Medford Pioneers: Delroy Getchell

The Infamous Black Bird Southern Oregon History, Revised

Medford Pioneers: Delroy Getchell

Galion, Crawford County, Ohio

Edward Getchell, 41, born in Pennsylvania, works in railroad machine shop
Edward Getchell, son, 18, born in Massachusetts, railroad machine shop
Delroy Getchell, son, 8, born in Ohio
U.S. Census, enumerated August 19, 1870

St. Paul, Minnesota

Dell R. Getchell, 19, born in Ohio, typesetter, father born in Maine, mother Mass.
U.S. Census, enumerated June 4, 1880

A BANK IN SIGHT
D. E. Getchell Willing to Start One in Southtown.

Some progress in the movement of founding a bank on the south side was made last evening at the meeting of the South Minneapolis Commercial Club. D. E. Getchell, who runs a bank on the north side [The Standard Bank], stated that he was willing to open a bank provided he had assurances of ample support from the business men. A committee consisting of J. D. Holtzerman, P. E. Olson, W. E. Atkins, E. Miller and Julius H. Shaw was appointed to confer with Mr. Getchell and also to ascertain the sentiments of the residents of Southtown.
Minneapolis Journal, January 7, 1898, page 7

227 North Oakdale, Medford, Oregon

Delroy Getchell, 41, born in Minnesota, parents born in Wisconsin
Allancia M. Getchell, 30, wife, born in Minnesota, parents born in Minnesota
Bayard M. Getchell, 1, born in Oregon
U.S. Census, enumerated May 5, 1910

DELROY GETCHELL IS PRAISED BY MAGAZINE

Delroy Getchell, who recently took the presidency of the Farmers and Fruitgrowers' Bank to succeed Geo. Davis, has the following complimentary notice in the Pacific Banker, the well-known financial magazine of the Northwest.
Delroy Getchell, who has bought a substantial interest in and succeeded to the presidency of the Farmers & Fruitgrowers' Bank of Medford, is an old-time Minnesota banker, having carried his bank in that state successfully through the trying days of 1893. For about eighteen years Mr. Getchell was a Minneapolis banker and incidentally was the first man in the banking business that Emery Olmstead, now manager of the Portland Trust Company, ever worked for, the latter remaining with him for six years. And there has been a close bond of friendship between them ever since. Mr. Getchell came out to the Rogue River Valley as a retired capitalist and because he liked the climate. But, like the warhorse of the scripture, he snuffed the banking business from afar until, upon a proper showing, he has succumbed to the real thing once more. Mr. Getchell is a public-spirited citizen and a genuine booster for Medford and the Rogue River Valley. Come on, you effete East, and send us more men like Mr. Getchell.

Medford Sun, April 30, 1912, page 6

Delroy Getchell--A nation cannot rise above its source. Votes for women would elevate the source, if women brought their minds to bear upon the problems of the country.
"What Medford Men Think About Suffrage for Women," Medford Mail Tribune, May 11, 1912, page 8

1121 South Oakdale, Medford, Oregon

Delroy Getchell, 55, born in Ohio, parents born in U.S.
Alice Getchell, 36, wife, born in Minnesota, father born in Maine, mother Mass.
Bayard Getchell, 10, born in Oregon
Valerie Getchell, 4 years 3 months, born in Oregon
U.S. Census, enumerated January 12, 1920

An attempt was made last night to enter several other houses in the south end of town, among them having been Delroy Getchell's home. When Mr. Getchell arose this morning he found a window halfway open, and it is supposed that thieves had made an attempt to enter. However, Mr. Getchell did not go to bed until late, and it is expected that the thieves were frightened away by his presence.

