John Tate was born in the Choskee Indian Territory. His parents were John B and Ellen R. McPhail according to records of his grandson. He was a real Washington State lumberjack.
Lynden (Wash) Tribune about 1968
Pioneer John T. McPhail Retires Second Time
"A pioneer of Whatcom County, John T. McPhail of Sumas, arrived here by covered wagon from the Indian Territory and with his family, was the first to reach present day Bellingham over Chuckanut Drive.
The years have taken their toll and McPhail first retired from farming. Then he found there was much other work he could do, and he kept busy until his heart now demands an earlier pace.
He has submitted his resignation as Judge of the Sumas Police Court, at which he has served four years, and has asked to be relieved of his office as chaplain of Sumas Post 212 American Legion. An active Legionnaire for nearly 43 years, has has been chaplain for 13 years.
Mcphail needs also to curtail activities in the Delta Grange, where he is a charter member, and in Fidelity Lodge F & AM and Northwestern Chapter Order of Easter Star.
His chagrin at being so restricted is dispelled with a quick return of his usual good humor and with a shrug of his shoulders, he guesses that maybe a rough childhood accounts for his health problems now.
The youngest of five children, McPhail was born Sept 11, 1889 in Arkansas. Shortly after, his parents moved the family to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They operated a boarded house and stable in Choski, a small town no longer on the map. Life in the frontier town saw happenings smacking of western movies. The roomers were largely laborers employed at a local cotton gin or in pelling tan bark. Now and then a "drummer" , the early counterpart of the traveling salesman, would drive his buggy or wagon into town, There were the shootings, gun battles and robberies, followed by the Sheriff's posse in hot pursuit.
Choski was 20 miles from the nearest railroad, and freight was brought in by four team wagons. With a chuckle, McPhail recalls one humorous incident. No liquor was allowed in the Territory and the U. S. Marshall grew suspicious when a barrel marked "vinegar" arrived on the freight wagon. He set out to guard the keg around the clock , only to find later it had been siphoned from under the floor while he watched.
McPhail came to Washington in 1896. Two of his sisters joined the family on the hazardous wagon trip and two remained behind. Traveling over the Oregon Trail, up the Yakima Valley and over Snoqualmie Pass, the journey took four months and ten days. The family arrived in Lynden ( Washington state) on Sept 15 (1896).
While not yet seven, McPhail recalls that he walked much of the way. He remembers evening camp fires of sage brush over which his mother would cook sage hens or rabbits killed along the way. Breakfast consisted mainly of bacon and biscuits. The family would travel for days without seeing a soul and then come across as small town where they could replenish supplies. Many times the trail would be lost in a cloudburst or a sandstorm and the father would use his watch as a compass to get his directions.
McPhail saw his first streetcar, horse drawn, in Denver. A less pleasant memory is the experience of "millions" of little green frogs, appearing in a rainstorm and literally clogging the ruts in the trail. Most of the streams still had to be forded. One enterprising settler along the way figured out his own "skin" game, according to McPhail. He built a toll bridge across a river and then ran his fences so the unwary traveler had either to cross the bridge (note: and thus pay his toll) or go back a long way before he could skirt the fence.
A ferry ride across the Columbia River on the Washington-Oregon line frightened the weary youngster so that to this day, McPhail doesn't care to ferry. To get the wagon up and down the steep slopes on the Snoqualmie Pass presented the hardest of all challenges. Around Lake Keechelus, the family kept the wagon from sliding off the trail by hold it on with ropes.
Chuckanut Drive was still under construction as the McPhails approached Fairhaven, now a part of Bellingham. The family was turned back to await the blast that would make the final break through on the road and then had the honor of being the first to drive their wagon over the new route.
There were still stumps on Front Street when they reached Lyndon, where the family lived in a log cabin until taking up farming in the Delta area. ( Note: one of their granddaughters now lives on Front Street in Lyndon,Washington, and grandma Poole and I stayed with her there during the Alaskan cruise trip). McPhail attended the Glendale school, which serves yet as a Sunday School classroom for the Glendale Mennonite Church. Harry Vander Mey of Sumas was an upperclassman when McPhail enrolled.
