family

Mrs. W.A. Woodard, formerly of Springfield, Oregon, shared her husband’s love for Cottage Grove. W.A. and Dutee met in 1926 at a dinner at the Cottage Grove Hotel during the filming of Buster Keaton’s “The General.” She and her sister were extras in the movie filming and were paid $5/day.

Her decision to marry a do-it-yourselfer lumberman led to adventures and opportunities of which she never dreamed. Becoming Mrs. W.A. Woodard also led to a profound and lasting influence on the community of Cottage Grove. With a passion for reading, Mrs. Woodard was known for her numerous subscriptions to newspapers from around the globe. While her husband bolstered the local economy through the lumber industry, Mrs. Woodard promoted literacy and her love of reading to the community. As a member of the original Cottage Grove library board, Mrs. Woodard took up the cause to enhance the library, which was at the time, in her words, “a stash of books in City Hall.”

Mr. and Mrs. Woodard’s first gift of $5,000, in 1942, allowed the small library to purchase more books. That initial gift laid the foundation for a much bigger project: a new 2,500 square foot standalone library and community meeting room adjacent to City Hall on S. 6th Street.

Mrs. Woodard oversaw the many details of the new library’s design, construction and con- tents. It took nearly eight years, but on July 1, 1950, the new three-room library opened its doors to a dedication turnout of 1,500 people. Governor Douglas McKay celebrated Mr. and Mrs. Woodard for their gift of land and construction of the library building for the citizens of Cottage Grove. He called their gesture, “one of the oldest and finest of American traditions”– doing something both generous and useful for their community.

Mrs. Woodard was a 1923 graduate of the University of Oregon with a degree in foreign languages. In 1956, she had a chance to help her alma mater with a most unusual opportunity: the purchase of a rare, ancient manuscript of an epic French poem that had never before been published.

University of Oregon president O. Meredith Wilson had approached W.A. about making a purchase for the university library. A graduate student studying French Alexandrine verse had learned of a piece called the “Cheltenham Manuscript” during her thesis work and spoke of it with President Wilson. Also called “La Geste de Monglane,” the 500-year-old manuscript had vanished after a collector’s death in 1872 and resurfaced in a London rare book dealer’s vault in 1956.

Despite having been asked to contribute one-half of the purchase price, given Mrs. Woodard’s love of libraries, W.A. said, “I will donate the total cost.” Thanks to W.A.’s gift and additional support from Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cabell of Portland, “La Geste de Monglane” was purchased. It remains one of the most valuable items in the University of Oregon library.

After W.A.’s passing on October 1, 1971, Mrs. Woodard lived a quiet life, enjoying family at the home she and W.A. built on the Coast Fork River in Cottage Grove. For a while she traveled, revisiting countries she and W.A. had toured. Soon, gardens, correspondence, shopping, visiting and bridge games consumed her days.

Mrs. Woodard died in 1993.