The Good Ol ’ Days
By Tobie Finzel
Summer Work and Summer Fun
In the Finnish language, the
month we call July translates to “Hay
Month,” and indeed July still is the
month when most hay is harvested to
feed livestock during the winter months.
It’s also the start of fairly reliable warm
weather in the Upper Nehalem Valley,
so along with the summer work comes
summer fun.
Before farmers had motorized
mowers, balers and tractors, haymaking
depended on horses, the specialized im-
plements they pulled and lots of human
hands at work. This writer fondly recalls
haying time on her Finnish grandpar-
ents’ farm near Astoria before mecha-
nized balers were common. Those too
young to wield a rake or a pitchfork rode
on top of the load of loose hay to hold
it in place as it was transported to the
barn’s hayloft.
As soon as the hay was mature
but not yet too dry, it was cut with a
horse-drawn sickle bar mower, an inven-
tion of the mid-1800s that replaced the
arduous task of mowing with a hand-
held scythe. After the hay dried for a
day or two, workers raked it into piles
called hay shocks that were next loaded
into wagons for transport to the barn. If
it rained or the cut hay was otherwise
too damp, a horse-drawn tedder might
be used to fluff and turn the hay before
raking and shocking. Usually the whole
family was involved in getting the hay
in, and neighbors often helped each oth-
er with the process.
Summer then as now was the
season for Fourth of July celebrations
and picnics of all sorts. In Vernonia: A
Pocket in the Woods, author Ann Fulton
wrote of the memorable Fourth during
the Spanish-American War. “Patriotic
feelings ran high as the United States
fought over Cuba. Vernonia celebrated
the 1898 Fourth of July with an anvil
chorus at dawn and a morning program
at the campground on the banks of Rock
Creek. The program featured a noon
basket dinner, Reverend A.E. Myers’
oration and Mrs. Nellie Keasey’s recita-
tion.” Like most community gatherings,
it closed with a dance for all ages. An
even earlier Fourth was cited in a 1926
Vernonia Eagle article where Mrs. J. H.
Aldridge of Clatskanie recalled the 1882
event in Mist. Families who lived miles
Terry’s
Gym
apart rode their horses over trails in the
woods and gathered for a community
picnic, speeches, and games for the chil-
dren. Over fifty people enjoyed the day.
The Fourth fell on a Sunday in
1928 making a three-day weekend with
July 5 th the official day of celebration.
The Vernonia Eagle reported that hun-
dreds of tourists, campers and sightsee-
ing motorists passed through Vernonia
that Monday. “It makes a splendid drive
coming from St. Helens and going out
through Forest Grove. (NOTE: Con-
struction on the Sunset Highway, first
known as the Wolf Creek Highway, didn’t
begin until 1933 and finally opened
in 1949.) Many of the cars stopped to
admire our city and leave a few dollars
for refreshments. Adjacent to town, the
creek and river banks were thickly dot-
ted with picnic parties, many choosing
that method of celebrating the Fourth.”
Group picnics were a very popu-
lar form of summer entertainment, and
there were many annual basket feasts
for the individual lodges, Granges and
churches in Columbia County. During
the heyday of lodges and other organiza-
tions in Vernonia in the 1920s, the news-
paper announced picnics for the Masons
and Eastern Star, Oddfellows and Re-
bekahs, Knights of Pythias, American
Legion, Women’s Christian Temper-
ance Union, Columbia County Granges,
Women’s Relief Corps, Woodsmen of
the World, Nehalem Valley Pioneers,
and various church and Sunday school
groups. Other than the Rock Creek
campground, there were no established
city parks so willing citizens with suf-
ficient space hosted them on their own
property. Albert Parker’s Grove, Weed’s
Grove and Sheeley Grove were three
frequently mentioned picnic sites.
Several of the gatherings, es-
pecially those of the county-wide lodge
events, were reported to have hundreds
of picnickers attend. Games and races,
swimming contests, horseshoe pitching,
and speeches by dignitaries were all part
of the day’s fun. In those days before
ice chests and portable grills, picnic fare
often consisted of home-prepared sand-
wiches, non-perishable salads, pickles,
olives, fruit pies, cakes, and cookies.
There might be a fire pit for roasting wie-
ners and toasting marshmallows. Those
who owned Thermos bottles could en-
joy a cup of hot coffee or cool lemon-
ade. Prohibition was the law of the land
in other words
july17
2014
so any “home brew” would likely have
been consumed on the sly.
From the late 1800s to the mid-
1900s, Oregonians who had moved to
the state from the East and Midwest
gathered annually in various locations in
the Portland and upper Willamette Val-
ley with others from their state of origin.
In the 1920s, picnics for groups as large
as 1,500 reunited people from Nebraska,
the Dakotas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and
Maine were announced in Vernonia’s
newspaper. The formula was nearly the
same with all of the big picnics: bring
a picnic dinner and coffee will be pro-
vided.
Summer work and summer fun
combine to make good memories.
From Virgil Powell’s Diary
Virgil Powell (1887-1963) was
a long-time resident whose family had a
farm in the Upper Nehalem Valley be-
tween Natal and Pittsburg. Each year
from 1906 until 1955, he kept a regu-
lar diary of his activities. Each July, he
worked long days cutting, raking, shock-
ing, and hauling hay but still managed to
dance until the wee hours on Saturday
nights.
Wednesday, July 14, 1909: Finished
cutting the balance of my hay at 8 AM
Then went up and cut for Chas. Peterson
the balance of the day. Done a big day’s
cutting. Very hot day.
Friday, July 16: Went up and raked hay
for Peterson in the morning and cut hay
in the afternoon.
7
Saturday, July 17: Cut hay for Peter-
son till about 2 PM Then it got to raining
so hard that I had to stop. Went up to
Vernonia about 5, took in the dance and
had a big time. Danced till about 4 then
I started for Bacona.
Sunday, July 18: Left Vernonia at 5
AM and went up to Bacona. Got up
there for breakfast. Met Will on the road
and we looked at the land in Sec. 36.
Got through about 1 then came down to
Hotchkiss, fed my horse and got dinner.
Left there at 3:45 and got home at 6:20
PM Pretty hot day.
Monday, July 19: Went up and finished
cutting and raking Peterson’s hay. Also
shocked some in the evening. Pretty
warm day.
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is lo-
cated at E. 511 Bridge Street and is
open from 1 to 4 PM on Saturdays and
Sundays (excluding holidays) all year.
From June through mid-September, the
museum is also open on Fridays from 1
– 4 PM. There is no charge for admis-
sion 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 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.
Friends of the Library
Fri, August 1
4:00-7:00pm
Sat, August 2
9am - 4pm
VCLC
939 Bridge Street
503-429-1818
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9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
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