William P. and Dorothy M. Eddy Memorial Trust
William P. Eddy’s great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother, Ezekial Isaac Eddy and Lucy Fisk Eddy, arrived in Oregon in the mid-1800s. Their son, Israel Fisk Eddy, settled in the area that was then called Little Elk. Israel allowed the Valley & Siletz Railroad right-of-way through his land with the understanding that the settlement would be called Eddyville. Israel’s son, Perry, and his wife Mary Amanda settled in Kings Valley and had a son named Israel. Mary Amanda was the daughter of Civil War Captain Samuel Frantz, who came across the plains in 1850 and purchased Fort Hoskins—a short-lived, unfortified U.S. Army post—directly from the government. The unincorporated area was thereafter called Hoskins and was headquarters for the railroad. Israel, William’s father, married a girl from Tennessee named Virginia who had attended Corvallis High School. The couple settled in Hoskins and raised two sons, including William, who was born on January 16, 1919. Virginia was postmistress at the Hoskins post office, which was located in the Eddy’s home, for many years. William remembers it as a friendly, informal arrangement; locals would go to pick up their mail in winter and Virginia would invite them sit in the family’s living room to warm up by the fire before going back out into the weather. William attended a one-room grade school in Hoskins and then went to Kings Valley High School. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in business from Albany College in Albany, Oregon (which later moved to Portland and became Lewis & Clark College), in 1940. While attending college, he met Dorothy M. Moore. Dorothy was born May 29, 1919 in Portland. She attended Franklin High School, then earned a teaching degree from Albany College and taught high school Umapine and West Linn, Oregon. After graduating from Albany College and before marrying Dorothy, William worked for Pacific Fruit and Produce in Portland for a year before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps. During World War II, he served as a captain in the Pacific arena, participating in campaigns in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, and Iwo Jima. He was then transferred to Camp Pendleton and became a commanding officer at the recruit depot. As preparations were being made to invade Japan in the final stages of the war, he was moved to Quantico for advanced artillery training, but luckily did not have to serve in that capacity because the war was over. He retired with the rank of major. Dorothy and William maintained correspondence while William was overseas. They were married in 1949 and bought a modest house on an acre of property on 53rd Street in Corvallis. They never moved. Their daughter Victoria (Vicki) was born in May 1952, and Dorothy stayed home to raise Vicki. When Vicki was about ten years old, Dorothy began substitute teaching at schools around the valley. She continued to be a substitute teacher for about 30 years, and thoroughly enjoyed it. She was active in Eastern Star and Daughters of the Nile. Dorothy died in January 2001. William became a corporate officer and treasurer for Moser Lumber Co. in Kings Valley, a position he held for 25 years. He then worked as controller for Albany International Industries and Albany Titanium before retiring in 1988. William has been active in Freemasonry for more than 50 years and is a member of Mary’s River Lodge #221 and the Al Kader Shrine. In 2000, he was honored by the Masons with the coveted Hiram Award, which is presented to a Master Mason who has served his lodge and the Masonic fraternity with devotion above and beyond the ordinary. It is the highest honor that can be given to a member of a Masonic Lodge other than being Master of the lodge, and is bestowed by a vote of the lodge’s members. William established this fund with the foundation to support the Kings Valley Cemetery Association, Kings Valley Charter School library fund, Eddyville Charter School library fund, Kings Valley-Hoskins Rural Fire Protection training fund, and the Mary’s River Masonic Lodge #221 and its scholarship fund. William’s grandmother, mother, father, and wife are buried at Kings Valley Cemetery. He organized the Kings Valley Cemetery Association and wants to help ensure that the cemetery is always kept in good condition. He is designating a portion of the proceeds of the endowment to the Kings Valley Charter School library fund and Eddyville Charter School library fund to support the acquisition of books. His long-time, heartfelt interest in the work of the Masons is reflected in his desire to support the lodge, and particularly to support the lodge’s scholarship fund that was established with the foundation in 2007. William remembers a time when the community’s response to a house fire in the Kings Valley-Hoskins area was for neighbors to call each other for help. Sometimes, neighbors would arrive in time to salvage a few pieces of furniture, but otherwise could only stand by and watch as the house burned to the ground. He wants to support the Kings Valley-Hoskins fire department because “it’s a pretty good organization to have,” he said. He and his brother, Francis, donated the land that houses the fire station. William’s daughter Vicki earned a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and PhD in nutrition and food management from Oregon State University. She is a registered dietitian and sanitarian, certified health education specialist, and has a special interest in food safety. She worked in public health for a time, and has taught at OSU and Linn-Benton Community College. She married Ted Baker, who works at the Albany post office. William has two granddaughters, Heather Look and Jenica Baker. He has been very involved in his granddaughters’ lives. Vicki, Ted, and the girls now live on the property originally owned by Perry and Mary Amanda Eddy in Kings Valley.