The Good Old Days
By Tobie Finzel
Museum News
If you passed by the museum on
April 6th, you would have seen a dozen
or so young people hard at work mov-
ing and removing plants, pulling weeds,
edging flower beds, and tearing out the
wooden sidewalk in front of the museum
so that a new concrete walk can be put
in. The museum was delighted to have
several of the Sierra Service Project vol-
unteers help us get on top of what had
seemed like an overwhelming task. We
thank Pat Stacklie for her part in bring-
ing this program to Vernonia.
Stop by and see our newly
framed photographs of Vernona Cher-
rington, for whom the town was named,
and her granddaughter who visited here
in 1992. We also have lovely new frames
on two Malmsten family portraits, all
thanks to a grant from Mark and Helen
Greathouse and the fine work done by
Grey Dawn Gallery and Archive Photo
Restoration.
Early Day Telephone Service
It’s hard to imagine a time when
home telephones were rare and calling a
friend required the help of a telephone
operator. Without an operator connect-
ing a caller to his or her desired desti-
history/area news
2013
nation, there could be no completed
telephone call. Although Cad and Dow
Keasey had set up a telephone line be-
tween Pittsburg and St. Helens in 1902
and a few direct telephone lines between
members of some Vernonia families
were in use in the early 1900s, it wasn’t
until 1922 that the Nehalem Telephone
Company was established and an office
built. A two bedroom apartment at the
back of the office housed the chief op-
erator so that she could oversee daily
operations and be present in case a prob-
lem arose. There was also a cot behind
the telephone switchboard for the night
operator who was permitted to nap be-
tween the infrequent nighttime calls.
Even by the 1940s, not every
home had a telephone. Marvin Turner
(VHS 1945), whose mother was Chief
Operator of what was by then the West
Coast Telephone Company, wrote a brief
reminiscence about those days. Accord-
ing to Marv, if a long distance call came
in for someone without a phone, the
operator usually knew someone nearby
who could be asked to take a message
or ask the person to come to the tele-
phone office to receive or place the call.
The operators knew nearly everybody
in town, so if a long distance call came
in for someone who was away from his
or her home or office phone, the opera-
010412
For fast
cash!
erating dairy farm, (c) anyone
who is employed or an owner
of a milk processing plant or
distributor, (d) or any person
employed in a dairy related
industry. (e) A member or for-
mer member of 4-H or FFA
that raised or showed a dairy
project.
A successful candi-
date must be willing to repre-
sent Columbia County at the
State Dairy Princess Ambas-
sador contest in January 2014,
travel throughout the county
and state April thru September
promoting healthy nutrition,
which includes Dairy products
and awareness about the Dairy
industry. Training for these
activities is provided to can-
didates by the Oregon Dairy
Women. Questions or quali-
fied candidates can be direct-
ed to Diane Larson at (503)
2245 Baseline St., Cornelius
(Across from Fred Meyer)
503-530-8119
State Licensed PB-0388
Open
everyday
at 9 a.m.
7
tors would track the person down. This
happened frequently with the people at
the mill office who often had to be away
from their desks. The Oregon-American
Lumber Mill staff was so appreciative of
the extra service that they always pre-
sented the operators with flowers and
candy at Christmas time.
By the 1950s, direct distance di-
aling became the standard, and the Ver-
nonia office was closed with operations
moving to Forest Grove. The telephone
office was torn down and replaced with
the concrete building which houses the
automated central telephone switch that
serves the Upper Nehalem Valley today.
Wednesday, April 18: Went up
to Vernonia 6.30 A.M. and returned
9.30 with my sheep shearing ma-
chine. Done several little jobs
during the day. Pretty fair day,
rained just a little.
From Virgil Powell’s Diary
Virgil Powell was a long-time
resident who had a farm in the Upper
Nehalem Valley between Natal and Pitts-
burg. Each year from 1906 until 1955,
he kept a regular diary of his activities.
