i (By V. Xyl McCroskejr) , i j 'i - Etayton, iocaiea as it is in -"D 'ertlle valley ot the North rFork let of its size In the state. Therd are about1200 persons in Stay-V ton. itself, while the territory it serves atretches for fifteen miles -. In , all directions. The town is 19 .miles southeast of Salem, and fhere is a paved, road between the two plates, ? Auto ! stages make three trips feaily between , Stayton and Sa lem, and there is dally motor truck service between s - Stayton Vnd both Salem and Portland. Stayton's railroad shipping point lis West Stayton, which is about three miles distant. The road j leading fron . Stayton to West Stayton is ( now partially paved, and wi.U be ,' completely, paved during .the summer of 1923. ; 1 If Stayton' has any material ad vantage that stands JoutV as pre-; dominate, it is her rare diversity cf '.resources. Perhaps In no territory a? equal size with that served by Stayton could be. found I ratural, resource of so great a variety and ' of ;such .abundance. .la this small valley we find soil fitted for all types, and .particu-, larly fitted for the rm6re; lactam Ut types of agriculture. "" .We find 'r: abundant r pasturage: (or , Wp and cattle. We find tlm ter thousand . of . acres of it. V.e find - water power sufficient ; 1 .tc generate thousands of, horse I tower. . ' - t . Site i Strategic .'.- I ' Clayton stands at the en- t -ace to this remarkable nine s Ti '?y. " Beings the most . easily icr.Esible place ' from all points, i: z of course. ecome the v traliag center. The fSantfam : ritsr has J been diverted ; ; and . t t ;M to Stayton In tne torra .tr -.Me water nower. thus "!- I I": It's , town the advantage 01 X. i coveted "white coal." l tzj wonder, that thU community 1- rrosperous? - la it any won 4 "er that ft" Is making a steady snth, that Its citizens having All tin modern conveniences that c r8 t::orded by cities ten times U; tea's, site? -V' '' 1 "1 ese 1 resources " have " t la t .Me.. and most I , i- . 17 the people-of -this sec ; til.:. Tiere -are about f 75,000 acr; j - Cf in4 under cultivation ' tributary to Stayton. This . la- i la being farmed for hay, 1 t . rprrU. mmM fruits nd Much of It tf bejng ,usd tare "for dairy cattle. ; A atiot that has been found Weal by farmers in -,thi 13 that f of small ' fruits Co: to t ra" terries and dairy cattle. l - - - . uu ft. U J . 3 Income and call for exten- t. 1 work daring a few months pnng and summeer. The cattle; pfodnce a steady in Esrrin j M tort of Insur ' r-'nst total failure in fruit crop Is light, and ' least attention Representative Stay ton Establishments: Above, Santiam Woolen Mills and Two Views of lln the' summer when the worKjthe industry Is a prospering one 'with -the fruit and berries is ( and that it has found an excel- heaviest. i Farmlll of - ' Prosperity - r arm 111 5 is, ui tuurc, vue dustry which must form the batt le of growth of v any community in the Willamette Valley, if that growth is, to be a steady, heal tny one. In the last analysis, west ern communities must ' look to the soil for the means' to attain their full development. The test of ' the success v of a : town will usually be found 'in its abil ity to Uke the ; products of the soil and, by the application of caplul, turi i them "to " profit. This lr the thing Stayton is am ply equipped to do and the thin? that it has been doing, to the ad vantage of the producer of the original product as well as of the man in town.. With the phe nomenal growth of fruit farm ing: in this vicinity; during the past few years, came the realizaAj tien that if ; Stayton was to, de rive the full benefit from her sur rounding natural resources, she must' equip- herself ."to- assist in the marketing of those "products. The final result of this realiza tion was a 'cannery In' Stayton. Its beginning was sm'all, with a capitalization 'of only: 110,000; but at : the end of Its first sea-non-just past It has shown a reasonable profit and its success i assured.