Interview with Donnie Wessel

Donald Wessel, was born in Carroll, Iowa in 1934; came o Oregon in 1947. He moved to Bly when he was 13, after a family tragedy in Iowa. His brother and relatives helped move the family because they had relatives in Bly. His Uncle John Dillavou lived here and another Uncle ran a garage. Mother ran the restaurant in the Logger’s Club bar. Mother’s name was Pauline Waters Wessel. She ran the restaurant until 1949.

Bly was nothing similar to Iowa where his father was a farmer. I was overwhelmed by the mountains. We came to visit Bly in 1946 and also L.A. I remember the trip and all the places we visited. It was a different world. Ruth Obenchain was my teacher for the 6 & 7th grades. She was the best teacher I ever had. She was very strict but dedicated and taught the full circle. I’ve had contact with her every since. It became a long-term friendship.

I have one brother 3 years younger; one sister was killed. My brother Ken lives out of Yreka.

I went to High school in Bly. Everyone had to play sports to have enough to play. We have remained friends and “had flashes of success.” We did have a winning baseball team. Bly had some good athletes. What about Mike Mansfield? Donnie didn’t really know him. He and a friend were out on Gerber Reservoir. Mike fell out of the boat and drowned. It was tragic for the school kids. A Memorial trophy Is presented each year to an eighth grade student.

I went in the Navy as soon as I got out of school. I left ahead of the graduation that caused problem with diploma. I was stationed in Yokohama as a Commo tech but was never was near the war.

I came back in 1955 and worked on a ranch for a while and then went into logging. I married Sharon Melsness in 1957.

I worked on the BK ranch. It was the biggest ranch in the area at that time. My duties included haying, cowboy, etc. I had worked on the ranches before going in the Navy. Some of the Bly guys worked over at Paisley.

There were lots of good people back then. You could go to the bar and play cribbage and hear old stories. All the cowboys wore hats. I’ve seen them ride their horses’ right in to the bar.

The Loggers Club bar and restaurant were combined and you could hear the talk in there.

Was there much difference in Loggers and ranchers? Some of them were one in the same. They always got along fairly good.

I worked for Weyerhaeuser for 30 years. We always, during the winter, stayed in a logging camp. We would come home on Wednesday night and weekend. There were usually have 4 guys assigned to a cabin. They had a big cookhouse and big maintenance shop. The food served family style. The always had bakers in camp and everyone had his own place to sit. They later changed to cafeteria style. Ed Murray was one of the cooks. He still lives in Bly. We never had a bad meal. Bull cook would make your bed everyday. It was always clean. Camp 14 had television but we mostly had radio. Camp 9 was 50 miles north of Bly, Camp 6 was 16 miles, Camp 14, and if you could go the back way it was 70 miles. Around the highway was around 115 miles.

Loggers get up and go to work at daylight to avoid the heat. The cookhouse bell would ring and open at 5:30. The crew buses (called a crummy) left as soon as it was loaded. I was falling timber at that time. Good friend drove the speeder on the railroad. I started in 1961. The Columbus Day storm blew down millions of board feet of timber. I never fell timber again until 1964, just processed blow down. We camped out on Yamsi Mtn near Callaghan Creek. Sharon would come up with the kids. We had to eat fish 2-3 times a day to keep from going to jail. It was a good thing that I was home when the storm hit. The house flooded; the water was so deep it was running into the toilet. Only good thing was that so many people came to help. The house was full of mud but we had something to come back to. It rained for several days prior and wind blew one way. Trees fell all one directions. Hit Washington, California, winds up to 100 miles an hour. It flooded Wessel and Buchanan residences. The state took out bridges and put in culverts that were not adequate for the amount of rain; the water could not get across the highway. It also flooded in 1964 and the Christmas tree was floating. The clothes washer also floated and hit the wall. We had 4 kids at that time and later had Dan. We bought the land we now live on in 1971. We put a fence up around the outside. We worried about how much water we would get when we drilled the well. When we hit lots of water everyone was so excited that they picked Sharon up and set her in the water, nine months pregnant. We own 75-76 acres and have pasture for cattle, llamas, and sheep. We don’t do anything with the llama wool.

What was it like to fall trees? We fell only in virgin timber but now you have to worry about the stumps. We cut trees 7-8’ on the stump. I still know where a few are. Was it dangerous? Not if you are careful. I was never hurt in the 25 years.

When did the camps go away? In 1973 Weyerhaeuser built the stud mill at Bly. It was cheaper to drive than to maintain the camps. Camp meals cost the employees $0.90/meal so Weyerhaeuser contributed a lot toward the meals. We always brought pastries home on Wednesday for the kids and sometimes brought home squirrels for them. We would sometime go to Silver Lake and play basketball. There was always a poker game going in camp. We went to bed early.

We would see deer and antelope, elk, coyotes, bear. There used to be a lot of deer. You could go fishing from camp. Still good fishing, lots of the lakes are planted.

What are the changes from 1947 to now? The size of the trees has changed. The Forest Service has cut back so the private land has taken a beating. The system has changed, leave stands, work ethics have changed. I never missed a day’s work in 17 years; got a plaque for it. We never shut down for snow or anything and worked clear through the winters.

When did the mills leave? They started to cut back in the 80s. They ran the sort yard in 1976 and it ran heavy for 10 years. By 1990 the mills were gone. The Bly mill had lots of different names. What happened to Bly? Large tax base, justified the subdivision, fire and water and sewer district. Weyerhaeuser left and devalued their property which in turn left more taxes for the residents. It was a shock to the community.

