Clarence Mershon- HOW it all started in Corbett

Having been raised in the Corbett community, Clarence Mershon has always chosen to be active in the Pioneer Association, as was his mother. In the mid 1970's local resident Bea Graff asked Clarence to piece together and write his mother's family history. Clarence decided to tackle the project! James "Curly" Wilson and Myra Isabella Miller met in CA when the Miller family was visiting relatives. Curly and Myra married in 1893 in CA. and together they had three daughters and a son before moving to the Miller homestead in Corbett in 1899. (The Miller family had come to Oregon from CA in 1881, purchasing 180 acres at the end of Mannthey Road.) Curly and Myra went on to have seven more children, and eventually purchased 80 acres of their own just north of the Miller homestead on Loudon Road. Curly worked as a farmer, at the Palmer Mill, and even worked on the construction of the Scenic Highway. Laura was the oldest of their eleven children, and she attended school locally until it was time for high school. It was then she went into Portland and did housework and cared for children within a family in exchange for room and board. The family offered to help assist her in getting a teaching position, but she said she was "too shy." After graduating, she worked as a housekeeper for the Chamberlain family before marrying George "Jum" Mershon on December 15, 1915. Jum and Laura went on to have five children, with Clarence being the fourth child, born in 1931. Clarence had a happy childhood as he grew up in Corbett, graduating in 1949 from what was then called Columbian High School. Two teachers stand out in Clarence's mind as being strong mentors and life shapers for him as he grew- Mrs. Ruth McCollough Sommerville and Mrs. Eleanor Baer. Miss McCollough encouraged him to read well over 100 books in his 4th grade year of school! Mrs. Baer was his English teacher in 7th/8th grade who taught him writing skills that he has used all through his adult years. Walter Vockert was a best friend that he spent many, many hours with. Clarence said it was Walter's family that made the biggest impression on him to get a college degree. Before finishing high school, Clarence and friend Jim Rhodes joined the Oregon Air National Guard and was later called to duty in 1951. Clarence had married his high school sweetheart, Colleen Innes April 28, 1950. In 1952 Clarence was able to begin college with the GI bill at the Univ. of Portland. With a math major, Clarence was able to graduate in 1959 from Portland State University. In 1963 he graduated from the Univ. of Oregon with a master's degree in Education. A math fellowhip of one year in Colorado followed his graduation. Along the way Clarence and Colleen went on to have three sons and a daughter. Mike, Elise, Christopher and Perry. Education was always important, and this played out as Clarence became a school teacher, principal and later an administrative assistant in the Park Rose School District. Today Clarence and Colleen still live in the home they purchased in November 1959 and are able to enjoy six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Recently diagnosed with cancer, Clarence is working diligently to finish the third volume of "Living East of the Sandy River." Clarence says he never intended to become a published author, as his first love is math! But, he was raised and raised his own four children to become "contributors" to community and society in general. Clarence and Colleen have established the "Clarence and Colleen Mershon Family Fund" with the Oregon Community Foundation, primarily to give a scholarship to a graduating Corbett High School Senior each year. Writing nearly a dozen books, Clarence has given Corbett residents as well as others the GIFT of preserving our precious history, which he is definitely a beloved part of.