https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/blog-1 daily 0.75 2023-05-05 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/blog-1/tomatoes-are-now-in-season-79m6w monthly 0.5 2022-06-07 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/blog-1/new-additions-to-the-farm-85b24 monthly 0.5 2022-06-07 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/blog-1/spring-favorites-kale-gaw7r monthly 0.5 2022-06-07 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events daily 0.75 2026-05-11 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events/quiet-neighbors monthly 0.5 2026-05-11 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events/coronation-and-introduction-2024-wtc5b monthly 0.5 2026-05-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/645523987e319b24a2dcd030/b871fd84-31ab-44a4-8ae0-afa86434db5a/Larry+and+Suzanne+Coppock+photo.jpg Events - Queen Coronation & Grand Marshal Introduction - 2026 Queen & Grand Marshal - Suzanne & Larry Coppock Suzanne Coppock’s Family History: Suzanne’s pioneer history in Oregon began in 1871 when her great-grandfather, Levi Tulley, and two brothers settled in Cove (Union County). Levi Tulley married Alma Stewart and farmed there until 1874 when they moved to the Wallowa Valley. Levi took out a homestead near the junction of the Wallowa and Lostine rivers. The Tulley brothers were the first to ever cut hay in the valley. Suzanne’s grandfather Oscar Maxwell was born in Wallowa in 1888. His family, with six older children, had arrived in Wallowa July 6, 1880, traveling with five other wagons from Nevada. Oscar farmed near Wallowa his whole life. Another grandfather, Spencer Lozier, came from Wisconsin with his grandparents on a wagon train to Joseph in 1885. He ran sheep on Hells Canyon for many years and later farmed near Joseph. Larry Coppock’s Family History: Aaron Coppock was an Iowa farmer who went to the gold fields of California in 1849. He found gold and sent for his family, instructing his wife Marry to sell the farm, buy four stout oxen and drive their cattle west to join him. When they reached Jim Bridger’s trading post, he informed them feed was scarce and the cattle would starve if they went to California. They turned toward Oregon instead, settling near Clackamas six months later. The Coppock men traveled from Clackamas through Eastern Oregon in 1860 on their way to the Orofino, Idaho gold fields. They liked what they saw and decided to come back to Eastern Oregon in 1872. They bought land in Rawhide Gulch southeast of Athena. Larry’s maternal grandfather, Josiah Lieuallen, came west on the Oregon Trail in 1862, settling in Weston. In 1872, Josiah chose a claim one mile south of what we now call Athena. Descendants of both families still maintain ownership of these sites. https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events/coronation-and-introduction-2024 monthly 0.5 2024-06-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/645523987e319b24a2dcd030/e7f4bdc7-f129-4979-a361-49ccee3c9c99/Coronation-2024-79.jpg Events - Queen Coronation & Grand Marshal Introduction - 2024 Pioneer Queen Mari Sams Tester Mari Sams Tester, the Queen of the 130 th Pioneer Picnic, was born in 1943 on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Her family has a strong history in the area. The Sams family arrived in the Walla Walla Valley from Missouri after joining a wagon train on the Oregon Trail in 1843. Mari already had relatives living in the valley as she comes from the lineage of Chiefs on her paternal side. Mari’s paternal great grandfather, John B. Duffy grew up in Frenchtown and later moved to Walla Walla. He married Clara Bonifer, who was a Chippewa Indian. They had several children including Mari’s paternal grandmother, Mary Delvina Duffy who married Charley Sams. Mari’s great grandparents farmed near Thorn Hollow. Mari’s parents, Chuck and Ruby Sams both attended boarding schools. Her father Chuck was born and raised at Thorn Hollow and moved to Weston in 1947, living there until his death in 1998. Her mother Ruby was born and raised on the Fort Peck Reservation and was South Dakota Souix. They had 10 children. Mari attended grade school and high school in Weston, graduating in 1961. She moved to Arizona for a short time, then in 1962 moved to Pendleton where she met John Tester. They married and in 1965, welcomed a daughter, Tonyia. Mari worked for Pacific Northwest Bell and the family moved to Portland and Seattle and had many opportunities to travel. Mari retired in 1998 and moved to Walla Walla in 2005. Queen Mari Tester has fond memories of the Pioneer Picnic. She remembers the races, setting up the pavilion and getting out of school to attend the show. She loves returning each year to reconnect with family and friends. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/645523987e319b24a2dcd030/ddf05e49-f662-40a9-9d09-5102399844c7/Coronation-2024-75.jpg Events - Queen Coronation & Grand Marshal Introduction - 2024 Parade Grand Marshal Sheldon Delph The first members of Sheldon Delph’s family arrived in the Weston area in 1877. The Taylors, McCorkells, and Fachnies settled on Read and Hawley Mountain, around the Fairview School community, and several family members still own those original homesteads. Sheldon’s great-grandfather served on the school board for Fairview School on the mountain for nearly 40 years, and his wife Emily Warner was occasionally the teacher there, as were at least two of his nieces. Sheldon’s maternal grandfather, Don Johnson, and maternal grandmother, Lauretta McCorkell Johnson, graduated from Weston High School in 1926 and 1930, respectively. Sheldon’s parents, Bob Delph and Lyn Johnson, graduated in 1949, and Sheldon graduated in 1969. Sheldon’s parents owned the Weston Market (grocery store), and as a young guy with energy, Sheldon’s dad served with the Umatilla County Pioneer’s Association from 1952 until his death in 2010. Sheldon’s mom continued to be active with the Association until shortly before her death in 2016. Bob and Lyn were Queen and Grand Marshal in 1996. Sheldon is the oldest of six kids. His siblings are Duane, Tom, Rick, Ed and Janet. He began his relationship with the