Yes, maybe I think too much about my family and its long-ago stories. But it was impossible for me to read the news about the possible merger of Oregon’s Willamette and Pacific Universities, without my brain digging back to the founding of Willamette University. (Or maybe I’m still personally traumatized by the “potential” but never occurring merger of OHSU with Legacy Health?)

“Pacific University and Willamette University, Oregon’s two founding institutions of higher education, have signed a letter of intent agreeing to move forward with due diligence and the negotiation of a definitive agreement to merge to become the state’s largest private university.” (See information as posted on Willamette University’s website.)

Honestly, I can’t say the news strikes me as either positive or negative, but rather the reminder of how as time elapses we experience change. I too understand the challenges today facing academic institutions, their staff and hopeful students. Change happens – sometimes for the better, and sadly, we later realize, sometimes not. It’s fair to remind myself how my third great grandparents, Chloe and William, probably did not anticipate leaving their posts with the Jason Lee Missionaries within a few years of joining, although they did exactly that after recognizing the unsuccessfulness of the Mission’s endeavors. (No surprise to us now, of course.) And how within a few years they found themselves as part of the foundation of Willamette University’s beginnings: something they probably had not imagined when leaving the shores of the East Coast of the United States to come to Oregon Country in those years of 1837 and 1840.

What I find particularly fascinating are the facts around the earliest beginnings of both institutions.

“Oregon’s Pacific University is the oldest chartered university in the West. The Oregon Territorial Legislature granted its original charter as the Tualatin Academy on Sept. 26, 1849.” (From Pacific University website.)

AND

“As the first university in the West, Willamette’s story is rich, complex, and deeply intertwined with the history of the Pacific Northwest. Established in 1842, Willamette University has been at the forefront of higher education, with the region’s first law and medical schools and educating generations of leaders, artists, and changemakers. From its beginnings as a mission school to its current status as a renowned liberal arts institution, Willamette has continually evolved—honoring its past while forging new paths forward.” (From Willamette University’s website.)

I get it. “Oldest chartered” as compared to “first university.” So if merged, we could then say First and Oldest Chartered University in the west? Okay, okay. I know many folks don’t care about those details.

Those who have read my memoir My Music Man may remember bits about this. (Um, can I remind you it is now available in audiobook? And, apparently my narration is pretty good!) William Holden Willson and Chloe Clark Willson are my third great grandparents.

I thought about time traveling to ask Chloe and William their thoughts about this new proposal. But then, I reminded myself I did that once in a different blog–how many times will that arrangement work out? (See: Hello 3rd Great Grandmother: An Interview). Besides, although my current COVID infection has left me with fairly mild symptoms, who is to say my creativity is in top form? (Advertisement: Yes, COVID is real, vaccines matter and don’t give the “gift that keeps giving” during the holiday season even if it presents as “only” a cold.)

Last week I chatted with someone who is new to Oregon and now listening to My Music Man (she found it on her library’s Hoopla App, which is exciting to me, a library lover). She wondered if what I wrote is true. I told her it is, me being as truthful to the known facts as possible. Of course, dialogue in the memoir between me and my brothers as kids relies a bit on those false memories we all build upon as we age (and yes, brother Patrick still argues about the accuracy of the Willamette River carp and water skiing scene.) However, although I did research my family’s Oregon history, I know that we don’t know everything. Point of fact: it was only after publishing the book when I learned about William’s first Oregon intimate relationship outside of marriage, and how he probably did know Chloe in their Eastern United States years. (If you’re interested in that “scandal” you can find it here: Time Traveling to the Secrets of our Past Part 2)

Facts, though, do support that the first elected trustees for Willamette University’s predecessor, The Oregon Institute, included Jason Lee, David Leslie, Gustavus Hines, J.L. Parish, L.H. Judson, George Abernathy, Alanson Beers, H. Campbell, and Dr. Ira L. Babcock. William H. Willson was elected to the board in 1843 and acted as secretary in 1845. In 1844 the Trustees sold their original determined location on Wallace Prairie (about half a mile below today’s Salem) and purchased the Indian Manual Labor School building which was erected in 1842. This new Oregon Institute was opened with Chloe as teacher. The Oregon Institute was merged into the Willamette University in 1853. William acted as the agent for the property, and is today recognized as the one who was most involved in the platting of downtown Salem.

It’s worth speculating as to whether those founders of Willamette University, and those of Pacific University knew each other. Back in those early days preceding statehood, religious “camp-meetings” occurred among white people including those on the Tualatin Plains near today’s Hillsboro. Ministers included Lee and Leslie, and even William Willson. Although this relative of mine joined the Methodist Mission as a layman and was identified as their mission carpenter, he too recognized himself as an itinerant Methodist minister, having been licensed as a local preacher, and even a doctor (he learned this aboard the ship The Diana!). This Tualatin Plains camp meetings included others, including Harvey Clark. Harvey Clark went on to be among those who supported Oregon Trail traveler Tabitha Moffatt Brown to establish Tualatin Academy, the foundation of what would become Pacific University. And so, its fair to imagine some of these founders may have known each other back then.

Often I’ve shared that I’m not a true historian like my dad or grandfather. I find out what I need and then move on. This strategy may work well for those who write memoirs but be unfit for biographers or scholarly non-fiction. With renewed interest in the early founding of Willamette University, I dug (a bit) into documents not on my mind before, including the “Chronicles of Willamette.”

Should I ever have find the attention for rigorous study, I might better delve into the various controversies that come up between William and the Trustees, and William and Chloe. The most interesting of these to me is Chloe’s refusal to give her half of their deeded land claim to Willamette University, claiming it was William who agreed to this obligation to provide the land as his commitment to the Trustees. I rather like that she fought for something she had never agreed to, even if it surprised folks since she was so devoted to Willamette, even being acknowledged as the school’s first teacher. An entire dissertation has been written on that dispute – not by me, clearly.

A detail from the first page of Chronicles of the Willamette struck me as relevant to the current merger conversation: “The effort was to make the tuition reasonable in order that the benefits of the school might be enjoyed by as many as possible.” My sometimes squirrel brain reminds me of the meeting Mom and I had when my kids were pre-teens to see if our family’s perpetual scholarships meant anything today. Or, in simpler terms: could our kids go free? (Nope I learned. You can read more about this also within the blog mentioned before: Time Traveling to the Secrets of our Past Part 2.)

And again, with all my digressions, I return to thinking about the current day topic of the two institutions merging. I don’t have much of an opinion as I’m truly not someone with vested interest, or knowledge in what it might take to maintain successful institutions. After all, sadly, we have already moved past financially achievable higher educational opportunities for many if not most students today. I can understand all sides of the discussion: those who believe this is a “bold” move to thoughtfully plan for the best career preparation for this next generation, as well as the worries about loss of identify, jobs, positions and programs.Above all, challenging times require intelligent and compassionate actions, communications and decisions, along with transparency. I will continue to follow the discussion with hope that all voices will be listened to and decisions made to best benefit all.

Read more blogs about Chloe and William.

Learn more about My Music Man.