A Morsemas Story

 

You better watch out

You better not cry

You better not pout

I'm telling you why

Wayne Morse is coming to town

At least that’s what I like to think they sang in the winter of 1944 when Oregon’s Senator-elect made his cross country road trip to Washington D.C. He arrived in DC just in time for Christmas. You might be asking why Morse made the long trek by car instead of by train as would have been customary for someone entering the Senate. It was pretty simple. No matter how educated Morse had become at institutions of higher learning he never stopped being a farmer and animal lover.

He needed to transport his two favorite horses to DC. Yes, some people bring their family, or maybe a dog or cat (future Oregon Senator Richard Neuberger and family always transported the family cat Muffet) Morse, the old farm boy, brought Spice of Life and Oreganna Bourbon via a trailer with him. Oh, his 13-year-old daughter Nancy joined them too, but the press was all about the horses. Morse, Nancy, and his two stallions left Eugene via the Willamette Pass and Hwy 30 bound for DC. Leaving on the 12th of December and expecting to make it across the country by Christmas must have seemed like it would be easy on paper, but it proved to be an eventful trip in the dead of winter.

He planned for a trip of about ten days. Heading towards Bend, his route would take him via Burns, Ontario, Boise, Salt Lake City, and Laramie. He was to meet with a group and give a short talk in Des Moines. Along the way to DC Morse would face snow, ice, and hazardous driving conditions. Worst of all, he ran out of gas at one point. Today, a cross-country car ride, with two drivers alternating, would take a little over 2 days. Morse was doing all the driving, making his way on the old highways before the booming investments made during the post-war years in national infrastructure.

A news service called Timely Events covered their arrival on December 26th, 1944. This was a publication that took one press photo a day, made a poster out of it, and sent it to you in the mail to hang in the office or store window. Think of it as the Instagram of the 1940s. Their motto was ‘The News of the World in Pictures’. When I think of adventures that could be turned into holiday films I always think about this cross-country trip from Morse. I doubt most of us have to do any traveling like Morse did this holiday season, but if you do have to do any traveling, I hope you will be safe.

I never thought that families and even my own family would be having civil wars over vaccinations, masks, and testing. If you find yourself dealing with a family member refusing to go get tested, especially if you have others in your family that are more at risk for landing in the hospital, be firm and stay strong. Your friends and I are right there with you. Many of us are going through the same endless debates with family. It has, at times, made me want to go ba-humbug to people. I don’t understand how anyone could not have any empathy for others, especially at this time of year.

Focus on the things that bring you comfort and joy this winter and hope that our family and friends will walk themselves back from edge before they ruin relationships. If you have the free time, do what Wayne Morse did and go for a drive. At least you will not be hauling horses in a trailer behind you.