•JU N E S GARDEN*
It has b een sai d it takes
a whole village
to r a i s e
a
child. It also t a k e s a w hole
v i l l a g e of i n v o l v e d g a r d e n e r s
to tur n ou r tow n into what's
b e c o m i n g k n o w n as "a v i l l a g e of
f l o w e r s ."
Last summer I overheard a
g r o u p of w o m e n t a l k i n g about
all the flowers t h e y h a d seen
g r o w i n g t h r o u g h o u t o u r t o w n and
h o w b e a u t i f u l it was. T h e y sat
d o w n b e s i d e me an d w e r e tr y i n g
to i d e n t i f y some o r a n g e flowers
g r o w i n g nearby.
"Those o r a n g e flow e r s are
lilies," one said.
"No, Muriel, t h e y ' r e some
k i n d of g l a d i o l u s . "
I
heard
another
say,
"You're b o t h wrong. My m o t h e r
r a i s e d t h o s e flowers. T h e y ' r e
iris. I'd sure like to f ind a
n u r s e r y to tak e som e h o m e ."
S i n c e I d i d k n o w th e name
of the o r a n g e flow e r s t h e y w e r e
t r y i n g to identify, I i n t e r
r u p t e d them. "Exc u s e me, m a y b e
I c a n h e l p you. T h o s e o r a n g e
flow e r s are m o n t b retia.
They
g r o w like w e e d s h e r e a l o n g the
coast. W h e r e do y o u live?"
"Kansas," t h e y said. "Do
y o u live h e r e ? W h a t a b e a u t i f u l
town.
D oes e v e r y b o d y g a r d e n ?
C a n y o u g r o w t h e s e f l o w e r s all
y ear? Do y o u k n o w w h a t t h o s e
lavender
flow e r s
are
ove r
th e r e ? W e ' r e not f a m i l i a r w i t h
a lot of flowers w e h a v e seen
in y o u r gardens, b u t we have
a s k e d th e sho p o w n e r s if the y
k n o w ."
Thi s c o n v e r s a t i o n r e m i n d e d
me
of
years
ag o
when
Judy
O s b u r n p l a n t e d n e m e s i a in the
flower
bed s
around
Osburn's
Grocery. She f i n a l l y p u t u p a
sign, "I'm N e m e s i a , " as so m a n y
people
asked
what
kind
of
flowers t h e y h a d g r o w i n g there.
I
did
answer
their
q u e s t i o n s a n d m e n t i o n e d that
t h e r e a r e s igns n a m i n g s ome of
the
flow e r s
growing
in
the
g a r d e n s a r o u n d s h o p s . I a sked
t h e m if t h e y h a d v i s i t e d the
C h a m b e r of C o m m e r c e building,
as t h e r e
is a
list of the
p l a n t s t h a t g r o w t h e r e and also
s ome of th e f l o w e r s eeds for
sale.
Jan
and
Alan
Fenton
c r e a t e d th e C h a m b e r ' s g a r d e n s
a n d hav e c o n t i n u e d to p l a n t and
m a i n t a i n them.
They provided
th e
list
and
collected
the
seeds the C h a m b e r has for sale.
They
have
volunteered
their
e x p e r t i s e for m a n y years.
I'm s ure t h o s e of y o u wh o
live
here
have
overheard
c o n v e r s a t i o n s s i m i l a r t o the
o n e I o v erheard. "Garden fever"
or " f l o w e r fever" seems t o h ave
f l o u r i s h e d thi s last summer.
N e w w i n d o w b o x e s and flower
g a r d e n s h a v e bee n a d d e d in the
b u s i n e s s d i s t r i c t s an d p r i v a t e
homes.
Some m o n t h s ago I w r o t e
about
talking
to
a
self-
described
"Old
Tim e r "
a bout
b e a c h gardens. Hi s c o m m e n t was,
"T h r o w
ou t
a
bunch
of
n a s t u r t i u m seeds a r o u n d a piece
of driftwood. T h a t ' s a b e a c h
g a r d e n . " O u r t o w n is n o w far
f rom w h a t he described. W h e r e
d i d our "gar d e n fever" start?
•
•
•
•
B e f o r e e x p l o r e r s and e a r l y
s e t t l e r s found the b e a u t y of
the
northwest
forests
and
Pacific
coastline
there
is
evidence
that
some
of
the
n a t i v e In d i a n t r i b e s c u l t i v a t e d
edible
plants.
