The Good Ol ’ Days
By Tobie Finzel
Museum Notes
By the time this issue of Verno-
nia’s Voice is published, we should have
a new sidewalk started along the front of
the museum. We’ll give appropriate ku-
dos to our volunteer helpers next month,
but for now we’ll express our gratitude
in advance to the Vernonia Freewheelers
and Alan Hein for offering their needed
skills and willingness to help us get this
done!
We are also grateful to our new
volunteer, Julie Prohaska, who held the
museum open on a recent Sunday and
has committed one shift per month to
help us staff our three day per week sum-
mer schedule. We are truly in need of
additional volunteers to help in this way.
You don’t need to know anything about
Vernonia history – we have lots of re-
source materials and forms that a visitor
with specific questions can fill out and
leave for us to research. All we ask is
a willingness to unlock the doors, turn
on the lights and greet guests for one
(or more!) three hour shift on Fridays,
Saturdays or Sundays. Stop by during
our open hours, leave a voice message
at 503.429.3713 or email vernoniamu-
seum@gmail.com if you can help in this
way. We would so appreciate the help.
Early Community Organizations
When Vernonia had a forest
products and agriculture-based econo-
my, nearly all of its residents were able
to work in local lumber mills or the
businesses that sold groceries, gasoline,
automobiles, hardware, and other sup-
plies and services. Without the frenetic
schedules that seem to define modern
life, evenings were often spent at home
or with friends, perhaps playing cards or
musical instruments, and dances were a
mainstay of Saturday nights.
The Vernonia and Natal Grang-
es were both established in 1901 to serve
farm families for both social activities
and community service as well as to be
part of the collective voice of farmers
nationally. Besides hosting dances and
picnics, these granges donated to local
and national charities, worked on build-
ing roads in the area and helped needy
families. The Winema Grange in Birken-
feld was established in 1924 but no lon-
ger operates. During the Kerry Logging
Company days, it was said to be one of
the largest granges in the county. Its
building in Birkenfeld once served both
as the grange hall and the local school
and was owned jointly by the two enti-
ties. Natal, Vernonia and seven other
granges still remain active in Columbia
County albeit with much smaller mem-
bership rosters than the hundreds each
once had.
The American Legion Post No.
119 was started in 1924 after a group of
World War I (then known as the Great
War) veterans were sharing their ser-
vice stories at Jack Carkin’s Tailor Shop.
They received the charter in 1925 and
by then had seventeen charter and new
members. By 1927, it had grown to its
record high of 308 members. That same
year, they built the hall on Adams Street
where the post and Vernonia Cares now
operate. Over the years, Post No. 119
has performed a variety of services to
the community including purchase of
an ambulance and inhalator/resuscitator
for emergency medical services; hosted
dances, picnics and junior and senior
gem clubs; built an airfield in Riverview
(Mist Drive area); and many other proj-
ects for the good of the community, state
and nation.
As we noted in our March col-
umn about the Study Club, the huge
population boom brought on by the con-
struction of the Oregon-American Lum-
ber Mill in the early 1920s also resulted
in a growth in civic-oriented fraternal
societies. Unlike the Granges, the lodge
organizations had exclusively male or
SAFE Receives $25,000 Grant
in other words
june19
2014
female memberships. The Odd Fellows
Lodge received its charter in 1921 and its
sister organization, the Rebekah Lodge,
was instituted in 1924. The Masonic
Fraternity and its female counterpart,
Eastern Star, were organized in 1924.
Their Order of Rainbow for Girls began
in 1928. The Knights of Pythias Lodge
was chartered in 1923 and by 1926 the
Pythian Sisters established their Temple.
Until construction of the Masonic Tem-
ple on Jefferson Avenue north of Bridge
Street in 1928 and the Odd Fellows Hall
in 1921 on North Street (currently home
of Nehalem Valley Bible Church), meet-
ings were held in the Vernonia Grange
Hall as were the meetings of Knights of
Pythias and the Pythian Sisters.
Membership in all of the frater-
nal organizations shrank markedly dur-
ing the Great Depression, but participa-
tion resumed in the 1940s through the
1960s when jobs that required commut-
ing and other factors once again led to
their decline locally.
