This is the boyhood home of the famous Bozo the Clown.
Vance DeBar Colvig was born here in Jacksonville on September 11, 1892. He was the youngest of the seven children of Judge William and Helen Colvig. He was later nicknamed "Pinto" by his school friends because of his freckles and the name stuck for his entire life. Pinto's childhood home was filled with music and laughter and it's been said that he was a "clown" from birth! Along the way, he learned to play the clarinet which landed him his first job. At age 12, Judge Colvig took Pinto to Portland to the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition, where he charmed his way into the Midway playing the squeaky clarinet, wearing oversized clothes, white makeup and a clown face. The man who hired him told him he now "looked like a real Bozo" and hence the story began.
Pinto worked in the circus and in vaudeville in the summer and during that school year at Oregon Agricultural College (now OSU), where he became known for his clever cartoons in the student publication and "chalk talk" monologues.
In the years to come, Pinto continued to work with the circus and as a cartoonist in various west coast location, including Portland, Seattle and San Francisco.
In 1916, he married Margaret Bourke Slavin in Portland, OR. In 1930, Pinto signed a contract with
Largest known Still in Jackson County used during Prohibition. Said to be in service
from 1922 to 1931. Discovered in the woods near Elderberry Flats and Battle Creek by loggers in the early 1960's. Information provided by Oregon Historical Society and by
Tom May of Gold Hill.
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