The Dalles Community Advantage Magazine June 2024

THE DALLES

INCLUDES DUFUR & TYGH VALLEY

Vote of Confidence

High-quality work and satisfied customers

By Patti Jo Brooks, Contributing Writer

Photos by Henry Schifter

AAffordable Floors Abbey Carpet knows floors from one end of the room to the other because that’s all they do! Offering the best possible prices, on-site design professionals, complimentary in-home consultation and free estimates, as well as professional installation, they have it all covered. Featured products include Infinity and PetDefense carpet with the best stain resistance and softest construction on the market today and all exclusive carpet brands are manufactured in the U.S.A. Add a 60 Day Guarantee and Lifetime Warranty along with an exclusive distributorship for Bona floor products and you have no reason to shop elsewhere.

ffordable Floors Abbey Carpet won the Best Floor Covering Shop in the Columbia River Gorge for 2023. And this special honor is voted by the community and Affordable Floors takes great pride in this recognition by its patrons. The Best of the Gorge contest, presented by Bicoastal Media Radio, highlights the best local businesses and services within the Columbia River Gorge region as valued by the community.

A local Hood River business since 1992, Affordable Floors teamed up in 2002 with Abbey Carpet & Floors to expand their purchasing power nationwide. After 25 years of operation on 13th Street, the business moved to its current location on Osprey Drive which provided ample space to build a new luxury showroom. “Everybody who walks in is just in awe of the showroom,” says owner Larry Williams. “It’s eye-popping.” Supplying both residential and commercial flooring, Affordable Floors Abbey Carpet offers customers the best and largest selection of carpet, hardwood, laminate, vinyl and tile in a friendly, comfortable and helpful atmosphere. “Come see the latest and newest in floor covering designs,” says Larry, noting that there’s always something new coming in.

“We’ve had a super awesome year!” Larry expresses. A hands-on owner, he still mans the showroom, takes orders, does measuring and completes installations. Jim Hart, who’s been with Larry for over 30 years, and the very skilled Frankie Alvarez, are currently fulltime installers for the company. Larry’s niece, Shelby, is the office manager and helps Larry handle the sales front!

Growing up in Hood River, Larry returned home from college to raise three sons with his wife of 38 years and is blessed with three granddaughters as well. When it comes time for Larry to retire, his hope is to pass along the business to a family member or close friend who will honor the personal owner/seller relationship that customers have come to trust and appreciate from Affordable Floors and Abbey Carpet & Floors. Stop by Affordable Floors Abbey Carpet Showroom at 1512 Osprey Dr., Unit B in Hood River. Give them a call at (541) 386-7799 or email floors@gorge.net. For additional information or to use the room visualizer, visit their website at hoodriver.buyabbey.com.

Shrimp It Up!

Salmon and steelhead bait for summer

By Lucas Holmgren, Contributing Writer

Cured coonstripe shrimp have not been popularly used as a fishing bait until somewhat recently, but they have changed the game for salmon and steelhead anglers. For the bait world, there are pros and cons to the options out there. Eggs are one of the best, but dialing in a cure can sometimes be an unending task, not to mention the mess and their tendency to fall off the hook. Sand shrimp

and Willamette River salmon and steelhead!

A specific kind of shrimp, coonstripe shrimp, is a popular and extremely effective bait for a handful of reasons: higher durability than sand shrimp; consistent color retention; can be refrigerated and re-fished; and effective on catching salmon and steelhead.

About Coonstripe Shrimp

Coonstripe shrimp are a pandalid shrimp with a long, spiny rostrum that protrudes forward from their eyes and carapace. They are the second largest shrimp in Alaskan waters, typically ranging between 3 and 6 inches in length. They can be distinguished from other similar shrimp (like spot shrimp) through the darker striped markings on their abdomens. They have a heavier, more robust appearance that is arched more than other Alaskan shrimp.

