Soap Creek Valley oral history series · Monograph #15

Marvin Rowley

Monograph #15 in the Soap Creek Valley oral history series: Marvin Rowley, recorded in 6 sessions between January 25, 1979 and May 8, 1995, printed 2009.

Family History and Management of the OSU Research Forests, Benton and Polk Counties, Oregon: 1946–1986

Cover of Marvin Rowley as printed — The printed cover. Full-size scan on the creator's own site, nwmapsco.com.

Photograph printed in the monograph: Marvin Rowley — **Marvin Rowley.** From the front matter of the printed monograph (front-4 (title page)), reproduced from the creator's own scan.

Jackson, Royal G., Jennifer Lee, and Bob Zybach 2009. Marvin Rowley. Family History and Management of the OSU Research Forests, Benton and Polk Counties, Oregon: 1946-1986. Soap Creek Valley History Project, Monograph #15. Oregon State University College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon: 130 pp.

Provenance

Creator: Dr. Bob Zybach
Narrator: Marvin Rowley
Recorded: 6 sessions, January 25, 1979 to May 8, 1995
Transcribed, audited, edited: Royal G. Jackson (interviewer); Jennifer Lee (interviewer); Bob Zybach (interviewer); Marvin L. Rowley (co-author); Ann Rogers (other); Shahid Islam (other); William Atkinson (authorizer); John Beuter (other); Jeffrey Garver (other); Deborah Johnson (other); David Lysne (other); Forestry Communications Group, OSU College of Forestry (typesetter); Tim Hills, McMenamins (other); Troutdale Historical Society (other)
Printed: 2009 · Oregon State University College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon
Pages: 130 printed pages
Original: http://www.nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Oral_Histories/Soap_Creek_Valley/15_Rowley/Jackson_et_al_2009.pdf
Accessioned: From Bob Zybach’s upload, 23 August 2026
Source file checksum: sha256:8276f560785cef7e8528e2b2158a7deb…

What is not here, and why

Withheld from this edition. Printed p. 33 — 1 page of this volume is withheld while the Library completes a review. Each keeps its number and its permanent link, so a citation to any of them still lands on the page it names. The reasons differ from page to page and are not given here, so that the notice on one page says nothing about another. What is withheld, and why.

Front matter, as printed

Cover, as printed

MARVIN ROWLEY Family History and Management of the OSU Research Forests Benton and Polk Counties, Oregon: 1946–1986 Oral History Interviews by Royal G. Jackson, Jennifer Lee, and Bob Zybach Soap Creek Valley History Project OSU Research Forests Monograph #15

Cover photograph

Cover photo: Marvin Rowley standing on McCulloch Peak in McDonald Forest.

The series, as listed inside the front cover

Soap Creek Valley, Oregon, Oral History Series Monograph #1: Lorna Grabe. Family History and the Story of the Soap Creek Schoolhouse Foundation, Benton County, Oregon. Monograph #2: Paul M. Dunn. Biographical Sketch and Story of the Adair Tract, Benton County, Oregon. Monograph #3: Donald Dickey. Family History and Life on Berry Creek, Benton County, Oregon: 1928–1942. Monograph #4: Edward Sekermestrovich. Life at CCC Camp Arboretum, Benton County, Oregon: 1935–1940. Monograph #5: John Jacob & Wilma Rohner. Family Farming on Coffin Butte between World Wars, Benton County, Oregon: 1919–1941. Monograph #6: James Hanish. Biographical Sketch and a Tour of Berry Creek, Benton and Polk Counties, Oregon: 1930–1938. Monograph #7: Charlie Olson. Biographical Sketch and Early History of Sulphur Springs, Benton County, Oregon: 1900–1920. Monograph #8: Neil Vanderburg. Family Farming and Saw Milling on Berry Creek, Benton County, Oregon: 1935–1941. Monograph #9: Eugene Glender. Growing up on a Tampico Family Farm, Benton County, Oregon: 1910–1941. Monograph #10: Velma Carter Rawie. A History of the Carter Family and the Town of Wells, Benton County, Oregon: 1845–1941. Monograph #11: Bessie Murphy. Botanizing in Benton County, Oregon: 1900–1991. Monograph #12: Wanda Marcks Cook. The Story of the Sulphur Springs Stock Ranch, Benton County, Oregon: 1904–1939. Monograph #13: William A. Davies. Biographical Sketch and Management of OSU Research Forests, Benton & Polk Counties, Oregon: 1946–1973. Monograph #14: Charles & Norman Hindes. Family History and Story of the Soap Creek Sawmilling and Logging Camp, Benton County, Oregon: 1928–1931. Monograph #15: Marvin Rowley. Family History and Management of Oregon State University Research Forests, Benton and Polk Counties, Oregon: 1946–1986.

