The Good Ol ’ Days
By Tobie Finzel
Life in a Logging Camp

With all of our modern
conveniences including the ability to
commute daily to work, it’s difficult to
imagine what it must have been like to
live and work in one of the hundreds
of remote logging camps of the Pacific
Northwest. From the late 1800s until
the late 1930s when roads for vehicular
transportation began to replace the rails,
loggers usually lived near the site of
operations in rough bunkhouses with a
communal dining hall.

Loggers rose well before dawn
when the camp boss rousted them from
their bunks. After a quick wash in tin
basins, they headed for a heavy breakfast
of hotcakes, mush, bacon, and strong
black coffee. The cooks handed out
packed lunches for the men who then
boarded a “crummy” - an open railroad
car and later a small bus or truck – for
work in the woods. In this time before
powered chainsaws, men worked using
only axes and crosscut saws to fell the
huge trees. By lunchtime, the heavy
breakfast had been worked off, and the
typical lunch of salted pork and beans
with coffee was welcome. A logger in
those days had to consume at least 7,000
calories a day to fuel him for the grueling
work.

Work ended at three or four
in the afternoon. The men returned to
camp to wash up for a supper of meat,
potatoes and gravy accompanied by
biscuits spread with lard. All meals had
to be prepared without fresh produce,
eggs, butter, or anything that required
refrigeration or frequent replenishment
due to the distance of the camp from
suppliers. After supper, the men
returned to their bunkhouses for a little
relaxation and to try to dry out their wet
clothes before the boss yelled “lights
out” around nine o’clock. Sundays were
the only day off.

In the early years, men only left
the camps every six months. They would
go into big towns like Portland or Seattle
to have a proper bath and indulge in the
various kinds of entertainment provided
by “Skid Road.” That term was taken
from the forest roads used to pull out
logs and applied to the tough part of
town where loggers would congregate.
As more towns with mills were built
closer to the woods, the men could go
to town weekly on Saturday night for
their good times. Camp cuisine also
improved with the ability to get a wider
variety of foods sent in by rail from the
grocers and butchers of the mill towns.

The Oregon-American Lumber
Company was established in Vernonia
in 1922. O-A immediately began
construction of a logging camp in the
heart of its Coast Range forest holdings
while the mill was being built. Camp
McGregor, O-A’s first camp, housed the
loggers who would start felling trees
to provide a ready supply of logs for
the opening of the mill two years later.
Camp McGregor was a model of what
was called a modern camp. There were
bunkhouses for single men and cabins
for families. Many of the loggers’ wives
worked in the dining halls, and there was
a camp store, school and other services
that made this much more of a small
town than the earlier, remote camps.

Today’s loggers still rise way
before dawn, work hard in a dangerous
profession, and endure adverse weather
conditions and steep, rough terrain, but
at least they can come home each night
and enjoy a few more comforts than in
“the good old days.”

