“Vernonia, Gateway to Nehalem Valley Lumbering,
Berry Growing $746 COLLECTED Grade School Safety Meet
FOR RED CROSS Board Offers
Is Event for
In Valley Is
New Contracts Next Tuesday
Monday Topic
Milton Johnson, Geo.
A. Nelsen To Speak
On Coming Program
The possibilities for raising
berries in the Upper Nehalem
valley and the kinds and fertility
of the soil to be found here will
be the topics of talks to be
heard Monday evening at a Ver
nonia Booster club meeting to
whizh farmers of the valley are
being invited. The program will
be preceded by a dinner at 7
p.m. at the I.O.O.F. hall.
Talking that evening will be
Milton Johnson, assistant super
intendent of Hudson-Duncan com
pany, who will discuss the grow
ing of berries, and County Agri
cultural Agent George A. Nelson
who has been asked to tell about
the soil of the valley. Both men
a e well qjalifed to present au
thentic information that will
prove valuable to residents cf
this area.
It is likely that Mr. Johnson
will also discuss the new cannery
and packing plant that his firm
is constructing at Forest Grove.
The Monday evening dinner is
being prepared and will be served
by Mt. Heart Rebekah club who
are planning on one of the larg
est crowds ever to attend a
Booster club meeting.
Anniversary Announced
Pete Brunsman is annruncing
an event this week for the cele
bration of his first year in busi
ness in Vernonia.
Because of
the event Mr. Brunsman tells of
a special offering to his cus
tomers elsewhere in this issue
of The Eagle.
Fluorescents Installed
Flourescent lighting fixtures
wer? installed Monday in the
Hoffman
Hardware
company
store to make another improve
ment in that place of business
The fixtures are of the four-
tube diffused type and six of
them were installed.
Red Cross funds sent to Ben
Coleman, Colutnbia county Red
Cross chairman, this week
amounted to $746.83, Mrs Harry
Culbertson, local chairman, said
Wednesday. Members of the Re-
bekah lodge turned in $10 66 so
licited at Girod’s Food store
while the Pythian Sisters solicit
ed $32.25 at the post office. So
licitations from the business dis
trict by Mrs. Lyman Hawken and
Mrs.
E.
Greenwood
totaled
$233.50.
IWA Local 5-37 has turned in
$455.47 to the Red Cross as the
amount received last fall during
the war chest drive. Two-thirds
of the amount collected at that
time was given to the war chest
while one-third was retained here
until the time of this drive.
Other organizations donating are
the Pythian Sisters, $5.00; and
the V.F.W. auxiliary, $10.00.
The total amount collected so
far is $1028.42.
City vs. Summers
To Be Heard Fri.
The f'nal case this week for
the circuit court at St. Helens
will be the City of Vernonia vs.
Robert Simmer;, an appeal frm
the Recorder’s court here. The
ca;s was first beard last sum
mer here when the defendant w;as
arrested on a charge of driving
while intoxicated.
Glen R. Metzker is the attor
ney for Summers and R. M. Bur
ley will represent the city.
Under terms of an order
signed by Circuit Judge Howard
K. Zimmerman, Everett L. Mer
ritt was summoned to appear in
the circuit court Monday of this
week to show cause why he
should not be arrested far con
tempt of court for failure to com
ply with another court order of
Nov. 20. That order instructed
Merritt to maintain a deposit of
not less than $300 with the state
industrial accident commission
and was issued after that body
had filed an action against Mer
ritt
Schroeder Points Out
Danger of Fern Burning
Ed Schroeder, district warden
of the state denartment of for
estry, points out the danger and
lo-s that results from the burn
ing of ferns at this season of
the year in an article prepared a
few days ago. Mr. Schroeder's
article which follows is especi
ally timely now with the possible
decrease in winter rains.
The time of the year is now
here, when with a few days of
clear weather accompanied with
•wind, we can have our so calleJ
fcin fires.
During this period
the dead herbaoous material
from the past year or years will
dry out sufficiently with a few
days of sunshine so that a ground
fire will spread over a large area
in a short time.