"Two Prominent Citizens Victims House Breakers," Medford Mail Tribune, April 28, 1922, page 6

TWO PROMINENT MEDFORDITES IN FISTIC ARGUMENT

    Sporting circles in Medford were all agog today over an impromptu rough-and-tumble engagement on the second floor of the Medford National Bank building yesterday afternoon, between Delroy Getchell, president of the Farmers & Fruitgrowers' Bank, and Dr. E. H. French, local representative of the state society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
    The precise cause of the encounter is unknown, and probably will remain so, for explanations of friends of the two combatants differ, both sides claiming the other side the aggressor. It was about 3:30 o'clock when a great noise was heard in the corridor of the building, which was first interpreted as an unsuccessful effort to throw a piano down the front stairs. As the noise continued, attorney George Roberts emerged from his office to investigate and found Messrs. Getchell and French locked in each other's embrace in what is described as the doctor's corner. According to report the well-known banker was employing his most effective golf swing upon the humane officer's lateral bicuspid, while the doctor was uppercutting savagely and employing the most approved ring tactics of that country from which he takes his name.
    "For shame gentlemen," Mr. Roberts cried, "Break and return to your corners. You are both too old for such strenuous exercise."
    "Wait till I finish this round," was the banker's rejoinder; "I am now four up on Colonel Bogey."
    "Let him come on if he dares," shouted the belligerent medico, taking out a penknife and carefully manicuring one finger to show his sang froid, "I shall never falter in the fight for liberty and prevention of cruelty!"
    Attorney Roberts, however, as usual, carried all before him in the force of his legal argument, and before Medford's afternoon policeman had seen the red light, ordered on by an alarmed tenant, the battle of high finance was over.
    The result of the engagement, pugilistically, remains in doubt, and may always be a bone of contention in local sporting circles. Some claim the banker had all the best of it, particularly in his long game, while others say the doctor should get the cut glass nut bowl for his superb in-fighting. Meanwhile Doc Bowers of Gold Hill has telephoned from the cement center that he hopes neither combatant will make any contracts until he sees them. This afternoon it was reported peace had been declared, and a protocol of amity signed, with everything forgotten and forgiven--for the present.

Medford Mail Tribune, March 26, 1925, page 8

D. GETCHELL ASKS IF MENTAL INJURY WAS PERMANENT

    A motion was filed in the circuit court Wednesday by Delroy Getchell, banker, and defendant in the $10,000 personal injury damage suit filed by Dr. E. H. French, county humane officer, asking for an order compelling Dr. French "to set out with particularity" the nature and extent of the permanent injuries and "mental sufferings" French alleges he has sustained as a result of a physical encounter in the hallway of the Medford National Bank building on March 29th.
    A memorandum to the motion says:
    "The defendant believes he is entitled to have complainant recite what these injuries are of which plaintiff complains, and state whether the alleged permanent injuries are physical or mental, and the extent thereof," in order to prepare "a proper defense."
    The motion proper asks that the plaintiff be ordered "to set out with particularity the permanent injuries of which he complains in paragraph three of his complaint."
    "And the defendant further moves the court for an order requiring the plaintiff to set out with particularity the mental suffering, if any, of which he now complains in said paragraph three, and what the character of said mental suffering is, and whether or not it is of a permanent character."
    Newbury and Newbury appear as counsel for the defendant and George A. Mansfield as attorney for the plaintiff.

Medford Mail Tribune, April 16, 1925, page 3

The Airport of the Siskiyous

O, sleeper, when your eyelids lift,
    But daydreams yet around you drift,
And you would travel far and wide,
    Where health and beauty fondly bide,
If on the western trail you go,
    The town of towns you then should know,
The Airport of the Siskiyous,
    Within the vale of mountain views,
Where balmy breezes gently blow,
    And all the year the rivers flow;
Where progress rules and business thrives,
    And thousands live their outdoor lives,
Between the Caves and Crater Lake,
    Where marvels on the vision break,
Yet learning beckons boy and girl,
    And art appeals amid the whirl.

