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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1995)
The INDEPENDENT, January 25,1995 Fundraiser will aid library refurbishing Hot dogs, soda pop and homemade pies will be sold S aturday, Jan. 28 from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. in front of Ver nonia Sentry M arket, as a special fund raiser sponsored by Vernonia Pride to refurbish the city library. Plans call for replacing the ceiling tiles, painting walls and shelves, laying new car pet and installing new window coverings. Jamie Stacklie received special recognition from Vernonia Pride for her efforts in the Vernonia Cares food drive. Butterfly Renaissance ADULT FOSTER CARE 185 C Street, Vernonia • 429-5220 SUNDAYS Single or Multiple Games ALL CASH PRIZES! Lew's Place Banquet Room 934 Bridge Street • 429-3751 Benefits Community Center Fund & Vernonia Senior Citizens Center Vernonia Pride is working in conjunction with the Ver nonia Library Board of Direc tors. They are hoping that the e n tire jo b can be a c c o m plished with volunteer labor. Cash d o n a tio n s w ould be gladly accepted, as well. V e rn on ia S entry, Franz Bakery and Pepsi B ottling Co. have all made donations fo r the fund raiser. H om e made pies are being donated by many local bakers. Help is also needed to sew colorful banners that will hang from the antique lampposts in Vernonia’s downtown core. Anyone who can help with th e fu n d ra is e r o r w ith the work projects is asked to call e ith e r S h irlee D aughtry at 429-9002, or Genny Fisher at 429-1204. Sweetheart Ball HEATING OIL ANTI-FREEZE DELO 15-40 OIL Prepare your Home, Vehicle or Machinery for Winter, with dependable Chevron products. A Sweetheart Ball, semi- formal dinner-dance, will be held Saturday, Feb. 11, at The Cindernook in Vernonia as a fund raiser for the Com munity Center Project. Cindernook operator Linda Hartman will close the doors for this private, catered party. Attendees will enjoy a prime rib dinner and dancing to 40s and 50s music. Tickets will be $20 per per son in advance, or $25 per person at the door. Several organizations in town will be selling tickets, including the Lions and the C ham ber of Commerce. They will also be available at City Hall for those who want to pick them up. Retreat scheduled for Christian men Chevron Delo Multigrade Call Jack (503) 429-6606 WILCOX & FLEGEL 720 Rose Avenue • Vernonia A retreat for Christian men in Columbia County is sched uled fo r Feb. 3-4 at Camp Emerald Forest, near St. He lens. Time for arrival will be between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. Feb. 3; departure time will be 4:00 p.m. Feb. 4. The cost is $30.00. T h is y e a r’s them e is “Brotherly Love” . Two guest speakers w ill be featured: Ron Hall, from the Portland Rescue M ission, and Dick Elkins, who adm inisters to M oslem s in th e P o rtla n d area. This is the second annual county-wide Christian men’s retreat. Reservations are required. Call any of the following, as soon as possible, to make rese rva tio n s: Ron Ross at 3 9 7-5 16 5. Pag* 7 ____ <L. \ ___ ♦ ♦ • By Charles D. Comstock Former Vernonia resident While walking down Bridge Street recently, that iron stan chion by the sidewalk next to the Chevrolet garage (now Meyer s Auto Body) reminded me of fond experiences quite some years ago. ,’m sure it has been bent a few more times by the attack of car bumpers, but it still is recognizable as the two prong rack for the air and water hoses at the former gasoline station there some sixty or so years ago. In the mid 1930s, when a quart of milk, a loaf of bread or a gallon of gasoline all cost less than a dime, we lived just across the street at the Vernonia Hotel and that steel fixture was a familiar landmark as I rode my tricycle up and down the sidewalk. Seeing this double arm piece of steel reminded me that our town had several “two’s” in its history — that is during those years I was growing up in Vernonia. Some of these memories come to mind now. There were two grade schools in town, the new Washington School where I attended grades one through six and the older Lincoln School, at the other end of Bridge Street and up the hill. There were two principal churches, the Evangelical Church where Reverend Scharmann served in the pulpit for many years and, a couple of blocks away, the Christian Church led by the Reverend and Mrs. Livingstone. Some real competition for congregation support existed in the community during those years of the Great Depression. Caring for the medical needs of the town, there were two doctors, who were very independent of one another though their offices were next door to one another. Dr. R I. Hall was a mature gentleman, the classic small town practitioner as often portrayed in older movies, whose bedside manner was as con servative as his constant attire in a three piece, dark suit with a plain bow tie. By comparison, Dr. William Ebie was young, tall and athletic in stature. He was the official doctor for the sawmill when it reopened and also had the reputation of being a good baby doctor. Unfortunately, Doc Ebie had a weakness for the bottle and his reliability in times of medical need was often uncertain. In a small town like Vernonia, both doctors were constantly in the spotlight of social conversation. Moving through the business section of town, there were two drugstores. Arm atage Drugs had been there forever, owned and operated by a local resident. Down the street close to the Joy Theater and the Cozy Inn restaurant was Nance’s Pharmacy. When this became the Rexall Drugstore, the com petition of a brand name had come to town. And if memory of those times is correct, there were two barber shops in Vernon ia during the latter years of the depression. Ben Brickie, there next to Thomas’ Five and Dime, charged fifty cents for a hair cut, any age. Across the street and down toward Abe Lincoln’s liquor store, the other barber shop had flexible prices, usually twenty-five cents for kids and thirty-five cents for older fellas. Ben seemed to have more customers; maybe it was the bath house he ran back of the shop or the portrait of President Franklin Roosevelt prominently displayed in his shop. (This picture was still there on the wall by the well-worn barber chair in the mid 1970s when I stopped by for a chat about old times with Ben). Not everything came in “two’s” in our town. There was just one bakery — great cinnamon rolls — one jeweler, one public drinking fountain that flowed constantly (on the corner in front of Miller’s Mercantile), one movie theater, one feed and grain store, one fire truck, one letter carrier to deliver the mail and one hardware store. Alas, there were several beer taverns and pool halls, but these are all subject material for other stories. Ed. note: Mr. Comstock lives in Woodland Hills, Calif, and is retired. S ta c k lie -V o g t vows observed Bob and Pat S ta cklie of Vernonia have announced the marriage of their daugh ter, J u lie A nn, to K enneth William Vogt of Portland. The newlyweds were married in a Jan. 14 cerem ony in New port. The new bride is a 1984 graduate of Vernonia High School. Both the bride and groom are graduates of the University of Oregon. The groom, a loan officer for U.S. Bank, is the son of John and K a th y Vogt of Springfield. The couple is residing in Portland. Samantha N. Wallace Sam antha Noel W allace was bom Jan. 6, 1995, at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland, to Kim and Don Wallace. She weighed 7-1/2 pounds and was 20.5 inches long. Samantha will join her sis ter, N atalie, at the fa m ily ’s Vernonia home. Grandparents are Don and C arol W allace of P hoenix, O re., and Don and G e rry Boren of Central Point. Helen Anderson of M ed fo rd is th e b a b y ’s g re a t grandmother. •n
