Two well-known and respected members of the Treasure Valley onion industry were inducted into the Idaho-E. Oregon Onion Committee’s Hall of Fame at the annual Idaho-Malheur County Onion Growers Association annual meeting held Feb. 6 at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario, OR.
Honored were Brian Taylor and Charlie Morgan. Brian passed away in 2023, and accepting his plaque was his wife, Lynne.
Charlie travels to Florida during the winter, and accepting his plaque was his son, Mark.
Brian Taylor
Born April 23, 1964, in Nyssa, OR, to Robert and Beverly Taylor, Brian and his younger sister Amanda grew up attending Nyssa schools. Brian liked helping on his grandparents’ farm doing chores, learning how to help irrigate crops, riding horses, and running equipment at a young age. He was a member of the FFA and had a lot of fond memories of his experiences there.
He graduated in 1982 from Nyssa High School and worked for the Nyssa Co-op for a short time.
In 1984 he started working for Skeen Farms, beginning what would become a 38-year career and family-like friendship with the Skeens.
Brian always enjoyed learning and adapting to new and evolving ways of farming. As the years went on, there wasn’t much he didn’t know how to fix or had a shortcut that would make a repair go smoother. He had a lot of people on Ag Talk that he would give advice to if they wanted to know how he would go about a particular project.
Brian also liked to make the rounds and make sure everything on the farm was ok for the night. He loved taking pictures on the farm over the years. From repairs to rescues, he caught them all. His favorite was the early dawn and dusk photos of the Snake River.
His bio noted, “Brian always had a way of making your day better after talking to him. He loved to share the funny side of life and make the workday go better.
In 1993 he met Lynne Wiberg, and they soon became best friends and pals for life. They married on Dec. 15, 1996, in Las Vegas at the Little Church of the West. They celebrated 26 years together.
During the winter months they would visit Hawaii, Nevada, and the Grand Canyon, and he finally got to have his picture taken on the corner of Winslow, AZ, just like in the Eagles’ song.
Although Lynne and Brian did not have kids of their own, they earned the title of Papa Brian and Nana Lynne to many little ones connected on and off the farm.
As the Skeen kids grew older, Brian always loved teaching each of them how to drive pickups, tractors and of course farm trucks. He was always a patient teacher and was probably somewhere behind all the fun and misadventures of Cameron, Tara, Frank and Logan.
“He always said he loved it when he had his girl crews on the farm because they took care of the equipment and didn’t give him any grief,” his bio said.
The last few years he transitioned into the role of patient Papa as the next generation of kids came along. Whether giving four-wheeler and tractor rides or making sure the snack drawer was always full at the shop. Papa always made time to make good memories, and he always kept fresh batteries in the little remote-controlled monster truck.
Brian served on the board of the Onion Research Committee from 2004 to 2023 and as chairman from 2009 to 2023. Being on the board and serving as chairman was a position Brian really felt passionate about.
“We lost a great one in 2023 and he will be greatly missed.”
Many thanks to the Idaho-E. Oregon Onion Committee for sharing photos of Brian. Click the image to enlarge.
Charlie Morgan
Charlie Morgan was born Nov. 4,1940, in Binghamton, NY, the son of Charles R Morgan and Viola Morgan. Charlie and his sister, five years younger, were raised in their country home in Binghamton.
Because they lived in a rural district where there was no school and Charlie was bused some distance into the city for school, he was not able to participate in extracurricular activities. In high school he took elective technical electrical classes that were offered, and Charlie then graduated from North High School, in Binghamton.
Directly after graduating from high school, Charlie attended Brome Technical College and graduated in 1960 with an associate degree in electrical technology. After college graduation, Charlie was employed by Argonne National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, ID, as a research technician and nuclear operator.
During high school New York Charlie met his wife, and they married one year after moving to Idaho Falls, ID, and after she had graduated from secretarial school. Charlie commented that he and his wife both grew up on a dirt road, and the first place they ever lived where there were curbs and sidewalks, was in Idaho Falls.
Charlie first became involved with onion storage when he joined Industrial Ventilation in 1970 which was a new start-up. Charlie was the first full time employee, and he later became part owner. Charlie was instrumental in designing equipment and methods we commonly use today in onion storage. Charlie retired from Industrial Ventilation in 2003.
Charlie and his wife have three sons, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Charlie has served on several church boards and has been a member of the governing board of Camp Pinewood in McCall, ID, for over 20 years.
In retirement Charlie enjoys working on projects at Camp Pinewood, camping and fishing, and he enjoys spending time with family. Charlie travels to Florida for a few months every winter.
Charlie commented, he has really enjoyed the onion and potato storage business.
Many thanks to the Idaho-E. Oregon Onion Committee for sharing photos of Charlie. Click the image to enlarge.
