berries

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

Written by: Margie Chrisman Powell

“I was born in Kansas and when I was 2 1/2 years old my mom and dad moved our family (one sister, two brothers and me) to Jefferson, Oregon. We had lived on a small farm that my dad farmed. Jefferson was small then and everyone knew each other.

“I especially remember the bridge that was brand new and so clean that it sparkled. That was in 1934. Jefferson had an onion festival before mint was grown here.

“There was no Interstate 5 so all the traffic came through town. During World War II the troops would ride in their trucks and jeeps through town. We would stand on the sidewalk and wave to them.

“There was a movie theater where the Masonic Lodge is now. It cost 10 cents to get in. There were wooden floors and sometimes when the film came off the roll everyone would stomp on the floor until Mrs. Curl, the owner, would come down the aisle and tell us to stop.

“My mom always took me to pick strawberries and pole beans to buy my school clothes. She never just sent me, but came with me because she liked to pick beans too. When I started first grade in the fall of 1938, the brick building which is now the elementary school was brand new. We were the first class to go all 12 years there. Mr. Pat Beal came as our principal in 1940. We had a great band that played at lots of parades. Our motto was “Not the biggest, but the best.”

“I graduated in May of 1950 and married my sweetheart on June 1950 in the Jefferson Christian Church where we still attend. We have 3 grown children who all graduated from Jefferson High School. We also have 6 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter.

“I can’t imagine living any place but in Jefferson.”

HERITAGE JOURNALS: STORIES COLLECTED BY 6TH GRADE STUDENTS OF JAQUI EICHER, 2002

“Little Woodburn, Oregon was called ‘The Berry Capitol of the World’. Maybe it still is. I don’t know because when I drive through the town now, I don’t see many berry fields anymore.

“I was raised in Woodburn. In the 3rd grade I started walking with my Grandma to the Kahut strawberry field early in the morning, when the sun was just peeking up over the hills. We would pick all day long whether it was hot or whether it was cold, until sometimes 5 in the late afternoon. The fields all over town were loaded with moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas, big children and little children.

“From the end of May to the middle of September, we were picking away — strawberries, loganberries, marionberries, raspberries, blueberries, santiamberries, and of course blackberries. Berries, berries, berries!

“After the long, hot day sometimes my mom would buy me a nice cold ice cream cone. I remember driving to the Molalla or Pudding River and jumping in ver cold water and swimming as fast as I could to warm up. It felt so refreshing after a long hot day in the berry fields.

“Then we’d eat dinner and I’d go to bed about 6:30 – 7pm. I had to get up very early, around 4 am to pick again.

“Every day I would try to beat what I picked the day before. All my money I put into my savings account. When I had enough I would buy a $25, $50, or $100 savings bond. I was saving for college. My parents would buy my clothes and things I needed.

“When I went to high school, I got a job during the summer at Conroy’s Packing Company and guess what we packed? Berries, berries and more berries! I would work 8-12 hours picking out bad berries and stems on a conveyor belt, singing songs in my mind or whistling tunes out loud. I’d try to be the fastest although I was slow by nature. And guess what I would often dream about? You got it: berries! On days the cannery wasn’t working, I was out picking in the berry fields again. I liked picking.

“I was able to pay for three years of college with my savings bond. One year at Marylhurst and two years at University of Oregon before having to take out a school loan to pay for my last year at U of O. I paid that loan off in 9 months after I graduated. Guess how? You’re right!

“Because of Woodburn, Oregon being the berry capitol of the world!”