The Deschutes County Historical Society recently announced it’s accepting applications for the Leon Devereaux Scholarship until March 31. The scholarship is open to graduating seniors living in the tri-county area of Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties who are attending college in the fall. Two scholarships in the amount of $1,000 will be awarded to qualifying applicants. Formerly referred to as the “Deschutes Pioneers Association Scholarship,” the Leon Devereaux Scholarship originated with the now-disbanded Deschutes Pioneers Association prior to being passed along to the DCHS.
“We’re honored to take over the scholarship,” said DCHS Executive Director Kelly Cannon-Miller. “In this moment in time, history is more important than ever.”
The scholarship seeks to help select students pay for college and stimulate an interest in local community history. In addition, DCHS hopes to revive the practice of research writing, a beneficial skill for college students.
The Deschutes Pioneers Association established the scholarship program in the late 1970s in an effort to pass along its tradition since 1947 of, “keeping the history of Deschutes County, Oregon alive.” Last year, the association voted to dissolve the nonprofit organization and combine its membership and all assets with the historical society, whose ideology closely matched their own. As part of the agreement, DCHS took over managing the scholarship and created a committee to review and update the scholarship guidelines. Shortly after, they renamed it after the late Leon Devereaux, who championed the scholarship and raised most of the money. No scholarship was awarded during last year’s transition.
Leon Devereaux, Jr. was born in Bend in 1923 and graduated from Bend High School in 1941. Devereaux was drafted into World War II shortly after graduation and flew a Corsair F-4U in 40 combat missions. His noted heroism on the decks of the U.S.S Shangri-La Essex-class aircraft carrier included a near-death crash landing. He returned back home to Bend where he started a family and worked for Brooks-Scanlon for 38 years. He had the unique viewpoint of watching Bend’s transition from a quiet timber town to a busy tourist mecca. Devereaux was elected to the Bend City Council and served as mayor beginning in 1968.
Devereaux served as a board member and president of the Deschutes Pioneer Association and sat on the board of the historical society from December 2004 to December 2009. He volunteered extensively with both organizations, including taking shifts at the front desk of the Deschutes Historical Museum. He passed away in January 2021, at the age of 97.
“Leon was a true original,” explained Cannon-Miller. “He knew the value of education and historic preservation and about making education a part of a town’s growth.”
To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must be a registered student at an accredited high school or accredited home school program in Central Oregon (defined as Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties). They must be a senior-level student through the credit hours at their institution or program. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, and must have acceptance at an institution of higher learning.
Each applicant must submit a completed application form (if handwritten, please print legibly), a copy of the applicant’s most recent transcript with cumulative GPA and a personal essay. In the essay, applicants must tell the story of a historical event (pre-1970) in Central Oregon, or the story of a person or group instrumental in some aspect of pre-1970 Central Oregon history. (Maximum 1,000 words, exclusive of citations, references, etc.).
The deadline for the scholarship’s application is March 31, at 5 pm. The announcement of the scholarship recipient will be in late April. To learn more about the scholarship or to apply, visit deschuteshistory.org/ldscholar.
The DCHS is currently preparing several upcoming programs for Deschutes County. Its popular “Oregon’s Nordic Ski History” exhibit will be transferred from the museum to Bend City Hall next month. It’s still determining programming for May’s National Historic Preservation Month, but June 1 marks the return of the Archeology Road Show to the museum.
This article appears in Source Weekly February 29, 2024.
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