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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 2020)
in other words august20 2020 13 The Good Ol ’ Days By Tobie Finzel Summer Fun – 1936 Style Mildred “Millie” Thacker Graves grew up in Vernonia and stays in touch with friends from those days, of- ten attending the Old Timers/Old Grads picnics over the years. Millie was in the Vernonia High School Class of 1953; her late husband, Selwin, was Class of 1947. Last winter she sent some of her writings, one of which we saved for this month due to its timely subject. I reprint it with her permission. She re- cently emailed us of her deep sadness at the loss of her dear friend and school- mate, Claudine East, whose passing we all mourn. THE SEA… BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA In the 1920s while my parents, Wilbur and Laura Thacker, were living in Scofield, Oregon, and later in Vernonia, they would often take the train to go to the beach, usually to Pacific City and Oceanside. With the advent of the automobile and after purchasing one of their own, they began going to the beach to camp during summer shutdowns that were common in the logging industry due to the danger of forest fires because of dry weather and low humidity in the woods. There was little vegetation at the beach and drifting sand was often a problem, at times even causing small lakes to disappear. Different areas of the coast tried a variety of plantings to stabilize the sand but most met with little success until years later. One means that went awry was the planting of gorse (a Scotch broom like plant) which resulted in the destruction by fire of Bandon, Oregon in 1936. My parents and others traveled on corduroy roads to a small lake (then unnamed) not far from the beach near Hammond, Oregon. In the area in which we camped near the lake, for some reason, probably an underground spring or maybe one of the covered underground “used to be” lakes, there was a wonderful grove of Alder trees. It was like an oasis in the desert, as it provided shade in the heat of the summer for us and for our dark green canvas tents which became like bake- ovens during daylight hours. We loved this area and considered ourselves fortunate to have access to it. We always referred to this spot as The Alders. At that time the lake had no name, as far as we knew, but later the lake would be known as Coffenbury Lake and be an important part of Fort Stevens State Park. There were no fish in the lake, but it was used as a spot for obtaining water for washing dishes, bathing and other household uses by those who were camping there. It was an effort to get to The Alders, but both of my parents loved the beach and the camaraderie of friends. Some of their friends who lived at or near the beach at Hammond would leave the comfort of their own beds at home to join them there. These friends would often set up camp in advance of the arrivals of those who travelled longer distances, thus reserving a spot for those arriving later. During the closures of the woods, often The Alders became sort of a reunion for loggers. People often said that during shut-downs, you would find half the population of Vernonia at the beach and many of those at the beach would be at or near the lake. The early- comers or those most fortunate had a spot at The Alders, the best of both worlds… the water and waves of the Pacific Ocean and the cool, clear water of the lake and of course, the shady canopy of The Alders. The ocean became our dinner table, the source of food, such as clams, crabs, mussels, and oysters, and a variety of fish for families who were feeling the pinch of restricted incomes. Most families had gardens at home, so between the vegetables from the gardens and home canned food which they brought along and with the additional bounty of the sea, the seafood, they ate very well indeed. In typical fashion, they, the loggers of Vernonia, “rolled with the punches,” so to speak, and turned the lay-off into a vacation. It undoubtedly was not much of a vacation for the women in the family who spent a good portion of the day canning the seafood obtained on a wood-burning stove on the beach. The late evenings were spent around the campfire with lively music, singing, and storytelling. It was the best of times for a young girl innocent of the struggles of survival who was transformed from a country girl to living in a close-knit community of loving friends and relatives. From Virgil Powell’s Diary Virgil Powell was a long-time resident who had a farm in the Upper Nehalem