Douglas County Library
Serves Outlying Areas
By ANITA EDIN
Nwi-Rviw Staff Writtr
Eight towns having city libraries
and a number of outlying commun
ities in Douglas County receive
service from the Douglas County
Library with headquarters in the
west wing of the courthouse in
Hoseburg.
Those communities not having
rily libraries are reached by the
llouglas County bookmobile which
travels as far north as Curtin;
west to Camas Valley and Green
Acres; south to Quines Creek; and
east to Drew and Steamboat. Those
areas receive service once every
three weeks, the year around.
The decision to build Douglas
County Library came in 1952. The
next three years were spent in
planning and preparing for the
building. Actual construction start
ed in the early Spring of 1955.
The building was completed in
May of 1956 and library service
began In July of that same year.
All branches of the library, includ
ing headquarters and the bookmo
bile unit circulated 305,362 books
during the 1956-57 fiscal year. The
circulation hopped to 424,986 books
during 1959-60 by the same sourc
es. A total of 20,573 registered bor
rowers in the county was recorded
as of Feb. 1, 1961.
Rosaburg Joins
In 1955, as a result of action tak
en by the Roseburg City Council
upon recommendation of the Rose
burg Library Board, the Roseburg
City Library completely merged
with Douglas County Library in
order to form one administrative,
unit.
First service by the bookmobile
was performed in June of 1956. The
unit circulated 94,681 during 1956
57 compared to 137,132 in the 1959
60 fiscal year.
Douglas County Library, head
quarters send out an average of
50 new books each month in addi
tion to special requests to each of
its branches in the county. If. the
county library cannot fill requests
from its selection, it sends to the
Oregon State Library in Salem in
an effort to get the requested ma
terial. Those areas having city li
braries which are branches of the
county library are: Reedsport,
Yoncalla, Drain, Oakland, Sutlier
lin, Myrtle Creek, Canyonville and
Glendale. New . library quarters
.Standard aides for book selections,
in addition to requests, guide the
trio in making out an order list.
Douglas County Library is sup
j ported by an appropriation from
, county funds by the Douglas Coun
ty Court. Each community having
a library is responsible for its
own housing for library materials
at no expense to the county.
One special feature located
in the Douglas County Library is
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county who do not have ready access to the more station
ary type of' library. '
were recently built at Sulherlin
and Myrtle Creek.
Books Selected
On the average of once every
two weeks, Miss Charlotte llyre,
bookmobile librarian; Miss Mur
iel Mitchell, reference librarian;
and Miss Carol Trimble, county li
brarian, meet to select new books.
the Browsing Corner, set up by
Dr. E. B. Stewart of Roseburg in
1957. Dr. Stewart has given a sum
of. money each year for books as
memorials to his late father,
mother and wife. The books are
not to be circulated but are avail
able to the public for reading in
the library.
Milk Producers Show
Continued Progress
The Umpqua Valley Milk Produc-
ers Cooperative, composed of Doug
las County dairymen with an in
vestment of almost two million
dollars, continues to move ahead
just as it has in 15 years of opera
tion. Herds range in size from 25 cows
to 340 animals of the best produc
ing breeds, and their contribution
to the economy of county and state
is substantial In excess of $500,
000 in purchases of animals, feed,
services and equipment. The sal
ary records show entries of more
than SJ,500 per month.
Pisturelind
Over 1.000 acres of Irrigated
pastures are devoted to the dairy
industry, and an estimated $50,000
in property taxes and $25,000 in
utilities is expended annually.
When organized the Umpqua coop
erative members produced about
300.000 pounds of milk per month,
and now it's nearly twice the orig
inal amount. Capital investment
per animal has risen from $1,200
in 1946 to $3,700 in 1960. on a par
with dairy-concentrated Yamhill
County.
Current milk prices don't permit
more than a 1.5 per cent profit.
Sales to marketers are based on
butterfat content and weight for
standard milk grade. Local prices
of 75 cents per pound of butterfat
f"u o.ra per Hundred
weight combine to provide dairy,
men with an average $6 per hun
dred pounds of milk. Virtuully all
the $500,000 estimated income is
spent for "operational needs" pur
chases from Douglas County busin
esses. .Members standardize butterfat
quality by operating with combina
tions of Holstein, Guernsey, and
Jersey breeds, except for the Jer
sy herd of Peter I'an in Garden
Valley and the Brown Swiss Herd,
of Gilbert Weaver, Myrtle Creek.
