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.
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Joseph Dombek, DC
(971) 248-4055
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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.