Fern fires in some cases are
justified from the farmer or
grazers point of view but are one
of the most destructive types of
fire known to the forester. The
problem in this district is that
there are no marked or ruturai
hound-.>ies jrveen agricul • a!
end timber la ids because of tbe’r
intermingled condition. This con
sequently results in a condition
where fern fires that start on
farm land spread into adjacent
logged off timber land if rot
properly controlled.
The state department of for
estry is not concerned with the
fire while it is on farm or graz
ing lends this time of the year,
as long as it is confined to tho
ownership upon which it is stag
ed, but the i ¿joining timber land
which in many cases is held by
some absentee owner must be
protected. The policy is not to
interfere with the use of the in
axion.
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1946
VERNONIA, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 12
dividual’s property but *o use
every precaution to p.otc*. the
rdjoii.ing owner who may not
wish to have' his land burned
over.
There are many arguments
on the prose and cons of fern
burning and this article does not
intend to argue for or against
with the exception of the practice
on timber lands. On timber land
a fern fire is cne of the most
severe accidents or practices that
can happen. Some of the rea
sons why the forester eyes this
type of fire with such a critical
eye are as follows:
1.
The fern fire, while it
may be of low heat intensity,
will kill all of the small seed
lings which it contacts. • In most
instances these small trees can
not be observed as they are cov
ered by dead ferns and other
small plants or shrubs.
2. The fern fire damages the
larger second growth and ma
ture trees by scarring the trunks
so that openings are made for de
caying agencies.
3. Repeated fern fires remove
the duff or the vegetative layer
on top of the mineral «oil which
tends to control the moisture and
general reproductive condition of
the site.
4. The fern fire tends to kill
or retard the growth of small
thin barked and hardwood spe
cies which furnish shade so nec
essary to the small coniferous
species during the summer
months.
5.
Some people think that
fern burning reduces the hazard
on the area, but as a rule this
(Continued on page 8)
March 23-29 Set
As Holiday Time
For Teachers
All teachers on the School Dis-
tri:t 47 payroll were offered con
tracts for the coming year at the
last meeting of the board of di
rectors for that district.
This
procedure, however, carries the
stipulation that acceptance cf the
contracts depends on whether the
leathers wish to sign for another
year and in some cases if the
teachers can meet the state re
quirements for certification.
Offering cf contracts for the
coming year is an annual pro
cedure of the beard.
In rder to maintain a sehed-
lie of wages in keeping with
other schools in the county, the
hoard also granted a raise in .-al
ary which will amount to 10 per
cent.
The board also set aside the
last two days of the c-ming
school week, March 28 and 29,
as holidays so that the instructors
may at'end the Oregon State
Teachers a« ociation meeting in
Portland.
The two dates will
also be a sp.ing holiday for stu
dents-
COUNTY NEWS
BASEBALL CLUB
IS ORGANIZED
CLATSKANIE—At a meeting
last Wednesday at the Clatskan'e
I.O.O.F. hall Don Pillar was
chosen manager of the Clatska
nie ball club.
A league is being formed and
in the near future the list of
teams and the playing schedule
should be ready for publication.
It is understood that the season
will open some time in April.
SURVEY SHOWS
BUILDING DECREASE
ST. HELENS — St. Helens
was <he sole community in the
state to show a decrease in
building for 1945 as contrasted
with 1944, the annual building
survey by the Equitable Savings
and Loan association in Port
land shows.
Total dollar volume in build
ing for 1944 n the city was
$94,100, while in 1945 the
amount cf building here amount
ed to but $38,800 which was
second lowest in the past seven
years.
Low mark was set in
1943, when $19,695 worth of
construction was done.
RING COMMISSION
NAMED BY COUNCIL
RAINIER—Scheduling of a
boxing meet at the American
Legion hall Saturday, March 16,
led to appointment of a new of
ficial city group—a Rainier box
ing commission, which is provid
ed in the local municipality’s
code of ordinances?
Five men were named by the
city council at its March meet
ing to comprise the commission.
city SCHOOL
TEACHERS REHIRED
ST. HELENS — With salary
raises ranging from $100 to $200
per year, contracts were offered
to all teachers in the four St.
Helens public schools by the dis
trict No. 2 board at its March
meeting last Wednesday night.
