I wanted to talk about a nice person that I met while I was manning the democrat's booth at the Vernonia Salmon Festival. An elderly lady walked up to the booth and said it sure is nice to finally see some democrats out here in Vernonia. You don't know how nice it is to be able to talk to someone other than Republicans. I offered her a chair and she sat down and we began a nice visit.

She had lived in Vernonia her entire 77 years. She was the granddaughter of Ma Vike. Ma Vike owned a restaurant and tavern combined and was a frequent place for the loggers who lived in town or for those who stayed in camp. When she mentioned Ma Vike it rang a bell. I remember my grandpa, dad and great uncles talking about Ma Vike and said that it was the best eating-place in town. You have to remember back then Vernonia was a booming logging town and was always busy.

As we continued on our visit I was pleasantly surprised that she had known my family and then did we chat about people and logging history, we talked about the runaway train which wrecked and how the engineer and brakeman stayed on the train and tried to stop it before it came into camp where many people lived. They managed to derail the train before town, saving many lives but unfortunately by their heroic actions they both perished in the wreck. Burst boilers scalded both men to death. We then threw out some logging lingo.

I told her about the time I went to the Oregon American picnic, I was a kid and the old loggers took a liking to me and taught me how to be a whistle punk allowing me to bring in the loggers for lunch, I also learned how to operate a steam locomotive, not to mention logger talk that I proudly used because after all I wanted to be like dad and grandpa and their friends all of course to my mother's dismay.

It all was good until some nicely dressed folks, I presume from Portland, stopped and looked at the donkey engine. They asked, "what is that black stuff all over around the drum?"  I proceeded to tell them "that's bear shit."
Mom just about died, she gave me the dickens, I said "But mom, that what it is."

She gently said to the people "its grease."

I mumbled, "We call it bear shit."

We had a good laugh at that story and she told me a few too. It was great! She must have sat at the booth for an hour; we had such as good time.

After we swapped stories she decided to leave, she said "I was just going to hurry through but I am so glad that I met you Tammy you tell it like it is and I like that." She said "we need more people that don't bull shit around."

I liked that lady more and more. I told her I was glad to have met her as well and I took her name down because we are going to get together soon and look at logging pictures and pass some time.

As she left for the third time she said "I want a button and some signs for my yard" 

I gladly gave her what she asked. I had my husband carry the yard signs for her to her car. It was really nice to talk to someone who lived at the time Vernonia was a booming logging town and could reminisce about the "good old days."