March Newsletter
Welcome to our second newsletter of 2026. We hope you enjoy it and will share it with your friends and family. We will be posting these newsletters to our website soon.
We have a vintage claw-foot tub for sale from the Stanger House and we’d like to give our supporters first choice at it. We are asking $500 for it with all the funds going back into the Stanger House restoration (of course).
Volunteer spotlight: Don is this month’s volunteer. He’s multi-talented, working on the Stanger House as well as showing up on our Second Saturdays to lend a hand on the grounds. Some of Don’s work includes electrical, wood work, sanding, painting, digging, sawing, pruning, and general cheerleading. Don comes to us by way of his wife Carol (both share a passion for fly-fishing) and Carol’s brother, pollinator garden Gary. Thank you, Don. Projects: The plum trees have been pruned as well as the hydrangeas. At this writing, we are weeding in preparation for mulching. There’s plenty to do and all hands are welcome.
Arbor Day and more:
→ We are celebrating Arbor Day at the Arboretum on Tuesday, April 28 at 11:30. There will be guest speakers, and we will plant a tree in honor of our 2025 Volunteer of the Year, Anne. It won’t be a long ceremony and there might be cookies. All are welcome.
→ The Rotary Club will be meeting later this spring at the Arboretum.
→ A group of Plein Air artists are coming to capture the beauty of this special place.
→ We have a table at the Farmers Market on three different Saturdays this summer.
→ When the weather warms up and the sun comes out, we get many requests for special events to be held here.
Vinson Weber interview, continued: Then, of course, you might wonder what am I doing clear out in Vancouver? Well, it’s hard for even me to understand quite why I came out here but I just didn’t think I’d like to stay in Ohio for the rest of my life. I liked New York right along the ocean and I went back to New York and took state board dental exams and ended up with a license to practice dentistry in New York. One of the professors suggested I go out to Oregon. They had a college out there, which was called North Pacific, which up until that time had been a private school. A good private school and they put out good dentists but the state of Oregon took it over in 1945. The Dean of the school named Harold Noyaes came out from Chicago and my teacher in Pathology recommended that I come out to Oregon. He said, “Go to some poor school. Don’t try to go to a good school. Go to some poor school that is going to get better.” He said, “Oregon is going to do that.” I could have gone back to Columbia University and taught there but surprisingly enough – they wouldn’t pay enough for a person to live on. You were supposed to have a side practice there and make the money just because of the prestige of it. Anyhow, shortly after I graduated, my wife and I took a trip. We went to Houston, Texas, where I was offered a job there but I didn’t like Houston because it was too hot. I got there in the middle of the summer and I couldn’t stand it. I went to San Francisco. It had a private school called P & S, Physicians and Surgeons. It was a private school then. It is now associated with what is now called the College of the Pacific. They wanted to hire me too. Then I went up to Oregon and the old school was over near the Lloyd Center. Have you ever seen the old school over where that was? They had a private school but they had a good school. Because they put out good dentists who got a lot more practice in the clinic than they do nowadays. Because of your school, which was interested in the money, and the senior students worked just as though they were in private practice and put out a lot of work and got a lot of money. Anyhow, Harold Noyaes took over. He was impressed with the fact that I had experience teaching in a school that had a master’s degree so he was willing to hire me.
Stanger House and family history, continued: This is an interview with Matilda Stanger Overand in 1959 by Carl Landerholm: “I am 91 years old and was born in 1868. My father was John Stanger (Stenegier) and he was the miller for the Hudson’s Bay Company. “There was a saw mill at the same place. The place is called Ellsworth. The grist mill there blew down about 1882 and didn’t run any more. We used to play there, since it was near our home and we played on the sawdust pile and slabs there. A high flume ran to the mill. “Crate had the mill site location on his homestead. He sold to Hexter and Hexter sold to Druckes (spelling of names uncertain). “There was no market for the sturgeon. The Indians salted salmon and traded for potatoes. “I went to Providence Academy when about ten. There were about thirty of us students living there besides the day students. “The big celebrations were on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. People came in to town then with stands and put up shooting galleries and other attractions. The 21st and the 14th Infantry were stationed at the Barracks. The artillery had fine black horses. “People going to Portland borrowed a rowboat, walked to Portland. When they came back they would ‘halloo’ from the opposite bank and someone would row over and get them. The first boat I remember was the ‘Amy Hayward.’ The ‘Lurline’ ran from Vancouver to Portland. “We went up the river on an excursion to the locks (Bonneville) to see boats built above and brought down over the rapids on the way to Portland. I saw a big boat come over the rapids. I believe it was the Bailey Gatzert. “The 14th Infantry built the buildings at the Barracks. “The stables were in the Barracks grounds at the corner of East Reserve and Fifth. “Almost all the food was raised on the farm -- beef, pork and fruits and vegetables. Cabbage – father pulled out, turned upside down in furrow, then covered with dirt and left stems sticking out. It lasted until spring. Dried on the roof – apples and green gage plums (covered with canvas at night). The cellar under the barn was used for bins of rutabagas, carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, and squash. We kept fresh apples in a log house. He made a layer of straw, spread the apples out and put another layer on top. Many lasted all winter. “John Henry West was my first husband. He was a soldier at the Barracks for about five years after our marriage. He built a little house on East Reserve Street. It is still there.”
Volunteer Opportunities:
• Tuesday mornings we have a dedicated crew working the grounds from 9am until 11am. Everyone seems to have a favorite project so you will see us here and there working. Often pulling weeds but we’ll be planting and dividing when we’re comfortable with the fall rains. Seldom does weather keep these volunteers from their tasks.
• Wednesdays from 9am to about noon or later, is Caboose time! If you like your railroad history and have some basic carpentry skills, check them out.
• Friday mornings from 9am to noon a dedicated crew is busy restoring the Stanger House. Coffee break is about 10ish, everyone welcome.
• Second Saturdays every month from 9am to noon. Refreshments follow. Often these work parties are an opportunity to tackle bigger projects as a group. Bring your garden gloves.
• We are looking for a grant writer, a genealogist, a fundraiser, and a historical interior designer. • We would like storage so we can mill the logs from the Big Leaf Maple.
***Our Arboretum and Stanger volunteers put in over 3000 hours of work a year! Come join us, we’re a nice bunch of people!
Volunteer stories like Don’s remind us of the passion and dedication that keep the Arboretum thriving. Each member brings unique contributions, whether through weeding, planting, building, or sharing knowledge. Their efforts ensure the Arboretum remains a vibrant and welcoming space for all visitors.
Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. We appreciate your support and hope that you visit us often and bring your friends.
