Community at Large: The Unknowns

Garric Simonsen · November 12, 2014

This set of photos features the collection's unknown community members. All are great depictions of life in and outside the logging camps. You'll see a man appearing to be dressed in drag, which is quite unique. He even has a black veil and dress hat, perhaps too many afternoon ales found him rummaging through Mrs. Bennett's chest of drawers. The following image is the same man only this time looking tough and hardened as he poses with his dog. Though my favorite is a woman laughing as she wades in the Pacific surf; you can almost smell the coastal salty air. The few photo portraits with embossments are captioned with street address and company name. Third from the bottom of this set are three brothers, two looking like identical twins.

Trusting you'll enjoy these photos of unknown families and patrons. There's just a few more posts before this segment ends. I'll soon move on to postcards and letters the Persson family wrote to each other prior to E. H. Pearson making the trek to the new land.

Community at Large: Kids at Oaks Amusement Park

Garric Simonsen · November 5, 2014

Dear Holger,

This is a picture of us three. It was taken at the Oaks when we were in Portland. We had a fine time at the Oaks. Do you see that spot on my nose? They turned on a kind of light and that is what made it. We never had our school picnic we only had a little lunch at the schoolhouse. I passed an examination and Ingrid passed too. Are you coming back here or not? Answer soon, Astrid Thorén.

The postcard; addressed to Mr. Holger Pearson (E. H. Pearson) in Krokom, Sweden, must have been written prior to E. H. Pearson's arrival in the Pacific Northwest. This would date the photograph around years 1905-10. Oaks Park opened in 1905 and Holger (Hal) arrived in the camps around 1910-11. The two families obviously knew each other before their emigration, or, Hal left the camps and returned to Sweden briefly.

That is highly unlikely, a round trip from Washington to Sweden and back again would have been costly, not to mention time consuming. I do know at some point Hal was sent to boarding school in Portland. Perhaps Astrid addressed the card based off of false knowledge and it somehow found its way back to him on a surprise visit. Nevertheless, it creates an interesting twist in Hal's biographical information.

Thanks to census records at Cowlitz County's genealogy website I learned the children's parents were likely named Mr. and Mrs. Karn and Peter Thorén from Sweden. The surname spelling and spelling of the children's names on the census differ from the spellings here. There's also another male sibling named Pierre not pictured; every member of the family is listed as being born in Sweden.

I do enjoy hearing about the "kind of light" Astrid refers to in her letter. I'm guessing it's the flash bulb creating a highlight on her nose.

Astrid, Erik and Ingrid Thorén at Oaks Park, Portland, OR (1905-1910)

Another photograph of the Thorén children, this time in the logging community; there are no known photographs of their parents.

community at large

Community at Large: Mrs. Bennett and Daughter Evelyn

Garric Simonsen · November 4, 2014

After sorting through photographs last night I was lucky to find little Evelyn Bennett pictured here with mother Loretta Bennett. Mrs. Bennett clutches a pair of eye glasses with white gloves while Evelyn sits on what appears to be a rock on the beach. Based on census records Evelyn was 2 years old in 1910, my guess is she's 5-6 years old here.

Mrs. Loretta Bennett and daughter Evelyn Bennett, (1915-16).

Backside of postcard with handwritten note; Mrs. Bennett & Evelyn.

Little Evelyn Bennett and Harold Martin. The picture couldn't be a better example of a wistful affection for the past. The dress style, sepia tones and light exposure, crystalize the intrinsic nature of everyday life in early century logging communities. These two young children surely witnessed one of our regions most prolific industrially inflicted catastrophes.

Based on historical accounts, many children in the logging communities went on to be naturalists and conservationists, including E. H. Pearson. Perhaps at some point, we'll know more about the adult lives of these two, for now it's a mystery.

Evelyn Bennett and dog with Harold Martin — Evelyn Bennett and dog with Harold Martin

Backside of postcard with handwritten note; Evelyn Bennett & Harold Martin

community at large

Community at Large: Father and Son

Garric Simonsen · October 27, 2014

A new addition to the community. There are more photographs of this fellow and his boy, but I have yet to string together who he is and what exactly his role in the camps was. In most photos the man is dressed impeccably well and noticeably cleaner than his peers. Might he be manager of E. A. Persson's employer? Or, just dressed well for a day in the city with his child.

In this classic real photo postcard, the man sits in a brilliantly constructed commercial photographers set made complete with a hand-painted mural of downtown Portland and majestic Mt. Hood residing. A three-dimensional stylized model plane finished with a twirling propeller seats the two as they fly high above The Rose City.

I love these fun shots. This activity was obviously a novelty and a "must do" for logging community day outings. Crossing my fingers I'll soon be able to give this seemingly noble man a name.

community at large, baldridge

Community at Large: Baldridge Family

Garric Simonsen · October 22, 2014

Community at Large will be a series of posts touching on various individuals and family photographs. Some are marked with names but most are not, hopefully in time the unidentified will become known through the internets immortal timelessness.

I'll start with a photograph E. H. Pearson referred to as "the Baldridge all male family." Not entirely true obviously, for Mrs. Baldridge will make appearances in future posts, and from what I've gathered the "all male family" later had at least one girl (it's still a bit unclear).