From Virgil Powell’s Diary

Virgil Powell was a long-
time resident who had a farm in the
Upper Nehalem Valley between Natal
and Pittsburg. Each year from 1906
in other words
november21
2013
until 1955, he kept a regular diary of
his activities. Late October and early
November seemed to be hog butchering
season among his other farm activities
and work in the woods in 1906. He took
most of the day off on Thanksgiving,
however, if you don’t count the all-night
dancing!
Tuesday, October 30: Butchered
a hog in the morning and picked
apples in the afternoon. Bright
and clear all day. Sold my ducks
to G.W. Armstrong.
Wednesday, October 31: Cut up
the hog in morning. Went down
to Natal in the afternoon. Rained
very hard in the morning and quite
hard in the afternoon Stopped
at Petersons and talked with Emil
awhile coming back.
Got home
about 4:15. Got two postal cards
this evening.
Thursday, November 1:
Sawed
wood all day. Very foggy in the
morning but bright in the afternoon.
Went down to the Cook place about
noon and was expecting a deer to
come in which the dog was running
east of here but did not get to see
it. Got postal cards in the evening
from Hilda and L.H.P.
Wednesday, November 14: Killed a
hog in the morning. Worked on the
road at big slide between here and
Pittsburg in the afternoon. Rained
quite hard in the morning but not
very much the rest of the day.
Thursday, November 15:
Cut
up the hog the first thing in the
morning, then went up and worked
on the road the rest of the day.
Rained quite a little all day.
Tuesday, November 20: Went up
to Clarks with Mr. Gerber. Got
there at 10 a.m. and cruised timber
7
the rest of the day. Rained awful
hard all day. Got out of the timber
at 3:20 p.m. and stopped at Clarks
overnight.
Wednesday, November 21: Went
in the woods to cruise again. Went
over and was on Stewarts land
about noon.
Did not rain very
much.
Done a very large day's
work. Got back to Clarks at 5 p.m.
Thursday, November 29 & Friday,
November 30: Did not do much of
anything any of day. Clear and
a pretty good day. Sent postal
card to Alice. The Thanksgiving
turkey went up to Vernonia in the
evening to the dance. Had a good
time, 29 numbers sold, I had
No. 22 danced quite a bit. The
dance broke up at 6 a.m. Got home
at 7:30 a.m. Had breakfast and
went to bed and slept until 2 p.m.
Pretty good weather most of the
day. Went up to the Post Office
(in Pittsburg) in the evening for the
mail. Got postal from Lameck.
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is located
at 511 E. Bridge Street and is open from
1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays
(excluding holidays) all year. From June
through mid-September, the museum is
also open on Fridays from 1 – 4 p.m.
There is no charge for admission but
donations 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
museum 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 helping out.
What You Need to Know About Flood Vents continued from page 6
square inches.

Other design and performance criteria for
engineered openings are specified by the American
Society of Civil Engineers:
1 - Engineered openings are to perform such that the
difference between the exterior and interior water levels
shall not exceed 1 foot during base flood conditions.
2 - Engineered openings are to be not less than 3
inches in any direction in the plane of the wall. This
requirement applies to the hole in the wall, excluding
any screen, grate, grille, louvers, or devices that may 2 - Vents must be less than 12 inches above the ground.
be placed in or over the opening. The 3-inch opening 3 - Two vents per enclosed area, on different exterior
requirement applies to the hole in the wall; not the walls.
space between the grates, grilles or louvers.

That’s it. Make sure you have the appropriate
In a Nutshell: Numbers to Remember
flood vents installed -- or do it yourself -- then call
FEMA’s flood insurance requirements boil down to your flood insurance company to get a reduction in
this:
your premiums. You’ll also enjoy the peace of mind of
1 - One square inch of opening in a foundation wall per knowing that you’re not only compliant, you’re safer.
square foot of house.
Woodland Resource Fair
Drive
Thru
Espresso
& More
OSU Extension Service is hosting a Woodland Resource
Fair on Wednesday, December 4th, from 5:30 – 7:00
PM. The free event will be at the Extension office, 505
N. Columbia River Hwy in St. Helens.

Anyone who owns wooded
property in Columbia County is
invited to drop by the Woodland
Resource Fair to learn about programs
and organizations that can assist with
the care and stewardship of their land.
Local representatives will be on hand
from Oregon Department of Forestry,
Columbia County Small Woodlands
Association, Natural Resources
Conservation Service, Columbia Soil
and Water Conservation District, the
Columbia County Assessor’s Office,
and OSU Extension Service.

The event will have an
informal, open-house format. Come
to connect with local resource
professionals, and take home some
new information. Come with questions
regarding the management of your
forested property and take home some
suggestions. For more information,
contact Amy Grotta, 503-397-3462,
amy.grotta@oregonstate.edu.
Route 26 Diner
$5
Early Bird
Special
add coffee for only $1
Mon-Fri from 6am-8am
503- 324-0985
47700 NW Sunset Hwy, Banks
Drive
Thru
Espresso
& More
Route 26 Diner
$1.00 off
Sunday Brunch
503- 324-0985
47700 NW Sunset Hwy, Banks