After the Matheny family moved away, the ferry was owned by John Isham, Bill Isham, Dick Wood, and Lane Davidson. While Davidson ran it, a new ferry boat was built. In the early 1930’s, Clyde Lafollette bought the ferry and built a cabin on the ferry so that his son, Clarence, could sleep there and be ready to take late travelers across. There were current boards on the ferry that made the river current help push it across. If the current wasn’t strong enough, the operator had to help with his own strength. Later Mr. Lafollette put a gasoline engine on the ferry to help while the river was low in the summer time. In 1937, the communities on each side of the river, backed by Clyde Lafollette, began pressing for a free ferry supported by the two counties it connected. Yamhill and Marion counties took over the ferry that year, hiring two men to run it and keeping it open from six a.m. until five p.m. They installed a new gasoline ferry and, of course, ferry travel increased. Tom Bowden, who is still working on the ferry, began operating the gasoline ferry in 1940. Other helpers have been Roy Lafollette, George Frauendeiner, Frank Hersha, and Frank’s son, Erwin Hersha is the second operator at the present time. There have been two drownings near the ferry on the Wheatland side; Jackie Worthington in 1941 and Sonny Lindsey in 1947. Both were in their early teens and could swim a little. In 1947, a new electric ferry was built that could handle six cars at a crossing, and in the summer time it was often kept busy. In 1959, the present ferry was purchased. It is an all-steel electric one and handles six large cars. The Wheatland Ferry is one of the few remaining on the Willamette River. In crossing it, you get a wonderful view both up and down the Willamette. If you enjoy the romance of a ferry, do come and cross the Beautiful Willamette on the Wheatland Ferry. George Kirby Gay _Lenna J. Wilson_ [Illustration: Oregon Historical Society] George Kirby Gay was born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1796. Gay went to sea at a very early age as a messboy on a voyage to the South Sea Islands and other foreign ports. He left London on the whaler “Kitty.” Landing in New York, he made his way westward to Missouri, where he joined the Pacific Fur Company as camp-tender. Soon he started the overland trek through the wilderness, arriving at Astoria in 1812. The following year, Gay left Astoria and for years sailed the seas to all parts of the world. After his seafaring life, he left ship at Monterey, California, and joined a trapping expedition, soon starting overland to reach the Willamette Valley and the Columbia River, knowing, however, white men might be found. He was a survivor of the Rogue River Massacre, finally arriving at Wyeth’s Trading Post on Sauvies Island in August, 1835.