- This little cannery has - already -' saved the growers of this vicinity a haul of 10 to SO miles with their fruit, has In creased the yearly payroll of the town by several thousands of dollars, and has .materially In creased the aggregate Income' of Stayton. , - Wool MM Big Asset T Another Stayton (Industry that has for Its purpose the utilisation of the i products of the. soil is the' woolen mill owned and op erated by the ; Santiam Woolen Mill company.; Having 'Its be ginning la 1919 with - six, em ployees and a few looms, this in stitution has grown .to a point where it employs 125 t persons and runs- ,30 looms two shifts daily. Wool is used in the man ufacture of batts and blankets att the rate, of 00.000 ponnd. a . . , K nfli - pairs . 01 oi"M : . . . t Valilas li ¬ nld each year,; besides 15 060 pounds of wool batts. Natur aMy this mean that all the wool grown . 4n this locality has ready marked j besides ; much ool being imported lomther races In the i west. This indus try tins the power of the San tlanv rlrito run its f6' which Peaces a-jther of-Stayton s natural resources .to productive use; The payroll , of this mill amount t.round !. 7 ly, a thing which, in "self is no small benefit to Stayton. During 1therpast -year 4he Santiam iWoolen;McOimpany has mre than doubled t ea 1 .!,.- fa' wATkine force, which rperhrp. W evidence that I tent field In Stayton. The en tire; output of this mill for the present season has -been sold.- the products being of such quality te to' find ready market any where. ;. . , ;:,:J.. " Lumber Important Industry i The Browq-Petzel i Lumber company operates an industry in I'avton, which, while not utiliz ing , products ot agriculture. n.aKes use one - 01 tne greatest of "Oregon's resources; as well as of ; this locality timber, j Its mill, also operated by water power from the Santiam, is ' also a large factor in maintaining the circulating wealth of this com munity. This ; mill has at ca pacity of 20,000 feet of timber per day. It employs an Average of . 30 persons with an annual payroll of . about $35,00.0. Two to 'five million feet of timber are eacn year. . 1 mS w" improved, in making additional eells the lumber It produces Inl. io m both "-. the . wholesale and retail markets. ' It maintains Its 1 own retail yards ,at Stayton, Jefferson and Cervais. - - - - ." : f Two. flouring mills in Stayton, both, nsipg the.' water power of the Santiam afford a ready,- con venient market . -for . the wheat grown In the surrounding coun try. . ' Their combined payrolls win approximate $15,000 .annu ally and the sale of their product increases the' tommunlty's : cir culating wealth by several more thousands " yearly. ; One of these mills makes a product, which in Open competition5 has taken sev eral prizes for Its excellence. ; ' A chair ' factory give employ ment to from five to ten persons. If produces kitchen chairs l and miscellaneous turnlture, utilis ing water, power to turn its ma chinery. 1 -x$:"'s'i"-'Hy. ; Power Company SIooVn . --j The Stayton Light and Power company owns a - modern , plant with - which - it - converts water power -to electricity. It; supplies power for lighting In and ; about Stayton. a as" 'well as 'furbishing power , for several minor indus trial plants of the town. - A con siderable Investment ' is repre sented, in. its plant and equip ment.; Its chief value " to ) the community, of course; lies inthe convenience and, satisfaction' fur nished the citizens :1a the form cf dependable. nd 1 cheap elec tiical energy.'5,; Natural resources and indus tries, of course, form the founda tion npon which the economic life of a. community , Is built, but there, are other: considerations that must ie met In determining the desirability of a town as a place. la which to live. Stay ton is, ? distinctly l'vable town. It has all the urban conveniences with few of "the disadvantage. Here are found civic Improve ments such as are - commonly fnnnd onlv In cities of four or five times its size.Y The town 01 Staytoa malnUlns its ' own mun- Icipal water system furnishing zens at ' an absurdly , low price. Just recently, In order td -com- lilv with thereaulrements- " ol !ve Oregon Insurance Rating Jtur. feu.u, a bond issue of $12,000 was sold for the purpose of extend ing and ; improving the water system and providing- additional fire-fighting equipment. . The program which has been adopted calls for 1000 feet of new, high est quality; fire hose; a separate and complete pumping unit