Page:Frederick V. Holman An Appriciation.djvu/1



How far should a man go when request comes to write an estimate of a friend who recently lay down to his long sleep? I put the inquiry to myself a few days ago when Professor Young asked me to express formally in print my opinion of the late Frederick V. Holman, former president of the Oregon Historical Society. My reply was that I ought to write almost without restraint; therefore, I feel free to tell the truth as I see it. If I should repeat a few things that were in my mind when I penned an appreciation, published in the Portland Telegram under the initials N. J. L., I hope not to be criticized. What follows will not be a tabloid biography of a native son well known in person, or by repute, to every reader of the Quarterly. My purpose is to speak of his altruistic service to the state of Oregon, to set forth a few reasons why we should honor his memory, and to extol his high character. Candor compels me to say that I am writing, not in the spirit of some future impartial biographer, but with an unmistakable bias in favor of my subject. Any living pioneer contemporary or old timer whose life had been enriched by close contacts with him could not do otherwise. Emotion would color his utterances, just as it colors mine.

A superior brain was one of Fred Holman's precious inheritances. Uncommon intellectual industry was another.