Benson Timber Co., Page Creek Camp

Taken from a Clatskanie, Or newspaper in the mid 1960's. - Mrs. Georgia Benson Patterson, wife of the late Governor Paul Patterson, and Virginia Benson Shaw of Torrence, Calif., will be two of the many who will gather in Clatskanie Sunday, July 17 for the third annual Benson Timber Co. employees' picnic to whom the above picture of the loggers' camp of 45 to 50 years ago will recall happy memories. Both of these ladies spent their childhood in Clatskanie.
Advance reports are that former employees from all over the Northwest will gather here Sunday for the third annual reunion and picnic and day of visiting in the Clatskanie city park. All will bring their own lunches, but coffee, cream and sugar will be served by the committee in charge locally. Movies of the old logging operation will be again shown by Edvard Evenson in the multi-purpose room at the high school if there is a sufficient number who wish to see them again.
The above camp at Page Creek, about seven miles from Clatskanie and about a mile and a half to the right of the Clatskanie River, was believed to be taken in 1919 and was typical of the day.
The houses or shacks were occupied by the loggers and the families and as the camps moved, many of them were lifted onto flat cars and carried to the new location.
Old time loggers have been able to remember who lived in many of these cabins. At the center of the picture on the left, the first house was successively occupied by the Henry Owens, Walter Olson and Ira West families; the second was that of Walter Olson; the third belonged to Andy Olsen and the fourth, Tyler Atkins.
In the lower center, the first three houses were those of Dominic Romiti, section boss for the company.

The largest of the buildings in the picture, located at the top center, was the “cook shack”.
The picture was taken by C. Kinsey who took many photos of the Benson Timber company operations in those days.