Valley between Natal and Pitts- burg. Each year from 1906 until 1955, he kept a regular diary of his activities. He was on Fire Patrol the hot August of 1910. There are some interesting com- ments about burning slashing during the high fire danger that sound like a party went on while tending to the slash burn. Friday, Aug. 12, 1910. Started up pretty early on the fire ride. Got back home at 1 P.M. Did not do much of anything in the afternoon. Started up at 6.15 P.M. and took Edna for a buggy ride. We went to Vernonia then down East side of river to Pitts- burg and back to Mellingers. Stopped in the covered bridge for a while. Certainly had a dandy time. Got back home at 11.20. Very hot all day. Saturday, Aug. 13. Did not do much of anything in the morning. Went up to Vernonia in the buggy about 12.30 and stayed for camp meeting. Not much of a crowd out. Got back home at 10.30. Sprinkled a little in the afternoon. Monday, Aug. 15. Did not get up very early. Called Edna up in the morning. Will go up Rock Creek tomorrow. Went down the river about 2 1/2 miles horse-back in the morning. Rained quite a little for 2 or 3 hours in the morning. Rode the colt around quite a bit in the afternoon. Tuesday, Aug. 16. Took two horses up and Edna took Pit and went up to Pettijohns. I went up as far as Ruds then she went on up alone. I came back and went up to Placke to get a brace for my buggy fixed. Got back home at 7 P.M. Had a dandy trip. Pretty hot all day. Expect to go up to Pettijohn’s again tomorrow night. Wednesday, Aug. 17. Did not do much of anything any of the day. Started up to Pettijohns at 5 P.M. and got up there at 7. Edna and I started back down about 7.45. Came down to Vernonia and fooled around a few minutes and then came on down to Mellingers. Got home at 12. Certainly had a dandy time. Edna rode Pit and I Lad. This is my first trip up Rock Creek this far. Pretty hot all day. Friday, Aug. 19. Jack Ray came up and cut grain all day. We worked till about 7.15 P.M. Got all cut and shocked that was ripe which was about 8 acres. Awful hot all day. Was supposed to have gone up the river for a drive this evening but could not make connections. Tuesday, Aug. 23. Started up on my fire ride at 7.45 A.M. Got up to Mellingers and Edna was there to go out to Clatskanie with Keasey. Went on up and looked at a slashing. Not extra warm any of the day. Got home at 12.45 P.M. Wednesday, Aug. 24. Went off on my fire patrol and did not get back till about 3 P.M. Went up to camp meeting in the evening. Started up at 6 and got home about 12. Awful windy all day. A big fire burning between Mist and Clatskanie. Thursday, Aug. 25. Went up above early in the morning and looked over Mellingers slashing. Went on up around by Crooked Creek and got home about 1 P.M. Went up in the evening and burned the slashing. Pretty good sized crowd there. Stayed till 11. Had a dandy time after the slashing was burned. Very smoky all day. Sunday, Aug. 28. Was raining in the morning so I did not go out on Fire Patrol. Received a telephone message from Astoria about 11 A.M. Will and I left for Clatskanie at 3.45 and got out at 7 P.M. Saw Grady and sister on the road. Took the evening train and went down to Astoria. Got down there at 10.30. Saw Grace after we got there. Monday, Aug. 29. Left Astoria at 8.30 A.M. Henry, Myrtle and Grace went on to Portland and I got off at Clatskanie. Hitched up and got home at 2.15 P.M. Pretty warm most of the day. The Vernonia Pioneer Museum is located at 511 E. Bridge Street and is normally open all year from 1 to 4 pm on Satur- days and Sundays (excluding national holidays, Easter and Mothers’ Day.) 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, and if you are a Facebook user, check out the Vernonia Pioneer Museum page and our page on Vernonia Hands on Art website, www.vernoniahandsonart. org. 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. TOO BUSY? Call your LOCAL bookkeeper R Y OLL A P PLUS LLC Edi Sheldon 503-429-1819 edisheldon@gmail.com Vernonia’s Voice is published twice each month on the 1 st and 3 rd Thursday. Look for our next issue on September 3. Licensed tax consultant • Full service payroll Personal & small business bookkeeping • QuickBooks assistance CORPS, S-CORPS, LLC, Partnerships • Personal one-on-one service LTC #29629 - Oregon licensed tax consultant RTRP #P00448199 - designated as a registered tax return preparer by the Internal Revenue Service The IRS does not endorse any particular individual tax return preparer. For more information on tax return preparers, go to www.IRS.gov.
