j Page Sixteen - 80th Anniversary Edition. The Oregon : Statesman g'- : ' - ,.- I ! i , i. i. t ,. WS - . " J T : y 1 ' " -'' ' ''WW-'W I T"" " I TT7TTTT" . .'" ' : ) ', ! ' 1 ma Vountrv, ooa irar urs v.. ii. :;, .(..:. D' ON'T bother with agricul ture, this country Is only t good zor furs." Ib til kn iousaess was this said or the Ore gon country in the days when the fur traders held sway. More than that these same fur traders did not want to see agriculture de veloped because farms would" be bound to drive out the animals. Human need triumphed however and finally a few cows and cattle were brought into the country. Dr. McLoughlin had the first ones and it was he who saw that wheat was planted and later that a flour mill was built. ; v The great immigrations of 1842 and 43 assured the' importance of the agricultural industry fn this country as these people were farm ers and came here to seek farm homes. ' , Plows Highly Prized by Early Settlers Before that the missionaries in cluding Whitman, Jason Lee and Father Blanchet had encouraged farming In a very small way but tools were inadequate and the de mand not great. When; the great immigration came the plows and oxen were the most valued things the immigrants brought with; them. Those plows must come, no matter how many precious things ' were left behind. 1 The demand for cattle was . in creasing. In 1837 Ewing Young had brought a band of cattle over land; from Mexico and from this small start the industry grew. T :- For many years the crops of jail kinds were small and no attempt was made to find an outside mar ket. Then in 1849 gold was dis covered in California and by 1851 the California market was trying for all kinds of agricultural and horticultural products and willihg to pay fabulous prices. I. ,' First Blanket Sold ' ! to Watt for $250 M Sheep were more numerous ahc before long the wool crop had out grown the home spinning and weaving stage and woolen mills were, established. Mary Pratt Haas wove the first woolen blanket made ia an Oregon mill. This was at Salem in 1858, the mill having been started in 1856. This blanket was sold to Joe Watt at Amity for $250: Other mills were built at' Ore gon City, EUendale and Browns ville. In the Ws the agricultural in dustry was well established and diversification began. Fruit orch ards were now common and a man who could do budding and grafting was always in great demand. Pre vious twigs from fruit trees were imported and budded onto the wild trees found here. Prunes, hops, berries and a wide variety of hay and grain crops were flourishing by the '90's but the old standby s, wheat and oats were never neglected. The ten acre or smaller tract so popular today would have been scorned by our ancestors. Nothing less than a quarter section of land could have been called a real; farm in early days. Oxen Yield to Horses, ; Latter to Machinery Changing crops brought chang ing methods of farming. Oxen gave way to horses for the plows and other farm machinery. The binder had been introduced and before many years the gang plow. This gang plow was quite a won der in its day but the sub-soiler, so popular today, was not dreamed of then. Oregon agriculture has in deed traveled a long way, down through the years from the oxen drawn plow to the tractor drawn sub-soiler. Ten crops are grown Plow Replaced Steel; Trap; Immigrant Trains .Brppt aoNew.. Type of Settler; Variety of Crops ! Made Valley String, Rich COUNTY DEVELOPMENT ilN KgRICULTURE . 1 it, iv " J. 1. . -; . M .-2., t - I i . . fcjH ' . . ' . . . . - L - I -. . , . , ,. . . BEKRT L :"' i '-Pfiotoi Brown Rtadlo. 1. TILB1RT OROVI TV HARVK8T TISfff.- 5, TRACTOR DRAWN' FT. AX PULLER IV FLAX FIELD. S. 8TRAW r PATCH OP MANY ACRES. 5. CKLKRY fiROWIN G AT LAKE LAB1SH. - v , : 1 -4- Loganberries Met Rebuff at Start Because of Acid Content aril Price By Mrs. Allyn Nusom Many farmers here remember when loganberries were worth only one and one-fourth cents per pound and Richard Patterson, who set out his first berry patch about 12 years ago, recalls the fact that one year he lost his entire crop because there was no demand for the pro duct. A. W. Nusom, who owned a three-acre yard in 1904, shipped hts first crop in five gallon, cans to a company in Portland. The first hallocks and crates were the knock-down type and after a few years this improved method of handling was used. today to every one then and still Oregon soil continues to yield. Harvest time reveals the wide variety of crops now grown in this valley. A partial list Includes hay, such as alfalfa,! clover and grain; grain, wheat oats, barley, rye and flax; vegetables of all kinds includ ing cannery supplies of peas, beans, tomatoes, pumpkins and squash; fruits such as apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, prunes, cherries and grapes; berries,, includ ing strawberries, raspberries, , lo ganberries, gooseberries and black berries; dairy products such as but ter, milk, cheese,, cattle, sheep; wool, mohair, fibre flax, tohacco and flower bulbs including tulips and daffodllls. I In the : beginning of the logan berry industry the fruit was dried much