in udditlon. to the one already in use; a fire-proof building , for the present plant; and auxiliary power in addition to the water power now used to pronel the pump'ng machinery. These im provements and add't'ons, vhen made, will result in a saTing, in ii'ura,nce rates of from one tenth ot one per rcent tj t'n per cmt In ' cases where priTate per. anna iiHll?a tha wn'o, votpm nS iraprovements themselves. In order that this improvement may not Increase the burden on the taxpayers of the town a . plan has been devised for paying oft bonds -issued to "pay for this sys tem, whereby .the revenue from the water system is ; expected ' to provide, the sinking fund for the bonds' retirement. ', Streets Are Paved During the last summer 15 blocks' of Stayton's streets were paved 'with an excellent quality ot bltulithlc pavement. A pertin ent fact in connection with this improvement Is that about one half of the total .cost ot it was raid In cash t by the property owners liable therefor. ; The re mainder of the expense was fended 1 by a bond issue : which is secured' by abutting property. This bond Issue amounting to about $18,000 and the one of S22.000 mentioned above, con stitute the only indebtedness of the town of Stayton. and, as has been explained, the taxpayers will -be called on to pay neither of them.! : ' '' Edumtional FacUitlc TJnex- ' .. . ' 1 celled ;; r; -In" educational facilities. Stay ton is excelled by none. A new $25,000 school building houses a. complete grade school and f a high 'school that is rated by state educational authorities as "stand ard." a Nearly 300 .1 students are in attendance under the instruc tion of a corps of 11 teachers, "f he ; bnsiness 'men of the town recently presented .the 1 nigh schoct with: a . complete gymna sium, which is used t by the townspeople for gatherings -and recreation as well as by the stu dents jot the high school. The interest that is manifested In the schools by tbe citizen of Stayton Is remarkable. v An ac tive Parent-Teachers association is functioning admirably, and the spirit of cooperation originating here permeate the entire .com munity. The school house is o- First National Bank, r Below, Two Views of Brown-Petzel Lumber Company. ten the scene of - community have been well attended and very popular. So- highly is the Stay- toiF cho6I regarded, that - stu dents from 'outside districts fornt a large part of the student body. The connections' with the famines of these students," thus formed, are particularly valuable tothe merchants , and. business men of the town;. - 1 Tne! popular interest In reli gion fotfnd in Stnjrton. is an In dex ' to the wholesome atmos phere ot the. place. The Baptist, Catholic. Christian and Methodist churches are represented in. Stay ton, all of them having large memberships 1 and owning - their own . meeting places. - r -. Fraternal Orders Many , Fraternal orders form another - - a a 1 i a ". :r' O-der of Foresters, Masons and barter t wat. taken-. out under the Odi Fellows have active organi- national banking system and one rations here. The Masons andf,nder tne state banking system.j OdlFellows own buildings of . Flr8V National bank now Ibeir own ; In which-- meeting 1 rooms are : maintained, and tbe Foresters are interested in 1 a building, now under 'the .course oti construction, the upper floor of which will be owned .by . and doyoted to i.the purposes of that lodge. The usual woman's aux iliaries are, of course, active in connection with their respective lodges, y ! : Community Club Power for . ; v;J ' Growth: ' . JA Community Club has recent ly ' been organized in Stayton. which has ; for its purpose -the general betterment of all condi tions . in Stayton. civic and social as well as commercial and econ omic. It Is . planned - to , draw the membership of this organiza tion from persons in all pursuits, including those farming in and around Stayton,. In order that the organization may worjc for the good of the whole community and Its well rounded develop ment."