken from church records . Name spellings are as found on the grave stone or asrecorded in the records . In certain instances, family names were misspelled (e.g . Notice that in row 7the "Buhlman" family had their name misspelled on Joseph's stone with two n's . In row 2, 3, and 5,the 'Kneitch" family spelled their name two different ways . In row 4 and 8, the "Camenzind" familyspelled their name as they did in Europe, and as it was spelled in America) .

Church

Holy Family Catholic Church Cemetery, 1982The cemetery is located on a hill behind the church .

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List of Burials in Holy Family Church Cemetery, Frances

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Holy Family Church Cemetery Records - June 1982

Row I Row 8Mary Strozyk Elizabeth A. Breen

Victor Habersetzer Pauline Pusieski William C . Habersetzer Hedwig TochterAndrew Konia Sophia G . Kneitch Elizabeth Habersetzer Catherine Felber

Joseph Christen Julius FelberAdolf Christen Row 4 Row 6 Infant Amrhein

Theophil L . Strozyk John AmrheinXavier F . Camenzind Anton ProsloszPeter Strozyk Robert AmrheinElisa Kaminzind Infant Leonard VetterBarbara Strozyk William GradyAlbert Kaminzind Sophia Von RotzJoseph J . Karnas Annie Grady

Anna Huber John Kain, Jr .JoAnn H . Karnas Peter SchweitzerAlbert Willie Mary KainKathrine J . Kaech Theresa SchweitzerWilliam Sweeney John Kain

Leo DuckwitzKathleen V. Sweeney Anna Kain

Row 2 Infant DuckwitzJoseph Sirtoft Andrew KainJacob Gehrman

Josephine Costi Infant Sirtoft Infant Thomas W . CavanaughAugusta Gehrman

Thomas Osark Leonard Habersetzer Inis I . McNuttMary C . Burke

Adolf Zumbuhl Rosa Habersetzer Michael MoranJoseph L . Rothlin, Jr .

Considine Saner Peter L. Habersetzer Josepha MullerAnna Rothlin

Robert Vetter Barbara K . Habersetzer Alice SniderBarbara Pfiffner

Joseph Baszczak Peter L. Stanley Fritz MuriJoseph Pfiffner

Nellie Baszczak Cornelius J . Habersetzer Mary M . ReichleJoseph Rothlin, Sr.

Walter J . Pusieski Stanislaw Kolano Joseph A . KuttelLawrence CamenzindFlorence J . Pusieski Cecilia Mary Kolano Hedy Bunschi

John Knietsh Frank S . Strozyk John KuttelRow 9

Louis Christen, Jr . Leonard A. Habersetzer Theresa KuttelAlois Kaech Anna H . Habersetzer Ludwiga FischerElise Kaech Row 7 Tobias BurkeFlorentin Rohrer Row 5 Anna Maria MandelJimmie ChristenTraci Lynn Karnas Teresa Panfilio

Maria Kuehne Lavertta A. HartmanHelen N . Karnas Serafino PanfilioAlois Kuehne, Jr . Infant RutzerJohn J . Karnas Dorathea FassbindAlois Kuehne, Sr . James Edward SweeneyLawrence E . Karnas Wm. J . HinceMarie Zumbuhl Leon Robert GuggenbicklerJoseph Guggenbickler, Jr . Alice McNallyGeorge P . Cramer Infant LengauerMargaret Guggenbickler Catherine Custer-Imfeld Theresa Lengauer SigristAnna G . Larsen Frank Knietch Frank Sigrist

John Vetter Infant LengauerRow 3 Rose Lapinsky Wolfgang LengauerJoseph Bantz Eduard Christen Lydia Von RotzThomas P . Callihan Otto A . Christen Nora W. LallyBaby Boy Zumbuhl Joseph M . Christen Marie R . MuriBaby Girl Zumbuhl Josephine Christen Joseph BuhlmannBaby Boy Zumbuhl Mary Christen Elisabeth BuhlmanMary Wrobel Louis Christen, Sr . George DuckwitzInfant Walter Paulis Joseph Fanger Louis HenslerThomas Vetter Marie Guggenbickler Capt . G .L . CouvretteKatharina Vetter Joseph Guggenbickler, Sr . Ann GaffneyMargaret Vetter Frank H . Breen Elizabeth BrennanJohn Igloski Harvey L . Breen Michael W . EganFrank J . Igloski Eleanor Guggenbickler Louis BaggenstosTed Strozyk Bernard Imfeld Katharina BaggenstosFrank J . Strozyk John Breen Louis Stadlin

The Swiss Societyby Mrs. Paul (Hedwig) Strago

Editor's Note: The Lewis-Pacific Swiss Society picnic ground is located off State Route 6 on Elk PrairieRoad. It's a beautiful setting near Frances with the Willapa River meandering through it . Alder treesabound along the river and maple trees provide shade on the grounds around the Swiss hall . The landwas donated to the society in 1930 by the families on Konrad Huber and Jake Kaech, Sr .