For
mor e
i n f o r m a t i o n on thi s subject,
rea d
th e
article,
"Native
American
Gardening
on
the
Oregon
Coast:
The
Uses
of
Fire," b y Dou g Duer, in this
m o n t h ' s issue of t h e U.L.S.
Quoting
fro m
Terence
O ' D o n n e l l ' s boo k on the h i s t o r y
of C a n n o n Beach, "In the late
1800's and e a r l y 1900's w h e n
t h e s e t t l e r s first b u i l t ca b i n s
t h e y r a i s e d v e g e t a b l e s in wha t
t h e y c a l l e d 'kitchen gardens.'
W h e n J a m e s A u s t i n and his wif e
b u i l t A u s t i n house, s o u t h of
C a n n o n beach,
flower baskets
h u n g from the eaves, w h i l e a
shell p ath led d o w n b e t w e e n the
gnarled, w i n d - s t u n t e d t rees to
the beach."
Later in this boo k little
is
written
about
s p e cific
flower
gardens;
however,
it
d oes tell a bout p e o p l e s t r o l l
ing t h r o u g h the w o o d s g a t h e r i n g
wild
flowers
of
buttercups,
paintbrush,
f o x g l o v e and the
p i n k buds of the salal to add
t o the b o u q u e t s of fi r e c r a c k e r
fuchsia,
honeysuckle and hy
d r a n g e a from t h e i r o w n gardens.
Montbretia, C alla lilies,
escallonia,
hydrangea,
hardy
fuchsia,
Shasta
daisies,
h o n e y s u c k l e and m a n y v a r i e t i e s
of
rambling
r oses
h ave
naturalized
throughout
the
coas t a l
area.
On e
can
only
suppose
the
early
settlers
b r o u g h t t hese pl a n t s w i t h t h e m
m a n y years ago to add along
w i t h t h e i r " k i tchen g a rdens."
D u r i n g the d ays of the
t w e n t i e s and t h i r t i e s it was
noted
in
the
Cannon
Beach
h i s t o r y book, six or seven auto
c amps w e r e established, w o o d e n
p l a t f o r m s that e i t h e r had tents
erected
or
some
roo f e d
and
floored.
Some of t hese auto
camps
w ere
combined
with
a
small
grocery,
and
at
some
c a m p s t here was a d i n i n g hall.
The b ook f u r t h e r m e n t i o n s
t h a t one of the du t i e s of the
"hired girls" was to g a t h e r
v e g e t a b l e s and b e r r i e s fro m the
campground
garden,
later
to
p r e p a r e these foods
for the
n o o n an d e v e n i n g meals.
D o r a Hall H a r d i e and he r
h u s b a n d m o v e d to C a n n o n Beach
in 1919 and lived h ere for 30
years. In h e r p a m p h l e t s on her
"M e m o r i e s of C a n n o n Beach" and
a b o u t the b e g i n n i n g s of "The
L i b r a r y Club," she m e n t i o n e d
the C a n n o n B e a c h G a r d e n Club,
w h i c h wa s fo r m e d A u g u s t
14,
1928:
"FLO W E R SHOW. D u r i n g the
s u m m e r months, e v e r y o n e alw a y s
lo o k e d forw a r d to c o m i n g and
e n t e r i n g t heir ch o i c e flowers
in th e G a r d e n , C l u b flower sho w
h e l d in the s p a c i o u s c h u r c h
basement. M a n y c o m p e t e n t judges
w e r e in attendance, and e v e r y
on e was always e a g e r to see if
their
flowers
would
rece i v e
b l u e ribbons. T h e r e wer e always
many
various
displays,
and
r e s i d e n t s and v i s i t o r s alike
w e r e w e l c o m e to p r e s e n t t h e i r
flowers. (We had lo v e l y w i n d o w
b o x e s on one small cott a g e on
o u r place, and w e r e a s k e d to
d i s p l a y t h e m at the show, and
s ure en o u g h o u r p ride soared
w h e n w e sa w t h e blu e ribbons.)
"Miss Ella R u m l a n was the
first t o o r g a n i z e the G a r d e n
C l u b idea. W i t h the h e l p of her
sister,
who
wa s
keen
on
flowers, t hey d i d a won d e r f u l
job of it, b u t a f t e r several
years
were
anxious
to
be
r e l i v e d of the work. A b o u t t h a t
time, Mrs. Fran c e s H u r l b u r t and
her husband had purchased a
h o m e on A d a m s Street. She w a s a
v e r y q u a l i f i e d p e r s o n to take
charge, as it t o o k p l e n t y of
w o r k b o t h b e f o r e and a fter the
fl o w e r show.
