F.. Sulphur Springs

Charlie Olson: No orchard, but if you talk about trees there's a whole lot of yew trees and they're still there.

Bob Zybach: I'm familiar with this area, so. . . but I'm thinking of trees that people used. Like they used this tree here as a landmark. Or they used. . . did this tree have a name or just the oak tree at the end of the county road, something like that? Do you recall any name associated with this tree, they name it afier anybody or.

Charlie Olson: Oh, hell, they didn't name . . . every tree.

Bob Zybach: I know, but sometimes they would. . . there'd be a tree at the end of the road and they'd call it the "hanging tree" or "Smith's tree" or something like that. Nothing, just this tree just happened to be here, kind of a landmark.

Charlie Olson: The only thing that I know of was that there was a tree there and it was the end of the road. I've never hear anybody name it.

Bob Zybach: Okay.

F. Sulphur Springs

Bob Zybach: Okay, we're at Sulphur Springs and you were telling me the hotel was down there to the right, and right in front of that brush that we can see. And this whole area, this whole side here didn't have any trees or anything in those days.

Charlie Olson: No, it was open.

Bob Zybach: What kinds of plants grew in here?

Charlie Olson: Plants'i

Bob Zybach: Like grass, strawberries, or goat weed.

Charlie Olson: They had that trimmed up pretty good in there. There was tents . . . there was a lot of tents in here, they camped in here.

Bob Zybach: Would the tents kind of be in this open area that's here now?. Is this kind of where they put the tents?

Charlie Olson: Of course.

Bob Zybach: Would anybody camp on the other side of the creek?

Charlie Olson: There was nothing on the other side of the creek but trees.

Bob Zybach: Did you say there was a trail that went over to Oak Creek from here?

Charlie Olson: This trail goes right through here to Oak Creek and old Junk Matthews took a notice

Charlie Olson: that he was going to make a road through there one time. He started it. It's only four miles . . . about five miles.

Bob Zybach: From here to Oak Creek?

Charlie Olson: Yeah.

Bob Zybach: Where did Junk Matthews live from here?

Charlie Olson: Right up there just about as far as you can see a little bit farther beyond what you can see, was his forty acres.

Bob Zybach: Where was his house at?

Charlie Olson: It was just about the middle of the forty acres.

Bob Zybach: So it would be quite. . . so there was. . . was he the only family up this little stretch here?

Charlie Olson: That was the only family here at that time, but there is something else. Missed a kind of little detail, years ago they had put in a sawmill up here and

Bob Zybach: Can you find that spot?

Charlie Olson: Water power.

Bob Zybach: A water power sawmill?

Charlie Olson: Water power sawmill.

Bob Zybach: Can you find that spot, I'm real interested in that? Can you find the spot where the sawmill was?

Charlie Olson: I doubt it, because there's trees there . . . I don't know how many families live up there now.

Bob Zybach: I don't know either, we've got a key to the gate. Why don't we talk about Sulphur Springs right here and then take a little drive up there to where Junk Matthews' house was and you can just point out generally where the sawmill was, does that sound all right?

Charlie Olson: I think I can point out pretty closely where it was, but there's . . . his house I can point out pretty close where it was, but I don't know what they've got up there now. There's undoubtably a bunch of houses up there now.

Bob Zybach: I don't know either so we can find out together. How about this hill up on this side here [north], what was this like over here?

Charlie Olson: That was bald.

Bob Zybach: All of it?

Charlie Olson: That was bald.

Bob Zybach: And this road that's going through here now this rock road. . . was there a road going. is this Matthews' road here?

Charlie Olson: That was a sort of a trail that you could drive up there with a buggy or a horse, but that was all.

Bob Zybach: About where the road is now?

Charlie Olson: Yeah.

Bob Zybach: Families camped out here what would they do?

Charlie Olson: I didn't check on them.

Bob Zybach: I've heard of a croquet field here, can you remember a croquet field ?

Charlie Olson: Who?

Bob Zybach: Would they play the game called croquet? A woman a little bit older than you said there was a croquet yard in here.

Charlie Olson: Not that I know of.

Bob Zybach: Were there any tables?

Charlie Olson: No. They put tables in here when Roosevelt was President, yes, they put some tables in here then, yes.

Bob Zybach: The CCC'S?

Charlie Olson: Yes.

Bob Zybach: And the Ccc's were the ones that put that rock down there as near as you can remember? That concrete slab?

Charlie Olson: Yeah, they did, they put that on.

Bob Zybach: So people would come in from town about where the oak tree is and they'd set up camp here. How long would they camp, how long would they stay?

Charlie Olson: I don't think they had any fixed time. And of the dozens that come in here, how the hell would you expect me to answer that question.

Bob Zybach: Just of the top of your head. Would anybody camp out over here on this side of the trail?

Charlie Olson: No.

Bob Zybach: Did they all stay in here?

Charlie Olson: They were in that camp ground.

Bob Zybach: Why would they come here instead of someplace else?

Charlie Olson: I didn't ask them. This up here was bare and there were gray diggers up here. I

Charlie Olson: could shoot gray diggers from here with my father's .45-.75. Lots of fun to shoot

Bob Zybach: gray diggers up there. Off on the left you said, there was a fenced off area that. . . was that at the same time that people camped. You said, a man was breaking a horse in here.

