Last February, when Hands on Art and Vernonia’s Voice kicked off a call for submissions for a second book, we had no idea that a month later, we’d find ourselves in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the ensuing disruptions and anxiety, no one, it seemed, gave a hoot about writing stories or poetry or taking photos. And yet, somehow, the submissions trickled in, and Voices from the Mill Pond, Volume II was born.
Picking a cover for our second volumewasn’t an easy task. Especially since we received over a hundred fabulous photos. We poured through them, seeking an image that highlighted the pond, of course, but also one that contained the necessary compositional elements: orientation and size, dpi, the right color and busy-ness when contrasted with the text, and one that possessed its own intrinsic beauty. We believe we made the perfect choice.
Vernonia’s Voice and Hands on Art chose Mike Pym’s photo for the cover of Voices from the Mill Pond, Vol. II.
Many thanks to the residents of Vernonia, past and present, for their stories, poems, histories, photos, and memories. Once again, Vernonia has outdone itself, and our community spirit is alive and well.
Voices from the Mill Pond, Vol. II is now available on Amazon as well as around town. You can find it at the library and at the R&S Market. It’s a perfect gift for the holidays that honors our talented and beautiful community.
Just because we can’t gather in person, doesn’t mean that Christmas fun isn’t coming to Vernonia. Join Hands on Art for our virtual cookie-baking and gingerbread house competitions!
This year it all about creativity. Think about competing for loads of fun and a bunch of cash prizes.
There is no cost to enter. Bake at home, photograph your creations, and email your photos to Hands on Art for anonymous judging!
Winning cookies and gingerbread houses will be shared in Vernonia’s Voice, and on the Hands on Art website and Facebook page. Prizes will be mailed to the winning bakers.
Open to Vernonia, Oregon residents.
Virtual Cookie Contest Rules
Two divisions: Junior (12 and under) and Regular (13 and over).
Cookies can be any size and shape, and all decorations must be edible.
On your email, include your division, name, phone number, and address.
Gingerbread houses will be anonymously judged by the Hands on Art board based on 1) design, 2) creativity, and 3) presentation.
The primary structural material must be gingerbread, and although inedible components are allowed, it must be self-evident that they are inedible (plastic truck okay, hot glue not okay).
The winner of each division will win a prize of $30.
The submission deadline is December 6th, so get cooking!
Voices from the Mill Pond, Vol. 1, was a huge success in 2019 and a wonderful testament to Vernonia’s talent. Hands on Art and Vernonia’s Voice are eager to share this community’s creative spirit once again.
We’ve received some excellent stories, poems, and photographs but have room for more. To encourage additional submissions, we’ve extended the deadline until October 5th.
We haven’t received any submissions from children and would love to include the work of our younger generation in this volume. And don’t forget, our editorial board will be selecting a cover for the book from the photography submissions.
Haiku is written in three lines with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second, and five in the last: 5/7/5, for a total of seventeen syllables.
Tankas are similar to haiku but have five lines with syllable counts of 5/7/5/7/7.
Haiku and tanka do not rhyme.
Most haiku are written about nature, the seasons, or an emotional experience while in nature.
Most tanka use vivid imagery and appeal to the senses.
Neither form requires a title.
The use of punctuation is optional.
Two or more poems written together are considered a series or sequence.
Thank you
for your interest in participating in this project! Our goal with Volume 2 is
to continue to publish and celebrate the talents of Vernonia’s storytellers,
poets, photographers, and artists.
A full-color
paperback book will be published by Vernonia’s Voice. The book will also be
available locally. The project is
sponsored by Vernonia’s Voice and Vernonia’s Hands on Art organization.
Please read
through these Submission Details. If you have any questions or need assistance,
please contact Diana Peach at dwallacepeach@gmail.com. Our goal is to encourage
submissions, and we’re happy to help get you there.
General
Information:
Submission
Deadline (firm): September 15, 2020.
