Tracy Layne

Short Biography

Born February 12, 1890, in a shanty on the Plains, eleven miles north of Newport, Nebraska to James Henry Layne and Mary Walker Layne. His parents sold everything they owned and moved to a small town between Eugene and Junction City named Yellow Dog, called Irvin. At age 15 Tracy ran away and worked in a logging camp on Vashon Island in Washington. He drove the team of mules that were used to skid the logs from the woods to Puget Sound. One night while he was in a tavern in Seattle he met a men who asked if he would like to see the sailing ships. The boy, being curious, said yes and followed the man to the door. But a great fear came over him and he changed his mind. He hurried back to the loggers from the camp where he worked. Many years later he realized that he had nearly been Shanghaied. Layne later worked milking cows. He put the milk in cans, loaded the cans onto a wagon, hitched the team to the wagon and drove to the small stores in Portland, delivering the fresh milk. He also worked in Portland for the Portland Cement Co., rolling barrels of cement up a ramp and onto a wagon.