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

Written for: Danielle Johnson

“There used to be several small community schools in the Jefferson area that were attended by neighborhood children. Most were one or two room school houses with a bell tower. These were gradually closed down in the 1940s and ’50s, but were attended by several of your relatives.

“Not, however, by your great grandfather, Varion Goin, who attended school in Jefferson. He rode his pony to elementary school, stabling it nearby during the day. By the time he was in high school, cars were being seen in the area. Varion’s father Alfred, bought one of the first cars in the neighborhood, but he didn’t like to drive it. So by the time Varion was 15 years old, he was driving the car to school.

“Varion had some health problems that caused him to not attend for a couple of years during high school. He returned and graduated in 1925, I think, where he liked to say he was second in his class. There were only two of them, which was a small graduating class, even for the time.

“Varion’s first three children: Veva, Bonnie, and Vernon, went to elementary at the Looney Butte School which was converted to a house. You probably know which building it is.

“Your grandfather Ace attended a small school south of Salem. If I remember right, it was part of the Salem District, but he lived on the boundary and was able to choose. He went to high school in Jefferson. You’d better ask him to correct my mistakes.

“Jim McManus was raised in Talbot. Local children went to their first three grades (no kindergarten in those days) at Talbot School, a one room school located where the Talbot Fire Station is now. After three years they transferred to a Sydney school for grades 4 through 6. It was located where the Kuzma family now lives. After 6th grade, they rode the bus to Jefferson for the rest of their schooling. By 7th grade, of course, girls and boys were pretty interested in each other (ok, mostly the girls were interested), so the ‘new’ students from Talbot were highly anticipated. They would be known to Jefferson kids and known of by others. There was much checking out of the opposite sex, and of the competition.

“My siblings went to Jefferson Grade School, which is where I expected to go. But it turned out my class was too large for one room, too small for two, so they bused 13 of us to the Conner School every day. Conner took local Dever-Conner students in grades 1-3 but the year I was there, there were only one third grader and three or four second graders. Most of my Jefferson classmates spent a year at the Conner School in first, second or third grade. The school was closed after my third grade.”

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

Written by: Ace Johnson

“Back in the early 1960s when I went to Jefferson High School, it was common for boys to walk home from ball practice and hitch a ride with most anyone in the community to make the walk shorter.

“Art Brandt drove a manure truck. He hauled and delivered cow manure to and from local dairies around the area. Art’s truck was decorated with cow manure and you could smell it coming well before you could see it. Art was always generous to stop to pick up the boys and give them a ride. It was 6 miles from school to my house, so I never turned the ride down. The only catch was: Art’s dog always rode in the cab with him, so we had to ride in the back on the manure!”

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

Written by: Jerry Cox Nicholson, great-great-great grand daughter of Jesse and Ruby Bond Looney

“Jesse Looney was born near Knoxville, Tennessee and spent his youth and early manhood in the South. He was a first cousin of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States.

“Jesse Looney inherited land and many slaves as his heritage. Slavery was one of the local conditions under which he was reared, but early in life he espoused the idea of human freedom and decided to leave the land of his birth and its tradition of human slavery. He sought a place where he could rear his family under better influences. Jesse, with his wife and six children, joined a wagon train made up of many families. With Dr. Marcus Whitman as their captain and guide, they headed for the Oregon Country. They started on May 22, 1843 from Independence, Missouri and arrived in October of that year in what is now called Jefferson, Oregon.

“Jesse Looney showed his good business judgement in fitting out his family wagons. There were three. One was built like a boat, with a tight bottom, so as to ford the streams without getting the contents wet. One was called ‘fiddle’ because of its peculiar construction. In these wagons they had packed everything they could think of that they would need in the new country.

“Jesse and his wife Ruby Bond Looney chose for their donation claim a beautiful location about twelve miles south of Salem, known later as ‘Looney Butte’. The Looney cemetery is only 1/4 mile from this home and Jesse Looney (1802-1869) and his wife Ruby Bond Looney (1808-1900) are both buried there.

