Carmichael the Bear being fed by 2 Camp Adair Soldiers, 1942. The soldier on the right might be Sgt Charles E. Webb.  (Benton County Historical Society)

In November 1942, while the cantonment was active but still under construction, a stray bear wandered into the cantonment and was found by MSgt William E. Carmichael underneath barracks 409 of the Headquarters Section, SCU 1911.  As the bear was found by MSgt Carmichael, the bear was named “Carmichael”.  The soldiers tried to domesticate the bear and make him a mascot for the Headquarters, SCU 1911 unit.  During his week at Camp Adair there were many complaints about Carmichael and many soldiers were intimated by him.  Carmichael loved applies and when he saw an apple no barrier was too strong.  While attempting to steal another apple inside the barracks, he tore through a screened window, climbed inside, ate shaving cream and decided to take a nap on the cot belonging to Arthur Lederman.

That was probably the last straw.  It was decided that Carmichael must go.  Sgt Charles E. Webb was responsible for taking Carmichael to another location.  At first he was to be shipped off to the Cecil Montgomery farm which had a small zoo, including a couple of lions.  There was talk of swapping the bear for 2 monkeys.  That trade did not happen.  Sgt Webb then offered up the farm of his father-in-law, George T. Horner.  While transporting Carmichael to the farm, south of Corvallis, the bear attempted to escape from the truck.  Sgt Webb was able to corral him and get him back into truck.  It was here that Carmichael was accused of killing a large number of chickens.  It was decided, in December 1942, that he had to be put down.  It is not known if Sgt Webb shot Carmichael of someone else associated with farm.

The story of Carmichael the Bear is interesting but what I find more interesting are the stories of the people involved .

MSgt William Edward Carmichael

Sergeant Major, Personnel Section, Headquarters Company, Post Headquarters, SCU 1911.  Entered the U.S. Army in 1941 at Los Angeles, CA.  He was a magazine and newspaper man for NEA news syndicate.  He was also a published poet and lyricist.  He was head of the committee that established the NCO Club (Service Club #2).  He most likely hired Florence Coardy Merriam to serve as the Director of Service Club #2.  In January 1944 he married Ethel Gladys Mulkey of Philomath, OR.  She was his secretary.  Her mother Gladys was a dietician at the Camp Adair Station Hospital.  He ended up being an aircraft inspector for Boeing and died in Wenatchee, WA.

MSgt William E. Carmichael, Camp Adair Sentry, 29 July 1943

Sgt Charles Everett Webb, Jr. 

Detached Enlisted Men’s List (DEML) Section, Personnel Section, Headquarters Company, Headquarters, SCU 1911

Born  30 December 1920, Hannibal, MO.  Died 5 May 1967, Corvallis, OR.  He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1940.He was one of the first to assigned to Camp Adair in June 1942, having first been assigned to Ft. Lewis, Tacoma, WA .  He married Rosmina “Rosie” Horner in 1942. She worked at the PX on Ave. D. They later divorced.  His father was a civilian camp guard at Camp Adair.  His sister Margaret also worked at Camp Adair.  He was discharged in 1943. He worked for Oregon State College after the war.  He then owned a Donut business in Corvallis.  He married Jewell Illeen Peterson in 1947.

Mrs. Florence Mae Coardy “Pat” Merriam

June 1942 – March 1944 – Army Service Forces,  One of the early “pioneers” of Camp Adair she first worked as a PX Manager, then became Director/Hostess, Camp Adair Service Club #2 (Non-commissioned officer club), SCU 1911.

March 1944 – 1945 – Director, Service Club, Muroc Army Airfield, Lancaster, CA.  It is now called Edwards Air Force Base.

She was a well-known contra-alto soloist and conducted many concerts throughout many locations in Oregon and Washington, even while serving at Camp Adair.

Florence Coardy was born March 8, 1906 in Ingram, Wisconsin, but grew up in Portland OR and then Spokane, WA. She begin solo contralto performances at the age of 16, and within a few years had success touring and performing in the northwest. She married Willis B. Merriam on August 11, 1928 and they had two sons, Don and Robert. She earned a Bachelor of Education from the Cheney Normal School (later Eastern Washington University), and a Bachelor of Music in 1932 from the University of Washington. She participated in transcontinental tours in 1937 and 1939, and in 1940 she became locally known as the “Lullaby Lady” from her performances on Spokane’s KHQ radio programs. When her husband became Geography chair at the Oregon College of Education (later Western Oregon University) from 1940-1945, she became chair of Applied Music there. Her husband was also part of the ASTP program at Oregon State College. During World War II Florence served as Director at the Army Service Club at Camp Adair, OR, and at Muroc Army Air Base in California. During this time she wrote the music for an original camp musical, “As You Were.”

In 1945 Florence’s husband accepted a position at Washington State College (later Washington State University) in Pullman, WA. Shortly thereafter, Florence founded and directed The Music Makers, a semi-professional northwest touring choir, which also included a men’s choir, The Squires, and a women’s choir, The Merry Wives. She also gave concerts, and taught voice, piano, and organ, and wrote newspaper articles and a book based on her Camp Adair experiences, “Dust and Leaves.” She passed away on January 26th, 2005, in Pullman.

Florence Coardy Merriam, Eugene Guard, 5 Sept 1943