Sisters pioneer Georgia Gallagher passes

Editor's note: One of Sisters' iconic residents, Georgia Gallagher, died last week. In recognition of her life, The Nugget is running an excerpt from a profile of Gallagher written by freelance writer Bill Mintiens in 2008.

Georgia Gallagher was born in 1922 on the 640-acre Edgington Ranch, which was located about two miles south of Sisters, west of South Elm/Three Creek Lake roads and south of the present-day Patterson Ranch. Georgia Edgington became the youngest child in a family of four children born to Ellis and Ellen Edgington.

Georgia's father, Ellis, was born in 1884 and grew up in Wasco County (Maupin/Tygh Valley area.) In 1910 the lure of farming in the Sisters area motivated Ellis and his cousin to "partner-up" and purchase the land that would become the Edgington Ranch.

Ellis Edgington met Ellen Crawford about 1912, most likely at one of the "Elocution Club" gatherings that took place at the Plainview school. Elocution Clubs were popular at the time, community gatherings where poems and writings would be learned and recited.

Ellen was teaching in the Plainview School when she met Ellis.

"In those days teachers were not supposed to get married, if you did you had to quit," said Georgia. So after "courting" for awhile Ellen Crawford became Ellen Edgington in 1914.

Throughout the 1920s and into the Depression Era the Edgingtons ran cattle and dairy cows on their property, selling cream to a dairy in Redmond.

"We rode horses to school, doubled-up with me behind my sister and my two brothers together. I'd hold tight around my sister's waist when she rode faster but, one time, she didn't tell me she was going to speed up and I fell off right in the middle of the road!" recalled Georgia.

The family was active with the Presbyterian Church which was located where the Sisters Christian Church is today (now The Belfry). Ellis Edgington was also active with the Civic Club and a member of the Sisters Rodeo Association, helping to organize the rodeo when it was held at the site where Hoyt's Hardware sits today.

"Mom objected to Dad working on the rodeo so much. She felt he should have been home working on the farm," said Georgia.

Georgia graduated from Sisters High School in 1939. The school was located at the site of the present-day City Hall and Library. She went on to college at Oregon State University to study Foods & Nutrition, graduating with her degree in 1944. Returning to Sisters, she was named Sisters Rodeo Queen in 1944.

During her senior year at OSU, Georgia met a man in Corvallis, Vince Gallagher, an enlisted Army man also studying at OSU. Sparks flew, but they were not destined to be together in the short term. Vince had overseas war duty and Georgia still had an internship to serve as part of her education.

In 1945 Georgia took the train from The Dalles to Chicago for a year's "Dietician Internship" at the Michael Reese General Hospital on the south side of Chicago. The entire experience was eye-opening for a young woman from Sisters.

"The hospital was basically located in a slum at the time. I had never experienced city life like that. We worked hard, cooked meals, cleaned, etc., because it was wartime and it was hard to get help in the hospitals," said Georgia.

After the war, Vince and Georgia's relationship blossomed and they married in June of 1946. A native of Bayonne, New Jersey, Vince had a good job waiting for him with the General Cable Corporation as an industrial engineer, so the couple decided to move back to New Jersey. They stayed a year in the state before Vince heeded the advice of a relative: "You'd better take that girl back home."

In 1947 they relocated to Redmond for six years, then to Salem for 22 years, where Vince found a job with the highway department and Georgia worked at three different state institutions. The Gallagher family grew to five with a girl, Nora, and two sons, Dennis and Vince. All three still live in Oregon.

By the mid-1970s Ellis and Ellen Edgington decided to move into Sisters, purchasing a home right next to the Village Green. Vince passed away in 1981 and Georgia still lives in the house to this day.

Georgia served the Sisters community as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) from 1981-2000 and (as of 2008 was) still a member of the Sisters Garden Club, helping to beautify the various gardens and gazebos around the city. In 2006 she was named Grand Marshall of the Sisters Rodeo, a tribute to her contributions and heritage in Sisters Country.

Georgia received another honor when she was named the Deschutes County Pioneer Queen for 2008 by the Deschutes Pioneer Association, a group of approximately 900 people who've lived in the county for over 40 years. The association researches the heritage of prospective queens very thoroughly before naming one each year.