“Jesse Looney packed the wagons for their new home in Oregon Country. A jar of apple seeds was a dream for their new land. Jesse developed one of the largest orchards in the new country. When the apple trees all came to bearing, folks came all the way from California to get apples.

“The old Jefferson Institute which was located near where the present elementary school now stands was in operation from 1857-1899. The first enrollment was 89 pupils. Courses were taught from the elementary level up to the equivalent of two years of college.”

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

Written by: Weltha Jo Goin Johnson

“My Dad’s family, the Goins, came to Oregon in the late 1850s by covered wagon. They first settled east of Jefferson near Green’s Bridge. In about 1898 my grand dad, Alfred Goin, bought the property north of Jefferson that my husband and I live on now. My dad was born on the farm in 1903 and died there in 1993. My children, Kari and Blair, and their families, including Danielle, live on this same property. That’s five generations to have lived on this property. The farm used to go from Danielle’s house all the way to the Jefferson Middle School, but most was sold.

“My dad went to school at Jefferson. So did I, my children and now my grand daughters. My dad walked 3 miles to school and home. Sometimes he rode a horse or drove a buggy on the dirt or mud road, but it was too much trouble to take the horse to livery stable downtown Jefferson in the morning and pick it up after school, plus the horse was ‘barn sour’ and really didn’t want to be taken to school. So my dad just walked or jogged. Our neighbor says he was the original ‘jogger’ way back in 1916.

 

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!”

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

Written by Nadine (Croft) Larabee

“My name is Nadine (Croft) Larabee and our family moved to Oregon in March, 1947, first living in the Grizzel place. My aunt and uncle (the Cole family) lived in Charles’ big house and we in the little green one. With 7 kids, it was just a little crowded!

“My older brother Marion and I registered for school with the District Clerk Ruby Pesheck at her house. Little did I know that a few years later I would be part of that family. Marion drove our big Studebaker President to Jefferson each day, along with Betty and Bonnie Brannen who had just moved here from Iowa. They lived in the Dever area but were assigned to Jefferson High School, same as we were.

“My younger two brothers and sister attended Conner School; Don graduating from 8th grade in June 1947. Summer time meant lots of work, but we were glad for the opportunity–hoeing mint for Noah shelby, working 10 hours a day. At 50 cents an hour, that was $5 a day. Big money to us. We soon got a raise to 75 cents an hour and felt quite rich (after a week)! Bean picking at Charlie Grizzel’s occupied the latter part of summer. Our move to the ‘Davis Cabins’ that fall changed our school to Albany High, the younger ones still at Conner. A big flood came late fall, with neighbors riding around in boats. I remember wading out to the outhouse at various times (no inside plumbing). Our next move was to the Harnisch house around the corner–a little more room, but with 7 kids, still crowded. We experienced the blessings of electricity here for the first time, and indoor plumbing a little later. Our fun times included summer softball games, riding on Harnisch’s flatbet truck down to the floating bridge for a swim after a long day of work, neighborhood kids just getting together (we walked everywhere). When we were lucky, we got in a car and went to Albany for a milkshake at Linn Creamery, sometimes (when we had the money) to In and Out or Cleo’s for a hamburger.

“Winters of 1947, ’48 and ’49 were the coldest I can remember, maybe into 1950 also. But there again we had our fun times: skating on frozen ponds, where surface water had collected from earlier heavy rains, then frozen solid. We managed to ‘skate’ without skates and it was fun. During snow times, my brothers Marion and Dan, along with Dave Harnisch rigged up snow skis from barrel stoves (how, I don’t know). We used the hill behind the Case’s for a good downhill run. Youth group times at the church were fun with Wyman and Mildred Bohl, our first full time pastors at Dever Conner Community Church. One sunday night we wanted to get out early from our meeting to go see the fireworks in Albany. It was kind of difficult to persuade Wyman to close early, but finally he did let us go.

“Before the freeway was built, we could walk across what is now Dever Conner Road, over to Bender’s. Sometimes clear into Jefferson, as the Greyhound bus stopped at the Jefferson Terminal Cabins on its way into Albany. We could also catch it at the intersection of 99E and the Bluff Road for a day of shopping and fun in Albany.