Here the boys stand with their father at the base of a massive Doug Fir, later to be felled I'm sure. Though the trees fate would surely be milled, in photograph its spirit remains eternal. The 13ft diameter timber has been claimed by the Wisconsin Lumber & Timber Co., of which Ira Baldridge was camp superintendent.

Thanks to Loreen Wells and her information about the Baldridge family, I was able to learn Mr. and Mrs. Baldridge's first names. With this bit of information the entire Baldridge family has been identified.

From left to right: Henry, Ira, John, Harry, Benny & Jack.

My memory served me well for a change, I recalled seeing this postcard a few weeks back. To follow up on my assumption that the "Baldridge all male family" wasn't truly all male, here's proof. Mrs. Baldridge stands hand-in-hand with her young daughter Edna Baldridge, perched on a chair. The two accompany Mrs. Mary Bergestrom, who'll make appearances in future posts.

Families ventured by rail from remote logging camps to have portraits taken in nearby Portland, OR. Some of the photographs were developed as homemade real photo postcards, like this one. Lucky for us, whomever scrawled these names on the back helped establish clearly, the Baldridge family did indeed have a beautiful baby girl, Edna. The exact year of this photograph is unknown, guessing somewhere between 1910-13.

Mrs. Minnie Baldridge and daughter Edna accompanied by Mrs. Mary Bergstrom. — Mrs. Minnie Baldridge and daughter Edna accompanied by Mrs. Mary Bergstrom.

Digging tonight I found this photograph of Edna, Harry, John and Henry Baldridge (Jack and Ben not pictured). The siblings stand outside a small cedar dwelling, possibly their home in a logging camp somewhere in the Cascades of Washington. The note attached explains their father Ira, was camp superintendent. This nearly completes identifying the entire family. With the exception of Mrs. Baldridge's first name, I now know the names of everyone. The discovery will inspire another push to locate any living decedents. They must be out there somewhere.

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Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition Souvenir Mailing Card

Garric Simonsen · September 22, 2014

After reviewing exactly how many postcards we have to interpret - it will be a lengthy process. Based on my count the collection has as many as 800+ postcards, more than two-thirds need Swedish > English translations. While this will take some time, in the meantime there's still hundreds of photographs to celebrate.

Before more photos are posted, I'd like to share this fully intact 109 year old, 19 page accordion style postcard book from the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, OR. Erik Andreas Persson must have been impressed with the fairgrounds, as this booklet was purchased and mailed all the way to his future bride Ottolina Thilander in Krokom, Sweden. Lucky for me, I discovered two pressed clover leaves when opening this booklet.

Portlanders should get a kick out of these, enjoy!

logging, Swedish Emigration

Swedish Translations

Garric Simonsen · September 21, 2014

A local writer and scholar has agreed to translate E. H. Pearson's collection of letters & correspondence postcards from Swedish to English. Very exciting news, this will shed light onto the daily lives before and after E. H. Pearson's emigration to Pacific Northwest logging camps. I've started scanning postcards -here's a taste- earliest postmarked 1902.

Extended Biography

Garric Simonsen · September 20, 2014

Eric Holger Pearson was born October 5, 1901 in Lit, Sweden. His father emigrated to the United States on May 12, 1903, settling in Longview, Oregon and began working as a carpenter in logging camps. In 1910 E. H. Pearson reunited with his father in Portland, Oregon. The family lived and worked in logging camps, eventually settling in Seattle’s Mountlake area in 1923. E.H. Pearson graduated from the University of Washington as an electrical engineer and worked for the Bell Telephone Company.

E.H. Pearson was a lifelong mountaineer and carried his large format Graflex camera everywhere he went. This shop section on this site displays a select group of photographs taken from a collection containing over one-thousand. The photographs date mid-nineteenth century (Swedish) to early twentieth century (USA). A majority of the photographic imagery depicts everyday life in undeveloped Pacific Northwest wilderness.

In addition to the photographic documentation there is also a substantial chunk of historical artifact and ephemera; which includes hand-written real photo postcards, international correspondence letters and postcards, records, cameras and mountaineering equipment.

If you are interested in finding out more about the collection please contact us via email.

The Beginning

Garric Simonsen · September 18, 2014

This story unearths a substantial collection of Swedish American family history. Over time this blog will chronologically unravel an archive of photographs that depict a family's deep rooted bond with Pacific Northwest life.

In 1910 Eric Holger Pearson arrived in Portland, Oregon to be re-united with his Swedish father, Eric Andreas. Eric Pearson the elder emigrated in 1903 and began working as a logging foreman who was responsible for transporting ancient timbers by way of railroad to local sawmills.

Eric Pearson the younger, pictured here (far right) just after his arrival to the new land, lived and went to school in remote logging camps just outside of Longview, WA. The Skookum Terrorists (as they were dubbed on a note pinned to the photo) experienced a rare and wild life in the Pacific Northwest wilderness. These developmental years would later shape Eric Holger Pearson's love and need for adventure as a photographer and climber.

The Launching of Four Generations

Garric Simonsen · September 17, 2014

Thanks for visiting, this post marks the launch of many years worth of living, documenting and archiving a large collection of never before seen vintage Pacific Northwest photographs. These photographs are a rare look into early century Pacific Northwest mountaineering and logging.

The photographic work featured in this shop will be hand picked from a collection of 1000's. Great care was put into curating and organizing these pages, all content here is exclusive to this site only and cannot be found or produced anywhere else on the web.

Enjoy!