S E W I N G
'JUNES GARDEMl
Continued
from
last
month's
se r i e s on the h i s t o r y of C a n n o n
B e a c h ’’V i l l a g e of F l o w e r s . ”
"Barry
McKay
built
the
Norway
Cottage,
a
two-story
place,
between
Monroe
and
J a c k s o n St r e e t east of Hemlock.
The
'Honeysuckle
Lodge,'
on
M o n r o e Street, wa s a b o w e r w i t h
s weet s m e l l i n g flo w e r s . "
Q u o t e d from " M e m o r i e s of
Cannon
Beach"
by
Dor a
Hall
Hardie.
Th e H a r d i e s c a m e to
C a n n o n B each in 1919 an d lived
h e r e for 30 years.
Harold
(also
known
as
Barry) M c K a y and his w i f e c ame
her e in the e a r l y 1 9 0 0 's. T h e i r
home, w h i c h was m a d e of logs,
later b u r n e d down; b u t " H o n e y ­
suc k l e
Lodge,"
which
the y
built, is still there; however,
the
sweet
smelling
fl o w e r
garden
is
gone.
The
McKays
rented
the
lodge
to
honey­
mooners,
and H e l e n T h u r m a n ' s
p a r e n t s h o n e y m o o n e d t h e r e in
1919.
In 1928, T h u r m a n ' s g r a n d ­
parents built a summer cabin
t w o or t h r e e d oors e a s t of the
lodge on M o n r o e S t r e e t and as a
child
when
she
visited
he r
g r a n d p a r e n t s she r e m e m b e r s Mrs.
M c K a y ' s g a r d e n tea parties. She
enjoyed
watching
the
ladies
d r e s s e d in t h e i r finery, hats,
g l o v e s and p r e t t y dresses. She
t o l d of M c K a y ' s g a r d e n w h i c h
featured
a
fish
pond
with
bridge
and
stepping
stones
i m p r i n t e d w i t h leaves t h a t led
t h r o u g h flower beds.
D u r i n g th e D e p r e ssion, in
the late 2 0 's a n d e a r l y 3 0 's,
many gardeners produced more
vegetables
tha n
flowers,
to
s u p p l e m e n t t h e i r d i e t of s e a ­
food. R e g a r d l e s s of h a r d tiihes;
in
1927
a
group
of
ladies
fo r m e d
a
club
to
start
a
library,
street
lighting,
g a r b a g e disposal, b e t t e r roads.
On A u g u s t 14, 1928, th e C a n n o n
B e a c h G a r d e n C l u b wa s o r g a n ­
ized. Th e G a r d e n C l u b ' s p u r p o s e
was
to
exchange
plants
and
learn m o r e a b o u t g a r d e n i n g in
c o a s t a l weather. T h e m e e t i n g s
were
held
at
the
different
w o m e n ' s homes.
In
1931
when
the
P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u r c h wa s built,
the G a r d e n C l u b d e c i d e d to h o l d
fl o w e r shows in the church. The
flo w e r shows b e c a m e an annual
affair. Th e cl u b ' s m e m b e r s sold
pl a n t s
collected
f rom
their
g a r d e n s and g a v e p r i z e s for the
most
perfect
flow e r s
and
vegetables. Some b r o u g h t flower
arrangements,
an d later t h e y
conducted
tours
of
gardens
t h r o u g h o u t the town.
I was tol d of a g a r d e n of
d a h l i a s tha t w ere r a i s e d on the
n o r t h side of Ecola Creek, and
h a n g i n g b e g o n i a s g r o w n by a
w o m a n w h o lived on E cola Road.
D u r i n g tha t time, c l i p p i n g s of
roses
from
the
valley
w ere
p l a n t e d h ere and some of those
o r i g i n a l plants, p a r t i c u l a r l y
the
rambler
varieties,
have
t h r i v e d t h r o u g h the years.
E arly p i c t u r e s of d o w n t o w n
C a n n o n Beach s h o w few flowers
a r o u n d the c o m m e r c i a l b u i l d ­
ings. Boardwalks, d r i f t i n g sand
banks, flooding, s w a m p y areas,
left little soil
for flower
b e a u t i f i c a t i o n . O t h e r t han a
few pot s of
flowers
in the
windows
of
the
st o r e s
or
straggly, h a r d i e r shrubs, most
of t h e g a r d e n s w e r e in p r i v a t e
h omes only.
In
1939,
fierce
winds,
d r e n c h i n g rains and r a g i n g surf
t ore a way s e a f r o n t g a r d e n s of
Cannon
Beach
cottages.
In
1945, A r c h i b a l d and E v a n g e l i n e
McNeil
bo u g h t
the
property
t h e n - c a l l e d the Ca n n o n Beach
Hotel (formerly "Hotel Bill"),
and
tu r n e d
it
into
the
Conference
Center.
Heather
Goodenough,
t heir
daughter,
told me her mother, Evangeline,
was q uite a gardener.
