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Contents

About the Author: 5

Dedication: 9

Introduction: 11

Dora, Oregon Pioneer 57

Winchester, Hackenberg 67

Doraville Picture Gallery 83

Doraville School 107

Hudson School 113

Hackenberg Road 123

Northwest Weather 139

Hackenbergs In Europe 151

Taxes 171

Carrie Hackenberg 187

Rudy Hackenberg 195

William Hackenberg 205

Dora, Ina & Evelyn 223

From The Mail Bag 233

Emma Hackenberg 241

Joe Jr. Hackenberg 253

Otto. Hackenberg 289

Review Of The Rainier Review 311

Wilma. Hackenberg 333

Balodis 363

Balod Picture Gallery 381

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About the Author:

Carol Ann McNeely, Née Hackenberg

March 15, 1938 ~ September 18, 2010

Carol with Ursa

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After a long battle with lymphoma, Carol Ann McNeely died peacefully at home on September 18th, 2010. Carol was born on March 15th, 1938 and grew up on her family’s homestead farm in Rainier, Oregon. She attended Oregon State University and then worked in public service for a variety of agencies in Europe and the US, retiring from the Federal Aviation Administration's Renton Office. She was an avid gardener and was always delighted to share her knowledge, some good compost or a few bulbs with her friends and neighbors. Her flowers regularly garnered compliments from the neighbors and passersby.

One of Carol's passions, second (or perhaps not) only to her love of gardening, was 'rooting' out and writing about her family history. Her accomplishments in this arena were impressive, and she spent several years painstakingly compiling a comprehensive history of her family, resulting in this book that details the Hackenberg family in Europe, their immigration to the U.S., the trip west across the Oregon Trail and their life on the homestead. The original homestead, one of very few that is still intact, is currently a tree farm operated by her brother Joseph and sister-in-law Luella.

Above: Back row: Carol with husband Cyrus “Mike” McNeely. In front of them are their daughters holding their grand children. From left to right: Paloma Gulassa, Jennifer McNeely, Teddy Gulassa, Shane Daggett, Anna Daggett, Weston Daggett and Ranger watches on.

Carol was an enthusiastic music lover and accordion player and friends and family were always prepared for an impromptu concert; sometimes they would have to sing, sometimes they got lucky. She was a country music fan and knew all the old tunes, to sing or to play.

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She was an intrepid traveler in her early years, leaving Oregon State University and her family for a job in Germany for the U.S. Army. She visited much of Europe during this time, even touring the U.S.S.R. when not many Americans had been there. Her stories from this time were legendary, like the time she turned the wrong way down a one-way street and found herself surrounded by about a thousand Spanish soldiers on horseback, coming down the street the proper way. In a parade.

She was a great baker and a bit of a health food nut. She won a prize for her sourdough rye bread, but tried to slip her kids ‘comfrey milkshakes’ consisting of comfrey, castor oil and wheat bran. She was interested in social issues and was always looking out for the underdog; she was always the first one to offer help to anyone who needed it.

Carol was devoted to her family and loved baking with her grandkids and teaching them garden tricks: the best way to kill a slug (she favored slicing them right in half with whatever garden implement was handy, including her fingernails) or how to propagate a rose. She is survived by her husband Cyrus ‘Mike’ McNeely, daughter Anna Daggett (Lloyd), daughter Jennifer McNeely, son-in-law Stefan Gulassa, grandchildren Paloma, Weston, Shane and Theodore, sisters Ina Alumbaugh Hammon and Joan Linn, brothers Joseph and Robert Hackenberg, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Wilma Hackenberg and sister Ruth Ring.

Left: Carol, doing two of her favorite things, being in the garden and picking strawberries.

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Dedication:

This “glimpse of the past” through a collection of various records is dedicated to Josef’s grandson Joseph “Butch” W. Hackenberg and his wife Luella Souther Hackenberg, shown below, who own and live on Doraville homestead, now known as Hackenberg Tree Farm. Picture taken 2005 in South Dakota.

Above: Butch and Luella Hackenberg. Circa 2005

. . . and in memory of Joe Jr. and Wilma Hackenberg.

“We clasp the hands of those that go before us, And the hands of those who come after us.”

Wendell Berry9

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Introduction:

This little history shall give any future generations of this family Hackenberg knowledge of their ancestors, describing their character, birthplace, life and prominent movements with dates of year and months as far as possible. Many people of the United States know nothing about their parents, about ½ know nothing about their grandparents and hardly 1/10 know anything about their great-grandparents, because people move and mix more (more divorces) in the U.S. than in the well settled and stable countries of Europe. It will be divided as follows: 1) The history of the Hackenbergs in Europe, 2) The history of the Winchesters and, 3) The history of the Hackenbergs in Amerika. The present family Hackenberg in Oregon near Rainier has been founded by the marriage of Josef Hackenberg and Mrs. Dora Wells (Winchester) on the 3 of June 1891 in Rainier. It will certainly be interesting for our posterity to look back several centuries of family life in different generations, different conditions and countries.

Hoping my few lines may satisfy I am one of your Dadies.Josef Rudolf Hackenberg

South Beaver, March 8, 1896

Josef and Rudy, July 1, 1897

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As we ponder our rapidly changing computerized world in the 21st century it is hard to visualize pioneer life at “South Beaver” over a hundred years ago when 36-year-old Josef Hackenberg sat at his desk, reached for his Ivy Leaf stationery, and with a firm hand wrote the “little history” of his European roots, and a brief sheet on the Winchesters. There is no evidence that he wrote a section on the Hackenbergs in America; however, it is known that his brother William lived in Wheeling,West Virginia.

On that cold March day in 1896 as Josef let his mind wander back to his homeland, he and his wife Dora had three young children [Rudy, William, and baby Ina] and were settled in their shingled home Josef described on final homestead documentation as built of “lumber, 18’ x 18’, 3 rooms and kitchen, 7 doors, 7 windows, and habitable at all seasons of the year.” The house, barn and other outbuildings were situated on a small creek flat adjacent to the neighboring Headlee property line and surrounded by young orchard trees just starting to produce. Josef had a lot to show for his past 10 years of hard work.

Above: Original Doraville home in orchard circa June 1902. Left to right: Ina, Josef, Emma, Dora with baby Joe, and Rudy holding a puppy.

For Josef and his country neighbors in the 1890’s it was a time before Apiary Road and easy access to town. There were few roads, no automobiles, no electricity, and no telephones or a way to readily communicate with family and friends in Rainier or surrounding communities. Families were located by geographic designations such as “South Beaver Creek”, and homesteaders either walked or rode a horse on homestead trails through timber and windfalls to help one another, socialize, or procure provisions. Josef made many journal notations of “went to Rishers for flour”, or “went to Doan’s for butter”, etc.

The accomplishments of Josef’s generation of hardy pioneers, both men and women, are now mostly forgotten, their deeds and names lost in time. Through Josef’s journals, family letters, and newspaper articles we have a historical glimpse into a homesteader’s life in rural Oregon written by Josef himself. Nothing is said of the contributions of pioneer women like Josef’s wife Dora who had to manage

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pregnancy and birth with little or no medical attention; i.e., Josef’s journal entry the day of Joe Jr’s birth “May 31, 1902: Hoed potatoes, 3:20 p.m. Joseph born”. At times Dora and the children would be left isolated in the country when Josef was off for extended periods working in the logging camps, on the road crew, or pruning orchards.

Left: “Mamma did not like to shoot a rifle, but like other pioneer women could use it if she had to.”

Daughter Ina, 1992

Young Josef

Josef’s life story begins in Nieder Lindewiese, a village of about 7,000 people in what was then the Austria-Hungary Empire, now the Czech Republic. He was born December 28, 1859, to David and Sophie Hackenberg, and the oldest of six children. Thanks to his “little history” we aren’t left to wonder why Josef left his homeland! Josef’s own words are in italics and items of special interest in bold.

Josef showed good learning qualities, for which reason the village parson, Mathias Bendl, after many efforts persuaded his parents to send him to college (1872) in Weidenau, Austria Silesia, to study for a catholic priest. But as a born farmer and mechanic and a great lover of the fair sex, (priests are not allowed to marry) he firmly and continually during his college term refused to study for that purpose.

The imperial assent commission in Freiwaldau on the 18th of April 1879 recruited him to the 9th Field Artillerie Regiment in Krakau, Galitia, and he commenced the tough service among the Polish soldiers May 11, 1879. In December the same year he was sent to Lemberg, Galicia’s capital to school for noncommissioned officers and after

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that term back to Krakau May 1880, received the following June the rank of Vormeister and 14 days later that of Corporal; learned to ride and was in the fall detached for instruction of Polish recruits.

His batterie was moved to Podgordre (from Lodgoosh) near Krakaw in the summer 1881. The following spring he was sent to the mountain batterie in Lemberg and there he ended his military service September 1, 1882. After coming home he could find no place to earn his living. Beginning 1883 one party started an investigation of the fraudulent village administration and chose him as clerk; this investigation ended in a big lawsuit, which resulted in the overthrow of the village board. But for using square expressions such as thief, scoundrel, etc., the investigation party was sent, after a vain appeal to the Supreme Court of Silesia, to prison. To escape this unmerited imprisonment he went in September 1883 to Amerika.

Escape Route

It is not known how Josef traveled to the port city of Bremen, Germany, and had money to book passage on the steamer S.S. Salier which landed in New York on October 7, 1883. Josef called the trip a “stormy voyage of 14 days”, and the S.S. Salier manifest lists Josef Hackenberg as a passenger in steerage class.

Above: The manifest lists Josef Hackenberg as a passenger.

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Steerage referred to the one or more below-deck compartments of a ship located fore and aft where the ships steering equipment or cattle had been located in an earlier era. The steerage compartments of late 19th century steamers were no more than cargo holds which were cold, damp and dark without portholes. They had poor ventilation, were unpartitioned, six to eight feet high, and crammed with two or more tiers of narrow metal bunks. Travelers had to bring their own bedding and sometimes straw mattresses which were cast overboard on the last day of the voyage. Men and women were segregated, sometimes on separate decks but often by nothing more than some blankets draped over a line in the center of the compartment. Children were permitted to stay with their mothers. Some of the larger ships sailing the Atlantic crammed as many as 2,000 men, women and children into compartments unfit for any human habitation.

The air was always fetid because of poor ventilation. Emigrants had to bring their own cups, plates, and utensils and often their own food. They cooked their meals in one of several galleys shared by all those in steerage.

Some ship companies provided herring because it was inexpensive, nourishing and helped to combat sea-sickness. Toilet facilities varied from vessel to vessel. Some earlier ships had as few as twenty-one toilets per thousand.

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Arrival in “Amerika” - on to Oregon

Left: Joesf Hackenberg

“After landing in New York on October 7, 1883, Josef first went to Altoona, PA, where he had friends and worked in a train car shop. He didn’t like the climate and moved to Plano, Ill, and worked for a farm machinery company. Too much thunder and lightning and he moved on. Nebraska was the next stop where he worked on a farm. More thunder and lightning and time to leave the Midwest.”

Otto Hackenberg, 1985

He worked in Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and in Illinois where he took out his first citizenship papers (Yorkville). The climate of the eastern states did not agree with him, and having heard a great deal about the west and the Pacific Coast he came to (Portland) Oregon January 16th in 1886, a very cold winter day, and found conditions in Oregon were very discouraging for a poor man with 15 cents in his pockets, incapable of using English except to swear, wages 50 cents a day of 11 hours work, work scarce and short lived, and pay uncertain. However, in spite of all the difficulties, he loved the country with its mountains, hills, forests, and hospitality of the people, congregated from all states of the Union.

First he tried to locate in the Willamette Valley, but land prices, being incorporated the year before, were out of sight, and homestead land left was not worth taking. He therefore turned towards Astoria, and on June 8, 1886, landed in Rainier, a hamlet of about 11 houses, a few barns and outbuildings, several wharves, a sawmill, one store and post

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office, and two saloons. The streets were dirt roads, the boardwalks were full of holes, some places tilting, some places missing. Fences were much dilapidated and refuse heaps, tin cans, and bottles were scattered.

The town consisted of two units. Rainier and Cedar Landing, now West Rainier (also referred to as Kentucky Flat). Between the two lay the Winchester place, in the bottom near the mouth of Fox Creek, and southwest of it the Nice place. There were no other dwellings between Rainier and Cedar Landing, a distance of nearly half mile. There were two connecting links, the old Beaver Valley road over a low log bridge, now the cement bridge across Nice Creek, and over an old wooden bridge across Fox Creek near the present school house, which road was planked, and a trail on the site of the railroad grade, bridging the creeks by log, impassable in high water.

There were altogether about 150 people in Rainier then. The families in Rainier 1886 were easily enumerated: There were the Dibblees, Pomeroys, Silvas, Weatherwaxes, Dobbins, Suttons, Woodruffs, Winchesters, Moecks, Merrills, Lelands, and two families near the blacksmith shop. There were quite a number of unmarried men; and only three girls of marriageable age, very desirable objects, and known among the young men by outrageous nicknames: Edith Dibblee, ‘The Wild West’, Dora Winchester, ‘The Mudhen’ ( to become Mrs. Hackenberg in June 1891), and Emma Kettering, ‘The Swamp Angel’.

The main occupation was fishing, and many lived in houseboats. Some worked in the woods, in stores, and on the docks. The articles in trade were fish, cordwood, lumber, and shingles. Farm products cut a small figure.

Aside of the slow steamers (fueled by cordwood) there were no communications. There was a steamer everyday to Portland, and one to Astoria, carrying passengers, mail, and freight, landing at Rainier about noon, while the Kellop and Toledo went up the Cowlitz to Castle Rock every other day and the Manzanillo to Clatskanie twice a week. The fare to Portland was one dollar and the time consumed five hours.

Roads leading out from Rainier were poor excuses and part of the year almost impassable.”

(Rainier Review article 1936)

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Working a Homestead

In August 1886, Josef filed on a homestead of 160 acres at South Beaver Creek. The Homestead Act required land applicants to “improve” their land by clearing trees for livestock pasture, growing crops, and establishing a home. Josef’s proof that he was living and working on his homestead was established by his journal entries:

“We herby certyfi that on or about the 11th day of January 1887 that we saw Joseph Hackenberg going to and from his homestead.” Signed: E.M. Rice, Jacob Beusch, Columbus S.R. Washburn.

“And all so in July and the first part of August.” Signed: Jacob Beusch, E.M. Rice; “The month of November from 2 – 3 December 1887” Signed: Columbus S.R. Washburn, Jared Wilson

Left: Joesf’s journal

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Working a HomesteadBy Josef Hackenberg, (undated)

This is not a work of fiction, every word is true.

Whoever has seen the magnificent forest of Western Oregon’s gentle swinging tree tops 200 - 300 feet high on a balmy, fair day, yet is otherwise unacquainted there, would hardly believe them a place of danger or treachery.

In August of 1886 I, tolerably ‘green’ yet for Oregon, filed on a homestead of 160 acres in Columbia County in the most tremendous woods, my nearest neighbor was then Mr. Beusch, over 2 miles away; and he was very good too, for he helped me in every way materially and with advice, as he knew the hard lot of a poor man, who tries to make home in this otherwise splendid country. Everything would have been well, if I could have been working right along on the place, but without any ready money, I was obliged to work out a great deal of my time to buy tools and provisions, and then the road through windfalls cost me very near 3 months work.

My first location in winter was on a small creek flat near the top of a hill in a bunch of the finest and tallest firs on my homestead. As I hated to slash them down, and because the creek got dry, I located on a knoll, l/4 mile from there in a bunch of dead trees, which I commenced to slash. Now to give anybody some idea of this immense amount of work for one man, I state this: it takes from 5 - 6 acres of space slashed over to be out of reach of trees, each acre ground containing from 35 - 50 standing firs 2-6 feet in diameter.

First I took the auger and burned them down, but the most of them contained so much pitch, that I had to abandon this method and resort to the axe. After falling about 100 trees, hardly one third, I left the balance to fall for the winter and started to build a comfortable house out of split cedar boards. To carry the boards together and fit them with drawing knife and plane took much of my time, and of course my headway was very small, all the while I slept and cooked in the shanty on my first location. Soon I had to work out again and did not return till the end of October 1887.

Before going to my place, I visited Mr. Beusch. In the course of our conversation he asked me: "Well, Josef, do you sleep already in your house or in the shanty yet among the standing trees?" Telling him, that neither house nor slashings would be any ways completed for some weeks yet, and I had to sleep in the shanty of course, he replied: "Well then, I as your good friend advise you to find some sort of safety and make a road to it by all means; we have experienced severe storms here in fall and winter and in the night too, severe, to make anybody's hair stand up, and the noise of the falling, cracking and breaking trees was simply terrific. It has rained already much, the ground is soft and of course can't hold the roots of these infernal long trees. I would just as soon be in a battle among whistling bullets as in that timber during a storm, for somebody would finally take care of me after the battle if hurt, but here no soul could know." I thanked and promised him to follow his advice. Before leaving, Mr. Beusch again said: "Josef, you know, what I told you, look out for your safety". Again I promised.

After I got home, I hunted for a safety spot around the shanty and was lucky soon to find it under the butt of a 4 foot in diameter fir turned up by the roots and lying about 15 feet from its root across the roots of another turned up fir tree, leaving a space of safety of 15 x 4 x 4 feet. The trail I made to it, was not straight to avoid heavy cutting through fallen trees, but good enough, I thought, for such temporary purpose. As often as possible, I walked along the trail to commit it well to memory and to be master of any emergency I put some dry wood and kindling under the tree; then somewhat triumphantly I said to myself, "ladder comme (let her come)!" It did come to be sure, but I must confess not quite according to my smart and self-conceited calculations in the terrible night from the 7th - 8th of November 1887, which I shall never forget.

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The day had been foggy and misty, so common in this section in fall and winter, then it gets dark very early in these woods, dark, so the darkness can be cut out in pieces. Coming home that particular evening rather late from work on the house, I went to bed after a scanty supper of black coffee and dry bread, because I hated cooking desperately and in fact there was not much there to make a meal out of.

Like all nights before lantern, slippers, overalls, hat and a long rubber coat were in readiness for danger. How long I slept, I don't know. A noise awoke me - and what a noise! From the cot I flew, mechanically reaching for slippers and hat, when a glaring lightning flash and the instantly following deafening peal of thunder brought me to my senses. There was to be sure no time to get in the safe place to lose by dressing completely or lighting the lantern, therefore I threw the rubbercoat over me and started for the trail, which in spite of the darkness I found and followed by feeling for the cut end of the logs. A perfect hurricane blew a drenching rain and some fir brush in my face; the trees seemed to fight, they struck and pounded on another with their tops, sometimes seemingly entangling themselves; their limbs, being in the way, got knocked off by the thousands and came down soaring, whistling and hissing. At short intervals trees fell. The noise of the howling wind in the trees, the breaking limbs and tops, the falling trees made a labyrinth of sounds after the thunder, never to be truly described nor forgotten by my mind. Soon the wind took my hat. Of course it was no use nor time to hunt for it.

In danger of being crippled or killed at any moment by a falling limb, top or tree, I moved on slowly but surely to safety. All at once I came to a standstill by a log about breast height. In the belief I had missed the trail I felt first one then the other way for the sawed end of the log in the trail without result. A feeling of being completely lost and crestfallen overcame me and my former smartness was all gone. The cold rain ran from my head down my back and legs. The fury of the storm increased steady and trees fell everywhere. About 300 yards from me I judged then and in the direction from which the wind blew, the trees fell as regular as the ticks of a clock and I knew it soon would reach me.

One who has never seen nor heard one of these trees, growing like a straw 250 - 300 feet high, fall cannot imagine the roar and danger produced by many of them falling at once. And there I stood meditating perhaps about the insignificance of man and the grandeur of nature or getting ready to die, for there seemed to be no escape, the same danger prevailed everywhere. Another flash of lightning was my salvation - it revealed to me that the tree had just fallen across the trail, which was to my right close to the place of safety. Over the log I went in a "jiffy" losing both slippers and landed on the other side in brush and limbs. Any other time my bare feet would have rebelled against such an experiment. This however was no time for reflection. Slowly groping on I was soon in safety; not too soon though for a big fir went cracking across my tree scattering a heap of dirt all over me from its root in consequence of the jar.

The main danger of getting killed or crippled was over and I felt the cold, wet and the bruises on my feet. My fire after many failures was a poor success; wood and kindling had got wet, so it gave little or no heat but all smoke, which tortured my eyes and nose. The storm, it seemed to me, raged for an eternity and numerous trees fell. It stopped suddenly. How glad I was in all my plight, I can't describe. Burning candles from dry cedar wood left from the kindling in hand I hunted the slippers, which I soon found one half full of water. Surely it was no easy task to walk barefooted on the wet, cold ground, strewn with splinters and limbs. Two trees had crossed the trail.

My anxiety about the shanty being destroyed was unfounded. Some of the roof boards had been thrown off, bed and stove were drenched, but the provisions were all right. The watch showed half past 1:00 a.m. The remainder of that miserable night was spent in cleaning myself and drying my clothes and blankets at the stove.

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The next day showed the havoc of the storm: the ground was literally covered with limbs and tops, some sticking in the ground, trees lay everywhere, many acres completely uprooted. A terrible fire swept over this windfall the following summer and destroyed what the storm had left, and that way a good deal of this beautiful and useful timber goes to ruin. The Government undoubtedly made a mistake in throwing this section of Oregon and Washington open for settlement.

That night's experience was a lesson for me. A little coffin-like hut under the safety tree (all preserved yet) served as my bedchamber during the short but hard winter of 1887-88, and in stormy days I went to bed before night to avoid such danger. My perseverance overcame all difficulties and obstacles and today I not only have the Warranty Deed for my homestead, but a good and comfortable home also, and a dear wife does the much dreaded cooking.

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[Josef’s many notations regarding “windfalls” in his journals indicate large swaths of trees were blown over at his homestead before he arrived. In a Rainier Review article of 1964, Mrs. May Richard Johnson of Hudson recalled a “terrible windstorm” of 1880 and remembered seeing her mother pray for the safety of her father when the trees were being uprooted. The little four-year-old consoled her mother with “that’s all right, now we can see the sunshine all around us.” Some 50 trees were blown down.]

Another eye witness account of windfalls:

“Rainier, Oregon Territory, July 24th 1853 ~ Brother Dexter . . . we are situated on the south bank of the Columbia; the country on this side is very hilly & heavyly timbered. The old growth of trees are now lieing prostrate & cover a great portion of the land. I have traveled a great distance upon ceder logs that were three & four hundred feet long & from 4 to 10 feet in diameter such trees as these would surprise you were you to see them. Most of the timber that is standing is very large & lofty. . . Silas. “Life on the Lower Columbia, 1853-1866”, Oregon Historical Quarterly, Fall 1982, page 254.

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Above: Married Dora Winchester, June 3, 1891

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Dora was a widow previously married to Thomas Wells for a short time.

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Above: “Whereas there has been deposited in the General Land Office of the United States a Certificate

of the Register of the Land Office at Oregon City, Oregon, whereby it appears that, pursuant to the Act of Congress

approved 20th May, 1862 ‘To secureHomestead to Actual Settlers on the Pubic Domain,’ and the acts supplemental

thereto, the claim of Joseph R. Hackenberg has been established and duly consummated, in conformity to law, for

the south east quarter of section twenty-seven in Township seven north of range three west of Willamette Meridian in

Oregon containing one hundred and sixty acres according to the Official Plat of the Survey of the said Land, returned

to the General Land Office by the Surveyor General:”

“Now know ye, that there is, therefore, granted by the United States unto the said Joseph R. Hackenberg the tract

of Land above described: To have and to hold the said tract of Land, with the appurtenances thereof, unto the said

Joseph R. Hackenberg and to his heirs and assigns forever; subject to any vested and accrued water rights for

mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes, and rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with

such water rights, as may be recognized and acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and decisions of courts, and

also subject to the right of the proprietor of a vein or lode to extract and remove his ore therefrom, should the same

be found to penetrate or intersect the premises hereby granted, as provided by law.”

“In testimony whereof I, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States of America, have caused these letters to

be made Patent, and the seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed. Given under my hand, at the City of

Washington, the fourteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety three, and of

the Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighteenth. By the President: Grover Cleveland”25

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William’s letter to niece Carol, dated May 24, 1966:

. . . Our father married our mother June 3rd, 1891 in Rainier. Things were a little different in those days, as you well know, but the future must have looked b right that day. They borrowed a row boat from Uncle Bob and went for a boat ride and laater walked home. The road was no doubt either muddy or dusty and from Wilson’s (mill site on Pellham Hills) was onlay a trail that went partly over high laying logs. But they had a home – crude as it was – all proved up on and I guess they would have been “happy ever after” if old Father Time didn’t mess things up.

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1892 Early journal entries indicate Josef and his wife Dora were settled in the “good and comfortable home” located on a “small creek flat near the top of a hill”. [Present homesite of Emma Hackenberg Chapman family]. Josef was gradually adding outbuildings to his property and tending homestead business. Journal entries have been summarized as daily activities of working a homestead were often repetitive and listed here once for the month. “Went to Rainier” for Josef often meant a good seven mile hike over some steep hills, or a ride on his old horse.

January 1892: Josef was busy building a smokehouse, “grubbing”, getting groceries “killed two roosters,” and walking “went to Mr. Headlee’s thence to Mr. Doan’s and Stuarts to locate the county road, and to Headlee’s again; gathered signers for road petition”. Went to Rainier.

February 1892: Finished the smokehouse and cut vine maple to smoke sturgeon, started digging the barn cut. Twelve waves of an earthquake were felt. Spaded the garden and sowed wheat, cabbage, potatoes, lettuce, onions, peas, and parsley. Pruned and poled the orchard. Trouble with the roof catching on fire . Worked at Wilson’s mill. Went to Rainier for smelt.J. Stuart visited. February 16: “Went to Rainier for sturgeon, heavy load, fight with Dora about supper.”

March 1892: Planted cabbage, rutabagas, parsnips, carrots, radishes, beets, potatoes, oats, wheat, and grafted trees. Split barn timbers, made shingles. Went to Mr. Headlee’s for flowers, fooled Dora. Worked at Wilson’s mill.Killed a hen. Mr. Headlee ploughed. Made a wheelbarrow. Went to Mr. Headlee’s with Dora on March 6; Mother Winchester came from town on March 15; baby Rudolf born on March 30.

April 1892: Split barn timbers, made blocks for barn, made shingles, sawed wood, grubbed, made fence, worked for J.B. Doan, carried flag for surveying, chained county road with Mr. Headlee from Schultz to Elmer Grindel’s place. Went to Mr. Doan’s for lard, butter and parsnips. Black rooster killed. Quit at Wilson’s. Four shocks of an earthquake felt.

Mother Winchester went home April 13; engagement day remembrance on April 17.

May 1892: Sawed one tree down, split barn timbers, raised the barn. Made a stool. Spaded and planted corn, cabbage. Worked at Doan’s. Arrested Higgins as constable. Subpoened W. Grindel and E. Grindel, called the jury.

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Attended trial of W. Higgins. Wheeled heavy load from the Brandt place to home. Went to J. Wilson’s about final proof of the land. Visited Mr. Morris, worked at Dad’s [Winchester].

June 1892: Wedding anniversary on June 3. Made shakes for barn, put on rafters, worked on barn roof. Went to Doan’s for butter. Went to vote at Meserve’s. Held school meeting. Made hay. Visits from Mr. Headlee and Rishers. June 19 – first strawberries. Wilson visiting about final proof.

July 1892: Made a rake, planted late cabbage. Went to St. Helens to get second citizen papers. Made petition for new school district. Cleared land for pasture at the creek. Shingled the barn, made a trail west of the house.Picked blackberries. Went to Risher’s for flour, to Doan’s for butter. Got honey out of a bee tree. Made a henhouse for Dad [Winchester]. Cleared pasture west of the hill, cleared northwest of house. July 4th – went to Rainier with family.

August 1892: Bob Lovelace hauled lumber from Wilson’s mill. Dora having a bad toothache. Went to Rainier with Dora to get her two teeth extracted (carried Rudolf). Carried axe ½ day for surveying, worked on the road at the South Beaver Creek. Tobyty had kittens. Harvested wheat, oats, and hay, cleared, broke the peavy, shot a mountain beaver. Went to Mr. Morris, thence to school meeting to locate the school house. Helped falling trees on the place for school house, slashed on the school house ground.

Left: Joesf Rodolph Hackenburg, (undated)

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“Hogweek”

August 30 ~ Went to Mr. J.B. Doan’s for a pig - Dora’s birthday. August 31 ~ The pig got away.Sept 2 ~ Caught the pig in a windfall near Mr. Morris’, the pig escaped againSept 7 ~ Dora caught the pig

“August 30. Went to Mr. J.B. Doan’s for a pig.”

September 1892: Went to St. Helens to prove up on my homestead. Nailed boards on barn, worked on county road, made a road to the spring west of the house, burned the slashing for the school house place, went to John Nelsons, got a cow. Made bars for cow, went to Rainier for churn pans. Worked for John Nelson.

October 1892: Grubbed, fenced, dug potatoes for John Nelson. Killed a hen, made sauerkraut, shot two grouse, lost one. Sawed firewood, made a cow trail. Made a barn door, sowed timothy seed. Bob [Johnson] came out.

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November 1892: Roof caught fire again, fixed the roof, finished trail to the new spring. Made a trail to the N.E. corner. Went to see Dad at Downings. Finished the hog barn. Killed a hen. Mr. Headlee hauled our winter crops, sawed down a big tree, sawed firewood. Tobyty lost. Went to Mr. Headlee, Whiteheads, and Morris about the building of a school house. Went to Wilson’s to post the school notice. Made a shed for manure, grubbed. Light snow.[November 7: voted for Cleveland, carried the blankets home.

December 1892: Dora went visiting in Rainier, carried Rudolph to the E. Beaver bridge. Carried Rudolph home from Doan’s. Grubbed, split rails for a well house, went to Wilson’s to file saws. Held school meeting at our place. Visited Mr. Headlee and Risher with Dora. Cut logs at Wilson’s mill for school lumber. Butchered the hog. December 21: Snow one foot deep. December 22: Snowed 4 more inches, trees fell from weight of snow. December 25: “ Dora’s good dinner.”

“Everything but finances concerned, 1892 has been a good year. New buildings on the place: barn, smokehouse, hog barn. Cleared ¾ of an acre, made (road) trail to Morris’s place, made a trail over the hill.”

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1893

There was snow in January and it was “cold like hell” [January 31]. February wasn’t much better with a February 6th journal entry “Went to Wilson’s on account of Rudolf’s rupture, snow averaging 2 ½ feet in depth”. Josef spent February trashing oats, cleaned wheat, made two rakes, cut wood, worked on the well house, and “made some sort of shoes for Rudolf.” Kitchen caught fire.

Although March brought in snow, wind, and rain, the chores continued: grubbed and planted garden seeds, changed trail to barn, split fence stakes, worked at Doan’s, Mr. Headlee ploughed, and the roof caught fire again. March ended with this notation “This has been the worst March I ever experienced in Oregon.”

April 1893: There were more April showers, “Rained all day and night without stop to beat hell… rainy to beat hell” and work: Made a harrow, worked in garden, sowed oats, made shingles, sawed wood and cleared at J.B. Doan’s, got flour from Risher. Made a chair and cart for Rudolf. Visit of the Assessor. The cow had a calf, last hay fed. Served papers as constable to Emil Schmidt, subpoened John Nelson as witness. Attended E. Schmidt’s trial. April’s notation “This month has been one of the worst spring months experienced here.”

May 1893: Three trips into Rainier, towed logs on the river, worked for Harry Doan and J.B. Doan, worked on new road, visited Mr. Whitehead’s place, planted cabbage and potatoes, made shingle timber, killed two chickens. Hauled flour.

June 1893: Mother [Winchester] came out. Visited Mr. Morris, went to Doan’s for a hen, made shingles. Graded new road, shingled school house roof and planed lumber at the school house. Made hay.

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Above: “Mowed” ~ “Made Hay”Homestead chores required long hours of repetitive manual labor, often with simple tools. In the early years hay was

cut was a scythe, raked, then stacked to be hauled to the barn.

July 1893: Mowed, hauled hay, made shingles. Worked on county road by the school house. Bob [Johnson] came out. Made shingle timber. Cleared west of the house and on the hill. Made hay for Nelson, went to Rainier with Dora and Rudolf. Hunted for the cow, picked blackberries.

August 1893: Fixed cow bell, cleared on the hill, picked blackberries, sowed clover seed, made a bed for Rudolf. Miss Jacobs [school teacher] came to board. Went to Stehmen/Wilson’s for beef. Mowed oats and clover, hauled in hay. Big fire at King’s place.

September 1893: Finished grading new road, went to Headlee’s for beef, to Rishers for wheat. Held school meeting at Wilson’s, visited school. Cut on road on top of hill. Made a calf halter, cut wood, grubbed on the hill, dug potatoes. Dora went to Rainier, “school marm left”. First frost on September 22nd. Decennial remembrance of departure from Austria Silesia September 20.

October 1893: Picked clover seed, sowed wheat, visited the school, cut wood, grubbed. Made a truss for Rudolf. Killed a grouse, made a bell strap for the calf. Cut bolts at Rishers. Mr. Headlee ploughed ground on the hill. Dug potatoes for Harry Doan at Stuarts. Visited Washburn’s, and Whitehead’s. Decennial remembrance of landing in New York – October 9. Cut down trees on the hill, cleared them out. Dora’s danger by falling tree – October 13. School ended – October 20.

November 1893: Worked for Harry Doan. Sawed wood, hauled manure, spaded, broke the shovel. Got two sacks of apples from Doan’s place on the wheelbarrow. Made sauerkraut, dug parsnips and turnips. Moved the privy. Cut down two trees. Hauled and planted orchard trees. Dug velvet grass. (Note: Imagine bringing a wheelbarrow of apples up and down the makeshift road over the steep Pellham Hills!)

December 1893: Wheeled Rudy to old Mike’s, Dora went to Rainier. Hauled manure, dug velvet grass, turnips, and carrots. Shingled well house. Held school board meeting. Walking and county road work took up much time : December 4 – went to Doan’s for the commission as road supervisor, warned out men for work. December 5 – Went to see Commissioner Barnes, walked 30 miles.

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Warned the Beaver and Girt crew out to work; worked ½ day on the new bridge below school house; worked on road by Stuarts; warned the Apiary crew out to work; warned the shingle mill crew out; worked with crew at the Doan hill above Kilby’s.

December 28 – 30: Opened with Shelton’s team, the new road at Stuart’s. Last few logs rolled out of the new county road at Stuarts.

“Financial matters and weather concerned the year 1893 has been the worst I know of. New buildings: well house. Cleared 1½ acre, made road on the hill, grubbed 1½ acre.”

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1894

Another year of hard work on the county roads, “helped Graham lay planks on long bridge at Wilson’s mill; measured planks at Alley’s mill & gave county orders, started 1:30 o’clock in the morning for St. Helens, made road supervisor report”; laid planks on bridges below school.

Apparently there was much county road work to accomplish as the January 2 journal entry indicates “Dora came home, got lost.” A journal entry of December 31 noted she had gone to Rainier for Rudolf, and presumably stayed with her Winchester family a few days before returning home. Did Dora, pregnant with William and accompanied by young Rudolf, get a ride to a neighboring homestead then lose the trail home in the receding daylight??

Dora was continually plagued with dental problems and during the year made another trip into Rainier to have a tooth extracted. She and Josef added a second son to their family evidently tending to the birth themselves: On May 2 “At 11:15 o’clock p.m. William born.” Josef took over the household chores during that week while Dora recuperated as evidenced by his journal entries of “done housework” until May 12th when it is noted “Dora resuming business.” On May 8, “Mother came out.” Grandmother Winchester must have thought mother and baby were fine and the domestic duties in order, as she only stayed overnight.

As road conditions improved, it appears the neighboring women began to venture from home in search of companionship. During the year Dora was visited at different times by Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Washburn, and Carrie Kilby, first indication of women traveling alone.

In the spring there is mention of an ox which Josef “broke”, and used to harrow his clearings and do some hauling with the aid of the newly completed cart/wagon. Perhaps the ox was the yearling calf from the previous spring.

Josef went to great effort to ensure a supply of fresh milk and butter as he “went with the cow” to neighboring homesteads on three separate trips during May and June.

Ora Gillham was the school teacher and came to board during the school term of September 1 – November 23. It is noted that the “well play out” on July 11 and remained dry until September 25. September must have been an 32

especially trying time for Dora with insufficient water to meet the needs of her household which included she and Josef, their two small children and the teacher.

“The year 1894 was financially poor, extreme in cold, heat, thunder and snow, high water and fire; good crops were harvested everywhere. Barn completed, ¾ acre grubbed, ¼ acre cleared. Work very much eased by the use of an ox and cart.”

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1895

In January it “rained terrible, highest water on record.” Josef continued to add to his equipment; finished work bench and rutabaga cutter, worked on thrashing machine wheel, made a wagon. Went to surprise party at Graham’s.

February 1895: Dora had a week’s stay in Rainier. Meanwhile in her absence, Josef made a grindstone trough and “baked grindstone bread”. During the month he finished shingling the front of the house, smoked “smelts” and set out orchard trees. Slight earthquake. February 17: “Mr. Morris having a bad visit at my place.” Two days later his wife visited, possibly to patch things up?? This is the second notation of a disagreement with Mr. Morris, and as time went on their relationship did not improve. Seven years later Josef “closed off trail to Morris”.

March 1895: Grafted trees, ploughed, grubbed, sowed oats, barley, and peas. Planted potatoes, smoked sturgeon, made Rudy a cart and a chair. Defeated as clerk at school meeting. Made a road to shingle timber, made bolts and shingles. Snowed several times during the month.

April 1895: Went with road surveying party to the Beaver. Planted trees, poled orchard trees, fixed bank below chicken house. Spaded garden, worked on road west of house, and road to hill. Cow had a calf. Split flooring for porch. On jobs during the month went to Harry Doan’s, Risher’s, and Nelson’s.

May 1895: Spaded garden, planted onions, set out rutabagas. Dora went to Nelson’s. Bob Johnson visited for two days. Grubbed a stump in front of the house, worked on road, split rails and made a fence. Made a seat for Rudy in the water closet [outside toilet]. Rudy first time in pants. Made wagon ready for hay. Killed the cats.June 1895: Cut wood on school ground. 4th wedding anniversary. Shingled west gable, looked for a cowtrail, made cowtrails. Mowed, made hay, hauled in hay. Hauled hay at Nelson’s and Parcher’s. Bored some snags on the hill and cleared. Kitchen caught fire. First strawberries ripe on June 18.

July 1895: Cleared on the hill, got cats from Banzer. Walked with Rudy to town. Eleven days later “Dora went to Rainier for Rudy”, “Dora went with the church around the cross coming home with Rudy”. Hauled shingle bolts to shed, made shingles. Hauled Risher’s hay at Charley Doan’s place with ox. “Cut bolts for Harry Doan, a piece of steel struck me above the eye.” Picked blackberries.

August 1895: Picked blackberries for wine. “Hot, mowed wheat, fought fire - tremendous fire on hill west of house.” Josef fought fires for the next several days and noted it was “smoky” for about a week. Went to Harry Doan’s with the cow. Trashed and cleaned peas, barley, and dug potatoes. Went to Harry Doan’s and Brant’s, got flour. Hauled in last of the hay, bored and burned logs.

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September 1895: On the lst there was a belated dinner party for Dora and notation that day “got a cat from Risher’s”. During the month Josef made a new truss for Rudy then took him to Rainier for a 6-week stay, presumably to the Winchester grandparents. He also visited his friend “sick Mr. Beusch.” On September 22 Dora had a bad toothache, and the next day September 23, “At 12:45 o’clock a.m., Ina born, went to Rishers, ploughed ½ acre west of the house.” Josef is again doing “housework” for about 10 days while Dora recuperates. During this time the kitten fell in the well. Josef is also working out in the field sowing wheat, oats, and barley. There is no mention of Willie, the toddler now nearly 1 ½ years old, who perhaps was helping his mother care for the new baby. The next week Dora had a busy day with visits from Lottie Nelson, Mrs. Parcher, Mrs. Risher, and Mrs. Graham.

October 1895: Put up the clothesline. Raked and burned the trash on the hill. Dug on barn lot, cut and hauled shingle bolts. Held school meeting. Worked for Risher, went to Wilsons.

November 1895: Hauled manure on strawberries, onion bed, wheat ground. Picked Seckel pears. Dora went to Rainier with the baby. Cut and hauled wood, burned out a stump. Cut down a tree and made shingle timber. Built a shingle shed. Broke the froh, got a froh from Grahams. Julia, Cora Bailey, Lottie Nelson, and Mr. & Mrs. Braddock all visited the same day.Boarded cellar part of barn. On Thanksgiving Day: “Went to Rishers, set a tree in road afire, rested.” The last day of the month “First water in the well since June.”

December 1895: Harvested rutabagas, carrots, sawed wood. “Went with Braddock for dogsalmon to Lady Creek, heavy load.” Smoked dog salmon. Made a halter chain for the ox. Helped Braddock on chimney. Went to Beusch’s for apples. Put new maple tongue on wagon. Risher butchered the calf. Cut up meat and helped Dora can meat. Hauled a dogwood tree from the other side of the hill. Worked on new sled. On December 31, Josef “finished sled, had a quick ride.”

Josef turned 36 years old on December 28.

“The year 1895 (the year of disappointments) has been financially very poor, extremely dry in summer and fall, extreme in thunder, high water and fire. Road on hill completed, cow path fenced, cleared ½ acre, grubbed ¼ acre new ground, and ¼ acre meadow, shingled house.”

❀ ❀ ❀

1896

Josef started the year with vigor: Made a bridle chain, hauled manure on sled, worked on new harness. Helped Dora getting in vegetables. Dug velvet grass, harrowed meadow. Cut logs on hill. Worked at Rishers. Repaired shoes. Went to Beusch’s for apples, visited the school. Made a churn machine and tree pruner. “Had a bad trial with churning machine.” Finished cylinder for threshing machine, started baskets. Went to Rishers with Rudy. Pulled logs and roots with Mike on hill. December 16: Decennial anniversary of arrival in Oregon.

February 1896: Finished threshing machine. Went to Rishers with Mike [old horse or ox] for flour and salt. Hauled in wood, cut logs out of trail on hill. Laid porch floor. Hauled smelts from Rishers. Cleaned and smoked smelts. Made a ladder. Dug around and poled the orchard trees. Fixed Risher’s saw, pruned their trees. Went to Beusch’s for 34

grafts, “Mr. Beusch very low.” Harrowed in clover seed, plowed and grubbed garden, “plowed in potatoes.” Moved work bench out of house. Went to Rishers with family. “Grafted trees at Beusch’s, went to Rainier, got very wet. Hunted for work.”March 1896: Repaired the accordion and boots. Elected director at school meeting. Made a barn window and new door. Made a fence and bars and a box with lock for school house utensils. Cut down a tree with Braddock. Went to Rishers with Mike, changed ox harness. Made a door for chicken lot. Went to Headlee’s and Beusch’s for eggs. Went to Rainier with Rudy and Willie, looked for work. Spaded W.F. Deitz’s garden. Worked for Nels Nelson at Doan’s place.

April 1896: Cleared a garden spot in the hollow by the spring. Hauled manure, grafted trees, burned some stumps south of house. Went to Rishers for plants with Mike, filed big saw, sawed a log and cut down a snag. Split and shaved cedar boards. Wrote some family history, and wrote a letter to Europe. Made a cow trail on hill and hunted up a new cow trail north of house. “Went to Mr Beusch’s funeral with Rudy, went to Rainier.” [It is interesting that the only Columbia County obituary record of Mr. Beusch is from Josef’s journal. See page 69 of Columbia County, Oregon Cemetery Records, published by Genealogical Forum of Oregon.] Josef brought Willie home after a 6-week stay in Rainier.

The month ended with this notation, “This rotten month of April beats for rain and cold the one of 1893.”

May 1896: The weather had not improved on May 1: “One inch snow in morning, rainy all day, went to Rainier and back.” On another trip to Rainier he hauled manure at Bob’s place, and went to Schmit’s mill. Bored trees and cut logs on hill. Split and “dressed” barn timbers. Dora went to Rainier with baby Ina, and while they were gone a few days, Josef “went to Rishers with Willie, rested, played cards”. He then “went with Willie to meet Dora.” Ploughed in potatoes at Doan’s. Went to Rainier about cutting cordwood on S. Kistner’s place. Worked on the road for tax.

June 1896: Voted at Apiary, carried blankets [for overnight boarding?] and tools to S. Kistner’s place, cut cordwood. Went with Lohmann and Morden to Rainier, went home with some flour. Mowed grass in Bob’s lot. Went to Portland. Mowed, hauled in hay.

July 1896: It was good haying weather, “confounded hot”, “hellroaring hot”, and he got in 30 cart loads of hay the first week. He then went haying at Beusch’s, and “went to Rainier for chipmunk medium 8” [rodent bait?]. “Mother came out” and took Rudy home with her for a month’s stay. “Went to Rainier for a scythe” seems to be noted after the hay has all been cut. He cleared land, repaired the washtub, hauled in wheat, and picked blackberries. “Went to Beusch’s for sugar.”

August 1896: Hauled in oats and wheat. Picked blackberries. Went with the cow to Beusch’s, thence to Apiary.” “Fixed cart for road, went with Mike to Rainier”, and he brought home a supply of salt and flour. The other trips into Rainier must have been on foot. During the month he also spent several days working at the Beusch farm. The “stove fell over.”

September 1896: Worked at Beusch barn, grubbed in meadow, raked trash in clearing on hill, set slashing below barn afire, trashed oats. Grandmother Winchester brought Rudy home and stayed overnight. And during the month Dora went for an overnight visit in Rainier.

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October 1896: Trashed wheat, fanned wheat, oats and barley; then he “sowed, harrowed, rolled and raked.” Made a chain, raked on hill. Split logs for burning stumps south of house. Went to Harry Doan’s about a cow. Butchered the calf, cut up meat. “Made a handle for grubbing hoe and cleared south of house in afternoon.” More cat trouble “kitten fell in the well in evening. Got cat out of the well.” Brought home a calf and repaired Mike’s harness, then went to McKee’s for flour with Mike. “Went to Rainier, worked for Daddy at the old place.” Filed Saw, cut stovewood.

November 1896: Made a feed rack in the barn, an ax handle, repaired ox harness, finished hay rake, and made a new bridle chain.. “Went to Rainier, voted for Bryan, cut wood for Dad.” The November rains came, “rained infernally all night, creeks very high, first water in well. Rained all day and night.” Sawed, hauled in wood. “Went to Jake Beusch’s place with the cow for nothing.” Worked “ditching” at Beusch’s. The weather turned cold and it was “devilish cold”, “hellroaring cold”, “infernally cold”. He was busy hauling in stove wood, and fixed the heating stove. Thrashed and cleaned clover seed.

December 1896: Made a new harrow, finished rakes, worked on horsepower wheels. Cut maple on the Beaver, hauled maple and timbers. Spread manure, got in rutabagas, dug last potatoes, ploughed garden, dug velvet grass. Got apples from Beusch’s. Sawed wood, grubbed. Another trip to Beusch’s place “with the cow. Went to Rainier with Rudy, worked for Daddy.” When he and Rudy were back, Dora and Willie went to Rainier for a few days [perhaps little Ina was left with neighbors.]

“The year 1896 has been financially poor, extreme in heat and cold, rain and high water. Fenced barnlot, cleared 1 ½ acre, grubbed ¾ acre new ground, and ¼ acre meadow, made timbers and boards for a grain barn, laid porch floor.”

❀ ❀ ❀

1897

“Ina commenced to walk” on January 8. Josef was in Rainier that week working for the Winchesters grubbing and cutting staves and wood. He and Rudy, now about 5 years old, went to Rainier for another few days at the end of the month. This time Josef built a fence for the Winchester’s.

The usual winter chores went on during January 1897: Grubbed, went to McKee’s for flour, worked on horsepower wheels, filed handsaw, cut and hauled in stovewood, made a new hayrack for wagon. Held school board meeting, hauled in split blocks, cleaned clock and sewing machine.

February 1897: Ploughed, grubbed, made a manure shovel and brake lever. Went to Rainier, “got smelts, heavy load. Smoked smelts.” Trashed oats, cleaned peas, cut wood. “Severe west-northwest storm, filed saw, cleaned trees out of meadow.” Hauled maple for cart tongues. Visited Nelson’s. The last week of February was spent in Rainier, “Made fence and pruned trees for Dady.”

March 1897: Ploughed, planted potatoes. Pruned and grafted orchard trees. “Hauled the children on the cart to Larsen’s place, went to Beusch’s, left the ox there, Dora went to Rainier. Hauled potatoes from Beusch’s with Mike.” On Dora’s trip back home several days later, Josef “carried Ina from Larsen’s” indicating a possible problem with the road version of the ox and cart. On March 25, it was “rainy, terrific wind, thousands of trees fell, cleaned out meadow on hill, cut trees out of the cow trail, cut logs out of the road.”

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April 1897: Cut logs on trail. Ploughed, sowed and harrowed in peas, clover, and timothy seed, planted potatoes. Went to S. M. Rice’s for chicken feed and provisions. Cleaned moss off roof, whitewashed trees. Josef made several trips into Rainier “and worked for Dad on new house and garden.” On April 18 “Went to Rainier with Willie” and two days later “Raised Dad’s house.”

May 1897: Josef “worked for Dad”, “worked for Dad”, “worked for Dad”, and finally on May 17, “Dad moved in the new house, river raising”. On one trip back home for a couple of days, Annie Johnson [sister-in-law] came from Rainier with him to visit the homestead. The last 10 days of the month were spent catching up home chores: hoed potatoes, worked on county road, made a timber sled, hauled planks, put in blocks and posts for grain barn. There were also visits to Beusch’s, Lohman’s, and Nelsons. Dora and Rudy went to Rainier.

June 1897: “Worked for Dad. Worked at Beusch’s.” Hauled planks, mowed orchard and meadow, “made together some hay”, hauled in hay. Dug out the road on the hill, worked on grain barn. Fixed bull harness and bell strap, harnessed bull calf for first time. “Visit of the assessor.” “Made petition about road plank to County Court.” Fixed timbers/got some rafters ready at Alley’s mill. Put up studding for grain barn. Josef took Rudy to Rainier once, and later “went to Portland with Rudy on the Iralda.” The notation on June 30 of “Farewell you rotten hay month!” sums up his struggle with the weather to save his supply of winter hay.

July 1897: While in Portland, Josef and Rudy had their picture taken. Once back from the big city, it was more of the same “Worked for Dad, cut wood and built a walk to his house.” “Quarreled with J. Wilson.” Worked on grain barn, made shakes, mowed at Beusch’s, mowed hay on the hill, hauled in hay. Hauled rafter lumber from Alley’s mill. Picked blackberries. “Mother came” and stayed a couple days at the end of the month.