Publication Date: November 15, 2020, just in time for the holidays!
Open to All Ages!
All
submissions must be family-friendly.
All submissions
must be ORIGINAL works by the author/photographer/artist.
Authors/photographers/artists
may make multiple submissions.
There will
be no payments made to authors/photographers/artists for inclusion of their
work. The project is entirely for the fun of sharing the community’s talents. A
portion of the royalties from the sale of books will cover administrative fees,
taxes, advertising, and promotion. The balance of the profits will fund
Vernonia’s non-profit arts organization Hands on Art.
Authors/photographers/artists
will retain all rights to their work to use however they wish, without
limitations.
By
submitting, you are giving permission for Vernonia’s Voice to publish your work
in Voices of the Mill Pond (2019, Vol. 1).
Parents will
be contacted in order to give permission for their young person’s work to be
published.
Keep a copy
of your work!
Curation
The
decisions as to what is included will be made by an editorial board consisting
of Hands on Art and community members.
Names will
be removed from all submissions by D. Peach prior to presentation to the board.
Inclusion in
the book is not guaranteed, though our goal is to include as many submissions
as possible. Some factors include:
the
number of submissions
the
appropriateness of the work
preference
for Vernonia-related themes
preference
for a good mix of ages
preference
for a good blend of the types of submissions (stories, poems, other writings,
photos, and artwork).
adherence
to these guidelines
All authors/photographers/artists
will be notified when final decisions are made.
Written
Submissions
Open to
short stories, flash fiction (very short stories), poems, reflections, musings,
mood pieces, historical pieces.
No minimum
word-count. Maximum word-count: 1500
words (negotiable).
Please
include a title for your written piece. Untitled written works will be titled
“Untitled.”
We are happy
to collaborate with Vernonia’s schools and home schoolers. In Volume 1 we had
only one child participate. We would love to have more work from Vernonia’s
students.
Vernonia-related
themes are preferred but not mandatory at all. And this can be interpreted
broadly! Mill pond, nature, horses, animals, logging, bicycling, community,
fishing, hiking, school, family, growing up, growing old, play, love, alien
invasion of Bridge Street, the logging truck that saved Christmas! Imaginations
welcome!
The
editorial board reserves the right to make spelling, typo, and grammatical
corrections. No other changes will be made without the author’s approval.
To submit:
copy the written work into the body of an email and send to dwallacepeach@gmail.com. This will enable the copying of the material into a
formatting program quickly and without error. Please contact Diana Peach if
other arrangements are needed.
Photographs
and Photographs of Artwork
Vernonia-related
themes are preferred. And this can be interpreted broadly! Nature, horses,
animals, logging, bicycling, community, fishing, hiking, school, family, growing
up, growing old, play, love.
“Mill Pond”
images will automatically be considered for the cover contest.
Optional:
You may include a title and/or caption to accompany your photograph.
Images of
actual people must include written permission to publish by the person or a
parent/guardian if the person in under 18.
Color or
black and white images are acceptable.
Final book
size (for planning images) will be 7”w x 10”h.
Accepted images
will be scaled to fit within printing margins.
Images must
be 330 dpi minimum to meet publishing standards.
Join Hands on Art at the Vernonia Grange for free kid’s crafts, a hot beverage, and our annual cookie and gingerbread house competitions. Is your grandmother’s cookie recipe the best ever? Do you have the ultimate gingerbread house design? Think about competing for loads of fun and a cash prize.
Cookie Baking Contest rules
There are two divisions and a top prize will be awarded in each division. The divisions are Junior (12 and under) and Regular (13 and over).
There is no cost to enter either division. First place prizes will be $20.
All entrants must deliver their cookies to the Vernonia Grange on December 14thth between 10 am and 2 pm.
Please provide a small plate of 6 cookies for judging and another 18 cookies for sharing with the public, the full recipe (for the judges only) and a label identifying the name of the cookies.