But there wer e
al w a y s oth e r s w h o came to giv e
assistance.
"Later
on,
the
school
board very graciously consented
for the G a r d e n C l u b to util i z e
th e school g y m n a s i u m for the
show, as it w a s a muc h larger
place
an d
there
was
ample
p a r k i n g space.
"Through
the
y e a r s , we
were
als o
indeb t e d
to
the
C a n n o n B e a c h G a r d e n C l u b for
t h e i r g e n e r o u s s u p p o r t of the
library,
both
b ooks
and
donations. (The first P r e s i d e n t
of the G a r d e n C l u b was M iss
Ella Rumlan, f o l lowed by Mrs.
Fran c e s H u r l b e r t .)"
•
•
•
•
•
In m y c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h
Lee Esterbrook,
who attended
the first g r a d e at Ca n n o n B each
Grade
School
in
the
early
1 9 2 0 's,
he
told
me
tha t
C a l i f o r n i a popp i e s g r e w a long
the roadside. He and a friend
c a
n
n
o
n
dcncm
m
s
s
LIC E N SE D A A A S S A G E n-ERAPY
R O S A L IN D
o « c o o n
N
o
e
w o u l d g a t h e r bouqu e t s and carry
t h e m h o m e in t heir lunch pails.
He als o told of a store two
blo c k s n orth of Midtown. The
s h o p k e e p e r tied apples o nto the
barren
apple
tree
grow i n g
there, to fool the passersby.
Coas t a l w e a t h e r c o n d i t i o n s are
not as k ind to f r u i t - b e a r i n g
trees
as
the
valley
is;
however, there are still a few
wild
crab
apple
trees.
The
Indians pr i z e d these trees to
use for implements. Cured apple
w o o d can be almost as st r o n g as
iron.
E s t e r b r o o k also t old about
Mr. O s t r o m ' s 12 ft. h igh white
lilies and 8 to 10 ft. Calla
lilies he g r e w in his shady
garden. Mr. Ostrom's h o m e was
on the front between W a s h i n g t o n
and Taft. His garden was on the
s hady east side of his yard.
N ext month, another quote
fro m
"Memories
of
Cannon
Beach," by Dora Hall Ha r d i e ...
and H e l e n Thu r m a n ' s r e c o l l e c
t ions of "Honeysuckle Lodge,"
t h a t was b u i l t by B arry McKay
in the e arly 1 9 0 0 's.
To be continued.
•
•
•
•
If you h a v e any ga r d e n m e m ories
of
these
long-ago
day s
in
C a n n o n Beach, I'd love to hear
a b o u t t h e m and add t h e m into
t h e s e columns.
J u n e ' s Garden,
P. 0. Box 74, Cannon Beach, OR
97110.
Eagle H arbor Book ( onipant
157 Winslou Uay bail
Puin^ndgu Island W A 9$110
(206. K42 5332
—
•
Sj
Bookstore Hours
Monday Fridas 9-7 Saturday 9-6 Sunday 10-6
Thursday Evenings until 9 pm
BANK OF
ASTORIA
Member FDIC
Astoria Warrenton
Seaside Cannon Beach
■
„L uuopuu
STO.
lox 217
I AN MOM Bt AC.
»Ok-
I never write ‘metropolis’ lor seven cents because
can get the same price for ‘city’. I never wnte
‘policeman’ because I can get the same money for
‘cop’. Mark Twain
Arcadia
Landscaping
FOR
i 4 GARDENS DE3GNED
TO REDUCE OR
ELMMJE
PESTICGEUSE.
G oast R ange
A ssociation
ATTENTION BU3 NESSES
Í WE CREATE i UXiNWN
jELOWtR BOXES, PUNTERS
P.O. BOX 148
1
HXNGNG BASKETS
43W738RES 4
NEWPORT, OR 97365
LICENSED‘ BOOED
USUREO
«62
DUANL JOHNSOM
K tA L tS T A T t
... a .
F or A ll V our R eal E state : H elos •
C U S A C K . LAAT
a w asko tcw
P O B O X 122 a
C A f + J O N B E A O l O R 97 1 1 0
(503) 4 3 6 - 2 4 2 5
urrat UTT tWit.
OCTObtK TW
5