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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1908)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1008. Grays River, a Very Prosperous Community. W11KN the great world whh being created and the various natural formations wero in prMi":a of arrangement, the Creator touched one portion of the earth with u loving hand mid forthwith huge nioitn taina aroso cradling securely between them a long narrow valley. He smiled upon it mid a river giialicd forth, immense? foreata grew, the ground became excelling fertile-Kdcn was re-Incarnated. Later, Captain Gray, the explorer, looked in upon it and waH pleased with it, mo he honored it with his own name, which it now beam Gray 'a River. The early settlers sailing from Astoria across Gray 'a Hay and paddling laboriously up the narrow crooked Mtream choked with fallen giants of the foreat until it was almost impassable looked out upon a mass of troca, little and big, with underbrush ho thick that daylight could scarely jiecp through. Truly, the pioneer Mpirit wan theim in no amall measure when they net out to mako a home which would mipport their wives and babiea in thiN land where no spot, large immikIi to net a bonne upon, could be found. In thoHO daya the foreata alMitinded in game and berries and the river In flah. no their lot was not altoin'tlier deplorable but to make a home out of them) depth upon depths of living gm-n waa enough to cause the itoiiteat heart to quail. It might truly be wild or these early-day settlers : "They took up a claim in the foreat. And act theiiiaelvea down to hard toil; For ten yearn they choped and they triggered, Hut never got down to the aoil." It waa a Herculean taak to rid the ground of the mazes and tanglea of vine, maple, crab apple, aalmon bnahcH, fallen and living timber, from tlie mnalleat aize up to 10 or 12 feet in diameter. And then the work waa but half completed. The entire area underground waa a TIIK MORNING ASTOHIAN. ASTORIA, OltEGON, a. Htidve.t could scarcely be inacrted. The ott. at rmimvintf these atumna and roota waa enormoua and involved great labor. But civilization moved alowly but surely onward. Little by little the country assumed a more habitable aspect, the suniignt oi hitnvnn emnt down to the cold, damp earth. The ground began to yield to tillage and at laat to add it little mite to the diet of fiah, game and berriea. Each fall aWit Thanksgiving time a wraith of mint enveloped the little valley with a awirl of wind; low-lying, black cloud scudded acroaa tlo akv ami remoraeleaalv. but Jtently. came a heavy rain which awelled the little river until it left its bank and flooded all the country to a varying depth of from ix inchea to three or lour leet When this re ceded it left the ground covered with a thick, black acdiment. Later on these autumn freaheta proved themaelvea to be one of nature'a moat powerful aida in that it furniahed a natural meana of tranaporting to tidewater the milliona of feet of fine timber which cov ered the hilla and the acdiment left upon the earth acted in every respect aa a perfect fertilizer. The renewing of the ground every year by thin meana baa ever, been a great boon to thia country. ....... The first houae that waa built on Grey 'a River waa by a man in the employ of the Hudaon Bay Company, St. Andrews, by name. He had an Indian wife. Later a discharged soldier from the fort named John Brannon and hailing from Missouri, came-, then a Dane named Ole Hanson; but the llrst nermanent settlers with white families did not arrive until 1868 These were J. P. Miller and Sam II. walker, ine naie oia sea capuun, William Rehfeld, came soon after aa also did T. S. Barr. In 1875, H. P. Ahlberg and the Sorensen brothers, Chris and Anton, settled here. Until 1883 the poatofllce was at Gray's River and there waa no nearer basis of supplies. The only means of navigation was by small skiffs and many a thrilling tale can be told of rough water and stormy weather when emergencies rose, compelling a visit to Astoria, despite wind or sea. But undismayed by hardships and undaunted by obstacles the little t.tieiticiit Miruirgieu on. ana in iooo orKmcu a wmvauj u um, and operated a small steamboat called the "Union" which came in once . uwk. Since then steady progress has been made until now bray s River holds an enviable record among the farming communities of the atate. Her people have made her a pleasant place in which to live. They have steadfastly kept in mind and catered to the upbuilding of the .... . ... i i a home. They have surrounded themselves wan dooks, music anu nowers. rhev have built beautiful homes and have furnished them luxuriously. Their lawns are carefully kept and tastefully arranged. That they have liecn enabled to do this in so large a measure has come from the abund- nnt success attending their efforts m the line of dairying. 1 his place is suited to this work that the farmers have cocentrated all their attention on it until it has become the leading industry of the place. From the first the bottom land proved to be wondrously fertile an.1 the cultivation of grass or hay remarkably easy. Once the ground was plowed and seeded with timothy, clover, or alfalfa, the deed was done. Year after vear splendid crops of hay could be garnered without reseea : n.i , utiihiiiA tnr nnKtiirncrfl thrmichout the winter. Natur- uiK n lit i vi tii - r - ally, the attention of the farmers was turned toward the utilization of this wonderful natural resource, and as Astoria furnished a splendid market for butter it waa inevitablethat dairy work should take the lead and probably nowhere in the world could be found a place where it ia no easily carried on or with such splendid profit. Could one but Walk through the Gray 'a Kiver pasture Janaa in the month of August-the last month of the dry est season of the year an almost unbelievable sight would meet the eye. Cattle grazing up to their knees in the greenest of green grass so tall, because oi tneir aneer inability to keep it eaten down. One acre of land will pasture two cows a year and keeps them in fine condition or it will produce tons of hay and furnish pasturage until spring. The farmers of Gray's River have kept abreast of the times and in every way aided nature in her generous attempt to make the life of the farmer a pleasant one. They have paid great attention to the selec tion of their herds and are constantly adding blooded stock and weeding out those that have proved themselves inferior. - On Gray 'a River the Jersey stands first in the affection of the people and it ia a pleasure to pass through the fields and see the delicate fawn colored, or rich brown beauties lifting their dainty black-nosed heads to watch you curiously. , . . The farmers are as careful in the equipment of their farms aa in the selection of their stock. All have the best makes of separators, but ter workers and churns on the market. At "Swede Park Farm," and at "Pond Lily Dairy" and also on L. E. Oleson's dairy, all of the earn ing and butter working and various other of the more laborious work connected with the farm is done by steam. Semnnloualv ctrefnl are they in regard to sanitation and an honest pride is taken in the work that guarantees the superiority of the finished product. The financial returns from the.making of butter or sale of butter-fat is large and will probably not be beaten m any part oi the woria. 1 ' SOME OF THE PRODUCTS OF GRAYS RIVER. Scow Bay Iron and Brass Works Eighteenth and Franklin Streets ASTORIA, - - OREGON ( fa ' ' 4J 1 Iron and Brass Founders band and Marine Engineers 0 JU Pari CI jiff " vJfcWi; U - ,.f-,r -1' ,s3itT ; MANUFACTURERS OF Saw Mill and Logging Machinery and the Rouslow Gas Engines Prompt attention given to all classes of Repair Work PHONE MAIN 2451