Porter McKinley Houk

PORTER: Porter "Mack" McKinley Houk was born 101 years after you, in 
1897 in North Cove, Washington. He had 3 brothers (Otto, Guy, Lester) 
& 1 sister (Ila). He grew up in South Bend, Washington where his 
father (George Lewis) drove a stagecoach, and his mother (Laura 
Richman) had a candy & ice cream store. He finished out the 9th grade 
in Portland, Oregon and went to work as an office boy for Standard Oil 
Company. By 1917 he had met his future wife (Mary Laxson) in church. 
In 1918 he was called up for World War I, and only got as far as 
Seattle where he got appendicitis and had to be discharged and sent 
home back to Portland. He married Mary in 1917. In 1919 he traveled 
to Redmond, Oregon to join his brother, Otto, as owners of the Ford 
Dealerships in Redmond & Prineville. In 1920 his daughter, Mary 
"Jane", was born. (Your Great-grandmother!) Four years later his son, 
Richard, was born. Mack was very active in the Redmond community. He 
helped start the Deschutes County Fair, was a charter member of the 
golf club, and was active in promoting Redmond as a great place to 
live. He also helped build the Redmond airport by supplying the big 
equipment to clear the land for the runway and terminal. He continued 
as owner of the Ford dealerships until he sold them, the Redmond 
dealership sold to his daughter & husband George Ellis McKinnon. He 
and Mary retired in 1955 and spent many years in Arizona during the 
winters. They both loved camping and had a trailer they pulled all 
over the West during the summers. He died in 1988.