1917

Hollister Daniels's wife, Ethel Ralston, was born in 1903 and grew up in Oregon. Much of her childhood was spent in Lane County, in Eugene and Springfield. She was the second child of Ernest and Lottie Ralston. She had four younger siblings--Lois, Bill, Lela, and Virginia--as well as an infant brother who died.

But she also had on older brother, Elward Carlyle Ralston. Elward was born June 27, 1900 in the Salem area. In this photo, taken about 1905, Elward is on the left. The baby is Ethel.

A later photo, taken about 1910, shows that he would grow to be a good looking young man.

But in 1917, tragedy struck the Ralston family. On June 25, 1917, Elward, just days from turning 17 years old, drowned in the Willamette River near Seavy's ferry.

The Springfield News article was on the front page of the newspaper.

"Elward Ralston, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest C. Ralston of Douglas Gardens* was drowned in the Willamette River . . . last evening at 5:30. . . . Young Ralston was a good swimmer and was very fond of the sport. Yesterday afternoon he in company with Lorris McBee was just above the ferry and he said he could swim across. The water was swift and Lorris warned him not to attempt it but he jumped in and when nearly across the swift current took him under and that was the last that was seen of him. . . .

"The accident was at once reported to the family and neighborhood searching parties worked until a late hour without results. This morning the work was resumed and a party including some members of the Coast Artillery Corps went from Springfield to assist in the work. The body was found about 8:30 this morning."

The funeral was held two days after he died and the headline in the newspaper after that was "Boy Buried With Military Honors."

After the services in the chapel, Elward was taken to Mt. Vernon Cemetery**. The newspaper tells us that

"the Coast Artillery [was in] charge of the last rites. The body was lowered into the grave and three volleys were fired over it. After which taps were sounded and Reverend Jensen read the burial services."

Elward Ralston was a member of the Third Company Coast Artillery Corps. The United States had declared war on Germany only two months before. It's possible that Elward would have joined the fighting forces the following year when the United States sent large numbers into Europe.

A newspaper clipping, undated and yellowed with age, survives in the family "trunk."

E.C. Ralston, a senior at Springfield High School, had a poem published in the newspaper.

Ethel was 14 years old when Elward drowned and she became the oldest of the children. Lois was ten, Bill was seven, and Lela was four years old. The youngest sister, Virginia, was born five years after Elward died.

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*Douglas Gardens was a Springfield neighborhood and the easiest way to place it is to use the current Springfield School District map. There is a Douglas Gardens Elementary School, as well as a Mount Vernon Elementary.

** I have walked all through the Mount Vernon cemetery and cannot find a headstone for Elward. It's possible I missed it, but it's also possible that the expense was too great for the Ralstons.