Vernonia's voice., March 19, 2015, Page 7, Image 7

The Good Ol ’ Days
By Tobie Finzel
Early Churches, Part One

We
frequently
receive
photographs and other artifacts of early
Vernonia life that people discover while
going through their family archives. A
woman whose parents and older siblings
lived in Vernonia in the late 1920s sent
Mayor Mitchell a copy of a panoramic
photograph that she presumed was taken
here between 1927 and 1929. She was
curious what event was being celebrated
and also asked if we had information
about one of her brothers who died
in childhood. The mayor forwarded
her email and the scanned photo to the
museum for our help in identification.

Panorama photographs were
taken by professional photographers of
major events, scenery or large operations
such as the Oregon American Lumber
Mill. We have several such photos at
Vernonia Pioneer Museum, but this
was one we hadn’t seen before. It was
taken of a large crowd of people in their
Sunday clothes standing before a large,
white building. The patron presumed
it was a school, but we recognized it as
the Vernonia Christian Church. A quick
review of the Vernonia Eagle (digitized
version) had many articles from the late
1920s that discussed the growth of that
church from twenty people in the early
1920s to 175 members by 1926. They
met first at the first Washington School
then at the old high school on A Street
and other sites until they were able to
build their own sanctuary.

Begun in 1926, by early spring
1928 the new church was ready. Over
400 attended the first Easter service
in the new building, and the formal
dedication ceremony was held on May
20 th . Based on the age of the vehicles
and the clothing of the congregation,
we assume this panorama was taken at
the dedication. The newspaper reported
that over 200 people attended. As with
several of the houses in the photograph,
the home shown on the left side has
long been gone; the Christian Church
Youth and Family Center stands in its
place. The house on the right, however,
remains on the northeast corner of North
and Washington, directly across from the
Vernonia Grange.

That church’s rapid growth
paralleled Vernonia’s own as the
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population swelled from 350 in 1922 to
2,500 by 1928 with the opening of the
mill and the other businesses that quickly
followed. Several other churches
were established during that same time
period, and we will discuss those in next
month’s article.

The search of The Eagle also
netted the brief article about the death of
the patron’s brother, LeRoy, aged three,
from an operation for appendicitis. In
those days before antibiotics or easy
travel to Portland area hospitals, we can
only surmise that by the time he had his
operation, his appendix had ruptured and
he perished from peritonitis. It could also
have been due to other complications
from the surgery.
Segregation in Vernonia

The civil rights marches and the
changes in our national consciousness
fifty years ago at last ended official
segregation in the southern states. We
also must recall that our own community
in the 1920s was racially segregated.
The owners of the mill came from the
Deep South and maintained that part
of their culture. The housing built for
mill workers had separate areas on the
western end of the mill site called the
“Filipino Colony,” “Negro Colony” and
“Hindu Bunkhouse.” While workers
of those groups were paid equal wages,
they – especially the African-Americans
- were expected to remain separate from
the white population in town. Domestic
workers had to enter homes through
back doors, and they were all expected
to step off the sidewalk when a white
person approached.

The “Negro Colony” had its
own Baptist Church at the southern end
of its lane, and at first they were not
allowed to attend the public schools.
In 1928, thanks to work by Portland
members of the NAACP, the school
was desegregated. If blacks chose
to worship at the Evangelical United
Brethren church (now Grace Family
Fellowship), they were expected to sit
in the balcony. This was also true at
the Joy Theater. The mill closure due
to the Great Depression caused families
of all ethnicities to move elsewhere, and
most of the remaining black workers left
during World War II for employment in
the Portland shipyards.
in other words
march19
2015
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. March was the
month for shearing sheep and bobbing
the lambs’ tails along with the regular
chores.
Wednesday, March 17, 1915: Just
fooled around all day. Coffee &
Tea man was here in afternoon.
Rained considerable all day.
Was up to Ericksons for a little
while in afternoon.
Thursday, March 18, 1915:
Butchered a hog first thing in
morning. Cut the lambs tails
off in afternoon. Bright and
fine all day.
Sunday, March 21, 1915: Went
up to Pittsburg and took the
hide off of a sheep that died.
Just fooled around balance of
the day. Bright and dandy all
day.
Wednesday, March 24, 1915:
Went over to Elliott place, got a
load of hay and hauled down
to Tobin. Got back 2 P.M. Went
up to Pittsburg in afternoon
to see about the sheep. Cloudy
part of the day but pretty nice.
Thursday, March 25, 1915: Took
a load of hay from the Elliott
place down to Tobin. Got back
home 1:30. Went up to Pittsburg
in afternoon and got a tank to
dip the sheep in. Bright and
dandy most all day.
Friday, March 26, 1915: Thomas
McMullen came up and sheared
the sheep. I dipped them and
they certainly were covered
with ticks. Finished about 2:30.
Pretty cold most all day.
Monday,
March
29,
1915:
7
Plowed in lower end of field and
finished 10 A.M. C.W. Loughery
came about 11 A.M. Finished
two hardwood doubletrees in
afternoon. Rained a little all
day.
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is
located 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
admission but donations are always
welcome.
Become a member of the
museum for an annual $5 fee to receive
the periodic newsletter. We now have
a page on the Vernonia Hands on Art
website, www.vernoniahandsonart.org
If you are a Facebook user, check out
the Vernonia Pioneer Museum page. 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.
Vernonia
Men’s Golf
Club
Wednesday play has started
for the season. Join now while
dues are only $45. You will
be able to establish a USGA
handicap. Play with a fun
group of guys; different games
every Wednesday. Skill levels
run the gamut. Fun and helping
each other is the goal.
SAVE THE DATE
Make Vernonia Shine Day
Saturday, April 25th
9 to noon
Register at City Hall, 1001 Bridge St.
Transfer station will be open this day. 
There will be HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION this day as well.
For more information: Donna Webb 503-429-5201 or donnatwebb@gmail.com
Insurance sending you in the wrong direction?
Let us send you in the right direction.
Terry’s
Gym
JOIN
THE TEAM!
Meyer’s Auto Body • 493 Bridge St • 503-429-0248
503-901-1705
16720 Noakes Rd. Vernonia