In Other Words
October 20
2022
17
The Good Ol ’ Days
One Century Ago, October 1922
The recent celebration of the 50 th
Annual Quilt Fair at St. Mary’s Catho-
lic Church, postponed from 2020 due to
the Covid-19 lockdowns, was also the
approximate 100 th anniversary of the
parish itself. In our April 2015 column,
we summarized its history as a parish,
and in the March and April columns dis-
cussed the history of Vernonia’s other
churches. Excerpts from those two col-
umns are repeated below. With this 100
year look back, we celebrate St. Mary’s
and the other churches that were found-
ed or expanded circa 1922.
Begun as a mission of the St. Hel-
ens Catholic Church in the early 1920s,
St. Mary’s built its first church in 1923
at 2 nd Avenue and Bridge on Corey Hill;
Mr. Corey donated the land for that pur-
pose. By 1929, the parish had grown,
and a new, larger church was planned.
The decline in city population during
the Great Depression and other factors
kept St. Mary’s in the Bridge Street lo-
cation for 50 years. In 1962, they made
an offer to the City of Vernonia for the
former Oregon-American headquarters
building, but the offer was declined due
to the mill’s stipulation that the building
be used for “the common good of the
community.” In 1963, that building was
leased to the Columbia County Histori-
cal Society for a museum, now known
as the Vernonia Pioneer Museum.
St. Mary’s Parish was able to ac-
quire five unplatted acres of the former
Israel Spencer homestead on O-A Hill
from the city in 1963. By 1970, the par-
ish began its annual Quilt Fair to gen-
erate funds for the new building. The
church also published a cookbook as
another fundraiser, copies of which are
still found in many Vernonia homes.
Their persistence was rewarded with
the present-day St. Mary’s Church on
Missouri Avenue. The original church is
now a private home.
The first church in Vernonia was
established in 1876, just two years after
the Parkers and Van Blaricoms arrived
as the first settlers. During those first
two years the families met in homes for
prayer meetings, but when C. N. Plow-
man, a United Brethren Church minis-
ter, arrived and homesteaded here, he
began to hold regular services in the
Vernonia area.
Due to problems in the United
Brethren Church’s parent organization,
Mr. Plowman attended the 1887 confer-
ence of the Evangelical Church where
he successfully persuaded that church
to establish a mission here. Their first
church was begun in 1890 with $10 ini-
tial pledges from members of the con-
gregation. The Evangelical Church, par-
sonage and stable for the worshippers’
horses was built with donated labor on
what is now Jefferson Street. It served
as Vernonia’s only church edifice until
the 1920s.
With the surge in the town’s popula-
tion due to the opening of the Oregon-
American Lumber Mill in the early
1920s, the church outgrew its first home
and built a new sanctuary on State Street.
In May 1924, members marched from
the old church to the new in a big pro-
cession. The original church was con-
verted to the Cherry Tree Apartments.
In the 1950s, the national organiza-
tion of the Evangelical Church merged
with the United Brethren Church, and
the church on State became the Evan-
gelical United Brethren. Although the
name has changed several times since
then, the 1924 building is now home
to Grace Family Fellowship although
some long-time residents still call it the
EUB Church.
Others who came during the big in-
migration of the early 1920s brought oth-
er denominations to town. Some groups
met in homes while others rented space
from the Grange, American Legion, the
high school, and commercial buildings
until their own churches were built. Al-
though there had been members of the
faith in Vernonia since 1904, the Latter-
Day Saints officially organized in 1926
and met in members’ homes for several
years. Vernonia Christian Church grew
from 20 people in the early 1920s to 175
members by 1926. They met first at the
first Washington School then at the old
high school on A Street as well as other
sites until they were able to build their
own sanctuary. Begun in 1926, by early
spring 1928 the new church was ready.
Succeeding waves of new residents
brought other faiths to town, and gradu-
ally other churches were built. Some
have come and gone, and their former
sanctuaries now house families or busi-
nesses. 1922 was a pivotal year in many
respects with the growth of the city from
200-300 residents to 2,000.
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. October meant apple
picking and cider making… and bear
trapping.
Wednesday, Oct. 2, 1912: Was
fixing things so I could go to
Tillamook most of the day.
