Serving the Xorth Santiam
Valley
The North Santiam’s
Mill City. Cates, Mongold,
Detroit and Idanha
Mill City Enterprise
VOLUME IV, NUMBER 13
S2.M A YEAR. S CENTS A CBPY
MILL CITY. OREGON. THURSDAY. .MARCH SI. 1949
Looking Up House Votes $11 Million $250,000 Housing
and Down For Detroit Dam, 1950
the Canyon
Project to Start
By CHARLES WOLVERTON
Salute to Bob Veness!
Last week The Enterprise saluted
the town and its organizations for
the alert and wise way they have met
t'.ie problèmes ami the opportunities
that have come with the great De-
roit Dam project now under way on
the North Santiam Canyon.
But this week we ought to get
down to cases, to people, to a partic
ular person, in the distribution of
praise, the ungiudgingly offered ap
plause of the entire community.
That man is Bob Veness.
From many who have themselves
been active and hard at work in be
half of the community these words
have come:
“If Mill City gets the CBI housing
project, the credit for it belongs to
"Bob Veness.” We concur with that,
and could add a lot moie to the ac-
compl shments of this tireless work
er for the city and for the Canyon.
A newly activated Chamber of Com
merce owes much to Bob’s enthusi-
astic labors. A garden club recently
was foi med. Bob helped initiate it.
The list of his works does not end
there, by a good deal. It all adds up
however to days upon days spent
exclusively for the community—good
deal more than a 4> hour week for
the past couple months or more, con
tributed willingly and without stint
—and to the neglect of his own bus-
iness.
Sometimes a man who gives a $10
bill to eveiy drive that comes along
feels he’s doing his part flor his home
town. And cash does mean a lot. But
there are too few of us who will
give our time, day and night, to the
■rv: -e of our ew.rwn’ty.* 'I nat is
the larger contribution.
I don't think the town knew, I
don’t think Bob knew, h ■ had so much
to contribute to use here. Like the
stranger said to the gal on Whistle
Corner:
“Wher ehave you been all our
lives’”
The Detroit Dam fared better than
ordinarily this week in the House of
Representative*, which voted to ap
propriate $11.000,000 for its construe-
tion in the fiscal year ending June 30,
1950.
Word of the artion was sent to the
Salem Chamber of Commerce by Rep
Walter Norblad.
The appropriation Ts subject to a
15 per cent reduction if lower build
ing costs warrant.
The Army Engineers requested
$11,300,000. No word was leceived
on the nirtrnm. of a request for a
$2,000,000 deficiency appropriation in
Unionization
Discussed for
High School
Action on unionization of the high
schools of Gates and Mill City, with
several non-h;gh districts included,
this week awaited meetings of the
two boards to decide further ste’is.
An enthusiastic meeting was held by
taxpayers of several districts at the
Gates school last Thursday night.
About 50 attended the meeting call
ed by the Gates school board. They
heard Mrs. Agnes Booth, Marion
County school superintendent, and
Don Emmerson of the State Depart
ment of Education, present argu
ments ftsr ufiionizotion. Both officials
asserted that better school standards
and wider curricula were possible in
schools with a wider tax base.
At present there are between 20
and 25 students in Gates High and
about 80 in Mill City.
Next steps toward unionization, if
they are taken, are elections in the
separate districts and petitions.
The meeting heard the issue dis
cussed, but was not an official school
session and could take no action,
be seen at Silver Saddle station, Mill
4
City. $1800.
Bi ought out at the meeting was
the fact theat Bob Van Eaton of this
community had walked over the hill
above Gates the last two years to
attend high school, bad weather fi
nally ending his daily 10-mile trek
this winter.
1 aould name a half a dozen in
stances of people in ho've put out-
landish prices on their land losing
out here ttfflh those who are coming
in to start new businesses and other
developments Tn variably, there are
other people, with the better inter
ests of the town at heart, who are
willing to offer ground at prices that
are acceptable—the result being that
everyone, including the landowner, THEY LIKE OUR STORES
being better off thereby.
Twould appear that Mill City bus
Towns have developed into cities
by actually giving industries sites to inesses are so popular with custom
establish upon. And it pays off for ers that they can’t even wait to get
everybody. A good payroll is worth out of their cars
Tuesday, several U. S. Employ
more than any initial high price on
ment officials, of Salem, were attemp
a plot of unused land.
ting to park in front of the Mill City
• • •
Looking about the town and seeing Pharmacy, and their car got out of
what could be done, what needs to be control and ran into the store. The
window pane
done to beautify it, I »*r reminded door, supports, and a
were
broken.
of an old German woman in my home
The same day Mrs. Wendell Gil-
town in Kansas. She bad rooms foi
bert
of Salem ian into the storeroom
rent, nice ones, too, but her hor un
of
the
Mill City Funmiture Co. when
fortunately was located near the
creamery, which manufactured but she release.! the brake of her car as
termilk powder. That process c:rates she was backing it out. No damage
•
a powerful smell, one which makes was don*.
