News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Gammon Family gathered in Sisters to remember the old days and catch up on the doings of a widely scattered Sisters pioneering clan.
Robert and May Gammon had eight children back in the early part of the 20th Century. Six of them were sisters - known as The Gammon Girls - and they started several branches of a family tree that winds its way through Sisters history.
The Gammon Girls were founders of several prominent Sisters families: the Tewalts, the Hitchcocks, the Bushes, the Days, the Roaches, the Dennises and others.
Descendants of the Gammon Girls gathered in Sisters last weekend at Ponderosa Lodge for a family reunion.
"We were glad it was an occasion where we all wanted to be together instead of being forced by a wedding or a funeral," said Adora Hitchcock, a key organizer of the event.
"We felt our elders would be smiling."
The weekend was filled with activities, starting with a meet-and-greet that allowed members of the widely scattered clan to get to know each other. Most have left the Sisters area, though Adora Hitchcock and the Tewalts are still here and still active.
Adora's father Phil and her uncle Morris Hitchcock started the Sisters Airport, and Morris was an important founder of the Sisters Rodeo. The family's primary occupations revolved around the logging and lumber business and some members of the family still have timber interests in California, Texas and Idaho.
One stop on the itinerary was the "Old Hitchcock House" on Camp Polk Road - better known as Conklin's Guest House.
About 70 family members from California, Washington and Oregon made it to the reunion.
Many were struck by the changes to the small town of their youth.
Ann Knorr recalled a town so tiny that any action was exciting.
"We used to get excited when a car came through," she said. "Now you can't get across the street."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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