!'; . A motion picture ' theater is operated -In Stayton aad frequent dances are conducted. These dances are largely in the nature of community affairs, being 'at tended by person from all walks of. life who likej that form of recreation.;- ; Opportunities for Recreation " ". .' . UnlimUed . " :- ' ' v Another condition , that makes Stayton livable town, is the opportunity for Outdoor recrea tion. The ton is almost within walking distance of tbe Cascade mountains,. with all the number less opportunities for summer camping, hunting and ; fish'ng. Trout, fishing can be found with in ten minutes walk,, pheasant and grouse hunting as well. In short all of the wonders of . the Oregon outdoors can here be en joyed, with the added advantage ot having them, literally, at your door. A long, tedious drive is unnecessary for the sportsman to find opportunities to play, he lives in the midst ot them. Usually among the most active in helping to Jnakc a town a de- rlrable one" ihwhich to.'llTe, "are j tbe merchants!, business and pro-' f.ssiohaI men of the place, of , whom," hitherto In this article. tre have said nothing.' In order that we may not leave the im pression that these persons are unimportant to Stayton, .let us say right here, that this class of men is distinctly alive and active !u this town, j J Roster of BuRfhfl Houses ! Perhaps the most Important ; stavton'. non-fndutr!ai (a ! rather Inaccurate term, meaning h-f .,.n. M..imr -j- .ta. aiuaiij i uviug t . . . 1 x .. . . ( i r !sl goods) . institutions is Us banR.mort"ar3- . . v . This bank was formed a few -One store building to cost years ago by the merger of the Ftboi't $10,000 Is now under con two banks that had formerly f truction, and an apartment done business in Stayton. A ' ness and the First State . and i 1 T : 4 I.tbe development of the wonder- snvings department. Both are natarfl! resouW8 of this fa ander one roof and one manage- litt valley. But. of is unexcelled. The combined re sources are $548,267.16 and the combined deposits -. amount to slightly more than . $482,610.18, The First National bank v is a member of the Federal Reserve system.' This dual institution has been and a tremendous factor in the development of tbe territory tributary to the coun try, ft has bees active In almost every undertaking of importance in this vicinity' in recent years. It is, of course, impossible ' to describe In detail each of the' var ious mercantile ' enterprises of Stayton or each ot the other bus inesses and professions. Tbe fol lowing groupings will serve to convey a general idea of Stay ton's offerings In this respect: There are four ,' general stores in Stayton, -one new one having been . recently established. - An other new store handling grocer ies and " hardware has also "re cently entered this -field. - An other store handles hardware and furniture, and another handles hardware .exclusively,', . Stayton has two drug stores, a meat mar ket, a men' . furnishings 'store, an electric store; an ; electrically operated bakery, a hotel furnish 'ng both rooms and dining room reryice, two confectionery . and lunch establishments, and "two t.co! halls. ' 11 Other professions and businesses are represented in Stayton by " two doctors.' two lawyers, two jewelry and watch makers, one of whom -carries a complete stock o Jewelry ?nd all'ed merchandise, k' vet erinarian, an undertaker, two barkers, two garages, a tery shop, a variety store and two real estate brokers.- The ownership - and manage ment ot some of the most suc cessful of the above mentioned cstablishmenets are asfollows: ; A. jP. Speer and Co., Doll's Cash Store and Geh ten Bros., conduct general -stbres, C.JA, Beauchamp "and V. Dare Sjoper a re toth pharmacists . and each conducts a drug store. Sestalt Lros.j operate the meat market; C. E. Kramer.' the bakery; J. F. Mielke, a hardware store; . Fisher and Son conduct the men's- fur nishings, store: - - Frank Lesley jcv.ns end ' operates the Stayton hotel; E. . A. Harnton and J. H. illendershott each operates a con feet onery and lunch room; E. T. Matthieu and E. S. Pleser each ondu-t s. tobacco shop and pqol Jnd W. A. Weddle, an unr tertaker, maintains a modern house is belne built which wil- c t-about $2.000. v ... ; , , Future Development Assured The above data on business." jrrtnf!trIal an4 80Ciar conditions jwlll serve to give a general idea cf what has" been done toward reader who is looking for a. place n which to build r a business and make a' home', is the opportunity for- future - development. We might dismiss this subject by simply " referring the reader to the discussion t-above of the ' na- itaral resources to be found here. and 'pointing out that 'under those . eondltfons opportunity i unlimited." " However," speciric facts are even - more Imprssive p.rid perhaps " more enlightening to the reader. . . . Undoubtedly, in the opinion of persons who are familiar with conditions in .this valley, the cul tivation of . berries. . small fruits and nuts presents the greatest field for lucrative Investment In this locality. The land Is parti cularly -adapted - to the growing t f these r crops. . Th's fact ?s ' at tested by the "remarkable success that : has been 'met by, -persons who have alreadyingaged In this type f . of farming- Blackberries are . Trticu!arly ; recommended for planting here, for the reason that this- is -.the home of wild blackberries and . - they conse quently produce v marvelous crops under , cultivation; U Last season alone, the Stayton Cannery paid over $15,000 for - blackberries that were picked from - vines which, grew. wild. This Indicates tbe immense opportunity for gain from the systematic grow ing "of this fruit. The" black berry is recommended for the reason that it yields heavily, is cot : hard to cultivate, - and al ways has a ready market at a good price, - Other berry crops that are not now extensively .-rawn. hut which are considered good: In this locality are red raspbererles. currants and goose berries. Loganberries, of course, have " done exceptionally . well here, but future plantings in large quntltles are not advised because of the tear that tbe sup ply will exceed the demand. . With any of these crops it is not uncommon .to receive ;$100 n acre orer and above expenses, ifter 'the vines have -come iato fu'l : . bearing." If we " use" th. cemmon method cf figuring and assume that land should be val- d so that its annual . produc- -alue. land producing at this rate rotld , be worth $1000 aft acre. Cleared land suitable for berry growing can be had from$80 to 1 50 an acre. It can be readi'y een 'that an Investment in thl? industry will pay enormous div -dends. ' . Fortunes in Nuts f Another crop that has recently f tm V rf Progressive farmers, is the nut top. Bath walnuts and filberts 'TO'v excentlonally well In thla locality. Walnuts are the slower crop, are subject to some fail ures, and require a little more ntentlon than do the f erts, v?a'nts. n"vnheless, .will pro cure easily a ttn to the acre al ter the- me into bearing. Fig ured at twentyfive cents a.pouni, this would amount; to a gross yield of $300 an acre. These fig- 4 ures are, we believe, very con servatives Of course, e,lght years have to be allowed for the trees to come Into bearing, but during this, time, berries can be easily cultivated between the trees, with no damage to the walnuts and the berries will more than J care for the walnuts until a bear. trig stage is reached. 'Filberts Ari Money Makerst Filberts have' been attracting increasing attention tor tha rea son that . they are apparently the "lacy man's crop," and that they yield enormous returns. So far as Is now, knows: there Is no til- Isease or insect that attacks the filbert; so spraying Is unnecess ary. Frost does-not bother them tor they bloom In December and January. They are not perisha ble, so-ihe picking need not be rushed. ; 'And it is claimed that 90 per cent of the nuts drop tree of their husks in early October. So all. that, remains to be done is to--pick them from tbe ground and sack them. They bear tour years, after planting, In fact som? nuts are received the second year. For . the first four years after," planting, berries . may be cultivated between1 the rows ana the crop from these will easily jtake care of the cultivation and care pt the trees until they reach bearing age. 7 They have been known to produce as high as $2000 to the acre, and It is claimed that $1000 to the acre Is not exceptional in old trees that, "are well taken care of on fertile soil. This 1 a cbmpara tlvelv new cro fn the state, put tbe figures presented bv tbe pio neers In the : industry are astounding. Undoubtedly tie (Continued ca rc-j-S)