August 1897: Picked blackberries, mowed wheat, china peas, timothy, and oats; made shakes, finished roofing grain barn, finished flooring. “Wrote a letter home and prepared pictures to send.” Went to the investigation at Alley’s mill, worked for Dad painting house, picking apples. Got in wheat and oats, “felt all worn out, rested.” Dug potoatoes. Dora went with Willie and Ina to Rainier for a 3-day stay. It was “hot” and “smoky” “big fire”. “Changed carts, went with Mike to Rainier for Apples and pears.” Trashed and cleaned wheat, cleaned chicken house.

September 1897: Grubbed by the well house and in meadow, trashed and cleaned peas and wheat. Cut down a big tree below the barn. Split stumps. “Tremendous showers”, “big hailstorm”, “thunder and showers”, “terrible days for fruit.” The weather wasn’t the only problem, “got hell from yellowjackets”. “Picked Bartlett pears and Petit’s [prunes], ate loads of fruit, rested.” Ploughed, sowed wheat and rye, harvested clover seed. Cow had a calf.

October 1897: Went to Rainier with Willie [who stayed for 2 weeks], cut stovewood for Dad, came home with heavy load. Worked at Beusch’s. Picked “Fall Peppins” “Seckel” pears. Made a feed rack and cowstand. At the end of the month, “Mother came out and went home with Rudy” [who stayed in town for about 3 weeks.] During the month there were visits from F. Kilby and Ollie Rice.

November 1897: Another long, dry summer “first water in well” on November 7th. Went to McKee’s for flour and apples with Mike. Cut wood and ditched at Beusch’s, went to Headlee’s about hogs. Filed saw, cut and hauled in wood. Went to Rainier, cut wood for Dad, visited Bob. Hauled potatoes into grain barn, trashed peas, stored rutabagas. “House got a fire at 5 o’clock in evening.”

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December 1897: Hauled manure, cut and hauled in wood. “Very rainy” “Much thunder and showery, creeks very high”. “Made a truss for Rudy” who, now 5 ½ years old, was apparently still having a problem with the “rupture” mentioned much earlier. Trashed and cleaned barley and peas, “fixed cart up.” He then went to Rainier and back with Mike three times, and on one trip brought home flour. Went to Beusch’s about meat. “Visited the school, looked about fencing on the hill.” Repaired the rutabaga cutter, fixed stovepipes on house and kitchen. On the last day of the year “All of us suffering with a bad cold.”

“The year 1897 has been financially better than the previous 5 years, extreme in wind and rain, splendid crops of grain, hay, vegetables and fruit were raised everywhere. Built a grain barn, cleared 1/8 acre, grubbed 1 acre, grubbed ½ acre meadow. Farewell glorious year of 1897!”

❀ ❀ ❀

1898

January: Worked on road at Stuart’s, worked at Beusch’s. Went to school board meeting, made and painted a blackboard for the school. Ollie Rice came to board January 2 - 28. Notation of “night of weeping women” on January 25th. and later Josef “went to Rice’s for meat”. February 1898 : Dora made a trip to Rainier the first week and “came home with Willie.” Worked on wagon, harrowed meadow, cleared below barn. Trashed and cleaned peas and clover seed. Poled, pruned and set out orchard trees, hauled logs with Mike. Finished garden markers and stepladder. Made the trial trip with the new wagon. Repaired stove. Grubbed at Beusch’s. Ollie Rice came for a visit.

March 1898: Josef worked at Beusch’s, grubbed and grafted trees there for 6 days. He was reelected director at the school meeting, and painted the blackboard. Plowed garden, planted some potatoes, sowed oats in front of the house, and oats, barley and clover west of the house. On the hill, he sowed veatch, and flax, and south of the house he put in China peas. Cut down two trees for fence, split stakes and rails, and fenced on the hill. Went to Rainier with Rudy, cut wood for Dad. Worked on new Stehman road.

April 1898: “Sowed and harrowed in clover seed on new patch below barn.” Went to Rainier and worked for Dad, spaded at Bob’s. Made fence below barn, spaded hog lot. Planted garden seeds, which included celeriac. Worked at spring west of house [to ensure a summer water supply?] Went to Peterson’s camp, worked there 3 days, and “worked for old man Meserve” a couple of days. Filed saw, made a sledge handle, made railroad ties. Dora and Ina made a visit to Rainier, and the last day of the month Josef went to Rainier and brought back Rudy.

May 1898: Worked at Peterson’s camp the first half of the month. “Blazed and swamped a trail on the hill for hauling fence rails.” Hoed garden, made bean poles, cut logs in the new trail on hill. Made table boards, improved table. Sprayed “a few trees”. Went to Portland on the Iralda, and on the way back “came home with R. Lovelace” [a teamster]. Hoed Dad’s garden.

June 1898: Cut out and graded road. Hauled fence timbers with Mike, cut and split rail timbers. Filed saw, cleaned shop, fixed cowstand, repaired cow’s bellstrap. Hoed potatoes. Fixed hay wagon, mowed and hauled in first grass hay. Cut down a cedar, made rails and stakes, and cut logs in the fence road, made fence. Went to Rainier, came back with Rudy. Mrs. Beusch visited during the month. June 3: Josef and Dora’s 7th wedding anniversary.

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July 1898: “Nice day, mowed and hauled in hay – at 10 o’clock P.M. Emma born” July 2. Josef is again doing “housework” with “Dora resuming her old post” 10 days later. [Rudy is 6, Willie 4, and Ina about to turn 3 years old.]

Canned raspberries, picked blackberries, went to Morris’ for beef. “At 6 o’clock in the evening kitchen got badly on fire.” Fenced spring, cut thistles, cut and trashed rye, cut wheat. Mrs. Morris visited, there was also a visit from the assessor. Went to Rainier, cut wood for Dad, came home with Willie.

August 1898: “Devilish hot”, “Hellroaring hot”, cut wheat, oats, rye and barley; trashed and cleaned grain. Set fire on hill, grubbed. “Bob, Annie, Mr. and Mrs. Lohmann visiting, hauled Mrs. Lohmann to Larson’s place, came home late, had a bull fight. Bob and Annie with Rudy went back.” Fixed wagon’s harness, went to Rainier, came home with flour and pears. Dora and Ina went to Rainier with baby Emma on a visit. Pulled last of flax. Finished the big stump south of house, split railroad ties for Peterson.

September 1898: The first week of September “worked for Peterson”. Then on the 10th ,“worked in the mud hole of a chute in forenoon, got fired for refusing to work on Sunday at noon, went to Rainier in afternoon” and brought home glass jars. He returned to Petersons’ camp for his blankets, going “through Peterson’s chute to Rainier.” Cut wood for Dad. Back at home again he picked Bartlett pears, and the Italian and French prunes; then went to Petersons for “time check, thence to Rainier”. On that trip he went to Portland and back on the Iralda, and came home with more fruit jars. Hauled big roots with Mike, fixed wagon for manure, plowed, grubbed, and trashed grain.

October 1898: Josef started out the month with a trip to Rainier, and the next day “came home with Rudy.” Trashed last peas, sowed rye and wheat, picked fall Pepins. Made a hay rack for “Bullil”. There were two trips to town and back with “Mike”; and two family trips on wheels - “hauled Dora and children to Larsen’s place.” Sawed stumps, made pickets. “Made a bed for the boys.” Visited Mr. Kilby.

November 1898: Tore old hen house down, made and raised rafters, shingled and finished new hen house. Made a new wheelbarrow, fixed axe handle. Worked at Holsapple’s, came home with meat. Cut wood for Dad. Went to school board meeting. Picked some Stark apples, dug rutabagas. Went with William Holsapple to visit Mr. and Mrs. Washburn. Another long dry summer, as first water in the well on November 18.

December 1898: Plowed rutabaga ground. Cut and hauled in wood. Made chicken lot fence. Moved hog barn and fence. Dug on barn lot. Made timbers, hauled and spread manure. Fired two stumps, grubbed east of the barn. Cut wood for Dad. Fixed Daisy’s stand. Prepared for calf stand, fixed singletree, repaired Mike’s harness. “Worked on horsepower.”

“The year 1898 has been everything concerned tolerably good; splendid crops of hay, grain and fruit were raised. Moved hen house and hog barn. Cleared 1/6 of an acre, grubbed ½ of an acre new ground and ½ acre meadow. Fenced ground on hill, made ½ mile cow trail. Work simplyfied by the use of a small waggon instead of the cart.”

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1899

Josef began the new year with a larger diary with columns for the weather and correspondence.

January 1899: “Worked on horsepower.” Repaired the fanning mill. Trashed and cleaned flax. Went to Rainier, “came from Rainier with a heavy load.” Cleaned toolbox, filed handsaw, cut roots. Fixed sled. Made a rake and ladder. “Cut hair.” Made a brakeblock, repaired tongue holder. Made a trail to spring, dug velvet grass, set out new trees. Put window in barn, made a stool. Worked on the county road. Took Ina to Rainier, and went smelt fishing with Bob. “Came home with heavy load.” Cut wood for Holsapple. School ended on January 28. Cow had a calf. Correspondence during the month with: Albertine, Risher, and Mrs. Beusch.

February 1899: Trashed and cleaned garden seeds. Cut wood for Holsapple and Dad. Worked on county road at school house. Made a cow trail on the hill. Carried blankets to C. Snyder’s mill, cut shinglebolts [two weeks work]. Weather notations of “Devilish cold” “Creeks very high” and “Farewell you rotten month!” Letters from: Albertine and home.

March 1899: Another two weeks during the month were spent working off and on at Snyder’s, then he quit and “settled with Snyder.” “Went to Hogtown pruned Huffmann’s orchard.” He also pruned trees at Johnson’s, and Malcom’s. Cut wood for Dad. Went to Rainier with Rudy, “came home with Ina”. Went to McKee’s for flour with Mike, exchanged calves.

April 1899: Hauled manure and wood. Sowed pasture. Went to Kilby’s, got a cat and artichokes. Plowed and sowed peas, vetch, barley, and clover. Turned “Billy” out for first time. Finished and put up windmill. Made a barrel cover. Grubbed on the hill, and south of the house. Cut wood for Dad, brought Rudy home. Went to McKee’s for flour. Dora went to Rainier, “went with Rudy for Dora and children.” Made garden in hollow. Went to McKee’s for a stove. There was an inch of snow on April 30. “Farewell you mean stinker of an April!”

May 1899: Made a cow trail on the hill, “connected 2 cowtrail on North line (Braddock)”. Grubbed south of the house. Sprayed. Braced shrubs. Fell timber and cut bolts for Snyder, and also worked at Peterson’s camp during the month. “You glorious May, full rain and hell, get!”

June 1899: Fell timber and cut bolts at Snyder’s. Oiled clock. Went to Rainier, cut wood for Dad. Grubbed south of the house on the new patch, plowed. “Hung transmission wheel.” Went to Morris’s and Headlee’s. Worked with Headlee on school ground. Hung bull wheel, split timbers. Kitchen “got a fire.” “Hauled and placed horsepower timbers, cleaned stovepipe.” “Finished horsepower.” Worked for C. Snyder, put up frame of mill building at the Washburn place. Fixed hay wagon, mowed meadow, got in first hay. Split flooring. “This has been the first good month this year.”Letters were from Whiteheads, and home.

July 1899: Emma’s first birthday. Josef spent most of his time harvesting hay, then “Went to Snyder’s and Holsapple’s for nothing.” After that he got a week’s work at Peterson’s. He also went into Rainier twice, leaving Ina and coming home with Willie. “Big fire at Peterson’s.” Cut thistles, cleaned grain barn. And, he did his own burning “Set out fire.”The weather notation indicates “This month has been very dry.”

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August 1899: The first week was “hot” and Josef “set out fires”, then made a trip into town to “cut wood for Dad”. After that the weather rapidly deteriorated as indicated by numerous notations of “Heavy Showers”, and the extra steps he took to harvest his grain “dried wheat” “turned wheat and rye”, “turned grain”. A horsepowered device aided his harvest efforts as he again went to Rainier and “came home with the belts, put on one”, “worked on the horsepower, Mike rheumatic.” During the month, Bob and Annie came for an overnight stay and that evening the “kitchen caught fire.” Dora made a trip to town with Rudy, and two days later “Dora came with Ina and Rudy.” Weather notation: “The foulest August that ever was in Oregon.”Correspondence: Mrs. Whitehead, Risher. Mentioned contacts: Art Snyder, Holsapples, Nelsons.

September 1899: The weather improved and there was more thrashing, cleaning , and fanning of grain. First Ina was sick with “measles”, and two weeks later “Dora, Willie, and Emma having measles” Once again Josef did the “housework” four consecutive days. During the interval between family bouts with measles, Josef left Rudy in Rainier and “went to Portland and back on Iralda. Hauled flour to Dad:” The next day he “went to Rainier with Mike and back” [to pick up the supply of flour?] Dug potatoes, plowed at the barn, grubbed. Hauled first manure on hill. There were also two more trips into Rainier, one with Mike. “This month has been very fair.” Contacts: Will Snyder, George Moeck, W.H. Kyser, Morris. Correspondence: Home, Risher, Mrs. Beusch, Mrs. Hawkins, Kyser

October 1899: Sowed wheat and rye, and cleared east of the barn the first week. The rest of October was spent working at Snyder’s where he “cut bolts”, ran the “cut off saw” and “cut roads”. He did have time for a visit to the neighbor “Rowed with old Headlee”. “This month has been tolerably fair.” Correspondence: Dad, Mrs. Hawkins, Peterson, home

November 1899: Starting out the month, he first “cut bolts for Snyder” for four days, then “quit”, and “came home with blankets”. He worked in town the next week “cut wood for Dad, “hauled Dad’s freight”, “dug thistles”, “came home with heavy load.” The next day he went back to Rainier with Ina and Mike, and again “Came home with heavy load.” Fixed Mike’s bell, made sauerkraut, threshed vetch and peas, hauled in rutabagas. Cut and hauled in wood. “This month has been very warm and rainy.” Correspondence: Dad, Lohmann, Hawkins, Albertine.

December 1899: Cut and hauled wood. Cleared east and below the barn; cleared below the house. Raked and grubbed on the new patch. “Made timbers for horsepower.” “Hewed timbers for horsepower.” “House got badly on fire, repaired roof.” There were two trips to Rainier, one with the horse. He visited Gallien’s. December 28: “Birthday the 40th, rested.” “This month has been tolerable fair.” Correspondence: Risher, Mrs. Beusch, Schroth.

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“Sendoff for the year 1899. The year 1899 has been every thing concerned tolerable good, extreme in rain and cold. Good crops, except fruit, were raised everywhere. Made a windmill, made a failure on treadpower. Grubbed ½ acre new ground, 1/8 acre meadow, cleared 1/3 acre.”

Carol’s observations from Josef’s journal of the 1890’s:

It appears the children, one at a time, commonly stayed in Rainier, often weeks at a time, with their Winchester grandparents. Josef was very industrious and within the first five years after his marriage, had put finishing touches on his house and outbuildings. With the growing family, he must have needed more income so started working more at neighboring homesteads. 1899 marked the beginning of Josef’s extended work at the various lumber camps where he would carry his blankets and stay to work the week. He continually went around looking for outside work and there are many notations of “went to. . . for nothing”. Whether he was paid is not mentioned, but he spent considerable time building his father-in-law’s new house and walk in Rainier, and is continually “cutting wood for Dad”.

Josef no longer is obtaining flour at various neighbors, but purchasing it in Portland on his Iralda trips. There was a severe shortage of household water nearly every summer, lasting until November; and as Josef never mentions carrying water, it is likely Dora and the children were assigned that task. Dora had a sewing machine, and there is a good supply of fruit jars. Perhaps some of the kitchen fires so often mentioned were caused by having to keep a roaring hot fire in the wood stove during the canning season.

The young orchard which is poled, pruned, and grafted on schedule is just starting to produce, and they also have strawberries for a change of diet from the many blackberries that are available.

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1900

The year began with much the same homestead routine, and pruning trees at Nelson’s, W.G. Kyser’s, Winchester’s, Franz Olson’s along with working in his own orchard. There is a notation in April “boys went to Rainier alone” [Rudy was 8 and Willie 4]. Josef worked for Star Logging Company from May 1 to June 2, coming home each week on Saturday and on Sunday “rested”. During June there were visits from the “Assessor” and “Enumerator” and he made three trips to Petersen camp but they evidently weren’t hiring.

In the fall Josef spent time clearing his land, and making “corderoy” to plank cowpath by the barn, and barnlot. On Thanksgiving he noted “having a toothache” and a few days later “Had a tooth ground to hell in Portland.”

“Sendoff for the year 1900. The year 1900 has been everything concerned good, extreme in rain. Good crops were raised. Fell about 30 trees, corderoyed and fenced cowtrail and barnlot, fenced west of house, made ½ mile cowtrails. Cleared 1/3 acre, grubbed ¼ acre new ground, grubbed ¼ acre meadow.”

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1901

The work continued as he “grubbed”, hewed timbers, made shakes and built or repaired tools and homestead items. In March he “went to Rainier with Mike and got smelts”, then “cleaned and smoked smelts”. Josef was also busy pruning his own orchard and pruning or cutting brush for “Dad”, Malcolm, Parcher, Lohman, Fletcher, S.M. Rice.

In April and May he spent considerable time working on the county road at Thompson’s, and Beaver Valley road near Rainier. In June he “got rid of bull devil Billy”. More splitting and laying corduroy on county road, and later worked on Hudson bridge. And work with the grain crops: cutting, threashing and cleaning wheat, rye, China peas, flax, barley. Went to Lovelace’s for flour.

In September the “kitchen got afire”. Later in the fall he harvested his winter crops: rutabagas, beets, cabbage, potatoes, picked Northern Spy and Stark apples, made sauerkraut. October: tore up old floor, put posts under house and laid new floor sills. On November 23 he sold his timber and that week “went to Portland with Doan (Yeon)”. Worked for Rice and “got bitten by horse”. During the year the “boys” went to Rainier and back several times by themselves.

Sendoff for the year 1901. The year 1901 has been extreme in rain and drought. Crops except hay and vegetables were fair; finances good. Built the roothouse, fenced north side of clearing, cleared 1/3 acre near the road, grubbed 1/3 acre new ground and ¼ acre meadow; removed old shop; closed trail to Morris place, sold timber.

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1902

Of note is Josef’s work on the foundation and floor of their family home. Perhaps in the initial construction he had used whatever lumber was available to get the house finished and qualify for the deed to his claim. Evidently he had no idea he would soon be making plans to build a new home located over the bank and closer to a more reliable source of water.

He continued to work on the county road and at various neighboring homesteads. Work at home also continued: “Slashed, made shingles”, “bored stumps”, “cleared”. Hay and grain crops were grown and harvested.

May 31: “Hoed potatoes, 3.2 o’clock p.m. Joseph born.” Note for August: “hot and smoky, much timber fire”. And the weather didn’t help: “hellish hot”, “infernally hot”.

During the year there appeared to be a good harvest of berries, cherries, prunes, apples and pears. He noted “roued with Dad” a couple of times, but did many chores there during the year.

“Went to Kilby’s about signboards”. Then “cut out and painted fingerboards”, “lettered fingerboards”.

“Sendoff for the year 1902. The year 1902 (the year of worry) has been financially good, extreme in rain and fire. Fine crops of hay, grain, fruit and vegetables were raised. Slashed brush on 5 acres for pasture; cut down 20 snags, fenced clearing east of the house, cleared ½ acre of an acre; grubbed ½ of an acre, made shingleroad; took observing station, got rid of 6 acres of timber.”

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Josef’s Work Schedule for the new house

August 1905 – hewed timbers for house, posts under house, sills and joist, divided space, boarded walls.

September 1905 – outside walls, shingles, upstairs windowsOctober 1905 – painted roof, worked on staircaseNovember 1905 – planed floorDecember 1905 – chimney, began cupboards

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1921

The year 1921 brought tragedy with the suicide by hanging of the children’s beloved “Mamma” Dora on November 11th. She had been in declining health and there are many 1920 – 1921 journal notations such as “Dora sick. Did housework.” Otto was 12 years old at the time and the only one still at home with his parents. Emma was married and close by in Rainier. She often came out to check on her mother, or took Dora home with her for a few days. Joe Jr. “left for good” according to Josef’s sendoff for 1919 and only occasionally back to visit, Rudy lived in Underwood, and Bill and Ina were both in California.

Josef’s end of the year journal summaries:“Sendoff for the year 1920: The year 1920, the year of worry, trouble and expenses, was financially fair, very wet in spring and fall. Repaired fences extensively, seeded 25 acres to pasture, cut out part of north fencerow, lost much time through fire and wife’s sickness; bought 22 Victor records and a small drugstore (?). Farewell rotten year 1920!”

“Sendoff for 1921: The year 1921 has been the worst year since 1886 for me; financially poor, lost wife by death, much time and money through her sickness, in fact the last half was a time of worry and trouble. Finished fencerow, bought wire and 8 Victor records. Farewell rotten year 1921!”

“Sendoff for 1922: The year 1922 has been one of the worst I have lived through. Financially very poor, extreme in cold and drought, dust, smoke and fire. All crops were good except summer grain, hay and pasture. Lost heifer; lost shingle shed and much fence by fire. Laid new floor, built granary; had many aggravations through gossiop; joined Correspondence Club and corresponded with 20. Farewell rotten year 1922.”

Rainier Review, August 14, 1925 ~ HACKENBERG TAKES WIFE

Was Married to Mrs. Alice Smith Monday ~ Joseph Hackenberg and Mrs. Alice Smith of Indianapolis, Indiana, were married at St. Helens last Monday. Mrs. Smith arrived Friday from Indianapolis and spent a few days at the Hackenberg home after which the nuptial knot was tied. . . (See Otto’s “Review of the Review” for details of the following weeks as the marriage was discussed in the local paper)

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Rainier Review, August 28, 1925

Mail Order Wife Leaves

Wedded Bliss Soon Fades – Patronize Home Industry. Mail Order wives like mail order goods are apparently not durable and are likely to prove a “dud” or something similar. If the reader is in doubt, just let him ask Joe Hackenberg of Doraville – he knows. . .

❀ ❀ ❀Journal Entries:Married Carrie May 22, 1929 –

Otto left Oct 1929: Sold place to Joe Feb 26, 1930

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Rainier Review, February 28, 1930

Joseph Hackenberg Sr. and wife (Carrie) have sold their home farm of 160 acreas to Joseph Hackenberg Jr. and wife (Pearl). The elder Hackenbergs reserve two acres where the house and buildings stand to be occupied by them for their natural life. Mr. Hackenberg is declining in health, which made the sale a matter of necessity.

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Two buyers from out of state showed interest in buying the homestead, but Josef decided to keep it in the family and sold to Joe Jr. and Pearl. The relationship between buyer and seller was not good to begin with and only became worse as time went on. Two lawsuits were filed by Josef over the matter; the first when Joe Jr. was married to Pearl, the second lawsuit mentioned below when Joe Jr. was married to Wilma.

Josef’s letter to Ina, dated July 20, 1935: “. . .Our trouble with Joe is far from being settled. When Joe would not give us the back pay we filed suit for foreclousre, and instead of an answer his lawyer filed a demurrer, and when the matter came before the judge, he said that no demurrer could be filed in a foreclosure suit and gave Joe another 10 days to file an answer, and that is where the matter stands now. His lawyer made the proposition to pay all the mortgage off if we pay the costs, and this we refused to do as the mortgage should have been all paid last year. Our attorney told us that we have nothing to fear, Joe will either have to pay all of it or get off, and under the circumstances either one will suit us. . .”

(The undated Rainier Review article should have correctly stated “Joe Jr. and Wilma”, “Jos. Hackenberg Sr. and wife Carrie”)

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Rainier Review, October, 1935

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Christmas ToastThis was a special treat Josef’s children remembered from their childhood. Josef sent the following recipe to granddaughters Dora and Evelyn, Ina’s daughters.

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The following undated article was submitted for this family project by Eleanor Abraham, Rainier historian and member of the garden club, who had asked Otto to write about trees. It is an interesting insight into the “multi-tasking” cherry tree in the family orchard that always mystified Josef’s grandchildren.*

“Cherry Trees by Otto Hackenberg”

“. . . On the farm where I was born dad had homesteaded in 1886, and government rules required a house to be built, a certain amount of land to be cleared, and a certain amount of fruit trees to be planted each year in order to hold on to the homestead. The size of dad’s orchard that I can remember as far back as 1911, I am convinced that he planted, and in some cases grafted fruit trees on wild ones.

He had a larger orchard than the government required him to have. By 1911 some of the cherry trees had grown quite large, the trunks were at least a foot or more in diameter and the trees over 20 feet high.

There were three large Black Republicans, one large May Duke. The May Duke tree was usually loaded with cherries, but it was an early variety and the birds would start in on them as soon as they started to turn red, and the birds usually won out. Those we got to eat were far from being ripe. The same for Governor Wood, also an early cherry. *Perhaps about in the year of 1900 two native wild choke cherries came up and dad had a Bing graft from somewhere, and he grafted one of the trees to Bing and the other to Royal Ann, both grew, and nearly always they both had a good crop of cherries. Perhaps the two varieties were good for pollination for each other. The trees were pruned so that they resembled one tree.

About 1912 a seedling cherry came up in the yard. Dad told my older brother Bill to get a Bing graft, and graft the tree. He did. But some years later when the tree started to bear, it had Royal Anns on it. Dad wrote him about it, and my brother wrote back, “If you want Bing cherries from that tree, pick them in a milk pan, and they will go Bing!”

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Ina’s memories of Doraville country life ~ related to niece Carol in 1986

“I came from the heart of Oregon – a dear little town named Rainier and the outlying district. Of course I didn’t like Rainier, but the outlying district, how lovely. It was a real wild part of Oregon really.

That old house, that was the most wonderful . . . see we had to climb all the hills to get to it. It sat on a kind of embankment. It was a beautiful place, it really was beautiful. So far from the water made it awfully hard on everybody. So we used to have to carry the water in pails – it was almost a quarter of a mile to go – way down to the spring and it was a trail, a rough trail that went down. We used to walk down there and take the empty pails and carry them back as full as we could. And the water was really lovely in those springs, it was awful nice. Some of the men – I don’t know who it was – put some kind of a wooden box in there and so there would be clean spring water. And that water was the best in the world. The reason Dad built the other house was because of the good water supply.

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Above: Page from Joesf’s journal: “Graded” May 4, 191051

We used to walk to town and drag our little brothers. It was seldom when we walked both ways, but we had done it. We had our grandmother at the end of the line and we stayed overnight or as long as we wanted or as long as we could. She was a wonderful lady and loved all of her grandchildren but I loved grandfather best. You could “work” him a little bit. Grandmother was stricter and more careful of what we did. We kids were a little bit afraid of her. We didn’t want to do anything that we thought grandfather would disapprove of. You see, we tried to please him – just carry wood like mad you know, and . . . what brats! Get on the good side of him, then get our own way in everything.

At home we were always keeping a few cats because of the chipmunks and different things that roamed the woods We were in the habit of keeping cats and couldn’t live without them.

We had just a few steps to school. Well it was a quarter of a mile but that was just a few steps. We had shoes for school but they hurt our feet like mad and we didn’t wear them on the trail. We were all crazy about going to school. We went joyfully and usually liked our teachers very much because they were always nice. A girl would come out and teach. Sometimes Mama would keep them for a day or two until they could find some place where they could stay. But Mama couldn’t keep them really because she had too much with all the kids.

In the garden Emma and I would lay down and put our feet under each other’s skirt to keep our toes warm. Mama should have paddled us for that because I guess our clothes were dirty. Poor Mama. And Mama was naturally a very fussy, clean woman. Boy she had to drop that all to put up with us, and that place with all the mud. And Dad you know would make the biggest fuss about something that wasn't quite right, and how could you ever get everything right. How terrible in those days because there was Dad, a gentleman who was never supposed to be messing [helping] with such stuff as laundry.

We washed outside by the spring where we had the water, and there was a stove to heat the water. We used to love to do that you know and Mama would kind of direct it. And we felt like we accomplished something. There was a lot of lye in the soap and you had to be careful or it would eat everything up. Mama always used a soap powder when she could get it.

Mama used to make beautiful little dresses for us – awful nice – and she was a really good seamstress. And while I guess we were very old-fashioned looking, why we were along with the rest of them. And May (Morris) always had nicer clothes than the rest of us, or so we thought because hers she bought.

They (Morris family) lived way off on the other side, and to visit – Dad would never let us go there you know. We wanted to go and they wanted us to come over too. But Dad would never let us because he kind of hated them. I don’t know why. I think they kind of insulted Dad a little because he didn’t always understand the language and things and they made something of it that let him know that. And oh, he just couldn’t take that – it hurt his pride so he wouldn’t have anything to do with them or let us. And that was an awful thing because of course at school we were chummy. An awful thing, and no way to keep in touch except at school. May and I always seemed to understand each other and whenever we did get together everything was all right – even to our old days. Wonderful May. She used to write, bless her heart. She was always my friend.”

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“On April 2nd, 1940, after residing over 53 years on the old homestead, 8 miles S.W. of Rainier, the first census enumerator found his way to our home. . .”

Josef’s journal entries for the two census dates above indicate he was somewhere on the home-stead, but perhaps they interviewed Dora. Note: June 11,“Assessor” and June 18, 1900 “Enumerator”. He evidently did know the census taker had been to his home in 1900 but did not remember it when he wrote “Comments on the Census” 40 years later.

Above: Apiary Precinct, Columbia County, OregonEnumerated by Nelson Pinckney on May 4, 1910

Below: Apiary Precinct, Columbia County, Oregon, Enumerated by M.R. Pomeroy on June 13, 1900

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The Walk Home

“That old house, that was the most wonderful . . . see we had to climb all the hills to get to it” ~ Ina. The trail or planked road they walked from the Winchester’s in Rainier to the homestead was basically up what is now the Townsend Hill to Doan Road, then over Pellham Hill Road, pictured above. It was seven miles of hills, some very steep. Ina didn’t remember difficulties along the way, but Joe Jr. mentioned being afraid to pass aggressive geese that often gathered on a bridge.

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Doraville

Walk home

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Dora, Oregon PioneerDora Winchester Hackenberg

1868 - 1921

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“Oregon, Oregon, Oregon!” Dora Winchester was going on 6 years old in the Spring of 1874 and knew lots of things, but wasn’t quite sure why everyone keep talking about “Oregon”. She only knew it was a place far away. People went there and never came back, and now Papa (Frederick Winchester) wanted to go. Papa said everything was better in Oregon – trees so huge his arms wouldn’t go around the trunks, big fish to catch, plenty of ducks and geese and deer and elk to hunt, they would never go hungry. “Never go hungry?”, Dora wondered about that. They always had food to eat now! “And it rained”, Papa continued. They would get lots of rain so everything grew big, and the trees, grass and bushes would be green. Dora tried hard to imagine “Oregon”, but all she could think of were the big bears that must live in the forest with the big trees.

Dora and Mama (Elizabeth Winchester) didn’t like to hear about Oregon. Papa and Mama and most of their friends had lived in many other places, but all Dora knew was Kansas. She was born right there in Burlington, a little town along the Neosho River. Dora didn’t like the clouds of grasshoppers that sometimes landed and ate everything, or the scary tornado wind that was like a

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giant broom from the sky that came down and swept up everything in its path leaving a big mess. Summers were hot and they even had bad floods – well Papa said you had to expect it along the river. Kansas was where she lived. Her friends lived there too and she didn’t want to leave them. It was hard to make new friends. Dora didn’t like to think about “Oregon”.

If the talk wasn’t “Oregon”, it was about “the war”. TALK, TALK, TALK! Dora’s head was dizzy with all the talk, she wanted to plug her ears. The boys all wanted to play “soldier” games and wore soldier caps if they could get one. Papa wore his soldier cap too. It was dirty with holes and Mama kept saying, “Fred, isn’t it about time you retired that old thing?” Mama wanted him to get a new hat, but he still wore the old blue cap like he was going off to war. She always said “boys will be boys, doesn’t matter how old!”

The “war” seemed somewhere Papa had gone on his horse before she was born. She liked to look at Papa’s soldier picture. There was no picture of the horse but she didn’t need a picture. “Ranger” lived in the pasture behind their house and limped a little. They took good care of Ranger. At least Papa hadn’t lost a leg in the war like their good friend Mr. Sam. Papa’s elbow had been shot and it still hurt sometimes, but he could use his arm and it was much better.

Now Papa and her brothers were back from an “Oregon” meeting at Mr. Sam’s store in town. After their horses had been watered, Papa hollered, “Mama and girls, let the garden go. Come in the house and hear the news.” Papa took time to hang his soldier cap beside the door before he sat down and looked at everyone, “You know how difficult it has been for our family here in Kansas trying to get by since the war. I want something better for us and it is time for a change!” Papa let that soak in, then added, “We just signed up for one of the last wagon trains going over the Oregon Trail. It seems travelers are going West on the railroad and there may not be another chance to take the wagons.” Everyone was quiet so they could hear Papa, they didn’t know what to expect. They knew Papa and Mama had been thinking about “Oregon” for a long time – especially Papa. He seemed excited about going with a wagon train and Mama thought that was a bit strange. He had spent three years camping out sleeping on the ground during the war. She thought that should encourage anyone to take the train!

What Papa said next was even more surprising “Not everyone will be going on the wagons.” She knew what “EVERYONE” meant. It was their mixed up family – both Papa and Mama had other families before Dora was born and now they all lived together. There was Papa’s son James Winchester, 24; and Mama’s Johnson children: daughters Eunice 20, and Rosetta (Etta), 9, and Nathaniel (Bob) 13. Dora alone belonged to both Mama and Papa. Now they were all one big family; some named Winchester and some named Johnson but that didn’t matter.

Dora was lost in thought, trying not to think of “Oregon”. She and Etta had chores, but they always found time to play. She smiled to herself as she thought of the new doll dresses she and Mama had just finished. Dora loved to sew and Mama said she was already good at it. She and Etta could have

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a tea party. Their dolls would have such a good time in their new dresses. It would be so much fun, they could. . .

“NO! I don’t want to stay with Mama. Please!”, Etta pleaded. Her loud voice startled Dora out of her daydreaming. Now Etta was sobbing and Papa was talking, “Etta, I know you would be a big help with the animals and chores on the trail and your brothers and I would like to have you, but Mama and I have already made the decision. Because you are such a big help, Mama needs you here with her on the farm until the new owners come.”

Dora and Etta both knew if they cried long enough sometimes Papa changed his mind and let them do things, but that wasn’t going to happen as Mama now looked at Etta, “Enough,!” Crying didn’t work with Mama.

Papa waited until it was quiet again so they could all hear, “I know you like adventure, Etta, and you won’t be left out. Mama and you girls will be taking the Transcontinental train to California, but not right away. Just think, six comfortable days on the train instead of weeks on the trail with dust, dirty water, snakes in the prairie grass. . .” Dora wasn’t listening, she was thinking about riding on a train, and wondering if she could sit by the window. Would she be tall enough to see out? Even she had heard of the new railroad across the country. People had been riding on it since she was just a baby. Why, Aunt Ellen rode on it last year all the way to California. But “California”?? She thought they were going to “Oregon”.

This new plan was confusing to her sisters too and Dora knew Papa would explain, he always did, so she tuned back in. “California is only a place on the way to Oregon” he explained They were signed up with a wagon train that would be following the Oregon Trail most of the way, but when they got to the Snake River, their wagon train would branch off south toward California instead of continuing on to Oregon – just like in the Gold Rush days.

From discussions and information posted at Mr. Sam’s store, Papa learned it was much better to take the loaded wagons into California, then travel to Oregon by ocean liner. He winked at Mama “See you thought us old war cripples just sit around there telling Civil War stories, but Mr. Sam collects information about Oregon and may go himself one day. There’s not a better place than Mr. Sam’s to discuss and plan a trip to Oregon.”

Papa was a cooper and usually made barrels, but he could make wagons too just like grandfather Freeman Winchester and his papa before him. He and the boys had already built sturdy wagons that were about ready to pack. If they didn’t have so many things to move to Oregon, Mama said they could all go on the train. Mama had household furnishings she didn’t want to leave in Kansas, and Papa wanted to take his tools and supplies to set up a cooperage shop. Everyone needed barrels in Oregon. Papa would have work and they would have a fine home. Mama didn’t want to mention all

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the things they would have to leave behind, like her beautiful geranium plants, her few roses bushes, the garden birds that were almost like pets. . . The conversation drifted in and out and Dora heard bits and pieces as she thought of other things . . .“Papa would have tools to fix other wagons if they broke down. It was a long hard trip to Oregon, you had to be prepared.- Grandfather Winchester’s cousins were loggers in Knappa, out of Astoria, and wrote that Papa should look for something along the lower Columbia River.” It went on and on.Dora perked up when she heard “ocean liner”. From California they would travel on a big ship far out in the ocean and not see land for several days. She didn’t know anyone who had ever seen the ocean except Aunt Ellen who had already been on an ocean liner last year. Kansas didn’t have an ocean, it was a long, long way from the ocean. Papa was right, there would be enough “adventure” for everyone. Even Etta should be happy!

In time everyone got to Oregon and Papa settled on property in the little town of Rainier, Oregon. On July 5, 1875, he signed the deed, with son Jim Winchester as witness, for a little house right along the Columbia River with three acres where they could raise a garden, and have animals. It cost $750. There were no roads to Rainier and wouldn’t be for years. People traveled to settlements up and down the Columbia on a river boat. Jim Winchester did not stay in Rainier. He liked California and decided to live there.

Tragically, Dora’s family did not realize the mighty Columbia River was treacherous and very different from the Neosho River the family had lived near in Kansas where the children sometimes played. Shortly after the family’s arrival in Rainier, Etta and Dora went to wade in the Columbia and unknowingly ventured out into water too deep and swift. Dora nearly lost her life but somehow managed to get back to shore. Her sister Etta drowned. It would be many more years before dams were built on the upper Columbia and the swift current somewhat tamed although even after that people continued to drown in the Columbia River.

Papa did set up a cooperage. In August 1880 a reporter for “The Columbian” newspaper came to Rainier and an article in the paper states he “visited the residence of F.C. Winchester, just below town. Mr. Winchester served in the army during the War of the Rebellion and has a flourishing cooper shop. Mr. Winchester’s residence is particularly romantic in its location, sitting on a little knoll above the reach of high water.” The house was on the right-of-way needed for the railroad as it came through town so the house was torn down and the railroad company built a new house for the family.

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Dora grew up and married Josef Hackenberg in June 1891. She was a widow whose husband Tom Wells had died shortly after they were married. Josef had arrived in Rainier in 1886, and applied for a homestead at that time. When he married Dora she moved to the homestead he had named “Doraville” and their family of six children were born there.

Bob Johnson married Anna Moen and lived in Rainier the rest of his life. They had two sons, Nathaniel and Blaine. The Johnson family home is still a stately old style residence located on the street past the Methodist Church.

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Left: The unidentified photo is from the Winchester/Johnson collection shared by Bob Johnson, great-grandson of Elizabeth Winchester. With those big dark eyes, it could be Dora or her sister.

Right: Grownup Dora with children Ina, Emma and Bill ~ 1898

Above: Dora’s family: Husband Josef Hackenberg and children Ina, Emma, baby Joe, and Rudy ~ 1902. Their original home was built of “lumber, 18’ x 18’, 3 rooms and kitchen, 7 doors, 7 windows, and habitable at all seasons of the year” per homestead documents. It was located in same general location as current home of great-granddaughter Emma Chapman’s family on Hackenberg Tree Farm.

Josef added to the home as the family grew. Later he tore it down and built a new house - down over the hill which is now home to Joe and Luella Hackenberg

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Dora’s “Papa” ~ Frederick C. WinchesterPrivate, Company “G”, Fifth Regiment, Kansas Cavalry, Union ArmyOctober 1861 – December 1864

Documents indicate Frederick furnished his own horse and equipment during the Civil War and was shot through the left elbow at a battle in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and also injured at Helena, Arkansas

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Author’s notes: Through the following family stories there is reason to believe the Winchester/Johnson family did not all travel together on their journey from Kansas to Oregon.

Elizabeth’s great-grandson, Bob Johnson, Roseburg, OR, has a document dated May 1, 1875, from the Regular Baptist Church of Otter Creek, Coffee County, Kansas, stating that Elizabeth Winchester was a member of good standing and full fellowship and should be received as a fellow Christian at her new church. She would not have left Kansas without the letter of recommendation so probably traveled sometime after that date.

In later years Nathaniel (Bob) Johnson related he came west on the Oregon Trail and learned to play a fiddle from an elderly man along the way. When they arrived in Oakland, California, they boarded an ocean liner to Astoria, then took a river steamer up the Columbia River. It was a memorable trip as he had freedom to roam the ship and eat grapes and other fruit from the bountiful supply on board.

Otto related his mother Dora told him she traveled from Kansas on the “train with the golden spike” (Transcontinental Railroad completed in 1869). They also came on an ocean liner to Astoria and up the Columbia River on a river steamer. Dora’s Aunt Ellen Brown (Elizabeth’s half sister) married William Rogers in 1873 and traveled West on the railroad and ocean liner/riverboat to Washington per Rogers’ family history. Perhaps information from Ellen was a part of the Winchester trip planning process.

Dora’s grandfather Freeman Winchester was a cooper and wagonmaker as was his father before him. Freeman had two cousins who were loggers and lived in Knappa, Oregon, before Frederick arrived. Both are buried in an old section of a cemetery in Astoria. It is possible Frederick learned of opportunities along the lower Columbia River through them.

Ina Hackenberg Esquer, little girl in the pictures with her Mama Dora and family, was born in the original homestead house pictured above and lived to be over 100 years old. Her last years were spent back on the farm at the home of her sister-in-law Wilma Hackenberg. She told many tales of her childhood and some memories are included in the story ~ (1) Her Mama Dora loved to sew and was a wonderful seamstress; (2) Ina and her older brothers spent considerable time in Rainier with the Winchester grandparents and often attended school while there. They could “sweet talk” grandfather Winchester into what they wanted, but didn’t dare try it with their grandmother. She was a “grand old lady, but strict” and loved her flowers, especially geraniums; (3) Grandfather Winchester and other old folks gathered and talked about the Civil War. (In fact, when Wilma was born 16 years after Ina and growing up she remembers old folks still re-hashing the Civil War. There is no doubt young Dora grew weary of all the war talk, but she wouldn’t have escaped it by coming to Oregon.); (4) Both Ina and Otto remembered their Mama Dora telling of the tragic loss of both Johnson sisters in the first years in Oregon: Etta drowned in the Columbia River and Dora herself almost drowned in the same incident. Eunice married and died giving birth. Both were probably buried on the Winchester farm as was common in those days.

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Winchester, HackenbergThe Families

Although family records contain no other documentation regarding “old man Winchester”, it is likely the father of “Henry Freemann Winchester” was Benjamin Winchester [Joseph 4, Benjamin 3, John 2, John 1] listed in the publication “John Winchester of New England and Some of his Descendants” by Henry Winchester Cunningham.

The following publication indicates Benjamin and his wife Ruth Hall Winchester lived in Marlboro near Brattleboro, VT, and had a son Freeman born in 1795. Benjamin’s father Joseph was a cooper which perhaps was a trade passed down through the generations. Frederick C. Winchester was a cooper which he “learned at home from his father”, and he in turn passed the cooper trade ondown to his stepson N. D. “Bob” Johnson. Josef’s document lists Frederick’s father as “Henry Freemann Winchester”. However, Monroe County, NY, deed records for the town of Riga which is near Rochester lists property records in the name of “Freeman H. Winchester” [1828], and “Freeman H. and Martha Winchester” [1831].Perhaps Freeman preferred his middle name and was called “Henry”?

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Above: By: Josef Hackenberg, 1896Additional children indicated in Census records were: Allen A. born in 1827, Catherine born in 1837, Clark A. born in 1839, Henry born in 1841, and Harriet born in 1846.

Frederick Cleveland Winchester

Frederick’s life before coming to Rainier in 1875 is summed up in the following excerpts from his obituary published February 2, 1906, in the Rainier Review:

“F.C. Winchester died January 28, 1906, aged 84 years and 9 months, after an illness of five days. He was born near Rochester, NY, May 1, 1821 and worked on his parents’ farm until the age of 24, then moved to Ohio working at the cooper’s trade, which he had learned at home from his father. In 1848 he married Alef Ganui, a young French woman, and three children were born to them, of which one son, James, survives. After his wife’s death, he moved to Minnesota; thence to Kansas, then a wild country. He

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enlisted in 1861 in the Civil War and served three and one-half years. Was wounded at the battles of Pine Bluff and Helena, Arkansas. After the war he was married to Elizabeth Johnson.”“Droughts, floods and grasshoppers gave him a dislike for Kansas and in 1875 he moved with his family to Rainier, where they have resided since. In his death his family and friends have lost an honored citizen.”

[Note: There is an incorrect date of death on his headstone in the K&P Cemetery, Rainier, OR}

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Civil War government records indicate Frederick C. Winchester was “mustered in Oct. 10, 1861, at Kansas City” as a Private in Company “G”, 5th Regiment Kansas Cavalry (Volunteers), and furnished his own horse and horse equipment. He is described as 6’ tall with a dark complexion and hazel eyes, and had an Honorable Discharge at Leavenworth, Kansas, on December 3, 1864. In later years he received $12 a month pension for his Civil War service which continued until the death of his widow Elizabeth.

Frederick C. Winchester was 40 years old in 1861 when he gathered a few personal belongings, saddled his horse, and rode off to join the Union Army during the Civil War. He was living in Burlington, Kansas, at the time and must have left his son James, 11 years old, in the care of others. “After the war he [Frederick] was married to Elizabeth Johnson.”

Otto Hackenberg was only 12 years old when his mother Dora died, but he remembered her saying that “Grandmother Elizabeth (Brown)”, was the daughter of Disrael or Israel Brown and Susan Conklin (?) Brown, and born near Brownsville, Ohio, on March 10, 1829. Elizabeth had a brother Israel (I.L.) Brown who visited Rainier in 1919, and grandson Otto heard of his mother Dora’s “Aunt Ellen and Uncle William (?) Rogers” living in the Chehalis, WA, area. However, through a thorough search of Federal Census Records, it is now thought that the names were Elenor (also called Ellen) and George Rogers.

Elizabeth Brown’s first marriage was to Nathaniel Doty Johnson on December 27, 1853. The couple lived in

Kansas, had seven children, and divorced in March 1866. She then married Frederick Winchester on July 3, They resided in Burlington, KS, where Elizabeth and Frederick had three children. The family remained in that area until their move to Rainier, OR, in 1875.

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Whether it was the entire Johnson/Winchester family in a wagon train, or some traveling a portion via the new railroad, it would have been an expensive endeavor and a long hard trip from Kansas to California where they boarded an ocean liner to Astoria, then a riverboat up the Columbia River. There were seven in the household: Frederick and Elizabeth and their only surviving child ~ Dora; Frederick’s son James; and Elizabeth’s three surviving Johnson children~ N.D. “Bob” Johnson, and two of his sisters. According to Winchester grand-children Otto and Ina, both of Bob’s sisters died within a few years after reaching Oregon ~ one died in childbirth and the other, “Etta”, drowned in the Columbia River.

Frederick’s son James settled in California, but did initially come to Oregon as he is listed as a witness at the signing of the deed to the Rainier property Frederick bought for $750 on July 5, 1875 ~ see following deed.

The August 27, 1880, issue of “The Columbian” newspaper briefly mentions the Winchesters’ original Rainier home: “. . . after supper, Merritt Pomeroy visited with us the residence of F. C. Winchester, just below the town. Mr. Winchester served in the army during the late War of the Rebellion, and has a flourishing cooper shop. On the way down we passed the ruins of the old fort built in the time of the Indian troubles in Oregon. Only a few stakesremained to tell the tale. Mr. Winchester’s residence is peculiarly romantic in its situation, sitting on a little knoll above the reach of high water. The place formerly belonged to Bob Crie.”

* * DEED * *

“Know all men by these presents, that we Eben R. Crie and Harriet Crie his wife in consideration of the sum of seven hundred and fifty dollars, paid byFrederick C. Winchester the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, do hereby convey, remise, and forever quit-claim unto the said Frederick C. Winchester, heirs and assigns, all that lot, tract, or parcel of land, situated in the County of Columbia and State of Oregon, and bounded and described as follows to-wit:

Beginning at a Point of Rocks on the south bank of the Columbia River, a short distance above the mouth of the creek called Coloma or Fox’s Creek ~Thence running S. sixty links, to a fir tree about 8” in diameter (Variation 20 degrees East); ~Thence south 13 degrees E. one chain to a yew-wood post; ~Thence S. 43 degrees E. one chain & seventy links to a yew-wood post; ~Thence S. 20 degrees E. one chain & fifty links to a yew-wood post; ~Thence S. 42 degrees E. one chain & eighty links to a yew-wood post; ~Thence S. 78 degrees E. one chain & forty-four links to a yew-wood post; ~Thence N. 12 degrees E. four chains & fifty links to a yew-wood post, on the bank of the Columbia River, thence down the bank of the Columbia River to the place of beginning, containing three acres (more or less), being part of Section 16, Township Seven North Range Two West, with all the buildings, improvements, privileges and appurtenances thereon being, and these unto belonging and appertaining. To Have and to Hold the above released premises, to the said Frederick C. Winchester, heirs and assigns, to his own use and behoof forever.

And the said Eben R. Crie and Harriet Crie for themselves and their heirs, executors, and administrators do covenant with the said Frederick C. Winchester his heirs and assigns, that the said above described premises are free from all incumbrances made or suffered by us, the said Eben R. Crie & Harriet Crie, and that we will, and our heirs, executors and administrators shall warrant and defend the same to the said heirs and assigns forever, against the lawful claims and demands of all persons claiming by, through, or under us but against none other.

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In Witness Whereof we the said Eben R. Crie & Harriet Crie have hereunto set our hands and seals this fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and seventy five.

E.R. Crie Harriet Crie

Signed Sealed and Delivered in presence of:C.L. Chatterton & James Winchester

State of Oregon

SSCounty of Columbia

This certifies that on this fifth day of July A.D. 1875, before me personally appeared the within named Eben R. Crie and Harriet Crie his wife, known to me to be the persons described in and who executed the within instrument, and acknowledged that they freely and voluntarily executed the same, for the use and purposes therein set forth, and the said Harriet Crie, wife of said Eben R Crie, on an examination made by me separately and apart from her said husband, acknowledged to me that she executed the same freely and voluntarily and without fear or compulsion from any one:

Dean Blanchard County Judge of Columbia County State of Oregon

Recorder: George Merrill

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Above: The style of the new Winchester residence built by the railroad company was similar to the homes pictured and on the site of the former grocery store

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The following information related by the Winchester’s granddaughter Ina.

“When the railroad came, the company did buy the original home which was a much smaller house located on the land the railroad needed for its right of way. The company then built for F. Winchester the large house. It was built high up and was on dry ground: the swamp was across the tracks and down below. Along the railroad track was a raised walkway, about as high as the track bed itself.

