Cowboy historian Rube Long once wrote that Irish immigrant Dr. Bernard Daly of Lakeview, Ore., would be remembered long after other desert doctors were forgotten.
Long referred to the bachelor doctor’s scholarship fund, established in 1922 and worth nearly $7 million today. It continues to pay college educations for Lake County high school graduates. Daly’s other accomplishments were in the fields of law, politics, banking and business. He owned 14 buildings in Lakeview and the largest ranch in South-Central Oregon.
As Long put it in his book, titled The Oregon Desert, Daly was qualified to deliver a baby, clothe him, sell him groceries and medicine, lend him money to buy a ranch, give him a job in a Daly enterprise and defend him in court if he got into trouble. “All for a fee, of course,” Long added.
He said Daly had a reputation of being somewhat stingy, profiting from nearly everyone in the county, and valuing treasures over personal friendships.
But, Long said, “He was our doctor and we admired and trusted him.” The scholarship, Long added, “made his money work for the good of his country as long as the U.S.A. lasts.”
Source: Jackman, E.R., and R.A. Long. The Oregon Desert. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1965. 324-29. Print; "Bernard Daly." Wikipedia. N.p., 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
