September 16, 2009

Rancher, historian Hilderbrand dies

     Longtime Sherman County rancher, community leader, historian and wind power advocate Gordon Wilson Hilderbrand, 80, a resident of Wasco, died at his home on Friday, Sept. 11, 2009.
     He was born in The Dalles on Sept. 16, 1928, the second son to Ormand G. and Lois (Barnett) Hilderbrand. He was delivered by Dr. Griffith, who had been knighted by the Queen of England. He attended Wasco High School and attended Oregon Agricultural College.
     He was a third generation wheat farmer, an avid ham radio operator, private pilot and history buff. He served as Wasco County Pioneer Association president, member of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, Sherman County Historical Society, Wasco School Board, Wasco Trap Club, Hanford Waste Advisory Commission, 1976 Bicentennial Commission, Navy League, Wheat League and Wasco United Methodist Church. Gordon was an Elk, Mason, Shriner and Boy Scout Leader.
     He was very proud that his mother, Lois Marion Barnett’s grandfather John Golden was the founder of Goldendale. He was also very proud of his aunt Marie Barnett Cooper, who in 1917 became the first woman bank president in Oregon and the third in the nation. Marie was also the first woman auto dealer in Oregon.      She had a Ford dealership in Wasco in 1914.
     He was well known for his stories. One of his favorites featured Marie’s sheep dog, which got tired of being at the pasture in Klickitat county and on his own accord took The Dalles ferry into Oregon and went all the way back to Klondike.
He remembers helping fuel the generation plant in the basement and milking cows for the cream checks.
     For nearly fifty years John and Gordon farmed both the Hilderbrand and Barnett’s homesteaded wheat land in Sherman County.
I     n 1957 he secured funding to bring TV to Sherman County. With financial backing and the mechanical help of his friend Don McDermid, he constructed a brick building atop Juniper Point in Washington. There he installed an antenna and repeater instantly providing much of the Columbia Basin with its first Portland television broadcasts.
I     n 1968 he commissioned CH2M Hill in Corvallis to study the feasibility of a Pump Storage Facility on the John Day River in Sherman County. His innovative idea would have generated electricity and provided irrigation water to local farmers.
I     n the 1980s he worked on an effort to bring a correctional facility to Rufus. He traveled to Texas to study their system and was set to meet with Michael Francke, Oregon’s correction chief the day Mr. Francke was murdered.
     At his hilltop house he collected wind data for more than fifty years. At the beginning of the new millennium, with his wind data in hand, he was able to convince speculators from Wyoming that Sherman County was the right place for wind power. He was instrumental in the placement of the first wind turbines at Klondike. He always enjoyed touring the turbines with family and friends.
He was extremely pleased to have known local historians such as Giles French and Theodore Johnston. He acquired many of the William Raymond photos and became knowledgeable of the history of Wasco and Sherman counties.
I     n 1997, he was reading a World War II magazine article about an amazing piggyback flight involving two B-17 Flying Fortresses and 1st Lt. Bill Macnab and Captain Glenn Rojohn. He knew that his good friend Pat Macnab and family had never known Bill’s fate during the war. He contacted Capt. Rojohn and with Pat Macnab’s help flew him out for a hero’s welcome in Sherman County.
     He is survived by his longtime friend, Shirlee McAllister, Wasco; his brother, John Hilderbrand and his wife Wanda; three sons, Dan Hilderbrand, Oceanside, Calif.; Don Hilderbrand, Wasco; and Randy Hilderbrand, Wasco; his daughter, Cindi Hilderbrand Henley, Redmond; six grandchildren, Josh Hilderbrand, Ryan Hilderbrand, Ashley Hilderbrand, Rebecca Hilderbrand Jones, Tyler Henley and Cassie Henley; two great-grandchildren, Scott Henley and Kalob Housden; two nephews, Ormand and Jeff and his niece, Jill.
     He was preceded in death by his parents.
     Viewing will be held on Friday, Sept. 18, from 2 to 6 p.m. and on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 9 a.m. to noon at Spencer, Libby and Powell Funeral Home.
Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 2:30 p.m. at Wasco United Methodist Church with Pastor Bob Reasoner officiating and burial to follow at Wasco Sunrise Cemetery with arrangements under the care of Spencer, Libby and Powell Funeral Home.
     Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of The Gorge, 751 Myrtle St., The Dalles, OR 97058.