Judges will commence their work at 3:30 pm, and results will be announced by 4:00 pm. You do not need to be present to win.
Gingerbread House Contest rules
One prize will be awarded in the Gingerbread House Contest – A People’s Choice Award of $20. Multiple people can contribute to an entry. There is no cost to enter.
All entrants must deliver their entry on a baker’s half sheet (13”x18”) or smaller equivalent surface. Delivery may be made to the Vernonia Grange between 10 am and noon on December 14th.
Primary structural material must be gingerbread, and although inedible components are allowed if necessary, it must be self-evident that they are inedible (plastic truck okay, hot glue not okay).
Judging opens at 10:00 am and is by people’s choice. It is advised that you make delivery of the gingerbread house before judging starts.
You may include a notecard with your entry that gives more information about your entry, such as the source of your inspiration, how long it took to construct, who helped, and how long it will take to eat.
Votes will be tallied at 3:30 pm and announced at 4:00 pm. You do not need to be present to win.
These contests are sponsored by The Vernonia Hands on Art Center, a tiny 501c3 working to promote the arts and cultural heritage of Vernonia. Donations are gratefully accepted and you will receive a receipt that may be used for tax purposes.
After much deliberation, decisions have been made and notifications sent to all poets, storytellers, photographers, and artists whose work has been chosen for our Vernonia book, Voices from the Mill Pond.
Vernonia’s Voice and Hands on Art would like to express our deep-felt gratitude, once again, for the hundreds of submissions, and though we couldn’t include them all, we were able to fill the pages with the beautiful work from a broad range of Vernonia residents, past and present.
We are about to be officially published! In short order, Voices from the Mill Pond will be available via Amazon to readers around the world.
Cover Contest Winner and Finalists
We are also delighted to announce the Finalists and Winner of the Cover Contest.
Beginning in February, photographers heeded our call. Over a hundred fabulous images poured in, and when the submission period ended, it was time to choose a cover.
Important elements were the pond, of course, but also composition. Orientation and size mattered. Would the title and subtitle be clear against the image’s colors? Was the visual activity in the photo subdued enough to complement the text? And was it an absolutely gorgeous photo in its own right?
Cover mockups of the top three photos were produced and a winner selected.
We’re delighted to present the cover of Voices from the Mill Pond. Kari Anne Budge sent in the exquisite photo above that met every measure. It was the perfect choice for the book.
We would also like to acknowledge two photographers whose submissions came in a close second. Thank you to Cassandra Armstrong and Debby White for these stunning images.
Finalist: Photo by Cassandra Armstrong
Finalist Photo by Debby White
Let’s Celebrate
Our 190-page paperback book of photos, writings, and artwork from Vernonia residents will be available on Amazon as well as locally. Books available locally will be sold at a discount, starting on December 5th. Right on time for the holidays.
There is a celebration scheduled at the Vernonia Library on Thursday, December 5th, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.
This event is open to the entire community. Stop by to meet the authors, photographers, and artists, to celebrate the completion of this creative project, and to pick up a copy or two of Voices from the Mill Pond.
Thank you
for your interest in participating in this project! Our goal is to publish and
celebrate the talents of Vernonia’s storytellers, poets, photographers, and
artists.
A full-color
paperback book will be published through Amazon by Vernonia’s Voice. The book
will also be available locally. The
project is sponsored by Vernonia’s Voice and Vernonia’s Hands on Art
organization.
Please read
through these Submission Details. If you have any questions or need assistance,
please contact Diana Peach at dwallacepeach@gmail.com. Our
goal is to encourage submissions, and we’re happy to help get you there.
General
Information:
Submission
Deadline (firm): October 1, 2019.
Publication
Date: December 1, 2019, just on time for Christmas!
Open to All
Ages!
All
submissions must be family-friendly.
All
submissions must be ORIGINAL works by the author/photographer/artist.
Authors/photographers/artists
may make multiple submissions.
