4
community bulletin board/letters to the editor
august28
2012
Stub Stewart to Host First Annual Heritage Day
Stub Stewart State Park will hold
the Heritage Day on Saturday September
8, 2012. The day will be a celebration
of rural heritage from pioneer to present
day. Please plan to come and learn,
enjoy, and build memories This is a free
event. Entry to park requires State Park
Day Use Pass: $5.00/car
Included in the day will be:
Treasure Hunts for hikers, bikers and
equestrians starting at 8:30 AM and
ending with a prize drawing at 11:00
AM.
“Cowboy Church”, an experience of
the spiritual side of this iconic American
lifestyle, from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM
with voices, guitar and old hymns to
create the background for an experience
of the homemade services pioneers had
to use before ministers and churches
reached communities in newly settled
areas.
Exhibits and Presentations from eventually be able to go from Banks to some of the first gas-powered engines
that replaced horse- and manpower in
11:00 AM to 4:00 PM will include: Scappoose.
Local Native History – Washington
County Museum The Mobile Museum
will explore the lives of the indigenous
peoples. Learn how they dressed, their
customs, what they ate and where they
lived.
Pioneer History – Vernonia Pioneer
Museum Vernonia prospered as a
timber town with logging operations,
mills and transport drawing immigrants
from many parts of the world. A video
will provide an overview of it’s rich
history as a rural outpost turned city
through period photos and commentary.
Crown Zellerbach Trail -- Columbia
County Parks and Forests Parts of
this new trail connecting Vernonia to
Scappoose will open later this September.
Hear about the route, amenities and
how hikers, bikers and horsemen will
Saddlery and Leatherwork Gretchen’s
Saddlery in Vernonia will bring all
manner of western tack for visitors to
learn about – how they are used on a
horse and how they can be repaired.
Mexican Horsemanship Costumed
riders will demonstrate the rich history
of the horsemanship of Mexico.
Cowboy Skills Challenge (youth
activities – no animals involved)
Adventurous youth can try their hand
at the cowboy skills of: calf tying;
roping; saddling and bridling the horse;
pole bending; barrel racing; saddlebag
packing; brand identification; parts of
the horse puzzle; and breeds of the horse
puzzle. Horseshoe awards to those who
complete all challenges.
Antiques
Engines
– Vernonia
Historical Society See, hear and smell
logging and farm work. Learn how these
engines work and what their uses were.
Blacksmithery – Wolfgang Forge The
blacksmith will explain how the smith
was the community engineer, repairing
equipment and working with neighbors
to develop new machines for doing their
work. He will show samples and explain
how basic blacksmithing was done.
and much, much more…
For more information, please
contact: Janet Smith, 503-628-1320
or Suzanne Doyle, 503-641-8656
suzand2005@yahoo.com. Follow us
on Facebook at Friends of Stub Stewart
State Park and Banks Vernonia Trail.
Readers Lend Their Voices...
An open letter to the people of Vernonia and vicinity:
I am going to start with a little history
of Vernonia Ridge Riders. John Siedelman and
Bob Thompson founded the Ridge Riders in
1954. Members included families from Vernonia,
Birkenfeld, Banks, and other communities in the
vicinity. At that time, they held their equestrian
competitions at the north end of Hawkins Park in
Vernonia. In 1958 when Conrad Anderson donated
the property to the city, the unusable portion on the
west side was leased to the Ridge Riders for an arena
with the agreement that they cleared the area of brush
and old, vacant structures. This agreement, however,
was made with a gentlemen’s handshake; therefore,
there is no documentation.
In 1962 the arena was fenced. In 1991 a
tower and covered spectator building was approved
for construction. The flood of 1996 put the area on
flood way status and severe restrictions were placed
upon the area. After much haggling in 2001, corrals
were approved and built. The Ridge Riders continue
to make improvements to the area every year with
the goal of erecting a cover over the arena for use by
4-H, equestrian teams and others.
In 2006, I finally got the approval of the
Vernonia City Council to grant a lease which was
documented. In 2009 the Ridge Riders were told by
City Administrator Young that our lease was invalid
because of the time element. The Ridge Riders then
chose to seek counsel for advise on this issue and
after reading our lease, our attorney told us we had
a very viable lease agreement. We then presented
this information to the council and the issue was
dropped.
In July 2012, Vernonia Ridge Riders
complained to the city about the placing of a guy wire
Sincerely,
George E. Bellingham
Previous President and current member of the
Vernonia Ridge Riders
HOW TO SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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letters space permitting. Deadline is the 1st and
3rd Monday of each month. Email: scott@ver-
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Vernonia, OR 97064.
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Terry’s
Gym
from a power pole in the middle of our warm up area
next to the arena because it could potentially cause
harm to horses and/or their riders. The Ridge Riders
were given three options by Bill Haack, the current
City Administrator. Option #1: Leave the guy wire
as is. Option #2: Put a barrier around it. Option
#3: Put another pole on the hill above the area to
attach the wire at a cost to the Vernonia Ridge Riders
of approximately $1,300. I asked at the time why
we were not included in the original discussion and
decision to place the guy wire and I never received a
response.
At the August 6, 2012 council meeting, we
were told that a workshop would be established to
address this matter and we would be notified of when
and where. In the meantime we received a letter from
the City’s attorney that our lease was invalid. The
Ridge Riders consider this a threat and will pursue
litigation regarding the lease agreement.
Edi Sheldon 503-429-1819
edisheldon@gmail.com
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