In this edition: New vintage photos of Whitney’s Cannery. History of the pedestrian path on SW Garden Home Road. Detailed information on the construction history of Garden Home School. Fanno Creek Trail memorial benches. Harold Gjerman, and more.
Upcoming Events
Due to the current public health recommendations in response to the COVID-19 virus, we will not have slide programs until the Garden Home Recreation Center re-opens. We have interesting programs planned for the future. Take good care of yourselves.
Garden Home History Project 10th Anniversary
Thank you for your interest, participation, and support over the past ten years. We are looking back at some of our favorite stories and photos during this anniversary year. Please send your stories, photos and memories of Garden Home to GardenHomeHistory@gmail.com!
For some great stories about early Garden Home, we recommend you enjoy:
1905, Von Bergens: Magdelana, Andreas holding Frieda, Ida and Elsie standing and Andreas parents.
Courtesy Richard Roth and Madeline Benner. See post.
Andreas and Magdelana Von Bergen Dairy – Recollections of Madeline Benner of the Von Bergen Dairy:
The Von Bergen farm home in the 1920s and 30s was a big two-story house. I slept in a little room on the main floor when I visited. When I would stay overnight with Grandma, I would hear scary noises at night. Finally I learned that walnuts were put upstairs on the floor to dry and I was hearing mice chase the walnuts around. The family received the farm through a donation land claim.
Late 1920s Garden Home baseball team. #1 Duke Scherner in back.
Courtesy Don Smith. See post.
Don Smith – Don was in second grade when he and his mother, Postmistress Margaret Scherner Smith and his grandmother, Maria Scherner moved back to Garden Home in 1935. Margaret had grown up in Garden Home and is pictured in the 1911 first school class who met overhead in the Nichol’s store. Don caddied at Portland Golf Club as a young man. As caddies, they got to play for free on Monday mornings and on slow days could sneak onto the back nine for a little more time. Don retired as a golf pro.
Fanno Creek Dairy business card
Bob Feldman – Bob grew up on the Fanno Creek Dairy, which was located on the north side of Garden Home Road new SW 92nd Ave. Back in the 1940s, you might have seen young Bob Feldman riding his bike home from Garden Home School precariously toting a pail of slop from the cafeteria to feed his new baby pigs. He sold his first set of 10 weiner pigs and hoped for a new business. “Weiner pigs” are sold young for pork.
Fogelbo, home of Ross Fogelquist
Ross Fogelquist – Ross Fogelquist’s lovely home, called Fogelbo, is next door to Nordia House, the Nordic cultural center on SW Oleson Road. Ross served in different positions at the Swedish Consulate between 1992 and 2007, and retired as the Honorary Swedish Consul for Oregon in 20007.
New Stories
New vintage photos of Whitney’s Cannery
Shelly Bigley of the Old Market Pub and Brewery provided us with a large gallery of vintage photos of Whitney’s Cannery. To view the full gallery, see our story on Mark and Leona Whitney and the Whitney Cannery, 1950-1976. Thank you, Shelly!
Garden Home Road Safety Path
The bike and pedestrian path that runs along the north side SW Garden Home Road was built in approximately 1965. Prior to development of the walking path along Garden Home Road, children and others had to walk on the road, dodging cars and endangering their lives. It is remembered that one child was killed on SW Oleson Road. It took several years to fight for and win the approval to build the path. Read the story about the development of the safety path in our story on the Garden Home Road Safety Path.
Construction history of Garden Home School
Don Dunbar, former principal of Garden Home School (1968-1974), provided us with this very interesting diagram explaining the sequence and dates of the various additions to Garden Home School (now the Garden Home Recreation Center). Note the area outlined in black dotted lines is the location of the original school building that was built in 1912 and taken down in 1967. View photos of the school over the years in our work-in-progress story on the history of Garden Home School, 1912 to 1982.