Mellingers were down making
cider. Bright and dandy all
day. Garfield and I left for Big
Red Hill 5.20 P.M. and got up
there about 7 P.M.
Thursday, Oct. 3. Inez and I
left Smiths 6 A.M. for Tillamook
via. Buxton. Got to Buxton
9.15. Left Buxton 11.15 and
got to Tillamook 4.35 P.M.
Stayed at Hotel Ramsey.
Rained quite hard most of
day.
Friday, Oct. 4. Was in
Tillamook all day. Took in the
town but not very much going
on. Pretty fair day.
Saturday, Oct. 5. Left
Tillamook 7 A.M. Got to Buxton
12.15, had dinner and started
for Nehalem about 2 P.M. Got
over to Kist about 4 and stayed
up there and took in the
school entertainment. Doings
over about 11 and we got to
Smiths 12.45. Stayed up there
overnight. Went to bed about
3.15 and got up 8. Bright and
fine all day.
Monday, Oct. 7. Went up to
Andy Parkers in forenoon
to get “Happy” who had run
away. Got back about 1.30.
horses over to Elliott place first
thing in morning. Met the
Grouler up at Pittsburg and
him and I certainly had it hot
and heavy. Went up to bear
trap in afternoon and from
there on up to Vernonia and
back home 6.30. Rained pretty
hard all day.
Bright and fine most all day.
Saturday, Oct. 12. Picked
apples till about 2.30 P.M.
Went over on the Detrick place
and got 2 big loads. Went up
to Vernonia 3 P.M. and got
back 6.20. Garfield came down
about 7.30 P.M. Bright and
fine all day.
Saturday, Oct. 26. Went up to
Pittsburg and got a load of
apples in forenoon. Went up
to bear trap and from there
on up to Vernonia horse-back
in afternoon. Got up there
about 2.30. Got Gart’s buggy
and went up after Inez. Got up
there 5.30. We started back for
party at Mc.Daniels 7.30 and
got down there about 9. Bright
and dandy all day.
Sunday, Oct. 13. Garfield
and I went up to Vernonia in
morning after the old horse
and got back about 1.30. Went
pheasant hunting for a little
while in afternoon. Bright
and fine most all day.
Monday, Oct. 14. Garfield and
I started out in morning for
Clarke place to find a place to
set a bear trap and ran on to
two bear and killed them. Got
back about 1.30. Pretty fair
day.
Sunday, Oct. 27. We left
McDaniels doings about 3.15
A.M. and got up to Smiths
about 5.30. Did not go to bed
stayed up there till 4 P.M. We
just fooled around all day.
Left up there 4 and got home
5.50 P.M. Bright and dandy
all day.
Tuesday, Oct. 15. Took the
old horse up to Wedrick place
and killed it in forenoon. Also
set bear trap. Got back about
1.30. Went up after the mail in
evening and got back about
6.30. Very good day.
Tuesday, Oct. 29. Split shakes
part of the day and made 650.
Rained pretty hard all day.
Wednesday, Oct. 16. Cut some
rafters for the woodshed
in forenoon. Went down
to Elliotts and got the froe
to make some shakes in
afternoon. Cloudy most all
day and rained a little late
in evening. Went up after the
mail and got back 6 P.M.
Thursday, Oct. 31. Picked
apples till noon. Went up to
bear trap after noon and
found a big bear. Went on up
to town and phoned to Gart
and he came down. Inez came
down to town in evening. Gart
& I left Vernonia about 7.20
and got home 9.30. Pretty
good day.
Thursday, Oct. 17. Garfield
and I went down below where
some of the boys were hunting
and did not get back till
about 2.30. Walter stopped
here in the evening. We all
went up to the Pearson place
and killed a big band of
pheasants. Rained quite a bit
all day.
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.
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.
Friday, Oct. 18. Walter and I
took the dogs out East and put
in a large buck which Garfield
killed. We came down Oak
Ranch and got home about
2.30 P.M. Cloudy all day and
looks very much like rain.
Sunday, Oct. 20. Got up above
about 1.30 P.M. The girls had
gone visiting so went after
salmon for a little while. Very
good all day. Left up there
1.15 and got home 3 A.M.
Wednesday, Oct. 23. Took some
Vernonia
Dental
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By Tobie Finzel
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622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064
phone (503) 429-0880 -- fax (503) 429-0881