Animal turnover is high, with
dairymen striving for a calf per
year per cow 'and with one of
every four cows replaced annually.
Yearly purchases of animals by
UV.MPC members average $62,
500. The average cow in produc
tion consumes about 10 pounds of
grain or dairy mix preparation
and about 40 pounds of alfalfa
hay daily, and the feed cost is ap
proximately $200,000 yearly.
Umpqua Dairy has been the
greatest single purchaser of
UV'MPC milk production sinco the
Cooperative's formation. All dair
ies in the group are under periodic
inspection of the Department of
Agriculture, which assures a high
standard of milk.
Mon Feb., 27, 1961 The New$-Review, Roseburg Ore. T
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BIG FARM of Myrort and Roger Iverson is seen from the air. The dairy farm is one of
the fastest growing in Douglas County. The Iversons are members of me Umpqua MilK
Producers Association. (News-Review Photo)
Livestock Is S3 Million Annual
Industry In County Communities
Livestock brings a total of over
$3 million dollars each year into
Douglas County in the form of
farm and ranch revenues, accord
ing to Wayne D. Mosher, county
extension agent.
The greatest portion of the sum
comes from the sale of lambs and
wool. '
As far back as any local resident
can remember, Douglas County has
been a sheep county. And the num
ber of sheep raised here is increas
ing every year.
In the last five years, the num
ber has grown from approximately
103,000 sheep to now well over
112.000. This is at least twice as
many as any other county in the
state. Sheep population is, in fact,
declining in most other counties,
Jlosher staled.-
Douglas County Is one of the
best adapted areas for the raising
of this important farm animal, for
many reasons. The weather here
presents reasonably mild winters,
allowing sheep to forage all year.
Rainfall is constant and concentrat
ed most generally in the winter
months, giving grasses their best
quality at that time.
Grata Timing Good
This is important because lambs
are usually dropped in uecemDer,
January, February and early
March. Newly-born lambs are first
fed better milk from the ewes due
to lush grass, and later have
enough good grass to fatten them
before market,
Mosher also pointed out that
when the grass does begin to dry
out, it comes at a time when it is
best to keep ewes on a reduced
fnrapp .
The high' rainfall during our win
ter months also tends to keep
eround wet to tne point wnere
large numbers of cattle would cut
it ud severely. Most ot tne larnv
land then not suitable for crops is
ideally adapted for sneep.
In order to improve the carry
ing capacity of the sheep lands
even more, the county extension
service, under the directorship of
J. Roland Parker, has carried on
a constant program of pasture im
provement over the years.
Acr Can Support More
Seeding of English rye grass and
sub-clover, as well as the addition
of fertilizer, greatly increases the
number of sheep each acre will
successfully support.
There has been a slight increase
In the number of beef cattle raised
In Douglas County in the past ten
vears. in 1950, there were 4,600
head of two-year-old or older cat
tle, while in 1960, this number had
increased to about 8.000.
Most beef cattle are run with
sheep, since they utilize feed the
sheep cannot.
The county dairy herds have
dropped in total numbers from
about 8,000 in 1950, to 6,800 today.
Mosher explains that the small
dairy farmer is disappearing in
the county, with their cows going
to the big producer (50 cows or
more). Increased production from
each cow is also partially respon
sible for this.
Fowl Number Down
Both chicken and turkey popula
tions have taken drastic drops over
the years here. From a 1950 gross
of 150.000 commercial egg layers,
the number of chickens has drop
ped to only about 50,000 today. In
1940, 350,000 turkeys were raised
here, but now only six to a dozen
turkey growers have a total of
about 20.000 birds.
The extension office estimates
Douglas county has from 1,200-1.-300
horses and mules today. This
figure has dropped, too, for the of
fice had on record in 1954 I total
of 1,500 of the animals.
TWO CITIES GROW
Douglas County has two cities
In the 2.500 to 5.000 population
group. They are Myrtle Creek, with
a population of 2.637. and Reeds
port with a population of 2.998.
Myrtle Creek increased by 25.3 per
cent in 10 years, and Reedsport by
31 per cent.
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BWHIiMaWa!!!!!