Pittsburgh, Pa., seem like a fresh
air resort.
The gentleman looked at the room,
liked it and was about to rent it when
Funeral services for Mrs. Marietta
he opened a window. The o<ior of
Navarra Smith, 82. who died Thurs
the buttermilk powder plant almost
day at the home of a on. Charles E
knocked him down.
Smith, of Gortes, were held in the
“Madam,' he said, “I like the room
chapel of the Weddle Funeral Home
very much, but I'm afraid I couldn't
i n Stayton Sunday afternoon, the
stand that smell.”
Rev. Willard Buckner, Staytim. ofli-
“Ach.” she exclaimed. “It var no- I elating. Burial was in Fairview Ce
tingkl After awhile, Mister, you If«“*
metery, Gate«.
«o you sorts like dot shtink ’’
Mrs. Smith was bom in Toledo. O.,
It’» the same with much of our
i May 23, 1866 where *e marr ed Wil
town. We’ve become accustomed to
liam Jack Smith in 1896. They came
seeing unsightly spectacles. We don’t
to Gates in 1901 and since 1938 ahe
even notice them any more.
mS'Ce her home in Mill City.
It’s up to the new garden dub to
She was a member of Rebekah
point them out to us.
lodge for 42 years and a past noble
• • •
grand of Santiam Lodge No. 166
This is no BULLetin: Y’our editor’s
of
Mill City.
new crop of hair, which started re
Surviving are five »one. Robert J..
cently beca-.se of a secret formula
Salem; William J.. SHtherlin; Charles
on a head that looked like • weil-1 g- E., Gates; Raymond J.. North Bend;
a
ged-off mountaintop, is still in
and George French. Toledo. Another
thriving condition and continue* to
son. Amoa French, died during the
amaze even the most skeptical.
first world war. And two daughters.
EdUth McCann. Burlington. CaU
Mr».___
GRAVEL FIRM REGISTERED
and Mrs. Alice Hoeye. Mill Cityt a
The Colgan Construction Co., of
brother. Ru-' -lph Navarre, of Toledo,
Mill City was registered under that
and a sister in the east
name this wwek in the eourthouaa
Mrs. Smith Dies
the current year.
In Salem Friday, Col. 0. E. Walsh,
district Army engineer, Portland,
told an audience of Salem busine«-
men that the engineers were plan
ning to divide the reservoir clearing
job in smaller parcels to enable local
logging concerns to share in U»e job.
He also told many details of the
plans for the dam. Al Bauer, gener
al manager of Consolidated Builders,
Inc., contractors on the dam, also at
tended the meeting.
Robert Veness, secretary, repre
sented' the Mill City Chamber of
Commerce at the meeting? at which
Gov. Douglas McKay and other state
officials were present.
The $11,000.000 fund also includes
the initiation of work on Big Cliff
Dam three miles below the big pro
ject.
I
■ŒI !
Enterprise Will
Get New Office
In A Month
BONNEVILLE GETS FUND OK
The Bonneville Power Administra
tion’s full request for $6,917,000 for
the Goldendale-Detroit-Goshen (Eu
gene) transmission line was approved
this week by the House Appropria
tions Committee in Waihington, it:
was announced today by W. E. Troffi-
merhausen, district manager, in Eu-'
gene.
“All transmission lines, substations
and power facilities requested by the
administration were approved,” he
said.
The favorable action virtually as-
sures work according to schedule on
lines and other facilities being built
to serve the Detroit dam. Last year j
BA suffered a drastic cwt in its re-
qest.
Although all projects were approv
ed as requested in the President's
budget message, the House commit
tee «commended a 15 per cent cut
if construction costs sow a decline.
In recording all the developments
around the Canyon. The Enterprise,
two week« running, has failed to re
cord that the Enterprise is soon to
move into a new building.
(If sonne folks complain theii sto
ries don’t get into the paper, our
defense henceforth will be that we
sometimes ilon’t even get in our own
stories.)
Frank Blazek is building a two-
story structure on a higway corner
above the downtown section, cnstruc-
tion under way with Roy Beebe in
charge. The second ftoor'will house
two apartments.
The Enterprise, a soil of orphan
among the boson esses around town,
will soon emerge from the cobwebs
into what, i n contrast, i s nothing
short of a castle.
Stiffler’s radio store will use the
vacated ¡«pace for expansion.
The move will be made within a
month.
“
•
i
.........
Blast Rips
GARDEN ( LI B MEETS
The Milt City Garden Club was to
meet Thursday evening at the home
of Mrs. Albert Toman to bear a re
port by Mrs. Kerr, who has been In
touch with the State Highway De
partment in regard to beautify ng the
north bank of tha highway on the
Marion County *»de, above the buai-
neas section.
