ANCESTORS OF WILFRED HIGINBOTHAM HIBBERT FIRST GENERATION

Hibbert Family

1931 "Star-Spangled Banner," words by Francis Scott Key officially becomes U.S. national anthem

1. Wilfred Higinbotham Hibbert (Bill) born 7 June 1907 in Dayton, Oregon, died in his sleep of heart failure, 21 August 1971 at Waldport, Oregon, married 13 October 1931 in McMinneville, Oregon to Ursula Henrietta Mattecheck.

When Bill had finished his first year of college at Oregon State College, he wanted a car. His father said he could send him to school for another year or buy him a car. Bill decided on the car and did not go back to school. Bill was working in the family grocery store when he and Ursula married.

They first lived in a house next door to his sister, Hester. (That house is gone now.) Hester and her husband Clare lived at 406 W. Main. Then in 1934, Bill & Sue moved to a new house at 533 Ash Street, which was next door to Bill's other sister, Elizabeth.

Bill & Sue's first home in Sheridan was 1050 Main Street on Highway18. They probably moved to Sheridan after the death of Bill's dad in 1934. At that time the store was sold. Bill moved to Sheridan, Oregon where he built a new movie theater.

The family farmed a quarter section (360 acres) from 1944-1952. To find the farm, go out Willimina Creek Road to Tindall Creek Road, Turn at the bridge and the 1904 Fenton School. This is the area where the farm was located. When they cut hay, the Baintor Brothers came to help. Sue set up a big Harvest Lunch, after that lunch all the workers slept until 2:00. They had begun work at 5AM and after their naps worked until sunset.

The house on Harmony Road was started 1 August 1948 and finished 2 December 1948. (This information was found on the garage wall in 1986 when Jennie and Richard Hibbert made an unexpected stop to view the house from the road.)

They were invited in by the present owners, Mr. & Mrs. Rice who purchased the house from Bill and Sue. Mrs. Rice had found some items in the house that obviously had belonged to the Hibbert Family and just couldn't throw them away. But at that moment didn't remember where she had put them. So over the next few years the postman would deliver photos, books and a bible.

Wilfred Higinbothom HibbertUrsula Henrietta Mattecheck

Most of Bill's life was spent running the 60 acre farm on Harmony Road with white faced Herford cattle, grain and prune orchards. Wednesdays were cattle sales day at the auction barn. Bill often told his son Bob to "put the racks on the (stake bed) truck". Then off they would go to the sale. Sometimes they would buy cattle, sometimes not. If they did buy, they frequently did not arrive back home with their purchase. Dad would remember that Jack up the road or Joe over the hill had said that he wanted a couple of good beef cattle. So Dad and Bob would stop and dicker. With hands in pockets, one foot, then the other, kicking dirt, that seemed to be the part Dad liked best, the dickering. He said that to sell the cattle then at even a small profit was "just like finding money on the street!"

During the evenings he owned and the family operated three movie theatres and a drive-in movie theatre. They rented the films in Portland, Oregon at an exchange near the corner of Lovejoy and Irving. Trips were made about once a month.

When he died he left a moderate inhertiance to his wife Ursula.

Children:

Jennie and Richard Hibbert

When Richard was about a year old he went with his Grandfather Hibbert to the orchards. Grandfather drove a truck he called "Ben Hur". Richard's Grammy and Auntie Babe always worried about the two of them as Grandfather drove like a "bat out of hell"!

1966-Edwin F. Aldrin steps out of the Gemini 12 for 129 minutes

Richard went to college at Oregon State College, majoring in Business and Technology and Naval Science. Therefore, upon graduation he was assigned to the heavy crusier, USS Toledo, for two years. Then he went back to college at the University of Oregon, in Eugene to major in architecture. He became a registered Architect in 1966. At that time went back into the Navy in order to take the family to Japan, where they lived for five and a half years. The family traveled Japan from top to bottom. They visited in the north, seeing Mount Akan & the Lake Akan. And at the most southern tip of Japan the children rode camels in a children's park. They went to see Monkey Mountain in Beppu, and to the Japan Sea to a famous park. They went to the Kite Festival, to the Moon Festival, to Shi Chi Go San (the festival for children ages 3, 5 &7) to see the Budah in Kamakura, to Expo 70 in Osaka and to the Palace Grounds in Tokyo. They rode the Bullet Train & traveled by car (their big gold oldsmobile). The children did all the normal things on the American Base at Yokosuka, the boys were in Little League & Scouts, and played basketball, Kerry took ballet and was in Brownies. They learned to swim, went to school, & had many friends.

Then the family returned to the United States in 1972 to live and work in Northern Virginia. Richard was the Technical Advisor for Naval Family Housing.

Children: