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.