Betty liked to stay active: She climbed her first mountain with the Mazamas in 1948 when she heard a girlfriend asking for a partner and then finished her 16 major Cascade Peaks in about three years, and received the 16 Peaks Award in 1952. She took Basic School in 1950 (the first year the Mazamas had a school) and again around 1979 with David Turville whose mother, a friend, had died. Betty assisted on climbs and became such good friends with climb leader Charlie Jensen and his wife that she drove them to Mazama Annual Banquets after she retired. She worked for the same insurance company all of her life and rose as high as a woman could at that company. Her parents moved from Portland to Tigard in 1937, she started to ride in Cycle Oregon at 60, and rode about 12 years before quitting.
She was devoted to the Old-Log Lodge and was on the Lodge Committee from 1955-57. The membership gave their money for building a new lodge when it burned (1958) rather than to a self-owned clubroom fund. She was also on the Executive Council in 1964, the Central Mountain Rescue in 1953–4, Membership Promotion from 1954–55, Outreach 1961–67, Publicity 1956, and Youth Activities Committee in 1961. She was friends with the Maas’ and would drive down to the Tillamook Burn where Al Maas, a former Mazama climb leader and President, was logging. They would hike together to get in shape for climbing, and one of his buddies proposed marriage to her. She wasn’t ready to settle down, but remained life-long friends with him even though he moved to Canada. Later, she fell for a Mazama, but both remained single.
She also liked to attend Mazama Outings: In fact, one of her funniest stories relates to a Teton Outing. A fellow Mazama wanted badly to climb the Grand Teton, but had ripped his pants—a big deal in those days—and figured he had no chance. She loaned him her pants—she was a tall woman—and thus forfeited her climb. He succeeded, but she never got another chance.
When she turned 80, 150 people showed up at her birthday party. She was amazed, but secretly pleased. She was good friends with the Kellers, knew Grace (Tigard) Houghten (her Girl Scout Leader) and her brother, who was still playing golf and going to the theater in his 90s. She had known the Gerdings and old-timers like Clark Rhoades, Ray Witcher, John Scott, Don Onthank, the Franciscos and the Leutholds. She bragged about bringing Chris Mackert, 5-times Mazama President, into the Mazamas. Also, when she was older, she bought annual tickets to several events that occurred at night, after dark.
I first met Betty after she retired and drove her customized Ford van to a Mazama Hart Mountain Outing where we took out fence. She was generous with her vehicle, and often drove a group of people to trailheads. She had done all of the work on the van herself, and lived in it when she drove cross-country. She loved young people and at one time had four college students visiting her at her home. Her nephew, who came out West to go to school, proposed to his current wife under her Christmas tree. As an archives' volunteer, I met her again, and did an oral history interview on her. Also, when she was no longer driving in the dark, my husband (Tom Dinsmore) and I would take her to the Broadway Rose Theater. We will miss her ready laugh and hearty hand-shake.
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