The reason the house was built on pilings is that they wanted it raised so it would have a view over the tracks. The company made a walkway with rails and bridge-like buttressing, which led from the track’s raised walkway to the front porch of the new home. The house had in addition, the conventional front steps that would permit going down to the ground for walks in the other directions.

There was a great big apple tree in front, a pear tree by the well and other smaller things a kid wouldn’t notice. There was a high rough-cut stake fence all around the property where no physical obstacle prevented.

The family was always very watchful about letting children run free on any of that raised walkway or the walk along the tracks, as there was great hazard: any rough, unsupervised play, and they could well have tumbled off and been hurt. There were no mishaps.

Two of grandmother Winchester’s daughters were buried on the property. Later when they decided it would be more proper to exhume them and lay them to rest in the cemetery, they couldn’t find them! One died in childbirth at 18 or 19; the other was only 14 when she fell into a pothole in the river, panicked and held onto a root at the bottom and drowned.” [Otto said his mother Dora nearly drowned with her sister in the incident.]

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Josef’s journal entries

July 1892 ~ made hen house for DadJanuary 1897 ~ made fence for Dady.April 1897 ~ worked for Dad on new house.May 17, 1897 ~ [Winchesters] moved into new house.

Journal entries indicate Josef spent considerable time on numerous occasions pruning the Winchester orchard, working on their house and getting their firewood.

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Winchester/Johnson Picture Gallery

Above: The Winchesters’ daughter Dora and the Hackenberg grandchildren. Left to right: Ina, Emma, and William taken circa 1898. The Hackenberg children often stayed in town several weeks at a time with their Winchester grandparents, and the older children attended Rainier school at various times.

Left: Frederick C. Winchester pictured later in life at the age his grandchildren knew him. Granddaughter Ina remembered his long white beard and related, “We could sweet talk him. You had to be more careful around grandma. She was a grand old lady, but strict and you wanted to be sure to please her. Such brats!”

[No pictures of Elizabeth Winchester have been located]

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Elizabeth’s “church letter” dated May 1, 1875, may indicate her approximate departure date for Oregon. Her name does not appear on the property deed in July 1875 ~ perhaps she had not yet arrived in Oregon.

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Below: 11-year-old Elizabeth had some schooling, yet as an adult made “her [X] mark” instead of signing her name on the application for a widow’s pension and on Kansas property deeds.

Note: “Her ‘X’ Mark”

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Above: I.L. Brown and Anna Johnson ~ 1919

I.L. Brown, Craig, CO, visited relatives in Rainier in 1919. Young Nat Johnson remem-bered “Uncle I.L.” visited his grade school classroom at the time and related tales of the Civil War, including the factthat abolitionist John Brown was a close relative. This “fact” has not been sub-stantiated as little is knownregarding Elizabeth Brown.

Frederick C. Winchester’s “Muster-out Roll” on the left:Muster-out date: Dec 3, 1864,Last paid to: June 30, 1864Clothing amount: Last settled Dec. 31, 1863. Am’t for cloth’g in kind or money adv’d $43.78. Due

N. D. “Bob” Johnson Family

Bob pictured in his field. He helped in the cooperage shop of his stepfather until 21 years old, then was a commercial fisherman the rest of his lifetime. Bob and Anna Moen were married in 1896 and had two sons: Nathaniel Doty Johnson 3rd, and Blaine Moen Johnson.Everyone received a warm welcome at the Johnson home.Middle right: Anna, Nat & Blaine. Bottom right: Nat, Blaine and playmates.

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N.D. “Bob” Johnson family home in Rainier. Anna is shown with her sister on the porch, and their children sitting below on the steps. Bob purchased the home and block surrounding it on April 29, 1890, from William J. and Dorinda A. Muckle for $1,200. The home is now owned by Larry Rea and pictured below in September 2005.

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Anna Johnson’s bible

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The above pictures are courtesy of Robert Johnson, great-grandson of Elizabeth Johnson Winchester. The tools were handed down in the Johnson family and originally belonged to Elizabeth’s son N.D. “Bob” Johnson. The drawing knife in the top row labled “FW” belonged to Bob’s stepfather Frederick Winchester and it is possible some of the other tools were originally Frederick’s also.

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Doraville Picture Gallery

Josef Hackenberg family on the hillside by their unfinished new home. Move in date: January 1906. Left to right: Ina, Dora, William, Josef with Joe Jr., Rudy and Emma.

It appears the house porch and wall behind Rudy are yet to be completed, along with the carved shingle siding. Note the little garden area; and the pear tree beside the house had been planted. The tree is still thriving a century later – 2006.

There is evidence of a previous fire on trees and stumps in the background which may have been set to clear timber debris, or the result of a forest fire. Joe Jr. remembered a fire raging through the property when they lived in the first house. His parents put him in a hole in the ground and covered him with wet sacks while they fought the fire on the house roof and barn. He had memories of peeking out and seeing the flames.

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Above: Josef Hackenberg family in orchard, site of original Doraville home, circa 1905. Left to right: Dora and Emma, Rudy with Ina in front, Josef and Joe Jr., William in the chair. Note the children’s pansy bouquets, and dense timber in the background.

This was perhaps the last family photo taken in the orchard as the family would soon move to their new home more protected from the weather and close to a better source of water.

Joe Jr. is shown as a “towhead”; in just a few years his hair would become almost black.

Ina ~ “dear mama always made us the most wonderful dresses” Stylish farm family, although the children did not like shoes!

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Above: Photo circa 1910. Josef Hackenberg family on front porch in Doraville. Left to right: William, Joe, Rudy, Josef, Dora and baby Otto, Ina, and Emma.

The family had a love of cats and Ina and Emma are pictured with their favorite pets.

A close look will reveal the worn hat Rudy is clutching; Josef’s hat was also at hand.

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Above: Photo circa 1911. Pictured left to right: Josef, Dora, William, Joe Jr., Emma, Otto, Ina. Note the rail fence in the background and the progress being made on land clearing. There are still old growth firs here and there.

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Above: New Doraville home showing the garden area and possibly a hay or grain crop on the slope beyond.

The landscape is interesting with the old growth remnants and some ground areas nearly clear of brush and windfalls. Josef did sell timber to Yeon & Pelton in 1904, the same year he started to build the above home. It is not known what areas of the farm Yeon & Pelton logged, or to what extent. In the early years Josef spent much of his time clearing land for crops; even the small plot pictured would have taken hours of manual labor to grub out the tree roots.

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Above: Photo circa 1911

View of still standing “goat barn” on the left. Slope beyond is an extension of the family crop area shown on previous page. The present day farm pond is located just behind the barn on the right. Note the combination of young firs alongside old growth firs growing in the background.

Just over the crest of the hill are Josef and Otto on the left; Ina and Emma dressed up in their “church” hats; and William, Dora and Joe Jr. on right end.

Notice the section of large tree stumps to the right and back of Joe. Jr.

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A Hill Girl

I am 14 years old. I live on a ranch in the hills. I have a pet cow, Carrie; a calf, Molly; a cat, Harry, and four chickens who have no names. We have a big garden and my sister and I do almost all the work in it. I take good care of the animals. It pays to do so ~ Ina Hackenberg, Oregon

It pays, in more ways than one, to be kind to animals, our “dumb relatives,” as someone calls them. It pays because they give good return for kindness, and it pays in making us better ~ B & G Editor

Left: Clipping from newspaper or magazine article

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Above: “I take good care of my animals. It pays to do so.” ~ Ina

Above: Chore time ~ Ina and William

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Above: 1910, Josef Hackenberg family in living room of their home. Left to right back row: Emma, Bill, Ina. Front: Joe Jr., Josef, Dora and baby Otto. House walls inside and out are decorated with hand-carved shingles.

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Dora Josef

Above: Joe Jr. with his mother Dora beside goat barn in 1921

Above: Joe Jr.’s grandson George with his mother Luella and family pet Clyde beside goat barn 2005

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Above: View of goat barn with maple tree planted by Joe Jr. on the right. To the left is the “grainery where he keeps his grain instead of carrying it upstairs as in the old days” ~ Bill’s note on back of picture. The horse barn, which

burned in 1934, is in the background. Photo circa 1921’s.

Right: Otto with flowers tucked in his shirt ~ about 1914.

Background hill has been logged with only a few tall trees left

standing.

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Above: Joe Jr. is shown working at neighboring Keck farm and often borrowed their team of horses for Hackenberg family transportation. “Joe…met me at the highway with Mr. Keck’s team…Joe brought Mr. Keck’s team and 2 seated wagon up here for me…” [Dora’s letter to son William’s wife Feb. 1921]

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Left: Keck family on neighboring homestead which they sold in 1925

Left and below:Joe Jr. and mother Dora ~1921

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William above on left: Notation on back of photo to sister Ina ~ “I was weighed about 3 months ago and weighed 174 lbs. Mamma was weighed, when she went to Portland, and weighed 154. You see, I’m quite a big boy to weigh 20 lbs. more than mamma.” Joe Jr. on right:He liked to go barefoot even later in life and often worked in the fields with no shoes. Note new family buggy.

Left: Joe Jr. and his “Mamma” ~ 1921. Above photo: Joe Jr. sawing up old growth logs

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Above: William & Joe Jr.

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Above left: Emma and Ina Above right: Emma and Josef. Below: Otto, Dora, Josef.

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Above: Josef, Dora, Joe Jr.

Left: Proud threshing crew Otto and JosefRight: Anna Johnson & Carrie

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Above left: Emma in RainierAbove right: Emma and Joe Jr.

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Bottom Photo: Family Reunion ~ 1931left to right back row: Emma, Joe Jr. and wife Pearl, William, wife Margaret and daughter Lenora, Ina with husband Ben Shaw, Otto.left to right front row: Emma’s daughter Carol, Josef and wife Carrie, William and Margaret’s son Billy and daughter Margarete, and Ina’s daughters Dora and Evelyn. Josef’s comment: “The pictures are good in spite of the ever moving brats!”

Above: 1941 ~ Josef and Carrie with Joe Jr. and Wilma’s children Joan and Joseph (Butch). Note the nearby old growth fir shown to the right of the shed, and on next page. It also appears in the Joe Jr. family picture (Joe Jr. chapter.)

Above photo: back row: Emma, Josef and Ina with Carrie and Carol Burger in front.

Left: Josef and Carrie with grand-daughter Carol Burger

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Left: 1953 photo of the home Josef built. Grandson Bob is shown accompanied by “Skippy.

Below: 2006 photo. There is no longer a wraparound porch and the house now has a concrete block foundation replacing tree stumps.

The barn to the right collapsed in a heavy snow.

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Doraville School

Doraville School, circa 1906. The four Hackenberg children pictured are little Joe Jr. in the front row being steadied by his big sister Emma standing behind, and Ina and Bill at far right end. They wore clothing stitched by their mother Dora, and each year received a new pair of what Ina called “awful, hard brown leather shoes”. The uncomfortable shoes were taken off as soon as they left home and put back on inside the school. The trip home over the trail was also barefoot.

Joe later related that when he was about 4 years old his sisters took him to school on the last day to sing “My Old Kentucky Home” for the school program. It must have been picture day as Joe Jr. is in the school group but looks too young to be a student.

In the front row next to Ina in a light colored dress is her lifetime friend May Morris Crane. The Morris twins are in back row to the left. One is Herb Morris, Ina’s school sweetheart. The Morris family lived on the north neighboring homestead in later years sold to Kecks, then Zimmermans.

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Doraville school was located on one acre deeded to Columbia County by Josef and Dora’s neighbor Mr. Headlee. The property borders the Hackenberg homestead and Apiary Road. The site is now vacant and accessible from Walden Road.

Above: The Clerk’s Annual Census Report for 1909 indicates other than Joe Jr., his sister Emma, and Willie Wilson, the rest were all teenagers. Three students were 19 years of age and may have been nearly as old as the teacher.

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Above: The 1907 inventory records for Doraville School, District 19, lists two library books, and $2 in their library fund. The school house and grounds were valued at $500 and furniture had a value of $25. Fuel and school supplies cost $10.75 for the school year.

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Listed in its entirety in “Review of the Review”

Excerpts from Otto Hackenberg’s letter to the Rainier Review

“In 1914 I started to school. I rather doubt that the school would meet the standards of today. Water was carried by the older children as far as a quarter mile. My first teacher, a middle-aged spinster, was surely a good teacher, who received the salary of $50 per month and paid a neighbor $15 a month for board. School terms were six months. How the teacher lived the other six months I’ve never figured out.”

Above: Otto and his pet calf.

“The Saturday night before school started we heard a scream and found that the teacher had gotten off the trail to her boarding place, she was lost and saw our lights [kerosene lamps]. She had two suitcases and had dropped them when she got tired. The folks kept her overnight and the next day found her suitcases. The morning school started she got lost again and was late. While she didn’t do so good at first on our cow trails, she could really teach school, and I owe her much for my present education.”

“In those days all one had to do was work, study, and learn and not worry about getting adjusted or any other form of tom foolery. By the tend of the term I might have been able to read the Review even if I didn’t know what a lot of the words meant.”

“I attended two more terms at Doraville school. My second and third grade teachers were young girls out of high school, both good teachers, and by that time I could read the Review quite well. I then became the only child in the district, and the Doraville school closed. I tried going to Apiary the next year in 1917, a three mile walk.”

“Chickenpox and chores and many other things caused me to drop out of school until 1921 when the Doraville school was reopened and in that eight month term I graduated from the eighth grade.”

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According to the following Rainier Review articles, District 19 was renamed “Rock Hill” in 1925.

“September 1, 1925 ~ The new school house in the Rock Hill (Hackenberg) district is completed and next Sunday the patrons of the district and any others who wish to come will assemble at the school house with filled baskets at the noon hour for a celebration of the event. The furniture will be moved from the old building into the new.

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The school house is a two-room building, but only one room is completed for the present. It will care for 30 pupils.”

“September 4, 1925 ~ Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong! Will clearly ring the new bell in the school with the new name being Rock Hill School in District 19, instead of Doravill school, September 8, 1925, Tuesday. Mrs. Violet Hessong will be the teacher.”

“October 16, 1925 ~ Rockhill has a new schoolhouse this year, which is greatly appreciated by the teacher and pupils. It is well equipped, having a furnace, fire escape and correct lighting. The new dictionary, maps and modern adjustable desks make attending school a real pleasure. The building has two rooms, but as yet only one is in use. Improved roads and a modern schoolhouse are bound to attract settlers, so that both rooms eventually will be occupied.”

“Christmas Edition 1925 ~ Rock Hill, which formerly was known as Hackenberg district, lies over the hill to the west of Fern Hill and is in a corner of what is often inclusively called the Apiary district. It is on the Cloverdale road which joins the Apiary Market road. This year Rock Hill built a new stucco schoolhouse, replacing the old building that had been in use for more than 30 years. It has two rooms but for the present one room accommodates the 15 pupils who attend. Mrs. Violet Hessong is teacher.”

Excerpt Josef’s letter to Ina, October 1931: In August the Rainier Bank withdrew her credit to our school district and now we have to get along with $400.00, since nobody will give us credit. Last year we voted a special tax of $876.00 and only $120.00 was paid, while the amount of unpaid special taxes since 1924 amounts to $1,800.00 though perhaps by this time it probably amounts to $2,500.00. The worst feature however is that nearly 1/3 of the area of our district has been foreclosed for taxes and is now owned by the county, hence will in the future not pay a cent of

tax. The schools have become too expensive, the high schools especially.

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Rock Hill’s demise per Josef’s letter to Ina, undated

“Our school district has been divided, part went to Hudson, part to Fernhill, part to Apiary, and a small part to Lost Creek, and before long the schoolhouse will be sold for the lumber in it, perhaps yielding $150 or less, while the cost with the furniture was over $4,200, on which and the $1,400 warrants we paid interest up to date. What a collossal example of stupidity! The Kecks, Wilsons and myself fought this schoolhouse building a whole year, and the County court finally yielded to the majority to the regret of all. When the taxes came due, that majority moved out and nearly bankrupted the rest.”

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Hudson School

Hudson Grade School ~ circa 1929Photo courtesy of Bob Gamble

Left to Right: Front Row: Elton Gamble, second from left

Second Row: twins Jean and John Stennick, third and fourth from left;Edyth Gamble (Wildfong), second from far right

Top Row: Walt Stennick, far right

Wilma Balod Hackenberg attended Hudson Grade School in this building. In later years the school building was moved sideways for use as a gym when the new Hudson Grade School was built on the property.

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Hudson Grade School Class of 1943-1944

Left to right: Front row: Mary Stepp, Sally Stennick, Raymond McCollum, Roberta Kessell, Beverly Nelson, Patty Blayney;

Second Row: Charlie Dobbs, Joan Hackenberg, Darrell Parcher, Sam Patching, Mary Jo Wilson;

Third Row: Carl Kessell, Eleanor VanSwoll, Unknown (?), Bert Parcher, Clarence, Jerry G.

Fourth Row: Mrs. Lou Gamble, Bob McCollum, Bill Kessell, Myrtle Kessell, Dick McCollum, Norma Tribett, John VanSwoll, Mrs. Nellie Caldwell

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Hudson Grade School Year 1944-1945

Left to Right: Front Row: Mary Stepp, Unknown (?), Sally Stennick, Jim Blayney, Unknown (?), Fred King, Unknown (?), Carol Hackenberg, Josephine Dobbs, Alice Lane, Freda King;

Second Row: Yvonne Roberson, Russell Cook, Beverly Nelson, Mary Jo Wilson, Unknown (?), Roberta Kessell, Charlie Dobbs, Patty Blayney;

Third Row: Marguerite Clark, Unknown (?), Unknown (?), Unknown (?) Unkown (?), Darrell Parcher, Ruth Glenn, Joan Hackenberg;

Fourth Row: Bill Counts, Unknown (?), Bert Parcher, Unknown (?), Don Clark, Unknown (?), Eleanor VanSwoll, Carl Kessell, Unknown (?), Unknown (?)

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Hudson Grade School 1945-1946

Left to right:Front Row: Mary Stepp, Josephine Dobbs, Carol Hackenberg, Philip Lane, Jim Blayney, Fred King, John Stennick, Freda King, Millie Jean King, Alice Lane.

Second Row: Junior Kessell, Robert Girt on steps, Jean Girt, Darlene Marvin, Sally Stennick, Irene Remick, Joan Hackenberg, Unknown (?), Patty Blayney, Susan Ladda

Third Row: Roberta Kessell, Marguerite Clark, Tony Madsen, Ruth Glenn, Russell Cook, Doris (?), Charlie Dobbs, on steps Sam Herd, Jimmy Remick

Fourth Row: Charles Tift, Irene (?), Carl Kessell, Phyllis Remick, Bert Parcher, Eleanor VanSwoll, Darrell Parcher, Mary Jo Wilson, Bill CountsTeachers: Mrs. Nellie Hudson and Mrs. Emma Lou Gamble

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Hudson Grade School 1946 -1947

Left to right: Front Row: Mary Stepp, Jackie Starr, Butch Hackenberg, Cary Kyser, Sally Stennick, Buddy Davidson, Carol Hackenberg, Jimmy Blaynet, Barbara Davidson, Johnny Stennick

Second Row: David Scott, Clyde Scott, Joan Hackenberg, Mary Jo Wilson, Marie Kyser, Beverly Nelson, Jean Scott, Patty Blayney, Roberta Kessell, Myrna (?)

Top Row: Willard Robertson, Darrell Parcher, Scotty McAdow, Billy Counts, Buzz Barton

Teachers: Left: Mrs. Sarah B. Smith, Mrs. Edna M. Barton

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Hudson Grade School Upper Grades – 1953-1954

Left to right: Front Row: Alvin Elbert, Martha Jenkins, Kate Elbert, Judy Trujillo, Valda Bernard, Joyce Welke, Unknown (?), Barbara Jenkins, Ken Trujillo

Second Row: __ Elbert, Nancy Chapman, Beth Bernard, Lily Elbert, Ruth Hackenberg, David Trujillo

Top Row: Verlan Cannon, Unknown (?), __ Hanson, Bob Phillips, __ Norman, Butch Hackenberg, teacher: Mrs. Widme

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Hudson School Lower Grades 1953-1954

Left to right:Front Row: Karen Hansen, Vicki Gillette, Sharon McKinley, Ina Hackenberg, Dorothy Stennick, Charlene Trujillo, Donna Stennick, Euretha Taggart, Marlene Welke, Patti Gillette

Second Row: James Owen, Jimmy Dale Jenkins, Sandra Kessell, Susan Stennick, Rita Gillette, Mary Elbert, Eddie Hupp, Terry Chapman

Third Row: Larry Russell, Jerry Lowe, Billy Stennick, Jerry Chapman, Lonnie Hanson, Jimmy Elbert, Johnny Norman

Teacher: Mrs. Faye Hudson

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Hudson Grade School Upper Grades

Left to right: Front Row: Sam Owen

Second Row: Pearline Owen, Donna Alumbaugh

Third Row: Bobby Hackenberg

Fourth Row: Blunk

Fifth Row: Blunk, Donna Stennick, Charles Gamble

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Hackenberg Road

Josef Hackenberg arrived in Rainier in 1886 and describes the area’s roads at that time in the following excerpts from Rainier Review articles published in April 1937.

“There were four roads connecting Rainier with the surrounding country: one went to Goble, then called Enterprise; one between Fox and Nice Creeks; one to Beaver Valley and one west to the Dibblee ranch in the bottom.”

“All were very poor excuses of roads, only wide enough for one wagon, the Goble road was almost impassable during the rainy season. The Beaver Valley road [now relocated to the Nice creek canyon] was corduroyed the most of the way owing to its heavy traffic, in several places in deep cuts, and very steep, it was in fact a road laid over the ridge regardless of grade. The corduroy was in many places worn through in the ruts and in flats usually afloat during the winter. Corduroy was simply split timber 8-9 feet long, laid across the road.”

Long before Josef’s proposals for Hackenberg Road, he worked on various aspects of road building from supervisor to general laborer. The following are a few of his early diary notations:

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January 1892: went to Mr. Headlee’s thence to Mr. Doan’s and Stuarts to locate the county road, and to Headlee’s again; gathered signers for road petition.

December 1893: went to Doan’s for commission as road supervisor, warned out men for work; opened with Shelton’s team, the new road at Stuarts.

January 1894: helped lay planks on long bridge at Wilson’s mill; measured planks at Alley’s mill and gave county orders; started at 1:30 a.m. for St. Helens, made road supervisor report.

June 1897: made petition about road plank to County Court.

March 1898: worked on new Stehman road.

April and May 1901: worked on the county road [see following journal pages]

Rainier Review article October 23, 1903 “ O.E. Wonderly, who is in charge of the construction work in the new roadway in Rainier was up interviewing the county court Saturday. The road is to be nine feet wide except on the curves, where it will be twelve feet in width. The road is of heavy planks donated in part by the sawmills of the region.”

Rainier Review article of June 29, 1906 “COURT IN SESSION, The Commissioner’s Court Disposes of Much Business. In the manner of claims against the county allowed. On this day the following claims against the county were audited and allowed by the court, and the clerk ordered to issue warrants on the general fund in payment thereof:” [1 of 26 listed]

“Joe Hackenberg, 10 days, 60 miles……….$25.00”

Josef’s road crew experience served him well in later years when he penned numerous articles to the editor of the Rainier Review expressing his strong support of what became known as “Hackenberg Road”; and argued it was the logical route for a market road between Rainier and Vernonia. The Rainier Review referred to the issue as a “Tempest in a Teapot” and the controversy was the subject of much discussion and articles in the local paper for several years, some of which are included in the following pages.

Hackenberg Road was finally built and in later years called “Apiary Market Road” before its present name of “Apiary Road.” The narrow gravel road was finally widened and paved for the first time in 1947. The many travelers on it today are more apt to complain about the winding, crooked roadway than appreciate Josef’s determination and efforts to help get it built many years ago.

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Rainier Review Editorial, August 12, 1921

Market Road to VernoniaSurvey to be made the present month

GOES OUT PAST APIARYWill tap Very rich Farming District

When the Commercial Club was reorganized the first of the present year, it started out with certain definite plans or objects which it would endeavor to accomplish.

One of the plans was the improvement of Water Street and also the roads leading to Rainier. All the necessary preliminary work has been done for improvement of Water Street and at the present time bids are being advertised to do the work, and it is possible that the work may yet be done before the fall rains set in. In the way of road improvement into the town, the Club was directly responsible for the completion of the Mayger road. It also sent a committee before the state highway commission in an endeavor to have the highway completed through Rainier. Results will doubtless eventually come from what has been done along this line.

The Club had on its program an effort to have the county put a road from Rainier to Vernonia. At the last meeting of the county court, A.L. Clark and T.J. Flippin appeared before that body in behalf of this project. As a result the county court decided to have the county surveyor and county roadmaster make a survey of the proposed road which will leave the highway to the west of Rainier at what is known as the Hackenberg road, and will go past Apiary, then follow the Clatskanie river south connecting with the St. Helens-Pittsburg road about a mile and a half west of Trenholm.

The road will be built with the idea of developing a vast amount of first-class farm land which is now practically inaccessible, as well as to give the

people of the Nehalem valley a direct outlet to Rainier. Only about twelve miles of new road will have to be built and the grade will be good the entire distance. It is understood that the road will be declared a market road.

The road will be of untold benefit to Rainier in that it will increase the farming territory tributary to this city. With the opening of our mill and building new ones, a good market will be afforded the farmers for their products and the Review rejoices over the news that a new territory is to be tapped and developed.

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Rainier Review, May 1921

The Proper Answer

“It was made plain to the editor by the County Court that no work is done in the way of donation as in former years, when farmers and others were willing to construct their own roads. A little donation work in the way of repairs would not cost scarcely any time or labor, but when the county has to hire the work done, perhaps after much damage has resulted, the cost runs into a high figure. This is a matter which should receive sober consideration.” Review of May 6, 1921.

Sounds beautiful, reproachful, prayerful and enticing, but here are some objections to consider.

Today roads have ceased to be mere outlets for settlers as in former years. Roads have generally become commercial arteries used not only by the farmers but also by outsiders, who pay little or no tax to build them or keep them up. The fact is, we have absolutely no justice in our road administration, otherwise the roads would pay for the use of them. Why should the farmers pay enormous road taxes and do volunteer work besides, when for the most part outsiders get the

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benefit of their taxes and work? Take the Hackenberg road, for instance, that road has cost me quite a snug little sum of probably $200.00, and if I figure all the benefits very high, they will not amount to $30.00, to say nothing about all the vexations and disappointments before this road will have been completed. It will have cost me twice the above sum more, yet right today outsiders are already looking to that end to exploit our remaining timber resources and in a very short time the road will be in the same shape as the rocked portion of the Rainier-Apiary road, with no legal way to prevent its ruin, inasmuch as there is no surveillance.

The Weekly News Letter, published by the United States Department of Agriculture in the copy of April 27, 1921 contains the following statement: “A large proportion of the vast wealth created annually from the soil ultimately enriches the city instead of developing and improving the resources of the country.” There never was a truer statement put in print. In former years cities in Oregon were but small portions of road districts and their taxes helped to improve the country needs; now, however the territory of an incorporated town is a road district per se and the country roads are deprived of considerable help. This change of the road law is vicious and ought to be repealed. Cities will nevertheless donate funds to help country roads for the laudable purpose to exploit the country that much better. So in conclusion I can assure our County Court and the Editor that the farmers at present bear an overload of work and taxes, while city men want high wages for little work and gentle reminders to do volunteer work will be promptly answered by us with “Nix.”

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, May 8, 1921

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Rainier Review Editorial Sept. 16 1921

Ranchers Argue Road QuestionFern Hill and Hackenberg Clans Meet

PLAN FERRY FOR RIVERCommittee Named to Arrange for

Transportation

A very interesting meeting of the Rainier Commercial Club was held Monday night. There were delegations present from both the Fern Hill and the Hackenberg neighborhoods, each bidding for the support of Rainier’s influence in having the proposed new market road pass through their respective neighborhoods. The ball was opened on behalf of the Fern Hill people by Mr. Orris Kellar who advocated the Fern Hill route by reason of the fact that many more settlers would be benefitted, giving a list of 90, and that in addition to the present population, there was a larger amount of entirely new land to be opened up than on the Hackenberg route. It is the plan of the Fern Hill people to leave the present road just this side of the crest of the hill and connect with the highway at the top of the hill west of Rainier.

Joseph Hackenberg spoke in support of the Hackenberg route contending that it was a better grade and while it would not at the present time serve so many people as the Fern Hill route, it would open up new country and would be the means of having the country settled. By reason of the failure to build roads in the past, his section had been retarded in its growth; the road would serve the people of the Apiary section as well as the Fern Hill road. Others who spoke were Messres. Hale and Skeans in behalf of Fern Hill, and Mr. Kilby for the Hackenberg road. Judge A.L. Clark rather favored the Hackenberg road and took the position that if the people wrangled over the location of the road, we were liable to lose it entirely. The Fern Hill advocates stated that it made no difference to them whether their

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road was a market road or not so long as they got the road desired. N.N. Blumensandt suggested that the Hackenberg road be designated a market road and that we all work for the proposed new road connecting Fern Hill with the highway at the top of the hill. After considerable argument pro and con, a motion was made by Eugene Allen that the matter be put off to some future date when data and statistics could be had. F.B. Holbrook was present and suggested that in determining the matter, consideration should be given the proposed new road connecting Beaver Homes and Fern Hill, thus giving the people back of Goble a more direct route to Rainier as well as direct communication between themselves.

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Rainier Review Article to the Editor

A Few Reminders

To the Editor: After the completion of the Pittsburg-Nehalem road, the County Court intended to conect Rainier with the Nehalem Valley by a market road. The most feasible and cheapest route, recommended to and practically accepted by the County Court, goes up South Beaver Creek through a natural pass to the Clatskanie river and connecting with the Pittsburg-Nehalem road. The route is nearly north and south and on five-sixths of the way there is only a 1 – 2 per cent grade; the road will only be 16 miles long and its building cost has been estimated from $25,000 to $30,000.

After the County Court had approved this route, a few ambitious gents got it into their heads, that the new market road should be built through Fern Hill, connecting with the Highway three-fourths mile east of the Hackenberg road and four miles west of Rainier; thence southeast to the Dwyer place; thence south to near the head of the North Beaver creek; thence west by deviations and crooks

over the hill, 200 feet higher than the South-Beaver-Clatskanie pass; thence the same route as the other road.

The proposed Fern Hill road will be between 17 and 18 miles long with grades of 6 per cent and over and its cost has been variously estimated at from $55,000 to $60,000. The road between Rainier and the Dwyer place, 2 ½ miles, graded and rocked at a cost of $18,000 only six years ago, is to be eliminated, so must be the one south of the Fern Hill school house, and I much doubt if $5,000 can be saved on work from the total cost of over $30,000 of this road in the past, when it is changed into a market road. We all have seen what happened to the macadamized Delena road, when the Highway was built . Therefore the total waste of road money will be about $25,000; add to this the cost of this market road and you get about $1,000 that is to be spent for every party, that is to be benefited by that road, as alleged by the Fern Hill gents. They have not the slightest scruples about such criminal waste at a time when most of us face bankruptcy from taxation, and who not in the least care from whose roads the money was taken to build theirs, and whose territory should form a small road district by itself to compel them to build their roads out of their own money only. The County Courts have, when road building began first of all in the district, kindly and unstintingly remembered that Rainier-Fern Hill road to the detriment of other roads, and that should in all fairness be enough.

While I like the man with a will to accomplish something worthwhile by his own efforts, I at the same time despise the enterprising leach who tries to gratify his ambition at the expense of someone else.

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, Sept. 18, 1921

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Rainier Review, Issue of March 31, 1922

Taxation And Roads

To the Editor: Up to 1909 there was very little change in the ideas of the people in this part of the state in regard to road building; they were used to corduroy, plank and mud. By that time the automobiles had come quite in use, and somehow these old-time roads did not agree very good with the health and constitution of the new vehicle. The automobile owners of Portland therefore formed a club and sent a number of “good roads” apostles through the country.

There were no great results until 1912, but in that year the good roads movement struck the people so bad as to knock the majority silly, and all they thought was necessary was to widen the old roads and put rock on them. The grade, foundation and proper drainage were only secondary matters, and in consequence big sums have been wasted on worthless roads that in the near future will have to be relocated. I will name a few in Road District No. 6: what happened here has happened over a good part of western Oregon.

In spite of my pleadings and protests at the road meeting in 1912, the sum of $5,000 was voted, and expended in 1913 on the old Apiary road, that will be entirely abandoned in the near future. About $1,200 has been wasted on the “Dwyer hill”, the curse of the Rainier-Fern Hill road. To avoid the payment of $400 for a right-of-way on the water grade, about $1,000 has been wasted on the Thurston road by joining it half way up the hill with the old Apiary road. I do not know the amount wasted on the old Rainier-Delena road near the Burns place; that hill with an 18 percent grade is a shame to all who promoted or acquiesced in its improvement.

The north end of the Hackenberg road, now commonly known as the Cloverdale road, was changed from a 5 ½ percent into a 10 percent grade upon the petition of a Portland man by a county court, either conscienceless or corrupted, in spite of our remonstrance and pleading and $700 spent on

it. This year there is to be $800 special tax wasted on the same road, that is to be relocated to a 5 percent grade, when the said road becomes a market road.

Already two years ago a relocation of the Lost Creek road at the Bob Anderson place was demanded; in case it be accomplished $2,500 will have been thrown out. The freeholders on the old Doan road with grades 22 per cent fool the tax money away on plank and repair, and if permitted to go off that way, will in 100 years from now have about the same road they have now.

But the crowning glory of stupidity and absurdity is undoubtedly the Jessie Schultz road, a mere natural outlet for two or three settlers. It is to be made into a 16-foot macadamized road that will cost not less than $12,000, under the pretense to have a connection between the upper Beaver country and the highway. Their natural connection though is a water grade road from the Dwyer place to the Everman road, one mile, and costing about $5,000, damage and all, so that not less than $7000 will be sacrificed. To show the utter absurdity of the scheme to use the Schultz road as a connection between the upper and lower Beaver valley one must remember that the Schultz road connects the Rainier-Fern Hill road at the Fern Hill school house, so that everyone below will have to travel the extra distance, and then go over the hills, or else find the highway at Rainier.

Since my personal presentations of the matter have found but deaf ears, I will hammer it in the press from now on. All these costly mistakes are the result of having no good system in our road building.

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, March 24, 1922

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Rainier Review Article to the Editor

No Congratulations from the Farmer

To the Editor: “The Review congratulates the re t i r ing mayor, Mr. McK ay, upon the accomplishiments of his administration. We also congratulate the people of the city of Rainier upon having chosen as levelheaded a man as Mr. Flippin to guide the destinies of the city during the coming two years.” – Review of January 5, 1923.

Now I am a chap whose highest conception is justice, and therefore I am always ready to give the devil credit for all the good he does, just as I am ever ready to lambast the angels (?) if they do wrong. How well the McKay administration has done in city matters does not concern me, as I am not a citizen of Rainier. What concerns me is how well the administration has treated us farmers in the way of public accommodations. The Editor, the McKay administration and the farmers will admit that conditions in that respect have grown from bad to worse; not only that neither shelter nor decent place was provided, but that the room used to tie up and feed the horses is now used as a parking place for cars and trucks, so that at times the farmers are confronted with the question what to do with their team while in town. The Editor must be given credit of having done all that was possible after I had given the town a few fierce rakings over, and all went well until a few sniveling idiots raised a big howl about marring the marvelous (?) landscape of Rainier by erecting a horseshed. Thereafter, I give the Editor and the administration credit of having done nothing during the last two years, and from my point of v iew, the Edi tor ’ s eulogy on the past administration, unless it be mere meaningless courtesy, is rather hard to explain. Whether or not the new administration will do anything to relieve the plight of the farmers while trading in town is of course a question.

Personally I have always regarded Mr. Flippin more as a friend than as an official, and I trust in him. In all justice the farmers ought to be allowed their old hitching place for their teams, and the trucks and cars should be made to park somewhere else. There is no one out here with sense, who expects a municipality on the verge of bankruptcy to go to any great expense; all we expect are conditions creditable to a place calling itself a town.

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, Jan. 8, 1923

Editor’s note: Our friend Joseph, is at it again. Joe must have been born on the wrong side of the manger. He has the worst case of dyspepsia on record. Else possibly these cloudy days may affect his temperament. We don’t know of any other town in Columbia county, or elsewhere, that has built horse sheds for farmers – bankrupt or no bankrupt. We will concede that the horse vehicles should have a place set apart for them. But it is only a case of the automobile claiming all in sight and taking it, just the same as they make the Editor get out of the way when he goes walking on the highway. However, we would be glad to see an ordinance passed setting apart the entire west side of Harrison street exclusively for horses.

As to the McKay administration and its accomplishments: We have had our say and have no apologies to offer. Mr. McKay’s work in the city of Rainier, if he accomplished anything at all, must of necessity benefit the farmers adjacent to Rainier. A better town and a better trading point helps every farmer adjacent in the town. This, Mr. Hackenberg, seems to forget. He forgets that Rainier helped him get the market road which will probably pass by his house; he forgets that the business men dug into their pockets and built stockyards for the farmers, even though they may never do any particular good; he forgets that when his neighbors have losses from fire the business

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men of Rainier are always ready to dig deep in their pockets and help them over a bad place.

We all have our shortcomings, and we are all willing to admit we have, but not so with Joseph. He preaches the unvarnished truth and rubs salt into all old sores instead of using salve. He catches his flies with vinegar instead of molasses. But our friend Joseph has long since had his character formed and there is no need for us or anybody else to try to re-mould it. If Joe would only consult an occulist and discard his blue glasses and put on in their place a bright pair, and then come to Rainier down over the beautiful Columbia River highway, and as he comes if he would not think in terms of “horse shed” but would behold the mighty Columbia in all its grandeur rolling on to the gentle Pacific, with great ocean-going vessels plying upon its waters; if he would look across and see on its banks the greatest undertaking in city building the world ever saw; if he would behold Mt. Rainier and our own Mt. St. Helens in all their magnificence, and then when he reaches Rainier he would tank God for the wonders he has beheld and for the further reason that he has any friends left in the town when he delights in slandering.

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Rainier Review Article to the Editor January 19,1923

To the Editor

As Usual ~

Many thanks for the Editor’s note answering my article, “No Congratulations From the Farmers.” I laughed until my sides ached before I got through. As usual when a Review Editor answers any of my articles, he metaphorically speaking, goes up high enough to turn twenty somersaults, and then comes down – a fool. Were it not for several rather insulting remarks, I could ignore his tirade; all I intended to so was to point out a public nuisance, the occupying of space, allotted to farmer’s teams, by cars and trucks, a nuisance carefully ignored by the last city administration, nothing more. Why should the Editor point to my shortcomings, what have they got to do with a public affair? My shortcomings are my own, subject to personal criticism and if necessary the courts, and unless directly involved, have no place in a public controversy.

As a citizen of this Republic, I reserve the right to criticize any official for his public acts and demissions, and whether the farmers have benefited through the past city administration is for the farmers and not the Editor to say. He salaciously reminds me of things I forgot; that Rainier helped me to the market road, as if it were an exclusive gift to me, benefiting nobody else; the fact is the Hackenberg road was selected as a market road because of its adaptability and the efforts of some enterprising Rainier citizens and the settlers along the line. Neither the administration nor the town at large had anything to do with it, in fact the less the Editor says market road, the better for him. He reminds me that the businessmen dug into their pockets for the stockyards, but I plead, “No guilty” of this somewhat premature enterprise; he also reminds me that, if my neighbors have any loss by fire, that the business men dig deep in their pockets, but he

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himself forgets that at the present time the cities are virtually absorbing all the wealth of the framers, who are running their occupation at a loss, that if present conditions prevail, in twenty years from now there will not be a farm without a mortgage, and that the few dollars the businessmen hand out to the farmer in misfortune, are but a small percentage of what they take from him; to remind anyone of a gift as an obligation looks dirty and mean, as such donations uniformly bear a sting. Then on one line he accuses me of telling the unvarnished truth, on another of slandering the town. Since truth is not slander, which is correct? Finally he says, “I should thank God I had any friends left in town.” Why worry about that? What a mass of rot, rubbish and bunk, all because I pointed out an old nuisance in Rainier!

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, Jan. 15, 1923

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Rainier Review Editorial May 1923

Market Road Is ContentionFalse Rumor Causes Strife

“Tempest in a Teapot”Hackenberg Road is Again Selected

“A Tempest in a Teapot” aptly described the much mooted market road question, which again bobbed up this week to torment the people of Rainier and vicinity. It appears that last week when three or four residents of Rainier were in St. Helens they were approached by members of the county court with the statement that the Hackenberg road was out of the question as a market road on account of the steep grade where the road leads off from the highway, and that some other road would have to be chosen.

Taking the members of the court at their word, these citizens of Rainier (of which the Review editor was one) came home and so reported to the president of the Rainier Commercial Club and also to residents of Fern Hill and Hudson, inasmuch as in case the Hackenberg road was supposed to be out of the running, the only other place a market road could be put was either Hudson road or the road which turns south at the top of Rainier hill. Proceeding on the assumption that the statement made by the court was final, all parties acted in the best of faith and no ill feeling should be engendered either between parties resident of Rainier or those who live in the country districts who would be affected by a market road.

A meeting was attempted to be held Friday evening, but as usual no one came out except two men and the meeting was not representative. Another meeting was held on Monday night which was fairly attended. In the meantime County Judge Philip had given out the statement that the Hackenberg road was not out of the running. This statement and other conditions caused those present at the meeting Monday night to vote unanimously in favor of the Hackenberg road, and a large delegation of business men went to St. Helens Wednesday afternoon to support the Hackenberg road.

It appears also that last fall the county court had agreed to designate the Hackenberg road as a market road and had set aside $5,000 to be used on this road this year, so that the prior agreement of the court was a strong point in its favor, and only the absolute and final statement of the county engineer that the road was an impossibility would defeat the Hackenberg road as a market road.

The court heard the Rainier delegation and also delegates from Hudson and Fern Hill. The delegates from the two latter places stated that they understood that the Hackenberg road was

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out of the running, and that in order to have a market road, some other road, presumably the Hudson road would have to be designated, hence they were present solely with this idea in view, and not for the purpose of disputing the prior agreement that the Hackenberg road be designated. The matter of mail route also entered into the argument.

The matter resolved itself into the situation that $5,000 is to be spent on the Hackenberg road, which sum was agreed upon last fall, together with $1,200 additional money which belongs to this district. The engineer will make a survey and endeavor to obtain a grade of six or seven per cent. In that event the road will most likely be designated a market road, according to the desires of the people of Rainier and the entire country, and the matter will be settled in an amicable manner.

It was highly unfortunate that the court made the statement that the Hackenberg road was out of the running and that some other road would have to be selected, as the matter caused some hard feelings and bad blood, though no one was to blame for bringing the matter to the attention of the people, as it was the expressed wish of the court that the people here get together and agree upon another road other than the Hackenberg road.

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Editorial Rainier Review April 1924

Work On Road Is OrderedQuincy-Mayger Bids are Rejected

THREE CONTRACTS LETRainier-Hackenberg Road Bids Soon to be

Called

Bids were opened for contracts on road work in Road District 7, including four different roads, and three contracts let on the first day of the county court, Wednesday. These are Hazel Grove, Heman, and LaJesse roads. All bids received for work on the Mayger-Quincy road were rejected because the bids were too high in comparison with the engineer’s estimates.

E.J. Smith was awarded the contract for clearing and grading the Hazel Grove road, his bid being $365. W.J. Zimmerman was given contract for similar work on the Heman road, having bid $1,677. Jolman & Erickson were awarded the contract for work on the LaJesse road, their bid for $1,170 being the lowest offered.

It is reported that bids will be called for on the Rainier-Hackenberg market road in the near future, as the work of surveying his been completed, and only the matter of right-of-way in some places holds back the work now. This, it is expected, will be settled within a few weeks so that the work may progress.

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Above: Mail carrier Joe Jr. with his Ford “Touring Car”.

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The St. Helens Mist, St. Helens, OR

The Letter Box

To the Editor of the Mist: In the first editorial of the Rainier Review of April 19th, headed, “Why is a Market Road,” editor Veatch makes the following foolish break: “There is the Apiary Market Road. Just why a market road was built in that particular place only those who were in touch with the matter at the time know.”

Being one who was very close in touch with this matter I can enlighten Editor Veatch. In the first place the Hackenberg Road was selected as a market road primarily because of the physical and topographical requirements for a road, its easy grades and its comparatively low cost to build it. In the second place it was selected as a matter of justice in 1923, when the Fernhill Road had already swallowed upward of $30,000 of road taxes, while all that had been expended on our road up to that time amounted to about $2,500. When the matter of selecting a market road was before the County Court I raised a fierce argument, backed up by a number of settlers, then here, and supported by a number of Rainier business men.

Were the Fernhill Road selected today to connect with the new bridge it would go over the hill, cut Rainier out completely and would cost an extra $35,000 before it could be as good a connection as the Apiary Market Road is now. Therefore, all I ask Editor Veatch very politely is to please inform himself before shooting off his mouth in an insinuating way.

The second editorial, headed, “The Scappoose Election” and treating high school education

generally, is a masterpiece that could not be written any better. I read it and reread it. I could hardly believe that Editor Veatch would stumble to the fact that the high schools with the present loose system, or rather no system at all, are not only giving a very questionable and doubtful education but are also, actually and surely bankrupting the taxpayers.

Was Editor Veatch not the main promoter of the Rainier Union high school? Did he not take it upon himself to come into the country districts preaching to get all the booming suckers to vote for the unionising and a high school that has proven itself one of the most extravagant, one of the worst taxeating institutions in the state? Is his conscience troubling him now when he sees homes by the score empty, real estate almost worthless and an increasing tax delinquency?

Will he please tell me what we get for our high school taxes aside of a horde of half education workers in unnecessary occupations? Will Editor Veatch this time answer my questions like a man and not again play possum or crawfish?

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.Doraville, April 20, 1929

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Above: Map showing Hackenberg Road

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Northwest Weather

Josef’s journal notes that he “took the observing station” in 1902 and he meticulously logged weather readings for the next 35 years. The weather station was monitored by government officials for accuracy and kept locked.

He regularly sent monthly weather reports and year end weather summaries to local newspapers. Some are included in the following pages along with a few of his weather related poems.

Note Josef’s contribution to the Internet at the end of the chapter ~ WorldClimate.com 1931 - 1936 weather summary for “Doraville”

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Rainier Review Editorial: January 1, 1917

Weather Summary 1916

The peculiar features of the year were the unusually long and severe winter, the great amount of snow, the late and cold spring, and the great amount of rain in March and July; and the shift of the proverbial “dry season” from July and August to September and October.

While grain yielded excellent return, the hay crop, fruit, potatoes, and vegetables were uneven and partial failures.

Concerning the weather, the year left much to be wished for.

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The Weatherman’s Rebuke:

March was cold with snow and showers, Lacking shine and buds and flowers.

All of you are pouting, growling, kicking, fussing, cursing and howling.

Stop complaining, have a smile,When it storms and snows awhile.

If you want a warmer spell, Please, just simply move to h**l.

Jos. Hackenberg, Obs.Doraville, April 1, 1917

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Rainier Review

Weather report for February, 1922

Maximum temperature 52 degrees on the 28th; minimum 14 degrees on 1st; mean maximum 42.6 degrees; mean minimum, 27.7 degrees; mean monthly temperature 35.1 degrees, which is 4.2 below normal.

Precipitation 4.17 inches which is 1.70 inches below the average; snow 4.9 inches. Greatest daily rainfall .81 inch on the 16th. Prevailing wind S.E. There were 4 clear, 6 partly cloudy and 28 cloudy days, while measurable precipitation fell on 19 days. The month was abnormally cold; there were but six nights without a hard frost. Farm work was at a standstill.

Winter grain has until now not been damaged by frost. This has been one of the coldest, if not the coldest winter for this part of Oregon. Since December 14th, the cold spell has been broken by but very few short intervals, and the monthly temperatures were excessively below normal.

Jos. Hackenberg, Obs.Doraville, March 1, 1922

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Weather concerned, the year 1922 was poor, stick dry and well seasoned in the middle, and wet, cold and perfectly rotten at both ends. In fact the year had two full-fledged winters. Spring was late, after a most trying winter lasting until April 16th. After it had cleared up, May 11, July heat set in, and from May 11th until August 9th, very little rain fell, and aside from damage from fires, the drought made summer grain, hay and pasture short.

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The August and September rains were timely and helped gardens, potatoes, pastures and a short water supply. October was pleasant, November dry and cold, while December turned out to be one of the worst Decembers on record. During my 37 years residence here I have experienced but three such cold Decembers – 1889, 1892 and 1919.

The only good spell lasted from August 9th to October 29th and 1922 must be considered an off year in regard to temperature, precipitation and the marked extremes of the season.

Jos. Hackenberg, Obs Doraville, Jan. 1, 1923

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Rainier Review Editorial: January 8, 1926

Open Winter Due Is Forcast

Year like 1887-88 believed in storeRainfall for 1925 light

Growing Season of 225 Days Afforded by Good Weather

That this winter will be one of the open winters that sometimes occur in all parts of the country is the prediction of Joe Hackenberg Sr., weather observer, who has just issued the annual weather summary for 1925.

It is Mr. Hackenberg’s opinion that this winter will be “open,” with heavy rains later in spring. He has been observing the weather conditions in this territory for years.

At other times this section has experienced similarly warm and summery winters. Notable among them was the winter of 1888 and 1889,

during which only four inches of snow fell throughout the entire winter. The winter before that, however, was a cold one, and is still remembered by the older settlers as the year when they crossed the Columbia on the ice. At that time Mr. Hackenberg and several others who were living here then measured the Columbia and found it to be three-fourths of a mile wide. The ice was 20 inches thick that year.

For the year 1925 the maximum temperature was 98 degrees, which occurred on June 25. The minimum temperature of 25 degrees was reached on three different days of different times of the year, these being January 16, February 11 and November 6, 1925.

At the Doraville station, where Mr. Hackenberg makes his obervations, the last killing frost of the spring occurred on March 26 and the first killing frost in fall came on November 4, giving a growing season of 223 days. The mean temperature was 51.4 degrees, which was 2.2 above normal.

The outstanding features of the last year, according to the weather report, which appears elsewhere in this issue of the Review, were the abnormally high mean temperature, the absence of freezing spells, snow, and heavy winds, and the exceptional fall.

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Rainier Review article April 23, 1922:

Judging from Brother Hackenberg’s poetry, published in today’s review, he has been “observing” the weather a little too closely.

Easter Sunday Morning 1922When of snow there came some layers

On Easter Sunday morn,All the farmers said their prayers.

And wis’d they weren’t born.

And they said it was a crimeTo snow in forks and spikes:

Hell and dahme on such a clime!“Who ever saw the likes?”

