Notes
It's logging week at Historic Hood River. Hood River County has a long and proud history of logging, documented in numerous spectacular images. We'll look at five of my favorites this week.
We have two copies of this photograph, each with some info. As is common with our collection, multiple people have added information at different times, usually many years later, and of course the recollections of the two witnesses differ slightly. Here's what they tell us: The scene is in front of Bill Hilmer's (or Helmer's) store at Mt. Hood, at the current intersection of Woodworth and Highway 35. The building to the left is an icehouse. The men on the cart are identified as Jim Dimmick, Joe Demmon, Lewis (or Bill) Helmer, and Roy Blagg, though the order differs between the versions. The picture was taken by Joe Hess.
One note goes on to say, "Bill Helmer's store was built just below Gribbles Store above Ruth's homestead. Mr. Helmer worked on RR ships in Portland during WW I." The Mystery Monday puzzle: Based on this information, what is the minimum number of years that passed between when the image was captured and when the note was added?
Category: [Parkdale]
Comments
I have no idea, but my guess would be somewhere in the vicinity of 17 or 18 years.
As to the store building itself. That building remained a store for many, many years. I have no idea as to how many owners it had after Helmer, but when I was a early teen ager Ray and "Beans" Dougherty owned that store, living just not too far down Woodworth. Their driveway went off Woodworth and pasted the old covered bridge across the Hood River. They eventually took over the Mt. Hood store up the highway, closing down the old store at 35 and Woodworth. The smaller two buildings were already gone during the 1950's. I am guessing the Gribble store means probably Mt. Hood Store.
Okay, my question is where did they transport the logs to for milling? What was the closest mill in that time? You can get an idea as to how wonderful the logs were from the grove of tall trees to left in photo.
Charlott on 24th October 2011 @ 7:20am
WWI was referred to as the ‘Great War’ until 1939, so the minimum number of years between image capture and when the note was added would have been 28.
Jim on 24th October 2011 @ 8:31am
Jim is correct, the use of the phrase "WW I" puts these notes on the back of the photo after the start of WW II. If you're adding a description to a photo, it's a good practice include "who" and "when" for the note taker as well as the subjects.
Arthur on 24th October 2011 @ 11:15am
What is the strucure to the left of the bottom log on the wagon?
Bill Pattison on 24th October 2011 @ 7:03pm
Did you notice the architecture of the building on the left is the same as the Taft Barn located on 11th St in HR, and now the Sloan Medical Blg.? Wonder if this wasn't a "cooky cutter" of the times?
Bill Pattison on 24th October 2011 @ 7:18pm
Jim Dimmick is naturally of the family with that name that Dimmick Park was named after. What a wonderful close by picnic area prior to the flood that washed it all away.
Charlott on 25th October 2011 @ 3:41am
Notice that one rope holding on that pretty big load of logs. Even with what appears to be cinch knots bouncing along the roads of the era could loosen knots........Know sometimes I have seen my Dad as we went to Hood River with a load of fruit stop along the way to check those knots and the roads were paved then......
Must have been a bumpy drive for that driver.
I also noticed the beauty of the horses. .Healthy and shiny. Horses were top priority as they were a farmer/logger's life line to the world.
Charlott on 26th October 2011 @ 4:56am
That is interesting about the Name of the Store on Woodworth. I remember when Baldwin Creek Road used to be called Gribble road.
Susan on 28th October 2011 @ 1:36pm