in other words
october18
2018
The Good Ol ’ Days
By Tobie Finzel
Community Beautification
In a small community such as
Vernonia with limited city staff and
funding, community volunteers often
fill the gap and take on projects such
as downtown cleanup and beautifica-
tion. In 1925, the Vernonia Study Club
was founded by a group of women who
wanted to improve themselves and the
town they lived in. The club was offi-
cially organized for the purpose of “self-
improvement and civic betterment.”
Self-improvement programs in-
cluded book reports and studies of topics
such as drama, music, government, ge-
ography, world travel, and the arts. The
“civic betterment” portion of the club’s
mission began with offering cash prizes
to local students for birdhouse building
(for the boys) or window box displays
(for the girls.) In another project, the
PTA and the Study Club asked the City
Council to form a city park and cooperat-
ed with the council to raise the necessary
funds. Other accomplishments of the
Study Club during the 1920s included
raising funds for the City Library, book
drives and sponsoring a Garden Club.
In the late 1920s, the club asked
the Vernonia City Council to clean up
vacant lots and wash windows in vacant
downtown buildings. The council re-
fused, so the ladies went to the Cham-
ber of Commerce, a men’s organiza-
tion in those days, to ask for help that
the Chamber gave gladly. The club also
raised money for the first Scout Cabin
and donated a framed picture and three
flowering trees for the new Washington
School in 1930. Study Club sponsored
clean-up and fix-up days and asked the
council in 1940 to establish garbage ser-
vice in the city. By 1991, the member-
ship had declined and such projects were
taken over by other non-profit groups;
the club disbanded in 2011 after nearly
a century of commitment to improving
Vernonia.
Genny Schwab Fisher had
grown up in Vernonia, then married and
moved away. When she and her husband
returned to Vernonia in the early 1990s,
she was saddened to see the decline in
the condition of the core downtown area.
She gathered other concerned citizens
and established Vernonia Pride. Other
early members included Enid Parrow,
Shirlee Daughtry, Carolyn Keasey, and
Joann Beamish, but there were many
more. The group tackled a large number
of beautification and improvement proj-
ects.
One of Vernonia Pride’s first projects
was to acquire trash receptacles suitable
for placement in downtown areas. The
city’s budget couldn’t cover the $400
cost for each of the ten needed, so Pride
spearheaded a joint effort with the city
to refurbish ten second-hand trash recep-
tacles acquired for $10 apiece. Another
early project was the placement of deco-
rated Christmas trees in planter barrels
on Bridge Street. A committee formed
under the auspices of Vernonia Pride es-
tablished a service memorial dedicated
to all who have served the United States
in wartime.
The mid-1990s were a very ac-
tive time for Vernonia Pride. The group
raised funds to sponsor the annual Fourth
of July Fireworks, place street lights in
Bolmeier Park, erect at “Welcome to
Vernonia” sign near Vernonia Lake, and
sponsor an annual Vernonia cleanup day
in mid-April.
The event grew into a
joint project with SOLV (Stop Oregon
Litter and Vandalism) and became offi-
cially named “Make Vernonia Shine” in
2000. For several years on that one Sat-
urday in April, community volunteers
numbering up to 200 showed up to clean
up city parks and downtown areas.
In 1996, Vernonia Pride received
a $5,793 grant from the Oregon Com-
munity Foundation to produce a history
of the community. Professor Ann Ful-
ton, PhD, of Portland State University,
was engaged to write the book. Entitled
“Vernonia: A Pocket in the Woods”,
proceeds from the first two hundred
copies were given to Vernonia Pride to
further their community improvement
projects. The group also raised funds
through community garage sales, sale of
bricks for the Shay Locomotive setting
in Shay Park, and other fundraisers. Ob-
taining National Landmark status for the
Vernonia Pioneer Museum building, the
former Oregon-American Lumber head-
quarters, was a side benefit of the history
project.
In the early 2000s, Vernonia
Pride wrote the first edition of the “Ver-
nonia Walking Tour” guide and pur-
chased the plaques which still adorn the
buildings on the tour. Other projects
during that time included the water foun-
tain at Madison and Bridge, the hang-
ing floral baskets on the Rock Creek
bridge, benches along Bridge Street, and
replacement of the downtown trash re-
ceptacles with wood-framed ones, and
downtown Christmas decorating. Don-
na Gerhke Webb and DeDe Webb were
among those who joined the leadership
ranks of Vernonia Pride as the early
founders aged. As stated in a 1996 ar-
ticle in the Independent, “Vernonia Pride
is not a club or an organization but rather
a community spirit— people of all ages
working together to make a more livable
community for everyone.”
The group disbanded a few
years ago due to a decline in new mem-
bers, but quite recently others such as
the Vernonia “Green Team” (Rick and
Linda Hobart and J.R. Allen) completed
targeted clean-up weeding at the post of-
fice and Vernonia Schools. Rachael Or-
gan and Cici Bell are among the volun-
teers of the Vernonia Improvement Proj-
ects who are beautifying the library and
post office grounds with new plantings.
They are planning to reactivate some of
the work Vernonia Pride did for so many
years in targeted, short projects. We ap-
plaud these new efforts to keep our town
attractive to residents and visitors.
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. With our ongoing is-
sues about the Highway 47 temporary
closure, we found a road trip in his 1916
diary that puts it in perspective.
Wednesday, October 11, 1916:
Roy and I worked most of
the day at putting logs in
river for a foot bridge. Went
up to Vernonia 3 P.M. to
make arrangements to go to
California. Very good day.
Thursday, October 12: Left
8 A.M by auto for Portland.
Got there 2 P.M. On way to
California. Very good all day.
Friday, October 13: Left
Portland 8:30 A.M. by auto
for California. Got to Salem
for dinner and over night at
Cottage Grove. Very good day.
Saturday, October 14: Left
Cottage Grove about 7:30 and
got to Grants Pass 8 P.M. Had
all kinds of break downs.
Bright and nice all day.
Sunday, October 15: Left
Grants Pass 8 A.M. and got to
Montague 7 P.M. Very good all
day and no trouble.
Monday, October 16: Drove out
about 50 miles from Montague,
Cal, to look over some land.
Got back to Montague 5 P.M.
Awful warm most of day.
Tuesday, October 17: Left
Montague, California, 8:30
and arrived at Grants Pass
about 7 P.M. Bright fine day.
Wednesday, October 18: Left
Grants Pass 9 A.M. and got to
Cottage Grove 7 P.M Had a
good day of it but several blow
outs. Bright fine day. Stopped
at Roseburg and saw T.A.
Raffety and Mr. Bell.
Thursday, October 19: Left
Cottage Grove 6 A.M. Drove
to Eugene for breakfast.
Came through Corvallis,
McMinnville. Got to Portland
3:30. Bright and nice all day.
Friday, October 20: Left
Portland 11:30 A.M. and got
home 4:15 P.M. Drove just 1000
miles on the trip. Bright and
fine all day.
(Note: Per Google Maps, the same trip
today, barring bad traffic, breakdowns
and taking no stops along the way, would
take about six hours each way).
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is lo-
cated at 511 E. 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
1:00 - 4:00 pm. There is no charge for
admission but donations are always wel-
come. Become a member of the museum
for an annual $5 fee to receive the pe-
riodic 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 Verno-
nia 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 volun-
teers know of your interest in helping
out.
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