There will
be no payments made to authors/photographers/artists for inclusion of their
work. The project is entirely for the fun of sharing the community’s talents.
Any royalties for the sale of books will be used to cover administrative fees,
taxes, advertising, and promotion.
Authors/photographers/artists
will retain all rights to their work to use however they wish, without
limitations.
By
submitting, you are giving permission for Vernonia’s Voice to publish your work
in Voices of the Mill Pond (2019, Vol. 1).
Under Age 18? Parents will be contacted in order to give permission for their young person’s work to be published.
Keep a copy of your work!
Curation
The
decisions as to what is included will be made by an editorial board consisting
of Hands on Art and community members.
Names will
be removed from all submissions by D. Peach prior to presentation to the board.
Inclusion in
the book is not guaranteed, though our goal is to include as many submissions as
possible. Some factors include:
the
number of submissions
the
appropriateness of the work
preference
for Vernonia-related themes
preference
for a good mix of ages
preference
for a good blend of the types of submissions (stories, poems, other writings, photos,
and artwork).
adherence
to these guidelines
All authors/photographers/artists will be notified when final decisions are made.
Written
Submissions
Open to
short stories, flash fiction (very short stories), poems, reflections, musings,
mood pieces, historical pieces.
No minimum
word-count. Maximum word-count: 1500
words.
Please include a title for your written piece. Untitled written works will be titled “Untitled.”
We are happy
to collaborate with Vernonia’s schools and home schoolers. Contact Diana Peach.
Vernonia-related
themes are preferred but not mandatory. And this can be interpreted broadly! Mill
pond, nature, horses, animals, logging, bicycling, community, fishing, hiking,
school, family, growing up, growing old, play, love, alien invasion of Bridge Street,
the logging truck that saved Christmas! Imaginations welcome!
The
editorial board reserves the right to make spelling, typo, and grammatical
corrections. No other changes will be made without the author’s approval.
To submit:
copy the written work into the body of an email and send to dwallacepeach@gmail.com.
This will enable the copying of the material into a formatting program quickly
and without error. Please contact Diana Peach if other arrangements are needed.
Photographs
and Photographs of Artwork
Vernonia-related
themes are preferred. And this can be interpreted broadly! Nature, horses,
animals, logging, bicycling, community, fishing, hiking, school, family,
growing up, growing old, play, love.
“Mill Pond” images are particularly welcome.
Optional: You may include a title and/or caption to accompany your photograph.
Images of
actual people must include written permission to publish by the person or a
parent/guardian if the person in under 18.
Color or
black and white images are acceptable.
Final book
size (for planning images) will be 7”w x 10”h.
Accepted horizontal
images will be scaled to fit within printing margins.
Images must
be 330 dpi minimum to meet publishing standards.
Mark your calendars! On May 26st the Vernonia Hands On Art Center, the local non-profit arts and heritage support group, presents the eighth annual Jr. Salmon Auction.
salmon art
A fundraiser for the Vernonia Schools arts program, the auction features the amazing salmon creations of Vernonia art students. The students are supplied with blank pressboard salmon on which to craft their own unique visions. In addition to salmon, students have worked their magic on small furniture items that will also be included in the auction.
Beginning at 7:00PM in the VHS Commons, the salmon will be auctioned off with a minimum starting bid of $10.00. Proceeds from the auction support Vernonia School Arts, Scholarships, and Hands On Art programs. Over $10,000 has been donated to the arts programs to date!
The doors open at 6:30. Enjoy live music performed by students under the direction of Matthew Urban, visit the Band Boosters for a bite to eat, and chat with Vernonia’s talented young artists while you browse their creations. Be sure to sign up at the bidder’s table and be ready to go at 7:00!
Watch for previews of artwork and reminders on Facebook. For more information, contact Diana Peach at peachlee123@gmail.com or check the webpage at www.vernoniahandsonart.org.
