Laurance “Larry” Lee
Oral History of: Laurance Lee D.o.B: 16 February 1931
Interviewer: Loyce Martinazzi, Yyvone Addington Date: February 10, 2015
Location: Larry’s home 21075 SW65th Ave. Tualatin OR 97062
“A little bit of an outlaw”: The Colorful Life of Larry Lee
(Note: THS is collecting oral histories of long-timers in Tualatin. Thanks to Ross Baker for this contribution to our archives)
Crawling through the moonless autumn night in 1945, fourteen year old Larry Lee and his pals Floyd Trump and Mike Wyatt struck out on another secret mission. Larry was a bit disappointed that the rest of the posse was not joining them that night. The Lacey brothers—Bill was a great pal of Larry’s—had chickened out. Altogether, some 7-8 of Larry’s pals (both boys and girls) were part of a master outlaw ring of ……toilet tippers!
Larry knew you had to get out a few days before Halloween or all the good toilets would have been tipped. What he did not know was that this particular season would be spectacular. The stuff of legends. The gang hit Bill Sagert’s place. Bill was in the barn milking cows. At that time, barns used a board laid over brackets on the outside doors to keep animals secure. This night, Larry and his pals decided Bill would be the animal to be kept inside!. Larry does recall that the next day they felt so bad they went back to tip up the toilet. Perhaps even to make sure ‘ol man Sagert got out of the barn OK! Or, maybe they did it because they remembered another “tipping” event when the proprietor (either Herb Lafky or Clyde Huskey—out laws try to forget the details…) was waiting for them inside with a gun. During that escape another pal John “Bobby” George ended up in the ditch next to the railroad track. Ah….good times!
Kids Don’t Need Friends
With a contagious laugh and still that boy wonder in his eyes Larry recalled his story recently to Tualatin Historical Society members Loyce Martinazzi and Yvonne Addington. Laurance Lee refers to himself as a little bit of an outlaw. He was born on February 16, 1931 in Roseburg, Oregon. Though he would move from there at the age of 6 he would always consider Roseburg his home town. Larry’s mother died when he was 10 months old leaving his father Roger Allen Lee to raise Larry along with siblings Darwin, Lila and Louise. The family bought 40 acres near what today is Meridian Park Hospital and the Fox Hills neighborhood. Roger was somewhat of a different person at different times. On one hand he was a naturalist. The Sequoias that he planted too close together in 1937 still stand near the old home place today but stunted by being planted to close together. His stern father thought kids needed plenty of chores more than they needed friends and busy social calendars. Larry’s first couple of years at school were at the old city hall next to the Methodist Church awaiting the completion of the new brick school (1939).
Larry recalls the primary reason for enjoying school was to avoid the work waiting back at the farm. He managed to have friends and plenty of them. Some he met while cruising around in his first car, a ‘34 Plymouth Sedan. Others he met on his basketball team. Folks said Larry was the best ball player around in those days, a claim he disputes saying that honor goes to Robert Quigely. Together they and the rest of the team played in barns all around Tualatin.
Accidental Berries
After one year of college at OSU, Larry’s dad put the pressure on to leave school. Larry’s siblings did not think that was a good idea—after all they had gone to school. Ultimately Larry made the decision himself. He left because he wanted to get married and did exactly that to Loyce Martinazzi on June 2, 1952. Early on the Lee’s became established in the berry business. But it almost did not happen. Early land purchases totaled 75 acres but the coming of I-205 took 45 acres of that. Holding out for a better offer from the government for the land claimed via eminent domain seemed to be a fool’s task but it worked. They quadrupled the funds from the sale and were able to by another 40 acres. The Lee’s also ended up renting some land that was too wet for anything but strawberries. For 2 years they did the backbreaking work of harvesting their own crop. Then the U-pick idea was suggested by a friend. Larry recalls not thinking much of the concept at the time but it worked. Today Lee’s Farm is a local institution that surely every resident of Tualatin knows.
Sow in the Back Seat
Berries didn’t always allow the Lee’s to make ends meet in the early years. Larry drove an oil delivery truck. But after that was done he would scramble over to the Winona Cemetery on Tualatin Road to make some extra money by digging graves by hand and sometimes in the dark. Even Loyce, the kids, nieces and nephews would help by push mowing the property.
But wait, there were more money-making schemes. For reasons Larry does not recall today, the back seats were out of his ‘52 Chevy. He and his father-in-law Art Martinazzi ventured over to McMinnville to a livestock auction. Well a deal just too good to be true came about and they won themselves a few pigs--13 of them. So with a back door open they lifted the sow and one baby pig into the empty back seat area and put the rest of the piglets in the trunk. It did not really seem that odd to Larry until he was on 99W heading home when all of the southbound traffic could not help but notice, point and laugh at the unusual passengers peeking out the windows of the Chevy.
“I’m not really an old timer but there aren’t many older than me”
Over the years Larry has seen an amazing list of things happen in Tualatin. The beginnings of I-5 before World War 2. He witnessed the start of Merdian Park Hospital against the better wishes of some locals who thought it would create problems for the river. Others thought Tualatin’s sewer system could not handle all the germs being washed down by the hospital. Larry was even around one day when a sea lion wandered up into Saum Creek. But that’s a story we will have to ask Larry about on another day.
Agenda / Key words “Tags”
Kitzhaber, Portland Airport PDX, Barns, Dairy, Interstate 5 I-5, Interstate 205 I-205, Brick School, McDonald’s Restaurant, Berries Berry, Christmas Tree Business, Charolais breeding awards, Lila Lee (Larry's sister), Laurance Walden (grandson of Loyce Martinazzi and Laurance Lee), Darwin Lee (Larry's brother_), Louise Lee (Larry's sister), Bill Lacy, Clyde Husky, Craig Lee (son of Loyce Martinazzi and Laurance Lee), Tim Lee, son of Loyce Martinazzi and Laurance Lee), Seraphim Klinger, ? Bishoff (early berry farmer), ? Christensen (land farmed by Lees), Robert Quigley (basketball player, friend of Larry’s), Floyd Trump (classmate of Larry's), Mike Wyatt (classmate of Larry's), Marian Andrews ( classmate of Larry's and 2nd cousin to Loyce), Herb Lafky, ? Kelsch (had heart attack over 205), Charolais Bull, Floyd Trump, Mike Wyatt, Marian Andrews, June Husky, Madget (feed store), Teachers: Miss Beatrice Cole (teacher then later principal at school), Mrs. Lila King (3rd grade teacher), Alma Schumer, ? Thompson, ? Powell (music), ? Englebritzen (principle), ? Henderson (school board president)