When he grew up, McPhail followed the logging camps around Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish counties (Washington), and then enlisted in the Navy in 1917. Instead of "seeing the world," he was assigned to carpentry in Pensacola, Fla, and was put to repairing and making parts for the wooden fuselage used in World War I planes.
At Pensacola, he met and married Beulah Robbins.(Grandma Poole's aunt). After completing his service, the couple returned to the Delta district, where they engaged in dairy, poultry and strawberry farming until his retirement in 1951. Then they moved to Sumas.
A son, Boyd, and a daughter. Mrs. Truman King, reside with their families in the Delta area. Another daughter, Mrs. Neal Miller, makes her home in Puyallup. The McPhails have 12 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
McPhail feels that he is still too young to give up everything and he intends to keep an interest in all that he can as long as he can. "
Newspaper clipping courtesy of his sister, Ruth Robbins of Pensacola, Fl, and her family, with thanks.
Lynden (Wash) Tribune about 1968
Pioneer John T. McPhail Retires Second Time
"A pioneer of Whatcom County, John T. McPhail of Sumas, arrived here by covered wagon from the Indian Territory and with his family, was the first to reach present day Bellingham over Chuckanut Drive.
The years have taken their toll and McPhail first retired from farming. Then he found there was much other work he could do, and he kept busy until his heart now demands an earlier pace.
He has submitted his resignation as Judge of the Sumas Police Court, at which he has served four years, and has asked to be relieved of his office as chaplain of Sumas Post 212 American Legion. An active Legionnaire for nearly 43 years, has has been chaplain for 13 years.
Mcphail needs also to curtail activities in the Delta Grange, where he is a charter member, and in Fidelity Lodge F & AM and Northwestern Chapter Order of Easter Star.
His chagrin at being so restricted is dispelled with a quick return of his usual good humor and with a shrug of his shoulders, he guesses that maybe a rough childhood accounts for his health problems now.
The youngest of five children, McPhail was born Sept 11, 1889 in Arkansas. Shortly after, his parents moved the family to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They operated a boarded house and stable in Choski, a small town no longer on the map. Life in the frontier town saw happenings smacking of western movies. The roomers were largely laborers employed at a local cotton gin or in pelling tan bark. Now and then a "drummer" , the early counterpart of the traveling salesman, would drive his buggy or wagon into town, There were the shootings, gun battles and robberies, followed by the Sheriff's posse in hot pursuit.
Choski was 20 miles from the nearest railroad, and freight was brought in by four team wagons. With a chuckle, McPhail recalls one humorous incident. No liquor was allowed in the Territory and the U. S. Marshall grew suspicious when a barrel marked "vinegar" arrived on the freight wagon. He set out to guard the keg around the clock , only to find later it had been siphoned from under the floor while he watched.
McPhail came to Washington in 1896. Two of his sisters joined the family on the hazardous wagon trip and two remained behind. Traveling over the Oregon Trail, up the Yakima Valley and over Snoqualmie Pass, the journey took four months and ten days. The family arrived in Lynden ( Washington state) on Sept 15 (1896).
While not yet seven, McPhail recalls that he walked much of the way. He remembers evening camp fires of sage brush over which his mother would cook sage hens or rabbits killed along the way. Breakfast consisted mainly of bacon and biscuits. The family would travel for days without seeing a soul and then come across as small town where they could replenish supplies. Many times the trail would be lost in a cloudburst or a sandstorm and the father would use his watch as a compass to get his directions.
McPhail saw his first streetcar, horse drawn, in Denver. A less pleasant memory is the experience of "millions" of little green frogs, appearing in a rainstorm and literally clogging the ruts in the trail. Most of the streams still had to be forded. One enterprising settler along the way figured out his own "skin" game, according to McPhail. He built a toll bridge across a river and then ran his fences so the unwary traveler had either to cross the bridge (note: and thus pay his toll) or go back a long way before he could skirt the fence.