But yesterday a frontier land,
    Yet now in power so nobly planned,
That ere a single season goes,
    Some greater function freely flows,
Where deeds of courage thrill the heart,
    And leaders live in sport and art;
Where spirit governs more than gold,
   And many worthy dreams unfold,
While science comes, in thought profound,
    And guards the health-promoting ground,
As mountain air and water pure
    And kindly clime good health ensure;
Where time its cooling mark has left,
    And earth no more by quake is cleft;
Where life is safe and free of shock,
    And only Time its aim may mock.

Here music broods and issues forth
    And brings to life the things of worth,
As dreams and duty gladly meet,
    And purpose moves with certain feet,
While through the miles of fruitful bloom
   The air is filled by faint perfume,
And in the vistas of the blue
    You find the purple tinting through.
Ah, yes, when on the trail you go,
    The town of Medford you should know,
Within the vale so fair and wide,
    Between the peaks that long abide;
Where in the groves or on the links,
    Or by the crystal water brinks,
Or on the shining mountain peaks,
    The grandeur of the open speaks.

--Delroy Getchell

Medford Mail Tribune, October 2, 1929, page B1

Hard Times?--Local Folk Remember Real Hardships

    Grasshoppers flying, flying. The sun obscured by their wings for several days. All crops eaten up. Those were hard times when Delroy Getchell, president of the Farmers' and Fruitgrowers' Bank, was a little boy back in Minnesota.
    "The state of Minnesota repudiated; couldn't pay its obligations. Times aren't hard now!" Mr. Getchell exclaimed, when interviewed yesterday. "There's plenty of money in the banks, plenty in reserve. The only trouble is, people are waiting for a lower level to start building, spending it.
    "If people would spend money on things they need, things that should be done, the so-called depression would he broken in 30 days. Times aren't hard now. People just think they are.
    "Why, when I was a little boy, they killed the grasshoppers. New crops grew and the state of Minnesota carried on. Then came a cyclone--a real one, too. It killed 68 people, injured many and swept the Mississippi River dry between St. Cloud and Salt Rapids. Times were really hard then."
    They were also hard when Mrs L. O. Caster's father, T. B. Ellison, came here from Missouri with 25 cents in his pocket and five children to feed. "But he didn't complain about it," Mrs. Caster, in from Eagle Point to shop, told friends yesterday. "He had traded for a place near the 401 Ranch. What we didn't have we went without. Put up our own meat, raised cane, made sorghum, butter and bread. We didn't have any spending money and didn't go any place to spend it."
    "Those were the days when women wore red flannels and black corsets," C. I. Hutchison, local merchant, contributed. "They didn't spend 25 cents then where they spend dollars today. Had they gone in for any luxuries their troubles would have been mountains, where we have molehills. It is all a state of mind."
Medford Mail Tribune, October 14, 1931, page 1

Only Brother of Mrs. Getchell Is Taken by Death

Mrs. Delroy Getchell has received |word of the death of her only brother, Thomas Shephard McClure, at San Antonio, Texas. Editorials
from the eastern press state that "The death of Mr. McClure, the last of three brothers, is the passing of the last of the male members of one of the most notable of the pioneer families of Minnesota, who belonged to that small group of New England people who laid the foundations of the state.
"Half a century ago the firm of Clarke, Waite and McClure, of which Thomas McClure was the senior partner, was not only the largest business firm of central and northern Minnesota, but the members were a power in politics and leaders in the social history of the state as well."
Medford Mail Tribune, June 19, 1932, page 10

