The Good Ol ’ Days
By Tobie Finzel
Museum News
We were pleased to have a visit in early
November from Mark and Gordon Greathouse, sons of
Kathryn Malmsten Greathouse, and their niece, a recent
Pacific University grad. Their great-grandfather Olof
Malmsten and several of his children were some of
Vernonia’s early “movers and shakers.” Mark and his
wife, Helena, established the Malmsten Family Fund
at the museum. That fund has enabled us to restore
and display Malmsten photos and artifacts in addition
to supporting other projects.
The Malmsten Family in Vernonia, Part 1
Vernonia had its share of boom and bust cycles
before the turn of the 20 th century. Following the first
wave of farming homesteaders in the 1870s, rumors of
a railroad that would link Portland to the coast brought
new residents who hoped for the economic benefit of
rail service through a remote rural town.
Olof Malmsten, a master blacksmith, emigrated
to the United States from Sweden in 1852. After several
years of working in his trade and buying and selling
farm properties in Minnesota, Upstate New York and
Pennsylvania, he acquired a 160 acre farm in Vasa,
Minnesota, to which he brought his fellow Swedish
immigrant bride, Maria. In 1887 he traveled to eastern
Oregon with one of his four sons, Elon, to visit an old
friend and to investigate land around Pendleton. He
returned home to Vasa when his family sent word about
an insect infestation that was threatening their crops.
Still interested in Oregon, Olof and his oldest
son, Otto, left for Oregon on June 12, 1889, arriving in
Vernonia eight days later. He had heard of the famous
Nehalem Valley from his friend, Simon Johnson, of
Mist, Oregon. Olof and Otto both took up homesteads
in Oregon three months later, in part because a railroad
survey had been made. The railroad was expected to be
built soon, but that didn’t happen for another thirty-two
years.
Otto contested a claim of 160 acres one and
half miles southeast of Vernonia on Pebble Creek
in other words
november20
2014
Road where Pebble Creek empties into the Nehalem.
William Adams had forfeited his right to the homestead
by being absent over six months; Otto and Olof moved
in. Olof then went northeast of Vernonia on Crooked
Creek where a settlement of Swedish people lived.
He filed for 160 acres northeast of Vernonia. Both
Olof and Otto got various jobs in Mist, Scappoose and
Vernonia. Olof, a horseshoer and blacksmith, had no
problem staying busy.
Olof’s sons, Elon and Franklin, took care of
the Minnesota farms for the next two years. Franklin
and his Uncle Holm then went to Oregon, arriving on
February 9, 1891, by the Northern Pacific train from St.
Paul to Portland. Otto was at the depot in Portland to
meet them. After a night at the International Hotel in
Portland, they went from the Union Depot by rail to the
station in Cornelius.
Franklin was a year too young to file a
homestead claim as the minimum age was 21. He
worked with Uncle Holm to fell timber on his claim.
When Uncle Holm’s land had been cleared and a house
built, Auntie Holm and Franklin’s sister, Eva, came to
Vernonia. Soon after Franklin was 21, he went to the
regional land office in Oregon City to file on a quarter
section of land. His claim was next to John Baker’s
and Bertha Gillihan’s; she later married Otto Malmsten.
Otto and Eva also went to Oregon City with Franklin.
There Eva filed her claim for 160 acres east of Otto’s
and south of Uncle Holm’s on Coon Creek.
While proving up the homestead, Franklin went
out and took jobs wherever he could. Room, board and
one dollar for a ten-hour day were the going wages.
There were hardly any jobs in Vernonia, however, due
to the Panic of 1893, a national depression that caused
an out-migration from Vernonia and a temporary end
of railroad dreams. Franklin worked mostly in logging
camps in Yankton, cutting wood and building homes.
He worked in sawmills in St. Helens and other places.
He traveled from job to job on foot until he finally
could buy a pony and ride back to Vernonia.
Part 2 will continue the Malmsten story in our December
column.