A note on that list

Printed on page i (inside front cover): the standing list of all fifteen monographs in the Soap Creek Valley, Oregon, Oral History Series, transcribed verbatim. Note that the series list gives this volume’s title as "Management of Oregon State University Research Forests" where the cover and title page read "Management of the OSU Research Forests".

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments The purpose of this project is to better understand the history of an area that has been managed by the College of Forestry since 1929 when Mary J. L. McDonald began making contributions to obtain land adjacent to the Arboretum for what would become McDonald-Dunn Forest. The Soap Creek Valley History Project is the outgrowth of an oral history project begun in the 1970s by Royal Jackson under the direction of John Beuter. Funding for the Soap Creek Valley History Project is provided by the Oregon State University (OSU) College of Forestry. The Soap Creek Valley History Project was authorized initially in 1989 by Dr. William Atkinson, former Director of the OSU Research Forests. The oral history portion of this project remained under Dr. Atkinson’s direction until January 1994, when it was assigned to Jeffrey Garver, Manager of the OSU Research Forests. In December of that year, responsibility for the oral histories was given to Ann Rogers, Cultural Resources Manager for the OSU Research Forests. The project has since been continued by Deborah Johnson and David Lysne. This publication was produced by the Forestry Communications Group of the College of Forestry. Special thanks go to Tim Hills, of McMenamins, for providing photos of the Multnomah Poor Farm (now McMenamins Edgefield), and to the Troutdale Historical Society for allowing their use. Publication by the OSU College of Forestry does not necessarily imply the endorsement or support of views expressed herein. Cover photo: Marvin Rowley standing on McCulloch Peak in McDonald Forest.

The map

Page vii carries a full-page map headed "Marv Rowley Oral History / Areas of Interest / McDonald-Dunn Forest", with a legend (Historical areas; Historical points; Stream; Historic flume; Historical roads; Forest boundary) and an inset showing the CCC Camp Arboretum, State Nursery and Peavy Arboretum area.

Table of contents, as printed

Table of contents Interviews Part I. January 25, 1979......1 Part II. January 31, 1979......16 Part III. February 6, 1979......38 Part IV. February 7, 1979......44 Part V. February 23, 1991......57 Part VI. May 8, 1995......97 Appendices Appendix A. Marv’s Songs, by Marvin L. Rowley, Class of 1950......115 The Fernhopper Legend......115 I Fell a Tree......116 The Song of the Trees......117 The Saga of Mount Saint Helens, or What Really Happened May 18......118 Appendix B. Seventy-five Years with the Oregon State University School of Forestry’s Forestry Clubs......121 Index......127

The recording sessions

January 25, 1979 — Peavy Hall, Oregon State University Interviewers: Royal Jackson, Jennifer Lee · Mode: interview · Source: as stated [Interview conducted by Royal Jackson and Jennifer Lee at Peavy Hall, Oregon State University.]
January 31, 1979 — Peavy Hall, Oregon State University Interviewers: Royal Jackson, Jennifer Lee · Mode: interview · Source: as stated [Interview conducted by Royal Jackson and Jennifer Lee at Peavy Hall, Oregon State University.]
February 6, 1979 — Peavy Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis Interviewers: Royal Jackson, Jennifer Lee · Mode: interview · Source: as stated [Interview conducted by Royal Jackson and Jennifer Lee at Peavy Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis.]
February 7, 1979 — Peavy Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis Interviewers: Royal Jackson, Jennifer Lee · Mode: interview · Source: as stated [Interview conducted by Royal Jackson and Jennifer Lee at Peavy Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis.]
February 23, 1991 — Oak Creek Guard Station and in the forest (McDonald-Dunn Forest) Interviewer: Bob Zybach · Mode: tour · Source: as stated [Interview conducted by Bob Zybach, beginning at the Oak Creek Guard Station and continuing in the forest. ] Further bracketed markers in this session: "[At Casey Randall’s Arboretum]" (p. 59), "[Break in interview]" (p. 80) and "[Break in Interview]" (p. 85).
May 8, 1995 — Forestry Club Cabin, Oregon State University Research Forests, Corvallis Interviewer: Bob Zybach · Mode: interview · Source: as stated [Interview conducted by Bob Zybach at the Forestry Club Cabin, Oregon State University Research Forests, Corvallis. Ann Rogers and Shahid Islam were present.]