Seven Sundays ‘twill be snowingAccording to the rules

Farmers, what a chance of showing.Just how to talk like fools.

But such fervent prayers spoken – They brought no grief or shame.

Snow fell thicker as a token.The weather cared a dahm

Jos. Hackenberg Doraville, April 16, 1922

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Editorial, Rainier Review, April 2, 1926

March Weather is Mild49.2 degrees is average temperature

Rainfall 3.72 inches shortVegetation Not Dormant During Winter

The March lion never was more than a lamb this year, as shown by the monthly report just issued by Joe Hackenberg, weather observer. The report

shows that March, which is usually regarded as a month of storms, this year was a mild one, and dry. Only 2.33 inches of rain fell during the month, which leaves this territory short 3.72 inches of the average.

Because of the open winter, necessary stock feeding was light, as grass and grain never stopped growing. Following is the report.

Maximum temperature 75 degrees on 14th, minimum 31 degrees on 5th and 6th; mean maximum temperature 60.7 degrees, mean minimum 37.8 degrees ; mean monthly temperature 49.2 degrees, which is 6.3 degrees above normal. Rain 1.22 inches, which is 3.72 inches below average; greatest daily rainfall 0.56 inch on 12th. Prevailing wind northeast, although the wind direction kept continually changing. There were 11 clear, 10 partly cloudy and 10 cloudy days while measurable rain fell on 10 days.

March was a beautiful month, rivaling the March of 1888 and 1889. The winter has been the mildest for 37 years. Winter grain never stopped growing, so that rye is heading at the end of the month. Very little extra stock feeding had to be done in comparison with other winter seasons, owing to the growth of grass, while the slipping of the bark and the heavy gumming of the pruning saw during January and February plainly showed that the trees were not dormant like during other seasons*. There is, though, a rain shortage of 4.15 inches since January 1, 1926, in spite of a very wet February.

Jos. Hackenberg, Obs.Doraville, April 1, 1926

[*Josef often worked pruning orchards in and around Rainier.]

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The St. Helens Mist, St. Helens, OR,Editorial, August 3, 1926

July Heat Breaks Existing RecordsTemperature of 100 is the highest ever

recordedEight Consecutive Month With Above

Normal Temperature Recorded by Joseph Hackenberg, of Doraville

The month of July was a record breaker for heat and was the eight consecutive month with an above normal temperature, the weather report of Joseph Hackenberg of Doraville, which was announced today, shows.

A temperature of 100 degrees was recorded by Mr. Hackenberg on July 10, the previous high record being 98 degrees. The thermometer registered 98 on July 21, 1907, and on June 24, 1925.

Practically no rain fell in the month, only a trace being recorded on July 23, 25, and 26. The rainfall was .92 inch below normal. There were 22 clear days, six partly cloudy and three cloudy days in the month. The prevailing wind was northwest.

The maximum temperature of 100 degrees was recorded on July 10 and the minimum was 40 degrees on July 28. The mean maximum temperature was 77.9 and the mean minimum 49.2. The mean monthly temperature was 63.6 degrees, which was 1.4 degrees above normal. The greatest daily range was 42 degrees.

“July was the eight consecutive month with above normal temperature,” Mr. Hackenberg said. “It was favorable for harvesting, but unfavorable for growing vegetation. It was a record breaker for heat.”

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The St. Helens Mist, St. Helens OregonEditorial, January 6, 1928

Year 1927 Was Cloudy ~ DampHackenberg Gives Weather report

DRY SEASON SHORTER

Rainfall Totaled 58.61 inches or 9.6 Inches Above Average: Hay and Grain Called Best Crops

The year 1927, which has passed into history, was cloudy and wet, said the annual report issued this week of Joseph Hackenberg, weather observer.

The maximum temperature of 97 degrees was attained July 23 and August 15 and 16 and the minimum of 4 degrees came on January 21. The mean maximum temperature for the year was 56.2; the mean minimum 39.7 degrees and the mean annual 47.9 degrees, which is 1.3 degrees below normal.

Total precipitation recorded was 58.61, which is 9.6 inches above the average. The greatest daily rainfall was 2.58 inches on November 24. Total snow measured 26.5 inches in comparison to 9.5 inches in 1926. The greatest depth of snow was 3.6 inches on January 24. Prevailing winds for the year were northwest and southwest.

Two severe thunderstorms occurred June 7. The aurora borealis was visible on April 23 and July 21.

In the year there were 82 clear days, 51 partly cloudy and 232 cloudy days, while measurable precipitation fell on 198 days. The last frost in the spring visited this section April 20 and the first fall frost came October 6, giving a growing season of 193 days. July, August and November had a slight above average temperature, the other months being below normal. March, July and December had a below average precipitation while the other months were above the average in dampness. November was the wettest month with rainfall of 9.73 inches and July was the driest with .47 inch.

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“The year 1927 was cloudy and wet and the dry season short, the spring was late and cold, while the fall rains set in very early,” Mr. Hackenberg commented. “Hay and grain were good crops, but early cut hay and late cut grain were considerably damaged by rain. Potatoes were a short crop and much inconvenience was experienced in harvesting the late plantings owing to excessive fall rains. Vegetables and root crops were good but fruit was a partial failure.”

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The St. Helens Mist, St. Helens, OregonMarch 9, 1928

February Rain, Cold Lacking, Says Report

A mean temperature of 6 degrees above average and rainfall of more than 4 inches below normal marked the month of February, according to the report of Joseph Hackenberg, weather observer of Doraville.

Maximum temperature of 59 degrees of February 9 was recorded with the minimum being 26 degrees, on February 15. Mean maximum temperature was 47.3 degrees, mean minimum 32.5 and mean monthly 39.9, which is 6 degrees above normal. The greatest daily range was 28 degrees.

Rainfall for the month was .30 inch on February 24. There were seven clear days, 11 partly cloudy and 11 cloudy days in the month, while measurable rain fell on 13 days. The rain shortage since January 1 amounts to 7.04 inches.

“The nights were frequently very frosty and the day temperatures pleasant so that much outdoor work could be done,” Mr. Hackenberg commented. “By the end of the month considerable acreage had been plowed and seeded.”

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The St. Helens Mist, St. Helens, Oregon March 16, 1928

Oregon climate and The Mist: To the Editor: You will no doubt permit me to say a few kind words to you since you got such a dirty setting out from “Sam Hill” just lately. It seems rather queer that in printing my weather reports such mistakes about the monthly mean temperature should be made.

My January report stated a monthly mean temperature of 0.7 degrees below or nearly normal. The Mist, however, had a temperature of 17 degrees below normal, which would equal the climate of Saskatchewan or southern Siberia, and on this mistake I personally commented in The Mist office on March 6.

In the report for February, The Mist has instead of 0.6 degrees above or nearly normal, 6 degrees above normal or a climate of southern California.

Now, what’s the use of moving to a warmer or colder climate if The Mist with one stroke of the pen can produce any kind of climate?

The U.S. weather bureau sends its officials every period of 2 – 4 years to test the instruments of the observers who in turn try to give to the public the best service or correct reports.

For a number of years I have sent reports to the Rainier Review and The Mist, with the result that the Review had them uniformly correct, while writing just as plain for the one paper as for the other.

No doubt some of the readers of The Mist who use thermometers will regard me by this time as a rather bum weather observer. To be sure, I am no weather prophet, however, I will predict a rise of temperature in The Mist office the next time I visit St. Helens.

Jos. Hackenberg, ObserverDoraville, March 11, 1928

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Above: Weather summary for 1935,

The following article (next page) published in the same paper indicates there would be no more reports from Josef’s weather station, but that was not the case.

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Rainier Review, Jan 10, 1936, Reader’s Forum:

A Few Parting Words

This will be my last weather report after an uninterrupted service of 34 years without any compensation from the government. I most reluctantly have to give up the station for the sole reason that a close neighbor forbids his hired man to take the observation anymore during our now and then absence as he has been doing since October 1934. The man passed the station and was willing to do the two minutes’ work while doing the evening chores. Mr. McGinnis, a half mile distant, came over and recorded the observations while I was away, and from January 1 will conduct the station to serve the government and the people, dishing up the temperature, rain, snow, wind and thunder. Wishing him success, I will say goodbye to the readers

Jos Hackenberg, Sr.

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Rainier Review, May 8, 1936

April Weather Above Normal

Complete Reversal of Season Trend Noted During Month Just Ended

The weather for the month of April has reversed its past permorance for this year, says the monthly weather report from Doraville. From below normal temperature and an excess of rainfall, it has changed to above normal temperature and a shortage of rainfall.

Maximum temperature 79 degrees on the 15th; mean maximum 6l.2 degrees; minimum temperature 24 degrees on the first and fourth, mean minimum 37.7 degrees; mean monthly 49.4 degrees which is 1.3 daily range was 46 degrees on the 15th (Something must have been left out!).

Precipitation 1.51 inches, which is 1.97 inches below normal, was recorded on 12 days. Greatest daily rainfall .29 inches on the 28th.

The wind was mostly northwest and northeast. There were 12 clear, 7 partly cloudy and eleven cloudy days.

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Rainier Review, December 6, 1936, front page

Rain Shortage, Cold Marked Past Month

November Another Unusual Period, Observer Hackenberg’s Report Shows ~

The month of November has been abnormal in temperature and rain shortage. Prevous cold Novembers were 1896, when the Columbia River froze over, 1911 and 1931. Previous dry Novembers were 1888, 1905, 1922 and 1929. The worst feature of the month was the hard freezing spell with scant amount of water in the ground, and at the end of the month springs, wells and creeks are still at summer water stage. The rain shortage for the year by December 1 amounts to 7.24 inches.

Maximum temperature, 51 degrees on the 7th, 15th, and 24th. Minimum, 13 degrees on the 2nd. Mean maximum temperature, 44.4 degrees. Mean minimum temperature 30.9 degrees. Mean monthly temperature 37.6 degrees, which is 6 degrees below normal. Greatest daily range, 25 degrees.

Rain 2.66 inches, which is 2.88 inches below normal. Greatest daily rainfall, 0.77 inch on the 23rd. Wind ever changing, though NW and NE prevailing. There were 8 clear, 5 partly cloudy and 17 cloudy days, while measurable rain fell on 13 days.

Jos Hackenberg, Sr., Obs

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Above: Rainier Review, March 10, 1941

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Hackenbergs In Europe

There are three places in Germany named “Hackenberg”. The above sign designates a transit stop for Hackenberg bei Remscheid-Lennep.

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Josef’s Family Tree written in March 1896.

The history of the Hackenbergs goes back to about 170 years from now. They always since known lived in Nieder (lower) Lindewiese, a village in Austria Silesia a village (of about 7000 inhabitants now) between the flourishing city of Freiwaldau to the East, the Glatzian mountains to the North, the Ramsau pass to the West, dividing the Sudeten to the South from the Glatzian mountains, in the valley of the Black Staritz creek, which empties in the Bila creek (a tributary to the Glatzian Neissen, Prussia). In this village they owned a farm now house No. 160 at the beginning of the 18th century till 1882, when the main branch by the death of the last male offspring Ignatz Hackenberg ceased.

In 1776 this family branched, when Lorenz H., son of old Ignatz H., married the widow Schubert, who by her first marriage got in possession of the farm now house No. 199 in the same village. There are no records about the year of birth or death or the character of old Ignatz (probably born between 1710 and 1720, died about 1790). Son Lorenz ~

Lorenz born 1745 was a very pious, good natured and industrious man, who improved the farm very much and built a big grain barn in 1780, the eastern part of it was rebuilt in 1859, the western part in 1879. He had a son Valentin and his wife had by her first marriage a daughter, who was the lawful heir to the farm. But by trickery or intimidation her stepbrother got in possession of it, for which crime since then the family has severely suffered. Lorenz died about 1825 and left the farm to his son.

Valentin born 1777 proved one of the meanest men that ever existed in the village, a drunkard, gambler, ruffian and fighter, who for the sake of the saloon and debauchery neglected the farm, squandered the little fortune his father had left and mortgaged the farm to about 600 gulden ($250.00) a big sum in that time. During the war with Napoleon he drove a team for the Austrian Government and this occupation led to his inebriety. He introduced the shooting of mortars on the farm for the noise at religious and other celebrations. Cloudbursts 1813 and 1829 done big damage to the farm and they opened a big ditch on the higher lying neighbor farms, which ditch has proven a steady menace to the farm. About 1804 Valentin married Theresia Schweidler (pron. Shwidler) from Ober (upper) Lindewiese, who was a good woman. It is hard to describe what hard times and mean treatment she must have endured at the hands of such a mean husband (for men had absolute power over their families then). She died in her 38th year about 1820, mostly perhaps of hard work, trouble and sorrow. Two sons were born to them – Thomas and Josef. Thomas, who was a teamster, was killed by a loaded waggon running over him at the age of about 50 years in 1857 in the town of Munsterberg, left no children and plays no role in the family. After Theresia’s death, Valentin married again Anna Ebens from the Grafenberg, a small village near Lindewiese, with whom he had a son Kaspar who died about 1840 in his nineteenth year of age, his mother died about 1844.

Josef born 1810 was the moral opposite of his father Valentin and stepbrother Kaspar. He bought the farm from his father in 1832 and the same year he married Hedwig Raschke from the Hammerhau, a village near Freiwaldau. She was born 1808 and proved a very good women, who by her economy and ceaseless hard work saved the farm for the family from sale for the mortgage and other outstanding debts. 1833 the cholera ravaged the village, claiming about 500 victims from a population of 2000 souls then, but this family was saved. Valentin’s drinking and ungovernable mean temper caused continual trouble in the house and hard and bloody fighting between Josef and Hedwig on one side and Valentin and Kaspar on

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the other with handspikes, fence rails, axes or any handy weapon were common occurrences. Loss of blood thereby caused the death of Josef by bloody flux in his 27th year, October 1837, after 5 years of hard work and trouble on the farm. Josef and Hedwig had 2 children ~

Josefa and David. Josefa born 1833 died 22 years old 1855. David born December 26, 1835 was only 2 years old when his father died. Hedwig remained widow several years, she had a suitor over 40 years old, but she preferred a young man. And she found him in the person of Anton Hauke (pron. Hawke) from Gurshdorf, a village 15 miles from Lindewiese. Their marriage proved a curse to her and her children for she was 32 and he was only 19 years old. Besides Hauke showed himself a mean, lying hypocritical ruffian and master of old Valentin and hard fighting frequently occurred again. Hedwig and children were treated very rough and the latter never sent to school. Finally Valentin died September 1852 and the only offspring of the family left was David. A cloudburst 1844 done tremendous damage to the farm. The seasons of 1847 and 1848 were too dry and the crops failed. Famine, cholera and revolution were the consequences. The farmers throughout Austria got free from the nobles and clergy to pay tithes and directly subject to the Government in taxation and gained representation in public affairs by this rebellion. Continuous rain throughout the season of 1854 ruined the crops and famine and cholera followed. 1856 on the 24th of April, David bought the farm from his mother Hedwig, who with her husband got a big yearly allotment in grain, wood, etc. from the farm during their lifetime.

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Above: House #199.Photo by Helmut Hackenberg and Robert Hackenberg on their trip to the village in July 2000.

Left: House #199.Photo, undated, received from Karl Hackenberg in 2004.

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David married in fall of 1858 Sophia Spielvogel from Nieder Lindewiese. Knowing he would be unable to get along peacefully in the same house with Hauke and family, he bought a house about 1/8 mile from his house for Hauke. It proved a wise step, for they were the most of the time in enmity and lawsuits and with their mean temper especially when drunk, would have undoubtedly killed one another. At the time of this writing, Hauke is still alive, living without much work from the yearly allotment. David and Sophie, who proved a good and very industrious woman, improved their farm greatly, hauled away many big rock piles from the fields, changed the old road across the farm, built the eastern part of the grain barn new 1859, planted a new big orchard; the only fruit trees on the place were 2 old pear trees and a cherry tree. 1870 he made a new well and built 1879 a horse power with a threshing machine by rebuilding the western part of the grain barn. He and his father-in-law Kaspar Spielvogel used the first side hill plow (all work before was done in the village with cultivators).

1866 after the unhappy war with Prussia the whole village was quartered with Prussian soldiers for 3 weeks. Cloudbursts in 1868 and 1879 done enormous damage to the farm. On the 28th of February 1870 David’s mother Hedwig died 62 years old after a very troubled life, bent crooked from hard work. When she got old, Hauke sought pastime with other women, mistreated her and drove her out nights many times. Her death relieved the farm from half of the yearly allotment. Hauke married again 1873 a Theresia Bernert, who died from paralysis in the fall of 1895. Hauke and Hedwig had 3 children: Carolina, Frank and Josef.

1875 and ’76 the first class macadamized road (imperial road) was built through the village. In 1886 the railroad took few acres from the farm for a depot and made the connection between the 2 parts of the farm very inconvenient. With the money therefore received David paid all on the farm resting mortgages off and improved the old house. Since 1870 he had given himself to drinking and when under the influence of liquor was very excitable and mean like his grandfather Valentin. It slowly undermined his health and he died November 17, 1887, aged 52 years. David and Sophie had 8 children: 2 died young and Josef, John, Karl, Anna, Frank, and William.

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Josef, born December 28, 1859 ~ see Chapter 1John, born 21 October 1861 worked on the farm and as carpenter, married Clara Hoffmann in Nieder Lindewiese on 22 Nov. 1892, without children yet at present.Karl, born 1 September 1863, worked on the farm which he bought Dec. 1887, learned the carpenter trade, single yet. Frank worked on the farm and as carpenter; born 21 August 1870, served as soldier from 1891-94 in Krens in Lower Austria, at present single yet.William born 24 November 1872, worked on the farm till 1893, when love and good times drove him to Amerika, where (Pennsylvania) he married Anna Schoenwaelder from his village. He moved to Wheeling in West Virginia. On 2 Jan. 1895 their son William was born. Unable to get along together, because of jealousy and disorderly conduct of his wife, he gave her a sendoff in spring 1896.Anna, born 9 August 1868, worked always at home, single yet.

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SPIELVOGEL [Family of Josef’s mother Sophie]

Sophie, born November 25, 1836, was the daughter of Kaspar Spielvogel, born Jan. 6.1810 died July 17, 1889, [Kaspar] married Victoria Mueller from Upper Lindewiese 1835. Victoria Mueller was born 1813 died July 1890. They had 5 children – 2 died young and Sophie, Johann, and Carolina.

Kaspar Spielvogel was the son of Michael Spielvogel, born 1738, died 1840, married Katharina Reinelt from U.L. born 1768, died 1854. Michael Spielvogel’s father was Hans George Spielvogel and his wife was Anna Rosina Franke from Upper Lindewiese

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Rainier Review, September 29, 1938 ~ Josef speaks

out on current events in his “Heimat”

Sudeten Germans Viz Czechs

To the Editor: In his otherwise admirable editorial in last week’s Review the editor says: “Experts agree nothing France or England can or even Russia could do would have prevented the Germans from seiezing Czechoslovakia.”

Now the fact is, Germany only wants that part of Czechoslovakia inhabited by Germans fully 1400 years, and these Sudeten mountainers dwelling on the outer rim of Czechoslovakia to the Odes river have found Czech rule intolerable, in spite of all their propaganda about well treated minorities. Coming from that part of formerly Austrian Silesia, where the Moravian, Silesian and German borders meet, having lived there over 23 years and having received numerous letters from reliable sources, I fully understand the situation.

The people in the Sudeten Mountains are very frugal, easily satisfied, very hospitable, industrious and honest; the country is rather over-populated, the soil not overly fertile, hence a good part of the population depends on the industries, and under Austrian rule they were contented. Letters coming

from home since 1919, when that makeshift Czechoslovakia was put on the map, told of outrageous taxation of soil and industries, they told of superseding the German officials and police by Czechs at salaries out of reason, they told of the crippling of the German industries by taxation and competition, they told of a party of starving Germans seeking relief at the court being fired at and a number killed by Czech police. Maps showed the old German names of the cities by Czech names, and finally the papers told of a law, passed in 1936, that Czechs must be employed in industries, and to sum Czech rule up it was simply a crowding and starving out of the Germans, who finally organized and appealed to Germany for relief. And now since Germany is well prepared it will either mean war or a back down of the Czechs. England, having so much at stake, undoutedly realized that the Czechs are not competent to govern, minorities are in fact not worth all the risk they would take. (All over Europe the Czechs before the World War were called Bohemians, and Moravians, which two countries they inhabit.)

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.Doraville, Sept. 25, 1938

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Rainier Review, February 23, 1939

Some Economic History

To the Editor of the Review ~In the Review of Feb 2nd there is a very interesting article, headed “Washington Snapshots” by James Preston, showing the differences in the cost of living in dictator nations and the U.S. in comparison to wages. To read that article one would think that this state of affairs had come with the dictatorships or of late. The facts are the economic questions of the people of Central Europe, especially in the mountains, have been hard to answer for a long time; they have, in fact been chronic, so I bring here a short sketch of life 55-70 years ago from my boyhood locality.

Wherever I went I found the same conditions, a hard struggle for existence by farmers, laborers, worst of all the non-possessing poor. Now, no one need think that over-population was the entire cause of bad conditions of living; old style of management and working, clumsy poor tools and lack of communication in trade were great factors. The farms, all laid out in the old feudal times, uniformly stretched out in small strips 1 to 2 miles long to both sides of the valleys, and nearly every farm had its own road, so imagine the immense waste of land and travel in cultivation.

Frequent cloudbursts, long rainy spells, had done much damage by erosion, and year after year the outcropping surface rocks had to be removed. Up to 1870 farm tools and implements were uniformly homemade, substantial and heavy. From that time on better farm tools were imported, threshing machines installed, and the eternal flax spinning ceased, since the factories and mills springing up then began to absorb much of the labor. However, farm earnings and factory

wages were kept very low. In a favorable year the farmers had a surplus but no price for their products, and not being organized, made the speculators rich. In a year of drought, high water, or foot and mouth disease they were worse off than the laborers or factory workers, whose wages were ridiculously low, while mechanics and skilled workers were somewhat better off.

There was no number of working hours set by law, the working time was a matter of agreement between the employer and worker. Now, wages for day laborers were from 20 to 40 cents per day, mechanics near one dollar, a loaf of ryebread 2 ½ times our rye loaves 30 cents, one pound of soup meat 24 cents, a small lunch of two thin slices of bread with a taste of cheese or bologna or two weinies 20 to 30 cents, and everything in the grub line correspondingly high in price, and you have the picture.

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.Doraville, Feb. 19, 1939

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Above: Photo courtesy of John Hackenberg, Pennsylvania, whose ancestors lived in Poland, a short distance across the border from Nieder Lindewiese. While there does not appear to be a connection with this Hackenberg family, Josef would perhaps recognize the photo as typical of a village farm family of his era.

Rainier Review, March 2, 1939

Some Economic History

To the Editor of the Review: In the last Review I enumerated some of the foodstuffs and their prices in the Sudeten mountains in central Europe. What made meat and provision expensive were the high excise taxes and lack of rail transportation, as much had to be imported, the freighting by teams over from 20 to 100 miles necessarily added to the sale price. Profiteering was impossible owing to the keen competition of the merchants and grocers; neither was the credits in vogue. These causes reacted very hard on the non-possessing poor, who yearly died by the thousands by T.B., there uniformly called consumption.

It was simply a state of affairs apparently unnoticed by the government and the local authorities. The people were very law abiding outside of thefts that in the case of apprehension were necessarily punished severely. The government would only help in major disasters like devastating floods or burning of cities or villages. There was no organized charity, no organized help by the state, and of course the non-possessing poor suffered most, since they also had to pay rent and for clothing. The rents were reasonable, and while the laws were very severe for non payment, the authorities usually used good common sense before ordering the constable to pile the household goods on the street. Another item was the heating and lighting; timber was plentiful, but it was in the hands of the farmers,

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and feudal lords who permitted the poor to take the waste, limbs and small tops, but charged a small fee for removing the stumps, and such wood had to be either carried or hauled for miles.

The lighting up to 1870 was virtually medieval. The rich had oil lamps, tallow and wax candles. The poor used beech faggots and they sure gave a poor unsteady light, made much refuse and smoke and had to be attended to every few minutes. When kerosene, there called petroleum, was first imported, many were afraid to use it, because a few explosions had occurred in the middle of the sixties, By 1870 kerosene lamps were in use, while some of the old fogies still used faggots, flint and steel and punk to make fire.

In the clothing line silk and wool were very expensive, linen and cotton cheap. The women were then just as silly to be in fashion as today, and dresses were made over, turned when possible, until unfit for further tailoring.

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.Doraville, February 26, 1939

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Rainier Review, March 9, 1939

Some Economic History (concluded)

The most expensive article in the Sudeten mountains was leather, and consequently boots, shoes and harness. Shoes were made to fit the feet of the purchasers by local shoemakers, since ready-made “market boots and shoes” were usually of very poor quality. Women and children wore shoes only in inclement weather.

One of the worst phases of life was sanitation. Even if people knew the rudiments of health rules, conditions were such that they could not obey them. Drug stores and physicians could be found only in the larger cities, and the medical profession, was from our viewpoint, crude and

undeveloped, especially as regarded anesthetics, and medical service was very expensive. Therefore it was up to the poor to pull through under the care of a midwife, usually somewhat versed in medicine, or die. The physicians performed the surgery and were very competent.

With dentistry, it was still worse; aching teeth were removed usually by horse doctors, with instruments that would bring a shiver to a strong-nerved man, and the price of extracting a tooth was 20 cents plus the pains, and neither drugs to kill pain nor antiseptics were used.

The class that suffered most from these economic conditions were the educated, of which there was a super abundance. Up to the seventies education had been too much on the theoretical and ethical lines, and business was not developed to absorb many. Stenography was not fully developed for practical use and typewriting unknown. Hundreds of the educated literally starved to death, many committed suicide. Very few had the means to emigrate, while some turned criminals or agitators and police had no end of trouble. There were no social security laws whatever, and the poor had to much rely on charity, which, however, was usually very scant since few could afford to help much. If one considers the diet, mostly watersoup and potatoes, hog lard or linseed oil (as butter was scarce and expensive), with little dried fruit, a few vegetables, the long hours ofwork, the poor sanitation, one will not wonder that the mortality among the poor was very great, and that no comparison can be made with the present conditions under the Nazis in Germany, where if necessary provisions are rationed out to all. Besides, we must remember the big progress in home economics, so all around the German people of today are 100 percent better off economically than we were at home 70 years ago.

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.Doraville, March 4, 1939

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Above: Letter from Anna Hackenberg May 11 1939

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Translation of Anna’s letter courtesy of Helmut Hackenberg

“Heil Hitler! May 11, 1939 ~ God’s mercy to all beloved so far away! I thank you, my dear little brother for your kind letter, will immediately answer it, because I’m not ready yet that I could work outside, and weather is constantly rainy but it is better this way otherwise would have come strong frost and would have – as in the year before - destroyed many of all blossoms, now we hope anyway – as you write – for a good year.

Dear little brother, you write I wouldn’t know much about politics, could be possible, but that only by Chamberlain the bloodshed would have been prevented, I just cannot understand it, because our beloved Fuehrer spoke in his Nuremberg speech definitely that he will set us free, be it as it may, but our noble Fuehrer, he will stand faithful to his word, that Chamberlain would say Yes that is sure, but not Roosevelt, who is not the right one, you won’t deny, but we should let all people have their way.”

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Helmut’s annotations: “Anna wrote the whole letter in two phrases, without any commas. But I know this from my own grandmother who wrote the same way. So I put commas into transcription for a better understanding. Remarkable: she wrote the letter about 8 months after Hitler occupied the Sudetenland after a treaty at Munich signed by Chamberlain, Mussolini, French prime minister and Czech president; and about 4 months before Hitler started World War II.”

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Above: German script is very difficult to decipher and no longer used in every day correspondence. Try your luck at finding some of the above German script letters in Anna’s letter to Josef.

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Above: Photo July 2000. Helmut Hackenberg in Ober Lindewiese standing in front of house #45 where his grandfather was born.

Ober Lindewiese and Nieder Lindewiese are neighboring villages. Both villages had numerous Hackenberg families, but there are no known connections to Josef’s Hackenberg family.

Above: Lipová-lázně is a municipalityn the Olomouc region of the Czech Republic. Both Ober Lindewiese and Nieder Lindewiese are located there.

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Update: Josef’s brother Karl:

Karl and his wife Karolina Weiser married in 1907; their son Karl Jr. was born in 1910 and close to Otto’s age. As there was regular correspondence between Josef and his family, Otto grew up with knowledge of his cousins. After World War II, Otto contacted Karl Jr. through the Red Cross inviting the family to come to Oregon as the Czechslovakia government evicted the Sudenten Germans from their homes in the villages where they had lived for hundreds of years. Karl Jr. declined the offer to come to America and contact with the family was lost. A few years ago queries on the Internet revealed others searching for Hackenberg ancestors in the same area, and contact was made with Helmut Hackenberg who through research located Karl’s grandchildren now living in Germany.

Above: Karl Jr. and his wife Paula ~ 1972

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Above top: 2000 photo of Karl Jr’s family: Top left to right: son Karl, Paula, daughters Herta and Annelies, and daughter-in-law Pia who was married to son Dieter (deceased).

Above: Paula with daughter Herta’s family.

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Above left: Annelies and her husband Josef Fischer with his sister Hedy.

Above right: Josef and daughter Martina

In Memory of Karl HackenbergApril 1935 – October 2005

Left: Karl pictured here in 2000 with his beloved pet “Maxl”

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Nieder Lindewiese Picture Gallery – July 2000courtesy of Helmut Hackenberg, Germany, and Robert Hackenberg, Indiana

Above: View from railway station toward church and house #199 (left, hidden by trees)

Above: Standing beside house #199, view of main street looking toward church

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Above and below: Church

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Above: School beside House #199 which is located to the left of the birch trees.

Above: Standing in front of House #199, view of main street in opposite direction of the church.

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Above left: Village cemetery. Evidently old graves have been “recycled” and space made available for current burials per the observation of Dieter Pusch. Dieter, a Hackenberg connection through his mother’s family, accompanied Bob Hackenberg and Helmut Hackenberg on a tour of Nieder Lindewiese in 2000. He had been to the cemetery before and had seen more Hackenberg grave sites at that time.

Above right: The “Familie Hackenberg” headstone shown above was in nearby Freiwaldau (now called Jesenik).

Above: Partial hand drawn map of Nieder Lindewiese showing house numbers which identified families much like our use of social security numbers. Josef’s history, “In 1886 the railroad took few acres from the farm for a depot and made the connection between the 2 parts of the farm inconvenient.” The arrow notes the location of House #199 and the railroad. [Map courtesy of Helmut Hackenberg.]

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Taxes

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Review, December 1909

Our New School Law

To the Editor: The last legislature of Oregon passed a law providing for at least a six months school term in each district. Nobody with common sense will have any objections to that. At the same time no other provision was made to defray the additional expenses than to compel districts to tax themselves, if the number of enumerated children does not raise the needed apportionment. Anyone at a glance can see that this new law coupled with the old apportionment provision is an act of injustice; it does not matter how much tax has been collected from the property of a school district, if the number of enumerated children falls below a certain mark then part of the already collected taxes is given to other districts and the district is simply told to vote more taxes. The worst feature of the law shows itself in that the less children enumerated for school a district has, the more school money it will lose and the more new taxes it has to collect to make up the loss. The provision that a school board of one district pay over the apportionment to the board of another district in case families with enumerated children move away, will, in my estimation, bring trouble.

If the total amount of enumerated children in the county is taken as the basis for distribution, then enough tax ought to be collected from the county as a whole to provide for needed expenditures in all districts. The more just plan is to simply give each district the school tax collected therefrom by the sheriff and let the voters cover the deficiency. The law as it now stands is simply a cover for robbery, a fine product of a crowd of political deadheads, called a legislature.

Joseph HackenbergDoraville, December 7, 1909

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Rainier Review, undated

Taxation and Assessment

To the Editor: ~ When in 1914 our property was assessed much higher and the taxes raised to nearly double what they had been, I went before the equalization board and was promptly turned down. Since then I never was at home when assessment was made, the assessor simply handed my wife his slip after a few questions, and that ended the matter. This year I met the assessor personally, and informed him that in the future I would pay no more taxes on land absolutely valueless to me or anyone else, that I had about 25 acres and was ready to go over the place with him so he would not need to take my word for it. He though, took my word for it, eliminated the 25 acres, and raised the valuation of the other 135 acres to nearly the old amount, in other words, I was to pay a certain amount of taxes anyhow, no matter if the property was worth it or not. To follow this process by logic, if 159 acres of our 160 turned out worthless, the remaining one acre would have to atone for the rest, and become as valuable as city lots. Now I don’t blame the assessor, he simply works under a vicious system, but I blame the fools who are satisfied with it, and if old Turkey has a worse taxation system than Oregon I bow my head in shame.

With this kind of assessment that virtually lays all the taxation burdens on 30 percent of the people and leaves the other 70 percent go untaxed, we propose to keep up the state administration with its necessary institutions, pay for about seventy commissions, the most of them unnecessary, maintain a costly elementary school system, and in this county four expensive high schools by a population of only 14,000, when in Europe there is a high school for every 30 to 40,000, a college for every 200,000, a university for every 5,000,000; with this kind of assessment we propose to convert every dog trail into a 10-foot macadamized road, and pay for market roads besides; surveying all this calmly who would not say we had become the craziest dumps this side of hell?

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There never can be any resemblance of justice in our land tax until all the soil is classified according to its quality, its usefulness, its difficulty in clearing and cultivation, its distance to market and its kind of roads; there never can be even a slight resemblance of justice in general taxation until everyone making a living in this state, from the millionaire down to the hired girl, pay their just share of tax, for they all enjoy their liberties, their rights and the protection of the state; as the non-taxpayer will defeat every income tax measure at the polls, I should advocate to deprive them of the right to vote on all matters concerning taxation to protect the taxpayers.

Jos. Hackenberg

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Rainier Review, undated,

Reducing Taxation

“That taxes are too high, we are willing to admit; and that here should be a concerted effort made to reduce the heavy burdens all agree.” (Review of May 12, 1921). The rest of this editorial however, does not contain one word how to reduce the taxes, only our assessment mode is taken to a severe task as being vicious, faulty and mere guess work, which is perfectly true. If the editor will look up the files of the Review from the second half of 1912, he will find that I then registered the same objections; its worst features are, that it kills thrift and settlement of land, that it promotes land speculation and gives anyone a show to throw unprofitable property on to the county.

To assess clearing, buildings, stock, necessary implements and fixtures on farms is decidedly wrong. For the man who faithfully labors to improve a wild piece of land puts every dollar into it and has to wait a long time for even a fraction of 1 percent interest on his capital and labor, feels that he is punished with a tax for every lick of work he does and every dollar he invests.

Another wrong is the taxing of land only fit to grow timber. Such land now covered with timber men point with apprehension to the owner for 25

years to come, will be a boon to coming generations. Officials of the government and other thinking men point with apprehension to the fast approaching time, when this country will look like China and be visited by periodical famines, due mainly to deforestation and erosion. Every landowner of 80 acres or more should be compelled to keep one fourth of his estate in timber and such growing timber should be free of a tax until it is ripe to use, otherwise no one would be willing to be taxed for something, that will benefit someone 40 or 50 years hence. But after our mode of assessing will have been corrected, the taxpayers will still have to foot the same bills, only some one will pay more and others less, and the Review says nothing about retrenchment, for fear it may hurt someone’s pocketbook.

Our taxes can be cut in twain by abolishing our obsolete, expensive and squabbling body, mostly lawyers, commonly called the Legislature, by slashing severely the salaries of our state and county officers and school teachers, by making the high schools self supporting and abolishing the unnecessary ones, by reforming our slow administration of Justice, now in the hands of the lawyers, by restricting the use of juries to serious crimes and the number of elections to one every two or four years by retrenchment in public offices in supplies and deputies, by abolishing the office of roadmaster, county agent and fruit inspector, by not crowding a 20 years road construction into 10 years and above all by depriving the nontaxpaying voter of his power to vote a tax at state elections, and submitting these propositions to the vote of the taxpayers. One thing must become plain to anyone allowing the matter serious thought, that in our tense situation either the taxpayers or the expenses will have to give way.

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, May 29, 1921

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Rainier Review, undated

Taxation and Schools

To the Editor: The Pomona grangers in session at Vernonia on February 4, bitterly complained about the present high taxes and well they might, for our growing taxes have become a cancer, that is, eating the vitals of the farmers. We are also hard hit by low prices and poor markets. As remedies they propose a recruise of the standing timber, more equal assessments, and economy in state and county administration. These remedies will, of course, give some relief, but to come to the root of the evil we must consider the channels into which our taxes flow, and these are: the schools, the roads, and the administration of public affairs. I will in this issue only discuss schools in relation to taxes, otherwise this article would be too lengthy, and the editor would probably kick me out (he isn’t my best friend, to be sure) and I will discuss roads and the administration of public affairs in relation to taxes later.

Oregon, a state in embryo of development with about 800,000 population, has a university, a normal school and an agricultural college, which aside from their great cost of maintenance, are chronic beggars at elections for sums from forty thousand to several hundred thousand dollars. Oregon also has a costly school system, well adapted to states like New Jersey, New York, Ohio or Illinois, and not to counties like Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington or Yamhill, but totally out of place and uncalled for in counties like Columbia; its worst features are the eight months school law and the teachers’ minimum wage law. The county is divided into something like 50 school districts, many of them having a small attendance at school, and those are the districts that are hit hardest, because a small enumeration entails a small apportionment, while the necessary sum to maintain an eight months school has to be made up by special taxes. It is a well established fact, proven to me time and again, that a teacher will make ever so much more headway with a small number of pupils than with a large one, and I therefor ask: Why should such districts maintain an unnecessary long term and tax themselves

heavier than others? The answer is not far to seek; the teachers’ minimum wage law gives the clue: the taxpayers are to be systematically plundered by the teachers through long terms and high wages, at a time of the year, when no one else can get them. I will give a few figures: The general school tax in this state in 1910 was $1,454,604; in 1920 it was $3,063,221; the special school tax in 1910 was $3,804,455; in 1920 it had grown to $9,000,813, an increase of 136 per cent, or fully one-half of all the other taxes together. Aside of the graded schools in the county the taxpayers also must pay the maintenance of four high schools. Now, I believe in giving all children a good eighth grade education, and I hold that everyone receiving a high school education should pay for it. If these educated people later in life do us a service they charge us from 10 to 100 prices for their service, and it is a notorious fact that the more high schools we have, the more educated leeches we have to keep.

We often see the item in newspapers, put there by some educator grater to hoodwink the taxpayer, that Oregon has a school system next to the best; well, if we are proud of it then it is the pride a young woman had in her small waist, when she died from tight lacing. Mr. Granger and Mr. Taxpayer, we must work to repeal these two laws, otherwise our possessions will before long to a great extent have been converted into bank deposits of our teachers.

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, March 2, 1922

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Taxation and the Administration ~ To the Editor ~

While we have been unnecessarily lavish in spending money on schools, planless and wasteful in road building, so we have also been careless and extravagant in the administration of public affairs and in the administration-of-justice. Aside from the salaries of our state and county officers we pay for about 66 commissions and boards, of which I will name a few with their present budget:

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State Tax Commission, $19,000; Fish and Game Commission $161,000; Dair y and Food Commis s i on , $49 ,000 ; Pub l i c S e r v i c e Commission, $191,000; Desert Land Board, $10,000; State Health Board, $86,000; State Horticultural Board, $12,000; Livestock Sanitary Board, $61,000; Pacific Northwest Tourist Association, $75,000; Pacific International Livestock Association, $175,000; Oregon Bureau of Mines, $60,000; Social Hygiene Society, $31,000; Experiment Station, $451,000; and the State Tourist Information Bureau, $25,000.

What a number of overpaid “soft snaps” lurk in these commissions and boards that take care of everything from the size of a big landslide in the highway down to a slight colic in a microbe. There is no doubt that some of these commissions and boards are necessary, and it cannot be easily foreseen how much we would lose and suffer if the whole bunch got their walking papers. What, for instance, is the State Board of Health for, when all cities have their health officers? What’s the use of having a Public Service Commission, considering the recent Telephone Rate decision? Why can’t the Pacific Northwest Tourist Association do the work of the State Tourist Information Bureau? Are they, in fact, necessary? And soon one might ask some ticklish questions about the rest. Aside from these commissions and boards, we pay about $19,000 for state and county fairs, for exhibit of Oregon products $20,000, and for bounties on wild animals about $100,000, and our means tell us that half of these sums ought to be enough for these purposes.

The administration of justice is in the hands of the lawyers, and therefore slow and costly juries are called to try many a 10-cent man and woman, that costs the counties hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars, and juries are often dismissed at the request of attorneys, without re-imbursing the county the expense incurred. The use of juries should be restricted to serious crimes, and not to suits in equity or damage or mere neighboring quarrels, and thousands of dollars can be saved in this way annually.

There are other leakages, like elections, at the close of which tons of good paper is burned up in the shape of ballots, all because from two to four times too many have been printed and sent. All along the line we don’t show the same economical spirit in public business that we show in our private affairs. We must remember that Oregon ranks only as the 34th or 35th state in the Union, yet we calmly accept a school system fitting New Jersey or Ohio, and pay for an administration fitting Michigan or Indiana, while in road building we expect to accomplish in about 15 years what it took the Eastern and European states from two to four times as long to do, and that on ground difficult and hard to make and keep roads.

We have been criminally careless in not depriving the non-taxpayer of his power to vote bonds and taxes, or else in not compelling him to pay a poll or income tax; there should be no rights without the corresponding duties or burdens. All salaries and expenses should be reduced to fit the tax capacity of the people, otherwise, the development of our state will be impaired for years to come. No one will invest in farm land when the taxes are taking all the income, and capital will not invest if industries are overburdened; in fact there must be a general return to sanity, inasmuch as we are in a rather serious situation that should command the earnest consideration of everybody, and therefore I remind everyone offended in any way by these articles on taxation, to use the columns of the Review – they will be open to him or her as much as they are to me; anyway it is not a matter to cause a private grudge in a peson with sense. For every single grounch I have been guilty of producing I have the approval of hundreds of readers.

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, March 30, 1922

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Assessment and Taxation

To the Editor: ~ In my last article, I pointed out how our poor taxation laws affected me, and for that matter everyone in the county; in this article I will show some of the discrepancies in the assessment as exists in different counties, and will confine myself to the five neighboring counties of Columbia, Clatsop, Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington. (See Oregon Blue Book of 1921-22, pp 191-194.)

An acre of tillable land is valued in Columbia county $59.28 on the average; in Clatsop county, $92.59; in Multnomah, $162.57; in Clackamas, $58.66; and in Washington $70.63. An acre of untillable land is valued on the average in Columbia county as $11.82; in Clatsop, $29.77; in Clackamas at $18.40; in Washington at $11.90.

The average value of a horse in Columbia county is $35.92; in Clatsop, $112.62; in Multnomah $50.72; in Clackamas, $43.48; in Washington, $50.83.

The average value of cattle in Columbia is $26.02; in Clatsop, $51.25; in Multnomah, $34.85; in Clackamas, $26.85; in Washington, $27.44. Sheep and goats are assessed at an average price in Columbia county of $5.70; in Clatsop, $5.60; in Multnomah, $6.44; in Clackamas, $3.88; and in Washington $6.48.

Hogs are assessed at an average value in Columbia county of $10.28; in Clatsop , $14.00; in Multnomah, $9.85; in Clackamas, $7.26; in Washington, $10.82. Now put the average weight of a hog at 80 pounds; then the price of pork per pound in Columbia county is 13 cents; in Clatsop, 17.5 cents; in Multnomah 12 cents; in Clackamas, 9 cents and in Washington 13.5 cents; a big discrepancy not existing in the actual market.

The most interesting item though is the assessment of dogs. The average assessed value of a dog in Columbia county is $25.02; in Clatsop, $14.00; in Clackamas, $7.90; in Washington, $10.62. Figure the average weight of a dog at 30 pounds, that brings the price of one pound of

dogmeat in Columbia county to 83 cents; in Clatsop, 47 cents; in Clackamas, 26 cents; in Washington, 35 cents. In comparing these prices with those of beef and pork, it can readily be seen that dogs have become too valuable to be ground up into sausage. In Multnomah county dog assessments are rather distressing. There is only one dog in the county (pity the poor lonesome critter). I infer though that all the lap-dogs of the old maids in Portland go untaxed; that one dog is valued at $40, or $1.00 more or less for every pound. I may of course be reminded that dogs are not altogether kept for meat, which is probably true, since in too many instances the dogs most valuable assets are their barks, their bite and their fleas.

Under “Miscellaneous” I find that Columbia county assesses on $55,940.00, Washington on $17,910.00 , Clackamas on $10,748.00 , Multnomah on $2,250.00, and Clatsop nothing, which goes to show that our county assesses property not, or low, as assessed in other counties. The assessment rolls bear many curious features, and in many cases are a puzzle to me. Until some one versed in the matter will explain their injustice I must condemn our assessment and taxation system as one of the bummest on earth.

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, Dec. 12, 1922

Above: Josef’s taxable assets pictured above: “Hogs are assessed at an average value in Columbia County of $10.28”

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Needed Comments To the Editor

Two admirable articles appeared in last week’s Review, one from a correspondent in Tillamook to the Oregonian on “How to reduce taxes,” needing a supplement, and one from Orris Kellar on the “Why of Calvin,” needing a correction.

The Tillamook correspondent, after giving advice on a number of points where to economize, entirely fails to say how to do it, winding up as follows: “It is not a one man job to reduce taxation, it takes united effort, backbone and determination to bring about satisfactory results. This can be done only by every tax levying body in Oregon making substantial reductions in its expenditures.”

Shades of all ye bygone dreamers! I would rather trust a hungry cow to guard an unfenced garden than trust the average tax-levying body to reduce taxes, for the simple reason that the majority of voters pay a comparatively small tax, or pretend to pay it, while the heavy taxpayers are usually in the minority. The fact is our laws on the tax franchise are rotten. As matters stand now the vote of the man who pays a one dollar tax, counts as much as the man who pays a $200 or $300 tax; the mere sending of children to a country school, with slight limitations, entice a man to vote for all kinds of school taxes and budgets, and these are the reasons why we face bankruptcy. Inasmuch as about four-fifths of the taxes are borne by real estate owners the laws should be amended that no one could vote on bonds or any tax unless he had paid taxes on real estate for which he actually held a deed.

The taxpayers should be classified: Anyone paying a tax from $1.00 to $100.00 should have one vote, from $10.00 to $50.00 two votes; from $50 to $100 three votes, and so on, an additional vote for every $50 tax paid. These are the only remedies to put a ring into the nose of the taxhog, as the creation of a tax supervising body has been declared unconstitutional. At present any floater can contract to buy a few acres of land in the country, keep his family in a shack or tent, escape

the expense of rent, fuel and water in the city, vote all kinds of taxes in the district, and if things don’t suit him or payments come due, load up and leave. Every voter having the welfare of our state in mind should write to our Representative, Mr. Hall, to remedy, if possible, the tax abuse in the next legislature.

Now I come to my friend Orris Kellar: Your article exactly voices my sentiments except the last few lines. We are, emphatically, not a nation ruled by fear. Fully 80 per cent of the Republicans and Democrats don’t know what they are voting for; they neither read the platforms nor greatly care for politics, but simply kick if things go wrong, but all vote, or think they vote, not for the benefit of the nation, but their own personal interest, hence in the last analysis we are not ruled by fear, but by self-interest or graft. Orris, you know this is a fact.

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, November 16, 1924

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Taxation and the Timber Question

To the Editor: According to the last Review there seems to be trouble brewing in the Farm Bureau and Grange for certain members of the Equalization Board for lowering the assessment on standing timber, and a recall election against the judge, the clerk and the assessor is hinted. Now I very much doubt if the taxpayers will be very enthusiastic over the prospect of paying for a new election right on the heels of another one. There should rather be a change in the law, delegating such arbitrary power in the hands of a few, when huge sums are involved, otherwise the next bunch can do the same trick.

It is a fact that the more the standing timber is taxed, the quicker it will be disposed of, and the sooner we will face a timber famine, and what that means very few on this coast seem to realize. It is fundamentally wrong to tax standing timber high, but there should be a heavy severance tax; this will

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give our older forests a longer lease of life, since the only agencies to grow timber are the government and the farmers. The government is just beginning to reforest denuded areas on its reserves, and as a rule the timber is far off from where it is needed, while the farmers are paying an outragiously high tax on land with growing timber that probably will yield a return in 30 to 50 years of one-half or one-third of the taxes paid.

What encouragement has the farmer to grow timber, if, according to the decision of our Circuit Court in the case of the State vs. Walter Kellar, anyone may set out fire during the closed season without a permit, with no redress for the loser, and no timber insurance in this county? Right here is where the Farm Bureau and the Grange can put in good, hard licks, also the reduction of expenditures: If our state and county officers were made to work from 12 to 16 hours daily, their deputies all or party dismissed and their salaries heavily cut (Now, gentlemen don’t kick all at once, I know you don’t like the farmer’s style of working nor would you like his pay) that would lower our taxes and there wouldn’t be the scramble for offices at every election. Aside from having wasted huge sums in getting roads, we now have no system in maintaining them, and much can be saved there. We further maintain an excessively costly school system, fitting a state with eight times our present population, and forget that Oregon is just about the 36th state in the Union in population and development, huge sums can be saved there; on these enumerated points the Farm Bureau and the grange can spend their surplus energy, to advantage, instead of instituting a recall election. Don’t forget that with our present mode of taxation the timber tax will soon end, while our expenditures will probably increase – what then? Please answer.

Jos. Hackenberg,Doraville, Dec. 14, 1924

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An Open Letter to Mr. Kellar

Friend Orris: For some reason I did not get a copy of last week’s Review until today therefore my comment on the closing report on the legislature is rather belated. Permit me to thank you and commend you for your letters from Salem to the Review. They were clear, forceful and compel anyone, looking into the future, to think.

In your last communication, you recommend the abolition of the legislature and the use of the initiative for what laws we need. Twenty years ago, and in later aricles, I advocated the same thing, calling our representatives “buncomb law apostles”, but nothing has been done towards that end. Until 1914 I fully trusted the people, the majority consisting then of old timers, but with the deforesting of the country an entirely different population came to Oregon, mostly drawn here by the glowing advertisements of promoters, land companies, chambers of commerce and papers, and while some of these new comers were made of good stuff the majority, usually full of inflated hopes, had neither the sense of frugality and economy nor the stamina for the hard struggle awaiting them here. They expected to find good roads, fine school and community centers, or to surprise the natives with their civilization (?). What they usually had when they came, especially during the last five years, was a car and little else, but what they soon possessed were plenty of debts or a mortage or both: as their holdings are small their taxes are comparatively light or they pay none.

