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The Good Ol’ Days – March 1914

diaryFrom Virgil Powell’s Diary

by Tobie Finzel

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.

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Acrylic Paintings by Randal Harvey

Red Dog 003Vernonia artist Randal Harvey worked a number of jobs over her lifetime. It wasn’t until her husband and she moved to the East Bay from San Francisco to help take care of aging parents that she had the time to get back to what she have always loved – Art.

“I have always loved arts and crafts.  I love color and the interplay of colors. I was first drawn to stained glass because of the vivid colors. After a few years I decided to begin painting; it seemed a natural progression.”

She started with watercolors under a delightful teacher, Pat Strout. She also took classes in California Impressionist Painting with George Holmes and completed a short stint with Mark Jezierny, who showed her the effects of Light and Shadow, and Perspective and Grids. Then she met two incredible artists (and teachers) to whom she says she owes so much: Gary Bergren and Margaret Bromstrom.

“Gary hammered into my head the elements that make a good painting:  The A, B, C’s and all the rules and reg’s of how to paint.  His portrait class, ‘Creating an Illusion,’ changed how I paint.  He taught me how to listen to a critique without my ego getting in the way.  He said to me once that you have to know the rules before you can break them successfully.  He was right of course.  He was and still is a wonderful and giving teacher, and just a plain fantastic person.

Red Dog 002“Margaret Bromstrom taught me to be free and brave with my painting, and offered the gift of time to do so.  I spent over two years with Margaret and a little over one year with Gary.”

Randal started with watercolor, still likes the medium and does it occasionally.  She tried oil, but discovered she was allergic to it!  So, she now paints in acrylic.  “With all the moisture in the air, the Pacific Northwest is a great place to paint with acrylic. I can keep my sponge palette workable for up to a month and, on occasion, longer.  Really!”

She describes her style, if forced to put a name to it, as somewhere between Realism and Surrealism.  “I’ve tried impressionism, but my style and colors seem to end up more realistic and dark.  I’m still evolving. Who knows what the future holds.”

Red Dog 001Her work covers a range of subjects including animal portraits and a “Vernonia Series.” The series includes: “Dogwood Blossoms on Texas Avenue, Vernonia, Oregon,” “Treasures from Julie’s Garden: ‘Beets and Squash’, Vernonia, Oregon” and “Christmas Pomegranate from Sentry Market, Vernonia, Oregon”.  She currently has nine in the series, with more in planning stages.  How many will be in the “Vernonia Series? She has no idea.

Randal loves and is influenced by many artists: “Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Vermeer–I love the darkness vs. light of their portraits. John Singer Sargent, whose brush work just blows me away – so loose up close, but stand back and it’s magic how he makes it come together.  Salvador Dali because his body of work just sings. Anything from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Dante Rossetti being one of my favs, and John William Waterhouse, who some say isn’t a Pre-Raphaelite, but I say he is, so there.  And I can’t leave out Henri Rousseau, another of my favorites.”

Before closing this, Randal added, “I love seeing the work of the young artists in town and want to see more, please.”

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The Good Ol’ Days – February 1908

diaryFrom Virgil Powell’s Diary

by Tobie Finzel

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 in February 1908:

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.

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Vernonia Arts for Children

Vernonia, a small community in the coastal range of Oregon, has a secret that is slowly going public. It’s a growing haven for the arts, where amazing old talent appears unexpectedly from small shops, barns and studios, and new talent is nurtured and appreciated across the board.

This beautiful youtube clip gives a small peek into what Vernonia children are doing with their free time. Enjoy!