Virgil Powell was a long-time resident who had a farm somewhere in the Upper Nehalem Valley between Natal and Pittsburg. Each year from 1906 until 1955, he kept a diary with a brief entry almost every day of his activities. He noted what he did on the farm that day, what the weather was, if he worked in the woods or delivering mail, and what entertainments he attended. In the 1960s, then-curator John Stofiel transcribed the diaries to typewritten pages; both the original diaries and the transcriptions are kept the museum.
Here’s what Virgil wrote during the changeable weather of March 1914, his original spelling intact:
Saturday, Feb. 15: Carried the mail to Mist. Got to Mist at 11 A.M. Grange day at Natal. Pretty fair day but rained after I got home. Had a fine time down at the store talking basket social for next Saturday night.
Saturday, Feb. 22. Carried the mail down to Mist. Got to Mist at 10 A.M. Left Mist at 1 P.M. Got home at 2.25. Stayed home till 3.10 then started for the doings at Vernonia at 4.45. From Mist to Vernonia 3 hours. Had a deuce of a time. Did not start home till 7 A.M. Good fine day.
Tuesday, Feb. 25. Sawed wood all day. Shot at some salmon in the afternoon but did not kill any. Cloudy and looks very much like rain. Received a postal from Florence Williams.
Monday, March 16: Plowed a piece down by the river for potatoes and finished 4:30. Some peddilars here over night. Bright and fine all day.
Tuesday, March 17: Plowed the piece back of orchard by the river. Dave & Booth were here for dinner. Awful warm all day. Inez & I went over to Elliott place and got some cattle out in evening.
Wednesday, March 18: Went over to Elliott place and plowed all day for Bill Brown. Awful hot all day.
Saturday, March 21: Plowed over on the Elliott place all day. Very good all day. Ed. Webster & Kelly were here for dinner.
Wednesday, March 24: Built some fence over across the river. Snowed and rained all day and was a terrible bad day. Went over to Elliott place in afternoon and got Chief.
Friday, March 27: Took a sow up to the boar at Tuckers. Started up at 8 and got home 12:45 P.M. Snowed and stormed terrible all day.
Depression-era Reminiscences from Bob New, VHS 1947
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, jobs were almost nonexistent. The Oregon-American mill didn’t reopen until 1936, and Bob remembers that men would show up at the gate of the re-opened Oregon-American Lumber Company and stand around each morning, hoping they might be hired for a job, any job. There was a man in Vernonia who walked each day from the top of Corey Hill to the mill for many weeks, bringing his lunch in case someone didn’t show up for work and he could get a day’s wages. He eventually did get a coveted permanent job in 1938.
A 1934 Vernonia Eagle article listed the forty young men from the Vernonia area who were stationed at the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp near Mist. There were many Depression-era programs established to help address the widespread unemployment; the CCC was designed to put young men to work on public projects including forest fire suppression. They received lodging, meals and a paycheck – most of which had to be sent home to help their families – in exchange for their work. The article noted that these local men were lucky to be stationed so near their homes as this was not often the case.
A quiet garage at the end of Adams Ave is the point of creation for some incredible wooden furniture and useful objects. First noticed in 2012 by the Oregonian while at the Scappoose Farmers Market, Cascade Architectural Woodworking has been steadily building a solid reputation for high quality craftsmanship.
CAWW is a true family business. Sean MacComb and his father Alan have been working together for over ten years now, most of that time with Sean’s brother Doug. They specialize in cabinet work, but have discovered that they also want to put their work into as many hands as possible.
This means cutting boards, cribbage boards, coffee tables and much more are what occupy idle hands between cabinet jobs. Without a retail front, CAWW has mostly been discovered by word of mouth, although they currently have a regular presence at the Vernonia Open Air Market. Alan can be reached at alanmaccomb@frontier.com and Sean can be reached at 503-369-7317, or simply stop by market on Adams Ave on Saturdays 10-2pm.
