The discourse that I am about to disclose is attributed to the urging of some of my friends, neighbors and relatives, at my 80th birthday party on December 10, 1986. My daughter, Ellene Boden, and daughter-in-law, Charlene Meyer, planned and negotiated a neighborhood surprise party for the occasion. After a delightful dinner in Charlene's family room, she called me to come and see my birthday cake that she had made, and was on display in the dining room, which is in conjunction with the living room. Much to my complete surprise, over 30 of my neighbors, friends and relatives had slipped in the front door and were seated in the living room, without my knowledge. All yelled "SURPRIZZE" and I WAS!
After things quieted down, our son Arden asked each one in turn to tell when they had first met me, or something of our friendship. As appropriate for the occasion all said nice things about me. Barbara McNeilan and Sandra wrote and read a nice poem of some of my activities. Eva Roberts read a lovely poem, also, and many "tales" were told. Our daughter Ellene did both.
Several have been asking me to write a history of the early 1920’s, about the trolley cars that clanged at road crossings, and the freight trains that rattled the cupboard dishes as they clicked the rail joints on the downhill grade to Portland, on the right-of-way that is now called Dodge Park Boulevard.
My narration will be confined to nine years of experiences from 1921 to 1931, relating to the Portland Railway Light & Power Co. (PRL&P) as to using its services for transportation, as well as a livelihood.
During the summer of 1920 my father purchased a 15-acre farm in the community of Cottrell. In January of 1921 he loaded the furniture and other family belongings on a Northern Pacific boxcar at Raymond, Washington, as he had disposed of his seven rental houses there, along with our own residence. The boxcar was billed to Cottrell Siding, Gresham, Oregon, via PRL&P.
The Meyer family soon became a part of the congenial Cottrell Community. As my father was the best of oldtime Schoolmasters, he quickly took me over to the Lusted School, introduced me to the teachers, and then enrolled me in the 7th grade in January of 1921. I was then ready for the 8th grade in the fall.
I would like to add here a paragraph about an experience during this school year that saddened me very much. It was a tragic accident that also taught me to be cautious and give due respect at all times to train and railroad crossings.
There were not many automobiles in the 1920’s, however there is always that moment of carelessness that creates a tragedy. This particular one saddened the whole county, especially the Gresham area. Miss Grace Fieldhouse was my eighth grade teacher and Miss Bertha Spencer, of whom I was vary fond, was the teacher of the primary grades. These two teachers lived in Gresham with their parents. Mr. Burlingame, the Orient School principal, also lived in Gresham. He owned a Ford touring car that he used to provide his transportation to his school. The two Lusted teachers made arrangements with Mr. Burlingame for their daily transportation to and from Lusted School. In the fall of 1921, on a dark, rainy afternoon about 4:30 p.m. "Tragedy Struck." Mr. Burlingame had fastened the Isinglass side-curtains on his Ford car for protection from the rain and cold, but the curtains also impaired his view. The Bull Run "Special", loaded with workers from Bull Run was headed for Portland. The impact was at Powell Valley crossing, near where Powell & Burnside now intersect. Pieces of the Ford car were scattered for several hundred feet along the side of the track.
Note: This incident was reported in the October 27, 1921 issue of The Oregonian*, having occurred at 4:45pm the previous evening. Mr. Burlingame and Miss Spencer died instantly; Miss Fieldhouse died from her injuries two days later.*
The Lusted replacement teachers were Mrs. Studley and Mrs. Griesinger from Portland, who roomed and boarded with my parents on school days and took the interurban to their homes Friday p.m. and returning Sunday evening. I was one of 3 students that graduated from the 8th grade in the spring of 1922, along with Dale Altman and Wilma Davies.
The Bull Run car was used frequently for transportation to Gresham and Portland. The fare from Cottrell to Portland's 1st and Alder depot was .55¢. The Interurbans made four round trips a day between Portland and Bull Run. Schedule was: 7:a.m. to Bull Run, 8:03 to Portland, 10:00 am to Bull Run, 11:03 to Portland, 2:00 p.m. to B.R., 3:03 to Portland, 5:00 p.m. to B.R. and 6:03 back to Portland.
The fast interurbans that ran to Bull Run, Gresham, Estacada and Oregon City are not to be classed with the city trolleys. The interurban cars were much longer, probably 2 to 3 times heavier and ran on standard gauge track. They were equipped with cow catchers, had shrill compressed air whistles, besides the foot bell. Some of the morning scheduled cars had a baggage room for freight, such as milk cans, stacks of morning daily papers to be tossed at specified stations, small freight, grocery and store supplies. The seat backs were reversible, therefore the passengers always faced forward.
The city trolley cars ran on narrow gauge. Many of the oldtime citizens remember the third rail laid inside, alongside the track that was to accommodate both narrow gauge or standard gauge cars. The city trolley had an outside baggage rack on each end of the car in view of the motorman. The boarding passengers would put their luggage on the rack and retrieve it when disembarking. The city trolleys had a bench seat on each side, the length of the car.
The Stations and flag Stops on the electric line between Linneman Junction and Bull Run were: