>From the book "SCIO IN THE FORKS OF THE SANTIAM" by Carol Bates Page 59 Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tilton Thayer had their 60th wedding anniversary on April 12, 1945. Frank was born Feb. 16, 1861, at Redwing, Minnesota. He came to Oregon in 1876 and at first, lived in the Mehama district. Then he moved to his Mt. Pleasant home in 1877. Mary Jane Irvine was born Jan. 22, 1866, in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Irvine, pioneers of 1852. Her parents were referred to as "Uncle Ben" and "Aunt Becky." Mary Jane and Frank Thayer were married at her parents' home on April 12, 1855. Rev. Samuel Miller, minister of the Mt. Pleasant Church, performed the ceremony. The couple lived in the Mt. Pleasant area where all of their ten children were born. For 20 years they lived on the Munkers place north of Scio. Then they moved to a residence in the Scio city limits. Mr. and Mrs. Carl Cyrus resided in this house after 1945. The house is at NW Fourth Avenue at the end of NW Beech Street. Frank Thayer's chief interest was in harvesting. He started as a small boy tying and shocking bundles as his father cut the grain with a cradle or hand sickle. In 1891 in partnership with Lou Croisant he purchased his first steam threshing machine. They harvested through northern Linn County for many years. At one time he owned an improved and modern combine and operated it several seasons. Once during the low water season, Thayer was called upon to attach his steam engine to the Scio light and water plant and keep it in operation. Thayer was Master of Jordan Valley Grange for many years, a mayor of Scio, and city councilman. He served as a school board member at Mt. Pleasant. At Scio he served on the school board continuously for 35 years beginning when his eldest daughter, Elsie, started school and ending with Bobby, the youngest daughter, when she graduated from Scio High School. Mary Jane Thayer's chief interest centered around bringing up her ten children. She taught them to read, write and spell before they started to school. She planned her time so she could get all ten to Sunday School on time. She also taught Sunday School. She owned an organ and taught the first piano in the district and taught many of her grandchildren to play the piano. Several of the Irvine family members were "prominent." Robert Irvine, uncle of Mrs. Thayer, was a sheriff in Linn County. Senator Charles L. McNary was a first cousin of Mrs. Thayer's mother, Becky Irvine. Another relative, Milt Miller, was an Oregon state senator and a collector with the internal revenue service. Frank Irvine, long-time blind editor of the PORTLAND JOURNAL, was a cousin of Mrs. Thayer. The death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the Thayer's anniversary, April 12, 1945, brought to Mr. Thayer's memory the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Thayer, then only four years old, was so impressed by the grief which fell on everyone when the news arrived three weeks later at Redwing, he never forgot how the women burst into tears as though each had lost her own son. Thayer related many times his memory of seeing the women throw their aprons over their heads and sobbing so loudly. "Oh God, here's Thayer's old cookwagon," exclaimed Raymond "Swede" Chromy of Scio. Mrs. Thayer and Oliver Beard's mother followed the threshing machine and cooked for the crew. "That's what they cooked on, this wagon. The hinged sides closed up," said Dolly Flanagan Young of Scio. George Flanagan, the brother, said "I ate on that many times. I worked on the threshing machine one time. Enoch Shelton, that was Roy and Rolla's dad, was the roust-about. He'd go with the horse and buggy and get groceries for 'em. He'd go to the "crick" and get water. He'd bring water out in the field for the men to drink with a horse and buggy." "Went all over the Scio contryside wherever they thrashed. Wouldn't that be fun to follow that around and cook in that thing?" Dolly asked. "And the yellow-jackets would just eat you up. When you started to eat, you know, and they had a lot of cooked fruit. When they were out in the country, they'd get plums out of somebody's orchard and them old ladies would cook 'em for sauce, you know. And the yellow jackets-you couldn't hardly eat," George remarked. LEBANON EXPRESS, May 10, 1945 FRANK THAYER Frank Tilton Thayer died at his home in Scio May 4. He was born Feb. 16, 1861 at Red Wing, Minn., and he had lived in Scio since 1876. He and his wife, Mary Jane, whom he married at Mt. Pleassant, near Scio, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on April 12 of this year. Surviving are his widow, children, Mrs. Elsie Werst, Fairfax Thayer, Mrs. Bessie Shelton, Mrs. Ada Wiglesworth and Mrs. Bobby Stull, all of Portland, Ben Irvine Thayer, Lebanon, Mrs. Mable Hollis, Salem, Mrs. Neva Brock, Frank Leslie Thayer and Mrs. Freday Bray, all of Scio; a sister, Mrs. Julia Compton, Alberta, Can., 27 grandchildren and 15 great-grand children. Services were Monday at 2 p.m. in the Scio Baptist church, with burial in the Mt. Pleasant cemetery. The Harry C. Howe funeral home was in charge. Extracted from the Record of Funeral Frank Tilton Thayer d. 4 May 1945 at home in Scio age at death 84y 2m 18d b. 16 Feb 1861 Redwing, MN Retired farmer Funeral 7 May 1945 Monday 2 pm Baptist Church, Scio Clergy Rev. Losie Prof. White of Salem Resided in state 76 years Father - Fairfax S. Thayer b. Geneva NY Mother - Julia Roberts b. Plattsburg NY Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Scio, Oregon Sent by Jan, from research done by another Linn County Volunteer, Pat.