People who visit the scene of the construction of the new home of Fluhrer's Bakery at the corner of Sixth and Grape streets and observe the rather tall, straight form of the man who is actively superintending that construction know, or most of them know, he is Col. R. I. Stuart, of the firm of R. I. Stuart & Sons. But none of them would believe that Col. Stuart "celebrated" his 75th birth anniversary directing the construction work on that new building.
    Not any one of the men on the job, unless it was Col. Stuart's two sons, knew as he moved with confidence and action in and out of the modern new structure of steel and concrete July 28, that that day marked his 75th birthday.  
    Not only did Col. Stuart spend all of the daylight hours of his 75th birthday "on the job" but he let it be known to the writer Tuesday that he expects to continue "on the job" for some years to come.
    Incidentally Mr. Stuart is not a colonel. The title was applied to him as a nickname many years ago while he was engaged in the contracting business in Miles City, Mont., and while he was engaged in construction work at Fort Keogh, near that city, which was then under the command of the officer who later became well known as General Miles.
    Col. Stuart has been engaged in construction work for a half century, 24 years of that time being spent here in Medford. There are many monuments here to his construction ability. They include the Craterian theatre, the new high school building, Jackson Hotel, Elks Club building, the Armory, Medford National Bank, City Hall, and many other structures.
    Col. Stuart first saw the light of day in New York City, July 28, 1858. His first job was that of selling newspapers on the streets of that city. Later he began his apprenticeship as a carpenter and finished his training in New York and New Jersey.
    At the age of 29, Stuart was possessed of an urge to "go West," and he struck out for Sheldon, Iowa, where he joined a brother. He followed construction work in and near Sheldon for three years, working principally on grain elevators.
    The year 1880 found the young builder on his way to Miles City, Mont. His first work there was on winter quarters for the construction crew that was building the Northern Pacific into Montana. Later Stuart was employed in the construction of several units of Fort Keogh, then under the command of General Miles, who had been sent into Montana to quell the last disturbances of the Blackfeet and other Indian tribes.
    It was in Miles City that Col. Stuart branched out into the contracting business, in which he was engaged during the greater part of 17 years he resided in that city.
    Col. Stuart left Miles City in 1897 and went to Southern California, where he continued contracting and construction work. He gradually drifted northward and arrived in Medford in 1909. For 24 years he has headed the firm that bears his name. During recent years his two sons, Miles and Gilbert, have been associated with him, and will carry on the work when the years finally begin bearing down on the veteran contractor and builder with a weight that will induce him to retire.
    There is not a more active man of his age in Medford than Col. Stuart. It is doubtful if there is one in Oregon . He attributes his splendid physical condition to the active outdoor life that he had led for more than a half century, much of it being on the frontier in Montana.
    Col. Stuart not only had a personal acquaintanceship with General Miles, but thought so much of the general that he named one of his sons after him.
    "Miles City, into which the railroad was being constructed when I arrived there in 1880, was a typical western frontier town in all that those words imply," said the colonel in commenting on his experiences there. "You never had to walk far to find all the trouble, excitement, and wild life you wanted."
    It was in Miles City that Col. Stuart met and won Miss Cora Hood, and the two are now rounding out their years together in a comfortable home at 217 Apple Street. Of the five children born to Col. and Mrs. Stuart, four are living, including the two sons, Miles and Gilbert, who are associated in construction with the father. Robert, a third son, died while in an officers' training camp at Eugene during the World War. There are two daughters: Mrs. T. J. Fuson of this city, and Miss Isobel Stuart, who is in the executive officers of the Paramount Corporation at Hollywood.
    Col. Stuart says that he learned soon after his arrival here to have confidence in the future of Medford and Rogue River Valley, and the years have not dampened that confidence. He predicts that the coming decade will witness the greatest era of development in the history of Medford and Rogue River Valley.
Medford News, August 4, 1933, page 1