“We sometimes went swimming in the Santiam by the Bluff — Pat Bender, F. Kuvaas, Conners, Wanda Cole and I, along with others. We almost drowned one time when 3 of us girls all got into one innertube and it tipped us over. Later a man did drown in that same place, so that put a stop to our visits.

“Early in 1951 our family moved to the Elbert Chambers place (same place Syracuse School was). My younger brothers then attended Dever School. Marion had graduated from Albany High School by then (1948) and joined the Army. I also graduated in 1949 and lived in Albany where I worked. My youngest sister was born in 1951 — our only Oregonian. We as a family really enjoyed our early Dever-Conner experience and all the original ‘home-made’ fun of those days.

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

Written by: Teresa Barber

“I was raised in The Dalles, Oregon, which is located in North Central Oregon, along the banks of the Columbia River. Family history has always been important to my family. As a young girl growing up, I fondly remember the wonderful stories my grandfather, Tom Driver would tell me. Our Driver family came to Oregon by covered wagon, pulled by a team of oxen, on the Oregon Trail. They arrived in Oregon in 1853.

“I moved from The Dalles to Jefferson in 1996 and started attending the Jefferson United Methodist Church. One day, as I was helping with the cleaning chores at the church, I discovered a big, old leather bound book. As I opened the book, I soon realized that this was historical documentary of the church’s past. It was recorded that the Jefferson Methodist Church was dedicated on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1871. As I continued to read about the church’s early beginnings, I couldn’t believe my eyes! It said that Reverend I.D. Driver conducted the dedication service (he was my great-great uncle who was a circuit rider and often rode his horse to small communities in the Willamette Valley to preach the gospel).

“Reverend I.D. Driver is buried in the Jason Lee Methodist Cemetery on ‘D’ Street in Salem, Oregon.”

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

Life in Little Norway

“In the 1920s and ’30s there were several Norwegian families living in Evans Valley (Silverton, Oregon). Among them were the Rue, Langsev and Brenden families.

“All the neighbors would often walk together (20 or 25 people) to each others’ homes when there was birthday to celebrate. They brought sandwiches and goodies to share. They made lanterns from tomato cans because they were larger than other cans. Bailing wire made the handle and a candle inserted from the bottom made their flashlight. They played card games after dark.

“There were small farms through the valley. A truck from the Rose Valley Creamery in Mt. Angel traveled through the countryside, picking up mild cans that were left out by the road for them. If they needed butter, they would leave on big rock on top of the can. If they needed cheese, they left two rocks. They had tried leaving notes but they would blow away.

“The valley was a happy place in those days.”

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

Written by: Shirley Johnson

“Unexpected Hot Air”

“It was a beautiful, sunny morning in Oregon. we were outside working on our little farm in Silverton. There were flowers to plant and hedges to trim. Suddenly we heard voices. ‘What was that,’ I asked Rod.

“‘I don’t know,’ he replied, ‘sounds like it’s coming out of the sky.’

“‘Like voices from heaven?’ I asked.

“We looked up and there, floating towards us, was a beautiful rainbow of colors. It was a huge hot air balloon. The people in the basket were waving their arms and hollering at us. ‘Can we land in your field?’ they asked us. Rod waved his arms and nodded his head, inviting them to set down.

“The big balloon gracefully floated to the ground behind our big red barn, next to the old oak tree. We ran over to greet them. They climbed out of the balloon and anchored it for the moment as Rod helped to hold onto it. They explained that they were giving rides that day from Cooley’s Gardens and planned to return their riders there for a champagne brunch. But the wind got them off course. They decided what to do next. Rod offered to help with whatever was necessary. They deflated the balloon and loaded the whole unit on Rod’s pick up truck to get it back to Cooley’s. So the big hot air balloon arrived at its planned destination at Cooley’s on the back of Rod’s pick up truck.

“The crew was very appreciative and invited us to join them for the champagne brunch. Of course we accepted! It was a very elegant party. The beautiful buffet table was set outside on the grass and there was delicious food everywhere!

“It was an unforgettable experience and the next time we hear voices from heaven, we’ll believe it.”