A ferry ride across the Columbia River on the Washington-Oregon line frightened the weary youngster so that to this day, McPhail doesn't care to ferry. To get the wagon up and down the steep slopes on the Snoqualmie Pass presented the hardest of all challenges. Around Lake Keechelus, the family kept the wagon from sliding off the trail by hold it on with ropes.
Chuckanut Drive was still under construction as the McPhails approached Fairhaven, now a part of Bellingham. The family was turned back to await the blast that would make the final break through on the road and then had the honor of being the first to drive their wagon over the new route.
There were still stumps on Front Street when they reached Lyndon, where the family lived in a log cabin until taking up farming in the Delta area. ( Note: one of their granddaughters now lives on Front Street in Lyndon,Washington, and grandma Poole and I stayed with her there during the Alaskan cruise trip). McPhail attended the Glendale school, which serves yet as a Sunday School classroom for the Glendale Mennonite Church. Harry Vander Mey of Sumas was an upperclassman when McPhail enrolled.
When he grew up, McPhail followed the logging camps around Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish counties (Washington), and then enlisted in the Navy in 1917. Instead of "seeing the world," he was assigned to carpentry in Pensacola, Fla, and was put to repairing and making parts for the wooden fuselage used in World War I planes.
At Pensacola, he met and married Beulah Robbins.(Grandma Poole's aunt). After completing his service, the couple returned to the Delta district, where they engaged in dairy, poultry and strawberry farming until his retirement in 1951. Then they moved to Sumas.
A son, Boyd, and a daughter. Mrs. Truman King, reside with their families in the Delta area. Another daughter, Mrs. Neal Miller, makes her home in Puyallup. The McPhails have 12 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
McPhail feels that he is still too young to give up everything and he intends to keep an interest in all that he can as long as he can. "
Newspaper clipping courtesy of his sister, Ruth Robbins of Pensacola, Fl, and her family, with thanks.
John Tate was born in the Choskee Indian Territory. His parents were John B and Ellen R. McPhail according to records of his grandson. He was a real Washington State lumberjack.
Lynden (Wash) Tribune about 1968
Pioneer John T. McPhail Retires Second Time
"A pioneer of Whatcom County, John T. McPhail of Sumas, arrived here by covered wagon from the Indian Territory and with his family, was the first to reach present day Bellingham over Chuckanut Drive.
The years have taken their toll and McPhail first retired from farming. Then he found there was much other work he could do, and he kept busy until his heart now demands an earlier pace.
He has submitted his resignation as Judge of the Sumas Police Court, at which he has served four years, and has asked to be relieved of his office as chaplain of Sumas Post 212 American Legion. An active Legionnaire for nearly 43 years, has has been chaplain for 13 years.
Mcphail needs also to curtail activities in the Delta Grange, where he is a charter member, and in Fidelity Lodge F & AM and Northwestern Chapter Order of Easter Star.
His chagrin at being so restricted is dispelled with a quick return of his usual good humor and with a shrug of his shoulders, he guesses that maybe a rough childhood accounts for his health problems now.
The youngest of five children, McPhail was born Sept 11, 1889 in Arkansas. Shortly after, his parents moved the family to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They operated a boarded house and stable in Choski, a small town no longer on the map. Life in the frontier town saw happenings smacking of western movies. The roomers were largely laborers employed at a local cotton gin or in pelling tan bark. Now and then a "drummer" , the early counterpart of the traveling salesman, would drive his buggy or wagon into town, There were the shootings, gun battles and robberies, followed by the Sheriff's posse in hot pursuit.
Choski was 20 miles from the nearest railroad, and freight was brought in by four team wagons. With a chuckle, McPhail recalls one humorous incident. No liquor was allowed in the Territory and the U. S. Marshall grew suspicious when a barrel marked "vinegar" arrived on the freight wagon. He set out to guard the keg around the clock , only to find later it had been siphoned from under the floor while he watched.