Pioneer Picnic in 1957, at just six years of age, when his parents had him sit outside the Weston Market at the corner of Main and Water Streets, at a card table selling candy. He continued to work with Pioneer Picnic, working on the Parade and the barbeque, both of which began in the early 1960s, until he moved to Packwood, Washington in 1985. Upon moving back to Weston in 2010, Sheldon resumed working with the Pioneer Association, writing grants, working on the new barbeque, and helping cater meals to support the organization. Sheldon is also the only remaining original active member of the Saling House Restoration Committee, which began in 1975. He also served the City of Weston from 2012 to 2021 as the grants co-ordinator, securing nearly $7 million in grants for the City and its commissions, historic preservation projects, other organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Weston Cemetery and Kees Blue Mountain Cemetery, the Pioneer Association, the Memorial Hall, the Weston Food Pantry, and property owners in and around Weston. Sheldon taught school for 37 years, served as choir director for multiple congregations, and was ordained a preacher in the Church of the Brethren. He attended the University of Oregon as a music major before transferring to Willamette University as a history major and graduating in 1973. He received his Master of Education from St. Martin’s University in 2001. Sheldon married Annie Hubka in 1979 and has two incredible kids from that marriage: Betsy, aged 44, and Tim, 41. They each have a daughter, Windilyn and Sawyer. Annie and Sheldon divorced in 2000, and Sheldon married Heidi Scott in 2014. She has two sons: Kenny Sanwald and Chris Sanwald. Chris and his wife Siera have three girls - Helaina, Mila, and Elliana - who are also family to Sheldon. Over the course of 25 years, Sehldon cared for 37 foster kids, mostly ages 12-18. He has worked in farming, construction, choir directing, teaching from 5th grade through college, call centers, historic preservation, and grant writing. His current major project is a history of Weston. From Sheldon: I have known this year’s Queen my entire life, and while my ancestors settled here nearly 145 years ago, Mary’s ancestors precede mine in this region by nearly 25,000 years. I am so happy that this celebration is recognizing the people who were here before the Europeans, and I am incredibly honored to be this year’s Grand Marshal. https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events/firemans-breakfast-2024 monthly 0.5 2026-03-13 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events/park-activities-2024 monthly 0.5 2026-03-13 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events/childrens-parade-2024 monthly 0.5 2026-03-13 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events/pioneer-picnic-parade-2024 monthly 0.5 2026-03-13 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events/alumni-dinner-2024 monthly 0.5 2026-03-13 https://umatillacountypioneerassociation.com/events/coronation-and-introduction-2023 monthly 0.5 2025-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/645523987e319b24a2dcd030/3b5118c7-e3ce-4163-b4f5-a9a0f0ce9710/Connie+O%27Harra Events - Queen Coronation & Grand Marshal Introduction - 2023 Pioneer Queen Connie O’Harra The O’Harra family was among the first settlers to call Weston home. Daniel and Clarrisa O’Harra orginally farmed in Indiana and raised a family of nine boys and one girl. As the Civil War heated up, they moved their family to Missouri, but two of the oldest boys joined a wagon train heading west and eventually landed at a stage station called Weston in Oregon. They sent word back that this area had fertile land and would be a good location to call home, so the rest of the family came west in the Spring of 1865. The homestead was purchased in the foothills of the Blue Mountains where the family raised wheat and cattle. Today the same land is farmed by Jeff O’Harra, the sixth generation of O’Harras to work this Century Farm. Lelan O’Harra, Jeff’s father, continued to raise cattle for some years, but eventually moved the farming operation to strictly agriculture. Although the products produced by the farm have shifted somewhat over time, the fundamental characteristics of the family have not – in the main, they have all been farmers; hard-working, community-supportive people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/645523987e319b24a2dcd030/f11d79a4-5912-45ac-b3c1-c24d601b314e/Charles+Betts Events - Queen Coronation & Grand Marshal Introduction - 2023 Parade Grand Marshal Charles Betts Charles Reeve Betts grew up on the farm near Adams. His grandparents, Charles and Fannie Betts, moved from New York to Helix following their marriage in 1901. Charles worked for a mercantile store in Helix. Kohler was born in 1904 and his brother Reeve was born three years later at their home in Athena where they had moved to operate another store owned by the same family in Helix. In 1915 the Betts family made a decision to start farming, partially because of Charles’s health. They rented 300 acres near the forks of the Walla Walla River. Good neighbors helped in guiding and assisting the newcomers to life on the farm, where horses provided the power for all transportation and pulling farm equipment. Kohler and Reeve attended Forks Elementary School. In the year 1918 an opportunity came to buy the farm near Adams-Athena that has now become Betts Ranch. Kohler and Reeve rode horseback to school in Athena and later they both attended Willamette University. Reeve went on to become a doctor and Kohler came home to assist his parents on the farm and eventually took it over. Kohler married Belle Anderson and they had two children, Charles and Kay. Kohler lived to be 99 and then the farm was passed on to Charles. Charles and his wife Shireen raised three children on the farm, Melinda, Molly and Andy. They all helped out on the farm growing up. Charles has continued to farm for many years raising crops of wheat, peas and canola. Andy has taken over all the farming responsibilities for the last few years along with his daughter Alex. 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