The Naughty Norwegian

I’d like to share a little of what I know about Cecil Arneson, my great grandfather. I don’t know why I’m so concerned with him, it could be because no one else seems to be. My mother and her mother hated him. My great grandmother divorced him, But she also married him, so he must have had some redeeming qualities.

Here is an excerpt from something I wrote for a local history book:

After he married Viola they moved to Powers where Cecil went to work for the Smith-Powers Logging Company. This may have been the longest time he worked for any one company. In Powers Pete, Claude, Ella and Vera were born. Vic Stevens tells a story about Cecil in his book “THE POWERS STORY”  it goes like this;

 “There was an amusing incident which happened during one ball game which I was attending.
There was a large crowd of men congregated in the street between the depot and the tavern across the street.  This was the same place that Mr. Link was having his shin-dig.  This time it was one of our local boys putting on a show.  I was attracted to the place by the crowd of people.  What I saw, when I got where I could see, was John Darling chasing his brother-in-law around and around inside the circle.  Evidently John had caught up with his victim several times for the poor fellow’s face was smeared all over with blood, and his nose was bleeding.  He probably looked worse than he was.
I couldn’t understand why the little fellow didn’t break out of the ring and make a run for it, but he never did.  He only kept running around the ring, which was formed by the amused audience, hollering for help.
The crowd soon dispersed and I suppose the one-sided fight was stopped for lack of an audience.  Since it was a family affair, no one seemed very concerned about it.  Well almost no one.
There was one person, who, when he heard about the pseudo fight, reacted in a peculiar manner.  The way he heard the story, it sounded like a mutt and jeff deal and he meant to do something about it.  By this time, the ball game was on, and Cecil Arneson, who was a native of Myrtle Point, began his search for John Darling and found him lying on the ground watching the game.”
Cecil approached Darling and said, “On your feet, Darling.”
Darling looked up at Cecil and seeing the serious look on Arneson’s face, he immediately arose to his feet and as he did so, Arneson slammed him a good hard punch and John went down, but not out.

Angry now, and humiliated besides, he sprang to his feet to put Cecil in his place, for Cecil was even smaller than his victim of an hour or two before.  As he made his rush for Cecil, he was met by another haymaker and down went John’s meathouse again.  John still wasn’t satisfied that it wasn’t just a lucky punch so he “upped and at him” another time, going down for the third time.  As John sat there on the ground, he looked up at Cecil and asked, “What’s the big beef anyway?”
And Cecil replied, “I just wanted you to see how it goes.”

I can't help it, it makes me smile.

In the photo L to R are Erik and Mary Arneson (Cecil's parents) Viola, baby Roy and Cecil Arneson

More about Cecil to come.

Finding my Family Tree through the Woods of History

Welcome to my musings. This is my first blog. I do hope they won't all be this long, but I can't make any promises.

Last night I attended "Working the Woods",  a lecture given by Dr. Bill Robbins about our local, Coos County Logging History. A friend of mine went with me and it was all I could do to not whisper in her ear every few minutes something like, "My great grandfather was a Whistle Punk before he became a High Climber." or "My grandmother was born in that logging camp." and the one I thought the most often was, "How can I get a copy of that photo?"

His talk was interesting and shed light on the changes in the logging industry between the 1850's and 1940's, but for me it helped to clarify a few things that had been tumbling about in my little brain as I try to sort out the circumstances of my ancestors.

Before I start writing about my grandfathers in the woods, I'd like to take note of the affect of industrial and technological change especially when it occurs rapidly. The lecture was held at the Mill Casino in Coos Bay. At the entrance is a portico built with large logs for the column supports.  I wanted to reach out and touch the ancient wood that made me think of how the woods must have been like 150 years ago.  Inside on the lobby wall was a large flat screen monitor which flashed different messages, one of which was the location of our meeting. On our way to the meeting room I was struck by the multitude of advances in technology in just the last few years. The monitor on the wall, my smart phone,  the iPad and the webinar I'd missed the other night were just a few of the marvels of this age that weren't around 10 years ago. For me these are good things because I'm fortunate enough to have them. For others who can't afford or don't understand the gadgets, I can see how that would hinder their access to information and yes even leave them out of social situations (good or bad.) Like reading my Blog.  In a similar way the advances made in logging were a boon to the ones who were in a position to prosper from it. Others, like my ancestors were not.

My maternal grandmother, Ella was born in a Smith Powers logging camp in Powers, Oregon in November of 1917.  Her father, Cecil Arneson was working in the woods as a high climber. I have wondered what that logging camp looked like. I knew there were shacks or cabins that families lived in, but until last night I hadn't seen a picture of one. When Ella was born she had 3 older brothers which meant that a family of 6 lived in a tiny wood building through a cold rainy winter and a hot summer in the remote camp that wasn't yet the town of Powers. Life as a high climber was stressful. Life as a mother of 4 small children is stressful. How much more so when separated from extended family and friends in a log camp deep in the woods?

My paternal grandfather was a logger also. Sometime in 1916-1918, Jack Mann was injured in  a logging accident while working for the Robert Dahler Mill Company in the vicinity of Elkton, Oregon. He was taken to a doctor in Marshfield. I'm told they put a metal plate in his head and one in his back. He was permanently crippled and never worked again. My cousin told me that he was the first Oregonian to receive income from the State Industrial Accident (Commission?) now known as State Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF). I would very much like to verify these facts with documents. So far, none.   


I would like to learn more about these people and how they lived. If you are interested also or have information for me, please watch this blog for further postings and Comment so I know you are out there.