Located about 4 miles SE of Lake Creek, a small community, is the Walch Wayside Memorial park, a privately-maintained park dedicated to a couple who homesteaded this area and left a major impression on family and friends and are memorialized here with a plaque and name of this park in their honor. There's a stone monument and plaque located just inside the entry gate to the park, near the Lost Creek Covered Bridge, the shortest and oldest covered bridge in Oregon. The plaque reads:
Within the covered bridge is a guest book for visitors to sign as well as a page hanging above the guest book that highlights John and Marie Walch's industrious lives and reads:
Walch Memorial Wayside
John W. Walsh was born Dec. 20, 1884, in Wellen, near Antelope. He was one of 14 children born to Jacob and Katherine Walch pioneer settlers of the Antelope Creek area near Eagle Point. In 1913 he moved to lake Creek and purchased a 1600-acre cattle ranch. On Dec. 19, 1915 he married the former Ida Marie Newtrom. Together they worked and farmed the same cattle ranch for 65 years. This park is located on a portion of the original ranch. John was honored as a lifetime member of the Oregon Cattleman's Association. Much of his time was donated to the U.S. government in experimental reseeding programs of rangeland. John was the first Jackson County rancher to raise both Angus and Galloway cattle. After several years he successfully bred an Angus-Galloway cross. John worked the ranch to just shortly before his death in 1978. Up at dawn and not back in the house until dark was not an unusual work day. John was an avid outdoorsman and passed down his love of nature and the outdoors to his children and grandchildren. Marie often worked alongside John but will always be remembered for her ability to convert basic food to heavenly ambrosia on her wood fired cook stove. Her skill in the kitchen was well known and rarely was dinner served without extra places set at the table for friends and neighbors that just happened to show up.
This park exists to honor this pioneer couple and to provide a place for friends and neighbors to pause, reflect and remember a simpler time when life and success was gauged by hard work, love and respect. A time when a man's word was his bond, Sunday was for worship, and marriage was a lifelong commitment. It remembers a time when the family farm defined America and produced what many consider the "Greatest Generation" -- the generation that did more with less, looked back only to move forward and made due with what they had when they could not do better.
This park is owned and maintained by the Walch family. We receive no government funding so if you would like to make a donation to help maintain and improve this park we have a donation box located just inside the gate. For questions or addition information you may contact...
Richard E Walch - 541-772-6255
engmgr@medfab.com
or
Russell Walch - 541-772-8832
Enjoy your stay and come again....
This memorial is one of two citizen memorials located here. The other memorial is located next to the NE entrance to Lost Creek Covered Bridge and dedicated to Ralph Elsman Wehinger, who was responsible for the restoration and preservation of the covered bridge.