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WAYNE D. MOSHER, county exrension ogent for live
stock and crops is also secretary of the county Livestock
man's association. He has been with ths county extension
"service since 1949.
Farming Is Principal
Activity At U m pqua
NEW BARN A' new look' in barns is this sparkling ver
sion on recently completed by the Iversons at Umpqua.
Umpqua is principally a farming
community, and has been since the
early 1850s.
Most of the farms are large ones,
comprised of from 200 to 2,000
acres. Cattle, both beef and milk
are raised. There are several farms
where Hereford and Black Angus
are raised exclusively.
Sheep are also raised on most of
the farms and range in numbers,
from 60 to 100 on the smaller
farms, to several hundreds on the
big ones. Spring lambs and wool
are both good crops here. On the
larger places, there are quite a few
Angora goats, also. There are a
few farms where hogs, eggs, tur
keys and chickens are raised com
mercially. Truck Gardening Boom
Truck gardening is becoming an
important crop and plans are un
der wav for a big step in this
field. Much of the river bottom
land that has not been used to its
full canacitv is ideal for crops.
The rivers in this area make irri
gation possibilities almost unlim
ited. Corn, beans, tomatoes, small
vegetables, all kinds of berries, and
melons are grown.
Fruit trees, walnuts, prunes, pears
and apples are grown here. The
first two are the largest crops.
Man new acres of orunej have
been sot out in recent years, and
many of them will come into pro
duction this year.
Another quite new and a nig op
eration is the Iverson Brothers,
Myron and Roger, both young men
who own some 800 acres in the
very center of the district. Here
they have a modern dairy.
Herd Big
Three hundred and twenty five
head of Holstein cattle make tip
their herd. Of this group, 280 are
milked each nii;ht and morning.
Four big barns have been built
recently, and the herd that is milk
ed is not turned to pasture anv
more but is kept in the new loafing
sheds. The cows are fed chopped
hay and grain pellets. Now a new
automatic feeder is being installed
whore as the cow is being milked
her feed is rationed out to her ac
cording to how much milk she
gives. For each ounce of milk that
goes through the meter in front of
her. so much grain is riietcred out
to her. The more milk she gives,
the more food she gets. The men
put in a new field of 100 acres
to alfalfa last year and are now
getting ready for another lOOcres.
New Restaurant Opens
In Idleyld Park Area
On March 12, 1960, Mrs. Asa De
ft root opened her new restaurant
and tavern. "The Narrows," on
the North Umpqua Highway, re
placing the former building, which
was destroyed by fire -March 24,
1959.
The new frame structure meas
ures 28-by-56 feet. The restaurant
has a beamed ceiling with car
decking and brushwood paneling
on the walls.
The bar is finished in birchwood
paneling, as is the beamed ceil
ing. The building has one entrance
with separating partition between
restaurant and bar.
fit
In
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For
County
Residents!
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RICHER
MILK
FOR
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CHILDREN
TO
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TOP GRADE A DAIRY HERDS
Grade A tested Dairy herds maintained by the following
Association member are your guarantee of rich, healthful
milk ... so important for your family's welfare and health.
Howard Brownson & Son . . . Myrtle Creek
Waunita Clare ... Azalea
Mrs. Vi Clark . . . Myrtle Creek
Lloyd Harter . . . Days Creek
Alvin H, Helgeson . . Myrtle Creek
Iverson Bros. . . . Umpqua
Frank Layton & Hugh Richie . . . Garden Volley
Milo Academy . . . Milo
Herb L. Nofthcraft . . . Olalla
Peter Pon . . . Garden Valley
Delbert Trask . . . Myrtle Creek
Gilbert Weaver . . . Myrtle Creek
UP-TO-DATE SANITARY BARNS
L'p-to-date, sanitary barnt with the latest equipment and
sanitary safe-guards to protect you . . . the consumer.' All
facilities are regularly inspectad and rigidly enforced by
inspectors from the State Agricultural Department and mem-
bers themselves.
PROMPT DELIVERY
FROM FARM TO DAIRY
Direct delivery by tank truck from farm to dairy
. . providing hours fresher milkl Delivered to:
UMPQUA DAIRY
Safeway City Drive In
fa
USE LOCAL
PRODUCTS
Mi
UMPQUA VALLEY
Producers Co-op