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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2019)
16 obituaries/classified ads july18 2019 In Memory of... Edward John Kamholz Noted forest and railroad his- torian and author Edward J. Kamholz has died. Kamholz, age 72, passed away peacefully in Portland surrounded by family and friends on July 3, 2019, of complications from ALS. Ed was born August 6, 1946 to the late Amy Hughes Kamholz and Mar- vin Kamholz of Vernonia, Oregon. His older brother Greg passed away in Feb- ruary 2018 at age 75. Survivors include a son, Mark Jordan-Kamholz, his life partner Eileen Culligan of Portland, and several cousins. Kamholz was the driving force behind the research and writing of The Oregon-American Lumber Company: Ain’t No More, an award-winning Stan- ford University Press book published in 2003 that chronicles the rise, operation, and demise of one of the West Coast’s busiest mills and lumber companies be- tween the mid-1920s until the 1950s. He graduated from the Univer- sity in Oregon in 1968 with a degree in Business Management and was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving in Vietnam. Kamholz later earned an M.B.A. from the University of Portland and then be- gan a career in the technology sector, serving as project manager, marketing manager, and strategic planner for com- panies including Western Electric, Inter- national Telephone and Telegraph Com- pany, Plantronix, and the Austin Compa- ny, working in Portland, Chicago area, and then the San Francisco Bay area. Kamholz left the corporate world in the late 1980s, earned a degree in graphic design for print in 2001, be- gan his second career as a book designer, and continued his forest history research. He served multiple terms as a member of the State Forest Advisory Committee, a multi-stakeholder group that advises the Oregon Department of Forestry on state forest management related topics. In recent years, Kamholz launched and led the Oregon Historic Railroads Project, an effort to map ev- ery mile of railroad in Oregon to better understand the evolution of transporta- tion corridors and early development of Oregon. Kamholz traveled throughout Oregon and Washington as a guest lec- turer and researcher on railroad history. He fully mapped the rail corridor that runs along the Nehalem and Salmon- berry rivers in northwest Oregon and in his final days established a framework to complete mapping of all rail lines in northwest Oregon. Time shared with partner Eileen Culligan, international travel, flyfishing, and exploring almost any topic of west- ern history were passions for Ed. His February 2019 ALS diagno- sis cut short a life marked by intellectual curiosity, outdoor adventure, a deep re- spect for history, and a love of Oregon’s forests. Contributions in his memory can be made to the ALS Association of Or- egon. A memorial is being planned for late summer or early fall. Remembering the Kamholz Brothers Edward Kamholtz, a noted historian and author with ties to Vernonia passed away on July 3. (See obituary this page.) Ed, his brother Greg, and Jim Blain, documented the history of Vernonia’s mill in their book, The Oregon-American Lumber Mill: Ain’t No More. Greg passed away on February 21, 2018. Our friend Tobie Finzel re- searched and provided the following in- formation about the Kamholtz brothers’ early years in Vernonia, and their father: Marvin Gregory Kamholz, VHS Class of 1960: Memolog and Timberline staff - photographer and reporter, Senior Class Secretary, Danforth Foundation scholarship/award, band, class play Edward Kamholtz,VHS Class of 1964: Student Body President 4; student Council 2, 3, 4; Class President 3; Class Rep. 2; Paul Bunyan 3, V. P. 4; Football 1, 2, 3, 4; Track 1, 2; Homecoming King 4; Boy’s State 3. CLASSIFIED ADS HELP WANTED Storage, Too is now taking applica- tions for a part-time position. (503) 429-7867 Corrections Deputy – Columbia County, Oregon. See website for de- tails: www.co.columbia.or.us. Interim: 07/08/2019. Deadline: 08/12/2019 EOE Driver Wanted – Evenings (5:00- 6:00 pm) transporting U.S. Mail from Vernonia to Scappoose for independent contractor. Flexible days. Must pass background check and drug test. Must have clean driving record, valid ODL, and own vehicle. Call Sally (503) 429-0587 or (503) 539-6626 for more information. FOR SALE 4-Plex, Good Investment Property - $188,000 Two 2-bed apts, one large 1-bed apt, one small 1-bed apt. By the river & lake, lots of storage, garage with attic, laundry facility on site. (503) 708-8748 Greg attended Lewis & Clark College and Portland State University. He served in the Army band from 1966- 69. He was employed by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway from 1964 until 1970 when he was promoted to locomotive engineer, the same year the SP&S merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad. His active service with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe continued until shortly before his death. At that time he was the last former SP&S employee on the BNSF payroll and the most senior employee in the BNSF West- ern Division. Greg enjoyed a lengthy history of operating steam locomotives for the Vernonia, South Park and Sunset Steam Railroad, The Portland Zoo Rail- road, The Mount Rainier Scenic Rail- road, The Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, The Coast Scenic Railroad, and the Pa- cific Railroad Preservation As- sociation. His hobbies included music, photography and metal- working. Their father, Marvin Kamholz was the publisher of the Vernonia Eagle from 1937 to 1970. Their mother was a teacher. The Eagle was in con- tinuous weekly publication from 1922 until September 1974. The original owner Paul Robinson sold the paper to Mark Moe in the late 1920s. He was followed by Ray Fisher in the 1930s. In 1937, the Eagle was sold to Marvin Kamholz who published the paper until it merged with the Scap- poose Spotlight and became, for a time, the Columbia County Herald, with separate front pages for the Scappoose and Vernonia editions. The Spotlight is still in publication as the South County Spotlight, a Pamplin Media paper, but the Eagle ended its long tenure shortly after the merger. Fortunately for Verno- nia history buffs, our library applied for and received a grant a few years ago to replace the microfilm copies of the Ea- gle with a digital file in PDF format. It is available at the Vernonia City Library and the museum. Ed and Greg once sadly said that when their father ceased his role as pub- lisher, he destroyed all of the negatives for the newspaper’s photographs. They had urged him to keep them, but he didn’t think that old newspaper photos would be of use to others. The former offices of the Vernonia Eagle became the Eagle Office Restaurant, now owned by Mario Leonetti and known as Mario- lino’s. Nehalem River Named Scenic Waterway continued from page 5 protecting the natural resources, scenic value, and recreational uses of Oregon’s rivers by designating them. The state program, which is administered by OPRD, currently includes approximately 1,200 miles on 22 waterways. OPRD must be notified of cer- tain activities proposed within a quarter mile of the banks of Oregon’s designated scenic waterways. Such activities may include certain logging, mining, and construction actions. The proposed uses or activities may not be started until the written notification is approved, or until one year after the notice is accepted. A Trusted Name in Funeral Service Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt Funeral Home & Crematory 2308 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove 503-357-2161 741 Madison Ave., Vernonia 503-429-6611 Jeff & Kathryn Hoyt Angel Memorials Headstones Granite Markers & Monuments 971-344-3110 Forest Grove Memorial Chapel 503-357-3126 Locally owned in Vernonia Serving NW Oregon All Cemeteries Accepted Order drawing at no charge online To sign the online guest book or to send a condolence to the family go to www.fuitenrosehoyt.com www.angelmemorialsheadstones.com Family Owned & Operated Formerly Prickett’s Mortuary Are you looking for a way to volunteer in your community? Just a few hours a month can make a difference. Volunteer drivers for home meals delivery service are needed. Background checks are required. Call Jack Agee for information (503) 369 5839.