Page 16
The INDEPENDENT, October 19, 2011
Life & Times in Vernonia
From page 9
cards. She also enjoys garden-
ing and restarts her geraniums
each year. She loves watching
Dancing with the Stars on tele-
vision and stays informed on
city events. She likes to keep
her woodstove going to take
the chill off and stocks firewood
each summer to stay warm and
toasty all winter.
She remembers when life
was harder but much simpler,
and when working paid a fair
wage that a family could live on
in Vernonia. The businesses
are different, but the buildings
are much the same. Oldtimers
remember when education
meant going to school and the
teachers made all the differ-
ence, not the building. When
green was just a color and no
one would have thought not to
reuse old building materials, or
save tin foil, or pass clothes
down until they were worn out,
then used as rags. Lunchboxes
were metal, milk came in glass
jugs that were refilled, vegeta-
bles and fruit were grown in
gardens and canned, while
beef was raised in local pas-
tures.
Back in the day, no one
would have thought to charge
locals to visit a park or lake be-
cause they worked and paid
taxes for those privileges.
There were no disposable dia-
pers or plastic water bottles to
dispose of at the dump. They
didn’t need energy drinks, if
they got tired they went to bed.
There were no fast food joints
or produce from overseas to
cause Salmonella or E-coli poi-
soning. Cars were made in the
U.S. and the average person
could actually afford and repair
them. A bag of dog food didn’t
cost three times more than a
bag of grain and wasn’t made
in China.
Eleanor has survived torna-
does, hurricanes and the floods
of 1996 and 2007 has lived in
the same home on North Street
since 1952 with no apprehen-
sion at all. She remembers the
Great Depression, the plane
crash of Amelia Earhart during
her flight around the world, the
Lindbergh kidnapping and the
end of WWII.
She is concerned about the
destruction of homes in Ver-
nonia and that elevating them
looks ridiculous and makes un-
necessary hardships for the
seniors in the community. She
is determined that Vernonia
should build a dam to manage
the water and generate elec-
tricity and revenue for the city.
According to Eleanor, elabo-
rate, unaffordable buildings do
not make a city; it is the people
living in the community that
build a city’s character and
make it a hometown to be
proud of.
This is Eleanor’s life and her
opinions, inspired by nearly a
century of living and almost 72
years in Vernonia. Eleanor
Alice Thompson went from
horse and buggy, cooking on a
woodstove and heating water
Please see page 19
Just for Fun
Casey and Kyle by Will Robertson
It is neither
wealth nor
s p l e n d o r,
but
Solve this Sudoku
Solve this Halloween maze
tran-
quillity and
occupation,
which give
happiness.
THOMAS
JEFFERSON
3rd U.S.
President
Answer to October 5
Sudoku is on page 23
(1743-1826)