McPhail came to Washington in 1896. Two of his sisters joined the family on the hazardous wagon trip and two remained behind. Traveling over the Oregon Trail, up the Yakima Valley and over Snoqualmie Pass, the journey took four months and ten days. The family arrived in Lynden ( Washington state) on Sept 15 (1896).
While not yet seven, McPhail recalls that he walked much of the way. He remembers evening camp fires of sage brush over which his mother would cook sage hens or rabbits killed along the way. Breakfast consisted mainly of bacon and biscuits. The family would travel for days without seeing a soul and then come across as small town where they could replenish supplies. Many times the trail would be lost in a cloudburst or a sandstorm and the father would use his watch as a compass to get his directions.
McPhail saw his first streetcar, horse drawn, in Denver. A less pleasant memory is the experience of "millions" of little green frogs, appearing in a rainstorm and literally clogging the ruts in the trail. Most of the streams still had to be forded. One enterprising settler along the way figured out his own "skin" game, according to McPhail. He built a toll bridge across a river and then ran his fences so the unwary traveler had either to cross the bridge (note: and thus pay his toll) or go back a long way before he could skirt the fence.
A ferry ride across the Columbia River on the Washington-Oregon line frightened the weary youngster so that to this day, McPhail doesn't care to ferry. To get the wagon up and down the steep slopes on the Snoqualmie Pass presented the hardest of all challenges. Around Lake Keechelus, the family kept the wagon from sliding off the trail by hold it on with ropes.
Chuckanut Drive was still under construction as the McPhails approached Fairhaven, now a part of Bellingham. The family was turned back to await the blast that would make the final break through on the road and then had the honor of being the first to drive their wagon over the new route.
There were still stumps on Front Street when they reached Lyndon, where the family lived in a log cabin until taking up farming in the Delta area. ( Note: one of their granddaughters now lives on Front Street in Lyndon,Washington, and grandma Poole and I stayed with her there during the Alaskan cruise trip). McPhail attended the Glendale school, which serves yet as a Sunday School classroom for the Glendale Mennonite Church. Harry Vander Mey of Sumas was an upperclassman when McPhail enrolled.
When he grew up, McPhail followed the logging camps around Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish counties (Washington), and then enlisted in the Navy in 1917. Instead of "seeing the world," he was assigned to carpentry in Pensacola, Fla, and was put to repairing and making parts for the wooden fuselage used in World War I planes.
At Pensacola, he met and married Beulah Robbins.(Grandma Poole's aunt). After completing his service, the couple returned to the Delta district, where they engaged in dairy, poultry and strawberry farming until his retirement in 1951. Then they moved to Sumas.
A son, Boyd, and a daughter. Mrs. Truman King, reside with their families in the Delta area. Another daughter, Mrs. Neal Miller, makes her home in Puyallup. The McPhails have 12 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
McPhail feels that he is still too young to give up everything and he intends to keep an interest in all that he can as long as he can. "
Newspaper clipping courtesy of his sister, Ruth Robbins of Pensacola, Fl, and her family, with thanks.
Lynden (Wash) Tribune about 1968
Pioneer John T. McPhail Retires Second Time
"A pioneer of Whatcom County, John T. McPhail of Sumas, arrived here by covered wagon from the Indian Territory and with his family, was the first to reach present day Bellingham over Chuckanut Drive.
The years have taken their toll and McPhail first retired from farming. Then he found there was much other work he could do, and he kept busy until his heart now demands an earlier pace.
He has submitted his resignation as Judge of the Sumas Police Court, at which he has served four years, and has asked to be relieved of his office as chaplain of Sumas Post 212 American Legion. An active Legionnaire for nearly 43 years, has has been chaplain for 13 years.
Mcphail needs also to curtail activities in the Delta Grange, where he is a charter member, and in Fidelity Lodge F & AM and Northwestern Chapter Order of Easter Star.
His chagrin at being so restricted is dispelled with a quick return of his usual good humor and with a shrug of his shoulders, he guesses that maybe a rough childhood accounts for his health problems now.