Soap Creek Valley, Oregon, Oral History Series p. i
Title page p. iii
Acknowledgments p. v
Marv Rowley Oral History: Areas of Interest — McDonald-Dunn Forest [map] p. vii
Table of contents p. ix
Part I. January 25, 1979 pp. 1–15
Part II. January 31, 1979 pp. 16–37
Part III. February 6, 1979 pp. 38–43
Part IV. February 7, 1979 pp. 44–56
Part V. February 23, 1991 pp. 57–96
Part VI. May 8, 1995 pp. 97–114
Appendix A. Marv’s Songs, by Marvin L. Rowley, Class of 1950 pp. 115–120
The Fernhopper Legend p. 115
I Fell a Tree p. 116
The Song of the Trees p. 117
The Saga of Mount Saint Helens, or What Really Happened May 18 pp. 118–119
Appendix B. Seventy-five Years with the Oregon State University School of Forestry’s Forestry Clubs pp. 121–126
Index pp. 127–130

Maps printed in this volume

Marv Rowley Oral History — Areas of Interest — McDonald-Dunn Forest Printed page vii Legend: Historical areas · Historical points · Stream · Historic flume · Historical roads · Forest boundary Full-page map of the McDonald-Dunn Forest with a legend (the six items listed under keys are the legend categories, transcribed from the map image) and an inset of the Peavy Arboretum / CCC Camp Arboretum / State Nursery area. Historical points are labelled by name, not by letter; this volume has no lettered A–O tour keys. Individual point labels were not transcribed because they are set too small to read reliably from the page image.

Photographs

Captions are printed exactly as they appear in the book. The photographs themselves are in the printed volume and are not online yet; the scanned PDF of the whole book shows them.

Cover photo: Marvin Rowley standing on McCulloch Peak in McDonald Forest. Photograph in the printed book, [front-1] (not yet online)
Dairy cows and cow barns at the Multnomah County Poor Farm in the early 1940s. Photo courtesy of the Troutdale Historical Society. Photograph in the printed book, p. 5 (not yet online) early 1940s · Courtesy Troutdale Historical Society Read the page it is printed on
Aerial view of the Multnomah County Poor Farm (now McMenamins Edgefield) in the early 1940s. Photo courtesy of the Troutdale Historical Society. Photograph in the printed book, p. 6 (not yet online) early 1940s · Courtesy Troutdale Historical Society Read the page it is printed on
Marvin Rowley and Harry Nettleton at the fireplace in the reconstructed Forestry Club Cabin. Photograph in the printed book, p. 25 (not yet online) Read the page it is printed on
Forestry faculty in front of the Forestry Club Cabin. Photograph in the printed book, p. 37 (not yet online) Read the page it is printed on
Marvin receiving award. Photograph in the printed book, p. 109 (not yet online) Read the page it is printed on

Index to this volume

Bob's own back-of-book index, made live: each page number opens that page of the transcript. Every heading also appears in the Series Index, where it gathers references from all fifteen monographs.