A suggestion
the tn angle at
bridge be planted with shrub« and
flowers.
Cleaning of
On Clearing
Land Titles
TAVERN NAME CHANGED
A major housing development of
at least 25 homes costing between
$21X1.000 ami $250,000 will piobably
be under way by next week here on
a tract in the vicinity of the Canyon
Park.
Virtually all transactions transfer
ring about seven or eight acres from
several owners to the Consolidated
Builders, Inc., Detroit Dam contrac
tors, were completed early this week.
A last minute hitch in the plans
was encounteied when it was found
that Linn County owned a small par
cel that was thought to be included
in another tract. However, this frac
tion af an acre was bought from thff
county.
Inasmuch as all the property in
volved had been given guaranteed ti
tles in previous transactions, further
legal details are felt to be easily ex
pedited.
—•
The 25 homes will house key per
sonnel, and their familyoes, of CBI.
Property for the housing develop
ment was purchased from th Lions
Club, Robert Swift, l<eunard He man
and Mrs. Ogden, with the additional
county-owned land.
The price pai for the Lions Club
tract waa $2400. The entire piece was
bought for about $6000.
Streamlined Construction Planned.
Joe McNeely ,CBI housing expert,
»aid that the homes would be built
with assembly line methods. A cen-
tial sawing ai.d assembly shop will
be set up. Here all timbers and lum
ber will be deliverer!, and then taken
to each home site pre-cut and ready
for the carpenters. Union labor will
be used.
Tentative landscaping calls for h
sweeping, cuived street entering In
to the site from two points on the
north. A side street connecting the
arc also has be, n considered. How,
ever, exact platting has not yet been
undertaken.
Officials of the company were hop
ing to break ground by Apill 4.
CBI liked the site because it was
convenient to the school and its lo
cal offices.
The company is considering some
additional temporary housing for la
ter on.
The name of the Idanha Tavern,
which wae purchased recently from
Bud Gesher by Marion Aiderman of
Myrtle Creek, has been changed to
the Spillway Tavern by its new own
PLY .MILL BREAKS DOWN
er.
The Idanha Veneer Co. was shut
Mr. Aiderman'» family will move
to Idanha as soon as housing is av down for several hours last week as
the result of a broken drivedhaft on
ailable.
one of the large motors.
It’s Old Home Week as Gang
Of Oregonship Starts on Dam
CARS COLLIDE
A car driven by Even Evenaon, Id
anha, collided Saturday witn another
automobile while he wa* en route
to Redmond, damaging both can bad
ly. No one was injured.
The arevdent was blamed ou wind
and snow. The Evenaon car lost two
fenders and a headlight. His son, Ed
die, was with him.
Subcontract
A modernization plan for Detroit
and Idanha was discussed Tuesday in
a joint meeting of the Canyon Com
mercial Club and the Women’s Civic
Club at the high school in Detroit.
Street lighting, sidewalks, i a water
system, sewage disposal and law en-
forcement weie discussed.
Denver Young, Marion County
sheriff, talked about his plan to
additional deputies assigned to tne
upper Canyon communities.
Sam Palmerton, Detroit - Idanha
fire chief, called upon Detroit men to
respond to drill calls.
Ed Sischo, Elkhorn
Pioneer, Dies
Sheriff Denver Young of Marion
County snl<: la»; week he wo rld re
quest the couu.y court Vr fun..» to
h rt another deputy for th* upper
Canyon area.
He added “at a survey recently
rr.-de show* I liiat at lo»»t five more
men would be nteded h> next year.
Col. Jack Miles, resident Army
en « neer, to1 i M.- Young that 1500
rren, tn peak - npluyment, would be
st work on the dam, about a00 in
; leai ing operations and another 500
or Big Cliff dam. With aux’lary em-
p'oyment a total of about 100" «ould
te at work in the area, he sail.
The «he.iff assigned Larry Wright
as deputy last summer after numer
ous petitions from Idanha and De
troit were presented to the county
court. Before then an occasional state
cop got up that way when the aroma
of venison ipoasibly illegal) «afte«',
down tho Canyon.
Waits Find
Detroit and Idanha
Plan to Dress Up
35 Unhurt
A steam explosion heard for many
miles in the upper Canyon area de-
i
molished the Idanha Lumber Co. boi-
lerhouse and mill Monday, but 35
workers escaped without injury.
It was the mill’s first day of oper
I
ation after a shutdown of three
months. Huber Ray, manager, esti
mated damage at $20,006 and said it
will take 30 days to get the mill back
in operating condition.
The blast was believd caused by
the failure of a governor on the en
gine which runs the power plant to
function. A large flywheel picked up
so much speed it literally flew apart,
and pieces of it penetrated a six-inch
steampipe ner by.