GETCHELL PLACES FATE OF CITY IN HANDS OF WOMEN

    Placing the future fate of Medford in the hands of the women, Delroy
Getchell, president of the Farmers' and Fruit Growers' bank, in an interview yesterday afternoon, advised the feminine ranks to mobilize for their campaign for promotion of the pear and the tomato.
    Medford's future prosperity, he stated, depends upon convincing the world that the pear is a food instead of a luxury (or both) and the tomato one of the most healthful foods available. And southern Oregon tomatoes the best on the market.
    This can be done by the women, he added, citing their previous activities as proof, placing particular emphasis upon the food conservation program, now under way under the leadership of Mrs, A. E. Reames, chairman of the women's division of the Jackson County Unemployment Relief Council.
    "Arthur Brisbane has said," Mgr. Getchell declared, "that the city of Los Angeles and suburbs, during the life time of people now living, will have a population of ten million. Portions of the population will spread into southern Oregon and there is no reason why the same period should not see the City of Medford one of the most important on the coast."
    In answer to claims that there is no need and no work for more people here, Mr. Getchell said, "As soon as the products are properly presented to the world there will be something for everyone to do Count Connaro, the celebrated Italian, was given up to die at the age of 44 years. He methodically and persistently examined foods and their qualities. At the age of 82 he wrote his book entitled the 'Art of Long Living.' At the age of 92 he revised the edition, and he died at the age of 102."
    Possibilities for promotion of health and happiness through the eating of pears and tomatoes were stressed by Mr. Getchell in statements to the effect that diabetics, who are forbidden sugar, are allowed to eat pears and in them find the sugar that is needed by human beings. The tomato, he stated, is also considered wonderful food for people, suffering from diabetes.
    "The pear," he concluded, "contains more food value for the price than any other fruit."
Medford Mail Tribune, August 14, 1932, page 3

Mrs. Getchell Honored As Poet of Minnesota

    Word has just reached Medford that one of its residents, Mrs. Delroy Getchell, has received a signal honor in the recognition by the National League of American Pen Women and the Minnesota state branch, through the inclusion of her poetry in "Minnesota Poets, an Anthology of Verse," compiled and edited by Mrs. Maude C. Schilplin of Minneapolis, vice-president of the national league and president of the Minnesota branch.
    The book is the first anthology of Minnesota poets and is also a history of poetic literature of the state of Minnesota. Containing the work of more than 80 writers and more than 200 poems, the volume is said to be not only a book for Minnesotans, but a book for all lovers of poetry wherever they may live.
    The anthology differs from the usual collection of poetry in that it includes biographical sketches of each author, the sketch concerning Mrs. Getchell being as follows:
    "Alice McClure Getchell is the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. McClure, one of the most prominent of the pioneer families of Minnesota. She was salutatorian of her class when she was graduated from St. Mary's Hall, Faribault. Later she went to the Anne Brown school in New York City to study music, art and literature.
    "After her marriage in 1908 to Delroy Getchell, banker of Minneapolis, Mr. and Mrs. Getchell established their home at Medford, Oregon. While a member of the literature division of the Department of Fine Arts of the Oregon Federation of Women's Clubs, she prepared the only complete bibliography of Oregon Indian myths. It has since been distributed by the Oregon State Library.
    "Mrs. Getchell began to write poetry in 1922, after a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hergesheimer, at which time Mr. Hergesheimer turned to her and said, 'You should write.' Mrs. Getchell's two poems, 'Ode to Multnomah Falls' and 'Crater Lake' were chosen from hundreds of poems by Fred H. Kiser, foremost scenic photographer of the Pacific Coast, as 'the most beautiful descriptive poems' of those scenic wonders. Mrs. Getchell, with her family, lives at 1121 South Oakdale Avenue, Medford, Oregon."
    Many gifted poets, once residents of Minnesota and now passed on, are included in the state anthology. Among them is Hazel Hall of St. Paul, who moved to Portland, Oregon and died in 1924.
    Kenneth Rand, also included, known for his achievements in verse as "the modern Poe," wrote the beautiful poem, "Limited Service Only" which was found in his pocket after his death from influenza during the war. Chester Firkins, younger member of the famous Firkins family of the University of Minnesota, is represented by a group of poems, while William C. Edgar, well known editor of The Bellman, is represented by his exquisite verses, "Absent" and "The Flag in Belgium." Arthur Upson, best known as a great pioneer in Minnesota poetry, is included in the anthology by "Attar of Roses" and many others from his two volumes of verse.
    Martha Ostenso, Meridel Le Sueur and Darrach Aldrich, famous writers residing now in Minnesota, are contributors to the anthology, as well as poets from the Minnesota League of Poets, including Marie d'Autremont Gery, president; Irl Morse, editor of Better Verse; Clara Clausen, chairman of the state poetry division and Robert Cary, St. Paul's noted poet.
    Margarette Ball Dickson, represented in nearly every anthology in the country, is included with "Night on the Dunes," while Hazel Barrington Selby and Carol Ryrie Brink, winners of national poetry prizes, are two others represented. Many of the authors are young and are outstanding in their achievements, as Austin Faricy of St. Paul, a Rhodes scholar and famous for his sonnet sequences.
    For all who are interested in Minnesota literature (and many former Minnesotans live in Medford) and all who like poetry, the anthology should be fascinating. It is the first book of its kind in that state.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 9, 1934, page 3

