![]() He was a member of the Dallas United Methodist Church. He continued to visit and keep up with the Arboretum projects and was pleased to see the realization of a long hoped for project in restoring the Rickreall Creek bed near the Arboretum this past summer. His inspiration and dedication made the arboretum and he remained active in its construction and growth until his health prevented it. Through his efforts over the years the Arboretum draws many visitors to the garden and the community. The arboretum is located on the Rickreall Creek near a forest area of trails, rhododendrons, a miniature Japanese Garden and secluded picnic tables. His vision of showcasing native plants and trees as part of the Dallas City Park came true when a group called Friends of the Delbert Hunter Arboretum formed in 1983 followed by the Dallas City Council naming the Hunter Arboretum Botanic Garden in his honor. He had a dream of creating a display of Oregon plants at the south end of an undeveloped parcel at the south end of the roughly 40 acres of Dallas City Park. He was named Dallas First Citizen in 1970. He had also served as chairman of the Dallas Men's Garden Club and had served on the Dallas Cemetery District as well as being a member of many other community organizations. He was a longtime member of the City of Dallas Parks Board and had served as the parks board chairman for 29 years. He had a long history of giving to his community and was a councilman for 14 years on the Dallas city council. He was stationed in San Diego, Calif., Bainbridge Island, Wash., and Klamath Falls before returning home to Dallas. He served in the Marine Corps during World War II. On Mahe married Madeline Sleppy of Newberg at the First Methodist Church in Salem. He worked at Guy's and retired from there having worked in the store for more than 44 years. He was studying engineering at Oregon State College when he was called to come back to Dallas to help run Guy's Hardware. In the fall of 1931 he entered Oregon State College and was pledged by Alpha Chi Rho fraternity. This was the first road scraper to be controlled by hydraulic cylinders which made it a basic patent. By putting wheels in back it was able to lift the load to travel and also to regulate the depth and angle of spread. By using a combination of three hydraulic cylinders, the machine was able to control the amount of cut and the angle of the cut. He had also helped survey a new highway up the McKenzie River and was on the survey party that worked on the construction of the Willamette Pass Highway.ĭuring the summer of 1931 he came up with the idea for a new type of road scraper and started working on the plans. ![]() Hood Highway, straightening the old narrow highway that had been part of the old Barlow Pass that the wagon trains had used to cross over the Cascade mountains to get down to the Willamette Valley. One of the projects he worked on was the Mt. ![]() He attended school in Dallas and graduated from Dallas High School in 1929.įollowing graduation he went to work for the Oregon State Highway Department as a chainman on a survey party. He was born to Paul Leslie Hunter and Florence Palmer Hunter in Dallas. 5 while celebrating his birthday in Newport. Obituary by Polk County Itemizer-Observerĭelbert Nevin Hunter of Dallas died on Sept. Both Hunter Street and the Delbert Hunter Arboretum in Dallas are named in his honor. The piles of rocks and sandbags along the creek were dubbed "Mount Hunter." Hunter died Sept. In July 2003, Delbert Hunter spearheaded an effort to restore the banks of the Rickreall Creek. ![]()
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