Wasco-Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Fleck, J. A. 1853 - September 13, 1917 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com May 26, 2007, 5:08 pm Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company J. A. FLECK. Few men have held a higher place in public esteem than did the late J. A. Fleck, whose splendid, well improved ranch lies on the west side of The Dalles. He was enterprising and progressive in all of his affairs, being painstaking and thorough in whatever he undertook, and his labors were distinctive in their results, for he earned a reputation as one of the most successful fruit raisers in the Pacific northwest. In his private life he exemplified the highest type of citizenship and was regarded as one of the representative men of his section of the state. Mr. Fleck was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1853, and was a son of Joseph and Katherine Fleck, both of whom were natives of that country and there spent their lives. The father learned the trade of a brickmason and eventually became the owner of a brickyard. J. A. Fleck secured a good education in the public schools of his native land and remained at home until 1879, when he emigrated to the United States, locating in Portland, Oregon. He remained there a few months and then went to work in the machine shops of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, in The Dalles, where he was employed for several years. He then turned his attention to farming, taking up a homestead on Chenoweth creek, six miles west of The Dalles, onto which he moved in 1887. He built a house and farmed that place until 1893, when he sold it and bought sixty acres of the old Catholic mission farm, along the west city limits of The Dalles. After building a house, he engaged in fruit raising, giving his attention chiefly to grapes, and was the first man in eastern Oregon to plant grapes on a commercial scale. He planted twenty different varieties, all of which were standard, and now has fifteen acres planted to this luscious fruit. When he first located here the land was mostly covered with pine timber and oak grubs and a vast amount of hard labor was required to put it in shape for cultivation. Much of his land was also planted to other fruits, which he later sold, and during the ensuing years he bought and sold a number of tracts. He gave intelligent and thoughtful direction to the care and cultivation of his grapes, in the growing of which he took great pride, and some idea of the success which crowned his efforts may be gathered from the fact that he won many prizes at various fairs and expositions in various parts of the country. He won a gold medal at the Lewis and Clark exposition at Portland in 1905; at the Pan-American exposition at Buffalo, New York, in 1901, he won a gold medal on his Pond prunes; at the World’s fair, at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904, he won a silver medal on his grapes; at the Oregon state fair, at Salem, in 1908, he won seven first prizes on fruit and a number of second prizes; at the same fair in 1909 he won six first prizes on fruit, and at the Alaska-Yukon fair at Seattle, Washington, in 1909, he won the grand sweepstakes on grapes, besides which he won many other prizes and ribbons at county fairs in this state. Mr. Fleck continued his close attention to his ranching interests until his death, which occurred September 13, 1917, an event which was deeply regretted throughout the community, for he was a man of unusual strength of character, stood for all that was best and uplifting in life and by his individual efforts had contributed to the general welfare and prosperity of his locality. Cordial and unaffected in manner, he made many loyal friends and throughout the range of his acquaintance commanded confidence and respect. On May 29, 1887, Mr. Fleck was united in marriage to Miss Katie Herke, who was born in Hesse Nassau, Germany, and is a daughter of Anthony and Gertrude (Kremer) Herke, also born in Germany, the mother’s ancestral home having been at Frankfort-on-the-Rhine. Anthony Herke came to the United States in 1870 and located at Athanam valley, near Yakima, Washington, where he took up a homestead, which was mostly covered with timber. He was one of the pioneer settlers in the Yakima valley, as may be inferred from the fact that as late as 1879 there were but thirty-six families resident in the territory now included in Benton, Yakima and Klickitat counties. He cleared off most of his land and engaged extensively in raising vegetables, which he traded to the Indians for cattle and horses, there being no other markets near by. Ready money was scarce and in order to support his family he went to work at The Dalles. While there, he was notified of the death of his wife, which occurred July 5, 1879, and he at once started to walk home, a distance of about one hundred miles, which he covered in two days, arriving in time for the funeral. He took an active interest in the development of his locality and helped to open up the stage road to The Dalles, known as the Canyon road, by which the freight from his district was hauled to The Dalles. In the early days he worked away from home much of the time, mostly at The Dalles, which even at that time was a busy and thriving town. He helped to construct some of the first buildings in the town of Yakima and lived to see the Yakima valley transformed into one of the richest and best agricultural sections of the west. During the early years there the family passed through many trying experiences, one of which occurred during the Indian scare of the early ‘70s. While Mr. Herke was away from home, his place was attacked by Indians, who broke down the front door with an ax. The children, who were at home with their mother, escaped through a trap door into the cellar, thence out into the brush, in which they hid all night until the Indians disappeared, after sacking the home. Mr. Herke was one of the first to make use of irrigation in the Yakima valley and, through his enterprising and energetic efforts, became a well-to-do man. At his death, on December 26, 1908, he left several fine ranches, which are still owned in the family. To him and his wife were born six children, namely: P, J., who lives at Donald, in the Yakima valley; Mrs. Katie Fleck; Antone, who lives on the old homestead in the Yakima valley; Gertrude, who also resides at the old home; Frank, of the Yakima valley; and Joseph, who lives on the upper homestead ranch. Mr. and Mrs. Fleck became the parents of nine children, as follows: Gertrude, who became the wife of George E. Moore and is the mother of eight children, Catherine, Gertrude, John, George, Mary Alice, Robert, Helen and Mildred; Mary Ann, who remains at home; Emma Josephine, who is the wife of Lee Mead, of Boardman, Oregon, and is the j- mother of three children, Paul, Helen and Catherine; Helen, who is teaching school near The Dalles; Joseph, who is operating the home place in partnership with his mother, and is married and has three children, Kenneth, Ellen and Mildred Jean; Rosina, who is employed as a stenographer in The Dalles; Catherine, who is the wife of O. W. Kortge and they have four children, Madeline, Winifred, Uldene and Bernard; Antone, who died on December 11, 1915; and Francis, who remains at home and assists his mother in the care of the vineyards and farm. Mrs. Fleck attended the Sisters Academy at Yakima and completed her studies in St. Mary’s Academy at The Dalles. All of her children also attended St. Mary’s Academy, from which four of them graduated, and at one time all nine children were attending school. Mrs. Fleck is a woman of kindly and hospitable disposition, gracious and friendly in manner, and throughout the community she has a large circle of warm and devoted friends. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Pages 323-325 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/wasco/bios/fleck371gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 8.3 Kb