Did you know?
http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1359/1/Did-you-know/Page1.html
Dorothy Taylor
By Dorothy Taylor
Published on 06/10/2009
Coquille just celebrated Gay 90's Saturday. We have had an entertainment during the summer for years. Starting in the pre-1920's, it was called the Coquille Corn Show. The county extension agent, J.L. Smith had a lot to do with it. Farmers were raising feed corn for ensilage. There was a downtown parade with an evening minstrel show playing to a packed house of 1,500. The cast of 40, sent off to Meier and Frank in Portland for authentic vaudeville costumes.
The "Monotony Killers" performed plays and J.L. Smith's Corn Fed Canaries sang. Later it was called a 4th of July celebration with Orvin Gant, J. L. Smith, Ken Talley and Spike Leslie forming one of the quartets. An earlier quartet featured Oscar Mintonye (Amzy's father), two of the Leslies and a 4th person. One of the popular events was the car racing. Amzy Mintonye won this race hands down with his little motor car.
He's there in the little white buggy behind the larger black car. His daughter Jo Mintonye Brown says it was a backward race and all of the cars ran backward. Amzy won the race because as an auto mechanic he knew how to install the motor so that the car running backwards had an increased speed. Jo said, " Since I'm not an auto mechanic I have no idea just what he did. I'm sure Ralph Ford at the Auto Clinic would know!" Amzy Mintonye came to Coquille in the summer of 1909 by wagon train from Jacksonville with his and several other families. He says their wagons were the true forerunner of the motor home, outfitted with everything needed for onthe- road travel for that time. His family purchased a 40 acre farm in the Sanford Heights area.
Amzy's father, Oscar Mintonye, worked as an auctioneer and in the assessor's office. Amzy went to school in the old Washington School. After hours he began to spend time in a local car repair shop learning to be a mechanic and how to make cars go faster backwards! I'm sure he wasn't thinking of that at the time! He even spent time in the Maxwell-Ford dealership without pay, learning what he could. He ended up with a job at Tower Ford for $40 a month. After some other ventures, in 1944 he began looking for a way to get into his own business in Coquille. He bought a lot and had Ernie Parrott build the shop where Ted's Auto Body has been. George Jueb and Cince Finley were financial partners. Amzy got the Ford dealership.
It eventually was Lounsbury Ford. Cince also sold cars. Amzy eventually sold out and had Parrott build him another building further out Central with a service station and Massey-Ferguson equipment. During his years prior to retirement he became a John Deere dealer. The stone place is located there now. His house was up near the old county barns. Jo said, "He had quite a bit of land where he offered to let the community use a plot and plant a garden for their own personal use as an additional food supply during hard times -- or any time. The only person who did it was Pat Cagley. She planted a garden and with the boys, worked in it raising their vegetables.
It's interesting to me that there is now a Community Garden being formed." She also said that there will be a family reunion this year at Ernie's Barn celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Mintonye's Family coming to Coquille. Amzy and Doris had two children, Jo Mintonye Brown, Coquille and Marion Mintonye Staley of Hillsboro.
COQUILLE CORN FED CANARIES
Gene Norton middle bottom row, Spike Leslie, another Leslie, Oscar Mintonye might be the one in the back holding another pip, J.L. Smith and others not identified. Can you identify any of these? It's hard the way they are dressed and painted!
Coquille just celebrated Gay 90's Saturday. We have had an entertainment during the summer for years. Starting in the pre-1920's, it was called the Coquille Corn Show. The county extension agent, J.L. Smith had a lot to do with it. Farmers were raising feed corn for ensilage. There was a downtown parade with an evening minstrel show playing to a packed house of 1,500. The cast of 40, sent off to Meier and Frank in Portland for authentic vaudeville costumes.
The "Monotony Killers" performed plays and J.L. Smith's Corn Fed Canaries sang. Later it was called a 4th of July celebration with Orvin Gant, J. L. Smith, Ken Talley and Spike Leslie forming one of the quartets. An earlier quartet featured Oscar Mintonye (Amzy's father), two of the Leslies and a 4th person. One of the popular events was the car racing. Amzy Mintonye won this race hands down with his little motor car.
He's there in the little white buggy behind the larger black car. His daughter Jo Mintonye Brown says it was a backward race and all of the cars ran backward. Amzy won the race because as an auto mechanic he knew how to install the motor so that the car running backwards had an increased speed. Jo said, " Since I'm not an auto mechanic I have no idea just what he did. I'm sure Ralph Ford at the Auto Clinic would know!" Amzy Mintonye came to Coquille in the summer of 1909 by wagon train from Jacksonville with his and several other families. He says their wagons were the true forerunner of the motor home, outfitted with everything needed for onthe- road travel for that time. His family purchased a 40 acre farm in the Sanford Heights area.
Amzy's father, Oscar Mintonye, worked as an auctioneer and in the assessor's office. Amzy went to school in the old Washington School. After hours he began to spend time in a local car repair shop learning to be a mechanic and how to make cars go faster backwards! I'm sure he wasn't thinking of that at the time! He even spent time in the Maxwell-Ford dealership without pay, learning what he could. He ended up with a job at Tower Ford for $40 a month. After some other ventures, in 1944 he began looking for a way to get into his own business in Coquille. He bought a lot and had Ernie Parrott build the shop where Ted's Auto Body has been. George Jueb and Cince Finley were financial partners. Amzy got the Ford dealership.
It eventually was Lounsbury Ford. Cince also sold cars. Amzy eventually sold out and had Parrott build him another building further out Central with a service station and Massey-Ferguson equipment. During his years prior to retirement he became a John Deere dealer. The stone place is located there now. His house was up near the old county barns. Jo said, "He had quite a bit of land where he offered to let the community use a plot and plant a garden for their own personal use as an additional food supply during hard times -- or any time. The only person who did it was Pat Cagley. She planted a garden and with the boys, worked in it raising their vegetables.
It's interesting to me that there is now a Community Garden being formed." She also said that there will be a family reunion this year at Ernie's Barn celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Mintonye's Family coming to Coquille. Amzy and Doris had two children, Jo Mintonye Brown, Coquille and Marion Mintonye Staley of Hillsboro.
COQUILLE CORN FED CANARIES
Gene Norton middle bottom row, Spike Leslie, another Leslie, Oscar Mintonye might be the one in the back holding another pip, J.L. Smith and others not identified. Can you identify any of these? It's hard the way they are dressed and painted!