100 Road 107

500 Road 83, 112

600 Road 112

Adair Tract 40, 47, i

Village 32

Air Force 6, 35

Annual Cruise 24, 119, 122

Applegate, Jesse 34

Arboretum

Day 41, 42, 96, 120, 121
Peavy v

Army 6, 9, 10, 17, 21, 23, 28, 29, 110

artifacts 32, 111

Association of Western Forestry Clubs 121, 123

Atkinson, William (Bill) 70, v

Aufderheide Award 22

Bob 22

Austria 1

Avery’s Park 21

Woodlot 21

Baker Creek 58, 87, 94, 99

Bean Hole Beans 110, 120, 121

beanies 23

Beaver Creek 44

Bellfountain 11, 90

Berry Creek 30, 46, 107, i

Beuter 31, 38, 40, 41, 50, 51, 68, 72, 97, 102, 103, 107, 112, v

Blake Homestead 35

BLM 2, 48, 51, 59

Blodgett Tract 70, 105

Bob Aufderheide 22

Boise Cascade 49

Botany Department 39, 58

Bridal Veil Lumber Company 2

British Columbia 18

Brownsville 105

Bureau of Indian Affairs 19, 39

Bureau of Land Management 2, 39

Caffall Brothers 99

California 7, 30, 36, 90

Calloway Creek 36, 73, 99, 107, 112

Camp Adair 28

Canada 18

Casey’s Arboretum v

CCC 24, 28, 30, 73, 93, 109, 111, i

Century West Engineering 47

Civilian Conservation Corps 21

clearcut 26, 47, 48, 72, 73, 84, 86, 87, 92, 95, 100, 104, 110

College of Forestry 57, 78, 109, 111, 112, v

Columbia County 21, 105

Columbus Day Storm 27, 47, 48, 49, 100, 102

Corvallis 10, 28, 32, 35, 38, 44, 46, 59, 68, 94, 97, 110, 119, 123

Corvallis Logging Company 46

Cronemiller Lake 28, 42, 46, 105, 112, 121

Crown Zellerbach 98, 104

Davies, William A. 11, 12, 19, 22, 23, 27, 40, 41, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 62, 72, 76, 98, 103, 105, i

DeMoisy 22

Douglas-fir 31, 39, 57, 66, 75, 76, 79, 82, 86, 94, 98, 99, 100, 101, 110, 120, 121

Dunham Printing Company 3

Dunn 16, 41, 42, 50, 56, i

Forest 15, 38, 39, 40, 46, 47, 48, 52, 61, 69, 72, 90, 99, 101, 102, 103, 105, v
Paul 15, 16, 23, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 47, 48, 50, 52, 56, 61, 69, 72, 90, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 105, i, v

Elk City 44

Endangered Species Act 106

Federal Land Bank 40, 41

Ferguson, Gary 48, 91

Fernhopper 18, 114, 119, 121, 121, 122, ix

First World War 3, 32, 61, 62, 73

flume 32, 62, 63, 64, 69, 70, 71, 74

Forest Engineering 11, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 44, 45, 49, 60, 102, 123

Forest Grove 104

forest history 97

forest inventory 97, 103, 106

Forest Management 10, 11, 16, 18, 22, 23, 45, 51, 102, 103, 104, 110, 123

Forest Products 16, 17, 22, 24, 26, 110, 123

Forest Service 2, 10, 17, 20, 21, 39, 48, 51, 112, 122

Forestry Club 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 42, 54, 61, 71, 97, 109, 110, 111, 112, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123

Forestry Club Cabin 20, 24, 27, 54, 61, 71, 97, 109, 111, 112, 119, 120

Gangle 1, 12

Garver, Jeff 97, 103, v

Georgia-Pacific 11, 48, 109

Grand Ronde 35

Grantham, Jack 22, 26

hemlock 11

Hines Lumber Company 2

Homesteads 11

Hooven 103

Hoyt Arboretum 108

hunting 52, 53, 55, 78, 90, 117

ice storm 45, 105

Jackson Creek 93

Jackson Place 93

James, Bill 11, 99, i

Japanese 7, 8, 9

Japanese-Americans 9

Jefferson 12, 122

Kansas 7, 110

Kerr Nursing Home 3

Kings Valley [Benton Co.] 88, 89

Larson Lumber Company 48

Lewisburg 25, 34, 92, 94, 96, 99

Lewisburg Saddle 25, 34, 92, 94, 99

Lickey, Bill 47

Logging 1, 11, 12, 14, 20, 21, 24, 27, 42, 44, 44, 45, 46, 46, 49, 50, 52, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 78, 81, 83, 84, 86, 87, 95, 98, 105, 106, 110, 111, 121, i

Marx, Bob 14

Marys Peak 21, 44, 120

River 13, 32

Mason 16

McDaniel, Vern 29, 30

McDonald

Mary 12, 15, 20, 21, 28, 30, 31, 34, 36, 38, 39, 44, 46, 48, 49, 51, 52, 56, 58, 65, 68, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 105, 120, v
McDonald-Dunn 52, 101, 105, v
McDonald Forest 12, 15, 20, 21, 28, 31, 34, 36, 38, 39, 44, 46, 48, 49, 52, 58, 68, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 120

military 9, 10, 17, 34, 40, 72

Mitzy Point 104

Modoc Indians 35

Moore, Harriet 35

National Industrial Recovery Act 28

Nettleton, Harry 19, 20, 25, 35, 39, 40, 45, 46, 48, 51, 98, 112

Road 25

Oak Creed Saddle 31, 39, 57, 66, 75, 76, 79, 82, 86, 94, 98, 99, 100, 101, 110, 120, 121

