John B. Yeon

"...John B. Yeon (1865-1928) pioneer lumberman and realtor of Portland. He was a prime supporter of the Columbia River Highway. As Multnomah County Roadmaster from 1913 to 1917, Yeon supervised initial construction of the highway, complimenting his salary and backing the project financially. He served on the Oregon Highway Commission in the years 1920-1923."

"... John B. Yeon, a contemporary of Simon Benson with whom he worked earnestly and persistently in promoting and developing the Oregon State Highway System, showing particular interest in the Columbia River Highway. He was at one time a fellow member of Mr. Benson's on the Oregon State Highway Commission, in the days of its beginnings."

"As the time was exceedingly short it seemed advisable to do the work in Multnomah County by day labor and establish camps at convenient points, if some reliable citizen could be found (not a politician), who would accept the office of roadmaster, this office having been created recently by the State Legislature. To the surprise and delight of the entire community, Mr. John B. Yeon, a wealthy citizen, in the prime of life and several times a millionaire, the owner of one of the finest fifteen-story office buildings in the city, offered to accept this position, and give his services without pay. That a man of Mr. Yeon's executive ability and training should be found when the public was so much in need of such service, willing to give all his time and talent, the use of his machines for going about over the work himself and often carrying others, working from 4 a. m. till late at night, many days in succession, in order to facilitate this work, is remarkable in the last degree, and Multnomah County and the citizens of Portland can never pay the debt of gratitude they owe him."

Michael C. Taylor, Road of Difficulties: Building the Lower Columbia River Highway

Yeon was French-Canadian and – like Governor Oswald West – had immigrated from Ontario. Unlike West, he had received no formal schooling, and upon his arrival at the age of seventeen, he spoke almost no English. He had very little money, but he was willing to work hard for little pay and built up his vocabulary by listening. "It came naturally to me to lend an ear to people who knew more than I did," Yeon said. "I used to stand and listen to people talk and kept building up my English all the time."

From a twenty-six-dollar-a-month job in an Ohio logging camp, Yeon eventually made his way to Astoria, where he obtained his first experience in construction work and became a teamster at a hundred dollars a month. He went on to manage a logging camp in Washington State and then struck out on his own. That decision soon paid off.

"One of the finest, largest logging camps in the Pacific Northwest is that of Yeon and Pelton, who employ over 150 men winter and summer," the Rainier Review reported in the summer of 1905. "The mammoth logging camp is located about three miles from Rainier."

Always on the ground with his men, he lived by a slogan that he carried through the construction of the highway: "In the employment of labor, the result depends on whether you say, 'Come on boys,' or 'Go on boys.' That's all."

In 1911, Yeon disposed of his lumber holdings and relocated to Portland, where he wielded considerable influence and continued to give generously of his time and energy. It was hardly surprising the Sam Hill prevailed upon him to accept the position of Multnomah County Roadmaster.

What is surprising was that Yeon served without pay, giving more than two years of his time during the building of the road in Multnomah County and campaigning tirelessly on behalf of the entire highway. While Yeon was on the job, one observer noted, he wore out "two automobiles and dozens of tires."

He was in active charge of the road construction, with the exception of the bridges and surfacing. Like his friend and contemporary Simon Benson, Yeon (popularly referred to as "The Millionaire Roadmaster") had spent years harvesting timber in Clatsop and Columbia Counties, and familiarity to the terrain and people of those areas made his advice invaluable to highway planners.

With the assistance of his "first lieutenant" Amos Benson (son of Simon Benson), Yeon oversaw 2,200 workers and held them to the strict standards dictated by principal engineer Samuel Lancaster. "His sagacity and love of the beautiful enabled him to grasp the meaning of my plan," wrote Lancaster, "and thus to decide important matters corrected and with great dispatch."

"In an election held April 14, 1915, Multnomah County voters approved a bond issue for $1,250,000 to pave the highway from Portland to the Hood River County line. Amos S. Benson and John B. Yeon spearheaded the spring campaign, which resulted in overwhelming support for the job."

Michael C. Taylor, Road of Difficulties: Building the Lower Columbia River Highway

Perhaps because he had missed out on formal schooling, Yeon made sure his four children were properly educated. "Money," he explained, "can get away from you. But an education can neither be lost nor mortgaged. If you have it, you can always start over."

John B. Yeon later served on the Oregon State Highway Commission from 1920 to 1923. A park named after him, located about a mile west of Bonneville Dam, was dedicated in 1935.

Clarence E. Mershon, East of the Sandy: The Columbia River Highway

Lancaster, in his book, honors John B. Yeon: "A wealthy and public spirited citizen of Portland, (Yeon) volunteered to give, without renumeration, his entire time to this splendid work... Mr. Yeon's long experience in handling men in lumber camps fitted him admirably for this great task. His sagacity and love of the beautiful enabled him to grasp the meaning of the engineer's plans, and thus to decide important matters correctly and with great dispatch." Yeon directed the actual construction of the highway as Multnomah County Roadmaster. From 1913-1917, Yeon worked on the project for a dollar per year. On August 11, 1915 ["The day before the 'unofficial' opening of the Lower Columbia River Highway, when a group of men prominent in the building of the highway met at the Benson Hotel in Portland," notes Taylor] Julius Meier, President of the Columbia Highway Association, presented Mr. Yeon with a beautiful gold-lined silver loving cup, which bore the inscription:

To

John B. Yeon

Roadmaster, Citizen, Husband, Father, Friend

Who seeking to serve others found a new happiness for himself.

May others drink from this never failing cup and find the draft as sweet.

Portland, Oregon

August 11, 1915.

The names of the donors were engraved on the reverse side. These included the names of the prominent citizens of Portland who had initiated, supported and helped bring to fruition the construction of the Columbia River Highway:

Amos S. Benson, Simon Benson, H. L. Bowlby, Samuel Hill, Rufus C. Holman, C. S. Jackson, Samuel Lancaster, Julius H. Meyer, Frank Terrace, Oswald West, John F. Carroll, H. L. Pittock

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