David Weaver

Board President

Passionate about Wallowa County — the place, the people, the wildlife, and their history. David is a Forest Officer with the Oregon Department of Forestry and a graduate of Eastern Oregon University, B.S. Secondary Education, History.

Joseph Goebel

Board Vice President

Joseph is a fifth generation Wallowa County resident who learned natural resource management from a young age. After completing B.S.’s in Forest Engineering and Mathematics at Oregon State, Joseph went to work for the US Forest Service and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). He currently serves as a Stewardship Forester with ODF helping landowners. Joseph has been volunteering at the Wallowa History Center for the better part of a decade and joined the board in 2022.

Marilyn Hulse

Board Member

Marilyn DeGrofft Hulse was born and raised in Wallowa and is a Wallowa High School Graduate. She has always lived in Eastern Oregon. Marilyn and her husband Gary have been married for over 50 years. They raised five children and are grandparents of nine.

Marilyn has been a historian since the 1980’s and volunteered from the beginning at the Wallowa History Center. Her history focuses are the School District, cemeteries, and genealogy of Wallowa.

Lisa Mahon

Board Treasurer

Lisa moved to Wallowa County in 2008 when she married her husband who is 6th generation born and raised in Wallowa County. Lisa become part of the Wallowa History Center in 2016. She currently enjoys being the director of Chief Joseph Summer Camp, a member of the Friends of the Wallowa School District, a board member for the Northeast Oregon Wrestling Club, and coach’s multiple sports, while chasing her two small children.

Penny Burrows Lancaster

Board Member

Continuing the work started by her mother, Mary Ann McCrae Burrows, Penny is the most recent board member. After a career as an educator, Penny is now the administrative specialist at the Wallowa Unit of Oregon Department of Forestry.

Sally Goebel

Board Member

Sally is a fifth generation Wallowa County resident. She loves to discover little pieces of history in pictures and stories that give a glimpse into the past. Sally is a retired registered nurse with a BS and MA in nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University at Eastern Oregon University and a Retired Lt Colonel in the US Air Force Reserves.

Jenny Hawkins

Interim Board Secretary

Jenny grew up steeped in stories of Wallowa County’s history. Her great, great, great grandparents were among the first families to homestead in what became Wallowa County and she has deep roots in the Lower Valley and Minam. Jenny traveled and lived internationally and in Alaska before returning home to Wallowa with a renewed appreciation for the uniqueness of the place, people and history of the area. She is married and has two school-age children. She joined the WHC board in 2022. Jenny has a BA in Biological Sciences from Smith College and a Masters in Natural Resource Policy & Law from Oregon State University’s College of Forestry

Jennifer Gibbs

Board Member

Jennifer is a lifelong learner and lover of history.  She was an elementary school teacher for 34 years, 28 of those at Wallowa Elementary. She has an MS degree in Curriculum and Instruction and currently supervises EOU student teachers. She enjoys spending time with her family and grandchildren. Jennifer’s focus at the History Center is on curriculum development and elementary education programing.

Sadie Kennedy

Executive Director

Sadie is a sixth generation Oregon resident with longstanding family history in Wallowa Co. She is a graduate of Wallowa High School, Eastern Oregon University, and the University of Oregon School of Law. Sadie practiced law in Eastern Oregon prior to accepting her position with the Wallowa History Center in 2022. Sadie, her husband Hanley, and their children, own and manage a cattle operation in Wallowa County.

As a girl growing up on the edge of Wallowa, Mary Ann sat high on the branch of a tree and pondered the lives of those who came before her. After raising her own four children in Wallowa, Mary Ann went on to found the Wallowa History Center in 2001. It was her research and dedication that has allowed the Wallowa History Center to become what it is now. In 2024, our research library was renamed in her honor, the Mary Ann McCrae Burrows Research Library.

Dale and Lu Johnson, 5th generation century farmers of the Lower Valley, have been instrumental supporters and contributors to both the community of Wallowa and the Wallowa History Center. They have helped advance new history projects and the restoration of our buildings. Dale’s accounts of growing up and living in Lower Valley along with his sharing of family history have expanded our collection.

Jo Bollman (1920-2022) spent years researching and documenting Wallowa County cemeteries. Her funeral records have provided us an invaluable resource tool for those seeking genealogical information. In addition to the donation of these important records to the Wallowa History Center, Jo was a long-time financial supporter and advocate.

Click here to read her obituary.

Besides being a long-time advocate, friend, and major financial supporter, Dr. Pearl Alice Marsh has made an important contribution to our knowledge of Wallowa County history through her research and publication of But Not Jim Crow: Family Memories of African Loggers in Maxville, Oregon. This important work is available at the Wallowa History Center or through a variety of online booksellers. Pearl Alice remains an active resource to our historical community sharing her knowledge of Maxville and Wallowa.

Grouse Flat rancher and Century Farm owner Orvis Moore has been an important contributor to the Wallowa History Center archives. The Moore family were early pioneers to the Troy area in the northern part of Wallowa County, and over the years amassed an extensive photographic record. Orvis has generously shared copies of this important collection and has been a reliable source of historical information on the communities of the "North End".

Over many years Edsel White has collected historic Wallowa County photographs and documents, and has generously shared copies from his collection with untold numbers of people seeking information about the county. In addition, he and his wife Patricia, have been passionate advocates and generous financial supporters of a myriad of other Wallowa County public organizations that support education, enrichment and conservation.

Born and raised in Wallowa County, Jack attended Eastern Oregon University and University of Oregon, and earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics at Oregon State. He was a college professor for 39 years and retired back to Wallowa County after 29 years in Montana. He is now a retired hermit up Bear Creek where he enjoys hunting, fishing, and sharing “Goebel’s Fables.” Jack is a former board member, and still participates in the Historians Committee.