Possible
Fragment of Opal's Lost Diary FOUNDI hardly believe it myself - but I have found a fragment from one of Opal's lost diaries at the Dorena-Star post office party. The fragment is one quarter of an 8/11 page - torn. It was torn both lengthwise and then across. It was clearly torn on purpose. It is not dated - but is very old. The paper was torn - it did not break into fragments because of age. If it is Opal's she must have been about 12 years old.
Opal always maintained that her sister tore up the diary. This scrap of paper may solve one of Opal's mysteries. It would strongly support that Opal did keep a diary and it was torn up as she claimed she did. She also said that she kept her diary in school composition notebooks. Read the full report here.
Here is a newspaper article, written in 1933 by Elbert Bede where he say he has “definitely established” that Opal wrote a diary as a small child, and it was torn up. Elbert Bede was Opal's strongest critic. However, here he says that two people, a man and a woman, saw Opal's original diary written with crayons on scraps of paper. Some critics charge that Opal did not start keeping a diary until she was 12 or 14 - like the fragment shown. However, Bede's 1933 article shows she did keep a child's diary.
This is one of the most important pieces of evidence that may have been Opal adopted. This letter is from a top religious leader and lawyer in Oregon, Evert Baker. Opal referred to him as "Daddy Baker" - he was her patron in the Junior Christian Endeavor. In the letter, he says that he and his wife had "always" known that Opal was adopted and had been a "homeless child". Evert Baker's sermon in 1911 inspired Opal to teach God to children by teaching them nature. He knew Opal for at least 10 years - this letter is dated June 2, 1920 - just after the diary's first printing in the Atlantic Monthly. There is no known reason for this man to not tell the truth - at least as he knew it. Baker often introduced her as an orphan at gatherings.
The years of Opal's involvement with the Christian Endeavor (1911 - 1918) were some of the happiest and most productive of her life. Christian Endeavor is a very progressive organization. CE had a black man as a trustee in 1900 and CE leaders were deeply involved in the labor rights struggles of the early 1900's. They were also early foes of the tobacco industry and selling cigarettes to young people. Read the Opal's CE story here!
Opal had a lifelong fascination with India and the Far East. Here is a research project documenting the history of Japanese and other Asians in East Lane County. There is also a link to a photo of Opal's Mother in a Kimono!
Opal Whiteley was institutionalized for nearly 50 years in England. Her life could be much better today. Read about Opal's mental health issues and also browse these links for good help and support.
Without Fred Ure there would have been no Opal Whiteley Memorial. Fred's two sons, Doug & David also helped us build Opal Park, the sculpture garden and wildlife sanctuary. Then, these boys did something special ...
The Opal Whiteley Memorial began in 1993 - with our first celebration of her life and writings in Cottage Grove. Since then we have developed awards for high school students and done many other events and activities. Read about our work to restore the memory of "Princess" Opal Whiteley and educate people about mental health issues.
Read selections from Opal's writings. You can read her original diary, from the University of Oregon. Also, see Opal's almost lost first book, The Fairyland Around Us. There are also selections from Opal's book of poems, The Flower of Stars.