Ardenvoir Harris

WWI draft lists his birth as 1889

Arden Harris, 67, pioneer lumberman and civic leader, died in Deaconess Hospital Sunday morning from a heart attack suffered about two weeks earlier. At the time of his death, Harris, a resident of Entiat, was among the oldest native born residents of the area. He was born September 16, 1888, on Badger Mountain, near Waterville, where his father, C.A. Harris, operated a sawmill. Harris spent his entire life in lumbering and real estate and orchard operations. At one time he operated an ice-skating rink north of Wenatchee. He attended Waterville and Wenatchee High Schools and the University of Washington (1909-11), where he took forestry. He pitched on the University baseball team and played semi-pro ball for a time. Harris joined his father in the business in 1912. in 1917 the two started a saw mill and box factory at Mills Canyon, along the Columbia near Entiat, and in 1923 they moved their operations to Muddy Creek, in the Entiat Valley. In 1932 they began operations at the present site at Ardenvoir--which town comes from Harris' first name. The same year father and son set out orchards in the Entiat Valley near Ardenvoir. Harris and two of his sons, Merlin and Meredith, began developing orchards near Manson in 1940 and at Winesap in 1945. He and his youngest son, Melvin, operated orchards at the time of his death at Ardenvoir. The Harris Orchard Co. now operates 240 acres. Mrs. Harris died August 1, 1945. He retired from active business management in 1948, turned over the operation to his sons, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona for his health, where he owned and operated a citrus orchard, returning to Ardenvoir in 1954. He was one of the founders of the Growers Credit Corporation and a director of Western Pine Association in 1940; a past president of the Inland Empire Division of the National Box and Wood Association; president of Pine Sales Company from 1934 to 1944; president of Mad River Orchards Company and the Harris Orchard Company; and for many years was president and manager of C.A. Harris & Sons, lumber and box manufacturers of Ardenvoir. He was a member of the Entiat Christian Church. Surviving are three sons, Charles Meredith Harris and Ardenvoir Merlin Harris, both of Entiat, and Robert Melvin Harris, a student at the University of Washington; two daughters, Miss Mary Ardis Harris of Chelan and Mrs. Gary Weiher of Ardenvoir; four sisters, Mrs. Gladys McKenzie of Manson, Mrs. C.M. Lockwood of Entiat, Mrs. John S. Gardner of Seattle and Mrs. George B. Cooper of Ardenvoir, and five granddaughters. The Harris Mill and Orchard Operations will be closed all day Tuesday in memory of Mr. Harris.

Washington Death Certificate Name: Ardenvoir Harris Death Date: 22 Apr 1956 Death Place: Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington Gender: Male Age at Death: 68 years Estimated Birth Year: 1888 Father's Name: Charles A. Harris Mother's Name: Jennie Cannon Film Number: 2033618 Digital GS Number: 4224565 Image Number: 825 Volume/Page/Certificate Number: 6067

• Updated from Find A Grave Memorial via mother Rachel Jane 'Jennie' Harris (born Cannon) by SmartCopy: Sep 6 2015, 1:36:44 UTC