Page:The Souvenir of Western Women.djvu/124

116 of the raising of this flag, the first to wave over a school building in the Pacific Northwest.

(Mrs. Simons, the leading spirit and chief actor in this little drama, well worthy to be chronicled as a part of our Northwest history, is yet living, bright and active. Though for years totally blind, upon the walls of her memory glow the pictures of the past and in her heart, still sing the same sweet songs of love for country, God and humanity. Her days are full of work and helpfulness, though sightless her eyes. Through a device of her own inventing she is enabled to write very legibly, and wrote with her own hand the foregoing article. She also does wood carving and makes portfolios of leather. Not the least of her helpfulness is her sunny, contented spirit, which surmounts her affliction and radiates into the heart of every one who finds way into her delightful presence; to these she is a lesson and a benediction.—M. O. D.)

The marvelous growth of this house speaks volumes for the possibilities of Oregon and the Northwest. In the short space of fourteen years this firm has grown from a very small beginning to one of the leading department stores of the Pacific Coast. Their new store building on the corner of Third and Morrison streets occupies a central position in the city, and is one of the most modern equipped in the West. Their method of doing business has won the confidence of their patrons, and their large and commodious quarters are always filled with buyers.