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Home Featured Story

Meet The Fabulous Mooberrys Of Washington County Who Set The Educational Bar

Beloved by all, this dynamic couple changed the world in Washington County

Dirk KnudsenbyDirk Knudsen
February 28, 2022
in Featured Story, History, Our Town, Schools, Uncategorized
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Meet The Fabulous Mooberrys Of Washington County Who Set The Educational Bar
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Editors Note:  This story was written by Liza Schade, one of the best historians living in the NW, and her work is featured in various places.  This is republished from a previous post.  We welcome Liza to the Herald and appreciate her work more than she will ever know.  Get to know the fabulous Mooberrys by reading below.

 


 

Our County Through Time: Lester & Margaret Mooberry

By Liza J. Schade; Historian
Lester & Margaret MooberryLester and Margaret Mooberry literally taught generations of children in Washington County, serving at schools in Cornelius and Hillsboro for 43 and 45 years! Here is an account of the couple, according to what I could find in our archive, from documents they left behind, photos, news articles, and obituaries.
Lester Mooberry was born on Easter in 1887 in Illinois, the third and youngest son of George and Mary Mooberry. He points out in his autobiographical book called The Gray Nineties, that his father moved the family to Oregon in 1889 to escape the extremes of Midwest weather. George Mooberry bought a forty-acre farm at Fern Hill, a mile west of Cornelius, and they planted a prune orchard for a time (a crop which he struggled to sell, even in Portland). George Mooberry and their sons worked the farm and supplemented income with local labor.
Hard economic times in the 1890s eventually forced a foreclosure on Fern Hill, however, and they moved to the old Davis farm nearby, to help to run it with Henry Hendricks. This was a blessing in disguise for the Mooberry kids, who got to enjoy better hunting and fishing grounds. The children attended school at Cornelius and Gaston, and then Lester went to Oregon College of Education and the University of Oregon.
Mooberry Family
On October 13, 1905, at only eighteen years old, Lester began teaching in the one-room Witch Hazel schoolhouse for $35 per month. Amazingly, WCM has a handwritten account by Lester, in which he describes how he got the job, his first day with the children, what the schoolhouse was like, and stories about students, the weather, and events. He commented, “This was what I had been asking for, a dream realized, a hope fulfilled. Here is where I would fail or succeed as a teacher and I must not fail.” Lester went on to teach at Johnson, Farmington View, Iowa Hill, and Haywood. He left a principal position at Cornelius for a short time to work at a local bank, but returned to become principal of David Hill School, staying there until his retirement in 1955.
Mooberry
Lester was also a local historian; he wrote many histories that can be referenced by the public in the Washington County Museum (now 5 Oaks Museum) archive. The “Mooberry Papers” are really a treasure trove of information about Washington County. There are small journals filled with handwritten notes by Lester about all topics of local history, from schools to cemeteries to town sites and anything in between. There are typed speeches he gave at various events. He and Margaret also gave WCM about 100 historic photographs of local towns, people, and schools. Between 1959 and 1966, Lester also wrote articles for the Hillsboro Argus, all of which we have in the archive as well, with an included index.
Mooberry HouseMargaret Mann Mooberry was born in Hillsboro to Grant and Martha Mann in 1892. Census records show that her father was a local farmer, but he may have also been a postmaster at Rose, Oregon in 1903. He and Martha had seven children, Margaret and Mattie, and the boys, Grant Jr., Joseph, William, Ray, and Loyal. The year 1920 was a sad time for the family, as Mr. Mann was committed to the Oregon Insane Asylum (in Salem) for “acting very erratic for several years,” according to his wife Martha’s testimony to a local judge. The Argus even reported that he escaped for a time, but was caught in Mulino, Oregon a week later and returned to the asylum. Then the Hillsboro Argus reports that in October of the same year, the Mann’s lost their four-year-old son Grant Jr. to a “lung abscess.” It is a mystery as to whether or not his own father knew of his death. The child was buried at the Odd Fellows.
Mooberry House 2Census records show Margaret only had a high school sophomore education, but she ended up attending Oregon College of Education. It is unclear whether she had to do any prerequisite work to begin attendance, but she could possibly have tested in at the time, without the need to update her lower education. She became a teacher in Hillsboro and Cornelius along with her husband and served eight years as principal of Peter Boscow School (which originally opened in 1912).
Margaret & Lester MooberryMargaret and Lester married on June 29, 1921, at Cornelius Methodist Church, where they regularly attended, and the new couple continued their local teaching careers. They never had children of their own, but they definitely earned the love and respect of children all around the area. Margaret also served on many committees and had membership in the Retired Teachers Association, Hillsboro Garden Club, David Hill DAR, Hillsboro Coffee Club, and many other community service capacities. Lester was also a member of Retired Teachers, as well as Knights of Pythias, and the Cornelius Boosters Club.
In 1963, Mooberry Elementary School was named Lester and Margaret, who continued to teach local history at events and programs, as well as write about local history. They had their golden anniversary in 1971 and passed away within months of one another in 1977, Lester on Christmas Day. They are buried together at Cornelius Methodist Cemetery.
In 1969, while writing a history on Glencoe, Lester responded to a letter sent to him containing reminiscences about the McKay family. He wrote, “Writers often come to the museum to do research and it may be that someday some historian may discover the historic value of your material and give it the place it deserves.” It is such an honor to be that historian today.

Photos below are from the WCHO collection.


Lester Mooberry 1
Lester Mooberry 2
Lester Mooberry 1898
Mooberry 4
Mooberry
Mooberry1
mooberry3
Ms Margaret Mann Mooberry 1920s
Tags: EducationHistoryMooberry
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Comments 5

  1. Martha Joy McGee. I was named after my Grandmother says:
    1 year ago

    Margaret was my mother’s sister. They were always Aunt Margie and Uncle Lester to me.
    One thing I noticed, there were eight children in the Mann family. The youngest child passed away when he was about four. His name was Bubby. By the pictures I’ve seen, he my have had Downs Syndrome.
    I enjoyed the article very much. Thank you for posting it.

    Reply
    • Dirk Knudsen says:
      1 year ago

      That is awesome! Martha, was your McGee side involved in the Orenco Nursery? Thanks for reading our paper and for responding!

      Dirk

      Reply
  2. Jan J Theisen says:
    1 year ago

    Mr Mooberry taught my Mom in 4th grade. She was held back. The family had just moved from a tiny farm area in Nebraska. And, she broke her arm on the Shute Park bleachers. Her love and respect for her teacher inspired her to teach. Later he was her principal for four years at David Hill.

    Mrs. Mooberry was my beloved
    first and second grade teacher at Peter Boscow.
    Then I transferred to David Hill with Mr Mooberry as principal. They radiated love for all their students.
    Yes stern when needed.

    Reply
  3. Bonnie Engle says:
    1 year ago

    Lester Mooberry autographed his book, “The Grey Ninties,” to my dad. My Grandmother Eischen was mentioned in that book about how she walked 6 miles to Cornelius to sell her eggs.

    Reply
  4. Dirk Knudsen says:
    1 year ago

    Karl,
    Beyond creating the Hillsboro Herald I am alsoe. the President of the Hillsboro Historical Society. We have a small museum starting and have space to keep such records. They would safe and appreciated in our most capable hands. Feel free to call me at 503-799-8383 just about anytime!
    Thank you!
    Dirk Knudsen

    Reply

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