7
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. The November 25 entry from his diary of
1907 mentions a telephone meeting at the Natal Grange.
We’re not sure if this was related to the “Swede Line”
that the Malmsten family set up between their farms
or the one Cad and Dow Keasey established in 1902
between Pittsburg and St. Helens that also connected
some area families.
Thursday, November 21, 1907: Went up to Pittsburg
in the morning and fished all day.
Friday, November 22: Went up to Pittsburg and
fished most all day. Quite a crowd from above came
down and fished. Lameck came up and fished awhile.
Rained awful hard most all day.
Saturday, November 23: Butchered a hog in the
morning. Rained terrible hard all day. Received a
postal from Alice & Minnie.
Sunday, November 24: Cut the hog up in the morning.
It weighed 306 pounds. Wrote postals in the afternoon
to F.W. Jennie Dowling and went up to the Port Office
and mailed them. Rained pretty hard all day. The river
is up yellow and about ½ bank full.
Monday, November 25: Went down to the Telephone
meeting at the (Natal) Grange Hall. Also visited Natal
School. Got down to the hall at 12:15 and got back
home about 5 p.m. Rained awful hard all afternoon.
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is located at 511 E.
Bridge Street and is open from 1 - 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 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.
Donations Needed to Help Fill Christmas Food Boxes
Vernonia Cares Food Bank
(VCFB) plans to offer Christmas holiday
food boxes to low income households
within the Vernonia community.
Registration opened November 11 and
the application deadline is December 9,
2014.
The boxes will be disbursed
December 19, as registered households
pick them up from Vernonia Cares
Food Bank. The holiday food box
will contain the basic groceries for a
Christmas meal. “Our target group is the
households who fall within the USDA
eligibility guidelines,” said Vernonia
Cares Director Sandy Welch. “That
is $1,799 gross income per month for
single person households, plus $626 per
month for each additional person in the
household. However, anyone who is a
Vernonia resident and does not have the
groceries for a Christmas meal is eligible
to apply for this special food box,” she
concludes.
Applications may be obtained from
Vernonia Cares Food Bank, which is
open Tuesday and Thursday from10:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It is located in the
American Legion Hall at 627 Adams
Avenue. To obtain a form by phone, call
VCFB at 503-429-1414, leaving clear
mailing information. Pick up information
will be mailed to verify registration.
All applications must be received by
Vernonia Cares by December 9. Only
pre-registered households will be served.
“At this point, we are planning to
provide this service to 200 families and
are praying the food and funds arrive to
support it,” Welch emphasized. “We’ve
had great support for the holiday food
boxes from our community in the past
and I’m looking to that same support
again this year. Several businesses
and organizations have committed to
items within the boxes, so that really
helps. Each donated food item is one
less the food bank has to buy. I’m so
glad we are able to brighten people’s
Christmas through these groceries.
What’s Christmas without, at the least,
a Christmas meal together?” asks Welch.
“Between now and Thanksgiving
is a great time to buy a turkey and
donate it towards the Christmas Box
Project. That’s when the sale prices
are available,” says Vernonia Cares
President Rosie McCoy. “All turkeys
will be stored frozen at the food bank
and then distributed near Christmas.”
R & S Market (Vernonia Sentry), a
strong supporter of VCFB, makes it
simple to donate. Through their check-
stand giving, patrons can designate $30
which will be used to buy the groceries
and a turkey. Individuals and businesses
interested in supporting this worthwhile
cause, whether through food or funds,
may contribute directly on Tuesday or
Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
at VCFB. Checks may also be mailed
to Vernonia Cares Food Bank, PO Box
126, Vernonia, OR 97064. Receipts for
your tax deductible donation will be sent
upon request. Any questions may be
answered by contacting Sandy Welch at
the food bank, 503-429-1414.
Terry’s
Gym
“It‛s another thank you card from Meyer‛s Auto Body”
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Meyer’s Auto Body•493 Bridge St•VERNONIA
503-429-0248
503-901-1705
16720 Noakes Rd. Vernonia