Printing out that the average
elementary school salary here—
$1851—was considerably under
the state average—$2233—for
first class districts, and that
the high school averafU1 of $2553
was likewise lower than the
state normal of $2495, Wallace
McCrae, city school head, rec
ommended that salary increase«
be given.
Speakers To Talk
Accident Prevention;
Color Films Planned
A community safety meeting
sponsored by the joint union
management safety committee of
Oregon-American Lumber corpor
ation« will be held in the Wash
ington grade school auditorium at
8:00 p.m., on Tuesday, March
26, 1946
The general public, as well as
all employes cf all logging camps
and sawmills in the vicinity, is in
vited to th s meeting. There will
be no charge for admission.
Talks will be made by Dr.
Chambers of Oregon State col
lege, a well-known authority on
the importance of mental atti
tudes in accident prevention, and
by Robert M. Evenden, director
accident prevention divisi n of
the State Industrial Accident
cemm’ssion. Dr. Chambers is an
intensely interesting speaker
v.-hefm every person interested in
accident prevention should hear.
In addition to the talks, there
will be one or mere films in
color illustrât ng safe and unsafe
methods cf work in logging and
lumbering.
The residents of this com
munity who a e interested ,n
safety—and all rendon s art—
will find this twe-hour pr gram
of talks and pictures interesting
and informative.
R. C. Auction
Natal Event
Natal Grange No. 302 wll
hold its annual get-together and
auction for the benefit of the
Red Cross cn this coming Sun
day, March 24, Grange officals
announced this week. Luncheon
will be served and will be fol
lowed by the auction.
Everyone is invited to attend
and bring produce or other items
suitable for the auction.
All
proceeds will go to the Red Cross.
Justice Named
Shell Manger
A change in the management
of the Shell Oil distributing plant
here became effective Monday cf
this week when Ray Justice as
sumed that capacity, replacing
Lloyd Wagner who has been man
ager for several years.
Mr. Justice began work for the
plant before entering the service
in which he served in the army
air corps. He returned to work
with the company after his dis
charge.
Mr. Wagner will go from here
to Scappoose where he will open
a Shell service station. He was
manager here for four and one-
half years.
Game Group
Plans Speaker
The Nehalem Valley Rod and
Gun club, which met last Friday
evening, discussed the sports fish
ing situation in this area and
came to a decision to attempt an
improvement in fishing for the
valley.
As a start in the direction of
removing fishing nets from the
mouths of coastal streams, a
speaker for the evening of April
5 has been engaged to explain
the procedure necessary.
An
nouncement of the ccming speech
was made by Vice President W.
G. Heath, who heads the club
since the resignation of Jewett
A. Bush.
Time and place of the future
meeting will be announced later.
TIMBERLINE
JUDGED 4TH
The Timberline, Vernonia high
school mimeographed bi-weekly
news publication, was awarded
fourth place in the 18th annual
high sc'ncol press contest at Eu
gene March 15. Papers of 72
high schools were entered. Pa
pers were judged on the basis of
the score sheet of th National
Scholastic Pre s association and
included a consideration of new
values, news sources, news writ
ing and editing, editorials and en
tertaining matter, headlines and
makeup.
The Hi-L:t? of Scappoose high
school won first in the bi-week
ly mimeographed division and was
awarded the Eric W. Allen cup.
Mrs. Doris Lacey is the ad
visor for the Vernonia high
school students working on the
publication.
County Boards
Asked to Meet
Every school board member
and clerk in Columbia esunty has
been invited by Otto H. H.
Petersen, county school super
intendent. to attend a meeting
at the Rainier high school March
27 at 7:30 p.m. Several topics
will be discussed that evening
Mr. Petersen menti ns. Includ
ed are:
Reoganication of the group
which has not been active since
the war and to elect officers;
To discuss the retirement fund
as pertaining to the 1946-47
ludget;
To discuss house bill 80, which
wiil be on the ballot next fall.
Jerry S. Sayler, Portland, ex
ecutive secretary, public em
ployes retirement system will at
tend to discuss the fund and E.
H. Condit will explain hcu e bill
80.
