This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: BELL, YOUNG Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/nZB.2ACE/282 Message Board Post: The Hood River News, Hood River, OR., April 17, 1925, page 1 DEATH OF MR. BELL WIDELY REGRETTED Seldom have there been so many expressions of regret in Hood River as on Thursday morning, when the news of the sudden death of C.A. Bell, proprietor of the Mount Hood hotel, became known. Mr. Bell had complained earlier this week of poor circulation in his hands, but was otherwise in normal health, and as late as Tuesday was chatting with friends. On Wednesday evening he became very ill and was taken to the community hospital, where it was seen that that his condition was serious. As operation was of urgent necessity, preparations were made, but shortly after Mr. Bell passed away, the cause of death being septic poisoning. Mrs. Bell and son Fred survive. The funeral services will be held today, Friday, at Riverside Church, at 2:30 p.m., Dr. Fraser officiating. Interment will be at Idlewilde, with Masonic ritual. All Masons are asked be present. Charlie Bell, as he was called by all who knew him, was born at Taymouth, New Brunswick, in the year 1860, and was therefore 65 years of age when the end came. Born in a lumbering community, it was natural that he should follow the bent of many of the New Brunswick men, and early youth found him in the woods and the lumber camps. In a few years he became a well-known lumber jack, and he moved with the camps from New Brunswick, through Maine and further west. When he arrived in Hood River in 1890, he brought with him the largest logging equipment ever seen in those days in this part of Oregon. His first operation in the woods here were at Green Point, then known as Burghertown, and as the timber was cut out he moved across the river to the White Salmon country and then back to Dee. In 1894, he purchased the old Mount Hood hotel and operated it for several years before selling it to the Gilberts. Three years later he again came into possession of the hotel, and in 1912 built the big annex. Together with Mrs. Bell he made the Mount Hood hotel so popular that it was known the breadth of the state among all who traveled along the Columbia river. Charley Bell was associated with the development of Hood River in many ways. He built the first wooden sidewalk the town ever boasted and, several years later, he was the first property owner to use cement in a sidewalk here. When the Butler Bank, the pioneer institution of its kind in this county, opened its doors, Charley Bell was waiting to be the first to make a deposit, and it was recently recalled that this deposit on behalf of his son Fred, still stands and has been accumulating interest through more than two decades. For twelve years he was a city father, and probably holds the record here for length of service on the city council. He was also for six years a member of the school board. Loving the woods as he did, it was but natural that his name is always recalled in connection with the pioneer trips around Mount Hood and throughout the long years he expressed faith that Mount Hood would someday come into her own as a great scenic attraction. When the Loop Highway was proposed, Charlie Bell saw in this the coming realization of his dream, and he played a leading part in the successful campaign to float a bond issue for this county’s participation in this great project. There was one side of Charley Bell’s nature that will always insure his name being held in respect here, and that was a lifelong aim to bring a little sunshine into the lives of the less fortunate people of this town and valley. During his years in the lumber camps he had come into personal contact with the misery that besets those who are poor and almost from the day he arrived here, much of his time was given in an effort to alleviate the distress where ever he found it. He got together with a band of local Goodfellows, and never a Christmas when by but what there were Christmas trees and goodies for the poorer children and a bounteous Christmas dinner for every poor family in town. For years he was head of the local association which takes care of the poor and needy, and one of the reasons why there has ever been little distress here is that he and his good wife saw to it that there should be no place in Hood River for misery arising out of poverty. During the war, the same kindly spirit impelled him to support anything that would relieve the hardships of the boys in the camps at home and overseas, and there is many a boy who passed through Hood River on a troop train who will remember there was one town which did not forget the boys with the last cheer as the train steamed out of the home of depot. Christmas Day was always a big event at the hotel, for on that day Mrs. and Mrs. Bell insisted on playing host and hostess to the many guests, which always included the employees of the hotel. Many of the old timers of Hood River, some of whom are already far along the trail to the Beyond, found a home on Christmas Day at the Bell’s table at the hotel. Mr. Bell was the first man in this county to realize that the great possibilities of irrigation, and together with Frank Davenport Sr. and H.F. Davidson, brought the first water ever used here through an irrigating ditch on the West Side. Today, irrigation is the greatest factor in Hood River valley. It was in 1896 that the water was turned into this ditch and a new era came to Hood River Valley. This spring has cut deeply into the ranks of the pioneers of this section, but there are none who will be more widely messed than Charley Bell, who did good in his own way, but who did a world of good in this community. To his splendid wife and son Fred, the sympathy of the entire valley will be extended. Charley Bell was the first Mason initiated in this county, a leading Elk and Artisan, and it is fitting that all Masons should meet at the Masonic hall this (Friday) afternoon at 2 p.m. to pay their last respects to their departed brother. ------------------------------ The Hood River Glacier, Hood River, OR., April 23, 1925,page 1 DEATH CALLS CHAS. A. BELL Pioneer Man Stricken Suddenly Passing of One of Town’s First Citizens Leaves Impress on All the Valley A stranger here early last Thursday would have sensed that some calamity had befallen in the town. As merchants arrived in the business section to open their stores and shops, word was passed that Charles A. Bell, a pioneer and one of the town’s first citizens, had died suddenly the night before, and men were seen in little hushed groups and business men and street urchins alike paid tribute. Mr. Bell, a native of New Brunswick, 65, came to Hood River 35 years ago to engage in logging operations. At an earlier period he had been associated with S. Benson, former chairman of the Oregon State Highway Commission, in logging operations, and the latter was wont to come here frequently, when he was active in Oregon road affairs, and consult with him. He also advised with Mr. Bell before he built the Columbia Gorge hotel. Mr. Bell, retired from logging to purchase the Mt. Hood hotel, pioneer hostelry, which he improved and operated until his death. While as he had not been actively engaged in growing fruit for many years, through his association with a group of pioneers in developing the valley’s first irrigation system, he was recognized as one of the founders of the strawberry and apple industry, which received their greatest stimulus following the delivery of water to the soil. Mr. Bell was known statewide as a good roads booster. He was one of the leaders in securing the Mount Hood Loop Highway, and was a member of the Mt. Hood Development Association, engaged in promoting a hostelry for the mountain. Mr. Bell was head of the Welfare Association, a local charitable organization. His individual charity the past decade was great. Scores of local poor families and stranded transients have been aided by him. Mr. Bell was one of the founders of the custom calling for a community Christmas tree here, and annually he lead in the distribution of Christmas day baskets for the poor. He was one of the men of the mid-Columbia who promoted the Columbia river interstate bridge. Funeral services were held at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Riverside Community church, Dr. James A. Fraser officiating. Interment followed at Idlewilde cemetery. Mr. Bell was a Mason and Elk. Members of the Masonic lodge attended the funeral in a body and observed ritualistic services at the graveside. Mr. Bell is survived by his wife and an only son, Geo. A. Bell, and sister, Mrs. Kate Young, live at the old home in New Brunswick. S.E. Bartmess directed the funeral. This was posted for reference only. I am not related to, nor am I researching this family. If you have additional information about the person or event listed above, please post it as reply to this message.