Terri Jo Adams provided this courtesy of the Santiam Historical Society via the social media Facebook site, Forgotten Oregon, on February 25, 2020. It is with permission that I provide it.
1928 Diary of Chet Kubin
Thur. Rain.
Mar. 22
Dad & I were falling trees and fixing fences on the creek bottom, to close all exits for our bull.
P.m. carried the cream & eggs down. Helped Ernest put in a new starter spring in the “Overland”. Then we drove to Mehama.
Dad was straightening a saw we found in the brush on the creek bottom.
Ernest moved an old poultry fence between the garage and woodshed to the other side of the row of gooseberries so that the turkey hens would have more brush to make their nests in. They have started to lay. Ma gathered 4 eggs today.
Fri. Rain.
Mar. 23
Walked below and helped Ernest install some Flex-o-glass on the west side of the big chick coop. This “glass” resembles muslin saturated with paraffin.
Sat. Rain, snow mixed in it during the night.
Mar. 24
I went below and tinkered around in the coops, made a large feed hopper for the chix. In the eve Ernest & I went to the club to play “500”. Quite a crowd. 5 tables of “500”, besides some kid tables. Ernest won the top prize a basket of narcissus and Japanese quince blossoms. I lacked 20 points of winning the booby prize. I was 2630 in the hole. Blanch Wagner won it.
Sun. Turned out to be a fair day, but clouded up again toward evening and looks like more rain, quite a bit of snow in the mountains again.
Mar. 25
We were building new chicken fences and tearing down old picket fences. Dad was down for dinner.
Mon. Rain.
Mar. 26
Went below. Ike Dixon & Roll Lee were there. I took them around to look over the pasture with the view of figuring a price for slashing same. They agreed to slash all brush small trees up to 8 or 10 inches in diameter. Ridge brush, trim everything fit for wood, for $100.00.
I stayed below for the night as it was too rainy. We played a few games of “500” while it rained.
Tue. Rain.
Mar. 27
Ernest and I were slashing the patch of evergreen black-berries at the spring, while the weather permitted. Between times I made a large feed hopper for the chix. Ernest drove to town for supplies.
Lee & Dixon started slashing while it stopped raining.
I walked to the upper place. Sounded dad on the slashing proposition. Not favorable at all. Haven’t told him of the deal yet. He told me if we wanted to hire, go ahead but he wasn’t going to pay the bill.
Wed. Cloudy, some showers.
Mar. 28
Ernest & I set out 12 walnut trees in the lower 26 prune orchard. Heaved out some prune trees to make room for them. We pruned prune trees till 1 p.m. Then had dinner. Spent the rest of the time slashing blackberries and brush at the spring.
Lee & Dixon were slashing in the pasture south of the gooseberries.
Ernest drove to Mehama for chick feed and supplies.
Thur. Rain, cold.
Mar. 29
Ernest was helping to load a car of piling at Lyons in the forenoon.
I was slashing brush & blackberries at the spring. Another hour or two will finish the job.
Lee & Dixon slashed brush only a little while as the rain drove them out.
Fri. Rain, damn it, need sunny weather the worst kind because of the chix not being turned out yet. 3 or 4 of them have shown signs of leg weakness, Ma seems to have straightened them out with cod liver oil.
Mar. 30
Went below and helped ma do the washing. Went to Mehama to get some cod liver oil after Champ told me they had it. Found they only had Scott’s Emulsion, I took a bottle home but will take it back.
Ernest went out towards Mill Creek Prairie with Giles Wagner to look for some of Giles’ cattle and a colt.
Sat. Rain.
Mar. 31
Took the cylinder head off of the fliver to see what causes it to skip. Found that the rear cylinder is scored. It “froze” 3 or 4 times for us since I had it rebored. Tried to get the connecting rod bearings off of it, but couldn’t as the socket wrench for it is cracked. Went below to have Ernest weld it.
I cleaned the coops, Ernest cleaned the chick coop, and welded the wrench.
Lee & Dixon were over and we played 6 games of “500”. Lee & I got 4 of them.
Ernest & I drove to Mehama; got some chick feed.
Ed found out at the Crabtree’s that Mrs. Monroe is said to have her ovaries infected with cancer. She is to have them removed.
Sun. Rain, snow flurries.
Apr. 1
I worked on the fliver and succeeded in getting the back piston out. Will try to smooth the cylinder and lap in a new piston and rings.
Went below for mail and bread. Found Ernest moping, dissatisfied as he is not making money. Ed wants to go to Silver falls or Hammond. He says he can get a $7.00 a day job on the “Lidgerwood”. Dangerous occupation.
Mon. Cloudy, showers, strong wind from the east in the forenoon, from south w. p.m.
Apr. 2
Ernest & I finished pruning the south lower 26 prune orchard. Pruned nearly a half of the north part.
Roll & Ike were slashing.
Dad grubbed out the suckers from around the filbert trees.
Tues. Snow 1” deep. Snow flurries, showers, sunshine.
Apr. 3
Did nothing. Went below to get mail.
Ed laid off for today because of the weather. Roll & Ike slashed part of the afternoon.
Wed. Cloudy, showers.
Apr. 4
Ernest & I finished pruning the lower 26 orchard.
Ernest drove to Mehama for groceries & supplies.
Ike & Roll slashed in the forenoon.
Thu. Fair.
Apr. 5
I went to the Winfield place with Waldo Zimmerman and we got out posts and set some for a fence around the lark-spur patch. I climbed a tree and chopped off limbs for post material.
