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1900
February 16 1900 William Gladstone Steel marries Lydia Hatch in Everett, Washington, at age 46. The couple had one daughter, Jean. Although his characteristic zeal and perseverance reflected Calvinist roots, he sent his daughter to a Catholic high school, St. Mary’s, in Medford to defy the Ku Klux Klan’s hold on Southern Oregon following World War I. The Steels had no connection to the Roman Catholic Church, but that the reason that Jean went there was to express defiance to theKKK, who had cooked up something called the Oregon Public School Law, whose aim was to eliminate parochial education (the federal Supreme Court struck the measure down around 1925).
As for brother George, he is an example of marrying well–somewhat similar to brother James. There’s a bit more detail in a book about the history of Portland by E. Kimbark MacColl, called Merchants, Money and Power: The Portland Establishment, 1843-1913 (Portland: The Georgian Press, 1988). Will, along with his brother David, remained on the “poor” side of the family and I’ve never seen much correspondence between the younger Steels and their plutocratic brethren. (Park Historian Steve Mark, Feb. 27, 2017)
Summer 1900 Charles Van Zilc of North Bend, Oregon works three summers as a “forest ranger” at Crater Lake”. Charles was involved with the early Park boundary survey. He also planted fish in the Lake.
1900 No fish were caught from the Lake for 12 years following Steel’s planting. Finally a few fish were taken, one of which was fully 30 inches long. Trout then began to be taken in ever increasing numbers. (1 – 10 pounds)
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