This article was written by Hedwig Strago, daughter of Jake Kaech, Sr ., in November 1982 . It waswritten from memory and the current minutes of the Swiss Society . Earlier records are missing .

The Lewis-Pacific Swiss Society was organized in August 1930 for the purpose ofpreserving Swiss customs and traditions . Charter officers included Jake Kaech, Sr ., presi-dent, Elizabeth Schwarzenberger, secretary, John Moseman, treasurer, and Konrad Huber,Fred Hubscher and Albert Muri, trustees .

Adjoining parcels of land for the picnic ground were donated by Konrad Huber andJake Kaech, Sr. The first Saturday in August was designated for the annual Swiss picnic andthe first one was held on August 1, 1931 . At the time, there was no electricity, runningwater or picnic facilities on the grounds so members set up make-shift picnic tables and twowood burning cook stoves near the river . The dance that night was held in an old desertedhouse at the entrance to the grounds. Kerosene lanterns provided light and a "two-holer"provided the bathroom facilities . A membership drive that day netted forty-seven (47)members and thus the club was started .

In August 1932 an open dance floor was built and again illuminated with kerosenelanterns .

In 1933, a hall was erected near the site of the present Swiss hall and electricity wasprovided . The society later acquired the grange hall from the Frances Grange . The buildingwas located across the railroad tracks from the Catholic church and had been used atvarious times by the Crystal Springs Dairy and Cheese Factory, the Sacred Heart Catholicschool, and Frances Grange No . 666. The society enlarged and remodelled the buildingand used it for certain club events .

In 1969, it was decided that instead of having two halls the society would have justone. Plans were drawn up for a spacious new hall at the picnic grounds and constructionwas made possible by donated labor and materials . The official dedication took place onOctober 3, 1970 . It was dedicated to the future generation of Swiss descendants . The oldGrange Hall building was sold .

In early 1980, a 90 ft . extension of the roof line was added to the building to accom-modate a beer garden and bowling alley . On July 4, 5, and 6, 1980, the Swiss Societycelebrated its 50th Anniversary .

Members of the Swiss Society gather several times throughout the year for differentfunctions . The Annual meeting is held in January Officers are elected and a free dinner andrefreshments are offered to all members and associate members .

The annual Schwingfest is usually held in July . This festival provides participants withan opportunity to show off their Swiss wrestling (the national sport of Switzerland) skills .Winners are judged on aggressiveness and pinning speed . The top 10 competitors areawarded oak leaf crowns that are imported from Switzerland . Competitors come fromCalifornia, Oregon, Washington and Canada .

Another Swiss tradition, usually held in September, is the bowling picnic . The lanes are

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made of cement and instead of 10 pins,there are only 9 . The contestants get threetries to build a score-twenty-seven (27)being a perfect game .

Oktoberfest is another annual affair .Girls of Swiss descent vie for the SwissMiss crown by selling buttons for theevent .

Two other events of the society arethe annual costume ball held in March andthe Summer Concert . Well-known enter-tainers perform at the concert and a danceis held in the evening .

It has taken over 50 years of coopera-tion and hard work but the Swiss Societycan now boast of having one of the mostbeautiful picnic areas in the vicinity . In1982 there were nearly 600 members onthe rolls .

-a Willapa Harbor Herald photo, courtesy of Dave Gauger1981 Swiss Miss

Dawna Camenzind of Lebam and escort PaulGwerder .

-a Willapa Harbor Herald photo, courtesy of Dave Gauger200 lb . wheel of Wisconsin Cheese

Each Oktoberfest the Blatt family of Chehalis makes arrangements to obtain, cut and sell cheese .

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First Communion Class, May 28, 1908These students of the Catholic school in Frances were taught by the Benedictine Sisters of Clyde .Missouri (Benedictine Sisters of Cottonwood, Idaho, replaced the Missouri nuns in the fall of1909) . The school operated from 1908 to 1914. The names of the children in the picture areavailable in the files of the Museum in South Bend .

-Victor and Ruth Habersetzer collection, PCHS

Community celebration at Alois Kaech's farm in 1908National holidays, barn building, birthdays, and church holy days, provided many a chance for theSwiss of Frances to gather for singing, dancing, lots of food, a little beer and a photo to com-memorate the occasion .

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-Victor and Ruth Habersetzer collection . PCHS