The place has been bot out by a man named Niebert. He is going to put up a saw-mill. The mill & pond is located in such a place that we have to make a new fence.
Ernest helped ma do the washing.
Dad pruned trees west of the barn.
Fri. Clear.
Apr. 6
Helped Waldo & Otto Z. make and set posts around the larkspur patch on the Winfield place. We started to fall some big firs to form part of the fence but gave up because of pitch and poorly filed saw which we borrowed from Niebert who owns the property which the poison patch is.
Ernest helped dad repair our east fence thru which our bull and Z’s were fighting yesterday. They also pruned trees west of the barn.
Sat. Clear.
Apr. 7
Dad finished pruning trees west of the barn.
Ernest came up with the car, brot up some groceries and oyster shells. Took a load of wood down.
We cultivated our strawberries. I took the horse and a sled load of wood down. Ernest & I cultivated the strawberries where we left off the other time. Finished ‘em the second time and went fresh over the patch the 3rd time.
Ernest, Ed & I went to the club to play “500”. Good crowd, 6 tables.
A family named Paine, living at Lyons, are trying to rent Oley Morris’s pool hall for a residence. They are a large family of thieves and dead beats. Some of the women, including Mrs. Wilson and her sister Mrs. Monroe went to see Oley who lives at the cottage farm. He wrote a letter calling the deal off and told the women the club could have the hall. Will Rielie and some of the other women told me these facts and I thot no more of it but said I would write to Oley.
Sun. Clear.
Apr. 8
Easter. Dad came down. Didn’t do much of anything. Mrs. Stone came up to visit ma.
Mon. Cloudy, showers.
Apr. 9
I went to Salem to attend the prune grower’s annual meeting in the chamber of commerce rooms.
It was voted to take out an option for the Drager Packing Plant which can be bot for $35,000 or less.
Took in a show.
Ernest helped load a car of piling at Lyons.
Tue. Cloudy.
Apr. 10
I was fixing a wire from the porch to the ram at the lower place, to start the ram or stop it without going from the house. Cleaned out the coops.
Ernest drove to the lark-spur patch on the Jim Richards place. Helped with the fencing.
Dad was repairing the barriers under the east trestle which the Silverton Lbr Co smashed down when they removed part of the bridge decking.
I seem to have got in dutch with Millie & Pillie again. I went to Mehama and stopped at Phillip’s store. Millie & Pillie came up in the “Oldsmobile” sedan, and made no move to greet me. I couldn’t see what the trouble was, so I said “what’s the matter? Can’t you greet a gentleman when you meet him?” Well that started ‘em off, especially Pillie. It seems they had it in for me for taking their efforts in keeping undesirables out of this neighborhood too lightly, in that I took no action as President of the club. I told them I didn’t know anything about the affair till the talk last Sat nite. I thot the matter settled that Oley called the deal with Paines off. But I see now I didn’t get the right slant. The idea was to collect 50¢ from each family and send it in to reimburse Oley for the loss of a prospective tenant. So I offered my 50¢ and they took it. The girls are allright only they go off half cocked.
Wed. Cloudy, showers, rain steady in the evening.
Apr. 11
Ernest & I went to the larkspur patch to help Waldo Z. & Julius Titze fall trees onto part of the patch outside the fenced off portion, to smother it. We were to fall 3 firs, big ones, but got only one down, hadn’t wedge enough for the others.
Thur. Showers.
Apr. 12
Went to the larkspur patch with the Z. boys. Found one of the trees went over backwards and across our new woven wire fence that was built around the patch. We finished falling the other tree and succeeded in covering the main part of the patch, outside the fence, pretty well with a lot of small firs. Also hoed all afternoon. Have to come back tomorrow.
In the evening ma phoned up to tell that the Payne family from Lyons are going to move onto Bill Beringer’s place. So the 50¢ I paid to the Phillip twins to keep ‘em out of Mehama, is thrown away. We are worse off now than we would have been had the outfit gone to Mehama.
Ernest was helping load piling in Lyons.
Fri. Cloudy, showers.
Apr. 13
Finished hoeing larkspur. Hoed out a patch with Otto Z. south east of the Barham house, p.m. Otto & I went down the road to the Pomeroy place, took the trail from there to the north east corner of Pettyjohn’s place. Found Waldo hoeing there. Finished. Waldo showed us a site where a still was located over a year ago. Pettyjohn’s, no doubt. From there we went thru Spoor’s place and onto Bill Beringer’s place. Waldo showed us the locations of still sites.
Ernest & Ed were snaking hand hewed ties by Anna Stouts place across the river. Ed has been laying off the past two or three days, saying he is sick.
Sat. Fair.
Apr. 14
Went below and Ernest & I were blasting stumps in the 6 acre patch south of the lower 26 prune orchard. Ed & Ernest were going to snake ties but the horse is limping because of a nail that was in his foot.
Ed is laid off at Crabtree’s yesterday till Monday because of a breakdown.
The Payne family is to move into Bill Beringer’s place tomorrow.
Kelly & Willos, who were to have been hanged yesterday, have been reprieved for another week.
Sun. Fair.
Apr. 15
Damn bull got out yesterday afternoon and we all four tried to find him. Failed, quit at 1 o’clock and went below for dinner. Looked over Ike’s and Roll’s slashing. Dad told ma she has more money than sense.
Lots of fishermen up today. Season opened today. Creek too high.
Angel Prairee 