Continue to Stand in the Gap: Wallowa County

Wallowa Mountains

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13

Wallowa County – the extreme northeast corner of the state and known for its dramatic scenery. The county seat is Enterprise and Wallowa County is the fifth-least populated in the state. Read some past posts here, here, and here.

The three-person Board of Commissioners comprises John Hillock, Susan Roberts, and Todd Nash.

Wallowa County, Oregon

Joel Fish was the County Sheriff since 2020 but left in 2023 to care for his elderly mother. The new Sheriff is long-time law enforcement officer Ryan Moody, who spent most of his career in Benton County, a county of over 90,000 plus home to OSU. Wallowa has about 7,500 residents and a small Sheriff’s Office, so there is something of a contrast. At his swearing-in in December, Sheriff Moody stated he hoped to keep the county as Sheriff Fish left it.

Born in Lincoln City, the new Sheriff was educated in Benton County and got into law enforcement as a cadet through the Boy Scouts Explorer program. He attended Cadet Academy and Reserve Academy and then was eventually hired as a full-time patrol deputy for Benton County. Over twenty years, he was promoted to corporal, then sergeant, worked with the Detective Division, the Linn-Benton Regional SWAT Team, and supervised the Marine Patrol. He was liaison/security for OSU working with the athletic department. He is also an instructor for the Oregon Department of Public Safety. It was through this last position that he became acquainted with Sheriff Fish. While retiring from Benton County’s Sheriff’s Office to move to Wallowa County might seem a big change, he was already familiar with the county from years of vacations there as well as family connections.  

Pray for the Wallowa Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Moody during this transition time, and for the office to be fully staffed. Lack of personnel continues to be a problem, with the much-appreciated reserve officers taking up much of the slack.  

The county was first established on February 11, 1887 – 137 years ago this month. During the 1920s in Oregon, we know the KKK rose in popularity for a few years, especially in Portland, Eugene, and Medford. It was especially popular in Tillamook County. It seems to have come to Wallowa County as well. 100 years ago, on Valentine’s Day, a group of KKK members held a parade in Enterprise, burned a cross on a local hill, and held a meeting in a local meeting hall. About 100 residents participated. The society was evident in northeastern Oregon with groups, called “Klaverns,” established in LaGrande, Baker, Pendleton, and Elgin in addition to the group in Enterprise. It has been noted the group was more anti-Catholic than anything, and in Oregon, a bill was passed making “public” education compulsory to target Catholic parochial schools. The movement, for a time, was supported by Masons and by many Protestant denominations and endeared itself to citizens by aiding those in need. It has been suggested that this new version of the KKK was able to get a foothold by playing on the fear and anxiety caused by WW I, the 1918 flu pandemic, and the uncertain cultural and economic climate – much like now. Various races and religions were the target of the Klan, and Wallowa County was no exception. One account says members were shamed for supporting a local Catholic butcher. Pray for any remaining wounds or bitterness in Wallowa County left by the tactics of the KKK.