GETCHELL, DELROY
Banker
b. Galion, Ohio, Oct. 27, 1862; son of Edwin S. and Mary Ellen (Smith) G.; educ., public schools, Ohio; apprentice, printer's trade. Married Alice Clark McClure, St. Cloud, Minn., June 30, 1908; one son, one daughter. Employ, Todd County Argus, Long Prairie, Minn., 1878-80; Pioneer Press, St. Paul, 1880-83; Brainerd, (Minn.) Tribune; Argus, 1883-86; reporter, associate editor, Valley City, North Dakota Times, 1886; Minneapolis Tribune and Minneapolis Journal, 1887. An organizer, Minnesota Standard Bank, cashier; an organizer, Minnesota Credit and Mortgage Company, secretary, 1887. Former vice president and manager, Peoples Bank, Minneapolis, until 1901; resident, Los Angeles, California, 190-11 [sic]. President, Farmers and Fruit Growers Bank, Medford, Ore., for many years. Former president, Minneapolis Typographical Union. Member, Elks. Republican. Home: 1121 S. Oakdale Street. Office: 204 W. Main Street, Medford, Ore.
Capitol's Who's Who for Oregon 1936-37, page 214

GETCHELL REVIEWS 30 YEARS IN CITY;

NEED COAST ROAD

    Thirty years ago, when he first came to Medford, Delroy Getchell said that what the city needed most for rapid progress was a direct highway to the coast. He made that statement in an interview with Robert W. Ruhl, then a reporter for the old Sun, now editor of the Mail Tribune.
    Yesterday, in an interview with the Mail Tribune on the 30th anniversary of his arrival in Medford, Mr. Getchell declared that what the city needed was a direct highway to the coast. Provisions should be made for constructing the highway by an annual budget a section of the roadway to be built each year, Mr. Getchell suggested.
    Two other needs were seen for Medford by Mr. Getchell: (1) a military school for girls and (2) a finishing school for girls.
    It was 30 years ago last Friday, January 20, 1909, that Mr. Getchell and his wife arrived here from Minneapolis, Minn. He had been in the banking business for 18 years in Minneapolis and had decided to find an ideal place to live. Before starting in search of his dream of a place to live, Mr. Getchell had visited numerous cities and read about many others, paying especial attention to weather conditions.
    When they left Minneapolis, however, Mr. and Mrs. Getchell had no idea of coming to Medford. In fact, they had bought railroad tickets to Los Angeles. Medford, however, was finally chosen deliberately, Mr. Getchell emphasized.
    When the train stopped at Grants Pass, Mr. and Mrs. Getchell were favorably impressed by the scenery and especially the climate, Mr. Getchell recalled yesterday.
    "Everything looked pleasant, delightful, from our car window, and so we procured a stopover at Medford," said Mr. Getchell, now known as the "banker-poet." (He is head of the Farmers & Fruitgrowers Bank and writes poetry for the pleasure of it.)
    "When we got off the train, there was a thin veil of snow on the ground, and spring violets were peeping through. It was a lovely day--the sun was shining and there was no wind. We stopped at the Nash Hotel and procured one of its two bathrooms.
    "At that time the only paved street in Medford extended from Kentner's store at the corner now occupied by Luman Brothers to the old Washington School, where the courthouse stands now. At the end of the pavement near the school there was a large mudhole, and farmers coming to town in their wagons would often dump rocks into it so they could get over it.
    "From the school corner north on Oakdale Avenue was a strip of concrete sidewalk that extended to Fourth Street. There was only one vacant house in town, a cottage on North Oakdale which is now occupied by the C. C. Lemmon family. I bought that bungalow, and we moved into it three days before our son Bayard was born.
    "I cashed in our railroad tickets to Los Angeles, and we have been here ever since."
    Noting the change in conditions, Mr. Getchell said: "Now we have over 21 miles of well-paved streets and many fine roads through beautiful surrounding country well watered by rivers and lakes."