The most vicious provision of Oregon’s constitution grants every citizen the right to vote on all tax propositions, except local bonds or district taxes, and it has been the free use of this right by newcomers that has changed Oregon from a debt free state to one mortgaged with nearly $70,000,000, to say nothing of the local bonds and the yearly increasing taxes, now amounting to 400 per cent of those ten years ago. In the face of these facts do you think anyone, with public concern, could still trust a people of spendthrifts, doing such financial stunts? Have we not about one of the rottenest tax systems on earth after all

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kinds of changes by the people’s vote? Have not these same people who voted for every tax on the ballot refused to bear part of the taxburden by defeating the income tax at the last election? Are not these same voters trying to squander the possessions of the farmers in a senseless manner on our youth by high schools, while providing nothing for the man or woman when old, and penniless through confiscation of their property by outrageous taxation?

Our legislature may be corrupt, but, friend Orris, does not the legislature show what kind of people it represents? As for myself I have little faith in the legislature and none in the voters, but I trust in the governor and the county courts. Your views differ much from mine, but that is our privilege.

Sincerely yours,Jos. Hackenberg

Doraville, March 16, 1925

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Rainier Review, December 4, 1931

The People’s Forum: A Few Pertinent Questions To the

Pomona Grange

To the Ediator: The Pomona grange, in order to get the logged off land back on the tax rolls, proposed to the county court that any bona fide settler after complying with certain requirements and a five-year tax-free settlement should receive a deed to 40 acres of such land. Since there have been a number of inquiries and since quite an amount of incense has been burned to said grange for this land settlement proposition, involving about 30,000 acres of logged off land, I intend to show up this beautiful scheme in regard to justice.

All around here, eight miles southwest of Rainier, there lies thousands of acres of land, logged off 20 to 30 years ago, still unimproved. All has been taxed 40 or 45 years to ever changing owners, and during the last 10 years the taxes have been close to a dollar an acre per year. Add all these taxes plus the sales price and it will be found that none

of it could be sold for less than $25 per acre, and that in most cases with a loss rather than a profit, therefore will the Pomona grange please kindly enlighten me on the following questions: Who will pay this high price per acre when land is given without cost? Who will be fool enough to keep on paying taxes year after year on land no one can sell and too expensive to settle because of outstanding taxation? Why should a new settler on this high priced land not be five years tax free, and why should aged people, who all their lives had a hard struggle, be in danger of losing their homes by taxation? Why should the Pomona grange waste its superfluous energy on an innocent looking land fraud instead of making efforts to keep down public expenditures by eliminating unnecessary officials, and working for laws to lower operation cost of the grade schools, to make the high schools self supporting and to prohibit the turning back of the land to the state as an untaxable asset by the owners after the timber is cut?” Answers to these questions by said grange will be greatly appreciated.

Jos. Hackenberg Sr.Doraville, November 29, 1931

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Rainier Review, December 30, 1937

Readers’ ForumAn Answer to P.F. Mescher

Mr. P. F. Mescher, Old Neighbor: Contents of your letter in Review of Dec. 23 noted. You complain of the tax law that prevents you from cutting timber on land in the hands of the State because of delinquent taxes, and as you express the hope that someone might be able to solve your problem, I will try it, in the same spirit as in the past, not caring where the chips fall.

Yes, I remember you as a boy about 12 years old. Your parents had settled but few years previous to my coming to Beaver Valley and you went through, like myself, the rigid economy, incessant labor and harships of settlement in those balmy

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days of corduroy roads, shingle making, cordwood cutting, skid greasing and transportation on foot, and I trust you consider me qualified to at least console you, if I don’t solve your problem.

You say you paid several hundred dollars in taxes. I, however, paid several thousand. I did not stop paying when the taxes became confiscatory; I just kept handing to districts, county and state year after year the proceeds from the place, the proceeds from employment, and finally all the money laid up for old age, living at the same time very economically and cursing the extravagant spirit of the time and my neighbors, who were responsible for the building of a costly and unnecessary schoolhouse, now abandoned and condemned to be sold for its lumber, and the merging of our school district with that taxsharp, the Rainier high school. With me it was a case of taxes first, no matter if I had to deprive myself of all comforts, and in two instances borrow money. My neighbors, who had voted for a good share of the taxes, did not look that way at taxpaying, and so it came that in a very few years half the lands in the neighborhood were sold for taxes, and in that case, the delinquent loses all rights to the holdings, which is a good old Republican and Democratic law, upheld by the majority of the voters, and until that majority thinks different, it is vain to kick. I have preached socialism by word for 40, and by the press 25 years to get a different tax and land holding system. A man is entitled to a home in city or country, not to be sold, mortgaged or taken by law, only to be exchanged if desired. Until very recently any tax receipt will show you that ¾ of the taxes are paid for high school and schools in these parts of the county, a proportion entirely out of all reason. Until the people learn to economically consolidate the grade schools and compel the patrons of the high schools to pay for tuition, transportation and maintenance, there is no hope of tax relief. And I beg to differ with the editor, who mentioned government axes as the cause.

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.

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Rainier Review, January 6, 1938

Readers’ Forum

To the Editor of the Review: Will the editor please give me space to set him right on a few points in his remarks to my letter to Mr. Mescher, for what I have said I can prove by tax receipts, by the sheriff’s and treasurer’s office and facts.

We began road building in 1912. The county court levied and the district voted road building up to 1930, and my share of the road tax amounted to all the way from $15 to $46 annually. Up to 1924 when the Rainier high school district was organized and the cost of the grade schools advanced, my taxes were all the way from $55 to $100. But in 1925 they ran up to $213. Up to that time there had been no tax delinquency to speak of; it then began, and I positively know this since as a school clerk I kept close tab on the sheriff’s and treasurer’s office.

There were then no such burdensome federal taxes, imposed by the New Deal in 1933 and 1934, which the editor assigns as cause of tax delinquency. By 1932 the same amount of land holdings were tax sold as at present, and we have today no more population than in 1920. The county cannot settle and develop with that tax burden. In former years old schools were here to develop the mentality of the children intellectually and morally; now, however, their purpose seems to be to put brains into blockheads, which of course has helped the teachers financially, but has ruined the country. It is violating an economical principle, it is taking more out of the country than the resources warrant and if we keep this up a while longer, we will be on the general European level. I again say that the cost of the grade schools must be materially reduced and the high schools eliminated from the taxrolls to give the necessary relief, if this part of the state is to settle and develop. Now this is a plain statement of facts, up to the editor to either send it to the public or wastebasket.

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.

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(Editor’s Note: Considering results obtained, the cost of public education probably is too high. Yet. Mr Hackenberg would find few in sympathy with his plan to dispense with high schools; certainly none would populate an area where no adequate schools were available...

The editor was not misinformed when he said that intervention by and extravagance on the part of the national government are mostly at fault for prevalent tax delinquencies. An economic law operates to render more valuable that which becomes scarcer. This should hold true of real estate as populations – not necessarily in this county – increase. The resale and income valuations of all properties thusly should rise, with a proportionate rise in taxes under expanding government. But when there is tinkering with this economic principle, it refuses to function. Private initiative and the hope to prosper through personal enterprise has been greatly retarded since 1929, first by the cause itself and later by proposed “cures.” Mr. Hackenberg and the rest of us would complain less loudly about taxes if our own incomes were adequate to cover, or if we could sell our properties for what they ought to be worth. In Columbia County this unnatural condition has been aggravated by the fact that improvements were voted in expectation of a tax income – mostly from timber lands – which no longer can be obtained, or indeed exists. The trouble lies either with the taxes themselves or with the inequal ration of taxes to value and income. Nothing can be done to lower taxes materially – at least history fails to reveal such a reduction through anything short of actual debt repudiation. Mr. Hackenberg should be familiar enough with conditions in his own native Germany to wish something better for the United States. Values and income expectations, however, can be raised to the point where taxes will cease to hurt so much...

If Mr. Hackenberg had said too much is spent on schools and not enough on education, we should have agreed.)

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Rainier Review, February 24, 1938In Reply To The Editor

To the Editor:

In answer to the editor’s pertinent question in the last review, “If scholars were selected by an examining board would not the charge of partiality be recorded against their findings?” I say, there is no examine board of that sort required, but an inexorable regulation, that a scholar must come up to a certain standard in his studies or quit the school. After the budget meeting several years ago I spoke to the principal of the Rainier High School in this regard, and said he: “Oh yes, we have scholars that should leave, but were they expelled, I would have trouble with the parents.” That plainly stated, the school had no rules for removal of unfit scholars. As to the second question, “Or, if students were required to pay their own expenses through high school, would that not be contrary to the ideal that all are born to equal opportunities?” I answer that many owing to circumstances cannot attend high school; as the cost per scholar for a term ranges from $90 to $130, why should those that cannot attend, in plain justice receive their equivalent in money? Furthermore, a student after he gets a position, wants a good salary of ten prices for services. There are several different angles to look at this matter, though my main contention is the tax burden it involves.

In conclusion I sincerely thank the editor for his space in the paper and his patience (?), and I promise not to trouble him for a long time, unless forced by too hard a kick to reply.

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.

(Editor’s Note: We never kick an adversary when he is down. . . Mr. Hackenberg is correct in his arguments for both points. Yet who is to winnow the grain from the chaff? The Edisons, the Einsteins, and the Steinmetzes will rise over every obstacle to attain their burning goal of knowledge. The schools cannot keep pace with these. It is the average student – the Smiths, the Joneses, the Whites and the Blacks – that concerns education, because no nation can rise higher than its capacity

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for orderly thinking. Just now the world has a vast accumulation of knowledge with only a few brains competent to understand it. Just as we can do nothing for the exceptional student, so are we helpless when confronted by the all too frequent moron and dullard. Our job is to educate that broad field of youth which lies between the two extremes. Any cost for this is too great if it fails of accomplishing that objective.)

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Rainier Review, May 9, 1940

William Pringle visits in Rainier Community

Wm. B. Pringle of Vernonia, Columbia County Commissioner, was a business visitor in Rainier Tuesday and a caller at the Review office.

Mr. Pringle recalls with relish the days when lumber made Columbia a rich County and contributed to the population no longer counted within its bounds. The lumber industry contributed rich tax funds for operation of the county’s business and construction of the county’s road system, the extent of which is a present day problem for the commissioner's handicapped by dwindling valuations and tax payments, together with increasing delinquencies.

Rainier Review, June 5, 1936

Readers’ Forum

An Open Letter to the Public ~ To the Editor: Permit me to again use the columns of your good paper. When returning from a delightful visit with our former neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Vincent, at Long Beach, Wa., May 26, we were informed by a friend that my wife had meanwhile taken me to the insane asylum, which by the way isn’t surprising in a gossiping community.

During my 50 years of residence here I have at different times been transformed into a drunkard,

a spendthrift, a skinflint, a wife beater, a house tyrant and general monster, but never had the misfortune of becoming crazy till now. And during all these years I so strictly attended to my business as to not find time, were I so inclined, to lean on a fence to gossip or listen to the distant howl of mangy human curs and hyenas that love to feed on carrion of gossip. This strict attention to my business, hard work and rigid economy saved my home from mortgage and sheriff’s sale during the high tax period, and I am today no more insane than I was then. Nature endowed me with good mental faculties, a severe training at home, in schools, and the Austrian army made me a clear thinker and sound reasoner with good foresight and that enables me to severely criticize and condemn folly and public abuses. Such slander and insanity tales make me laugh. My good little wife, however, the very last person on earth to railroad me to the insane asylum, feels outraged, and if this insanity racket is worked for a purpose those liars and slander mouths will encounter something they did not look for.

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.

(Editor’s Note: Though long a resident of our fair country, Mr. Hackenberg evidently has not yet become fully acquainted with all its customs. Under the delightful American system nearly every man is maligned by a few all of the time and by all a part of the time. We have never heard a better explanation of why this should be than the simple statement that a great many persons weary of their own business and become interested in the other fellow’s. Such concern would be commendable if it meant sharing the other fellow’s burden as well, but of course it doesn’t. The public can show unsuspected intelligence occasionally, but its reactions just as often show an abysmal ignorance. The only saving grace human nature has is its ability to vacillate from its own fiat opinions. So regardless what is rumored today, Mr. Hackenberg should rest content if he knows the tale isn’t true. Tomorrow – and with the same absence of justification, perhaps – he may be hailed as a public hero.)

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Rainier Review, November 23, 1939

National Socialism in Germany

To the Editor: Many thanks to Mrs. McCall for the kindness in lending “the Atlantic” and drawing our attention to the aerial “Reaching for the Stars” by Nora Walln, a dweller and traveler in many countries, and a writer of undoubted veracity with a narrative style, fully describing present day social, political and economic conditions of the German people and National Socialism, which is no socialism at all, but an unmitigated tyranny coupled with robbery. The writer by enumerating the occurrences and experiences in different parts of Garmany, where she lived from 1934-38, gives a clear insight of that intensified Prussianism, an absolute overlording of the mind and body of the people, their aspirations, their speech, press, radio, science, art and music. To make this tyranny possible, the so-called fuehrer, Adolf Hitler, has dismissed democratic government, the Reichstag ‘congress’ and the courts are the sheerest rubber stamps. There is furthermore, a secret police and an extensive spy system, reaching all classes and habitations; families, neighborhood meetings and congregations are permeated by a cruel mistrust, that any criticism of the fuehrer or government official will be followed by a report to the police, a c o n s e qu e n t a r r e s t , c o n f i n e m e n t i n a concentration camp, confiscation of property and perhaps beheading. In other words, nation and country have become the plaything of one man, all because a comparatively small portion of the population have become spies, or to use an American phrase, “dirty suckers.”

Such troubles however will come to a nation not willing to govern itself and take care of the “underdog”, and while writing this I wonder how many of our citizens, too careless to take interest in public affairs and vote, but ever ready to criticize officers and government, would like to live under the Nazis, and be sent for an adverse expression to a concentration camp, the rope or hot seat.Let us Americans in the good old U.S. be glad to have a constitution for self government, granting

reasonable freedom to individuals and communities, and let us work and guard to keep it free.

Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.November 19, 1939

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Rainier ReviewWrong Methods

To the Editor: Last weeks Review contained an article by my wife (Carrie), criticizing president Roosevelt for recommending a bill to congress to borrow two additional billions of dollars for armaments of war, and were these huge sums to be spent for aggression and conquest, the criticism would be timely and just, but since they are to be used for defense purposes only, it is out of place.

We have nothing to fear from neighbors in this hemisphere, our danger at present lies in Europe, and it is real, if we just remember the Nazi propaganda to undermine our form of government and crafty settlement in Argentina. Europe has always been a prodigious breeding place of war and always will be, until the causes of unrest are removed, and these are an insane nationalism and overpopulation with the consequent economic questions of sustenance. One language will have to be adapted in the place of over 50 jawbreakers, there will have to come over these numerous nations a humane spirit of justice and assistance instead of inherited mistrust, overbearing and hatreds. There will have to be inaugurated a systematic birth control to prevent overcrowding with consequent want, misery, friction, revolution or war. Unless Europe radically reforms along these lines, all honorable efforts of the pope, president Roosevelt and other leaders to bring permanent peace will fail, just as they have in the past and this hemisphere, if unarmed, will always be in danger of invasion. I can assure my good wife that such a menace will have to be met in a different way than with war paintings and prayer.

Joseph Hackenberg, Sr.Doraville, Oregon

December 25, 1939

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Rainier Review, January 1940

An Open Letter to Marie AlstonDear Marie: You will no doubt permit me to chat pleasantly a few minutes with you. I had intended to speak to you a week ago about your article, “Back Seat Drivers” in the Review of January 4th, my wife’s reply, however, took precedence. In your article you express the idea, that it is wrong in these United States to say what the president should or should not do, and in your ignorance you come to the following conclusion: “Of course when we consdier that most of the howling comes from foreigners, we must just consider the source.” It is a fact that none of the foreigners have anything to say in politics, and if they indulge in any criticism, they are instantly told to go where they came from. Yes, a foreigner may pay all sorts of taxes, yet he can’t even express himself or vote at a simple road or school meeting. The kickers are the citizens, native and naturalized, and they must have a right to state their views and wishes, otherwise this country will cause to be a democracy. It is however, a notorious fact, comes with ill grace and is practiced too much by men and women born over here to refer to naturalized citizens as foreigners, as you. There I remind you and your ilk to look down your family tree; perhaps you will not have far to climb down to the roots in Europe. My worst trouble has been my inability to choose my birthplace, birthday, parents and environments (though you probably could). I happened to be born a Sudeten German in old Austria 80 years ago and have been a citizen of the United States nearly 56 years. During my 53 years residence in this part of Oregon, I have known a number of people, law abiding, honest and industrious, who neglected to procure their citizen papers, and none of them were ever considered or called “howling foreigners,” so you are perhaps somewhat mistaken. Anyway, dear Marie, the next time you use the press, hold yourself to hard facts and not to mere surmises. With the sincere wish that this cheerful letter may evoke a sweet smile on your face, I am

Yours truly,Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.

Doraville, OregonJanuary 14, 1940

Editor’s note: Now that everyone has had their say on this one subject we will drop it.

The editors are always glad to print comments on various subject by its readers, and will use them when contributed under the person’s signed name, whether they conform to the paper’s own policy or otherwise.

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Rainier Review, August 1, 1940Editoral “Rainier’s Earliest Review Edited by C.W. Herman”

. . .Mr. Hackenberg sends a copy of the Rainier Review of March 19, 1897. It is reprinted from the Columbia River News in an article headed “Rainier’s Crank Critic” so dubbed by W.J. Rice who was at the time editor. It had been printed under the heading, “County Seat Removal Again,” that being an issue at the time. It was an answer to an article by “Tax” on the same subject. The article is reprinted as follows as it gives an insight into Rainier as people saw it 43 years ago [and now more than a century later!]

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Rainier’s Crank Critic

To the Editor: As the county seat removal seems to agitate the minds of the people of Columbia county, and especially of Rainier, I will write a few lines to help in settling this perplexing question, though a “poor cuss” depending on hard labor, nevertheless independent of factional and one-sided opinion.

Rainier wants to be the county seat evidently, and everybody knows where Rainier found its everlasting resting place; but as a recent attempt of town survey showed, nobody seemed to know where the city of Rainier ought to be, and the ancient proprietor of Rainier has been accused of using the starting stake, perhaps as stove wood in the post office, and the worst of it, neither ancient nor modern history or geography show any record of this stake. In consequence, Rainier is a Babel of lots, many of them only claimed by this or that pretext; of graded and ungraded streets with buildings and piling on them, and, geographically in the center of Rainier, but practically outside of

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the town. Nevertheless, Rainier has all the symptoms of a coming city – it has been coming for 50 years – also the ingredients of unexcelled mud – slick, tough and tenacious for a century; in fact such as can be found nowhere else.

Rainier is a place of awe-inspiring beauty. In front, the Columbia river; rivulets, lakes and waterfalls in the streets, landslides in the blocks and fine drinking water for a dollar a month. No place gives such an excellent opportunity for study in archeology and modern architecture, for next to fine buildings can be seen relics of past glory; such as out of grade and rotten sidewalks, tottering fences, rotten stumps and rails, discarded corsets, hats, tin pans, bottles, fruit cans, lost horse and cow tails and sometimes charivari bells.

Rainer is, besides, a very literary place, for printed, typewritten, hand-written and unwritten pages may be found everywhere, used for speakable and unspeakable purposes.

Rainier is the home of the prehistoric political fossil, found in great numbers, which for generations past have been found the only barrier against the stream of social progress. There is a beautiful church there but, as some one asserts, only one church member, and a fine school house has been built, too, fit for a hop drier.

According to the venerable editor of the Rainier Review, which paper sometimes attains a circulation to Kentucky to give the editor a “blow-up”, as no air around Rainier stirs to uplift his kite of fame, there is no town in Columbia county with as much enterprise, business, generosity and hospitality as Rainier today.

Where is your business and enterprise outside of the saloon and Newsome’s gold mines? The few cordwood haulers have to struggle for dear life to keep from starving; the saw and shingle mills and the sash and door factory are practically dead, and I would much sooner expect to see the Colossus of Rhodes climbing out of the Mediterranean onto its foundation than the moving of the wornout machinery of the creamery – unless it be on wagons, cars, or steamboat.

There are but few towns in the Union whose business men have thrown the blight of selfishness on every enterprise as in Rainier. Of course, the place has improved. Mr Moeck has cleared several acres; Mr. Deitz has erected several buildings; Mr. Winchester built a chicken house, and Mr. Blanchard a few years back, improved his lots by liberally manuring with sturgeon.

And now “Tax” expects from Rainier, as county seat, a bonus in the shape of a waiting room, a horse shed, hitching posts and a closet! Why not ask for a ballroom, an orchestra, a washtub, a change of clothes, a public waterspout, an umbrella holder, a library, a bureau of information, some spectacles, free cocktails and a few waiters, for such come handy to the traveling public? We simply don’t need any waiting room. If Rainier will be the county seat, we always will be able to arrive at the court house at the right ime. We don’t need any shed for our horses, for they are used to storms, not a hitching post. We understand the art of feeding the “critters’; that they never get breachy we feed with air and water. Our horses and cows are not kept for the vulgar purpose of milk and beef, but for the easy penetration of the x-ray, in adept-like fashion, that they can walk away without their bodies once in a while.

We don’t need a public closet - we are neither billous nor dispeptic and we don’t care who is. We don’t need a broad street to the river, any not being illuminated or phosphorescent found the plank road broad enough to walk on to the water. We don’t pay so much warfage as “Tax” supposes, but we pay for the goods, you bet. Knowing that the people of other towns out for the “persimmon” will ridicule Rainier because of these facts, I remind them to look about their own rot. I, for my part, want a clean town for county seat, and if cleanliness is next to godliness, all towns of Columbia county are anterooms for a bad place.

Joseph HackeanbergSouth Beaver, March 1, 1897

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Carrie Hackenberg1865 ~ March 1965

Née Caroline T. Hallowell

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Rainier Review, March 4, 1965

Carrie Hackenberg Lacks Seven Months of Attaining Life Span of

Hundred Years

Lacking seven months of becoming a hundred years old, Carrie Tobiath Hackenberg died at 1:30 a.m. Monday at the Columbia nursing home in St. Helens. Mrs. Hackenberg had been a resident of nursing homes for some 23 years.

The funeral service will be at the Haakinson chapel here at 1 p.m. Thursday. Interment will be at the Green Mountain cemetery.

Mrs. Hackenberg was born on September 28, 1865, at Webb City, Missouri. She was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Hallowell. Mr Hallowell was a veteran of the Civil War.

During her earlier years, Mrs. Hackenberg was a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and worked for the cause of prohibition. She also was a member of the Socialist party which was active in her area after the turn of the century. She made many speeches and lectures on Socialism and prohibition.

She was not personally acquainted with Carry Nation, the mother of prohibition, but she was acquainted with such now almost forgotten national figures of Socialism as Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas, both of whom ran for president in the 1920’s and early ‘30’s.

At some unknown date and place, she married Jesse A. Turnidge. They had no children and she has no known living relatives other than members of the Hackenberg family. She did have two cousins in Seattle but her life span was far longer than theirs.

She and Mr. Turnidge moved from Missouri to Arkansas where they did truck gardening, but both being interested in Socialism, they again moved to Leesville, Louisiana to join a colony advertised as being run on a socialistic basis. (See colony info on the following page†)

They found things not to their liking in the colony, and after a year moved to Oroville, Washington. Later they moved to Vancouver, Washington.

In the summer of 1926 Mr. Turnidge was in a car wreck which injured him to the point that he was bedfast until his death in the fall of 1928.May 22, 1929, Mrs. Turnidge married Joseph Hackenberg Sr., and lived on his farm in the Hudson community until his death November 20, 1942.

After that she lost most of her interest in politics, says Otto Hackenberg, who supplied material for the obituary and made funeral arrangements.

For a time she remained in Rainier city and after that in Warren, Columbia City and St. Helens.

Five years ago she fell and broke her hip, and after that became less active.

She was a long time member of the Christian church, and as long as she was able took part in religious activities available to her.

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Census records confirm that Caroline and Jessie L.Turnidge had a “truck farm” and she was a “lecturer”.

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†Summary: “Louisiana’s New Llano Colony” by Beverly Lewis and Rick Blackwood

In West Louisiana over 10,000 people came together to create America’s longest lived socialist community, the Llano del Rio Cooperative Colony.

For a whole generation, the Llano Colony practiced what the rest of the American Left preached: a livable wage, an 8-hour work day, an end to child labor, quality education and cultural opportunites, social security, affordable housing, food, and health care for all in return for an honest day’s work – ideas considered not just radical but subversive in their day. Perhaps most surprising of all is that the cooperative, founded in 1914, lasted so long not in its initial home of California, a state with a reputation for tolerance and liberality, but in conservative, rural Louisiana.

In 1917 a specially chartered train transported over 200 colonists, their households, and the colony’s many industries to a defunct lumber mill town in west Louisiana called Stables, soon renamed New Llano (Vernon Parish along Texas border).

Llano (pronounced “Yaw-no”) was the brainchild of Job Harriman, a prominent socialist, lawyer, and seminarian, who served as Eugene Debs’ vice-presidential running mate on the Socialist ticket in 1900. Author Jack London considered Harriman to be the best socialist speaker on the West Coast.

Harriman soon realized that few socialist victories were won at the ballot box and people would never abandon their means of livelihood until other methods were developed which were as good as those by which they were living. The Llano colony was to be a self-supporting socialist experiment designed to provide equal wages, equal educational and social advantages, and equal comforts including housing and commissary furnishings. Capital was raised by selling stock to members who joined the colony, and land was purchased. From the beginning Llano del Rio was a corporation, in its own way as American as apple pie.

New members were required to purchase 2,000 shares of colony stock, paying at least 25 percent up front although this fee was reduced in Louisiana. Membership money bought goods the colony needed to get the enterprise underway. Everyone over the age of 18 had a job, usually assigned but if special talent would work in that area. In California the colony advertised wages of $4 a day – the usual rate in 1914 was $2.50. The advertised rate could not be met until the colony was self-sufficient.

The first years in Louisians were the roughest. Harriman, suffering final stages of TB, was soon forced to return to Califonria. Many others departed in the first year, leaving a core group behind to salvage what was left. From this group emerged George Pickett, the man who would be the colony’s only other General Manager besides Harriman until the colony went into receivership in the late 1930’s.

Pickett saw an opportunity to bring in desperately needed cash by making colony goods available to their neighbors. The opening of trade immediately established a rapport with New Llano’s neighbors by bringing new industries and skills to the rural Louisiana hill country and prices were reasonable. Successful ventures were the colony’s ice plant, blacksmith shop with its exclusive contract to do the metal

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work for the Kansas City Southern Railroad in that part of the country, leather manufacturing, and veneer plant. New Llano was also the first town in Vernon Parish to have electricity.

The social services and programs at the colony proved to be decades ahead of their time. Women, as well as men, were free to work in any area they were capable. For some women, this was in the sawmill.

Education was of primary importance. After four hours of study, the older children worked four hours in some related industry. This approach to education was successful and it was common for colony children who had occasion to attend public schools to skip two grades. School children might learn about construction, design irrigation systems, or operate and print a newspaper. Adults too availed themselves of night classes on topics as varied as philosophy, psychology, and the latest scientific farming techniques, sometimes augmented by visiting lecturers.

Medical care was available to any colonist who needed it, but it was often a mixed bag as a chiropractor was the only medical professional in residence. Older people unable to work were cared for by the community. During 1918 when people throughout the parish were felled by the flu epidemic, not one colonist died. They attributed their relative good health to various factors, including goats’ milk, and a near-vegetarian diet.

Llano del Rio faded into oblivion upon its demise, but it was famous in its own time. Over 10,000 people called it home at one time or another. Despite its utopian aim, Llano was not a perfect world. Leadership positions remained predominantly male. There were restrictions on membership. Some colony familes had outside income they used to purchase luxury items like butter and store bought clothes causing resentment from others without such resources.

The colony’s history was sandwiched in between two of the country’s worst depressions. Both depressions impelled many to consider Llano a viable alternative to an unstable life on the outside. In the late twenties, the colony in Louisiana enjoyed some of its most prosperous years. It established several satellite colonies, including a produce farm in Texas, a cattle ranch in New Mexico and a highly profitable rice ranch in Louisiana. When the Depression hit in 1929, New Llano was overextended, and like so many businesses around the country, faced financial ruin.

The colonists tried a variety of ways to get out from under debt and this factionalized the members. By 1937, Llano’s records and enmities were so complicated the community was financially paralyzed. It filed for bankruptcy and was placed into receivership which proved a messy state of affairs. The colony assets were so grossly undervalued and undersold at the receiver’s sale in 1939 that lawsuits ensued for the next 40 years.

Historically, the cooperative colony has been written off as a failure, like so many other utopian communites. But as one history scholar pointed out “How do you call Llano a failure? When two-thirds of American businesses fail within their first three years do you call capitalism a failure? Llano lasted 25 years,” a good run for any corporation.

During the next two generations, Americans enacted social legislation and reforms we take for granted today. What is lost to history is the fact that these ideas did not originate with mainstream political groups

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but were initially proposed and championed long before they became politically popular - by socialists, communists, labor unions, and cooperative communities like Llano del Rio. All played their role in bringing the need for reform into American consciousness.In a letter to stepdaughter Ina dated November 24, 1941, Carrie referred to an accident which happened at the colony: “From the injury I received in the Colony, I lost my voice for 40 days and my left arm was almost paralyzed. The doctor did not think I would recover, and as he said, I suffered much.”

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Carrie’s letters to the local paper:

Rainier Review, February 10, 1938

Are You Interested?

At the special session of Congress, in December 1937, very little in legislation was accomplished in comparison with the cost. I read in the Portland News Telegram of January 26, that Congress voted mileage allowance at the rate of 20 cents a mile round trip for supposedly traveling home between the two sessions of Congress; in most cases they got paid for travel without traveling. It is shameful that the 96 senators and 435 representatives of the people would act thus, regardless of the vast army of unemployed, clamoring for work; many men, women and children hungry, and living in abject poverty in the United States, while President Roosevelt is doing all in his power to alleviate suffering.

Such appropriation of the people’s money makes our Congressmen look like a bunch of parasites, their salaries are generous enough that they can afford to pay their own expenses if they travel.

The newspaper of same date also stated eight honest Congressmen: viz 1 Senator from Texas, 2 Representatives from Ohio, 2 from N. Carolina, 1 from Maryland, 1 from Iowa, 1 from Wisconsin returned their mileage to the treasury. When I read of our parastic method to obtain the people’s money by vote for not used mileage, it reminded me of the Greek philospher, Diogenes,

who in the decadent days of Greek life was once seen in broad daylight with a lighted lantern in the streets of Athens, apparently looking for something, and questioned what he was hunting, he replied “A man.” Were Diogenes today in the halls of Congress, trying to pick the few honest men out of the 531 Congressmen, he would need a powerful searchlight.

No doubt most of the Congressmen will return sooner or later, and ask the voters for reelection.

It remains to be seen , if the voters will elect untried men without fame or fortune to represent them in the halls of Congress, or return the grafters,

Mrs. Carrie Hackenberg

(Editor’s note: This is a situation which should cause all taxpayers and citizens much alarm. Can minorities be accused of selfishness in lobbying for subsidies when their chosen representatives set so shameful an example?)

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Rainier Review, March 24, 1938

Now and Then

Editor of the Review: I enjoyed reading Mrs. Steven’s articles under the caption “Leading Youth to Christ and your comments thereon, and while reading I remembered an incident of my earlier years.

Our church had hired a new minister and later an evangelist for a revival, Mr. X, a very fluent speaker, who could expound the word of God and the suffering of Christ in the most touching way, and whose plea for sinners to come to Christ was ardent. A number of men and women of wealth and influence went forward “to profess their faith, and were welcomed by the pastor, evangelist and membership.

On the night I am relating about, the text of the evangelist was “Witnessing for Christ,” and at the close of the sermon and exhorting the choir sang that old familiar song, “Jesus Lover of My Soul.” Only one went forward to accept Christ as her saviour, a poor hired girl of 16, but neither the pastor nor evangelist gave her a word of welcome or encouragement, no hymn was sung, benediction was pronounced, and the meeting was closed.

Many of the congregation, including myself, held that kind of “Witnessing for Christ” very unchristian and it turned not only the girl but many others away from church.

Ann was doing housework for sometime for a wealthy family, and they said she was a good girl, but they did not consider a hired girl worthy to be noticed by themselves or their set in public. At that time there were many narrow minded Christians, who had forgotten the teachings of the lonely Nazarene. They would go to church, make long prayers, and sing “How I Love Jesus.” Their attitude toward the poor did not lead the youth to

Christ, but instead made many vacant pews for the pastor to preach to.

In this twentieth century the people have higher and broader views, for if such discrimination were practiced in the churches today, it would be impossible to lead the youth to Christ.

Mrs. C. H. Hackenberg

(Editor’s Note: The devil has placed many stumbling blocks in the pathway of Christianity. Of these, bigotry, narrow mindedness and intolerance are undoubedly the greatest. Christ chose those three as the most iniquitous of the forces opposing Him, and all His teachings plead for their excoriation. Yet they are as prevalent today as they were two thousand years ago, even among those who profess to follow His teachings.)

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Rainier Review, November 17, 1938

True Friendship

To The Editor:

What are the basic principles essential for true friendship? From my viewpoint they are truth, honesty, fidelity and a willingness to help in time of need.

All devoid of these qualities are not capable of friendship; they may have occasional affections that glow in their hearts, which excites fondness or connects them with the appearance of attachment to one, whom they esteem for amiable qualities, or has obliged them with some favor.

After these feelings grow old, either fancied interests alienate them or some object attracts them, they are no longer the same persons to those, whom they professed to be friends.

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All friendship presupposes entire trust and confidence, no advantage to be taken by one against another neither in words nor deed, and no gifts or help to be mentioned by the donor, nor forgotten by the recipient.

There is a malignant spirit in some people, which finds pleasure in disturbing and wrecking the relations of those, who appear to have enjoyed one anothers confidence for years. No true friend will listen to harsh evil reports about a friend without notifying that friend and give a chance for defense, instead of spreading the gossip. Such acts destroy or impair and often cause only a show of friendship to remain; nothing more certainly dissolves friendship than the suspicion, which arises from the concealment by friends listening to evil reports about a friend and keep them going. True Friendship is the same through sunshine and clouds.

Mrs. Carrie H. Hackenberg

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Above left: Anna Johnson, Carrie Hackenberg on right

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Rudy HackenbergMarch 30, 1892 ~ 1924

Above: Rudy and his team, Roudy and Belle, in Underwood, WA.

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Above: Rudy and his team are shown, lead freight wagon, at what appears to be a large construction site.Below: Detail of Rudy and his team.

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Above: Left to right: Rudy, Dora, Joe Jr., “We went to Hood River all three of us and had our pictures taken.”

February 8, 1921: Dora’s letter to William’s wife Madge

“. . . Joe and I went to Underwood on the 17th of last month [January] and stayed till the next Saturday then came back to Rainier and stayed all night with Emma, at least I did. Joe came out on the auto stage on the highway Saturday and met me at the highway Sunday with Mr. Kecks team. I came out on the auto stage too!

We left here on Sunday the 16th. Joe brought Mr. Keck’s team and 2 seated wagon up here for me and took me down to Vincents. Mrs. Vincent was going to Portland and Vancouver to visit her sisters and other relatives so Mr. V- drove us all down to the highway then brought the team back to Kecks. Emma was looking for us so we all went there to dinner and Joe and I stayed all night but Mrs. Vincent took the 2:30 train in the afternoon. We went on the 10:30 train Monday morning. We sure had a fine time too!

We got there to Underwood about 9 o’clock Monday evening. Rudy was there to meet us and we got a ride out to his place in one of his neighbors autos who happened to be there in Underwood. The next Wed. we went to Hood River all three of us and had our pictures taken! I will send you both a sample of them. We just got them last mail day. Rudy had to go with the mail Tuesday to Chenowith. Joe and I were going to go with him. There was from 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground and he went with his sleigh. The boys went down to Underwood to get the mail, and I stayed at Rudy’s house and got ready to go with them when they would come back, but Joe came walking back before Rudy came and said he had too much of a load to take us. Also, he had a passenger to go all the way with him, so Joe said he would fix a harness for Rudy’s other horse he had in the barn (he has 3 horses) and take a light one seat buggy and go too; so we did and overtook Rudy before we came to Rominger’s place. Then we stopped in there, and stayed all the rest of the day, left there about 5 p.m. and got home about an hour and a half before Rudy came back.

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We had a card party at Rudy’s house while we were there. Mrs. Sturdyvent and her son Otis and her daughter Hagle came over Wed or Thurs evening. Then Friday evening we were invited to a near neighbors named Cole to play cards. We went and had a good time! Rudy and all his neighbors wanted us to stay Saturday night and go to a dance at Herman Frederick’s barn but we couldn’t stay as we had promised all the folks to be back Sunday sure.”

Above: Photos of Rudy, Dora, and Joe on horse taken during visit.Below: Portraits taken at studio in Hood River on visit with Rudy. Left to right: Rudy, Dora, Joe Jr.

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Above: Pictures taken during Dora and Joe’s visit to Rudy in January 1921. Upper left photo: Joe Jr., shown with Belle and Roudy, occasionally stayed with Rudy to work.

The Skamania County Pioneer newspaper, issue of January 23, 1919, lists Rudy and Joe Jr.’s wages earned:

“County Commissioners Meet. The following claims were allowed and warrants in payment therof ordered drawn…”R Hackenberg, team - $ 1.75Rudolph Hackenberg, labor - $ 1.53Joe Hackenberg, labor - $32.28J Hackenberg, team $ 3.50

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Above left: Rudy’s postcard to sister Ina “. . .I am digging a cellar under my kitchen...” Perhaps he kept an extra shovel and got a little help from his brother Joe when they weren’t working with the horses.Above Right: Left to right Rudy, Joe Jr. Back of photo reads: “This is the first picture I ever took. Rudy and Joe at Underwood on Rudy’s place.” -Mamma

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William’s letter home dated February 27, 1919: “Dear Papa ~ At last I got your letter of Dec. 28th…I did not know that Joe and Rudy had flew (I mean flu)…”

The Spanish Flu pandemic was caused by a severe and deadly strain of the Influenza A virus and 50 million to 100 million people worldwide were killed in about a year during 1918 – 1919 according to computer research. The Spanish flu invaded Underwood in 1918 while Joe Jr. was staying with Rudy. The brothers were both deathly ill and unable to care for themselves. Joe Jr. later related there were many local victims, and neither he nor Rudy would have survived without the nursing care of a neighbor who came to their rescue at a critical time and stayed until they were well enough to help themselves.

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“I don’t know just what it does cost to feed my team, but it is about $20 a month when they work and $15 when not working.” Postcard to brother William, January 6, 1914

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Above: Road District No. 3: R. Hackenberg labor and team ~ $12.35June 5, 1922.

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Above: Rudy’s World War 1 registration indicates he was of medium height, medium build, had dark brown eyes, and black hair.

Rudy’s last days

Rudy and his team had an accident on one of the hillsides some time in 1922. Although he spent considerable time in a Portland hospital, his broken bones never healed then developed into tuberculosis of the bone. When the medical staff could do no more to help him, his sister Emma cared for him in her Rainier home until his death February 10, 1924. Rudy would have been 32 years old the following month. He is buried in the Woodbine Cemetery, Rainier, Oregon ~ Note: There are incorrect dates on his headstone which should read 1892 - 1924

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William HackenbergMay 2, 1894 ~ May 22, 1967

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Left: William Herman HackenbergMay 2, 1894 ~ May 22, 1967

The Rainier Review, March 9, 1906 Rainier School Notes:A prize was given to Willie Hackenberg for writing the best essay in Room 2.

The older Hackenberg children often spent weeks at a time in Rainier and attended school while staying with their Winchester grandparents. William’s essay talent at 12 years old was prophetic of his life long love of writing. After leaving home he regularly corresponded with his parents. His detailed letters to and from his “Mamma” are our sole source of information for that time period and give a breathe of life to Doraville ancestors, especially Dora and Rudy, whose footprints faded long before our time. The letters and pictures that survived the “test of time” were generously contributed by William’s family and a major addition to this historical project.

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In a letter from the oil fields of Bicknell, California, William answers his “Mamma’s” query about his travels March 8, 1914, when he left Doraville homestead early that morning for the unknown; and tells of his present job on an oil lease.

May 1, 1915Dear Mamma,

. . . So you would like to know which way I went when I left there, and where I got my first meal. . . I went to Goble through by Apiary and ate my first meal there in a restaurant, about half past 10 or 11 o’clock, and while I wasn’t hungry I hadn’t lost my appetite or anything. Then I crossed in the ferry to Kalama and was going to take the train up to Vancouver and if I couldn’t get any work there I was going to Eastern Washington, some place where there was lots of farming going on. I found out that there wasn’t any train stopped at Kalama till late at night and so I strolled off up the railroad track.

I met a young man with his bed on his back. He greeted me friendly and appeared to be a very nice fellow. He was going out to Grays Harbor to get work in the sawmills and he talked me into going with him. We beat our way out on

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freight trains and walked part of the way. When we got to Aberdeen we could no more get a job than we could eat the moon fried in axle grease. We then went to Hoquiam and met with the same old story. My partner wouldn’t hear of farm work and so we parted.

I went to Cosmopolis and took a road out in the country and I went nearly 8 miles till I came to any place. Finally I came out in the north river valley and came to a place where there was a big barn on one side of the road and a big white house on the other and quite a nice farm. I see the old man go over to the barn just ahead of me and I goes and asks him what the chances was to get a job. He kinda’ sized me up and asked me if I could clear land. This was Mr. Rowland the first and the best man I ever worked for.

I was never more surprised in my whole life than I was when I came in to supper that night. Why they just had every thing imaginable and it was just cooked to perfection. I am sure that no millionaires ever live as good as they do; they may have just as much but they sure don’t have it fixed up in such a healthful and delicious way. At one time the Rowlands didn’t have a cent in all the wide world and was in debt besides, but he has plenty now and he says that he is going to make up for the time when he lived on dry bread. . .

I had to work today – I mean, I had to drive down to Bicknell Station [oil lease] and back and I get a whole day for it. I sure make some easy money here. Last summer, for a while I made $3.75 a day just for doing nothing but lay around 18 hours a day and sleep when ever I felt like it. If I was allowed to board myself or board with Ina I could clear up about $60 every month but $26 dollars for board kind o’ eats into a fellow’s check. I averaged better than $45 clear every month that I was here last year and I’m starting in just fine this time…

Well, Mamma, the wind is all out of my sails now so I will have to anchor out until I hear from you again, which I hope will be in the near future.

I am as ever your loving son Will Hackenberg

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William, Joe Jr., and Ina’s husband Willard all worked at various oil leases in Bicknell, and the areas around San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, Calfornia. Typical oil lease scene below.

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At some point William received a World War 1 “draft notice” and became Private William Hackenberg with overseas duty in France. His brother Rudy was on the draft roster for Skamania County, WA, but not called up.

Left: “Private William Hackenberg, Battery F, 144th Field Artillery, American Expeditionary Forces, Sept. 1918” Above: William is in the front row, second from left, in the group picture taken in France.

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William’s experiences in France during World War 1 detailed below in a letter to his “Mamma”.

It looked like another box car ride but it was almost night when we finally got on the cars and this time they were all box cars and not many of them for the crowd of soldiers. At first they put 32 in each car and it looked like about half of the regiment would have to walk. Then they put 8 more in each car and then they brought around 3 more.

Our car was one of the small size, being only 16 feet long and just high enough to stand up in. Two of the 4 wheels was flat and it went like a lame cow running down hill. When we were all crowded in the

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cars, some big officer came along and gave strict orders to the sergeant in charge of each car, to keep all men from putting their feet out of the door and to allow no man to leave the car at any time. I thought it was only to be a short trip. It was rumored that we were to go to Camp DeSoos near Bordeaux, and as I had no map I did not know how far it was.

There was no place to sit down without using someone for a seat and so I was one who stood up the most of the trip and those who laid one on top of another didn’t have it much better. We had some bread and tomatoes besides the corned beef and hard tack and when it was meal time we had to eat like so many hogs. The rations were in one end of the car and those nearest to the pile got the most and they threw our share over to us and whoever was lucky enough to grab a big chunk of bread fared better than the rest. I was always pretty good at grabbing and I was quick to take up with the “European style”, so I didn’t starve.

The first night I did not try to sleep. They would go ahead awhile and stop awhile and back up awhile. It didn’t seem so bad while we were moving but every time they stopped the boys would all curse and growl. The next morning we were ordered to get off and line up for coffee. We lined up for something like a half hour and then were ordered to get back in the cars that there was no coffee.

That day we passed thousands of German prisoners working along the railroad. They would wave at us when we passed – that is: some of them would – and they greeted us just as cheerful as did the French or English. We all thought it very funny. We traveled through a little better looking country, that day, from any I had seen yet and it was nothing extra. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they hadn’t had all the good land in grapes.

That evening we came to quite a city and our canteens were all dry and we were all thirsty. I saw a lot of the boys getting off at the other end of the train and make a run for somewhere with their canteens. I got mine as quick as I could and I followed. But before I got there, there was a line a hundred yards long and each fellow had all of his friends’ canteens and there was but one little pump where we were allowed to get water. I waited until we were all ordered back on the train and never got near the pump. This was the city of Orleans where the famous Joan of Arc used to live.

It had been a warm day for France and it was fairly warm that night and as it looked like we were going to have another all night of it, I began to think about sleep. I lay down partly under and partly on top of fellows and tried to sleep. None of us could lay in such positions very long at a time because we would cramp and with someone moving under and on top of me and occasionally pushing a hob nail in my bean it was pretty hard to sleep, as tired and sleepy as I was. I dosed off a few times and before midnight I gave it up. The moon was shining and the door was open so I stood up in the door and held on to a round rod that the door slid on. I did not imagine I could sleep in such a position but there was over 3 hours that I can’t account for any other way. When I awoke we were stopped under a huge shed at the station in Bordeaux. I have often wondered how I ever happened to hold on to that rod while I was asleep, but if I hadn’t I don’t think I would be here to tell about it.

It was about 4 o’clock in the morning and there was a long train of artillery pulling out for the front. They had their big guns and horses and everything. The boys were all dead for sleep. They were wearing their helmets and had their gas masks and they reminded me of some funeral procession from the looks of them. It was a scene I shall not forget for many a day. I thought then that I would be in their shoes in the course of 3 short weeks and it didn’t look like any picnic.

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We stayed there until after daybreak and then were ordered back into the train. We traveled again for over an hour through the first level piece of country I had seen in France. Finally we stopped near a town and the order came down that we would line up for coffee. The boys were all afraid it was another joke but we got some this time and also got a piece of brad to go with it. Then we started our journey, after the usual standing at attention with our packs. We hiked about 3 miles through a sell settled neighborhood. On this hike I saw my first French laundry. The way they wash their clothes was quite a novelty to the most of us. They – the French girls – get in a tub or barrel and get out in the creek and have a sort of a bench or table out there and then they soap the clothes and beat the dickens out of them with a big club. They are so skilled at it that they get them as clean and white as any laundry could, with nothing but cold water, but it is some job. That is one reason why I didn’t want a French girl for they certainly could use that club and some time she might get in a hurry and try to wash my clothes before I could remove them.

I did not know where we were going and I was rather surprised when I saw our battery marching in at a big gate in a stone wall. Soon I found myself in a square with a large house on one side and a barn on 2 other sides and another long building on the back. We were ordered 60 upstairs in the barn and 60 downstairs and I don’t know how many in the chicken house.

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The “good times” weren’t over yet as William waits to get out of the Army. His letter to “Papa” was written from The Presidio, San Francisco, CA.

February 27, 1919Dear Papa,

I am still in the army – won’t get out until Sat. the 1st of March and I’d hate to bet a nickle I’ll get out then. It has come to be about as big a joke as getting out of the hospital. They must get lots of enjoyment out of lying to us and keeping us hanging around. Believe me they try to make us work here too. I put in 2 days in the kitchen but didn’t do nothin’ and today I had an awful exciting time dodging the detail. I am not anymore afraid of workthan I ever was (I can rest with it all around me) but I don’t like the idea of having some one telling me to do this and that, “just as I say” – “I’ve got it on you, you dog.” I’ve always been lucky in escaping the details because I always behaved myself and didn’t make my name known.

I had a most pleasant trip across the states but of course it could have been more pleasant. They had us guard the doors and not let anyone get off when the train stopped, as if they were afraid we were going to get away. We had one of those Sears Roebuck & Co. officers, in charge of the outfit, that didn’t know the war was over yet. In Chicago he ordered us all off the train and marched us up to a big Y.M.C.A. for a bath. He had a revolver hung to his belt and the way he went along and bawled the boys out, it looked exactly like he was herding a bunch of prisoners. They love to take the joy out of life. I’ll be one of many happy boys when I get the precious paper, which I have already signed, that will set me at liberty to tell them all goodbye, I

hope forever. It was announced today that we will get 2 months ($50) extra pay with our discharge. I course I won’t refuse that.

Your son Will

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Left and below: William and Dora sightseeing in Portland after his return from France

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Loleta, Calif. May 23, 1919Dear Mamma,

. . . I am only working 8 hours now and it seems pretty nice to have so much time to myself, tho I won’t make so much money. My check for last week was $34.40 and this one won’t be more than $24 I guess. I get board and room for $6.50.

With love from your son Will

P.S. I did not finish your chapter last night as I got a chance to make $1.50 after supper. I hope you will enjoy it. The next chapter will be about my stay at Pont-De-La-Ma. This is where I met the little Belgian girl and where I had the picture taken I sent to you.

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Above: William and girlfriend Madge McQuiston with Dora

Dora’s note on back of photo: [The picture was taken] “. . .the first time Will came home after he came back from France. He came up from California in his own car.”

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After the army William, accompanied by his brother Joe Jr., went back to work in the oil fields where the boarding house must have inspired his poetic flair

William’s letter home from Bicknell, California

February 11, 1920“Dear Mamma,

. . . I have been doing a little bit of everything lately, pulling wells, pumping and pipe-lining. They only pay $5 on the pipeline and pumping, and $5.25 for well pulling. If they had give me a fair deal I would be with the well pullers all the time but he has a lot of new men on the gangs and when he gets too many he puts me at something else. I went after him about it the other day but didn’t get much satisfaction and came nearly quitting. I’m going to quit about March 1st anyway and hit for the tall timbers. . . They are striking oil at Briceland in Humboldt County. That is about 40 miles from where I live.”

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~ Meal Time at the Boarding House ~By William Hackenberg

At breakfast time how we all do rush

When Oliver rings the gong.We sit around and eat our mush

But don’t talk very long.

We always have potatoes friedAnd lots of eggs and bacon;

But if they think we’re satisfied,They surely are mistaken.

We’d like some dishes, fine and gay –Some such as angel cake.

We’d like it brought up on a trayWhen we are not awake.

