Wednesday February 21,1979
Page 4 — Vernonia Freedom
Recreation council
American Legion Auxilary
bake sale
, The regular meeting of the American
Legion Auxiliary was held at the Pine
Cone with member Irish Bruers for a no
host luncheon. Some business was taken
care of, but most of the two hours was an
enjoyable social time. The Auxiliary will
again sponsor two girls to the Girls State
that is held in Salem each summer.
Next regular meeting will be February
28 at the American Legion Hall at 1 p.m.
There are several items of business to be
taken care of at that time, and President
Reatha Horn is looking forward to as
many members as possible to be present.
Vernonia Recreational Counsel is
having a bake sale to raise funds for the
Community School Activity Center
February 24, 1979 at Vernonia Market
Place from 10-4,
Recreation Council
The Vernonia Recreation Council will
hold a meeting February 21, at 7:30 p.m.
at West Oregon Electric Co-op.
Spirit Night at VHS
Scheduled for Tuesday Feb. 27, at
Vernonia high School is SPIRIT NIGHT.
The purpose is to raise money for the
Athletic Fund and to increase school
spirit. Students from VHS will be
involved in a variety of skits, dances,
songs and other original talents.
It is hoped that many people will turn
out for the spirit raising event to make it a
success like last year.
School opens late
due to eclipse
Local artist have show
Ruth Steers
Nehalem valley people
Those who were here
Ruth Steers
by Jenelle Wiggins
Ruth Steers’ face is a familiar one
around Vernonia. Perhaps you first saw
her behind the ' counter of Vernonia
Variety which she owned and operated for
2144 years, or maybe your first night in
Vernonia you slept at the Rose Motel like
I did. Ruth was the first person I met
here, and Was a pleasant prelude of
friends to come.
Ruth tells me she was raised in Mist,
and her family was neighbors to Clyde
Johnson. “I remember every so often
Pyde would get out his touring car and
all of us kids would pile in. He would drive
to Vernonia and take us to Lincoln’s
Candy Kitchen or Dad’s Hamburger
Place.”
“In summertime, my brother went
haying with Clyde and I would go up and
cook for them. I can’t imagine what they
ate, because I don’t cook very good!” she
laughs.
“An old homemade bus used to come by
and pick us up for school. There were no
windows, just a canvass covering which
could be raised to let in sun or lowered to
keep out rain. George Taylor was our bus
driver. He would pick us up in the
morning, drop us off at school, and then
hang around Crawford’s Market all day
until school got out. On especially chilly
days he would give us each a heated brick,
wrapped in canvas, to keep our feet warm
during the cold ride home.” Ruth grins at
the thought of it.
“Because we lived in. the country and
rode the bus we weren’t able to go out for
any girls athletics at school. So instead,
when the bus was two or three miles from
home the driver would stop and let us out
and we’d hike the rest of the way home. In
that way we were still able to earn a
school letter. ”
She pauses for a few moments to think.
“Lots of years have gone by and my life
seems broken up in bits and pieces. I met
my future husband, Marion Steers, in Fall
City, Washington, and after we were
married we returned to Vernonia. We
lived at Big Eddy Park and ran a service
station there - for 8V2 years. It was a
Grange park then and underdeveloped.
In the front room of the gas station we
stocked a few groceries and lived in the
two back rooms. The railroad track
crossed right at Big Eddy and every night
the loggers would come in to buy gas or a
handful of peanuts to get them home. ”
“Jn 1944 we .bought Herb Condit’s
place on Stoney Point and went into the
turkey farming business. We raised some
2,500 turkeys, great big toms. They say
you don’t have to be crazy to raise
turkeys but it helps. It took 48 hours a
day to care for those birds what with
watering, chasing, herding, and fighting"
with them. We lived on turkey meat and
turkey eggs because we couldn’t afford
red meat. Fall was turkey picking time
and we would sell those birds to King’s
Grocery and Sam’s Food Store.”
we ^sold out the turkey
business and bought Thomas Variety
Store., I stuck with that store for 2 PA
years. I not only worked in the store but
did all the prdering, bookkeeping, and
even hauled supplies from Portland. I
knew absolutely nothing about running a
store but I learned. My mother, Laura
Carmichael, lived across the parking lot
and spent a lot of time in the store. ”
Mrs. Carmichaal was almost a
permanent fixture in . the Variety Store.
When Ruth was off buying merchandise,
her mother would take care of business,
but most of the time she sat, with her
chair pulled up close to the stove and her
hands in the perpetual motion of crochet,
or knitting.
“In 1972, after my husband died, Harry
Emmons called me up. and told me I
should buy the Rose Motel because it
would be a good investment. “I.don’t
know anything about running a motel,” I
told Harry. “I’ve never even stayed
overnight in one. No way! But Harry
talked me into it, and I have no regrets.
I’ve met some great people and a few
scalawags. But np one stays long and we
are kind of like ships that pass in the
night.”
Last-year was Ruth’s 50th class
reunuion and 16 of the 24 graduates
attended. Ruth has made a hobby out of
keeping track of everyone who has every
graduated from Vernonia High School
from the very first class of 1918 to the
present She also keeps a memorial list.
“It’s kind of a history of the town,”
she .explains. “For instance, the . second
graduating class of Vernonia, in 1919
consisted of only two girls. World War I
had just broken out and all the boys had
enlisted. In 1925 there were 10 graduates,
and the next year the O.A. Mill opened
and 28 students graduated! ”
Ruth tells me she is retired now and
finally has time to do as she pleases. Her
house shows the efforts of that spare
time. Beautiful and brightly colored latch
hook and punch rugs decorate her living
room, some of which she designed herself.
The impressive eagle rug, which can be
seen at the Eagle Office Restaurant is one
of her creations. But most of her designs
are roses.
“I guess I just like roses,” she laughs.
During the month of March, the work of
local artists Dee Vadnais and Katherine
Shiver will be shown in the Women’s
Studies Gallery, at Portland State
University. The show will include woven
and embroidered collage by Ms. Shiver
and wood sculpture by Ms. Vadnais.
The Women’s Studies Gallery is the
only gallery of its kind in Portland. It
started two years ago as an informal place
where women could show; their creative
work without the traditional artistic
scrutiny. They are paratiacularly
interested in showing work that is free of
sexist imagery arid presents a positive
image of women.
There will be an Artists reception on
March 9, at 7:30. The Gallery is located on
the corner of SW 10th and Market in
Portland. Its regular hours are 9-5
Monday through Friday.
Vernonia schools will open at 10:00 a.m.
Monday, February 26, the day of the solar
eclipse.
Golf Association starts 9th
season with crab feed
The Vernonia Meri’s Golf Association
will kick off the 1979 Golf Season with
their 9th Annual Crab Feed. It will be
held at the Vernonia Golf Course Club
House on Saturday evening March the
3rd. Everyone is invited to come out and
get aquainted with Vernonia’s Golfing
family, players, managers and owners and
for $6 feast on excellent Oregon crab. See
you there. Fore.
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