Mr. Ray said the trouble probobly
Ed (Dad)) Sischo, one of Elkhorn’s
oldest rrridents. died Wersaay last developed as a result of machinery
deteriating during the long shutdown.
week in Salem' at the age of 81.
Ed Hansen, fireman on duty in the
Mr. an Mrs. Sischo and son R.y
moved to Oregon from Wisconsin boiler room, somehow escaped injury.
nearly 50 years ago. At first they set Heat became so intense a firs started
tled in Salem, but in 1913 they moved in acetyl ne gas tanks, but it was
quickly extinguished by the Canyon
to Elkhorn.
Ilod Sischo came to the Elkhorn Fire Patrol whnh had mdhed to the
countty by team and wagon over the scene.
Eveiythang in the boiler room was
Gates hill, which then was the only
destroyed, including generators. The
• routr.
For many years he drove a freight metal roof was stripped off the build
wsgon oxer the route to the mmts ing which housed both main boiler
room and mill.
above.
Early the san e morning a email
He is survived by a son, Ray. of
Elkhorn, and a grandson. Terry Ray. boiler in th* dry kilns, located south
of the main building, blew up cau»-
ing some damage. Fireman Carl
I Schaffer had ju»t left the bo.ler room.
Need Deputies,
Says Sheriff
Byers Wins
The R. W Byers Construction Co.
was awaided the subcontract last
week on clearing about 140 acres of
rough terrain in and near the dam
site of the Detroit Dam.
Consolidated Builders, Inc., main
contractor on the big project in the
Noith Santiam Canyon, annouiiced
Ch award to the Byers firm, which
has been engaged for the past six
months in this area clearing 21 miles
of right of way for a power line be
tween Lyons and the damsite.
Bidding for the subcontract was
spirited. A local concern, formed of
several logging outfits a month ago,
placed a bid, but it was far out of
line. The company ended up with on
ly three outfits of an original six.
The clearing apecifications call for
grubbing in parts of the area: the
damsite, the pirwer house site, part
of an access ioad on the Marion side
and about 11 acres at the Cuniley
Creek quarry ske, most of which is
above the top crest of the dam.
The subcontract calls for comple
tion of some tracts ae soon as 30
days, thers 70 and 110 days.
Work will begin next week.
; Idanha Mill;
MONTAG AWARDED CONTRACT
A contract to build the Detroit-
Lyons 230 kv transmission line was
awarded last week ta C. J. Montag
& Son, Portland.
The concern, which has been a sub-
contractor on the North Santiam
highway, bid $694,654 on the 21.4
mile project, part of the McNary-
Detroit-Goshen line which will sup-
ply power for building the Detroit
Dam and later will transmit power
produced art that source to the Bon
neville grid.
4
I
It’s been old home week in Mill
city for a fabulous group of men—
the ones who built Bonneville a n n
other big dame and then, without
previous experience, became the top
ship builders of the world.
For the clan that built Boulder,
Bonneville and Grand Coulee is back
building dams again, right here in
the North Santiam Canyon. It’s head
ed by Russell Hoffman who was with
the Herny Kaiser organization at all
three dams and came to Portland to
build ships In 1941
TTiat is a Aory all by itself. How
an alert group of men, who didn't
the portside from the po<»p<ieck man-
aged to set a Wrld’s record of 400
Liberty and Vickery ships in two or
three yeans.
Another story is that <rf Willow
Rbn. a huge war plant which Ka.ser-
Frazer converted into an automobile
factory—with the same gang of ex
Sam builder».
Among the other Kaiser personnel
who have r*gx»rt*i at the Mill City
office are Roy Kendler. ex paymaster
at Oregonehip, later at Willow Run;
I
Ken Nielson, purchasing agent at
Swan Island, later Willow Run; Ray
Walker, warehouseman at Oregon-
ship, later Willow Run; Ray Steiner,
Unionmelt superintendent at Oregon-
ship; Osay Mikkelaon, master mech
anic at Oregonehip, later at K-F;
Vince Palmer, a superintendent at
Oregotiship and recently assistant to
Al Bauer, general manager of CBI-
Swan Island; Jack Lacey, cost en
gineer at Oregnnship; Bert Provost,
assorts nt superintendent at Oregon-
«hip, later chassis asserrtbly boos at
KF and now a concrete man on the
Detroit
dam;
George
"Scotty”
Wright, erection superintendent at
Oregonehip, later at K F; Ernie Bau
er, BMistant office manager at Van
couver yard, since at Swan Island;
Eldon lent«, an administrative offi
cial at CBI.
Along with these are dozens of
others, like Big Fred Snyder, now a
Salem contractor, have renewed old
frierwinhipH with the men with whom
he worked at Bonneville this week,
and Russ Kelly. Mill Ci(r lumber
man, who worked with the aameclan.