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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2019)
in other words may16 2019 15 The Good Ol ’ Days By Tobie Finzel City Lights The start of construction of the Oregon-American Lumber Mill in 1922 also marked the beginning of a rapid change in Vernonia’s infrastructure. Up to that point, the city did not have gen- erally available electric power, a sewer system, or city water. Homes and many businesses were lit by kerosene lamps, and wells or rooftop water tanks pro- vided the water. Outhouses served as the toilet facilities, and household gar- bage was sometimes just piled up in the woods or tossed into Rock Creek or the Nehalem if the house was close by. As noted in last month’s column, some busi- nesses like the hotels, stores, and restau- rants had their own light plants that used gas-driven generators to produce electric power that was stored in an array of bat- teries. Telephone service was brought in much earlier and will be discussed in a future column that will update one we published several years ago. Based on city records from the early 1920s, the rapid expansion of the population exacerbated the exist- ing challenge of sewage and garbage disposal, street lighting, running water, and unpaved streets that were dust in summer and axle-deep mud in winter. In September 1922, the Vernonia City Council granted a franchise to George Burdick to build and operate a power plant to provide electricity to the city from a dam on Rock Creek above the town of Keasey. This included the right to install the necessary poles and wires to connect customers to the source of power. Burdick was an electrical engi- neering graduate of McGill University in Canada and had experience in devel- oping power systems. Work soon be- gan on the construction of the dam, and by 1923 there was a limited supply of electrical power for downtown Vernonia businesses. Four 100-watt street lights and electrical signs at both entrances to Vernonia were part of his pledge to the City in exchange for the franchise, Ver- nonia Light & Power. Shares were sold and the Vernonia Eagle trumpeted what a boon to industry this new power plant would be. Another source of electrical power became available in 1924 with the construction of the lumber mill and its steam-powered electric generation sys- tem. Oregon-American (O-A) generated its own electricity for the homes on O-A Hill occupied by mill employees and for the entire mill complex itself. The steam plant was fueled by wood not suit- able for lumber. The fuel was stored in a 36 by 100 foot bunker next to the steam plant. This fuel shed (also known as the chip shed) is the one building – besides the mill office which now houses the Vernonia Pioneer Museum – that is still standing, albeit roofless, on the former O-A Mill site. This Vernonia icon is of- ten mistakenly referred to as “the mill,” but it was tiny in comparison to the other buildings on the site. O-A had an agreement with the City’s electric utility to provide standby power from 1928 to 1946. The mill pro- vided a substantial share of the City’s power during those years as the City’s utility was unable to provide sufficient power from the dam’s powerhouse. Ver- nonia Light & Power went bankrupt in fairly short order and was taken over by Oregon Gas and Electric Company. OG&E served Vernonia, supplemented substantially by the mill’s power plant, until 1943 when the mill notified the utility of its intention to cancel the sur- plus power contract due to increasingly heavy demand on the mill’s system. An interesting side note is that during the Depression years when the mill was closed (1933 – 1936), steam locomotive 102 provided the steam power to keep the electric generation system operable as the town now depended on it. West Oregon Electric Coopera- tive was formed in 1944 and took over the delivery system which would soon receive its power via transmission lines from outside the Nehalem Valley. See the April and May 2019 Ruralite maga- zine for Scott Laird’s excellent two part series on the history of the 1935 Rural Electrification Act that brought electric- ity to rural areas and the formation of electric cooperatives including WOEC which is celebrating its 75 th anniversary this year. Addendum In last month’s column on hotels, the Columbia Hotel that was located where the west half of the R&S parking lot is today was later called the McDonald Hotel. We also found an old city map that showed the Vista Hotel was on what became Madison Avenue and was oppo- site where the Masonic Temple is sited. Thanks to Robb Wilson for his sleuthing. 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 Na- tal and Pittsburg. Each year from 1906 until 1955, he kept a regular diary of his activities. Note that he mentions several telephone calls from his time in Port- land. We think his mother had moved to the city so that was his other home. Wednesday, May 12, 1909: Drove up to Bacona in the morning and looked at some timber. Came back, phoned for a rig and went to Hillsboro. Took the 6:15 train and came to Portland. Pretty good day. Cool. VERNONIA C H I RO P R AC T I C C L I N I C, I NC. VernoniaChiro.com Joseph Dombek, DC (971) 248-4055 Now Accepting New Patients 610 Bridge Street • Vernonia, OR 97064 Thursday, May 13: Was around the house in all morning. Went over town and bummed around about all afternoon. Cloudy most all day. Miss Easy Bruze called me up in the evening and talked for an hour or so.. Friday, May 14: Went over town in the morning. Took a car and went out to Will’s new home. Saturday, May 15: Was home all the forenoon. Went over to town about 1 P.M. and stayed till about 4:30. Went back over about 6:30 and stayed till about 10. Had a talk over the phone with Miss Easy Bruze. Rained just a little in the night. Monday, May 17: Went over town early in the morning. Went up to the office and saw Mr. King. I guess we will go out on a cruising trip tomorrow. Got a suitcase and some other things in the morning. Went over town and got me a compass in the afternoon. Got home about 4:30. Pretty good day. Tuesday, May 18: Went over town in the morning. Stayed home and talked to Miss Bruze about all afternoon. Very fine day. Friday, May 21: Was over town most all day. Went up to Council Crest and then out to St. Johns in the afternoon. Pretty warm day. The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is locat- ed 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 do- nations 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.vernonia- handsonart.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.