Pioneer Of The Year: H.W. “Bill” Zuger

WAITSBURG - Some years back, the Waitsburg Masonic Lodge No. 16 had a dilemma.

Its members were getting older, and the only way some of them could make it up to the temple on the second floor above the grocery store was with the help of an elevator.

There was only one small problem.

The stairs were steep and had two landings. An installation would have to be so sophisticated, it would cost more than $15,000. So, the Lodge turned to one of its members, Bill Zuger, for a solution.

Known for his reputation as a wizard with mechanics, the shop foreman from Mc- Gregor got the plans, materials and volunteers together for the project, and before long, access to the Masonic meetings was no longer limited to those who could navigate the stairs on foot.

"That's how he is," said Tom Baker, a longtime friend and contemporary. "He can visualize a project and make it happen."

Baker and other Waitsburgers interviewed for this story said that ingenuity, resourcefulness and volunteerism have always marked Zuger's lifestyle, career and contributions to the community.

They're among the many reasons the 79-year-old former farmer and Waitsburg mayor has been elected Pioneer of the Year. He will be honored at this weekend's annual Pioneer Fall Festival (see program on page 5).

The other reason Zuger was chosen for a distinction he himself calls "humbling" is the long history of his family in the Touchet Valley, going back the very first decades of Waitsburg's existence. "He's always been active around town and I thought he deserved the honor be­cause he is also from one of the older families in town," said Betty Chase, the Waits­burg Historical Society member who nominated Bill Zuger. Bill's great-grandfather, Marcus J. Zuger, a Swiss peasant, emigrated to the United States in 1871. After arriving in New York, he gradually made his way west and took up a home­stead

west of town in 1879, starting with 80 acres ob­tained from the government. A 1912 article in "Up To The Times" magazine describes his subsequent success as a pioneer:

"Marcus Zuger has risen from a farmer who had to exchange work with his neighbors to pay for the labor of harvesting his crops until now, in conjunction with his three sons, he op­erates

4,200 acres of land and owns all the animals and machinery necessary to seed, care for and harvest it, according to the best meth­ods prevailing in this section of the country." The article goes on to describe how Marcus spoke with a "slight (Swiss-) Ger­man accent," occasionally using a good German word among his English sentenc­es "like a bolt in its socket." The settler was fond of say­ing: "It isn't what you make, aber (but) what you save." Not that the first Zuger to farm the land here was always able to save. Dur­ing some seasons, his ef­forts were thwarted by dry weather, hail or low prices for grain. But unlike some of his neighbors who left the area for other pursuits, Marcus persevered, refusing to be discouraged. It's a spirit that persists to this day in his descen­dants, such as Bill's son and fifth-generation farmer Greg Zuger, who is now the grower on the ranch Bill's grandfather, Henry Zuger, homesteaded at the intersec­tion of SR 124 and Lower Waitsburg Road. It was his grandfather from whom Bill learned his mechanics skills, he said, more so than his own dad. He graduated from Waitsburg High School in 1949 and attended Wash­ington State College (now WSU), graduating with a B.A. in English and Social Studies in 1955. Bill farmed with his father, Charles, until he accepted a position as ranch foreman for the late Eugene Robison on the latter's land off Hart Road between Prescott and Walla Walla.

Still only in his late twen­ties, Bill was in charge of buying, selling, repairing, hiring and many other re­sponsibilities.

At harvest time, he supervised as many as 18 men, many of whom he recruited simply by go­ing

down to Walla Walla's "red light" district and get­ting guidance from the mad­Brought ams who practically acted as the farm hands' bankers. "I can still see a lot of happy, tough faces," Bill said during an interview at his home in College Place. "Farming was mechanized but not finely tuned. We used a lot of basic and older equipment we kept run­ning." After five years, Bill leased part of the Robisons' land and, together with his dad's land for a total of about 5,000 acres, farmed it for the next decade.

"Bill exemplifies the pio­neer spirit of making do with what you have," said Jack McCaw, who grew up on the farm next to Charles Zuger's and was fiveyears Bill's senior. "He's a good friend, always has been." Bill farmed the home ranch until 1985, when son Greg took over operations and Bill went to work as shop foreman at McGregor, for whom he helped put together the Walla Walla, Prescott and Touchet fertil­izer plants with characteris­tic resourcefulness.

"Bill has been a remark­able guy," said Alex Mc­Gregor, president of the McGregor Co., which gave Bill its Outstanding Service Award in 2000. McGregor credited Bill with inspiring at least six new employees at his com­pany whom he taught how to take care of agricultural equipment and many other practical skills in addition to the art of "working to­gether." "It's been a lot of fun working with him," Mc­Gregor said.

Bill retired from Mc­Gregor in 2002 at age 69. But recalling the details of Bill's career tells only half the story of his life.

He served for six years on the city council, followed by three years as mayor (1998-2000). According to some who served with him during those years, Bill had strong opinions on issues, which he sometimes shared quite bracingly with his fellow volunteer civic leaders. He would often apologize later for blowing up and then slip his steadfast point of view back into the conversation.

His list of community service roles and awards is impressive.

Bill is a charter mem­ber of the Waitsburg Lions Club and a past master of Waitsburg Masonic Lodge No. 16. He served on the Southeastern Washington Fair Board and the Days of Real Sport, and he was president of the city's Com­mercial Club. In 1984, he received the Lion of the Year Award, and in 1996, he was named Citizen of the Year 1995 by the Commercial Club. The latter award was presented to him by Dan McConnell, whom he saved from a pos­sible drowning death in the 1996 flood. McConnell had missed the road near his house at Bolles Junction and drove into deep water. Bill saw what happened, backed his pickup down the road and pulled McConnell to safety, according to an article in the Times that year.

But if Bill was admired for helping others in dif­ficult situations, he is per­haps respected even more for overcoming his own adversity. He struggled with alcoholism up through his late 40s, then stopped drink­ing completely and has been sober ever since. Nowadays, when he comes back to Waitsburg, he likes to sometimes wan­der

around the cemetery to read the names of those who served their country and died in a foreign conflict. It's a bittersweet experience for Bill, who couldn't serve because of several spinal operations - one of his few regrets in life. Many of Bill's family members are expected to be in Waitsburg for the presentation of his distinc­tion. Bill and his first wife, the late Kay Zuger, had three children: Greg, Becky (who serves at the Waits­burg School District) and Ramona of Minneapolis (a retired public relations professional). Bill has six grandchildren. He is now married to Jan Roberts, also from an old pioneering fam­ily. Roberts' mother Adda was named Pioneer of the Year in 1998.