Here are a few excerpts from April 1917:
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is located
at E. 511 Bridge Street and is open from
1 to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays (ex-
cluding holidays) all year. From June
through mid-September, the museum
is also open on Fridays from 1 – 4 pm.
There is no charge for admission but do-
nations are always welcome. Become
a member of the museum for an annual
$5 fee to receive the periodic newsletter,
and if you are a Facebook user, check
out the new Vernonia Pioneer Museum
page created by Bill Langmaid. The mu-
seum volunteers are always pleased to
enlist additional volunteers to help hold
the museum open and assist in other
ways. Please stop by and let one of the
volunteers know of your interest in help-
ing out.
Wednesday, April 4: Fixed the
telephone line over the river first
thing in morning. Done several lit-
tle jobs during the day. Fair day
rained just a very little.
Thursday, April 12: Went up to
Pittsburg to look after the sheep
first thing in morning.
Built a
chicken brooder. Rained a little
all day.
Opportunity for County Dairy Princess
Columbia
County
chapter of the Dairy Women’s
Association is now accepting
applications for candidates for
County Dairy Princess Am-
bassador. To enter, a girl must
be at least sixteen and a high
school Junior, but not over
23 years of age as of June 1,
2013. Candidates must be a
resident of Oregon at least
one year prior to the contest,
unless they are currently a
full-time student in a college
outside of Oregon. She must
be single, never married, nor
pregnant or have a child; and if
not living at home, must NOT
be co-habiting with anyone.
Candidates must also
qualify in ONE of these ar-
eas: (a) lived or worked on a
dairy farm or facility at some
time; (b) be the daughter of
anyone employed on an op-
april18
312-6130 by Friday, April 12,
2013.
Donations toward a
scholarship for outgoing Dairy
Princess Ambassador, Mikela
Heimuller, are now being ac-
cepted. Anyone can contribute
a tax free scholarship dona-
tion for Mikela. Contact Diane
Larson at (503)312-6130 by
May 1, 2013.
Columbia
County
Dairy Women vend at local
events and festivals to raise
funds in support of scholarship
awards now available to ANY
graduating high school senior
from Columbia County. An es-
say about a Dairy related topic
is required. Scholarship appli-
cations may be picked up at
any high school in the County
or contact Diane Larson at
(503) 312-6130. Applications
are due by May 1, 2013.
Saturday, April 21: Mr. Gessell
and I left 6.10 A.M. and got to St.
Helens 11.10. Bids opened on St.
Helens – Pittsburg road improve-
ment 2 P.M. We left St. Helens
4.10 P.M. and got over to the dance
in Vernonia 10 P.M. Left dance 2
A.M. and got home 3.45. Very good
day.
May 21, 2013 Election Candidates
Candidates for the May
21, 2013 election have filed.
For Vernonia School
Board Director there are
four seats up for elections.
Incumbents have filed and are
running unopposed for three
positions: Jim Krahn for Position
1, Ernie Smith for Position 4 and
Cari Levenseller for Position 5.
There is no candidate filed for
Director 6.
For the Vernonia Rural
Fire Protection District Board of
Directors, Ben Davis is running
for Position 1, and Luke Ellis
and Michael Demeter have both
filed to run for Position 5.
For the Mist-Birkenfeld
Rural Fire Protection District
Board of Directors, all candidates
are running unopposed: Joan
Marie Jones for Position 2,
William C. Dejager for Position
3 and Patricia Wright for Position
4. There is no candidate filed for
Position 5.
For the Columbia 9-1-
1 Communications District
Board of Directors there are
four candidates filed for three
positions. Connie Budge of
Rainier is running for Zone
2, Henry B. Heimuller of St.
Helens is running for Zone 3
and Tyler Miller and Robert
Anderson, both of Scappoose
are running for Zone 5.
Vernonia’s Voice is published on
the 1st and 3rd Thursday.
Our next issue will be May 2.
Need body work?
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we’ll take your
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Meyer’s Auto Body
493 Bridge Street,
Vernonia
503-429-0248
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