    It was not so in the early days of Mr. Getchell's residence here however. He recalled that when he bought the North Oakdale cottage a four-horse team and wagon were stuck in a mud puddle in front it. Going to the east side of town to look around to see whether he had made a poor buy, Mr. Getchell saw another four-horse team and wagon stuck in a mudhole just the other side of Bear Creek, he remembered.
    "In those days I attended all the meetings and dinners and whooped it up for a new water supply," Mr. Getchell said. "The city was then getting its water from Bear Creek. Finally Fish Lake dam was built. Then the water, because vegetation had been killed by backwash, became unpleasant in taste and smell, though it was not harmful. It became necessary to get a new source, and after years of effort and agitation the city built the present system to the Big Butte Spring. Our water now is the purest in the world."
    Upon his arrival here, Medford had about 3000 inhabitants. There was much planting of fruit trees, he recalled, and decorative trees had been planted in [the] city park by James P. Hansen, whose son, William P. Hansen, now operates the Hansen Hardware Company.
    There was much mining interest here then, also, and when he arrived there was excitement over the Blue Ledge mine and the prospects of building the Great Northern Railroad through here to the coast, Mr. Getchell related.
    "We have never regretted that we did not go on to Los Angeles," Mr. Getchell said in reply to a question. "We have a finer climate for active men than Los Angeles has. I know, for I spent seven winters and one summer in Los Angeles after I had retired from banking in Minneapolis. We wanted to be where grass grew and rivers ran. From my personal experiences, conversations with travelers and study, I can say that this is the finest place in the world to live."
\Medford Mail Tribune, January 22, 1939, page 3

DEATH COMES TO DELROY GETCHELL,
BELOVED BANKER
Varied Career of Local Resident Closed--Resident Here for 30 Years

The Farmers and Fruitgrowers Bank will be closed all day Monday in respect to the memory of Delroy Getchell, president of the institution.

----

Death early Saturday morning closed the long and active career of Delroy Getchell, president of the Farmers and Fruitgrowers Bank since 1912, and one of Medford's best known and most public-spirited citizens. Mr. Getchell succumbed to pneumonia after only a few days' illness.
He was born October 27, 1861 in Galion, Ohio, the son of Edwin and Mary Ellen (Smith) Getchell. His mother died when he was four years old. At the age of 13, while away at school, he learned his father had suffered financial reverses and young Getchell insisted upon returning home and going to work to help his father recoup his fortune.

Was Newspaper Man

    Mr. Getchell first engaged in the newspaper business in Cincinnati, Ohio, training himself through extensive reading for a journalistic career. At the age of 20 he was president of the Minneapolis Typographical Union, and for distinguished service to this organization was presented, upon retirement from office, with a gold-headed cane inscribed "Sans Luche, Sans Peur et Sans Reproche." [French for "without luche, without fear and beyond reproach." "Luche" must be a typo for "lucre."]
    His newspaper experience included experience as reporter and associate editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minneapolis Tribune and Minneapolis Journal. Eye trouble, resulting from several hours in the icy waters of a Minnesota lake when a launch capsized, forced abandonment of his newspaper career.
    Next, becoming interested in lumbering, he engaged in the wholesale branch of that industry for about two years, developing a remarkable faculty for judging land values. This ability brought opportunity to enter the banking business in Minneapolis, where his rise was rapid. He organized the Standard Bank of Minneapolis, and later the People's Bank, of which he was vice-president and manager. He was also vice-president of the Merchants Bank of St. Cloud, Minn.

