The Good Ol ’ Days
By Tobie Finzel
The Pebble Creek Dairy
Millie Thacker Graves, VHS Class of 1953,
grew up in Vernonia and is historian for her and her
husband’s (Selwyn Graves, VHS 1947) family. She
recently shared an article she wrote about her father-in-
law’s dairy and gave us permission to excerpt it for our
column.
Oliver Graves and several other family mem-
bers came to Vernonia from Sumrall, Mississippi, in
the mid-1920s. They all found jobs in the construction
of the Oregon-American Lumber Mill, although one
brother-in-law, Sidney Ratcliff, soon moved into the
printing business and worked for newspapers including
the Vernonia Eagle.
Because of the housing shortage caused by the
rapid increase in population due to the new mill, Oliver
converted a chicken house into living quarters near the
Nehalem River on what is now Lone Pine Road. He
sent for his wife and young daughter, Florieda, to join
him. In the late 1920s, he built a house for the family
on O-A Hill. The inside of the house burned in the
early 1930s so he gutted and rebuilt it. A short time
after that, he bought and remodeled the Omar Spencer
home which was close to the other house. The com-
bined homestead was known as the Spencer Farm.
In the early 1930s, Oliver built a large chicken
house behind his O-A Hill home and began raising and
selling chickens, five thousand at a time. Like many
other families, the Graves had a cow for their own milk
needs. Oliver reasoned that a few more would not be
that much extra work, so he bought five cows and be-
gan to sell the surplus milk. He soon built his own
pasteurizing plant behind the house. This was the start
of the Pebble Creek Dairy, named for the ninety acre
farm on Pebble Creek Road he subsequently acquired
from Ed Malmsten in 1935. He continued to manage
both farms, expanding the dairy herd on the Malmsten
place to twenty-four cows.
Oliver established a milk route for home deliv-
ery using a pickup truck to make deliveries to Vernonia
homes and the surrounding area. Customers included
the cookhouse and residents at Camp Eight, four miles
east of Pittsburg; the Sunset Highway construction
camp in Manning; and O-A’s Camp McGregor. The
Camp McGregor delivery was a two-part process: Oli-
ver took the large milk cans to Keasey where they were
put on the speeder, a small motorized rail car, and Dar-
rell Devaney took them out to the camp. When the
road to Camp McGregor improved, deliveries were
made by truck.
At first Oliver made all the deliveries himself,
but later he used other drivers, especially relatives.
Younger family members made bottle deliveries. His
son, Selwyn, remembers one hot summer day when he
and his uncle, Ernest, were driving a load of five and
ten gallon cans to Camp McGregor. Ernest accidental-
ly maneuvered the truck into a ditch, spilling the con-
tents of the cans inside the truck. The milk swooshed
in other words
may21
2015
forward, backward and all over the inside of the truck
and its occupants. By the time they returned home,
the milk had soured and smelled awful. Even though
Selwyn continued to milk the dairy’s thirty-two cows,
he never drank milk again.
Selwyn also recalls the day the panel truck
broke down and couldn’t be repaired quickly enough to
make deliveries. Oliver spoke with Jewett Bush who
ran the town mortuary and arranged to use the hearse
as a delivery wagon until the truck was back in service.
We don’t know what the customers thought of the un-
orthodox milk van, but we presume they were glad to
receive their orders on time.
The Graves family operated the dairy until
1946 when they sold it to Al and Marie Stager. The
Stagers kept the name, Pebble Creek Dairy, despite the
fact that they lived on the road to the airport off of Tim-
ber Route.
From Virgil Powell’s Diary
Virgil Powell (1887-1963) was a long-time resident
whose family had a farm in the Upper Nehalem Val-
ley between Natal and Pittsburg. Each year from 1906
until 1955, he kept a regular diary of his activities. In
May 1910, Virgil, still a single young man, went by
steamship from St. Helens to Portland where he bought
a new buggy for $78.50.
7
Poured down rain terrible hard till noon.
George and I went up and stayed over
night with Jack Ray. Had a dandy time.
Did not rain very much in the afternoon.
Thursday, May 26, 1910: George and I
went down to Mist in the buggy. Started
down at 10:45 and got to Mist at 12:25.
Was around Mist till about 3 P.M. Had a
dandy talk with Grady. Got back home at
5:30. Rained pretty hard in the morning
but fine in the afternoon.
Saturday, May 28, 1910: Was around the
house most all day. Started down to Mist
after Grady at 4:30. Got to Mist at 6:30, left
Mist at 6:40 and got to Vernonia at 9:10.
Danced till about 4 A.M. It was a fine
dance. Rained a little in the evening.
Sunday, May 29, 1910: The dance broke
up at 4 A.M. Went over to the hotel and
bummed around till about 7 A.M. Then
hitched up and started for Mist. Turned
the buggy over down by Natal and cer-
tainly had a great time. Got to Mist about
10:30. Got back home at 1:15. Went to bed
for 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon. Awful hot
in the afternoon.
Saturday, May 21, 1910: Bummed around The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is located at E. 511
town all morning.
Came down to St. Bridge Street and is open from 1 to 4 pm on Saturdays
Helens at 2:30 P.M. on the Iralda. Got to and Sundays (excluding holidays) all year. From June
St. H. at 5:15 P.M. Went out to the skating through mid-September, the museum is also open on
rink in the evening and certainly had a Fridays from 1 – 4 pm. There is no charge for admis-
dandy time. Met several St. H. girls also sion but donations are always welcome. Become a
saw Bertha. Went to the dance at Houlton member of the museum for an annual $5 fee to receive
after the skating. Got to bed about 2 A.M. the periodic newsletter. We now have a page on the
Vernonia Hands on Art website, www.vernoniahandso-
Very hot all day.
Sunday, May 22, 1910: Left St. H. about 9 nart.org If you are a Facebook user, check out the Ver-
A.M. Came over in my new buggy. George nonia Pioneer Museum page. The museum volunteers
came over with me. Got over here at 1:30 are always pleased to enlist additional volunteers to
P.M. Did not do much of anything in the help hold the museum open and assist in other ways.
Please stop by and let one of the volunteers know of
afternoon. Very hot all day.
Monday, May 23, 1910: Started up Rock your interest in helping out.
Creek about 10 A.M.
George went up with
me. We went up about
6 miles. Came back to
continued from front page
Vernonia about 2:30
P.M. Fooled around
heating and cooling; heating from lo- said Commissioner Hyde. “Our LEED
Vernonia all after-
cal biomass fuel; local materials and Platinum and Green Globes designa-
noon.
Took some-
labor; and wetland education features. tions means that this building will con-
body for a buggy ride
Overall, annual energy efficiencies tinue to give back to our kids and the
after supper. Went up
will result in long-term operational community and the state.”
to the second bridge
savings for the school district.
“We have rebuilt, redesigned
above Vernonia. Got
“This represents what I have and reinvented our school and our
back to Vernonia at
always called the rural definition of community over the past eight years,”
12 and home at 1
sustainability–where the local econo- said School Superintendent Miller.
A.M. Very hot all day.
my, natural resources and communi- “This building and our programs will
Tuesday,
May
24,
ty’s own identity all work together to serve our kids and our community for
1910:
Did not get
push a community toward its future,” decades to come.”
up till pretty late.
School Celebrates LEED Platinum
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