(Note: The information in this article
comes from a special edition of the
Vernonia Eagle published in 1966 to
commemorate the 75 th anniversary of
the City of Vernonia’s official charter
in 1891)
From Virgil Powell’s Diary
Virgil Powell (1887-1963) was a long-
time resident whose family had a farm
in the Upper Nehalem Valley between
Natal and Pittsburg. Each year from
1906 until 1955, he kept a regular diary
of his activities. In his younger years he
wrote frequently of the dances at the lo-
cal Grange halls in Natal and Vernonia
and was active in his later years in the
Masonic Lodge; his two sons, DeLoss
and Melvin, were also Masons and his
wife, Inez, was a Rebekah.
7
arrested.
Saturday, June 20: Went over to El-
liotts in the morning and Jim and I
thought we would go down to the doings
at the Grange Hall. Went down in the
buggy. Went down as far as Fishhawk
after the doings. Got home about 8:30.
Rained most all day.
Sunday, June 21: Started down to Mist
to the ball game between Vernonia and
Mist at 8:30. Went down in the buggy.
Got to Mist about 10:30. The score was
10 to 16 in favor of Vernonia. We played
a little bit after the game. Got home at
6:30. Sprinkled a little.
Tuesday, June 23: Went out to Clats-
kanie in the buggy. Started out at 4:25
and got to Clatskanie at 8. Started back
at 12:15 and got home at 6 P.M. Pret-
ty warm day. Received a dandy postal
from Francis.
Wednesday, June 24: Washed the bug-
gy. Went up on East Fork and got Daisy.
Took the team down in the afternoon
and graded road for Emery Mills. Pretty
warm day. Got home at 6:45. Received
a postal from Francis.
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is located
at 511 E. 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 Vernonia Pioneer Museum page
created by Bill Langmaid. The museum
volunteers are always pleased to enlist
additional volunteers to help hold the
Thursday, June 18, 1908: Went down museum open and assist in other ways.
to Fishhawk in the buggy. Started down Please stop by and let one of the volun-
at 8 and got down there at 12. Got back teers know of your interest in helping
home at 3:45. Rained most all day. Re- out.
ceived a postal from Francis. A.E. was
SAFE of Columbia County is the recipient establishing a fund may contact the Portland office interested in volunteering can contact Katie Troha,
of a $25,000 grant from The Oregon Community at 1221 SW Yamhill, Suite 100, Portland OR 97205, DVSA Advocate and Volunteer Coordinator: (503)
Foundation to further its development and outreach 503.227.6846 or visit www.oregoncf.org
397-7110.
efforts. This award enables SAFE to continue its
SAFE relies heavily on the support of donations
For more information about the organization,
mission: We empower our community to live safe, from community partners like The Oregon Community contact Naaman Cordova-Muenzberg, Executive
healthy lives free from abuse.
Foundation as well as individual local donors and Director: (503) 397-7110.
SAFE stands for Support, Advocacy, Freedom volunteers. New Volunteer Advocate Training will
If you or someone you know is seeking services
and Empowerment. The agency meets the needs of those begin June 20th. This 40 hour training meets statewide related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking,
affected by domestic and sexual violence by providing requirements for anyone in direct service advocacy call the 24/7 Crisis Line: 503-397-6161 or (toll free)
24 hour crisis response, ongoing advocacy, counseling for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Those 1-866-397-6161.
and safety planning for survivors as well
as prevention education throughout the
community. SAFE recently changed its
Insurance sending you in the wrong direction?
name from Columbia County Women’s
Let us send you in the right direction.
Resource Center and has been serving
Columbia County since 1979.
The mission of The Oregon
Community Foundation is to improve
life in Oregon and promote effective
philanthropy. OCF works with
individuals, families, businesses, and
organizations to create charitable funds
to support the community causes they
care about. Through these funds OCF
awards more than $60 million annually
in grants and scholarships.
The foundation makes grants
through an application process that
involves local citizens in the review
and evaluation of requests for funds.
Application materials are available
503-901-1705
through the foundation’s Portland office.
Meyer’s Auto Body • 493 Bridge St • 503-429-0248
16720 Noakes Rd. Vernonia
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