The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG-The the Waitsburg Historical Society proudly announces Barbara Danforth as the 2023 Pioneer of the Year. Danforth never thought in her wildest dreams that she would one day be "Pioneer of the Year." Both sides of her family were pioneers in Oregon but moved to the farm outside Waitsburg in 1928. "I was stunned as I never dreamt I would receive such an honor," said Danforth.

Born at the original Walla Walla General Hospital on May 6, 1930, Barbara was an only child and raised on a farm in Alto. She attended Alto McKay Country School, a small one-room schoolhouse, for six years bef...