Taking Care of Coon Shrimp

Some anglers cure their own shrimp. Addicted Fishing has a cure that I

brand of choice is Washington Coon Shrimp by RiverCity Fishing Products. These shrimp are selected from the boat to the jar using gloves, never having touched human hands. Special care is taken to keep the tails and antennae intact. Subpar shrimp are thrown out so that every shrimp in the jar is fishable. Millennial Bait Co. Coon Shrimp are also an effective cure that I especially like for sockeye, but it works well for all species. Be careful not to shake your shrimp jar or turn it upside down. Keeping them intact is key.

To Scent or Not to Scent

Commercial cures don’t require scent and often are effective as is, but if other anglers are using the same or similar bait downriver from you, it’s a good idea to add scent.

Coon Shrimp Success

If you’re unsure of the coon shrimp you have available, try to bring two different cures and a few scents to play with. Some days, the fish will respond to a certain scent and others they won’t. Ultimately, the fish need to be there, but coonstripe shrimp are a great way to target them.

Steelhead

Sockeye salmon

Cured coon shrimp

Pioneering Legacy

Linn County’s first Black resident

By Oregon Black Pioneers

The first Black resident of Linn County, Oregon was a woman then known only as Cora Ann. She was born into slavery in Virginia between 1822 and 1833, and by 1837 was living in New Orleans, where she was purchased by 32-year-old Emeline Carey Sellick. In 1850, Emeline and Cora moved to Missouri, where Emeline married Samuel Johnson. That same year, the couple moved to Oregon, and Cora traveled with them on the Oregon Trail as an enslaved overland pioneer.

When the Johnson party reached Oregon in the fall of 1850, Cora became one of just 55 Black people in the Oregon Territory. African Americans – free or enslaved – had been legally barred from coming to Oregon since 1849. However, legislation targeting Black people often went unenforced within Oregon’s disparate farming communities. This allowed a handful of Black Americans to remain in Oregon despite their legal exclusion, but it also allowed slavery to continue long after the practice was prohibited. Oregon’s Supreme Court outlawed slavery in 1853; Cora, however, would continue to be held as Emeline’s slave until the 1860s.

Samuel Johnson claimed a 640 acre homestead near Brownsville in Linn County, and built a home which he and his wife shared with Cora. The Johnsons had no children. Samuel Johnson drowned in the Calapooia River in January 1858, leaving Emeline and Cora alone.

In December 1858, Cora married John Cox, a Black farm laborer. Theirs is the earliest recorded marriage of two Black people in Oregon. John Cox worked for Jefferson Huff, a white widowed father of two from Tennessee who was likely John’s former owner. Two months later, Emeline and Jefferson Huff were married, and all began sharing the same home.

Cora and John had a daughter named Adeline in 1860. In that year’s census, Cora and Adeline were listed as slaves, while John was listed as free. A second daughter, Angeline, was born in 1864. Cora was emancipated in or before 1864 as well. That year, Emeline sold her “former servant” Cora 36.3 acres of land from her homestead with Samuel Johnson for just $10.00, in recognition of “faithful services rendered.” This purchase made Cora one of the earliest Black landowners

in Oregon history. John Cox built a home for his family on this land that same year.

Cora remained close to Emeline even after receiving her freedom. In 1866, Cora testified in Emeline’s divorce trial against Jefferson Huff. The testimony of a Black woman was extremely rare in 19th century Oregon.

Cora was well known throughout the Willamette Valley; she and her husband were affectionately called “Aunt Cora” and “Uncle John” by their friends and neighbors. She was wellconnected within the region’s small Black community. Cora attended Oregon’s earliest-known Emancipation Day celebration in Salem in 1867, alongside fellow Black pioneers like Ben Johnson and Amanda Gardner.

John Cox died in 1875, but Cora remained in her home until 1886. She sold the house and land that year for $600 and moved to Brownsville. Cora lived comfortably from the sale of her property for the rest of her life. Sources say Cora even made a monetary gift to Willamette University Women’s College in her will. Cora Cox passed away in 1892. The house she lived in from 1864-1886 still stands today, making it one of Oregon’s oldest homes.

Oregon Black Pioneers is Oregon’s only historical society dedicated to preserving and presenting the experiences of African Americans statewide. To learn more, and to support this nonprofit, visit oregonblackpioneers.org.

Oregon Black Pioneers, 2024

Cora Cox home courtesy of Linn County Historical Museum

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