Oh Carl and Bab they come in late,When all the rest are gone,

And all that’s left is half a plateOf mush with sugar on.

The cook then brings some biscuit doughSo raw they cannot eat it,

But soon they hear the whistle blowAnd then of course they beat it.

About this time comes Birt and Dick

And want their breakfast hot.I don’t see why the cook don’t kick

And make the old boys trot.

How can they manage such a bunchThat comes all times of day,

Unless they bring a nice warm lunchUp to us on a tray.

We come around again at noon,More empty than before.

We often quarrel about a spoonBut never do get sore.

We surely have a great old time;We gossip while we eat.

They say, “Bill never spends a dime,”They say, “Bill pass the meat.”

“Oh pass the macaroni, Bill;Oh Bill please pass the stew.”

And then they say: “He eats untilThe whole blamed bunch is through.”

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~ My Darling Little Niece ~by: William Hackenberg

Oh Evelyn is a darling girl,We all love her a lot.

Her hair is still too short to curl.For she is just a tot.

This Evelyn is my little niece;I 'most forgot to say:

She lives right here upon the leaseWhere I see her every day.

I love to see her "goo" and smileAnd wish that she could creep.She's never still except a while--

When she is sound asleep.

Her mamma says: "Oh bless her heartShe isn't any bother,

For when she cries I do my partAnd give her to her father."

Her papa says he don't see whyShe is so cross today:

"I think we ought to let her cryFor fear she'll stay that way."

Oh yes of course you know she criesShe's lonesome I suppose

From laying there among the fliesAll bundled up in clothes

You always find her on the bedIt simply is a crime,

But she never cries, I think I said;Except at feeding time.

She always smiles for Uncle Bill:She smiles for mamma too,

And then she lays there very stillOr else she'll say "agoo"

Oh Uncle Bill, he holds her someWhen she is cross and mean

And then she always sucks her thumb Contented as a queen.

We love her more than words can sayThis bundle that we hold:

We wouldn't trade her for no lessThan ten whole tons of gold

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Above: Little Evelyn Hanlin two years old214

William did “hit out for the tall timber”; and in 1921 Dora’s letter with the following “Good Bread” recipe was addressed to “Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Hackenberg, Yager, California”. William was now married to Madge.

Making “Mamma’s Good Bread” was no easy task even if it would “rise in one half the time” of ordinary dough during long cold nights. Hand kneading dough for “30 minutes” quickly turns into tiring work. In the last years of Dora’s life she was sick a great deal of the time and suffered with inflamed joints; however, bread was a main food staple baked in the wood stove and always on the chore list.

It is not known when or where William met Madge, or if she acquired homemaking skills. The couple only spent a few years together before she left and they divorced. “Mamma’s Good Bread” was a thing of the past.

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William’s lonely bachelor life came to an end in 1925 when a mother with young children rented his house. The back side of the top photo tells the story, “Those are some of the family that lives in my house I have rented. The children think lots of me and are always down at my place when I’m home. They are good little kiddies too.”

A similar photo of Margaret and the children notes, “I had Christmas dinner with them. The children are over to my place most of the time.”

Perhaps the Christmas dinner with the family was a turning point in William’s relationship with Margaret. A note on the back of a following picture indicates they apparently married in May 1926. The children must have been very pleased.

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Top Left: Back of photo notes, “Don’t we look happy? So we are. Bill & Marg. Moon Stone Beach, May 23, 1926. The other undated photos were taken over the years.

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William and Margaret added three children to their family beginning with daughter Margarete born on her daddy’s birthday in 1927. Her brothers, William Jr. and Ronald, followed later.

Top: William and daughter Margarete. He was hauling shingle bolts in the redwoods of Northern California at the time and his sturdy Ford is ready to make a delivery.

Bottom: The four older sisters babysitting at the family home in Fruitland. Their Aunt Ina described the bungalow as “Really lovely and the yard a riot of color. So nice and comfy inside too!” The girls’ names are not known for sure, but three may have been Marvel, Novelle, and Leora.

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Above left and middle: Photos of William holding his two oldest children, William Jr. (Billy) and Margarete, were an annual Hackenberg tradition. Above right:Margarete and Billy are seen again; their younger brother Ronald below.

Above left: Wedding of Ron Hackenberg and JoAnn McDaniel, October 27, 1956. Above right: William at home in Santa Rosa, CA, accompanied by his sister Ina and son Ron.

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William’s Poetry

Rather than William’s own experience, “When I Went to Town” may have been inspired by his little brother Joe’s shopping mishap. It was not the kind of mistake the children made twice.

“I handed the clerk my penny and selected too many sticks of candy not realizing the extra expense had been charged to the old man’s account. There was hell to pay when he found that out!” Joe Jr. ~ 1985

Little Joe Jr. looks like he is still pondering life’s difficulties.

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Dora, Ina & Evelyn

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“Footprints”, an English class assignment written by Josef’s granddaughter Evelyn Shaw in 1933 while at Stanford University, is a collection of her mother Ina’s childhood memories and offers a glimpse into Doraville homestead life. While all incidents were part of their family life, it is well to remember that “Footprints” is an essay and not meant to be historically accurate in all references; i.e., Ina would have been around 11 years old and Joe Jr. 4 years old at the time they sought the doctor’s care in town, college attended by Josef was not Heidelberg, etc. The assignment received a grade of “A-” and has a notation “artistic handling of material”.

“Footprints”

Big Joe Hackenberg turned quickly from his massive desk and, pointing a quill at the screeching tangle of some five pairs of arms and legs, rumbled, “Here, here!”

The children forthwith became distinguishable as individuals. But four-year-old Ina, a fuzzy-headed pixie, resumed the civil strife, observing, “Papa say ‘here, here’, but he not say ‘Gott in Himmel’ yet.”

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The two makers of dreams busied themselves with hunting cedar bark. Their house was to be the best in – well, the best. And so they built. And they had done, and it was good. But they were not content; so they set about to alter this, to add that, they became exacting. Their ideal was too lofty so that their dream house crumbled about their busy hands, and was but cedar bark. In a moment of childish agitation, Ina and Bill rushed to and fro under the vigilant arms of the forest. But they had seen nothing of prophetic philosophy in their adventure.

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A wheelbarrow tumbled over the road to Rainier, scrunching rock, barging through loam, crashing over brush and dead leaves. At the business end of this vehicle labored a round-faced girl of seven; a gallant, cheerful looking young Amazon she was.

“Is it hurting much, Joe?”

Her brother eased a copiously bandaged foot over the edge of the wheelbarrow and lied with effort. They passed a solitary cedar.

“It’s only three miles now,” Ina announced. The boy was as unprotesting as a little Trojan. When the sweltering miles to town lay behind them, the doctor was not to be found. But “a new man was there”, and he seemed quite interested in the dust-colored girl and little Joe.

“You came seven miles with that wheelbarrow full of boy?” he stared“Oh, yes,” said Ina. “You see, when Joey stepped on that fern stalk, we didn’t think anything ‘bout it. Papa fixed him and then Papa had to go to the lumber camp down by Portland. And Rudy and Bill are working in the harvest. I was the only one who could come on account of Mama has my new baby brother. And my little sister is too little. Joey’s foot looks terribul, mister. Are you a doctor?”

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Above: Ina and William

The gentlemen who had been in Dr. Brown’s office when Ina and Joe first appeared heard that they repeated the wheelbarrow trip thrice weekly until treatment of the boy’s foot was completed. Learning also that Ina was to spend a week with her Grandmother Winchester in Rainier, the man called at the grandmother’s home. He was the director of a widely recommended school in Portland, he explained, and could a most courageous little girl accept a scholarship from his institution?

Schooling in Oregon in the Gay Nineties was too rare even to be a luxury, and Mrs. Winchester thought nothing of thanking him “just the same’, and explaining, “Ina hasn’t any shoes”.

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School days of yesteryear! They were counted anxiously, and enjoyed to the full. And remembered. Ina recalls how her big brother escort, at the peal of the “last bell”, fairly flew with her over the mud. Rudy would engulf her hand in his callused one, and sprint as if he were being chased; then tiny Ina’s feet rarely touched the ground. As the air whizzed past, she was swept almost straight out in back of Rudy; she wondered whether she fluttered as did the Portland minister’s coat-tails when that worthy ran for the horse-car.

Later she walked to school with Herbie, the boy on the adjoining section, who dangled her books from a strap with his own, and who helped her over the mud puddles. You see, they were older, had read about Sir Walter Raleigh.

When Ina’s final examination proved the highest in the county, big Joe Hackenberg wanted to send her to high school and college. Hackenberg was no backwoodsman. He had left Heidelberg in his senior year, revolting against his father’s determination that he enter the church, and then after he had served his term in the German army, there was nothing for him he decided, but emigration and struggle.

Anyway, instinctive nobility would not let this girl accept of her father what she knew he could not give without lessening the lot of the other, and she would not go on.

But there came into Hackenberg’s relationship with his daughter one of those crises which require very subtle psychology. Big Joe sought to substitute a few strokes of the “good old hickory”, and they didn’t do the work. Ina fled to Portland, where she slaved one month for a “lady” who bestowed upon her, as wages, an unwanted, outmoded coat.

Discouraged, the girl finally stopped declining a certain persistent Willard Hanlin’s offer of marriage, and the couple left for San Francisco, where is filed the record of their nuptials.

At sixteen the, Ina was a wife. No longer a daughter, though. She knew that as she thought of the steel in her Dad’s eyes and his proud heart.

“Here I am in Portland ~ Feb . 21, 1912”

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At twenty, she was a mother; before she celebrated her twenty-fourth birthday there were two good, healthy reasons why she must wash little hand-marks from the woodwork in their modest home.

But the attitude of a husband old enough to be her children’s grandfather was slowly crushing her life. Ina negotiated her divorce long before divorces were fashionable.

Having been a wife and mother hardly qualified her to make her own way in impersonal, uncompromising surroundings. When she went to San Francisco in quest of work, it was long before she found anything she could do which would both sustain her own needs and allow her to send something to her children, who were in the custody of her unemployed ex-husband.

“There were two good, healthy reasons why she must wash little hand-marks from the woodwork in their modest home”

Finally the girls went to live with her: first the elder, because the two children “fought day and night” and were “more than one man could handle”; the younger followed when their father became entangled in an unfortunate re-marriage.

In 1928, Ina Hanlin married again, and the new family transferred to another district. They have been there now for five years. Ina, whose youth belies her thirty-eight Septembers, is questioned by unbelievers if she mentions daughters in high-school and college. But no one ever guesses that her “family” hasn’t been organized just as at present for at least eighteen years.

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Then, too, the mail-carrier brings her letters “quilled” in the artistic hand of Jos. Hackenberg, Sr.

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Ina didn’t know what she was getting into when she married Willard J. Hanlin. Her beloved Oregon trees and lush vegetation would be a thing of the past. First they moved to the oil fields of Bicknell and Santa Maria, California, where her brother William later joined them and penned his tribute to baby Evelyn in “My Darling Niece”.

After the oil field adventure, Willard decided it would be advantageous for Ina and the girls to hold down a homestead in the desert while he worked in town. The property was somewhere in the vicinity of what is now the China Lake Naval Weapons Center ~ between Death valley and the Mojave Desert. Inyokern was the nearest town. It is not known how long they lived in the desert. Evelyn mentioned her mother had home schooled them at the time.

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Above: Homestead life in the desert. The girls are shown with their father when he came for a visit.

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Dear Ina: . . . I pass that camp where you and Evelyn stayed overnight in 1929 on your way to Emma’s, This can’t be too far from Emma’s as a sign down on the highway says 409 miles to Portland. . . Brother Bill, Orick, CA

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Rainier, Oregon, October 26, 1941

Dear Ina,. . . We are pleased you keep up the friendship with the Shaws, we think they are very good people. We much liked Ben, too bad he is such a flopp in one respect; what he needs is a sort of a she-bullpuncher to keep him straight. . .

Your Dad

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The New Rainier Review ~ September 27, 1995By Candace Baker

Ina Hackenberg Esquer celebrates 100th birthday

We were barely taking to the air 100 years ago. Most travel was still accomplished on horseback or horse-drawn buggy. To go to town, Ina Hackenberg Esquer and her family hiked seven miles each way. With her family living out on Apiary Road, Ina left Rainier before Tom McCaskey was even born. 100 years is a long

time, and, according to Ina, “Who wants to live to be 100”?

She has bright sparkly eyes, and until just a few years ago still rode herbicycle. Four years ago the family went to Hayward, California, where she has lived since she

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moved from Rainier, to bring her back home. She was then 96 and still living on her own.

According to her great-niece Julie Hackenberg, she spent much of her time there tending her roses and walking around her neighborhood. With her getting on in years, the family decided to bring her closer where everyone could keep an eye on her. She can still tell a tale or two about what it was like when she left Rainier, but the memories are fading.

Ina retired with Pacific Bell Telephone as an operator. Her line was “Number please,” which she still recites to the delight of her family. She was asked if she ever eavesdropped on any of the conversations, she said “Oh no, you couldn’t do that.” *

I don’t do any more thinking because I’m always wrong anyway,” she said. “But I’m comfortable now and like to stay that way.”

The family is with her constantly, trading off duties in shifts. She still can walk around, and loves to people watch, “One of her favorite places is the mall,” Julie said.

She was born at home in Rainier, in a house that Luella Hackenberg still lives in. “It was a kind of funny house,” Luella said. “It was small but it had a door on all four sides. We’ve since closed up two of them, put a fireplace where one door was.”

Ina has been married three times, the first marriage produced two daughters, Evelyn and Dora. Dora died as a youngster, but Evelyn went on to a career in the U.S. Navy. She was the first female graduate of the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. She is the author of several books. She retired from the service as a captain.

Ina’s last husband “Papa Joe” died about 10 years ago. “Papa Joe was a good man,” she said. When asked where she met him, she wasn’t real clear. “Did you pick him up on the street?” I joked. A very adamant “No!” came back to that.

She doesn’t really think she has done anything so fantastic, making it to 100 years of age. “I haven’t lived so long, it just seems that way to other people,” she said.

Her unique perspective on life has benefited the family now that they have her back home. “We were sitting in traffic waiting to go over the bridge,” Julie said. “I was getting frustrated about having to wait when Ina said ‘You’re lucky the bridge is here’.”

Ina remembers visiting Grandma and Grandpa Winchester in Rainier as a child. Her Uncle Bob was a fisherman. “I don’t remember him catching anything. We always went out with other people on their boats” she said.

The family has had many opportunities to play dominoes with Ina. “She whips us real good,” Julie said. According to Julie and her husband, Alex, Ina is good at most of the games. She can add so fast in dominoes that nobody seems to be able to beat her.

Her birthday party Saturday, September 23, brought in many visitors for Ina, but she doesn’t seem to understand what all the fuss is about. Being 100 years old to her is no big deal. But it beats the heck out of the alternative.

Ina got a letter of contratulations from President Clinton that didn’t impress her one bit. “Who’d want one from him,” she asked. “I’d rather have one from George Burns.”

Happy birthday, Ina. It may not be a big deal for you, but for your family it is. Ina is the family treasure, and everyone takes pleasure in making sure she is comfortable and happy.

* Interview with niece: “I know I was completely worn out by the time I finished with the telephone company. We would drive if we could possibly do it. For a time there was a car that left Hayward that took us to a middlestation where you got the train to go to the city. Oh it wassuch a long complicated thing but they took that out so we had todrive to that middle station where you could grab that train; ittook you to where you could take the boat. Oh, it was acomplicated thing, but once you did it, you just did it - thatwas all.”

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From The Mail BagLetters from Joe Sr. and Dora to their daughters & granddaughters

July 27, 1931. Dear Folks:. . .You may depend on it that I should not havebeen in such a hurry to answer if it were not for that nice bunch of pictures, which we certainly enjoy. The lucky part is that everyone looks so natural, no blur in spite of the ever moving brats...

We enjoyed your letters, and so did all the company – 7, all neighbors, yesterday, and the pictures sure pleased them. There have been no end to visits and countervisits and poor Ma always gets the worst end of it. She is pretty well wore out now, and we sure have to go somewhat slower in that direction. It is however a hard matter to decline a well meant, sincere invitation, then one in turn feels indebted to invite. That is country life now since the cars supplanted the horses.

Ma done a big washing today, she got her hand hurt when I raised the porch last week, so she hunted up every rag that hadn’t seen soap and water for 14 days, while I mowed around the big oats patch. You know I keep away from Ma so much as I can on wash days. In binding, my clothes and shoes got full of wild oats and I trust you excuse me if I stop writing to pull them out. Write again to your grandpa and grandma.

Best wishes to all.❀ ❀ ❀

Nov. 12, 1931.Dear Ina...But in regard to the query not having any articles in the Review I must tell you that some of them go to the Mist and Sentinel, no, I have not become lazy. The tax situation requires not only one, but many, to say something. You see we have come to the dropping off place in taxation – the country cannot bear the burden any longer, especially during the depression. Thousands have ceased to pay a cent of tax, they simply have not the means to pay with. Everything is mortgaged from the state down to the school districts; the aggregate debt of Oregon amounts to $185,000,000, which is a huge sum for a sate with a sparse population and with fully ½ of the area totally worthless. In August the Rainier Bank withdrew her credit to our school district and now we have to get along with $400.00, since nobody will give us credit. Last year we voted a special tax of $876.00 and only $120.00 was paid, while the amount of unpaid special taxes since 1924 amounts to $1,800.00 though perhaps by this time it probably amounts to $2,500.00. The worst feature however is that nearly 1/3 of the area of our district has been foreclosed for taxes and is now owned by the county, hence will in the future not pay a cent of tax. The schools have become too expensive, the high schools especially. Our school laws are rotten, lobbied through the legislatures by the teachers union, about the most avaricious bunch of hogs in the U.S. There is a howl and a protest against reduction of the teachers wages while everyone else is expected to take the wage cut without a murmer. Now however it is time to say something else...

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We also had a spell of rather stringent times for a short while. We were expected to live on $5.00 a month, which we did, but by September the cow dried up, then the chickens went on a strike and our canned and smoked meat was at an end. Now I am no man to run in debt, so we just lived for a few weeks on bread, a little butter, vegetables and fruit.

Otto has been here for several months from Friday till Monday getting his grub free gratis, and when we finally had nothing but bread and potatoes I told him to get his meals at Joe’s. He flew into a rage and told me I had lots of money, I was simply too damned stingy. Ma was more aggrieved by what he said than I was, however he has since boarded at Joe’s, while he sleeps here, and neither I nor Ma will invite him to another meal...Now he is working only 3 days in the week, and if he boarded there all week, would have nothing left at the end of the month. Well he is administering his own lessons, perhaps he will learn by and by.

...Today we had quite a frost and at noon it snowed a little. I got all my few beans and roots in and will take it rather easy now, if the work devil allows me to rest... So wishing you good health and cheerfulness and confidence to glide over life’s rough spots I remain as ever, your father

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Doraville, Jan. 3 1932: Dear Shawbunch: Now that the so called holidays are past, and we all drop into that same old world of work, worry, fight, trouble and pain, mixed with a little joy and the desire to live, I must say that Ma and myself had about as good time as could be expected, though Ma’s good time was somewhat marred by a bad cold.

Sincerely thanking you for your nice and useful presents. I will tell you something about our Christmas. We had our “toast”* on the 23rd, and it was excellent, Ma sure knows how to cook, and we wished you could enjoy it like we did. (*see recipe in Life in Doraville chapter)

Mr. Walter Bachman on the Stehman place took us in his car on Christmas Eve to his house and the Wagner family came there also and we sure enjoyed ourselves till 2 a.m. The Wagners came back and were there till supper, then we and the Bachmans went to Bremmers, had a good time till 11 o’clock. Next day Walter B. brought us home. On Sunday Mr. Wagner whose birthday is on the 27 Dec. brought us in his car to his house. There was a big crowd, however everything went nice, we left with Bachmans at 11 p.m. and they brought us home the next day in the evening. We then had the two families for the Sylvester night and Ma certainly done herself all honor with her cooking, and we still are eating on the remainders. So here we are now quite satisfied with the past, sincerely hoping that none of us may fare worse in the future.

Poor Evelyn, you are no case hardened politician otherwise you would have discarded the idea of American fairness in your game. It has become a hard proposition to be honest, however always remember that a clear conscience will outweigh all the fruits of dirty victories. After a few more hard knocks you will have learned not to take those defeats too serious. . .

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Nov. 20, 1933: Dear Shawbunch: . . . Now imagine poor ma’s heroic efforts to repair this 74 year old machine that seems evidently worn out; as soon as one part is rubbed until it is ashamed to be sore any longer than another screw gets loose . . . I certainly have an excellent nurse in Ma. . .

Well, Ma did give me a genuine surprise on Oct. 8th, and when that bunch of folks walked in on me with congratulations and presents I was very much afraid about feeding them as Ma had made her preparations to keep open house so foxy as to completely throw me off the track. We had plenty of good plum wine which I had buried several years ago when prohibition officers were sneaking about, and it sure was wine. All of Ma’s strawberry wine went up the spout, but the best of all was not the eating and drinking but everybody was pleased and satisfied. . .

Your Dad❀ ❀ ❀

Jan. 15th, 1934. Dear Ina: The two nice little scoldings rec’d with a hearty laugh by us both and I am glad that they (presents) proved of service to you. . . . Your dear old father I am happy to say is much improved, and what he needs is to be where he cannot work steady, and make a pack horse of himself, and let the sore strain have a chance to heal. The doctor in Portland told him if he wanted to get well he must be quiet. How can I keep him quiet?. . . Your Dad has a good appetite and sleeps well but keep him quiet is the problem. I am late with my work this morning we expect company Sunday and I have quite a little work as the weather has been so very bad. Yes the radio is lots of company and we enjoy it. . .

With love Mother❀ ❀ ❀

July 20, 1935. Dear Ina: Your nice welcome little note and beautiful cards rec’d and the kindly words from you gave your dear old father much comfort in his declining years. Did you know that he was a diabetic at this time can eat very little sweets, some days fairly good and others not so good. And yet he works and he says he must or quit. I varnished the front room floor a few weeks ago and waxed it, and after I had finished found I had a sprained right wrist which I did not enjoy...Last Saturday was a hot day 101 degrees at the station. I canned peas that day and I think it must have been 145 in the kitchen. . .

With Love, Mother❀ ❀ ❀

April 13, 1936: Dear Emma and family: . . .Glad you could afford a new car, so come up. Don’t force the girl to practice musik when she does not feel like it.

Best wishes from Ma and Dad❀ ❀ ❀

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June 27, 1936: Dear daughter Ina: . . . George, Emma and Carroll came up in a new car. They visited with us on Monday, the 15th and gave us an outing to Rainier. Emma’s hair is turning very gray for her age. Carroll is a sweet, well behaved, fast growing girl; she plays the violin well for her age. . .

Dad❀ ❀ ❀

January 15, 1937. Dear Ina: . . .I hate to go to Portland, the noise, the traffic congestion and above all the gasoliune stench are unbearable for me, and I will not go up, unless I positively have to.

Dad❀ ❀ ❀

October 14, 1938. Dear Evelyn: . . . but now don’t be worried about your German, for I don’t think you are going to marry Hitler. . . To learn German quick and correctly you must be compelled to talk German. I was 2 ½ years in Amerika and aside of cursing had learned not a word of English for I was continually among Germans. After I came to Oregon I found it 9/10 American, and in 2 months I could manage myself anywhere. . .

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October 26, 1941.Dear Ina: . . . You sure must keep busy attending to all the work off and on the place. I fully realize your situation, and I can well agree with your opinion that indoor work is not very good for anyone, and while I can do some indoor work, I don’t like it, especially kitchen work. I’m somewhat clumsy and bored all the time I do it, and I dread the time of housecleaning, when I have to help Ma, and that reminds me of the pleasant (?) times Otto and myself had at housecleaning every year – the air was not only very dusty, but blue and thick from cursing. He hated that work worse than I did, but it had to be done, and our house is hard to clean. . .I am also paying for consequences of conditions past, which this generation never would endure, and we had to be satisfied with them, or else be fired and starve; today man is too much of a machine tender, instead of a worker.

Your Dad❀ ❀ ❀

May 29th, 1942.Dear Ina: Many thanks for letter and the Five, and I will attend to the getting of your birthday certificate right off. We are rather marooned here, and I will send for two blanks, as Emma wants hers too. The blanks are the same all over the U.S. and whoever told you there are individual county blanks, is a trifle mistaken. Anyway I will attend to this matter as quick as communication facilities permit me, but don’t send any more money. I will go to Rainier with a neighbor, who brings our monthly groceries, some time next week. I am sure I can walk to the mailbox, as nobody can come up to our house with the car. We simply have had continued rain, and it is raining now...

Your Dad

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June 12th, 1942:Dear Ina:. . . I have to disappoint you again this time in sending you your birth certificate. On the 10th I finally got answer from the Board of Health, two blanks to fill out, one for you and one for Emma, to write in the same data, I had sent in my previous letter. Well, I sure was angry, filled out the blanks with a letteer, asking the bunch in that office, why they could not have the data transferred on to the blanks, and why there has to be that much delay and red tape to get a simple birth certificate, and sent it off yesterday on the 11th. The typewritten notice stated I would get the certificate within 14 days. So there, and I am virtually helpless in the matter. Probably when the certificate comes, I will have to go before a notary public and swear you were born at all. . . but I must say your birth was not 1/l0 as painful as getting your certificate. . .

Your Dad❀ ❀ ❀

July 30th, 1942.Dear Ina: Just a few lines to thank you for the letter and five, and I find you had a sweet time getting Evelyn’s certificate of birth. Our bureaucracy is becoming like the European, exacting to a foolish degree at the expense of our democracy. Am sure glad it is over with, there was no end of explaining, they had to have everything certified, and Ma had to go to Rainier with my record book and let a notary public look and certify that I didn’t lie, and I sure gave them hell and asked if they would believe the notary public. I told them I considered their demand an insult, implying I would falsify the records. Our trouble is that our school records are all destroyed, and I doubt if the school supt. kept any copies. My record or diary is of course good evidence... thanks and best wishes from Dad

[continuation from Carrie] Ina Dear:... You sure have a big and generous heart and love sincere for your dear old dad, his health is on a pivot, one day better, next day worse from the work he does but keep him a little quiet if you can. You are a jewel. Many thanks for your kindness.

Joane is a very sweet little girl and has done many little things that has endeared her to us, Caroll and Joe Bill sweet youngsters. Love and good wishes.

Mother❀ ❀ ❀

August 18th, 1942.Dear Ina:Through Balod’s housekeeper Ma heard that Joane had been hurt by a car and that there is another daughter in Joe’s family, but you probably knew that before.. . .Otto was in a [army] hospsital, recuperating or rather suffering from too many vaccinations, change of climate and bad water; he will never write to us.

Emma wrote she was going to pick beans for awhile in the Valley, I guess Willamette, and from her letter she was glad to get her birth certificate. I don’t expect a letter from her till about Thanksgiving, the poor girl is afflicted with the writers cramp, apparently hereditary from someone besides me. Carol will keep house for George while she is away. . .

Dad❀ ❀ ❀

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August 11th, 1942.Dear Ina: Your letter of 7th is not so cheerful when you mention your work. Do you blame the Company, not hiring enough help, or are the conditions to blame. Up here help of every description is scarce, commands big wages and sometimes even acts cranky.

While you are used up, I am laid up. Last Saturday, while getting stove wood from a high pile, I neither took time nor the proper tools, and a stick hit my right foot about 1 ½ inches from the instep; the foot is nicely swelled up with deficient pains, and Ma’s trying to cure it with liniments and medical strokes; however do not waste any sympathy on the old fool in a hurry to get a few more licks of work in before he drops dead, and am so pleased to know a man is never too old to learn.

Yesterday the Holcombs left with Carol and JoeBill for San Diego. We will miss the chidren, they would visit us in spite of objections to come here to see grandma and the “old man with the stick”. Good luck to them! ...

Your Dad❀ ❀ ❀

August 11, 1942. Dear Ina:...We learned Sunday evening that Joane was knocked down by a car and hurt, but was better. It made us both sad. Hope she is okay. She is a very sweet little girl and has endeared her little self to us in many little ways long to be remembered. Carroll and JoeBill are both sweet little chaps.

Mother ❀ ❀ ❀

November 15th, 1942.Dear Ina:. . .Bill said nothing in his last letter about his visit to you; his letters are mostly timber, logs, saws, work, improvements and weather with now and then a joke, he is too full of business to mention anything else. We haven’t heard anything about Otto lately; does he write to you? Joane lately sent us a fine billfolder depicting the beauties of the desert. We miss the children, it is sure very quiet on the place now.

We are not in the best of health, rheumatism bothers us in our extremities, of course the weather is much to blame, rain or shine the air is chilly, and the last three days we had rain enough to raise the creeks. Ma just got over an attack of the intestinal flu,is in misery with the arthrities in her left arm, while my right ankle is swelled and gives me much pain, however, we are no worse off than other folks of the same age. I however enjoy the turn the war is taking, and sincerely hope this damnable butchery and waste of the world’s resources will stop soon, for mankind has become completely insane. . .

Dad❀ ❀ ❀

The above letter would be Josef’s last to daughter Ina as he died at home in Doraville from a stroke five days later on November 20, 1942.

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Emma HackenbergJuly 2, 1898 ~ December 17, 1942

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Growing up, Emma had a special bond with her sister, and Ina shared the following memory of the two of them: “When we were little girls Mamma would send us out to work in the garden and we would spend most of our time lying on the ground with our bare feet tucked under each other’s skirt. Mamma should have paddled us for that because I guess our clothes were so dirty.”

By the time Emma was 11 years old and Ina 14 years old, they must have improved their work habits, “We have a big garden and my sister and I do almost all of the work in it.” ~ “A Hill Girl”, Doraville Picture Gallery. Emma had a lifelong love of gardening and no doubt had fond memories of the companionship she and her sister shared while tending the family crops.

Emma left her Doraville home in August 1918, and in December of that year married Earl Alexander. An earlier article in the Rainier Review noted Earl was formerly from Denver, Colorado.

Above: Emma shared the following pictures with her sister Ina. Inscriptions read: “Dear Sis, I’m wearing the apron you made. I like it a lot. Here I am in the apple orchard at Dallas, Ore. Earl and I picked it on shares. I took the picture of my dear old man at Monmouth, Oregon in our apple orchard.”

Earl and Emma divorced in 1924 and Emma was back living in Rainier. The Rainier Review mentions her making trips to Portland to see her brother Rudy in the hospital. Family members relate that Emma had a “caretaker” nature, very sensitive and always overly concerned about friends and loved ones. Rudy’s final months were spent in Emma’s care where she tried to nurse him back to health.

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Above: Emma, back row fourth from the left, is shown with her co-workers at a soap factory in Rainier. The “19’s on the background wall may indicate the year was 1919.

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Dear Brother Joe,

We got a ride on an auto truck to town from Girt’s. It was loaded with lumber from Reid and Jacobsons mill. It was dandy. I saw the whole country in Rainier Friday. William fell in love with Mrs. Marshall right away. Please write soon as I get lonesome too. Love and best wishes,

Emma

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Right: July 28, 1917 Mrs. Marshall and Emma.

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George Burger

Rainier Review, April 17, 1919

Pvt Geo Burger has arrived home. He received his discharge from the U.S. Navy a few days ago. Mr. Burger is now holding down a position with the Allen Hendrickson Packing Company

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Rainier Review, March 3, 1922

Burger Has More Bad Luck

George Burger, who had just left the hospital in Portland two weeks ago, met with another accident Saturday, when he lost control of the Ford car he was driving, and went off the bank just west of the concrete bridge. The car was demolished, but Mr. Burger escaped with no

broken bones. A badly sprained and cut leg, together with a severe shock is the extent of his injuries. Only two weeks ago, Mr. Burger returned to Rainier from the St. Vincent hospital, where he had spent six weeks on account of blood poisoning in his arm, and his friends sympathize with him in this new misfortune.

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Rainier Review, November 6, 1925

The marriage of Mrs. Emma Hackenberg Alexander and George Burger took place in Portland last Wednesday. They will make their home in Portland. Both are well known in Rainier, and have many friends here who wish them well.

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Emma had a natural interest in domestic chores and was a wonderful cook. She liked to try new recipes and at one time she and her husband George had a restaurant. Their daughter Carol remembers coming home from school and their home always filled with the aroma of her mother’s fresh bakery goods and something good for dinner.

Emma also liked to sew and was skilled in all kinds of needlework ~ tatting, crocheting, embroidery, etc. Carol recalled how her mother would sit her down and try to instill in her daughter her own love of needlework. It wasn’t something that came natural to Carol but after a series of practice sessions she finally managed a “pass” on embroidered pillow slips. As time went on, perhaps Emma saw the truth in the adage, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink!” The needlework projects were eventually dropped much to the delight of daughter Carol.

Right: Joe Jr. and Emma

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Left: Emma on Car.

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Far left: Emma and Joe Jr.Left: Carol and Joe Jr.

Above left to right: Carol on her tricyle, Carol her Dad, and with her rabbit.

Above left to right: Emma and Carol, Emma and George, and Emma and Ina at the beach

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Above left: “Family Ties” George, Otto, Joe Jr. and Ina in back; Evelyn and Emma in front.Above right: Emma with Joe Jr., Ina and Otto.

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Left: Carol poses with her violin. Below: Look-a-like mother and daughter enjoying a rest on a family outing.

Letters from Josef

April 13, 1936: Dear Emma and family:

. . .Glad you could afford a new car, so come up. Don’t force the girl to practice musik when she does not feel like it. Best wishes from Ma and Dad

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June 27, 1936: Dear daughter Ina: . . . George, Emma and Carol came up in a new car. They visited with us on Monday, the 15th and gave us an outing to Rainier. Emma’s hair is turning very gray for her age. Carol is a sweet, well behaved, fast growing girl; she plays the violin well for her age. . .

Dad❀ ❀ ❀

Josef’s letters to Ina

October 6, 1936 . . . The first we knew Bandon had burned out was Minta told us. She and her daughter-in-law had drove through the fire, and she said that Emma’s home was in grave danger. . . We got a letter from Emma yesterday describing their anxieties and hard work, when at the critical time their water got low.

❀ ❀ ❀ April 13, 1938 . . . We had a letter from Emma and Carol; that girl, only 9 years old, does exceedingly well as a letter writer. Though George hasn’t been very lucky, while he apparently has a steady job, his wages have been cut, while a number there lost their jobs.

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The Burger family enjoyed going on picnics, and they liked to travel. There were trips to Rainier to visit family, to the Washington Coast, the Olympics, Idaho.

Above: The Burger’s at a visit to Joe and Wilma’s circa 1936.Below: George and daughter Carol are pictured on a trip to Yellowstone

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Above: Linking of Generations. The Ellsworths: Carol, husband Russ and son Mark enjoy a visit with Aunt Ina, 1991

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Joe Jr. HackenbergMay 31, 1902 ~ August 4, 1985

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The Rainier Review, September 1, 1922

Mail Route is PlannedWill Run West to Alston’s and South as

Far As Apiary

Postoffice Inspector C.W. Linebaugh was in Rainier Tuesday to investigate the matter of the proposed new rural mail route out of Rainier. It appears that ever since the establishment of the Clatskanie route more or less dissatisfaction has existed over the matter. Some of the patrons on the Clatskanie route were so strongly opposed to the route that they continued to get their mail in Rainier even after the establishment of the route.

The visit of Mr. Linebaugh will doubtless result in settling the matter to the satisfaction of both Clatskanie and Rainier, as the Clatskanie route will remain with only minor changes while Rainier will be given a new route, taking from Clatskanie only a very small portion of their route. This solution was the best possible, as good feeling between Rainier and Clatskanie is perhaps more to be desired than a half dozen rural delivery patrons.

The proposed new route will start from Rainier and follow the highway to the top of the mountain; then will follow the Dibblee road one

mile; then return and follow the highway to the Hudson school house; then back to the highway to the McIntire road to Alston’s store; then back on the highway to the Hackenberg road; then on the Hackenberg road to Apiary; then return on Rainier-Apiary road to the Fern Hill school house; thence to Oscar Anderson's’residence; thence back to the Wilson place on Beaver Creek; thence back to Fern Hill school house, and into Rainier.

The length of the route is 27 miles and over 200 patrons will be served.

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The Rainier Review, December 21, 1923

Rural Route is StartedDelivery of Mail Inaugurated Monday

Service to be DailyRoute Will Serve Nearly 1,000 Persons

The Rainier Rural Free Delivery Route was inaugurated Monday. It will serve Fern Hill, Apiary, Hudson and adjoining territory, and will accommodate close to 1,000 persons.

Contrary to the usual order of procedures, the route becomes daily upon its inauguration. This is an exception to the usual order, in which the route starts with delivery three times a week and at the end of three months becomes a daily route.

For the present, Mr. Quinlin is carrying mail on the route, in the absence of Joe Hackenberg, who is ill in a Portland hospital.

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The Rainier Review, June 27, 1924

Hackenberg Gets Mail Route

Joe Hackenberg, Jr., who has had the mail route since its establishment last December, will continue to carry mail on the Rainier route. The

appointment to this position was given J.W.C. Willams several weeks ago, but Mr. Williams decided not to take the place after he had had seen the road over which the route leads.

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As the following article points out, the services of the rural mail carrier made a substantial impact on those isolated out in the country like Josef in Doraville who had no easy access to town and could now conduct business from home. As the “farmer’s post office and his agent”, mail carrier Joe Jr. had a daily high volume of money orders and was also busy with “unofficial duties” as he was generous with his off duty time. He regularly delivered a can of milk to the creamery and would often shop for postal patrons, as requested, while in town.

The Rainier Review, January 16, 1925

Rural Mail Service

Few institutions in the history of American progress can be credited with a more salutary effect upon the march of that progress than the rural mail service of the post office department.

No other signal instrumentality has done more than the rural mail service toward “bringing the city to the country”, and relieving the prosaic existence of farm life, or has been as effective in establishing closer contact between the farmer and his markets. . .

Twenty-nine years ago the farmer, and his wife and children, led an existence of almost complete isolation, living upon widely scattered farms, some of them miles apart. They had comparatively little communication with their neighbors or the outside world, except that derived from weekly trips to the adjacent village. More often than not the farmer lost a full day’s work and his crops were neglected in order to obtain expected mail at the village post office.

In those days the farmer’s mail consisted largely of communications relative to his friends. Today the mail includes, usually on the very date of publication, the metropolitan newspaper, containing market reports and agricultural news; the weekly and monthly farm journals and

magazines, and business letters from the village merchant in the distant city. All of these are now brought to his door or to the box a few yards away.

The rural carrier is the farmer’s post office and his agent. Through him he conducts transactions for the sale of his livestock, grain, and other farm produce. From him he buys stamps and pays his bills by postal money order. In short, the letter carrier is the medium that has transformed the once secluded habitant of the rural district into a cosmopolitant citizen, conversant with current affairs and occupying a larger place in the destinies of a great nation.

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The Rainier Review, November 27, 1925

Route Mail Boxes Numbered

Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hackenberg Jr. went out Sunday and numbered all the mail boxes on Route 1. There are 150 boxes in all. Mrs. Hackenberg, being more handy with the brush than her husband, did all the numbering.

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The Rainier Review, December 23, 1925 ~ Rockhill column

This week closes the second anniversary of Joe Hackenberg Jr. as mail carrier on the Hudson-Apiary route. “Joe” is to be congratulated on his perseverance, for his work hasn’t been all races. The roads last year were impassable part of the time and Joe walked. Still he always met you with a smile. We hope Joe stays on for a good mail carrier is appreciated.

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The Rainier Review, April 2 1926

Joe Vincent has graded the Apiary road, which proves a great aid to the mail carrier.

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Above: “Wm. Balod, I. Jones, Alpha, C. Summers ~ Box 51” “W.A. Beegle, Anna, Delmar, Blanche, Donald ~ Box 53”

The ledger entries are undated, but at the time the only mail box between the families of William Balod and W. A. Beegle on Apiary Road was for Harold Richardson. Further up the road, Box 56 was for Josef, Carrie and Otto Hackenberg.

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The Rainier Review, March 25, 1937

Rainier Rural Route Extended2 Miles Added April 1. Carrier Serving

More Patrons Than Ever Before

Rainier rural route No. 1 will be extended 2 miles beginning next Thursday, it was announced this week by Postmaster William Reid. The change, effective April 1, was made by the post office department to provide service for many families living off the present route. Lengthening of the route will mean a proportionate salary increase for carrier Joe Hackenberg Jr.

Twenty families will be served by the new route. Hackenberg will leave his present route at the

intersection of Doan and Meserve roads, traveling southwesterly on the Doan road to the intersection with the Larson road. He will turn onto the Larson road, following it to the Hudson schoolhouse where he will follow the present routing.

It will be of interest to readers to learn that there are now more persons being served by the Rainier route than at any time in history. When Hackenberg began carrying the mail thirteen years ago, he covered a distance of 27 miles. Now with the new sector added, he has a route 59 ½ miles in length.

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The Rainier Review, May 19, 1938

Rainier Joins in Feting the Airmail

Special Cachet Provided For Use of Local Postoffice. Mayor Smith Scheduled to Fly

Mail to Portland Today

Rainier joined other cities over the nation today in looking skyward in saluting the air mail service on its twentieth birthday and is taking cognizance of the place that air transportation holds in the daily life of America.

Officially, the week’s observance started yesterday, just 20 years from that date when single-engined open-cockpit planes first began shuttling over a

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218-mile air mail line between New York City and Washington, D.C. That was the start of the air mail service. Today, the country’s air mail system embraces 62,826 miles of airways extending over the Americas and across the Pacific, with giant cabin liners carrying passengers, mail and express on schedules which make neighbors of cities thousands of miles apart.

Postmaster William Reid said that many letters have been received for stamping with the special cachet of the local office. Letters on which the

stamp is to appear should be addressed well to the lower right hand corner.Wilbur J. Smith, Rainier’s flying mayor, was scheduled to take off at noon today with a cargo of airmail from Rainier and Longview. Mayor Smith, specially commissioned for the occasion, was to leave from the Longivew side of the river. His flight was from there to the Swan Island airport in Portland.

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Above: August 16, 1939, Joe Jr. and Wilma at the banquet dinner, 36th National Convention, National Rural Letter Carriers Association, Portland, Oregon

Left: “U.S. Mail – Rural Letter Carriers National Association” badge possibly worn by Joe Jr. at the above 1939 convention in Portland, Oregon

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Above: Otto’s mail route memories, 1984

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“Mamma’s” postcard to William in 1919 documents Otto’s memory of mail service on the Apiary Star Route.

December 17, 1919Dear Will. I see by your letter to Papa you are waiting for me to write. Well I tried to pretty hard but after writing a letter to you, I and Otto [10 years old] waded down to the box last Wed. the 10th through 20 inches or more snow, then our old mail man did not come!

I had on Joe’s pants and Papa’s coat and Otto said I looked like you. Ha! ha!

I guess you will get the letter the same time you get this card and I don’t know when that will be if the mail don’t go today, but I think it will as there is not more than 6 inches snow left on the ground today. . .

Love from Mamma❀ ❀ ❀

In later life Joe Jr. always talked of working in the oil fields, and the following letter tells of his travels south with his brother William when he was 17 years old.

William’s letter home to Josef from Bicknell, California:

December 3, 1919“Dear Papa, . . . I drove down here in the car – 575 miles in a little over 5 days with but one breakdown. I broke the universal joint on the drive shaft and it cost the terrible sum of $3. Joe and I went half on all expenses and all our eating and sleeping and picture shows and a general good trip cost us each $17.50. The train fare alone from Eureka is $22 so you see the little old Ford is alright. . . Well, Joe and I got a job right next day at $5 a day but I couldn’t get any tool dressing job. I was somewhat disappointed at first but now I am glad to have a job at all, since I see how things are…”

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William’s letter to niece Carol, August 6, 1956:

. . . Tell your Dad I still think of the time he spent with me on my homestead and how he got sea sick in my Model T going down the 101 highway when it was “000” nothing or nearly so. He was just 17 and it was his first trip away from home. By accident I was at the wharf when his ship pulled in and he was dead broke. I often wonder what he would have done if I hadn’t been there.

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William’s letter home ~ Bicknell, CaliforniaFebruary 11, 1920

“Dear Mamma,. . . Joe is working with the boiler scalers now – not a very pleasant job but they don’t work very hard and I guess he will get $5.25 out of it. He is doing well at everything they put him at, so guess he will make an oil man after awhile. He nearly tore the boarding house up getting in to supper tonight. Ha! Ha! . . .”

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Evidently Joe did not take to being an “oil man” as the following year he was home again and his “Mamma” visited Rudy in Underwood where Joe again worked with Rudy and his team for a period of time. 260

A few years later in 1924 he married Pearl Pohndorf, a divorced neighbor with a small son Leo, and started work as the mail carrier ~ a job he would hold for 17 years.

Above and below: Joe Jr. and his “wheels” (Photos courtesy of Pearl Hackenberg Smith, 1985)

The following are “local news” items from the Rainier Review:

March 27, 1925: Joe has purchased a new motorcycle to use on the mail route, the same arriving Monday afternoon.

May 15, 1925: Mrs. Pearl Hackenberg suffered a fractured bone in her left arm as a result of a kick from a cow while milking Monday morning. Mrs. Hackenberg heroically carried the morning mail, driving with one arm until relieved at noon.

April 2, 1926: Joe Hackenberg Jr. has a new Star touring car.

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Joe Jr. and Pearl divorced and Pearl moved to Portland, Oregon.

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Above: Wilma Balod, R.U.H.S. graduating class of 1931

Wilma moved to Rainier, OR, in 1922. Later her father married Alpha, sister of Maree Gamble. As a teenager, Wilma would go to the Balod mailbox and hide in the bushes to stay out of sight and wait for Joe Jr. to deliver their mail. Somehow she and the mail carrier got acquainted as they married in October 1934.

Below right: The newlyweds in San Diego, CA, with their friend Ray Attig formerly of Rainier. October 1934

“...the couple will leave via automobile for southern Cali-fornia...”

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Joe’s home was only partially finished when the newlyweds moved in. Wilma's father Bill did most of the finishing work. Note in the top picture there is no brick chimney or upstairs window. The porch is open.

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There was a large shop that went across the creek with a wood shed at end close to the house. The outdoor toilet was other side of the wood shed. The 2-car garage was alongside the wood shed and the side faced the house.

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Joe Jr. family. Children: Joan, Carol, and baby Joseph (Butch). Note the lone tall tree in the distance behind Wilma, and the house Otto built behind Butch. ~ 1941

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Rainier Review, July 7, 1936

The Bear Said “Woof”Yellowstone Park Bruin Shows Displeasure

at Presenceof Cameraman Joe Hackenberg, Jr.

Among treasured snapshots to be brought back by Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hackenberg, Jr., from a recent vaction trip is one showing a black bear in the act of pilfering from a Yellowstone Park garbage pail. At least we are told it’s a bear. The photo reveals only a smudgy heap of hair atop two refuse cans. Good humored “joshing” on the part of friend finally induced Joe to tell all the details. Since the tale makes Joe the butt of a rather ludicrous situation we’re rather inclined to believe it.

It seems that Joe saw bruin clambering upon the platform which supported the pails and, suspecting what was about to happen, hastened thitherward with his camera. Meanwhile the bear became engrossed in the business at hand, little realizing that anyone was spying, much less

collecting photographic evidence. Hackenberg snapped his picture and following upon the almost inaudible click of the camera shutter things began to happen – rapidly.

In less time than it takes to tell, the bear was off the platform and confronting our erstwhile intrepid mail carrier. Surprised, Joe made no movement – that is, hardly any. The bear emitted a “woof” and Joe retreated a pace or two. The bear heaved a heavy paw in Joe’s direction and said “woof” again. By that time the local man had reviewed all the bear lore he had ever heard. Abandoning the various courses recommending for dealing with annoyed bruins, Joe speedily galvanized to action and removed himself from that vicinity as rapidly as possible. The bear may have given pursuit but if so he found himself hopelessly outmatched.

That explains the photograph. It also provides a clue to Joe’s furtive glances and nervousness since returning from the vacation trip.

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Yellowstone: The Hackenberg’s little 1-year-old “Joanie” stayed home with neighbor Anna Beegle and Joe and Wilma were accompanied on their trip by Clifford Sumner, Wilma’s stepbrother. They spent long hours driving

so would often have to camp along the way since there were few motels and no late night vacancies. The car was fully packed with clothing, blankets, cooking gear, etc., so at night they took everything out of the car, including the bucket seats, so they could all get into the cramped floor space to sleep. Joe Jr. and Clifford, both with long legs, took up most of the room leaving Wilma to squeeze in where she could. At least in Yellowstone no one volunteered to sleep outside!

Left: Joanie 1936

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Above: Clifford and Wilma on Longview BridgeBelow: Wilma with Joan, Joseph and Carol, 1942

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Above left:Wilma & Joan, 1939 Above right:Joseph ‘42.Below left: Butch 1941 Below right: Joan and Carol, 1941

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Above: Wilma with Joan and baby Carol, May 1938267

In January 1942, Joe Jr. quit his job as rural mail carrier and left Rainier to get defense work in San Diego, California. Much to his dismay, he didn’t have a certified birth certificate which was a war requirement for most job opportunities. He would have to wash dishes at the Attig family restaurant for an extended period while Wilma, still at home, tried to expedite paperwork for his birth certificate.

The family would join him later. Wilma and Joan left July 26, 1942, on the train; and on August 10, “the Holcombs left with Carol and JoeBill for San Diego. We will miss the children, they would . . . come here to see grandma and the “old man with the stick” [Josef’s letter to Ina dated August 18, 1942]

Above: Wilma and son Joseph (Butch) proudly show off new arrival ~ baby Ruth born in Chula Vista, CA, August, 1942.

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Left: Joan, Joseph (Butch), and Carol in 1942Above: Joan in front of cabins where the family lived in Chula Vista.

Joe Jr. secured a job near Yermo and the family moved from Chula Vista to the desert where Wilma also got a job with a Defense contractor. The above “scenic” postcard to Joan, still in Chula Vista at the time, states “This is what it looks like right across from my work. Be a good girl. Love from Dad.”

Tight family quarters, cooped up children used to running free on the farm, and the desert environment with poisonous snakes, scorpions, etc., must have triggered thoughts of returning home as the above picture shows little Ruth learning to walk a year later in her own Oregon backyard.

Above: Tijuana Tourists, Joe Jr. holding Joseph (Butch) and Carol on donkey.

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Above: Carol in her favorite “fling-ding” dress. ~ 1942

Below: Ruth, 1943

Rainier Review, September 23, 1948

Right:The grocery store flyer is very typical of the “girlie” products of the 1940’s. The Hackenbergs

sold the business after a few years, and the building (above) burned down in 1955.

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Above: Rainier Review, September 1949 “Prizes worth $10.00 in groceries will be given away at 9 p.m. Saturday night”

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Rainier Review, October 28, 1949

Three Places are Robbed

Three robberies in Clatskanie and the close by territory were reported over the weekend and the victims were Grannis Brothers in town, the Howe Service Station at Westport and the Joe Hackenberg store at Apiary.