Oak Creek 11, 24, 25, 28, 32, 45, 46, 57, 58, 62, 64, 72, 88, 98, 99, 104, 106, 108, 110, 111

Oak Creek Guard Station 57

Old Territorial Road 34, 36

Oregon Agricultural College 119, 121

Patterson Road 25

Patterson, Harry 16, 22, 23, 25, 41, 87, 94, 110, 120

Pearl Harbor 9

Peavy 1, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 38, 42, 44, 45, 54, 65, 108, 109, 114, 119, 120, 122

Peavy Arboretum 24, 25, 30, 54, 108, 109, 120, v

Peavy, George 1, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 38, 42, 44, 45, 54, 65, 108, 109, 119, 120, 122

Peavy’s Cabin 26, 27

Philippines. 7, 107

Portland 1, 2, 3, 9, 34, 35, 44, 59, 108, 119

Portland-Umpqua Road 34, 35

Powder House 108, 112

Price, Frank 21

Railroads 23

Randall, Casey 22, 59, 81

red tie 23

Richardson, Ernie 104

Roads & Trails

100 4, 12, 20, 28, 44, 45, 47, 49, 54, 55, 70, 90, 97, 103, 108, 112
100, 500 4, 12, 20, 28, 44, 45, 47, 49, 54, 55, 70, 90, 97, 103, 108, 112

Robinson, Dan 22

Rowley and Parker Tree Farm Service 48, 98

Rowley, Marion 2, 7, 48, 98, 104, 114, 119, i, ix

SAF v

Sawmills 2, 5, 24, 32, 34, 39, 61, 65, 69, 78, 81, 85, 107, 110

school sawmill 24, 61

Schreiner Road 25

Second World War 2, 6, 16

Siletz 24, 35

skid roads 2, 45, 65, 83, 108

skid trails 63, 74, 83, 83, 112

Smith, Greenberry 31, 34, 35

Snodgrass, Jim 22

snow storm 45

Soap Creek 30, 32, 34, 58, 80, 99, 103, 106, i, iii, v

Soap Creek Valley 30, i, iii, v

Society of American Foresters v

Soil 63, 70, 97, 100, 107

Spaulding Logging Company 44

Spaulding Tract 11, 44, 45, 53, 102, 120

Starker 20, 22, 29, 30, 87, 88, 119

Thurman (T.J.) 20, 22, 29, 30, 87, 88, 119

State Forestry Department Office 109

Stoltenberg, Carl 32, 50

Straub, Bob 14

Sturgis, Harold 80, 89

Sulphur Springs Road 95, 106

Sutherlin 10

Tampico 34, 35, 36, i

road 34, 35, 36, i

Tampico Road 34

Taylor-Hart Lumber Company 46

Thingvold, Martin 44, 45

Timber Sale 20, 51

Toledo 44

UBC 18

Umpqua Plywood Corporation 11, 17, 44

USDA Forest Service 10, 39

Valsetz 24, 49, 91

Vancouver Island 18

vandalism 53, 54, 70

Vandals 27

Vernonia 98

Vineyard Mountain Estates 54, 55

Wars 1

Wheeler, Bill 23

Willamette Industries 44

Wilson, Bob (Robert) 22, 62, 110

E. E. 22, 62, 110

World War I 67

World War II 6, 16, 28, 40, 107, 119

Worthington, Dick (Richard) 21

Xi Sigma Pi 123

Zamboanga 7

The printed original

Read the original PDF The whole monograph as printed, on the creator's own site, nwmapsco.com.
The cover image On the creator's own site, nwmapsco.com.

How to cite this item

The first line is the citation as it is printed in the original. Use it when you cite the work itself. Use the second when you cite this page.

As printed: Jackson, Royal G., Jennifer Lee, and Bob Zybach 2009. Marvin Rowley. Family History and Management of the OSU Research Forests, Benton and Polk Counties, Oregon: 1946-1986. Soap Creek Valley History Project, Monograph #15. Oregon State University College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon: 130 pp.
This page: Rowley 2009. America's School Trust Library, The Zybach Collection. https://schooltrusts.org/collections/zybach/soap-creek/m15-rowley/
Permalink: https://schooltrusts.org/collections/zybach/soap-creek/m15-rowley/
Original PDF: http://www.nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Oral_Histories/Soap_Creek_Valley/15_Rowley/Jackson_et_al_2009.pdf

More on citing this collection: How to cite the Zybach Collection.

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