in other words
The Good Ol ’ Days
2016
By Tobie Finzel
Klaskanine River in Clatsop County or
Columbia County’s Clatskanie River.
Native Americans of the Upper These two distinct rivers were so named
Nehalem
by the white settlers for the tribe that
Local resident Jim Prout’s lived between the two rivers.
recent discovery of a beautifully crafted
The Clatskanies built cedar
obsidian scraper added to the mystery of longhouses that lodged multiple families
the lives of the Native Americans who and subsisted on game, roots and berries.
passed through here before the area was Men wore fur robes in winter and no
settled by white farmers.
footwear or clothing in the warmer
Due to the dense forests that months; women wore skirts made of
covered most of what is now Vernonia, cedar bark. They were known to be
there would have been little to hunt fierce and hostile to others who came
except small game along the banks of into their lands. According to historian
the Nehalem River and its tributaries Oscar Weed, son of Judson Weed, part of
and perhaps deer and elk in larger the first wave of Vernonia settlers, “entry
clearings. The assumption
is that small bands moved
through here seasonally
following the salmon runs
and gathering berries and
roots.
Artifacts such as
arrowheads and a few stone
scrapers are occasionally
found along the river but
none, to our knowledge,
in any concentration that
would evidence a more
permanent
settlement.
The Columbia River was
a heavily traveled trade
route for centuries before
British and Americans
settled in the region, and
This Native American obsidian scraper was recently
the inland and Columbia
discovered by local resident Jim Prout.
River tribes were known
to
exchange
goods
periodically.
Jim’s obsidian scraper was not made by white people except
most likely came from tribes in Central under heavy guard of soldiers who were
Oregon or beyond and found its way to stationed at Clatskanie.” Remnants of
the Lower Columbia.
old seasonal campsites were found by
The Clatskanies (also known as early settlers in the 1870s along what
Tlatskanai) inhabited the Upper Nehalem is now Timber Route near the Vernonia
region but only seasonally extended to Airport, but by then no native Clatskanies
the Columbia near the present city of were left in the county.
Clatskanie. Their language was in the
Numbering only 175 in 1825,
Athapaskan family, unique in this part the Clatskanies were nearly extinct by
of the state from the mostly Chinookan 1851 with only thirteen remaining. An
language speaking tribes along the unknown disease, now thought to be
Lower Columbia and coastal Salish. malaria, was brought into the Lower
What the Clatskanie called themselves Columbia in 1830 by the trading ship
in their native language is unknown; Owyhee. With this and other epidemics,
the name is from the Chinookan tongue over 90 percent of the Chinookan peoples
meaning “those of the region of small died during the 1830s. The inland tribes
oaks.” Their territory covered most of were a bit more isolated and hardy, but
the inland sections of Columbia and they also succumbed to white men’s
Clatsop counties near the Nehalem, diseases. Prior to European contact, the
primarily in the Mist and Birkenfeld Lower Columbia was one of the most
area. The center of their territory densely populated areas of Native North
could be reached by ascending either the America north of Mexico.
Terry’s
Gym
Other native tribes may also
have passed through the area over the
centuries from the coast or the Tualatin
Valley on hunting or fishing forays, but
who lost that obsidian scraper, certainly
a prized possession, is shrouded in the
mists of time.
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. Although he rarely
mentions events that happen outside of
the Upper Nehalem, note the April 18 th
(1906) comment.
Tuesday, April 17, 1906:
Carried mail to Mist. Got up
to Natal School before taken
up after dinner. Supposed to
have been heaviest mail in
U.S. sack that ever went. Very
fine day, got home at 3:15
P.M. Brought bear trap up.
Wednesday, April 18: Sowed
oats in morning. Harrowed
all day. Cool and cloudy all
day. Big earthquake at San
Francisco, California.
Thursday,
April
19:
Harrowed with disc harrow
all day. Lloyd went down
and brought his wife home.
George Parker was running
shingle bolts. Very warm all
day.
Friday, April 20: Went over
the oat ground with drag,
did not get quite done. Very
Runners from around the
region and the country ran in the
Vernonia Marathon and Half Marathon
on Sunday, April 10, 2016.
The race started in Vernonia
at Cedar Ridge and traveled down
the Linear Trail to Stub Stewart State
Park. The Marathon continued on to
Banks High school.
Several
local
runners
competed in the Marathon and Half
Marathon. Jennifer Draeger was the
top local finisher in the Marathon,
finishing 68 th overall and 3 rd in the
Female 35-39 group with a time of
3:58:45. Andrea Grant and Heather
warm all day. Very smoky in
evening.
Saturday, April 21: Carried
the mail. Cloudy and looks
very much like rain. Grange
day at Natal.
Sunday, April 22: Went down
to Natal and played ball. Got
home at 6 P.M. Cloudy and
looks very much like rain..
Monday, April 23: Finished
clod mashing oat ground.
Took
bicycle
ride
in
afternoon. Mr. Ballard went
out to Clatskanie.
Tuesday, April 24: Carried
the mail. Rained most all
day. Mr. Wolford is painting
the Pringle School house.
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.
Gleason also completed the marathon.
Derek Handegard finished 44 th
overall in the Half Marathon and 5 th in
the Male 45-49 age group with a time
of 1:35:56. Tim Becken finished 76 th
and 7 th in the Male 50-54 group with
a time of 1:42:32. Nicole McWhirter
was the top local woman, finishing
226 th and 24 th in the Female 30-34
group with a time of 2:00:28. Other
locals who ran in the Half Marathon
were Sam Poetter, Sue Vandehey,
Brian Nelson, Michelle McCullough,
Steven Rickards, Jane Clemo, and
Jessica Nelson.
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