Material Big
Line Difficulty
The obtaining of material nec
essary for the work is present
ing the most difficult obstacle in
preparing for line construction
Frank D. Seelye, West Oregon
cooperative manager, said this
week.
Of the material required, wire,
insulators of all types and trans
formers cannot be obtained for
early delivery, most jobbers and
manufacturers quoting delivery in
from eight to 12 months. In or
der to start the work as soon as
possible, Mr. Seelye is new at
tempting to obtain these items
from government surplus.
Reichwein to Aid
With Field Work
Edmvnd Reichwein of Port
land began work here last Thurs
day with the West Oregon Elec
tric cooperative and will assist
Frank D. Seelye, cooperative
manager, with the field work of
the organization.
Mr. Reichwein has taken an
apartment in the Chat ’N Nibblo
cafe building and Mrs. Reichwein
will move here within a short
time. He is a former football
and baseball star of Oregon State
college.
Musical Event Slated
Mrs. Lulah Fullerton will be
in charge of a musical program
which is planned for Friday aft
ernoon of this week at 1 o’clock
at the Washington grade school.
Participating in the program will
be the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade
children and the kindergarten.
Injury Causes Death
Death resulted from an in-
ury last Thursday when Chris
Brooks, employe of the Columbia
Logging company, was struck by
a falling limb which fractured his
skull. Funeral services were held
Wednesday in Portland.
Councilmen
Hear Street
Lighting Plan
Engineers Present
Plan for Modern
Street Illumination
Members of the city council
and a large representation of
men owning businesses on Bridge
street heard two illumination en
gineers propose a m-cdern street
lighting plan and the costs Mon
day evening at the second March
meeting of the city officers. Pre
sentation of the lighting plan
was made at the request of
Frank D. Seelye, West Oregon
manager, in order that modern
lighting may be installed when
it is possible to rebuild the city
electrical distribution system.
The engineers presenting the
information were K. W. Moore,
representing Westinghou. e, and
Sam Lee cf Graybar. As sug
gested
Monday,
14
fixtures
would be needed to light Eridge
street from Grant avenue to the
highway corner at the Vernonia
Service station and allow for one
light in front of the city hall.
The lights would be cf the
mercury-vapor type giving double
the illumination that would be
received from an incandescent
light of the same wattage.. The
engineers suggested that the poles
l>e spaced from 80 to 130 feet;
apart and over one-half a foot
candle was needed for the light
tiaffic which was the basis used
for the street.
Cost cf the l’g'.its was placed
at $170 per fixture which does
not include laDor for installation.
As suggested Monday evening,
the city will pay part of the ex
pense, the business firms on
Bridge street a part and the
West Oregon Electric a part.
Mayor George Johnson suggest
ed that the business men meet to
determine the method cf laising
their part of the expen e and
appointed a committee of Cleva
Robertson, J. A. Bush, Jr., Ly
man Hawken and Marvin Kam-
holz to arrange the meeting, the
date for which has not yet been
set.
Chairman Clevc Rcbertson of
the
committee appointed
by
Mayor Johnson, a 1 s the busi
ness f’rrr.s be represented at a
meeting he has arranged for
Friday night at 8 p.m. to discu-s
finances for the lighting. The
meeting will be held at the city
hall.
New Car Agency
Announced Mon.
George W. Johnson announced
Monday of this week that he
has obtained dealership rights for
the
Kaiser-Frazer automobiles
which are being placed on the
market. Mr. Johnson will be the
agent for both of the Kaiser-
Frazer firm’s cars, the Kaiser and
the Frazer.
A demonstrator is expected
here for display May 1st. The
Kaiser features a front-wheel
drive and unit body-and-frame
torsionetic springing, while the
Frazer is said to be a full year
ahead of the field in styling and
engineering advances.
Along with the car dealership,
Mr. Johnson will also have the
agency for Roto-ette and Roto-
tiller, power gardening machines
for the use of home gardeners
and on small farms.
Martha Well» Places
Martha Wells, Vernonia high
school student, placed fourth in
the Willamette Speech confer
ence held last Friday and Sat
urday.
Eight high school stu
dents and their instructor, Mrs.
Betty Jean Sherman, attended
the conference Friday and Miss
Wells entered final competition
Saturday.