Mrs.
McNeil was so e n t h u s i a s t i c to
have man y f l o wered beds around
the hotel and o t h e r b u i l d i n g s
that she w ould be up at 5:00
A.M.
tending
to
he r
garden
before he r busy day star t e d as
director
of
the
Conference
Center.
G o o d e n o u g h said her
m o t h e r u sed v e g e t a b l e s craps
and o t h e r humus to en r i c h the
soil, w h i c h p r o d u c e d an array
of h e a l t h y pl a n t s that bloo m e d
t h r o u g h o u t the s u m m e r . . . and
t hat he r grandmother, Mati l d a
Duff, w h o came to live here
from
northern
Ireland,
also
g a r d e n e d w i t h her mother.
Some
of
the
original
b u i l d i n g s are no longer there.
The C o n f e r e n c e C e n t e r has g rown
to include m a n y m o r e p r o p e r ­
ties. Now, d e c a d e s later, there
is a ful l - t i m e grounds k e e p e r ,
Bill Chaftin, w i t h h e l p from
m a n y volunteers. All y e a r long
the C o n f e r e n c e C e n t e r g r o u n d s
are l a n d s c a p e d w i t h seasonal
flowers. Lo u i s e Schaer, one of
the volunteers, w h o had w o r k e d
for y ears as a floral a r r a n g e r
at P o r t l a n d ' s T o m m y Luke Flower
Shop, is k nown for her b e a u t i ­
ful a r r a n g e m e n t s d i s p l a y e d in
the C o n f e r e n c e C e n t e r b u i l d ­
ings. In the spring, h u n d r e d s
of bulbs t hat w e r e p l a n t e d in
t h e fall b l o o m t h r o u g h o u t the
garden.
R e g a r d l e s s of sp r i n g
weather, the h u n d r e d s of y e l l o w
d a f f o d i l b l o o m s at the e n t r a n c e
of the g r o u n d s p r o c l a i m a n o t h e r
stormy
coas t a l
winter
has
passed.
Custom fashions
for the home
Leslie
Wood
4 3 6 -0 2 7 9
Arcadia
landscaping
>
GARDENS DE3GNED
TO REDUCE OR
ELM M IE
PE STICK USE.
S
C o o kie s • C in n a m o n R o lls
ATTENTION BU3KSSES
WE CREXIt 4 MAIKTAJH
FLOWER BOXES, PLANIERS
• M u ffin s • Espresso •
P izza by the S lice
I
Cheri Lerm a
HWWNGBASW-TS
43W738RES
J
239 N . H e m lo c k
P.O. B o x 825
Cannon Beach, O R 97110
(5 0 3 )4 3 6 -1 1 2 9
LICENSED-SOCED
MSJRED
K0S2
47 N. HOLLADAY DR.
SEASIDE, OR 97138
738-8877
UNIVERSAL-» VIDEO
" A u Twe U suau C x m »
A mo L ots
op S ood
S tuff
STEVE HAUGEN
JIM HAUGEN
Too."
S ome of the a bove i n f o r m a ­
t i o n is from the book. C a n n o n
Beach, A P l a c e B y the Sea, by
Terence
O'Donnell,
and
from
w r i t i n g s by Dora Hall Hardie.
$teve's
^ a in te n a n
J C ip e n s e d '“Q
S p e c ia liz in g in :
Environmentally .friendly
W indow Cleaning
,
If yo u h a v e any ga r d e n
m e m o r i e s of t h e s e l o n g-ago days
in C a n n o n Beach, I'd love to
h e a r a b o u t t hem and add them
into
t hese
columns.
June's
Garden, P. 0. Bo x 74, Cannon
Beach, O R
97110.
Steve XgMontagrie
P.O. Pitx 669
Cannon Peach, Op. 97110
(503) 436-0942
The country station plays soft, but there’s nothing,
really nothing to turn off.
*
CENTER
V -¿s’
Quality Fabric and Notions
for Quilting and Sewing
♦
Classes Available
♦
Hours: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Seven Days a Week
D IA M O N D
♦
„ U A R O F U U STT
fe 11> É EktAXFAS
1065 S. Hemlock, Cannon Beach
436-0833
ox
C annon K eac .
OK
4 OICK A,
1977-1997
’ H o m e o f the W ild O y tln i •
nn W ill.ip.i Bay
N alir «11«, W.tMniiqtnti MH(»17
^/l.SelIin
Pot R p m - i valioin OI IlltoilH.llioil
I M>0| 665-454.1 - Pa« (160| (A5-6R87
El M undo
M Sellii i
A« W omen
f / ber c v °
Celebrate our new name!
C a n n o n B each: 2 1 5 N o rth H em lo c k, ( 5 0 3 ) 4 3 6 1 5 7 2 / Portland
3 5 5 6 SE H a w th o rn e , ( 5 0 3 ) 2 3 9 4 6 0 5
There is no death inside the gates of Eden.
imuntw. NovtWKUm 3
1
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