The youngest of five children, McPhail was born Sept 11, 1889 in Arkansas. Shortly after, his parents moved the family to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They operated a boarded house and stable in Choski, a small town no longer on the map. Life in the frontier town saw happenings smacking of western movies. The roomers were largely laborers employed at a local cotton gin or in pelling tan bark. Now and then a "drummer" , the early counterpart of the traveling salesman, would drive his buggy or wagon into town, There were the shootings, gun battles and robberies, followed by the Sheriff's posse in hot pursuit.
Choski was 20 miles from the nearest railroad, and freight was brought in by four team wagons. With a chuckle, McPhail recalls one humorous incident. No liquor was allowed in the Territory and the U. S. Marshall grew suspicious when a barrel marked "vinegar" arrived on the freight wagon. He set out to guard the keg around the clock , only to find later it had been siphoned from under the floor while he watched.
McPhail came to Washington in 1896. Two of his sisters joined the family on the hazardous wagon trip and two remained behind. Traveling over the Oregon Trail, up the Yakima Valley and over Snoqualmie Pass, the journey took four months and ten days. The family arrived in Lynden ( Washington state) on Sept 15 (1896).
While not yet seven, McPhail recalls that he walked much of the way. He remembers evening camp fires of sage brush over which his mother would cook sage hens or rabbits killed along the way. Breakfast consisted mainly of bacon and biscuits. The family would travel for days without seeing a soul and then come across as small town where they could replenish supplies. Many times the trail would be lost in a cloudburst or a sandstorm and the father would use his watch as a compass to get his directions.
McPhail saw his first streetcar, horse drawn, in Denver. A less pleasant memory is the experience of "millions" of little green frogs, appearing in a rainstorm and literally clogging the ruts in the trail. Most of the streams still had to be forded. One enterprising settler along the way figured out his own "skin" game, according to McPhail. He built a toll bridge across a river and then ran his fences so the unwary traveler had either to cross the bridge (note: and thus pay his toll) or go back a long way before he could skirt the fence.
A ferry ride across the Columbia River on the Washington-Oregon line frightened the weary youngster so that to this day, McPhail doesn't care to ferry. To get the wagon up and down the steep slopes on the Snoqualmie Pass presented the hardest of all challenges. Around Lake Keechelus, the family kept the wagon from sliding off the trail by hold it on with ropes.
Chuckanut Drive was still under construction as the McPhails approached Fairhaven, now a part of Bellingham. The family was turned back to await the blast that would make the final break through on the road and then had the honor of being the first to drive their wagon over the new route.
There were still stumps on Front Street when they reached Lyndon, where the family lived in a log cabin until taking up farming in the Delta area. ( Note: one of their granddaughters now lives on Front Street in Lyndon,Washington, and grandma Poole and I stayed with her there during the Alaskan cruise trip). McPhail attended the Glendale school, which serves yet as a Sunday School classroom for the Glendale Mennonite Church. Harry Vander Mey of Sumas was an upperclassman when McPhail enrolled.
When he grew up, McPhail followed the logging camps around Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish counties (Washington), and then enlisted in the Navy in 1917. Instead of "seeing the world," he was assigned to carpentry in Pensacola, Fla, and was put to repairing and making parts for the wooden fuselage used in World War I planes.
At Pensacola, he met and married Beulah Robbins.(Grandma Poole's aunt). After completing his service, the couple returned to the Delta district, where they engaged in dairy, poultry and strawberry farming until his retirement in 1951. Then they moved to Sumas.
A son, Boyd, and a daughter. Mrs. Truman King, reside with their families in the Delta area. Another daughter, Mrs. Neal Miller, makes her home in Puyallup. The McPhails have 12 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
McPhail feels that he is still too young to give up everything and he intends to keep an interest in all that he can as long as he can. "
Newspaper clipping courtesy of his sister, Ruth Robbins of Pensacola, Fl, and her family, with thanks.
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