Hattie Hogue was born on July 10th, 1900, at Woodville, Oregon, to Frank and Mattie Gilmore. Woodville is now known as Rogue River. Hattie had three sisters, Minnie Kirkpatrick Hall, Ada Johnston and Pauline Deo.
On April 3, 1919, she was married to Charles “Shenie” Hogue in Portland, Oregon. They had two sons, Donald, born September 5, 1928 at the Mary Smedburg Hospital on west 4th Street in Gold Beach, and Ralph, born October 3, 1930, in the “new” Smedburg hospital located about where the Inn of the Beachcomber is now located. Ralph was killed in a logging accident in 1957. Don and his wife Pat live along the North Bank Road a few miles from Gold Beach.
Hattie and Shenie lived at Kerby in the Illinois Valley until 1925 when they moved to Harbor near Hanscam’s store and Shenie fished commercially on the Winchuck, Chetco and Rogue Rivers. They grew up with the Hanscams, and with Archie and Fred Anderson, brothers of Viola Hanscam.
After one year in Harbor, Hattie and Shenie moved to Gold Beach to a small cabin at the spot called “Fish Camp”. It took the better part of two days to travel from Harbor to Gold Beach and they wanted to fish more on the Rogue. “Fish Camp” consisted of seven little cabins located along the Rogue River below Clay Banks on the Doyle Ranch. The Seaburg Cannery was also located there. Other residents of “Fish Camp” were Earl and Ada Johnston, Al and Agness Hall, Jack Hall, Gust and Jennie Schneidau and Pearl and Bill Ferguson. Glenn Wooldridge was a part time resident when working on the lower river.
Hattie worked in the cannery for the McCleay’s. Later she worked for Ike Smith near Jot’s, and then Rex Hayes Cannery by the Wedderburn Store.
Shenie piloted the ferry boat from Indian Creek, hauling cars, passengers and freight in 1931-32 while the Patterson Bridge was being constructed.
In 1934 Shenie worked for the U.S. Forest Service. He was sent to Brushy Bar above Agness to build a guard station and to patrol for fire. Hattie and the two boys accompanied him. The only way in and out of there was by foot, boat or horseback.
Another person lived on Brushy Bar. He was a German by the name of Chris Joker. He told Hattie and Shenie that in the summer when the temperature reached 105 degrees he just might hollar, but to pay him no mind. The heat made him go out of his mind. They heard him several times.
Hattie, Shenie and the boys would go to Paradise for fresh vegetables. Hathaway Jones, the story teller of the Rogue, lived at Paradise as did one other family. One hot day on the way back from Paradise they were riding their horses along the trail far above the river. The boys would look down at the river and with a tin cup they would dip into the dirt and say, “I want a drink.” When they arrived back at Brushy they would put the vegetables down in the well to keep them fresh. To keep meat from spoiling in the hot weather, Shenie found that putting the meat in quart jars and burying them deep in the ground would keep it for some time.
While they were at Brushy Bar Shenie killed 25 rattlesnakes, two bears and one cougar. The used to delight in shooting large sugar pine cones off of the trees and eating the seeds.
In 1936 the family moved to Agness so Don could start the first grade. Shenie was foreman at the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp at Agness. Later Hattie and the boys moved up 11th street in Gold Beach to what was called “Lizzie’s Bottom”. They had 40 acres and a home. During the summer Hattie and the boys would join Shenie at camps such as China Flat, McGribble, Sixes, Elk River and others while the CCC boys worked on the roads.
In 1943-47 the family moved to Wedderburn Ranch where they worked for D. M. “Bullhide” Moore. In the summer Hattie cooked for the haying and sheep shearing crews and they also raised sheep and cattle.
In 1949 Hattie and Shenie bought a meat market from Pete Knorr. It was located where Milt’s Barbershop used to be. When US 101 was widened the building had to be moved to 1st street where they owned a house and two lots. Hogue and Sons Meat Market also sold Frigidaire and Maytag appliances from Hanscams dealership in Harbor. Later they also put in groceries. The business closed in 1958 and they did a lot of fishing from the banks of the river.
Hattie was active in the Rebekah Lodge from 1925 on and held all of the lodge offices. In 1940 she received the Declaration of Chivalry for outstanding service to the Lodge and the community. She enjoyed playing bridge and at one time she and several other ladies traveled to Nanaimo, British Columbia for a tournament. She also enjoyed the American Legion Auxiliary and Gold Beach Senior Center.
Shenie died in 1967 and Hattie continued to live on Sixth Street until she moved in with Don and Pat. In 1992 Hattie fell and broke her hip and after that she moved into the Good Samaritan Center in Brookings where her mind stayed sharp and she enjoyed company and phone calls. she was honored as a Pioneer of the Month by the Curry County Historical Society. She passed away on July 20, 1996.