Westside Stories

In September 2020, Mark and I took a trip from Colorado to the Grays River Valley to find property to build an RV park. This was our dream, and we were dedicated to making it a reality. With the help of Mike Swanson, we were able to purchase the property on Hull Creek Road, where the Schmand dairy farm once held a prominent status in the community. It had been at least 50 years since the dairy closed, and as often happens in the Pacific Northwest, nature had reclaimed the landscape.

After navigating the purchasing process, downsizing, and wrapping up our lives in Denver, we packed the few belongings we decided to keep. All our earthly possessions were loaded into my SUV - which was crammed to the brim - and our Ram truck, which was pulling a flatbed trailer with a smaller utility trailer loaded on top. The bed of the truck and the trailers were so weighed down, we looked like the modern-day Beverly Hillbillies.

Upon our arrival, we quickly settled into our 40-foot destination trailer parked on my uncle's property. We picked up the John Deere tractor and implements we had purchased and got to work. Having never operated a tractor before, Mark made sure I was the first one behind the wheel. Unloading on a small patch of land next to the road that wasn't covered in overgrowth, I ventured into the tall grass to begin the tedious task of clearing the land. Given how overgrown everything was, it wasn't easy to assess the nature of the terrain. For days, we cautiously unveiled the lay of the land.

We soon discovered that our little white dog, Luna, wanted to join in on the action. She sat on my lap most of the first day, which wasn't a good long-term solution. So, Mark, with all his redneck ingenuity, used the doggy car seat we had in the truck to create a seat for Luna on the tractor. It still sits in the same place today and has become one of her favorite spots.

That was how our first summer went. With it being an old dairy farm, we encountered our fair share of surprises daily. We found rusted metal in all shapes and sizes, from a beat-up pickup truck buried in a grove of trees to pieces of equipment and holding tanks. One area became a dumping ground for metal, which we later transported to town for recycling. We ended up taking 15 trailer loads to the scrapyard. We also discovered chunks of concrete that led to more than one shear bolt breaking on the brush hog, necessitating the creation of an additional dumping area. It wouldn't be a farm without trash and debris buried in random piles scattered across the property, ranging from poly pipes and rubber tubing to plastic sheets and even more rusted scrap metal. We never knew what we would discover from one day to the next.

One particularly remarkable discovery occurred when we finally decided to investigate the area near the two large concrete silos, which had mainly been hidden for years. We noticed a small corner of concrete that suggested there was more beneath the surface. As we pushed back a thick layer of moss, which peeled back like carpet, we unveiled nearly 10,000 square feet of concrete that we didn't know existed. After reviewing old photographs and speaking with individuals who had worked on the farm, we learned that the concrete had been used for the loafing shed for the cows. We also uncovered two staircases leading to the doorways of the old milking parlor, which we now refer to as the ruins.

Unfortunately, the iconic 300-foot barn had burned down many years ago, but what remained was still an impressive discovery. The milking parlor, built with concrete walls, still contained the mechanisms used to corral the cows as they were milked. Even a heavy metal drawbridge was still in place, allowing the cows to cross over to the pathway for the milkers and make their way up to the loafing shed.

Uncovering the remainder of the barn foundation, which had been engulfed in blackberry bushes, was also quite a find. The long section of concrete, spanning the length of the barn, looked like a runway for model airplanes. There were trenches on both sides, which housed the system of tracks that filtered out manure from the barn. The architecture of the property was quite remarkable for its time.

Exploring the lower section of our property, located on the opposite side of Hull Creek Road, was also a priority, as that is where we had planned to build the RV park. The large hayfield was filled with tall grass and a wide variety of weeds and vegetation, making it difficult to navigate. The first time I got the tractor stuck in the mud, backing into a ditch I wasn't aware of with the brush hog, it took over an hour to pull me out. That was the first of many such incidents.

Our first summer was incredibly productive, and we accomplished more than we had anticipated. We were excited about continuing our work into the fall and winter months, but Mother Nature had other plans. Our introduction to the climate of the Pacific Northwest turned out to be a challenge for which we weren't fully prepared. I will share more details about that in a future column.

Westside Happenings

The 18th Annual 4-H Covered Bridge Dinner in Grays River will take place on Oct. 4, 2025. Tickets will go on sale Aug. 1 at the WSU Extension Office, located at 25 River St., Suite E in Cathlamet. Each person is limited to purchasing four tickets, which are only available for in-person purchase using cash or a check. This event serves as a fundraiser for Wahkiakum 4-H, supporting 4-H youth programs.

July

25 – West Wahkiakum Farmers Market at Rosburg Hall, 1 – 4 p.m.

26 – Celebrating Finnish Heritage at Appelo Archives Center, 12 – 4 p.m.

26 – enTaiko at Naselle Timberland Library, 11 a.m.

27 – FAFF Meeting at Naselle Community Center, 4 p.m.

30 – All ages Pour Painting at Naselle Timberland Library, 1 p.m.

August

9 – Ice Cream & Egg Hunt Party at Naselle Timberland Library, 1 p.m.

15 – Meet Children's Author Ellie Peterson at Naselle Timberland Library, 11 a.m.

For a list of regular monthly events, please refer to the Wahkiakum Calendar.

To add an event to the calendar or provide feedback, please don't hesitate to contact me at writerlisayeager@outlook.com. You can also follow me on Facebook (@Writer Lisa Yeager), where I share additional photos and videos.