Garden Home School – construction history diagram from Don Dunbar
1912 Newly constructed Garden Home School
Memorial benches on the Fanno Creek Trail
Read about the three memorial benches placed along the Fanno Creek Trail honoring Steve Mapes, Peter Herman, and Jeanette and Vernon Fredrickson. There’s a fourth bench located in the memorial garden at SW Oleson Rd and SW 80th Ave memorializing Terry Moore, who led the Garden Home Gardeners and their involvement in the remodeling of SW Oleson Road following the infamous 2007 chainsaw massacre (widening of SW Oleson Road).
Harold Gjerman
Read our story about Harold Gjerman, who has lived in Garden Home since 1970. Harold spent 45 years working for the railroads, and retired in 2004 as a conductor. He is a member of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway Historical Society, and has provided us with important print information about the Oregon Electric and the Garden Home Railroad station and rail lines. These were most helpful in writing captions for the colorized train photos given to Garden Home History by Colin Lamb. We are pleased to have Harold added to our Advisory Board, Garden Home History Project.
The Garden Home junction of the Oregon Electric Railway
Read our story on the history of the Garden Home station of the Oregon Electric Railway to view our gallery of vintage photos of the station, including 1936 aerial photos that finally put to rest the exact location of the station. On the photo below, you can clearly see the station building on a raised platform (note the shadows).
1936 Army Corps of Engineers aerial photo – Garden Home Railroad Station detail
Garden Home train station – rear
Garden Home train station
1936 aerial photos of Garden Home area by Army Corps of Engineers – Update
We’ve updated our collection of six 1936 aerial photographs of the Garden Home area taken by the US Army Corps of Engineers to include detailed annotations of landmarks and road names. The annotated versions of the photos make it easier to get your bearings when viewing the 1936 photos.
SW Garden Home intersection and train station – 1936 Army Corps of Engineers aerial photo (annotated)
View the collection of 1936 aerial photographs
Colin Lamb and the history of Lamb’s Garden Home Thriftway – Update
We’ve added some additional vintage photographs and news updates to Colin Lamb’s history of Lamb’s Garden Home Thriftway.
Recent News
Closure of the Garden Home Marketplace grocery store
The Garden Home Marketplace grocery store (formerly Lamb’s Thriftway) closed in October, 2019. Colin Lamb has given us seven of the large colorized early Garden Home photos that hung on the wall of the store, in addition to the three very large train reliefs that also hung near the deli counter. We are working to place all of these historical artifacts in the Garden Home Recreation Center, the Garden Home Community Library, and the Old Market Pub & Brewery.
With Colin Lamb’s approval, the historic church bell, bronze plaques, and vintage post office safe remain in place inside the now closed grocery store. The Old Market Pub & Brewery has tentatively agreed to host the historic post office safe.
We want to acknowlege Colin Lamb’s long-term support of the Garden Home community and of the Garden Home History Project. Read more about Colin Lamb and the history of the grocery store.
We do not yet know the future of the liquor store or other businesses previously located inside the Market Place. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more developments.
New display cabinet in the Garden Home Community Library
Garden Home Cooks! See our history display in the Garden Home Community Library: Garden Home recipe books by the Garden Home School’s Parent Faculty group, two recipe books from the Methodist Church, Isolda Steele and Shirley Bernard’s wonderful recipe books. The vintage kitchen appliances include the coffee grinder, churn, toaster, chopper and more!
May 2020 Newsletter
Get Involved
Historic Garden Home street sign
Historic Garden Home street signs: We currently have about 35 of the Historic Garden Home street sign toppers in our community. Each sign was purchased by a friend or family member to honor their loved one. Click here to view photos of the signs and for information about sponsoring a sign.
Our generous donors permit us to print and mail this newsletter ($140) for our non-e-mail people and for the Garden Home Recreation Center. We also replace the Historic Garden Home street signs once for signs that disappear, current cost for each sign, $60. With our latest order, we’ll have about 35 signs out in our neighborhoods. We also have website costs, printing, paper, plaques and many other costs of an organization. Donor names are listed on our History Bulletin Board at the Recreation Center. Thank you to all of our donors and to all of our volunteers for their time and skills.
Garden Home History Project 