Health Forced Change

    Later he consolidated his banking interests with others, forming the Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis, which developed into the great Northwest Bancorporation, with branches extending to the Pacific coast, and of which his lifelong friend, E. W. Decker, became president.
    In 1905, Mr. Getchell, advised by his physician and friend, Dr. G. G. Eitel, to seek a milder climate, began spending part of each winter in Los Angeles. In Pasadena he met Miss Alice McClure, who was spending a vacation there from school in New York, and the resulting romance was culminated by their marriage in 1908.
    They decided to establish a home in Pasadena, and while en route there from the East in 1909 Mr. and Mrs. Getchell stopped off in Medford to make an investment and were persuaded to take up their residence here.

Cited for Service

    Mr. Getchell was prevailed upon to take over the Farmers and Fruitgrowers Bank, assuming the presidency. Earlier successes in banking, which saw him, the youngest bank president in Minneapolis, guide two institutions of that city through the panic of 1893-5 when fourteen others closed their doors, were repeated here. Mr. Getchell took great pride in the fact that during the World War, his bank bought more Liberty Bonds per capita than any other bank in the United States. For his patriotic efforts in this instance he received a medal from the government.
    Always thoughtful of the welfare of his bank patrons and members of his staff, his wise counsel and sympathetic interest were outstanding factors in his business career.
    He loved books and was probably one of the best-read men of the valley, his preference running to history and Shakespeare. Mr. Getchell achieved a measure of literary distinction, chiefly in poetry, a gift inherited from his mother. He was widely known as the "Banker Poet," a title affectionately bestowed by Arthur Perry, Mail Tribune columnist.

Survivors Live Here

    Besides his widow, Mr. Getchell is survived by a son, Bayard M. Getchell, a daughter, Valerie Gloria Getchell, and two grandchildren, Philip Armour and Ruth Diana Getchell, all of whom reside here.
    Father William B. Hamilton, of Yreka, Cal., former rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church here, and longtime friend of the deceased, will officiate at funeral services to be held Monday at 2 p.m. at the Getchell residence, 1121 South Oakdale Avenue. Friends are invited to attend.
    The Elks Lodge, of which Mr. Getchell had been a prominent member for many years, will conduct services at the graveside in Siskiyou Memorial Park.
    Active pallbearers will be W. A. Gates, Fred Erickson, H. S. Deuel, George Porter, Fletcher Fish and George A. Codding.
    Honorary pallbearers: Dr. F. G. Thayer, Dr. J. C. Hayes, J. A. Perry, C. E. Gates, T. G. Bradley, W. J. Looker, Arthur Perry, E. C. Ferguson, Reginald Parsons, Lee Watson, Diamond Flynn, Dr. R. E. Green, F. E. Wahl, James Owen, Frank C. Clark, H. N. Butler, Laurence D. Brass, J. V. Watson, Otto Jeldness and John Denison.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 19, 1939, page 1

Delroy Getchell Dies in Oregon at Age of 79

Delroy Getchell of Medford, Ore., pioneer North Dakota editor, died at his Medford home Friday, Nov. 17, of pneumonia. He was 79 years old and was president of the Medford Farmers and Fruitgrowers Bank at the time.
A native of Galion, Ohio, Mr. Getchell came west as a young man and worked on Minneapolis, St. Paul and Valley City newspapers. He was a poet of considerable repute.
Bismarck Tribune, November 27, 1939, page 1

Last revised August 9, 2024