the same as prunes are dried. A man named Powers in Salem was the first to take the berries through a drying process as an ex periment. Dried berries, stewed or used in pies are said to have been of excellent flavor; and ; for many years no other use was made of the product. For several years Britt and Piere Aspinwall, broth ers, operated a berry dryer which was built by them at Brooks in 1910. Drying of Fruit j Increased Output I i After 1915 very little drying; was done as cannesies were in opera tion and various uses were found for the fruit. One of the first canneries built in Salem 'was the Oregon Packing company; on 12th street, and later the King Dehy drating Co. and ' Hunt Brothers. Growers In this, community! in creased their acreage as the de mand increased. ; However, there Was not;, much demand and the producers received a low price for logans until bever ages were made from the juice. In 1912 Cliff Pugh of Falls City built and operated the first juice plant. The highest, price paid the grow er was 13 cents per pound in 1919. The first plants set out in Mis sion Bottom were those given to A. M. LaFollette in 1900 by Dr. J. A. Richardson of salem when he re turned fromi ajtrip to California where he secured a few dozen of the newly gated plants. They are a crass between tne red rasp berry and the blackberry and Judge ogan of California was the prop agator. ' Soil ,&n&cllmate codltlons were excellent fjere for the culti vation Qf this fruit and in a short time he berry gjindustry began to grow.. ' ; ?, i , In 19b2 Ai if Aspinwall bought plants from Mr,: LaFollette and sel them out onhl$ farm at Brooks. Later fifty atfrei were put into lo ganberries. It was mainly to ac commodate Mr. Aspinwall that his sons, Britt and; Piere Aspinwall, now of vWaconda, constructed the dryer in 19l0 One 1 hundred faixty acres were planted to logans in the year 1919 on the acreage, jjiow known as the McGilchrist berfy farm. At pres ent there are fixty-flve acres In berries on- this place. When AI Nuom moved to his present homeM 1926 a two-acre yard of logan tvs plowed up. This field was26et6t in 1900 by Mr. Nusom's father! Tons of berries of excellent quality had been har vested by Mr, Nusom on this piece of ground but j after twenty-six years the yield was so small as to make it necessafy to remove this crop to make way for some other. s.i'i : $110,000 COST COURTHOUSE Beautiful; Structure was Started in 1872 In . Center City The year 1872 marked an aus picious move in county govern ment. Then it was that work: was begun on the county courthouse still one of Salem's most beautiful buildirfgs4 h f!j ; : f Although the original contract price of $89,650 ,when the architect, W. F.obthby, had finished with the job the bill was $110,000. Fif teen years after its erection it was still boasted , that the courthouse was "admirably near the center of the business portion of the city." C. N. Terry wai county judge when the structure was authorised, and John Cissy and Al Coolidge wer commissioner, 1 . Front the first, part of the base ment was occupied by the sheriff, as Is still the rfise. For a number of years the court room was lo cated on the first floor, as was al so the county offices, j Tigers All Hot 9n Bothered at Big Barn Blaze The Tigers were, a fightln fire company. Here's how they fought a fire on the roof of a barn in "South Salem." June 8, 1887, when they had to set their; steamer In the slough: ' Tigers' 'steamer had a very ex citing run down to the slough. The road leading from; the elevation upon which the barn was situated down to the water is very crooked. The steamer j came j dashing up to the fire, and it appeared no water was obtainable except from the slough; so without hesitation, Tig ers started down the rough descent. It required ! the greatest grit; but they did it.' The engine got down in good shape; but at one place especially Jt had a very narrow escape from capsizing. After the fire was extinguished it1 was con sidered doubtful if aft ordinary force of men npaided could pull the engine up the -hill. It 'was under taken however by hundred men, and hard pulling once more placed the steamer in a good road none the worse for her descent."- $190 Asked For! Team Harness For Fire Engine . "Tiger engine company are mak ing arrangements to have hones for their engine. A, short time ago a communication from the company was sent to the council, offering to furnish a team of horses and a $190 harness for fire service pro vided the council would fit up stalls in the engine house. I The ' dray company will , let one of its teams stand in the engine house ready for use at all times, provided suitable accommodations are furnished for them The I Statesman, Feb 1887. . 'jM .) j-jr HOME TALENT DRAMA "Saratoga, the enjoyable comedy-drama.) was repeated before a good sited , audience at the Reed on Tuesday nightJ The seats were all filled and the aud ience at the Reed; was fashion able and thoroughly Appreciative, as evidenced by the repeated en cores. Saratoga will be produced at Independence by : the Salem amateurs' shortly." - Statesman, Dec. II. 1812. V . S T