Hardest hit in actual take was Hackenberg. About $200 in cash and groceries were taken from this place.

The service station at Westport owned by Harry Howe lost the cash register with a little more than $100 in it. A back window was broken to gain entrance.

At Grannis Brothers store $28 was taken out of the cash register. Some ammunition and their check book, insurance papers, contracts and personal papers were taken. The robbery was believed to be either Saturday or Sunday night and was discovered Monday morning and discovered Monday morning.

Many fingerprints were left, a window in the office was broken and entrance to the store was made that way. The state police and sheriff’s offices are working on these cases.

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Rainier Review, June 2, 1950

Health Contest Winners Named

Winners of the health contest in 4-H health clubs throughout the county were announced this week by Harold Black, extension agent.

Club members in each 4-H health club were examined by Mrs. Mueller, county health nurse. Judging was based on posture, cleanliness, nutrition, hygiene, head and throat. The healthiest girl and healthiest boy at various schools are: . . .Hudson, Carol Hackenberg and David Truett. Each of these club members are eligible to compete for title of healthiest girl or healthiest boy in Columbia County. This contest will be held at the county fair on August 17 – 19.

[Carol was showing her 4-H heifer at the fair, spending most of her time in the cattle barn and did not show up to be examined for cleanliness by the county nurse for the contest.]

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Hackenberg Sisters

Above: 1947, Ruth, Joan with baby Ina, and Carol. Below: 30 Years later, left to right: Ina, Carol, Joan and Ruth.

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Left: “Pass the cake!” Bob is three years old , and sister Ina is hoping there will be a bite left for her, 1954.Above right: Bob checking out the wood box, 1953. Bottom left: Ruth in 1953 school pictureBottom right: Joseph (Butch) no date on picture.

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Above: Joan’s wedding day, April 1954, left to right: Joan, Carol, Ina, Joe Jr. with Bob in front, Wilma, Joseph (Butch) and Ruth.Below: Wilma and Joe Jr.

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The family liked to go to the beach and are pictured on the above postcard of Seaside Turnaround ~ early 1960’s. Carol remembers a photographer taking pictures while they were at Seaside and was very surprised to see the family pictured on the postcard sent to her later in Germany. Joe Jr. and William Balod are on the bench at the right arrow and Carol is sitting in the sand.

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Seaside was a fun place to visit, but not to stay. Grandfather “Pa” Balod is pictured above in front of the Cannon Beach cabin on Larch Street the family liked to rent. The owners offered to sell the cabin and lot to Joe Jr. and Wilma for $2,000 but money wasn’t available at the time.

Top left: Joe Jr. at ship wreck. Top right: Wilma napping, Bob and Joe Jr. lunching.Bottom left: Bob, Ruth, Ina, Laurie, Gordy. Bottom right: Bob and Ina

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Above: Hackenberg family in 1978: Back row left to right: Bob, Ruth, Ina, Joseph (Butch). Front row left to right: Joan, Wilma, Joe Jr., and Carol

Left: Hackenberg family in 2004: Back row left to right: Bob, Joan, Joseph (Butch), Wilma and Tiger.Front row left to right: Ina and Carol

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Transition from Hackenberg Berry Farm to Hackenberg Tree Farm

Joe and Wilma Hackenberg had a large strawberry acreage for many years. Their son Joseph (Butch) and his wife Luella Souther Hackenberg continued to grow strawberries when they became third generation owners of “Doraville” property, then later planted trees. Two generations of Hackenberg children grew up working in the fields alongside their family, friends, and neighbors.

Left: Photo of farm taken June 1959 from family’s property across Apiary Road. The house Otto built and small barn by pond are still intact. Steep acreage going to “top of the hill” has not been cleared

Above: Photo circa 1980 ~ Home of Joseph (Butch) and Luella Hackenberg. The two buses in the photo were for transporting strawberry pickers during the season. The home was built by Joseph’s grandfather (Josef), and finished in 1906.

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Top left: “Top of the hill”. Top right: “Joseph on a “field break”. Bottom left: Supervisor/stacker Freda Chapman and unidentified worker in large field on “top of the hill”. (Note flats and empty carriers at arrows). Bottom right: Bob -“Hey! Take my row” Field above house “73245”

“Carrier”Strawberries were picked in a carrier with six 1-pound boxes. When the boxes were filled, the picker hollered out “carrier”. Someone on carrier duty brought an empty carrier, punched out a “6” on the picker’s ticket, and took the berries to a stacker. The flats of berries were taken to a cannery pick-up site which was on the Fernhill Road – sounds like a short, easy trip. Looking back the family berry pickers have had lots of laughs about the wild ride to the berry shed. It was anything but funny at the time as the various “flat tenders” precariously hung on for dear life on the far edges of the loaded truck while their

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Dad (Joe Jr.) drove at a fast clip over the graveled road up and down over the steep rolling hills to Fernhill. The road is now paved and called “Pellham Hill Road”.

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Recollections from “berry” reliable sources

For many years before Dad (Joe Jr.) finally bought a Farmal tractor he cultivated the strawberry fields with a work horse. He had a full-time job at the Longview Fibre for 10 years or so where he worked in the boiler room, and would put in the many hours of cultivating and dragging the long berry rows during his time off. As there was no way to irrigate the fields in dry weather, he used the old method of pressing down the top layer of soil between the rows called “dragging” to conserve moisture. It was probably as labor intensive for the horse as cultivating, but Dad got to ride standing on the drag which looked like a little sled with a rudder and I think was steered by shifting his weight.

After dragging it was easy to spot when something had gone through the rows disturbing the smooth surface. One time Dad mentioned he had seen bear sign on the hill, but he didn’t think it was a big bear. The strawberries were about gone and us older kids were supposed to start hoeing in that area. We couldn’t have accomplished much because we were very nervous and kept looking around ~ it was a long way home. Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise; we threw down our hoes in a panic and headed for the little berry shed. As we were almost there, a deer came out of the bushes. It was a long summer!!

Dad and faithful horse “Mike” are pictured about 1958 working a new field up on the hill. There is just a glimpse of Mom behind the horse. She and Ina were taking a break.

The strawberry plants were set out in a checkerboard pattern so Dad could cultivate the rows lengthwise then crosswise to save hoeing labor.

One berry season while Dad was still working at the Longview Fibre he noticed that portions of the hill crop kept disappearing. He suspected that

people were coming through the old trail from the Elk Creek Road for free “U-picks” either very early in the morning, or just before dark. He decided to catch them by keeping watch from a little travel trailer. When he was working swing shift, Carol about 10 years old at the time, was assigned “guard” and was to keep the trailer’s battery light on until Dad came from work. She has memories of the family dog accompanying her through the woods to the trailer on top of the hill. The pioneer trail skirted the far right side of the deep canyon above the barn and was a good shortcut in the daylight, but plain spooky in the shadows.

Before long Dad did catch the thieves and after a heated discussion decided to give them a chance. He hired them for field work. They were reliable workers and became good family friends. Moral of this true story: Don’t steal Joe’s berries, he will put you to work!

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Left photo: Dad’s work horse “Dolly” with riders Junior and Roberta Kessell on the left, Butch, Joan, and Ruth on the end desperately hanging onto her big sister, 1947. Roberta later recalled that someone was always putting her up on a horse and she hated it!

Below: Dad still out in the berry field, July 1981

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Above: Joan’s son Gordon Linn remembered the kids lined up at quitting time who wanted to be paid every day and his Grandma Wilma “patiently making out checks for just a few bucks in her beautiful handwriting.” We don’t know how long it took Carol Roberts to make $23.

The article is from a Seattle area paper ~ probably late 1980’s and included in memory of “strawberry Joe” who had a lot to say about child labor laws. In his many years of being a berry grower he hadn’t figured out how to motivate the young berry pickers and always thought the legislators should come out to the small family owned farms and try to over work kids, it couldn’t be done. “They would soon find out the facts of life.” He had seen too many kids like the 15-year-old above who “worked seven hours and picked 48 pounds”.

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Top of the hill fields ~ 1958

The same area above is pictured below in 2007. Joseph (Butch) is standing along the field road at the spot of the former berry shed which can be seen behind Ina (top right). A portion of the upper shed wall could be propped up for shade and ventilation in warm weather, and there was a small wood stove to dry wet clothes, warm up, and keep a hot pot of soup when needed.

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Above: Terraserver view of farm in 1989 shows rows of newly planted trees replacing berry fields. Big indent is the canyon west of the barn.

Above: Elk “grazing”. Trees in some heavily grazed areas had to be replaced several times.some heavily grazed areas, damaged trees have been replaced several times.

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Top: Aerial view of all three farm home sites, 73241 – 73243 - 73245, from MapQuest. Below: Google aerial view of tree acreage.

Both MapQuest and Google sites indicate their aerial views are 2008, but it is unlikely they filmed the above location that recently. Above arrow is approximate location of strawberry pickers working in “large field on top of the hill”

shown on a previous page. ❀ ❀ ❀

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Otto. HackenbergFebruary 6, 1909 ~ June 29, 1985

Above: Otto and his John Deere

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Otto, born February 6, 1909, was Dora and Josef Hackenberg’s “baby”.

Left: The card from Dora’s brother Jim Winchester and wife reads,“With kisses from Aunt Martha and Uncle Jim to baby Otto.”

Left: Dated November 27, 1912, the back of the card in “Mamma’s” handwriting reads: “Mr. Otto Hackenberg, Rainier, Oregon ~ From his brother Joe.”

Otto would have been 3 years old and his brother Joe 10 years old. Perhaps “Mamma” put the valentine in with the family mail to interest Otto as it could have been one of those dreary winter days when mothers everywhere try to think up things to keep children occupied.

Otto must have been an accomplished letter writer at an early age. The following letter is older brother William’s response to Otto’s letter. Otto would have just turned 8 years old that February and perhaps already sharing his thoughts on the political issues of the day. Note William’s comment regarding the “red tape” in Otto’s letter.

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Yager, CaliforniaApril 14, 1917

My dear Brother Otto:I’m afraid there is a lot of red tape to your letter. You are quite a letter writer alright and I enjoy your letters lots... I wish you could have seen the circus. They had elephants and lions and tigers and bears and all kinds of animals that did all kinds of tricks and there were people that did all kinds of things too.

I’ll bet you thought you were big when you were man of the house. If you like to go to the creek I’ll bet you would like to be here. There are lots of creeks on my place now.

No, I haven’t forgot how to play checkers and I have a checker board here, so when you come to see me I’ll beat you a few games. Of course if I come to see you, you can beat me. I also have a game of chess and a deck of cards and no one to play with. Too bad isn’t it?...Write again

Will❀ ❀ ❀

Left: February 1921, Otto and his “mamma” holding their pet chicken and new white cat from Keck’s [see following letter to William].

Note lone old growth fir in background which was standing guard up on “the hill”.

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The following is Dora’s letter to William telling of the party for Otto’s 12th birthday:February 8, 1921

...We had a big celebration last Sunday. It was Otto’s birthday so I and Joe got up a party for him. We invited all the Kilby children down and the Pohndorf boy too! So Irene and her two brothers came early. Otto was out milking when they came. We had just got through our breakfast and I didn’t have the dishes washed yet, or the floors swept! They walked all the way too (a mile and a half) and Irene brought a big cake and a rubber ball and the two boys each a book for Otto...

We sure all had a good time here and a good dinner. I made a big cake, some doughnuts, custard and apple pie, mashed potatoes, fried ham, coffee and cherries. Joe took the Kilby’s home in our buggy with Fannie.

Last Sunday when we came home from Pohndorf’s there was a white cat there belonging to the Keck’s. He followed us home and is here yet. Joe said they did not want it. It is a nice kitten about half grown and we will keep it if it will stay.

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Left: The photos of Otto and his parents are undated, but probably also taken in 1921, as Dora wrote to William that Joe Jr. had bought a camera for Emma and used it for pictures at home noting “some of the pictures are good and some are sure funny”. They also used the camera on their trip to visit Rudy in Underwood.

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Otto in overalls with a calf seems natural; Otto in a suit with a white shirt and bow tie is a rare sight!

Above: The car has an Oregon 1929 license plate and perhaps belonged to Otto’s brother Joe Jr., the rural mail carrier.

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Above: Prior to 1929, Josef subdivided 40 acres for Otto. The home Otto built on the property (shown in both photos) and could be viewed looking north from Josef’s driveway and garden.1941.

Left: 1953, with little Bob Hackenberg and “Skippy”

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Josef’s journal notes that “Otto left home” in October 1929. Otto got a new stepmother, Carrie, in May of that year and the homestead may have suddenly seemed crowded! However, Otto did return home from time to time as indicated by Josef’s letter to Ina. Otto’s house and 40 acres went with the homestead when Joe Jr. bought it in February 1930, and Joe’s hired hand moved into the small home. Over the years it was occupied by various people, rent free, until it was torn down in the 1960’s.

November 12, 1931Dear Ina ...Otto has been here for several months from Friday till Monday getting his grub free gratis, and when we finally had nothing but bread and potatoes I told him to get his meals at Joe’s. He flew into a rage and told me I had lots of money, I was simply too damned stingy. Ma was more aggrieved by what he said than I was, however he has since boarded at Joe’s, while he sleeps here, and neither I nor Ma will invite him to another meal...

Now he is working only 3 days in the week, and if he boarded there all week, would have nothing left at the end of the month. Well he is administering his own lessons, perhaps he will learn by and by...

Otto worked at the Prescott mill and in 1930 purchased property for a farm from Mr. Veatch, editor of the local paper, and started building the house and barn pictured below. The property is situated on a hilltop in the Fernhill community where Otto farmed. He and his John Deere were a familiar sight on local roads for many years as he traveled between neighborhood farms doing custom tractor work.

Right: Otto has company ~ his sisters Emma and Ina come calling.

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Rainier Review, October 19, 1939

Apiary ~ Homer White, accompanied by Otto Hackenberg of Fern Hill, attended the opera at Portland Saturday evening, hearing the famous Lily Pons.

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Dear Sister Ina: . . . I was discharged from the Army Dec. 16 [1942] and paid off about 3 o’clock. . . I got to Portland Dec. 28 and went to Prescott next day. The mill was down but was starting next day so I went to work and have been working ever since. I signed up to buy a $25 war bond each month and I think I can do better than that as soon as I find out what my expenses and taxes are.

I didn’t find my farm in as bad a shape as I thought I would. I have no hay, and the cows are running all over. They didn’t damage my trees as much as I thought they would. All the damage that was done was 3 windows were broken, all my lite globes were stole and so was my electric fence control, and the cords from my vacuum clearner were cut off and taken. All the rest of my stuff was ready to go. My tractor was taken to Kelso and put in storage.

. . .I’m going to do as I did before, work in the sawmill and farm too and it shouldn’t take me very long to get organized again. I will do the best I can anyway. Please write soon.

Brother Otto❀ ❀ ❀

Above left: Dorothy and JuanitaAbove right: Otto is shown with his wife Dorothy and stepdaughter Juanita in 1943. Later their family would also include two sons ~ John and David.

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Above left: 1953, Juanita, John, David.Above right: 1959, David with goat, John, Dorothy, Wilma, and Bob in front.

Above left: 1959, Dorothy, Otto’s brother William, John.Above middle: Juanita.Above right: Otto and Dorothy.

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The Rainier Review, February 17, 1949

Have Skunk As Guest

“We have found for ourselves, that a skunk can be very grateful.” says Mrs. Otto Hackenberg in a letter to the Review. “We had one around our place for the past month as a visitor. Now it is coming up on our front porch to eat. We have fed the animal milk, apple peel, bread and raw meat,

all of which seems to be enjoyed. I have walked out on to the porch when the skunk is there and it just looks me over and continues to walk around as it pleases. No one bothers it, not even the cats and you can be sure that we don’t do anything very suddenly when it is about. We are trying to get a picture of the skunk while it is on the porch.”

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Above left: David HackenbergAbove right: John Hackenberg

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Dorothy and Otto divorced, and Dorothy and the three children moved back to her home state of Idaho.

Otto later married Lucy who brought her herd of dairy cows to Otto’s farm. Lucy passed away May 19, 1979 at age 72 and is buried at the Apiary Cemetery.

The last few years of Otto’s life were spent with his wife Florence. They are pictured below on a visit to Joe Jr. and Wilma’s home in 1984.

Throughout his life, Otto was very interested in history of the Rainier area and could readily recall dates and past events. Like his father, Otto was also interested in civic affairs and wrote numerous letters that were published in various newspapers. Some favorite subjects were taxes and daylight savings time.

Above: 1984, Otto & FlorenceBelow: July 2006, David Hackenberg and granddaughter Madi,

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Rainier Review, 1973

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Rainier Review, Thursday, February 25, 1965

To the Editor

Considerable publicity was given me last week by TV, radio and the press regarding my having been ordered out of the hearing room in the state capitol in Salem last Thursday (February 18, 1965). In any type of human conflict there are usually two sides to the matter, and I would like to present my side to the public.

From time to time, we are told that every citizen should be interested in good government. We should register, vote, attend public meetings, be willing to serve on committees, circulate petitions, etc.

I have been a registered voter in Oregon for 35 years; have voted in every state election, primary, general or special, and have done many of the other above mentioned things.

Now, about that hearing: My voice was hoarse and raspy from a previous cold, but I didn’t tell any off-color stories, which is more than I can say for one other person who spoke there. This did not seem to insult or even offend the legislature. At least no calling down was given.

I used no obscene, vile, vulgar or profane words. I made no threats and said nothing I don’t believe to be true.

Frankly, I am a bit hazy just what does or does not insult the legislature. Are the members above criticism of their actions? Or is speaking on the wrong side of the fence insulting to them?

No, I have not teamed up with the first lady of our state, who has been in the news for a somewhat similar offense that I am accused of doing. However, I do think for one member to inform me that I had insulted the entire legislature, took in a lot of territory.

Yes, I have always worked at my own time and expense and been interested in good government, but I’ll have to admit I’m finding the kind that we now have, at least in certain spots, to be far more interesting. I hope more people will get interested in it.

Otto HackenbergRainier, Oregon 97048

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Eugene-Register Guard, February 19, 1965

Committee Consideration Date Set

School Bill Hearing Ends

Salem – UPI. Hearings on a compulsory school unification bill ended in the Senate Education Committee Thursday with some witnesses on both sides agreeing that people should have the right to vote on mergers.

Chairman Al Flegel, D-Roseburg, said he thought 4 ½ hours of testimony was enough and scheduled consideration of the bill March 4. The measure would force elementary school districts to merge with union high school districts and would set a deadline of Jan. 1, 1966, for those districts wholly within a union high district.Opponents hit hard Thursday at failure of the bill to allow residents to vote on mergers and at what they considered an attempt by the state to take away local control of school. Robert Humphries, president of the Oregon School Board Association, called it a “fatal shortcoming” and contended the state “is still a minor, although increasing, supporter of local schools.” He said even the money the state paid in basic school support came originally from local taxpayers.Clifford Orey, Salem, representing the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation, said he was “opposed to unification . . . by legislative edict.”

Fear also was expressed that unification would result in closing of local schools.Rural America is a very essential part of our economy and way of life.” Said Rev. Alcuin Heibel of National Catholic Rural Life. “But if you take the school away from a rural community you take the heart out of it.” The sessions exploded twice when the committee thought witnesses were impugning the character of the legislators.

Otto Hackenberg, a Rainier school director, was dismissed from the witness stand by Walter Leth, R-Salem, after he accused the legislature of trying to destroy the people’s freedoms. “We aren’t here to listen to that kind of stuff,” Leth snapped.

Earlier, Edward Rowan, a north Clackamas County resident, had apologized to members of the Interim Committee on Education after he was

reprimanded by Sen. Victor Atiyeh, R-Beaverton. Rowan claimed that the bill was really introduced by the State Department of Education, not the interim committee. He called the proposed unification a “socialized program wished on us by the ambitious educators” and said the State Department “won’t be satisfied until they take over the entire state as one school district.”

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Rainier World, September 20, 1978

Editorial:

The two letters in the Rainier World by the two Trojan demonstrators now serving 30 days in jail brings to mind a few questions I would like to ask them.

To begin with, I am a small customer, and neither an employee nor stockholder of P.G.E.

My first question, “Why are you so concerned about Trojan?” The U.S. Navy has been operating atomic powered submarines for quite a few years, even went through the Polar ice cap with one, and it seems to cause no concern.

Why can the U.S. Navy use atomic power without causing any concern while P.G.E. cannot? What does the U.S. Navy have that P.G.E. hasn’t? Perhaps if P.G.E. officials knew the answer to that one they might be able to obtain it and put a stop to these semi-annual hub-ubs at Trojan.

My next question: “Have you taken into consideration the possible adverse consequences that might happen if you were successful in closing down Trojan permanently? I have reason to believe that under our present school tax setup nearly everybody in this area would lose everything we own to taxation if P.G.E. quit paying taxes on Trojan.

I’ve often stated that it made no difference whether we pay our taxes to the sheriff or P.G.E., however, a lot more people are paying taxes to P.G.E. than to our county sheriff, and if our taxes were to increase 4 to 6 times what they are now, I believe I know what would happen, and I have a lot more fear of getting taxed to death than I have of anything that might drift out of Trojan.

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Have you considered that you might create a great deal of unemployment? That you might cause electricity to be rationed, or become so expensive that many of us wouldn’t be able to afford it?

How would you like living in the age we had of 50 and more years ago with no electricity other than flashlights? Food cooked on a wood stove, water had to be carried in buckets full, you got the hot water out of a tea kettle, no bathroom, clothes were washed on a washboard, etc. If you had to live under these conditions I doubt that you would care how electricity was generated if you could get it. How would you like to buy electricity at the price it was 40 years ago when I started using it? It was $1.00 for the first 15 k.w.h. hours, and either 5 ½ cents or 6 ½ cents per k.w.h. after that, and if you and the bureaucrats have your way it may soon be more than that again.

That is all the questions I have, but would like to make a few comments on your letters.

Both letters stress big profits by P.G.E., and dangers of cancer from Trojan. During my lifetime I’ve heard many theories on the cause of cancer. I haven’t forgotten how Dad came home from a neighbor all hopped up because the neighbor woman gave him an article to read by a doctor who was sure that cancer was caused by table salt; this was in 1923. He told me that I was going to die of cancer because I use 4 to 6 times the average amount other people use.

I still stand a chance to die of cancer, caused by too much salt. But it has been a few years since 1923, long enough that some of the grade school children then are now great grandparents, and some died of cancer too.

I will agree that when the X-ray was invented people got burned with them, and some cancers did start in the burns, but they didn’t quit using X-rays. They learned how to make better ones, and how to use them, and in 1923 I read that doctors had started curing cancer with X-rays.

Another cause of cancer that has been around 50 or more years is eating food cooked in aluminum utensils. I cannot say whether this one has any merit or not. Now doctors believe lung cancers are caused by smoking cigarettes, here again I have no proof either way, but if you must demonstrate

you may do a lot more good demonstrating against cigarettes than Trojan.

My wife has cancer that her doctor believe got started long before Trojan. Her doctor, a 35-year cancer specialist, told her he didn’t know the cause of cancer. If he doesn’t know, I doubt that anybody else does. I have reason to believe that she has stood a lot more radiation in the past two months with X-rays and curing the cancer than Trojan would give to anybody in over 100 years. To me demonstrating against Trojan seems as foolish as turning the clocks ahead every Spring so we won’t know the correct time of day for the next 6 months, or the story I have about the neighbor who got a radio in 1925.

Radio got started around here in 1922, but not many could afford them and they required an outside antenna in those days. An elderly Swedish couple would see the wire up on his roof and tell their neighbors: “We sure vont go in dot house, de Defill iss vorking in dere.” I have reason to believe that their fear of the radio was just as genuine as anyone’s fear today of Trojan.

As for the big profits of P.G.E. I again can’t say. I never thought P.G.E. was in business for their health, or for mine, but in business to produce electricity to sell to anyone who can afford to buy it. Whether or not they make big profits in spite of bureaucrats, and demonstrators I’m sure I don’t know, but if they do, they must have some good managers.

In closing I hope you demonstrators find something better to do, at least till you have better proof of what you contend than now.

If nearly everyone within a certain radius of Trojan were to get cancers you would have something to go on. No such calamity has happened, and I have no reason to think or believe that it will. All it is doing is getting you people in trouble, and creating unnecessary expense for the rest of us. These demonstrations and a lot of other things I would like to see discontinued.

If you still believe Trojan should be closed down, I know of only one right way to do it. Develop some way to get energy from some other source that is cheaper to develop, and obtain, more abundant, more dependable, and safer, and P.G.E.

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will close Trojan down and leave us in the soup with our taxes.

I’m not going to worry too much about such energy being developed in the near future, but the day may come when it will be.

Meanwhile I’ll worry about Trojan causing me to get a cancer about as much as I have worried the last 55 years about salt causing me to get one, or have worried since 1925 about De Deffil working in my former neighbor’s house.

Otto HackenbergRainier, Oregon

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Article to a local newspaper, undated

To the EditorThis latest proposed sandfill causes me to be quite concerned as I am, and have been employed by Rainier Mfg. Co. for the past 3 ½ years, and on reading about it in the Longview paper I noticed our Congressman Wendell Wyatt, and sent him my protest. He has already replied that he is taking the matter up with the district engineer and will notify me further as to what happens.

I must confess that the older I get the more confused I become. Each Spring when that daylight saving “wasting” nuisance gets started, I wonder what we have ever done to deserve a nuisance like that, and this sandfill is just as confusing.

A few years ago Rainer Mfg. Co. tried to get them to dredge a little sand down there so they could build their mill on it. Would they do it? I should say not! As I recall, a lot of money was donated by businessmen of Rainier and other citizens of this area for the present sandfill that the mill is built on. Now they want to pour 90 acres of sand in that area all free? Right here I question how free it or anything else the U.S. Government does for us is. About $50 or more income tax comes out of my pay each month, and I am wondering if we aren’t paying for our own destruction when we pay our federal income tax. It doesn’t look like Nikita Kruschev will have to bury us, just leave it to the Army Engineers.

The statement that 90 acres of new industrial land will be created does not appeal to me. What good is any industrial land anywhere, on any river, if its owners can be left high and dry, or you might say “dry gulched” anytime the Army Engineers take a notion?

Two good old adages fit quite right into this, “Don’t kill the goose that lays golden eggs” and “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”

Everyone should do all possible to save the industry that we have, it will do us a lot more good than a 90 acre sandpile to quarrel over, as they do the coast of Douglas County, Oregon.

Otto HackenbergRoute 1, Box 544

Rainier, OR 97048

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Article received from by Eleanor AbrahamOctober 2006The Rainier Review (undated)

To the EditorI read with considerable alarm the “Notice to Timber Owners” by the county assessor in last week’s Review. I believe this new law passed by the last legislature, which the assesor informs us of, is just one more enroach-ment on our civil and property rights.

In my case, 25 years ago I bought and paid for 20 acres of raw stump and brush land, and I paid 5 years back taxes on it, and the taxes on it ever since. I always presumed that this land was mine, and that what blades of grass, ferns, stumps, trees, and other vegetation, as well as the rocks, gallons of water, or cubic yards of hot air that grew or otherwise found a resting place on this land was mine to use or dispose of as I saw fit, and nobody else’s business. Since reading our assessor’ notice, I’m not so sure of anything anymore.

History tells us that in 1761 James Otis said: “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” If Mr. Otis could come back to life and see the

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extremes that taxation with representation is being carried to in Oregon, I wonder what he would think of it.

What causes all these new tax raising schemes? For one thing, we seem to have a certain group in this state that lies awake nights thinking up new and expensive standards for our schools, that most taxpayers can’t afford. They use the basic school support fund law to enforce their demands, and it has gotten so that nearly three-fourths of the property tax dollar in this county goes for schools, and I don’t believe that our children get any better education, or appreciate their schools any more than we did ours, that was lighted with daylight and heated with a potbellied stove.

Many are sure to tell me that they don’t wish to return to those days. They did, however, have some advantages.

In those days, taxes were within reason and one didn’t have to always be on the lookout for some new tax scheme. But, oh well! The way things are going, our federal government should soon be able to abolish social security, at least in Oregon. I feel sure that soon we shall all be taxed to death, long before we become 65.

Frankly, I believe I’ve paid enough taxes on my timber during the last 30 years to have bought all of my timber several times.

Otto HackenbergRt. 1, Box 444

Rainier, Oregon

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Undated article from “The Oregonian”, Portland, Oregon

Rainier Review, October 5, 1972

To the Editor

The last interesting item: "Closing of the Apiary School considered."

For about 80 years the people of Apiary ran their school and did it in a good and satisfactory manner until some new laws were passed that gave people of other school districts the right to vote us out of our district, take control of our money and property and force us to accept their debts. For this situation there seems to be no remedy.

It is little comfort to me to have someone tell me that they do worse things in Russia. Perhaps they do, but why should we have to compete or try to outdo Russian despotism.

The only suggestion that I can offer the administration and board is to turn the Apiary School into a school for us taxpayers to attend and study how we will be able to pay our taxes. Perhaps such questions as these could be answered there.

If our taxes double in two year's time, and I am reasonably certain that mine will more than do so, what will they be like 10 years from now? If and when this happens, we won't need any school. The timber owners' and managers' children will no doubt go to school in Seattle, Longview or Portland.

I don't know what Patrick Henry would think of the mess we are in, but he might offer us two possible solutions: Give the country back to Queen Elizabeth or to the Indians. I suggest that District 13 be included. I feel certain that they could find better solutions for the situation that we in Apiary have got into through no fault of our own, and can't get out of, than our school administration and board will even look for.

Otto Hackenberg

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Apiary Grade School early 1970’s

Front row left to right: Duane Guisinger, _Knutsen, Jimmy Kellar, _Knutsen, Mike Koskela, Timmy Carr, Bruce Wallace

Middle row left to right: David Hackenberg, Linda Pfaffle, Frank Curtis, Randy Carr, Dan Triplett, Rita McDonald

Back row left to right: Jerry Dorie, Barry Brown, Donna Sukins, Linda Kahr, Margaret Swanson

Teachers: Mrs. Davis, grades 5 – 8; Mrs. Elsie Girt, grades 1 - 4

Enrolled from Longivew too late for picture: Ron, Alan, Linda and Bob Bozart.

(Apiary had one more school year after the above picture was taken then was closed and consolidated into the Rainier School District.)

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Above: Otto Hackenberg, veteran letter to the editor writer, Apiary dairy farmer and “sun time” devotee, displays his clock, which has been on Pacific Standard Time all along, to remind Chief readers that “Daylight Wasting Time” ends this Sunday at 2 a.m., when those who observed Daylight Savings Time should turn their clocks back to 1. Chief Photo

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Clatskanie Chief, October 30, 2003

Editoral Comment

I can’t think about time changes without recalling with fondness the late Otto Hackenberg of the Apiary area who was an inveterate “letter to the Chief Editor” writer. One of Otto’s favorite topics was what he called “Daylight Wasting Time” to which he was unalterably opposed in part because his dairy cows declined to readjust their internal clocks.

Perhaps my favorite time change picture in the Chief was the one I took of Otto 20-some years ago, holding a clock with ironic good humor to mark the end of “Daylight Wasting Time”.Not being a fan of the extension of long, bright, hot summer days, (regular Trident readers might remember my now infamous “I wish this stinking sunshine would take a hike” column that was published in this space exactly a year ago), I would tend to agree with Mr. Hackenberg about Daylight Saving Time if it weren’t for that glorious magic hour on the last Sunday in October.

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The Clatskanie Chief, April 25, 1952

An Ode to Daylight SavingThere is always something to keep us raving

Now its Daylight SavingThe founder of this silly scheme

I’m sure was off the beam

With all the farmer he’s raised heckand I’d dearly love to wring this neck

It surely makes me awful soreTo get up at 5 when I know its 4

Even if we could save some of the dayMore income tax we’d have to pay

We’d lose more time filling out formsThan we can save in early morns

All the daylight we try to saveWill only help put us in an early grave

It won’t help us through the Golden GateTo go to work at 7 and call it 8

This Daylight Saving idea isn’t worth a dimeSo let’s all stay on Standard Time.

Otto HackenbergRainier, OR

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Clatskanie Chief, May 16, 1952

Dear Editor,Please allow me space in this paper to say:

“Hurrah for Otto Hackenberg who dares to speak his mind.

Since PDX seized the power on Daylight Saving time.

Wake up! Ye friends and neighbors! Let’s join him in his fight!

He’s backing up our govenor, our people and our right.

If Portland is our government; why keep up the expense of making laws in Salem? It

simply don’t make sense.

Mary Bundy❀ ❀ ❀

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Review Of The Rainier Review

Otto Hackenberg’s review of the Rainier Review, 1963

To say that I have been a reader of the Review 52 years is rather a stretch of the imagination for I was born 54 vears ago at a farm now in the Hudson district, which my Dad named Doraville. It was then in the Doraville school district, which before it was dissolved in 1925, was renamed Rockhill. My mother was born in Kansas in 1868, one year before the Golden Spike was driven, and in 1875 her father came to Rainier, and later that year he sent for his family, who took the train to San Francisco, the onlv railroad west at that time. They took an ocean boat the rest of the way. Dad was born in Czechoslovakia in late 1859 and said he could remember his folks talking about an American president getting shot---Lincoln.

He came to Rainier in 1886--- at that time the railroad was open to Portland. Life was not so elaborate in 1911, but we did get mail twice a week and my folks did take the Rainier Review. At that time, I believe, it was edited by Charles Nutt, an editor who really liked arguments and controversy.

Dad used to furnish him with lots of it, for in those days there were lots of controversial issues in the wind, auch as Socialism, Women's Sufferage and Prohibition. A great many editorials were spent with arguments between them on these subjects. Also Dad wrote many letters criticizing the editor, and the town, which Mr. Nutt gladly printed. Dad had a weather station and kept track of the temperature and rain, etc., and sent in his reports each month to the Review. He also had a friend E. M. Young, the jeweler, and they used to write poetry about each other. In their poems, Dad was “Dearest Joe", and Mr. Young was "Bub-in-Jay".

Here are some samples: “They say your goat is hard to get, but just you wait, I'll get him yet!", wrote Mr. Young. Also he wrote, "Upon the hill of Doraville, There's a self-styled Weather Mill, whose forecasts always render ill.”

Dad replied: "My weather reports are all clear, no prophesying done, but I predict without a rain, your greens will be gone."

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Later Mr. Young wrote: “I dreamed that Joe Hackenberg was dead and laid away on ice. And everyone who heard about it said, 0h isn't that real nice.”

The next issue Dad replied: “For weeks I shook your frame and never got a gleam. And when I did it was a lying dream, you planned a joke on Dearest Joe by laying him out an ice. And just because you turned his toes the people thought it nice. Dearest Joe is rather hot. He'll surely warm your seat. He can evaporate a blot that's itching for some heat! [Footnote (1) Josef’s “In Memoriam” to Mr. Young]

Such was the Review under Mr. Nutt's editorship. Today, some of us might think of this as being in poor taste, but in those days there was no radio and television and little else in the way of entertainment.

Some people did have phonographs – Edison and Columbia cylinder records, and there were even a few Victors with flat records. About 1912 Columbia Graphaphone Company put out a flat record machine. Such was the start of the RCA and of the CBS networks.

While I remember the year of 1911 quite well, the only thing I remember that might be of interest to readers is a steam boiler what was used to power a sawmill in Apiary exploded and killed two young men. Dad was on his way to the mill that morning and it happened when he was about a half mile from there. In all its history the community of Apiary has had only three tragedies. A house

burned in 1930 and a little boy was burned in it and some years ago a man died of exhaust fumes while changing a tire in the snow. Otherwise the community of Apiary has an enviable record. No murder or suicide has ever been committed in Apiary, a record I hope we can always keep. And there has been very little criminal activity in Apiary even in the days of prohibition, when it was a crime to make or sell "moonshine".

During Mr. Nutt's editorship, a murder suicide was committed in the Rainier depot. A man shot his wife and himself and in his pocket was a note which read: " I can't live with or without her". I might comment here that he had gotten himself in a bad way and he might have done better if he had worked harder at doing one thing or another. This was about 1917. Other events that happened during Mr. Nutt's editorship were the starting of “World War l” in August 1914, and the U. S. entry in 1917, and the two ends of the war on Nov. 7 and 11, 1918. Through some mistake a report got out that the war was over Nov. 7. A big celebration was held. Four days later a report was that the war really had ended. A bigger celebration was held.

Another event was when the big sash and door factory at Rainier caught fire and burned in the fall of 1918. At our place the sky was lit up like a full moon. Knowing that the moon was in the last quarter phase and not up yet, I knew something was wrong and called the folks attention to it. They guessed what it was and Dad and Joe walked to town that night to see it. [“Went to Rainier to factory fire” Josef’s journal entry August 14, 1918.]

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On June 8, 1918 a total eclipse of the sun was observed here. There hasn't been a total one here since, and the next one will be early in the morning of Feb. 26, 1979.

In Oct. 1914 I started to school. I rather doubt that the school would meet the state standards of today. Water was carried by the older children as far as a quarter mile. My first teacher, a middle-aged spinster, was surely a good teacher, who received the salary of $50 per month and paid a neighbor $15 a month for board. School terms were six months. How the teacher lived the other six month I’ve never figured out. The Saturday night before school started we heard a scream and found that the teacher had gotten off the trail to her boarding place, she was lost and saw our lights (kerosene lamps). She had two suitcases and had dropped them when she got tired. The folks kept her overnight and the next day found her suitcases. The morning school started she got lost again and was late. While she didn't do so good at first on our cow trails, she could really teach school, and I owe her much for my present education. In those days all one had to do was work, study, and learn and not worry about getting adjusted or any other form of tomfoolery. By the end of the term I might have been able to read the Review even if I didn't know what a lot of the words meant.

It was during this term of school that I saw my first automobile. Lowe's livery stable had bought the first cars and they took a drive out to our place in a 1913 Ford. In those days I had never been as far away from home as Rainier and didn't see Rainier until I was seven years old. This was a long, cold ride of over seven miles of plank road with a neighbor with a team and small wagon. The many trains that went through Rainier in those days took my eye as did the Columbia and Cowlitz rivers

Many changes came about while Mr. Veatch edited the Review. In 1920 a bus line was started between Portland and Seaside. The Rainier city council got the bright idea of charging license to use the city streets. Dad wrote a letter which Veatch didn't print, in which he said Rainier should be renamed one of the names: Leechtown, Sharksbury, or Vampireville.

The year 1921 saw the start of what was the feminine revolution in which ladies bobbed their long braided hair and raised their dresses’

hemlines from below the ankle to above the knee. The men objected strenuously when their wives were listening; at other times I never did hear any of them object to it.

Along with the short hair and dresses women took up smoking and drinking. We were told that the world was going to ruin about 40 years later, but it looks like it is taking a long to get there. Portland had an order against short dresses.

The changover from horses to cars brought about new problems for farmers while trading in town. When Lowes’ livery stable became Lowes’ garage, farmers no longer had a place to keep their horses and wagons dry, and cars began to park in all the other hitching places. Dad wrote many letters to the Review urging the city to build horse sheds. Mr. Veatch evidently took them to be constructive criticism, for he printed all or most of his letters. Of course the sheds were never built, and I wonder what they soon would have been used for, had they been built, for the coming of gravel roads over dirt or plank roads made hard traveling for horses.

Another change was the founding of Longview. Up to 1921 the site of that city was just vast swamp, and when my mother came to Rainier quite a few Indians lived over there. A town mushroomed quickly. I've already stated that Mr. Veatch was an isolationist. We were told to patronize home industry, throw away the mail order catalog and keep our dollars home. Once Mr. Veatch found an advertisement of a local merchant in an out of town newspaper. An editorial appeared in next week's Review entitled "Disloyalty at Home!" He told them he turned down out of town advertising because he feared it would hurt the business of a local merchant and he wanted it understood that they were to do the same. [Footnote (2) portion of that editorial]

For a while Veatch thought Longview would help Rainier, but a feud got started when the Longview newspaper got started and local merchants began to run ads in it too. In an editorial he said: "Of course there are no octopuses near Rainier". Dad wrote a letter which Veatch didn't print and said Veatch was absolutely right; the octopuses were all in Rainier.

Early in 1922 saw the coming of radio, when KGW was built. Radio sets were then put on the market. Veatch ran a comic strip, Radio Ralph.

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The year 1924 saw great changes around Rainier. Our star mail route and the Apiary post office were abolished and Rural Route 1 established as a daily route. This came before all the roads were graveled, and for two or three winters mail carrying had its problems on a lot of the route.

Two bad fires hit Rainier, the first one took out most of the lower street. The other took a hotel, and a year or two later the Menafee mill burned on the present site of Rainier Manufacturing Company.

In 1924 the Rainier Union High School District was formed. Dad was very much opposed to this and wrote many letters to the Review. Most of them were not printed, but when the depression came and taxes began to hurt even in Rainier, Mr. Veatch did work for more economy, and in 1932 it looked for a while like the school would have to close for financial reasons. It never did.

In 1918 Dad took me to Portland, the only trip I made there until I was nearly 21 years. In order to make that trip I had to get up at 2:00 a.m., walk to Rainier, and get on a boat - the Iralda. We got into Portland a little before dark; that was in early April, a little while before this infernal daylight saving time was started, which has been the plague of this 20th century.

In Portland Dad and I walked a lot, went to Washington Park and the zoo, where they had a lion, bears, monkeys and buffalos. These were the principal animals in those days.

They had street cars and the fare was 5 cents but we didn't take any of them. I saw the Morrison Bridge open up, and Dad took me to the movies, silents at that time. There were quite a few cars in Portland in those days, also trucks with hard rubber tires. There were lots of horse-drawn vehicles, too.

In Rainier there was no highway street (B) through town. C street was the only way through town. Most of the business was on the lower (A) street. Some of the advertisers in those days of the Nutt editorship were Fred Trow, R. H. Bailey Grocery, E. M. Young, jeweler; Charles Bross, plumber; M. Ellis & company; Hallberg's Market, Lowes livery stable, later Lowes Motors. This is the oldest business owned by one family in Rainier. Rainier Pharmacy and George Bowen's Rainier Drug

company; Rainier Hardware; Paul Poetsch, clothing, later E.E. Rosebraugh Clothing; State Bank of Rainier, and in those days we had Dr. Welch, Dr. Schmidt, Dr. Ditto and Dr. Davis, dentist. There may have been others I have forgotten.

It was in the Nutt editorship that woman suffrage and prohibitions were noted in Oregon. I think about 1915. Rainier supported from five to seven saloons at one time. Then drinking was thought to be quite a problem, but not the problem it became in prohibition days.

I attended two more terms at Doraville school. My second and third grade teachers were young girls out of high school, both good teachers, and by that time I could read the Review quite well. I then became the only child in the district, and the Doraville school closed. I tried going to Apiary the next year in 1917, a three mile walk.

Chickenpox and chores and many other things caused me to drop out of school until 1921 when the Doraville school was reopened and in that eight month term I graduated from the eighth grade.At the time I was born Dad farmed with oxen. In 1911 he got a horse that was scared to death of cars and we didn't dare go out on the road with her. Until about 1918, he farmed with one ox and one horse.

This I believe is a good description of life around here during the Charles Nutt editorship, which ended in the fall of 1919, when Mr. Veatch bought the Review.

The coming of Mr. Veatch to Rainier brought a sweeping change in the editorial policy of the Review. Dad was quickly informed that he (Veatch) was a town builder and that under his leadership the town would grow and prosper. Dad was informed that argumentative letters, and derogatory remarks about the editor and the town would have to cease as it wasn't in line with his town-building policy. Neither was his or E. M. Young’s poetry. The only thing he would see fit to print was constructive optimism, if he saw it in that light.

One of Mr. Veatch's first editorials was entitled, "Let Us Have Rainier Spirit!” I might add that after Veatch was here a few years he found that the

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town did have spirit, but it was a type he bitterly opposed.

To describe Mr. Veatch, first of all he was a man of sterling honesty. If ever a man believed in isolation, Veatch did, and the same for Prohibition and Old Guard Republicanism. Mrs. Veatch was a distant relative of Herbert Hoover. The Veatch family came from Kansas in a Model T Ford and for several weeks after his arrival the Review carried their trip entitled “Travels with Lizzy.”

When my mother died in 1921, I lived with Dad on his farm, and in 1925 he joined a matrimonial club and a woman from Indiana came on Saturday and he married her the following Monday [Footnote (3)]. The following Friday Dad had a conference with me, that she had taken $250, and it was apparent that they were not getting alone. He wanted me to help hide her trunk. I didn't care for that idea and refused, but told him we would handle her some other way that might not put him in a bad light with the law.

A few nights later a big argument ensued, and when she made it clear that she had $250 and that she intended to take him for everything else he had, I stepped into the argument and told her I was going to see the D.A. I didn't accomplish that as I was only 16. I did make it clear that there were two of us to fight and she took the $250 and left. But before she did, she gave all her love letters from Dad to Mr. Veatch. The next Review carried the news that the mail order housewife had left, and that only patronize home industry. Dad replied to it, and Veatch commented with some quotes from love letters. Needless to say, from then on Veatch occupied a large space in Dad's doghouse. But his troubles weren't even started yet. In 1926 Veatch was elected mayor. He was very strong, also very stubborn, about prohibition, and proceeded to allow town some new wrinkles in law enforcement.

A new marshal was appointed, one who could smell booze a mile away. Many business people were arrested and fined for surely a town that had supported so many saloons was not to going to change its drinking habits overnight, Veatch or no Veatch.

By July, 1927, having failed to get Veatch to fire the marshal, citizens started recall petitions against him. You can take it from me that he didn't take

this lying down. Review was one steady howl! But if he had offered his opposition space in the paper he might have won out on the recall. In August Dad went to town and met up with one of the businessmen who had been drinking the product Veatch was trying to abolish. He told Dad that they were not going to recall Veatch but they were going to run him out of town, too; by getting a new newspaper in town and boycott the Review. Dad, already mad about the love letter incident, was enthusied with the idea, but I was against it when I heard it. I put up about the only argument with dad that ever did any good. Dad remained a loyal subcriber to the Review the rest of Veatch's and his life. That fall after the recall carried, a plant for the proposed new newspaper came to Rainier. It never put out a newspaper but burned to the ground. I told my friends I had a name for the new newspaper, we could call it "The Burning Issue".

The next attempt to get a newspaper came later that fall when the Rainier News got started. It was full of propaganda to build the Longview bridge; little else in it. The editor was bridge happy. After a dozen issues more or less, the paper went bankrupt, while Veatch had set himself up in the real estate business. He continued to weather the storm but they were still after his scalp, and some months later got an editor from Maupin, Oregon, who started the Columbia River Pilot. Veatch predicted the "Pilot" would go on the rocks, and in about one year it did. Veatch bought most of the machinery.

About 1926 a man came to Veatch and threatened suicide if he couldn't borrow $250. Veatch, being a kindly man, took his mortgage and let him have the $250. The borrower proved to be a Fern Hill moonshiner who put his mash and waste products out in the creek. I'm told that a neighbor had no objection to the added ingredients of his drinking water but when the creek smelled like moonshine and tasted like moonshine his wife took a dim view of it and called the sheriff. Veatch took possession of the land and in 1930 sold it to me, and it has been my home ever since.

Late in the fall of 1933 Mr. Veatch was sticken by cancer but continued to run the paper as long as he could. But in the spring of 1934 he had to give up and died soon after.

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He left a request that his body be cremated and the ashes strewn from the Longview bridge. This strange request was carried out by the lateC.R. Hallberg. It ended the career of what I think was the most colorful editor of the Rainier Review. (Some other events of those days were the Lindberg flight in 1927, and the great depression started in 1929. In 1932-33 Veatch lived to see the Democrats elected and the end of prohibition.)

Contrary to what Veatch intended to do, build Rainier into a large town, Rainier didn’t grow much during the Veatch editorship. The fires and the depression may have made Rainier even smaller during that time.

During the editorship of Veatch the Rainier Union High School was built and the Longview Bridge. Both, I am sure, would have come about regardless of who was editor, but in the case of the high school, it is my opinion that a better one, on a better site, for less money might have been built had we had an editor such as Charles Nutt, who would print all sides to the question. I’m saying this in hopes that it might help in the future, for it will never undo the mistakes of the past.

One thing Mr. Veatch did accomplish was getting the DuBois’ to Rainier and they rebuilt the Menafee mill. To sum up Mr. Veatch, he did mean well, and he did the best he could.

We now come to what now seems to me more recent times, even if it does cover nearly 30 years. During Mr. Veatch’s illness Anna Jerzyk edited the Review but shortly after his death it was sold to Harold Axford. For the next four years the biggest news in the Review was that a new editor had come, for editors came and went frequently for the next few years.

During the time of the present editors many, many things both good, bad and otherwise have happened during their long editorship. World War II came and went and with it humanity was given the atom bomb to play with and talk about.

The Korean War came and it went, too. There was the flood of 1948; the deep snow of ‘48-49; also the big earthquake of April 13, 1949, that badly damaged the Rainier grade school and many chimneys, etc., and the one of November 6, 1962, that gave us a good shaking.

The former DuBois mill burned and it again was rebuilt. The Prescott mill closed down December 30, 1944. Several little mills sprang up there, but nothing permanent so far. November 20, 1942, Dad died, and nearly every issue of the Review notes the passing of some old friend.

Electricity came into more general use during our editors’ occupation. So did the telephone and life in general has changed for most of us, but it still has its ups and downs and always will even if the problems are different than they used to be.

During the recent time the scourge of daylight savings time has come about until it looks like it has become a permanent fixture to disrupt our lives. Frankly it causes me to lose a lot of faith in humanity when they will turn their clocks ahead and try to kid themselves and each other as to what time it is. Another great change was that of television that has come into being in recent years and the last six years has seen great development in space travel and it looks like mankind will soon be able to go to Mars and Venus and bedevil the poor creatures there with high taxes, school reorganization and daylight savings time.

In 1952 Rainier had its centennial year celebration and the starting of Rainier Daze. October 12, 1962, Typhoon Freda hit us and did millions of dollars worth of damage and changed our landscape. So much for the past. We must always look to the future which raises these questions: What is best to do now? And where do we go from here? Perhaps a look back once in a while may help answer these questions.

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In Memoriam!

The Review of August 21, 1941, reported the sad news of the demise of my old literary friend, E.M. Young, at Olympia, Wash., a resident and jeweler in Rainier from 1912-1939. He was quite a poet, and, off and on, for a number of years he and myself waged a poetical contest of caustic rejoinders to enliven the Review. Personally, he was honest, unassuming and kind-hearted, and often obliged me with favors, and while we some time ago ceased our literary efforts and of late years I seldom had the opportunity to visit him, his death notice came as a shock to me.

All honor to his memory!

Your jokes, your irony, satireWere always very pleasing;You often bade me to retire,I knew you were but teasing.