Charlie Olson: That was where they camped yes, when they came out here and camped, they camped on the camp grounds.

Bob Zybach: Was the fenced off area, would people put their horses in there?

Charlie Olson: I don't know if it . . . I never saw a horse out here except when he. . . Dell Baker owned.

Bob Zybach: Did the Bakers own this piece of ground right here?

Charlie Olson: They did, they owned this piece of ground.

Bob Zybach: Would they charge people rent for camping, or was there any charge?

Charlie Olson: I don't think so.

Bob Zybach: He just.

Charlie Olson: In those days, the people were not as greedy in those days as they are now. I don't think they charged for it. I never heard of them charging anything for it.

Bob Zybach: On that hotel that was a two story hotel, do you remember about the dimensions of the hotel?

Charlie Olson: I could tell you pretty close to the dimensions all right but it was probably forty by forty. It was a pretty good sized building, it was a well built building.

Bob Zybach: Did you hear any stories about it? People, did they call it the hotel or Sulphur Springs Hotel?

Charlie Olson: I don't know what they called it but there were stones to the regards to this, like there was down at Tampico. That was really a liquor outfit you know in there and crime.

Bob Zybach: Crime in Tampico?

Charlie Olson: Yeah, there was four brothers, Lee Brown was one of them, but Lee Brown was the only one of them that hadn't murdered somebody.

Bob Zybach: In Tampico, what years was that about?

Charlie Olson: I don't know what year that was about.

Bob Zybach: But the Browns were the four brothers, and three of them had murdered people?

Charlie Olson: Lee Brown was about fifty years old when I worked for him and I was about

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Charlie Olson: was the name of the other family. He brought them both in here at the same time. This Schneider family had . . . there was a boy and a girl and then their mother, and the father left them. These other didn't have a family. And he left his woman. And they .. I don't know anything about their circumstances but Aubrey Martin was living with this other woman, here, in this hotel.

Bob Zybach: And no children, there were no children?

Charlie Olson: No. But on this other situation, Schneider, there was a fellow from Corvallis that would come out here, you know, and stay with them and Gene Schneider, he was about eighteen, he got tired of that and he said, "you've got to let that guy go or I'm going to leave". And that gives you a pretty good idea why their husbands had left. And this Mrs. Schneider says you can leave. Gene Schneider worked for Cook, Wanda would probably know him.

Bob Zybach: Okay, Gene Schneider.

Charlie Olson: He was clearing land on this side of Cook's house. He was clearing land down there and that was the only income that they had. And so you can't blame him for wanting his mother to let this guy go back to Corvallis where he belonged. He shouldn't come out here and live with them.

Bob Zybach: Right.

Charlie Olson: But the mother told him he could go. And he went. And he joined the Merchant Marines. And the last that they heard of him, that ship was sunk and he was a pretty good swimmer, but he was on a couple of planks, whatever happened from then on they didn't know.

Bob Zybach: Never heard from him again?

Charlie Olson: No.

Bob Zybach: What happened to Aubrey Martin after his house burned down?

Charlie Olson: Well, he was around for quite a while but I don't know really what happened.

Bob Zybach: What happened to the woman that he was living with?

Charlie Olson: Don't know.

Bob Zybach: Okay, so. . . Junk Matthews got killed a few years later on the horses like we've already said. Did anybody live beyond Junk Matthews place, was this the furthest place out in this area.

Charlie Olson: His place was the only one.

Bob Zybach: But where did Schneiders live?

Charlie Olson: On the other side of this ridge.

Bob Zybach: Oh, I see, so they were up on another road system?

Charlie Olson: They went. . . they lived on the road that goes up to where I lived.

Bob Zybach: Now in this area here then, we had a two-story hotel, there used to be benches around the spring and it had a concrete fountain. can you describe that fountain?

Charlie Olson: It was pitcher like, of cement.

Bob Zybach: Just like a cylinder?

Charlie Olson: It was round, I'll tell you how they put it in, they started to dig for it and the stuff would keep running in, keep running in, they couldn't dig down for the thing, so they got on it and worked it down.

Bob Zybach: Oh, I see, just a bunch of people pushing it in to place. So was it like a standard fountain like you could buy for at a concrete place.

Charlie Olson: You have seen a pitcher pump?

Bob Zybach: Oh, it was a pitcher pump.

Charlie Olson: You have seen a pitcher pump?

Bob Zybach: Yeah.

Charlie Olson: Well, this was a cement rig built like a pitcher pump, the spout came out just like on a pitcher pump.

Bob Zybach: Oh, I see, so it came up and over. Did the spring have any more pressure in those days? You say a stronger flavor.

Charlie Olson: It was stronger than it is now. There's nothing to it now.

Bob Zybach: We thought there was something to it. I drink it every time but I never tried to gulp it before.

Charlie Olson: Well, maybe my taster isn't as good as it should be, but.

Bob Zybach: Were the benches that were built. . . built around there kind of rough benches or were they kind of elaborate?

Charlie Olson: They were wood, one on each side.

Bob Zybach: Were they permanently put in place or could you move them around?

Charlie Olson: No, they were permanent.