So fare then well old.

Rainier Review Editorial

Disloyalty at Home

The Review has on several occasions referred to the fact that the Longview Daily News has either invaded or attempted to invade Rainier. There is not a business man in Rainier who is not aware of the fact that the Review does not welcome this invasion. We have said so time and again and now we say it for the last time. The time has arrived for the parting of the ways.

The Review does not welcome a fight; we prefer to conduct this newspaper for the whole town of Rainier, rather than for a portion of the town, and this has been our motto ever since we bought the Review.

The Review has supported the home merchants of Rainier and on all occasions has refused to accept advertising which would draw business to other towns. We have refused to accept advertising from Longview because we felt that trade taken from Rainier to Longview would injure the Rainier merchants. Our fidelity to Rainier has in some instances been appreciated. We have asked some of the business men of Rainier to remain loyal to the Rainier paper, they have either forgotten their promise, or have intentionally given their support to the Longview concern.

No more despicable nor unprofessional conduct could be practiced than that which is now being practiced by the Longview Daily News. It has from its inception tried to break into the Rainier field and take business away from the Review. On three or four occasions we have used what influence we had to hold the merchants of this town loyal to their home paper, and now, again we find that a bunch of them have seen fit to place their advertisements in the Longview Daily News. . .

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Rainier Review, August 14, 1925 ~

Hackenberg Takes WifeWas Married to Mrs. Alice Smith Monday ~ Joseph Hackenberg and Mrs. Alice Smith of Indianapolis, Indiana, were married at St. Helens last Monday. Mrs. Smith arrived Friday from Indianapolis and spent a few days at the Hackenberg home after which the nuptial knot was tied.

The romance is said to have originated through a correspondence school and began about six months ago. Letters were said to have been few at first, but as time went on, Uncle Sam reaped quite a sum in postage stamps. Recently Joe was heard at the local depot making inquiries as to the cost of a ticket from Indiana to Rainier at which certain parties became more or less suspicious.

Monday night a big charivari pary gathered at the Hackenberg home when dynamite and shotguns played a part in giving vent to the pent-up feelings of the assembled multitude. Joe was magnanimous in treating the crowd to home brew and cigars. The lady members of the party brought eats which were served the members of the chavivari party.

Mrs. Hackenberg is said to be a lady of refinement and those who have met her are of the opinion Joe has made a good bargain.

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Rainier Review, August 28, 1925

Mail Order Wife LeavesWedded Bliss Soon FadesPatronize Home Industry

Mail Order wives like mail order goods are apparently not durable and are likely to prove a “dud” or something similar. If the reader is in doubt, just let him ask Joe Hackenberg of Doraville – he knows.

Just two weeks from the date Mrs. Alice May Smith became the blushing bride of Joe Hackenberg she hopped off onto the 4:07 p.m.

eastbound passenger train for her home at Ft. Wayne, Indiana, a sadder but wiser old girl, leaving behind a wiser man in the inimitable Joe.

The marriage was brought about through a correspondence club and for several months loving epistles flew from Ft. Wayne to Rainier and vice versa, culminating in the widow making a trip of 2500 miles to marry the “apple of her eye”, which she did on August 10. Love soon faded and in its place hate perched in the Hackenberg home, culminating in the bride taking her departure from the roof of her newly wedded husband the latter part of last week.

It is reported that the Ft. Wayne visitor received a check of $250 from Joe as a wedding present, which was sufficient to pay her fare out and back. This is the saddest part to Joe, but we must live and learn even though we profess to be wiser than a serpent.

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Rainier Review, September 9, 1925

The People’s Forum

Contributions on any subject invited and welcomed, but must be couched in gentlemanly language. Editor does not necessarily endorse the sentiment espressed.

Some Needed Correction ~ To the Editor: Read with much interest the article in the last Review – “Mail Order House Wife Leaves,” and I should like to say a few words as explanation and correction.

When I married the “mail order house wife” I most emphatically objected to the editor mentioning it in the Review as I knew nothing about the woman beyond her own statements, which might prove false; the editor, however, could not resist the temptation and blew his head off in the next paper about the good bargain I had made. Now, the woman proved to be a good cook, housekeeper and worker, very cleanly about her person, but devoid of all principle of honor and honesty. The report that I made her a $250.00 wedding present is simply one of her many lies; she outright stole the $250.00, which

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partly belonged to my boy, Otto, and partly to myself, and after finding out the theft, I offered her my $125.00 to pay fare and expenses going to where she came from, provided she would return the other $125.00 to the boy. This she refused to do and the boy made two trips to St. Helens to have her arrested, but was told that it was fully worth $250.00 to be rid of her, so the boy is the outright loser, as I consider my $125.00 well spent to have her out of the way. The way things have turned out I am glad I did not embark on this marriage enterprise without the knowledge and consent of the boy who much more desired to have the kind and motherly care of a woman in the house than I cared to have a wife. Our marriage and divorce laws though need urgent revision to fit the collar of the “new woman”.

Says the editor below the heading of his article: “Patronize Home Industry”. But how can a man patronize home industry in marriage unless he has a show to do so? Now I promise the editor to fathfully follow his advice if the Review will contain ads like this: Old maids for sale, cheap – Grass widows to let for a time as desired – Widows for rent on trial, etc., so Veatch shoot ahead, give a man a chance.

Jos. HackenbergDoraville, August 31, 1925

(We rather think Joe is kidding himself. In one of his letters to “Dear Alice” Joe said: “What I have will be yours, I lay everything I call my own now at your feet, and it will be what you help make it.” Joe’s letters to “Dear Alice” are models for young lovers to copy ~ Editor.)

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Rainier Picture Gallery

Above: Rainier Review, June 27, 1940 ~ “The above picture of Rainier was taken in 1873, and some of the pioneers of the community may remember it as it appears here. They may also know the men in the boat, but the present publishers do not know.”While the picture is not clear, it gives an idea of local industry with the buildings on pilings out over the water. There appears to be two roads leading west carved in the hillside below the timber line.

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Above: Undated clipping from the Rainier Review or Longview Daily News.

Above: Rainier, Oregon ~ Lower Street ~ 1920’s

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As Rainier has changed considerably in the past century, the narrow arrows in both photos point to a familiar landmark even today ~ the Methodist Church. The K&P Hall was an important part of the community at the time and

its location is shown by the larger arrows.

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Photo courtesy of Rainier Library

Caption on back of above photo.

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Above: Rainier Safeway Store 1930’s ~ photo courtesy of Rainier Library

Above: Sash & Door Factory, Rainier, Oregon

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Above, below & right page: Aerial view of Rainier in 1946. J. Cowles photo courtesy of Rainier Library

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Above: One of several sawmills in the outlying Rainier hills. Note fired up engine on railroad tracks lower left corner. Undated photo courtesy of Rainier Library.

Above: Street scene, Rainier, Oregon

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Main Street, Rainier, Oregon ~ 1914. Photo courtesy of Rainier Library.

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Rainier, Oregon ~ 1960’s

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Above: Neighboring community of Clatskanie, Oregon ~ 1891. Courtesy of Rainier Library

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Wilma. HackenbergJuly 15, 1913 ~ December 14, 2008

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Mom’s Memorial

Mother’s parents were emigrants from separate places in Latvia and came to Portland sometime around 1910. Her dad Bill was a carpenter and got a job at a railroad camp: her mother Karolina worked for a doctor after she arrived. They met at the home of mutual Latvian friends - the Johnsons. Karolina had been a close childhood friend of Emily Johnson in Latvia. Bill and Karolina married, and moved to Helvetia – outside Hillsboro. When Mother was nearly 3 years old in 1916, her mother Karolina died suddenly of a brain hemorage and Emily Johnson took “little Wilma” back to her home to be raised with her own children. Mother attended first grade at Kellogg school in Portland.

So, now the Johnson family had a “little Wilma Louise” and a “big Wilma Louise” about three years older. The story is that when Bill saw the cute Johnson baby he exclaimed that if he ever had a daughter he was going to name her “Wilma Louise” and he did. The two remained lifelong friends and made a trip to Europe in 1965. When their passports were checked they got constant remarks how strange they both had the same first and middle names.

Mother was obviously not at the Johnson’s when her father sent her to the neighborhood barber shop by herself to get a haircut. She didn’t know what to ask for and didn’t speak much English since she and people she knew spoke Lettish. The barber gave her a few choices and she chose “pig shave” because she liked the name. That was her last trip to the barber by herself!

Country life in rural Oregon brought more changes for Mother used to electricity and indoor plumbing. It is not known where the Balod’s first lived in the local area, but they moved to a farm (long driveway at 75202 Apiary Road) when Bill married Alpha, a recent widow, and sister of Maree Gamble. Alpha had a son Clifford Sumner two years older than Mother, and a niece Edyth Gamble who later married Lyle Wildfong. Edyth was a few years younger and became Mother’s close companion and another lifelong friend. The girls spent as much time as they could with Edyth’s grandmother, Celia Gamble, who first lived in a big old house with a wonderful attic, but later moved to a small house beside son George Gamble’s family close to the Balods.

Mother loved “Grandma Gamble” and described her as a wonderful lady who loved children and always made them welcome. The old house attic had a trunk of civil war memorabilia – spitoon, fancy greeting cards, a view master with slides, a musket, and clothes. Wilma remembered how much fun she and Edyth had going through the trunk and dressing up in the old-fashioned outfits with all the frills of the era. Much later she realized the antique clothing should have been in a museum where they could have been preserved, rather than worn to shreds during years of play time.

Chores. There were no fences so Mother had to round up their small herd of cattle turned out to wander after Alpha had done the morning milking. The cows could usually be found along Beaver Creek where it went through a flat meadow about a half mile or so away. They had other animals as well; hogs, rabbits, and chickens. Another memory was with Edyth when they were sent out to gather eggs. They put the eggs in their aprons to carry back, then started some game which ended with them falling, breaking the eggs, and getting in trouble. The family raised mangels, a large beet type root, for livestock feed which Mother chopped up with a big bayonet which she thought was likely another civil war relic.

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Alpha kept a tidy house and Wilma had inside chores. While Mother and Clifford got along most of the time, when Alpha was gone to town Clifford liked to do things that would get Mother in trouble; i.e., throw the broom up on the roof so she couldn’t sweep or sabotage some chore she had finished. Sometimes Mother got in trouble all by herself as when her stepmother discovered the dish towels out on the manure spreader where Mother had placed them to dry in the sun.

The local children, grades one through eight, attended the original one room Hudson School. A bell was rung to start class and there were cloak closets on both sides of the door as you went in. The building was later moved and turned to the side for use as a gym when the new two-room school was built on the site. Mother started second grade at Hudson and vividly remembered her first day at the new school. The bathroom was an outhouse down by the trees and the “city girl” didn’t know what to look for when she went in search of the facility. As the day progressed she wet her pants, and had a puddle under her desk. Mother’s situation was noticed by the big kids across the aisle and broadcast to the others. She forever remembered sitting there very humiliated and having to endure her classmates loud laughter and taunts.

She remembered fun school times as well and especially liked the Palmer handwriting exercises – lines and lines of big ovals penned forward and backward. The Rainier Review listed “Wilma Lowese Balod” as having won numerous Palmer achievement awards and perfect attendance when she finished eight grade. When asked about the strange spelling of her middle name, Mother replied that neither she nor her father knew how to spell “Louise” when he enrolled her at school so he must have sounded it out in his broken English.

Mother talked about one Valentine’s Day. She was always very creative and had spent considerable time crafting valentines from wallpaper and decorating them just so for the big day. The children’s valentines were stored in the school room’s big 10-gallon pottery crock when they went home that Friday anticipating the big party on Monday. As the weather often does, it intervened and snowed ~ lots of snow so school was closed for the week. When Mother was able to return to school the delay ruined the fun for her and the party was very disappointing, but the only one she remembered. She was the school janitor for a couple of years cleaning the blackboards and helping the teacher tidy up the classroom and liked the small horde of spending money – the minimal pay probably funded by the teacher.

Grandfather Balod was a beekeeper and they kept a supply of honey for sale and home use so Mother often had honey sandwiches which her friend Irene Burns liked so they routinely had a lunch exchange. Mother remembered Irene’s lunch always had fancy cookies and laughed to think of such odd things in her memory.

There were many adventures on their walk to and from Hudson School. It was perhaps a shorter walk through the property of their Parcher neighbors, coming out about where the Morman church is now located on Parkdale Road, if Clifford was getting along with their Parcher classmate. Otherwise they walked along Old Highway 30 often accompanied by Gerda Steelhammer, a few years older than Mother and a strong ally when it came to keeping her stepbrother Clifford in check.

Mother did not relate many high school memories, but mentioned she especially liked shorthand as it was more like an art form than school work and she excelled at it. Home Economics in her freshman year didn’t go as well. The class was making “bloomers” and Mother proceeded to try hers on over her under clothes ~ a shocking event stopped by the teacher.

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During her high school years there was much excitement about a $6 million project - the building of the Lewis and Clark Bridge across the Columbia River finally finished in 1930. It was especially interesting for Mother to watch the progress of the two ends of the bridge coming together, and the excitement of being able to across the completed bridge for the first time. The 42 students in her class probably didn’t get over the bridge very much as there was a $1 toll, even 10 cents to walk each way. There is a photo of Clifford and Mother on the Longview Bridge beside his parked car – no traffic.

Another memory was the 1931 senior class outing to Deer Island Stock Farm that had a beach and offered recreational activities. There is a prominent “Deer Island Stock Farm” sign at the location along Highway 30 indicating it is now a “Private Road”.

After graduation Mother worked at various local jobs including field work picking mint and beans, and mentioned the cannery that was processing peas at the time of her short employment. She quickly moved on to something else.

The Balod family liked to go on trips and would take along a supply of honey to sell to help with expenses. Cannon Beach and Seaside were favorite destinations and they camped out. When home they had lots of visitors, many relatives of Alpha and Maree, along with others who knew Alpha was an excellent cook and they would be welcome to stay and share a good meal

The Balod’s were avid card players and hosted their share of card parties which were popular at the time. Mother learned pinochle at an early age and related memories of a card party where she was partnered with an elderly uncle who was serious about the game. He felt Mother was not keeping track of cards played and made a mistake playing her hand at a critical time. He got up, threw his cards down, stomped off and loudly announced he would never partner with Mother again ~ no doubt a relief to her. Perhaps that was a turning point in her training as she became a “card shark” herself and could have given the uncle a run for his money!

Wilma must have been a little bashful as she used to go to their mailbox to wait for the mail and hide in the bushes until after the mail carrier left. Somehow she and the mail carrier got acquainted as she married Joe Hackenberg in 1934. They went to Southern California to visit relatives on their honeymoon, and made a trip down into Mexico.

The next summer they went to Yellowstone and took Clifford with them. Traveling was okay because the Ford had two seats in the front and two seats in the back. They drove long hours to get to Yellowstone, and when they arrived there were no cabins available. There was no choice but to all three sleep in the bottom of the car because of the many bears. So, everything had to come out of the car – all seats, etc. They did have some blankets along as she thinks travelers at that time had to have their own bedding for cabin rentals. Clifford was over 6 ft., and Dad 5’10” or so. They couldn’t leave the car windows down in the warm weather with the curious bears, and it was a cramped, stuffy, uncomfortable night she hoped to forget.

Next day Clifford and Dad rented a rowboat and they all went fishing on the Yellowstone River. A thunder and lightning storm came up with big streaks of lightning flashing straight down close to the river. Mother was all for getting off the water, but “NO”, they had to kept trolling for trout – on and on. She was the only one to even get a bite and finally caught a fish that local people said was extraordinarly large. They had camp gear and enjoyed the fish for breakfast.

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During World War II Joe quit his job as the rural mail carrier, left Grandfather Balod in charge of the farm and the family made a temporary move to Chula Vista where Mother joined other women filling war time vacancies in the factories. She was employed by a Defense contractor and commended for her skill as a pipe cutter, and had an opportunity to become familiar with tools she would later use on projects. Dad then got a different job in Yermo and the family moved to the desert where Mother again worked for a Defense Contractor. Tight family quarters, cooped up children used to running free on the farm, and the desert environment with poisonous “wildlife” must have triggered thoughts of returning home as there is a picture of little sister Ruth learning to walk a year later in her own Oregon backyard.

Mother was quite “matter of fact” about the business of daily living and was not one to nervously wring her hands when there was a crisis – she dove right in: Good thing as there were many strawberry seasons to go through. One time she came from the mailbox with the berry check from the cannery in her hand and the dog grabbed it and chewed it up. In their last strawberry seasons Mother and Dad sold all their berries to customers at the house and Mother made a few local deliveries. A fruit stand, supposedly down by Astoria, ordered about 15 store flats and couldn’t be contacted when the berries, with stems, were ready to be picked up. It didn’t take Mother long to round up the family crew to start stemming while she started calling of customers to see if some of their berry orders could be filled on short notice. We got rid of every last berry. She was a great marketing director and never more appreciated than the day of the “twice picked berries”!

Those strawberry years were before common cell phone use, but Mother had a special berry season “Morse Code” – the car horn - which she honked incessantly when there were more orders to be picked. It seemed to always be when the pickers thought they were done for the day and ready to quit - times we didn’t like her great marketing skills all that much.

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The Daily News ~ December 23, 2008

Long time Rainier resident Wilma Hackenberg, 95, passed away at home onDecember 14, 2008, of age related causes. She had been in declining health and was cared for by her loved ones with assistance from Longview Hospice. Mrs. Hackenberg. was born July 15, 1913, in Portland, Oregon, to Latvian emigrants. After her mother died, Wilma and her father moved to Rainier and he later married a local widow. Wilma started second grade at the original Hudson Grade School, later used as the gym when her own children attended the newer two room school built on the site. She went on to graduate from Rainier Union High School in 1931.

Wilma married Joe Hackenberg in October 1934 and they lived on the homestead where they raised strawberries for over 40 years. All six of their children grew up working in the berry fields as well as many of the grandchildren.

During World War II the family made a temporary move to Southern California where Wilma joined other women filling war time vacancies in the factories. She was employed by a Defense contractor and commended for her skill as a pipe cutter, and had an opportunity to became familiar with tools she would later use on projects.

Wilma was active in the local community where she grew up. She volunteered to set up the hot lunch program at the grade school, procured the basic equipment and took her turn as cook until one was hired. Wilma regularly visited and assisted elderly neighbors, was a member of the Hudson Ladies Aid, and a precinct vote counter until she could no longer drive at night. Over the years many needing assistance have benefited from the Hackenberg’s generosity in providing shelter in the family home.

After they retired from the strawberry fields, Wilma and Joe delivered the Longview Daily News and Wilma was an Avon dealer for a number of years. She liked gardening and at one time had a large collection of dahlias. Later she was able to pursue her love of art; and was an original member of the Rainier “Art for Fun” group. She

enjoyed pen and ink drawing, China painting, wood carving with the club in Longview and working with acrylic and oil paints. Wood burning on driftwood gathered at family outings was a special interest and she volunteered to teach that skill at Nasalle Youth Camp.

Wilma taught painting at Lower Columbia College senior outreach program for many years ending when she was 86 and developed severe vision loss. With her strong spirit and “can do” attitude she was able to continue working on art projects in her home with the aid of a magnifying machine until her stroke at age 92. She had many lasting friendships from the classes she took around the State and classes she taught. Students of all ages came to “Wilma’s Paintin’ Place” in her home for lessons including a Portland TV newscaster whose session was shown on a local TV station

Her family enjoyed Wilma’s many tales of country life in her youth – adventures walking to school and activities there, farm chores of rounding up the family’s free range cattle, dressing up in Civil War costumes and playing with memorbilia of that era, and the excitement of watching the occasional car go by on the nearby new Highway 30.

Even in declining health,Wilma’s strong spirit and determination were an inspiration to those close to her. She will be greatly missed by her many friends and loved ones. Wilma was preceded in death by her husband Joe Hackenberg in 1985, their daughter Ruth Ring in 1996, and grandson William (Joey) Hackenberg in 2002. Survivors include sons Joseph Hackenberg and Robert Hackenberg, Rainier, OR; and daughters Joan Linn, Forest Grove, OR, Carol McNeely, Renton, WA, and Ina Hammon, Lake Oswego, OR; 17 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.

Arrangements for her “celebration of life” service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the “Ruth Kellar Book Fund Scholarship” at the Rainier Junior and Senior High School, Rainier, OR; Longview Hospice; or a charity of your choice.

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Wilma Louise, born July 15, 1913, was the only child of Latvian emigrants Karolina Ehrman and William Balod who met in Portland at the home of mutual Latvian friends Emily and Edward Johnson. Emily and Karolina had been childhood friends in the Latvian countryside.

Right: This pose of the Balod’s was shared

through e-mail by William’s relatives in Salacgravia,

Latvia, where he grew up.

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Left: Postmark date not legible. The postcard was sent to Karolina from Seaside, OR, by Latvian friends warning her to keep watch as they had seen a “stork” headed toward Portland.

There are no stories or records located for the Ehrman family, and very little is known of Karolina. Emigration records indicate “Karl Ehrman” as her relative in Latvia, and she is listed as a “domestic”. Karolina worked for a doctor in Riga, and employed by a doctor in Portland prior to her marriage.

Little Wilma’s family life would change in 1916 with her mother’s sudden death:

Hillsboro Independent, May 19, 1916.

Sudden Death Puzzles Coroner Investigates and Finds Woman

Died From Natural Causes.

Karaline Balod, a Russian woman, aged about 37 years, died suddenly last Thursday and the circumstances were such that a Hillsboro physician who was called at the last moment and who did not reach her until she was dead notified Coroner Barrett. The dead woman lived with her husband, Waldemar Balod, a quarter mile from the Helvetia school. She had been ill for several days and had no medical attendance. Growing suddenly worse her husband requested a neighbor to telephone

for a doctor, but a short time after the woman died. Coroner Barrett had the body brought to Hillsboro and a post mortem showed that death was from cerebral hemorrhage and he made a certificate to that effect.

The fami ly had l i ved in the Helvet ia neighborhood for about two years and rent the place they are on. There is one child, a girl nearly three years old. Balod is an ex-sailor and served in the Russian navy during the Russo-Japanese war, during which the ship on which he served was captured by the Japanese. After the war ended he came to the United States.

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William Balod told the grandchildren that Karolina was a good cook and excelled at needlework. She had a trunk of crocheted work that was stolen during her funeral when the family’s rental home was burglarized.

As Wilma’s father worked away from home, she spent the next few years with the Johnson family in Portland. Wilma attended first grade at Joseph Kellogg School while living in Portland and started speaking more English.

The two Wilma’s ~ Wilma Balod with Wilma Johnson on the right. Wilma Johnson was nearly three years older than her namesake.Wilma’s memories: When she was living in Portland, she was sent alone to the local barber shop for a haircut and didn’t know what to ask for. The barber named several cuts and she chose “pig shave” as that sounded the most interesting. It is possible the above photo was taken as her hair was growing out.

According to Johnson family tradition, William Balod saw his friends’ cute baby Wilma and exclaimed,“If I ever have a little girl I’m going to name her Wilma.” However the duplicate naming occurred the two girls, both named “Wilma Louise”, remained lifelong close friends.

Right: The two Wilma’s

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Abovet: The two Wilma’s. Wilma Balod Hackenberg with Wilma Johnson Taylor. Date circa 1985.

Above left: Mrs. Emily Johnson. Above right: Emily’s son Rudy on motorcycle and youngest son Teddy in the side car.

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Above: Latvian social gathering.

Emily Johnson is in back row at arrow and her husband Edward at far right end. It is believed the young man in front wearing what looks like a dark baseball outfit could be the Johnson’s oldest son Walter who developed tuberculosis and died at 16 years of age in 1920. Wilma Johnson is to his right. William Balod is not in attendance, but the little girl in front of Edward Johnson could be Wilma Balod. Is her mother in the picture??

Right: In the postcard collection is the photo of another Latvian gathering, but in the woods out of Stevenson,

WA, in 1910. Many emigrants worked in the logging camps and evidently took their music with them.

Others like Wm. Balod worked for the railroad and stayed out at the jobsite in the railroad camps. He was

a carpenter and worked on railroad bridges and tunnels.

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Mrs. Johnson enjoyed having the young daughter of her deceased friend Karolina and was very disappointed when Wm. Balod got a job at a cedar mill owned by Latvians in the Hudson District of Rainier and he and his daughter Wilma moved there in 1921.

Country life in rural Oregon brought more changes for Wilma used to city conveniencies. It is not known where the Balod’s first lived in the local area, but they moved to a farm (long driveway at 75202 Apiary Road) when William married Alpha, a recent widow, and sister of Maree Gamble. Alpha had a son Clifford Sumner two years older than Wilma, and a niece Edyth Gamble (who later married Lyle Wildfong). Edyth was a few years younger than Wilma, a childhood companion and another lifelong friend. Growing up, the two spent as much time as they could with Edyth’s grandmother, Celia Gamble, who lived in a big old white house. Grandma Celia later moved to a small house beside son George Gamble’s family. The little house is still there alongside the former home of the Gamble family located along Old Highway 30 close to the junction with Apiary Road.

Wilma described “Grandma Gamble” as a wonderful lady who loved children and always made them welcome. The old house attic had a trunk of civil war memorabilia – spitoon, fancy greeting cards, a viewmaster with slides, a musket, and clothes. Wilma remembered how much fun she and Edyth had going through the trunk and dressing up in the old-fashioned outfits with all the frills of the era. Much later she realized the antique clothing should have been in a museum where they could have been preserved, rather than worn to shreds during years of play time.

Chores. There were no fences so Wilma had to round up their small herd of cattle turned out to wander after Alpha had done the morning milking. The cows could usually be found along Beaver Creek where it went through a flat meadow about a half mile or so away (Calvert area). They had other animals as well; hogs, rabbits, and chickens. Another memory was with Edyth when they were sent out to gather eggs. They put the eggs in their aprons to carry back, then started some game which ended with most eggs broken ~ not a good day for the chore girls! The Balod’s raised mangels, a large beet type root, for livestock feed which Wilma chopped up with a big old bayonet. She thought the bayonet was likely another civil war relic.

Alpha kept a tidy house and Wilma had inside chores. She remembered collecting table crumbs after meals with a special little brush and porcelain dustpan and there were dishes to wash. While Wilma and Clifford got along most of the time, when Alpha was gone to town or visiting, Clifford liked to do things that would get Wilma in trouble; i.e., throw the broom up on the roof so she couldn’t sweep or sabotage some chore she had finished. Sometimes Wilma got in trouble all by herself as when Alpha discovered the dish towels out on the manure spreader where Wilma had placed them to dry in the sun.

The local children, grades one through eight, attended the original one room Hudson School. A bell was rung to start class and there were cloak closets on both sides of the door as you went in. The building was later moved and turned to the side for use as a gym when the new two-room school was built on the site. Wilma started second grade at Hudson and 85 years later vividly remembered her first day at the new school. The bathroom was an outhouse down by the trees and the “city girl” didn’t know what to look for when she went in search of the facility. As the day progressed she wet her pants, and had a puddle under her desk. Wilma’s situation was noticed by the big kids across the aisle and broadcast to the others. All

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eyes were drawn to Wilma as she sat there humiliated and endured her classmates loud laughter and taunts.

She remembered fun school times as well and especially liked the Palmer handwriting exercises – lines and lines of big ovals penned forward and backward. The Rainier Review listed “Wilma Lowese Balod” as having won numerous Palmer achievement awards and perfect attendance for the year she finished eighth grade. When asked about the strange spelling of her middle name, Wilma replied that neither she nor her father knew how to spell “Louise” when he enrolled her at school so he must have sounded it out in his broken English. Her name on school records remained the same as “Wilma Lowese Balod” is listed on her high school graduation certificate.

Wilma remembered one Valentine’s Day. She was always very creative and had spent considerable time crafting valentines from wallpaper and decorating them just so for the big day. The children’s valentines were stored in the school room’s big 10-gallon pottery crock when they went home that Friday anticipating the big party on Monday. As the weather often does, it intervened and snowed ~ lots of snow so school was closed for the week. When Wilma was able to return to school the delay ruined the fun for her and the party was very disappointing, but the only one she remembered.Wilma was the school janitor for a couple of years cleaning the blackboards and helping the teacher tidy up the classroom. Wilma remembered the pay as minimal and probably paid by the teacher, but worth the extra effort as she had a small horde of spending money.

Two Hudson classmates, Irene Burns and Bill Everman, were Wilma’s classmates from second grade to high school graduation. Wilma’s father was a beekeeper and they kept a supply of honey for sale and home use. Her school lunch was often honey sandwiches which Irene liked so they routinely had a lunch exchange. Wilma remembered Irene’s lunch always had fancy cookies.

There were many adventures on their walk to and from Hudson School. It was perhaps a shorter walk through the property of their Parcher neighbors, coming out about where the Morman church is now located on Parkdale Road, if Clifford was getting along with their Parcher classmate. Otherwise they walked along (Old) Highway 30 often accompanied by Gerda Steelhammer, a few years older than Wilma and a strong ally when it came to keeping Clifford in check. Gerda lived nearby with her aunt and uncle, John and Anna Larson, friends of the Balod’s. The Larsons lived in the large white home, first driveway on the right at the sharp bend, as you start up Apiary Road from Old Highway 30.

Wilma said she and Gerda could be quite devious and remembered a time or two they had success in daring Clifford and his friends to walk across a flooded area on a fence. Once the boys were well along the fence, she and Gerda would try to distract them ~ throw rocks, etc. ~ so they would lose their balance and fall off in the water. To escape “pay back”, the girls had the advantage of being ready to quickly run home.

Wilma did not relate many high school memories, but mentioned she especially liked shorthand as it was more like an art form than school work. She remembered trouble in Home Economics in her freshman year. The students were making “bloomers” and Wilma proceeded to try hers on over her under clothes ~ a shocking event stopped by the teacher.

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She and her classmates were eye witnesses to the building of the Lewis and Clark Bridge across the Columbia River – a $6 million project finished in 1930. It was especially interesting for Wilma to watch the progress of the two ends of the bridge coming together, and the excitement of being able to cross the completed bridge for the first time. She and her classmates probably didn’t go over the bridge very much as there was a $1 toll, even 10 cents to walk, each way. There is a photo of Wilma and Clifford beside a parked auto on the completed new bridge – no traffic!

Another memory was the 1931 senior class outing to Deer Island Stock Farm that had a beach and offered recreational activities. There is a prominent “Deer Island Stock Farm” sign at the location along Highway 30 indicating it is now a “Private Road”.

After graduation Wilma worked at various local jobs including field work picking mint and beans, and mentioned the cannery that was processing peas at the time of her short employment. The odor was too much for her sensitive nose and she quickly moved on to something else.

The Balod family liked to go on trips and would take along a supply of honey to sell to help with expenses. Cannon Beach and Seaside were favorite destinations and they camped out. Pictures also show trips to a hot springs on McKenzie River, Devil’s Punch Bowl, Newport, Multnomah Falls, Eagle Creek, Indian Mountain and other tourist sites. When home they had lots of visitors, many relatives of Alpha and Maree, along with others who knew Alpha was an excellent cook and they would be welcome to stay and share a good meal. One frequent visitor was classmate Ivan Smith who suffered from a childhood disease and used crutches to get around. Ivan seemed to perk up when visiting the Balod’s with all the good food and companionship and was encouraged to stay when he could. His health deteriorated and he passed away during the 1930-1931 school year.

The Balod’s were avid card players and hosted their share of card parties which were popular at the time. Wilma learned pinochle at an early age and related memories of a card party where she was partnered with an elderly Gamble uncle who was serious about the game. He felt Wilma was not keeping track of cards played and made a mistake playing her hand at a critical time. He got up and threw his cards down, stomped off and announced he would never partner with Wilma again ~ no doubt a relief to her. Perhaps that was a turning point in her training as she became a “card shark” herself and could have given Archie Gamble a run for his money!

Alpha did not recover from cancer surgery and died January 6, 1934. Had she lived another few days she would have been 43 years old. She is buried in the Gamble plot at Green Mountain Cemetery-North beside Clifford Gamble, her second husband. Her son Clifford “Rusty” Sumner died in a crane accident at the Port of Longview in 1957, and is buried in an adjoining plot. He left no descendants. William Balod died in 1975 at 88 years of age and is buried in Green Mountain Cemetery-North beside son-in-law Joe Hackenberg and daughter Wilma.

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Above: Wilma’s weigh-in at Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS)

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The Daily News, The Recipe Tree, Eleanor Makinster

She Baked For 300 And Had Some Left

Wilma Hackenberg once baked a cake for 300 people – and still had some left over.

The cake was for a 50th wedding anniversary (she used to bake cakes for weddings and anniversaries) and she used 14 pudding cake mixes and five dozen eggs for the four tiers. She also decided to bake a two-layer German chocolate sheet cake (in case the large cake was not enough), and each layer consisted of three mixes.

It took days to bake both cakes, and on the last day she frosted and decorated both of them. The large cake was frosted with white and yellow roses, and she ruefully recalls, “I made up a bunch of roses, froze them – and then forgot them.”

But the days of huge cakes are over. Since Wilma’s six children have grown up, just she and husband Joe are left at home, so the Apiary

woman bakes cakes only for very special people and occasions.But Wilma says she would still rather cook for a group than one or two. She enjoys cooking turkey dinners with all the trimmings when the family comes home, which happens often during the year, and especially at holiday time.

Wilma, of Latvian heritage, was born in Portland. Her family moved to this area when she was 8 years old. She and Joe have been married 45 years and still live where Joe was born and raised on his father’s original timber claim.

Joe and Wilma’s children are Joan, Joseph, Carol, Ruth, Ina and Bob, and they all live in Oregon and Washington. Only Joseph and Bob still live in the Apiary area. There are also 16 grandchildren. “I have to stop and count!” Wilma chuckles.

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Joe is retired after being a mail carrier for 18 years. Wilma notes that he has always farmed, worked in mills, and he still has a small strawberry acreage to keep him busy, along with a large garden.

Wilma liked being a creative cook when the family was growing up, baking all her own bread and canning hundreds of jars from their orchard and garden. Now she has turned to other creative pursuits, such as tole painting, wood burning, oil painting and China painting. Wilma collects cook books and particularly enjoys her old Fannie Farmer Cook Book and Grand Union Cookbook from 1902. Her very old Orange Judd Cook Book notes that “. . . in spite of the many advantages which the farm cook enjoys, it is a deplorable fact that poor cooks are not confined to city limits. It is a pity that there should be any poor cooks, in city or country, since the art of plain and wholesome cooking is an easy one to master and

yet means so much in the life economy of working people, who in turn are of the utmost importance in the grand scheme of life.

Some women do not realize that very intimate relations exist between their own kitchens and the despised liquor saloons. Poor cooks have done more to drive men to strong drink than all the female temperance lecturers in the world can ever hope to redeem . . . ”

A fun cook book and filled with interesting recipes. Now for some of Wilma’s good recipes.

Wilma says this method of cooking salmon is really good. It stays moist and leftovers are good in sandwiches – it never goes to waste. Or is that waist?

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Wilma’s Salmon 3 to 4 pounds salmon, or 6 – 8 pound whole fish Enough water to cover fish 1 – 1 ½ cups salt 2 stalks celery, sliced 2 tablespoons pickling spice 1 tablespoon vinegar 1 garlic clove

Bring water, salt, celery, pickling spice, vinegar and garlic to boil; drop in fish and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with 1 cube butter or margarine over fish. If cooking whole fish can use roaster.

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Daughter Ruth is married to a commercial fisherman so she cooks piles of fish and this is the favorite batter.

Ruth’s Fish Batter 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 egg Milk to suit

Combine flour, baking powder and egg with enough milk to make batter consistency desired. Coat pieces of fish and drop into hot oil; turn when golden brown and cook until golden brown on other side.

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Wilma says this nice, moist casserole is very good and even finicky kids will like it.

Spam, Ham or Corned Beef Casserole 1 can of Spam, ham or corned beef 2 medium onions, chopped ¾ cup cracker crumbs ½ cup shredded cheese 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 cup milk Add 3 beaten eggs last

Combine ingredients and bake in buttered casserole dish at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

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Wilma says this recipe from daughter Joan is delicious – the kids will go through these fast!

Joan’s Burritos3 pounds lean ground beef and fry until done. (Use lean only as while it is frying you need to draw off excess liquid with a baster.) Then add:1 can refried beans1 package taco seasoning (a bit more if you like them spicier)1 small can tomato paste

Mix all ingredients together and simmer short time. Then spoon the mix into tortilla shells. Either fold or roll. Put on greased cookie sheet. Brush top with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes.

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Wilma’s kids always loved this oriental-type dish.

Favorite Oriental Dish 2 cups diced ham 1 or 2 onions, chopped 2 stalks chopped celery 1 package Chinese noodles 1 can chicken broth or chicken rice soup.

Saute ham, onions and celery together. Cook and drain 1 medium-sized package of Chinese noodles; add to skillet with

chicken broth or chicken rice soup. Combine all well, sprinkle with soy sauce to taste and simmer just a few minutes. Delicious!

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One of Wilma’s old cookbooks holds a secret almost forgotten. Do you remember Grandmother’s yeast made from unsalted water in which potatoes were boiled? This is great for those who bake a lot of their own bread.

Perpetual YeastDissolve 1 cake of yeast in 1 pint lukewarm unsalted potato water. Mix well, add ½ cup sugar, stir thoroughly, pour into2-quart glass (or plastic) container; cover loosely and then let stand in a warm place overnight. Next morning it will be a foaming mass. Put a tight lid on the container and set in the refrigerator.

When ready to make bread, pour into the yeast mixture 1 pint lukewarm potato water, mix well and then stir in ¼ cup sugar. Let stand open in a warm place about 5 hours, or until the contents are very light and foamy. Then stir it down and use 1 pint of the mix for raising four loaves of bread.

Cover remaining yeast mix tightly and return to refrigerator. Some of this yeast may be used once or twice a week, or every night, by adding fresh potato water and sugar as described above.

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Wilma’s old Fannie Farmer cookbook has the answer to the request for how to make “brown and serve” rolls:

Twice-Baked Rolls Put in a mixing bowl: 3 cups lukewarm milk 2 packages yeast Let stand 5 minutes. Stir well, add: 5 teaspoons salt ¼ cup sugar 6 cups flour

Beat as long as possible. Stir in 4 cups flour (about), or enoughto be able to knead the dough thoroughly. Let rise until about double in size. Shape like hot rolls. Let rise until slightly less than doubled in bulk. Bake at 275 degrees for 40 minutes. Leave in pans 20 minutes. Cool at room temperature and wrap in plastic freezer bags. Makes 8 dozen rolls. When ready to serve, place on an unbuttered cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until brown, about 7 to 15 minutes, depending on size of roll. NOTE: These are the popular “brown and serve” rolls to finish baking at mealtime. Rolls could be shaped as clover leaf rolls, finger rolls, Parker House rolls, bowknots, fantans, etc., as well as plain.

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Above & next page: The Daily News ~ October 30, 1986

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Wilma was a stamp collector for many years and in 1996, with failing eyesight, sold her collection to granddaughter Anna McNeely.

Above & next page: Wilma’s letter to her granddaughter Anna regarding the stamps.

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Above and previous page: Examples of Wilma’s stamp collection.

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“In that shoe box is a letter my Dad wrote me, the only one he ever wrote as he couldn’t write in English.” Wilma’s letter to Anna.

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FYI: “Old Battle axe” (Carrie Hackenberg) still in the house after Josef died until Mr. Bockman moved her out on December. 8th.

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Southwest Washington Visitors’ Guide, Welcome Magazine, 1992 Edition

For different glimpse of Oregon, try back roads by David Beard, The Daily News

Start from Rainier and travel west on Highway 30. . . turn onto Apiary Road. This quiet country lane is the road to Apiary, which once was a village. Now it’s a dot on the map indicating a few houses.

Look for a sign on your right at Wilma’s Painting Place, 73245 Apiary Road. (Keep a sharp eye when approaching from Rainier. The sign is covered by scotch broom.)

Stop in and get to know Wilma Hackenberg, a sometime art teacher in Lower Columbia College’s Community Education division, who runs her own art studio in a couple of rooms of her family’s log cabin.

Check the walls around the cabin for Hackenberg’s unique contribution to art: scenic paintings on dragsaw blades. The long, straight blades look like the blades of the two person saws loggers once used. A mechanical dragsaw cut through a piece of wood by dragging the blade back and forth across it.Hackenberg also expresses herself in more conventional forms, such as pen-and-ink greeting cards, oils and china collector’s plates.

She gives private lessons too.

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Above & right: Examples of Wilma’s pen and ink drawings.

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Balodis

Above: Balodis, AKA: William Balod, March 22nd 1887 ~ June 1975.Photo circa 1910

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A. Spritz Balodis, born July 13, 1840, married Grieta, born March 17,1843. Children:

A(1) Daughter ~ Dahrte, born September 9, 1861; died December 26, 1928. First marriage: Benjamin Tiits, second marriage to John Paegle.

Children:A(1a) son Kahrlis August Tiits, born November 11, 1881; A(1b) daughter Alvine Anna Tiits, born February 26, 1883; A(1c) son Jahn Waldemar Tiits, born October 5, 1890; A(1d) son Eduard Theodor Tiits, born January 14, 1894

A(2) Son ~ Eduard Balodis, born February 28, 1873; died September 17, 1924, married Rozalie Preediht.

Children: A(2a) son Alexandrs, born January 1, 1899 ~ Alexander’s daughter A(2a)1 Velta, her son A(2a)1a Aldis, and grandson A(2a)1a(1) Janis

A(2b) daughter Selma Hellene, born September 27, 1900 married Vilhelm Dzenis. Children: A(2b)1 daughter Mirdza, born 1922 A(2b)2 son Laimonis, born 1928 A(2b)3 daughter Mudite, born 1936 A(2b)4 daughter Valija, born 1938 A(2b)5 daughter Parsla, born 1945, married Karlis Andres. Children: daughter Zane A(2b)5a, married Andis, Children: daughter Eliza A(2b)5a(1) daughter Anete A(2b)5a(2) A(2c) daughter Alma Leontine, born July 23, 1902, husband name unknown; daughter: Alise A(2c)a: her daughter Antra A(2c)a1 (Surname: Broks ?)

†A(3) Son ~ August Balodis, born October 9, 1875

A(4) Son ~ Waldemar Balodis (Americanized to William Balod)‡, was born May 21, 1887 on farm Admenkalni (translation – Stonehills). He came to the U.S. in 1908 or 1909, died June 1975 in Oregon. Early Latvian records indicate he was born in May instead of March as on U.S. records. Two separate Declaration of Intention documents with different information were located. One filed August 26, 1942 states he arrived at the Port of Portland on June 15, 1908 on the “S.S. Ottila”. The following Declaration of Intention filed in 1912 may be more accurate which states he arrived October 10, 1909 on the (Sail) ship “Adofield” out of Antwerp, Belgium. His trade was listed as “carpenter”.

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He married Karolina Ehrman, (or Erman), born August 5, 1878, died May 11, 1916, in Oregon. Karolina arrived in the New York harbor June 5, 1911 on the “Lituania”, port of departure: Libau, Posen, Prussia, Germany A(4a) daughter Wilma Balod, born July 15, 1913, died December 14, 2008. Married Joe Hackenberg 1934 Children:

A(4a)1 Wilma Joan, born 1935 A(4a)2 Carol, born 1938 A(4a)3 Joseph, born 1940 A(4a)4 Ruth, born 1942 A(4a)5 Ina, born 1947 A(4a)6 Robert, born 1951

† Note: This marks the point in the list where names above are of people in the “old country” and below are in the US starting with August the first immigrant.‡ Note: Wilma Hackenberg’s father.

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The Latvian researcher believed the following Balodis line found in local Salacgrivia records is connected to Spritz Balodis. There is a Kozins pictured with Alexandrs A(2a) in one of the following photos and believed to be a relative, but connection unknown. Many historic documents used for family research have been lost due to war, political upheaval with language changed to Russian then back to Lettish, etc., so the Balodis chart is not necessarily complete but all the information available at this time.

Krisjanis Balodis Son ~ Gustavs Balodis, born October 10, 1886, died January 19, 1926, married Zelma Kozins, born December 15, 1890, died March 17, 1920.

(The Museum Director was also contacted by Balvi, connection unknown, from a different area of Latvia, but he did not pursue contact with U.S.)

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The genealogy numbers assigned to Balodis family members in the previous chart are used to help identify “who is who” in the following photos saved through the years by Spritz and Grieta’s granddaughter Wilma.

Above: A. Grieta and Spritz Balodis ~ Salacgriva, Latvia

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Left: Son A(4) William (Waldemar) told his grand- children that Grieta and Spritz would take the wagon into town for supplies, then she would go shopping while he visited the local pub. If Spritz was still drinking when it was time to go home, Grieta would pick him up, throw him over her shoulder and get on with the business at hand.

The Balodis surname means “pigeon” and a common Latvian name making research difficult. However, a letter written in 1925 by Alexandrs A(2a) to his Uncle William A(4) in the U.S. along with names on photos were used by Latvian researchers to narrow their search to a specific area and family. At the time of the letter, Alexandrs was a farm worker on an estate named “Tirpi” in the area of Salacgrivia. Research has confirmed that “Tirpi” has since been abandoned and now part of a forest.

Spritz and Grieta Balodis were also farm workers and lived near Salacgrivia, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea, near the Latvian border with Estonia. Fishing and farming were common occupations and young William went to work on a fishing boat when old enough. During the Russian/Japanese War the fishing boat was seized by the Russians and the fisherman found themselves unwilling sailors in the Russian Navy.

Left: In front row, third from left is Alexandrs beside his wife wearing white hat. This picture is in the archives of the Salacgrivia Museum and shared by the Director.

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Above: An older Alexandrs Balodis Right: A(2a) Alexandrs Balodis on left with

K. Kozins.

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Top left: Postcard sent to his Uncle William by Jahn Tiits A(1c) from Hamburg, Germany in 1916. It is not known what became of William’s Tiits nephews.

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Above: Jahn Tiits A(1c) and brother Eduard A(1d) Tiits ~ sons of William’s sister Dahrte A(1)

William Tiits’ Latvian memories shared with his grandchildren:“The Balodis children learned to read and write at home as they were not accepted at school until they had these skills. At times they lived in a shelter with no permanent floor that could be moved to a different site. Perhaps this was temporary summer housing for field work as he mentioned the winters could be very cold.”

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“Hello dear Uncle. Thank you for your good heart, but don’t forget your unique niece. I send to you my card and greetings~ Julianna Balod

In the note on back of the photo Julianna thanks William for some good deed. There are no documents identifying her parents, but it is likely that she had some connection with Alexandrs as he seemed to be the one that kept in contact with William in the U.S. The researcher found someone in Salacgrivia who remembered seeing Julianna in 1957 but had no other information.

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Above: william’s niece Selma A2(b) with her youngest daughter Parsla A(2b)5. All pictures of Selma’s family were sent through e-mail in 2001

Above: Photo dated 1985. Selma’s son and daughters. Left to right: Mirdza A(2b)1, Laimonis A(2b)2, Mudite A(2b)3, Valija A(2b)4, Parsla A(2b)5

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Above: Mirdza ~ A(2b)1

Above: 1991, Left to right: Janis A(2a)1a(1); Aldis A(2a)1a; Karlis Andis, beside his wife Parsla A(2b)5; Velta A(2a)1; and “some relative”.Accompanying note “Velta is deceased. Aldis’ wife is Russian and he has gone to Moscow. We have lost contact with him.”374

Above left to right: Parsla’s daughter Zane holding Elize, her Aunt Valija holding Anete, and Parsla

Above: Parsla with daughter Zane and granddaughters, photo circa1999.

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Above: Parsla with nephew Imants Berzins, son of her sister Valija. Imants speaks English and was in e-mail contact in 2001. At that time he worked as Managing Director for the Danish company “Vitfooss” which produced a mineral and vitamin mix for livestock. He lived in Riga, but was building a home in Salacgrivia where his wife and youngest daughter lived. His older daughter Elina pictured below had graduated from college and lived in Kingston, near London, England.

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Above: Researcher’s “suspicious” actions.

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Above: The Salacgrivia newspaper with the above pictures and a story regarding the Balodis family listing the Museum Director as a contact.

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Balod Picture GalleryRainier

Above: A young Alpha Jones. She first married a Sumner, then Clifford Gamble - brother of George.After Clifford Gamble died she married Bill Balod.

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Above: Grandma Celia Gamble is shown below working in the hop fields (Above and previous photos courtesy of Bob Gamble).

Wilma with her stepmother Alpha and stepbrother Clifford Sumner ~ circa 1925.

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Above: View of their rental house from the wood shed. It burned down in later years after they moved.

Above left: Berry picker “Stew” may have been a relative.

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Above: (With guitar) Wilma’s good friend Agnes “Cougar” Barth was a cousin to both Edyth and Clifford and often visited.

Above: Wilma with her close friends Viola Clark in the middle and Ruby Sellman at left end. Back of the picture reads “The Musketeers”.

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Above: At the beach left to right: Clifford, Alpha, Wilma, and Jim Jones, cousin of Alpha and Maree who was living with the Balods at the time.

Right: A stylish young Wilma.

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Above: Bob Gamble photo of late 1920’s Hudson Ladies Aid. Pearl Hackenberg is at right end. Some of the other women (left end to the middle) are possibly Alpha Balod, Maree Gamble, Anna Larson and Anna Beegle ~ unknown order.

Above: Alpha and neighbor Anna Larson. 386

Above left: Clifford.Above right: “Gramma” Wilma Balod on the mower.

A note on a similar picture stated: “Believe it or not, it snowed the next day.”

Above: “Nite Pickets” ~ Bill Balod behind sign

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R.U.H.S. Class of 1931

Wilma Balod “Wilmy” ~Glee Club 3, Shorthand Contest 3-4, Home Ec Club 1.

Senior Will: “Wilma Balod leaves her artistic ability to Florence Cevela”

Senior Prophecy: “Wilma Balod and Mildred Rice were matrons in the Howlett Home for Homeless Humbugs”“Ray Howlett, a wealthy philanthropist, had founded a home for old maids and had become so interested in his institu- tion that he had taken over the manage- ment of it himself”

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Above: Wilma the budding musician.

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Left: Senior Class of 1931 Walkout to Deer Island Stock Ranch.

Left: Post card of Deer Island Stock Ranch.

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Above: Rainier Union High School Class of 1931 ~ Reunion 30 years later.

Many will recognize Roland Curteman and Joe Oliva in the back row and Alice Wood Morgan third from left in short middle row. In the front are long time teacher Mrs. Ingold, Lois Oliva, and Bill Everman along with Wilma at far right.

In 2008 the last two surviving classmates were Alice Morgan and Wilma.

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Above: All grown up ~ lifetime friends Edyth Gamble Wildfong on left and Wilma Balod Hackenberg on right.

Above: March 1961 ~ “Pa” Balod and daughter Wilma during spring yard cleanup at the Hackenberg home.

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