It was a sad day when they tore the train tracks out. The tracks were well-maintained and could have been a good tourist opportunity. The train came to Bly in 1928. Sycan shop, out of Beatty, was the terminal. The track went north to the 500 transfer. 85-90 loads of logs per day came out. They had transfer at Bly where they loaded the cars also. Weyerhaeuser managed the line. Now it is Rails to Trails. I fixed fence along the tracks with Jim Buchanan. We sprayed noxious weeds along the way from Klamath Falls to Bly. We would take people on the high railer to see the tracks. To trail doesn’t appear to get much use here. It has lots of pretty sites along the way. The supervisor’s wives would get to ride the train. It traveled to Sycan Marsh, Camp 9, near Thompson Reservoir and Camp 6.

Ivory Pine had a mill. They tore the last building down a few years ago. Sharon lived there as a young girl. Moved there in 1945 and lived there until1948. Mill moved to Danuba Ca. Several families lived at Camp 6 and kids were bussed to school, would pick up kids at Ivory Pine. Road was maintained because of using it for logging.

Bly was pretty wild back then. I made spending money setting pins at the bowling alley. The Alley was hooked on to a bar called The Club. I made a nickel a line for setting.

Many buildings have burned down. Most had wood heat and the town had no fire protection. All fire fighters were volunteers with no training. All you could do was watch it burn.

Beatty was really wild, used to hate to go through, afraid you would get shot. Jim Anderson cut a guys throat in front of the Halfway House in downtown Bly. Jim was one of the Beatty Indians. Tomahawk kid was pretty bad when he got to drinking and spent most of his life in prison. He killed several and got blamed for some he didn’t. When I was a kid there was a black list to keep bars from serving them alcohol. Kid at Beatty got shot through the back window of his car. The car was stored at Max’s garage.

Harry Obenchain once accidentally shot a guy while he was deer hunting. There was lots of fights at drinking parties held at the school gym.

Old Swede named Cross Haul Oly always wanted to play cribbage. We used to watch him and Bart Shelly play and they both chewed. When one would lean over to spit the other one would cheat. Oly said he brought the game to Bly and then said everyone would beat him. He weighed 120 lbs, dried up Swede. He was head raker for Bell’s haying. He had lots of logging stories about Robinson Springs and Ewuana Camp. He had an accent, but you could understand him. Ritchie Howard, from Ireland, married local girl, had four boys. Ritchie’s wife brother was my best friend. He moved to Wisconsin. Most Irish men got their start with sheep.

There used to be lots of card games usually played at the bar. Walt Ellingston and Basil Hall participated. We had 3 ponies that we brought from Iowa. I tied the pony up at the Loggers Club and went in to eat. Jim Hall was staying out feeding cows at Bailey Flat and came to town to get supplies. The pony was gone when I came out. Willis Panky was the sheriff at that time. Out by the Campbell Ranch, Jim was on his horse and Bud McCloud on my pony. They were passing a bottle back and forth. The Sheriff arrested Bud and tied my pony to the fence. I heard him saying to mother “Surely Polly, you’re not going to put me in jail, it’s just a little horse.” Willis turned him loose. Bud talked Mom out of pressing charges.

Owen (known as Ownie) Watts was a long time rancher. He died a couple years ago. We used to put up hay behind the house and go back with his team. He used to get a deer out of season when they needed it. Ownie would kill the deer and then pitch hay on top of it. One time he came out of the gate and the sheriff came by and stopped to talk; Willis said “You better go on home and feed that hay before it bleeds to death.” Virginia Watts, lived here many years. They gave us the split rails for our fence.

One of our boys almost got killed in the corral by his 4-H steer. Just before the sale our youngest boy went for his steer. He tried to get it in the shoot and tied the rope around it. Going backwards down the shoot, drug him around the barn and around the corral. It knocked him out and kept dragging him. Jeff came back, jumped the fence and tried to get Dan loose. He hung on to the rope until he could get his pocketknife out and cut the rope. Jeff thought Dan was dead. Dan was naked, skinned and bleeding. He went and got him in the pickup and transported him in the ambulance. He did not have any broken bones. He had to go for therapy; had really deep cuts on his arms. He was 18 when it happened. One other time Dan was in the front field, big electrical line and picked up an irrigation pipe to get a gopher out and touched a wire. He felt his hands tingle. It turned the electricity off to Bly for about ½ hour. Another time Dan was riding three- wheeler with an inner tube and hit a frozen cow pie. It cracked his skull and had to go to the hospital again; they had to pull the skull out and staple it together.

There is not too many old timers left around here.

Sharon used to work at the post office. She thinks there are more retired people than there used to be. Forest Service is the biggest employer now.

Bly is a nice community to live in and can be as busy as you want. Bly is a divided community, 10 percent do the work. In the 60s a group of folks tried in incorporation the town. There was 2 or 3 vote’s difference. A lot of people would like to see more here and some want it to stay the same.

Ten years, Sharon’s brother Paul was killed in a truck wreck. The whole town offered to help. They took Father to the hospital and so many people came to help, 6 or 8 people came to help load him. We used to know everyone, now because of T.V. you don’t neighbor like you used to. Newer developments, Bley Was, Pinecrest and Fishhole road all are newer subdivisions. Fishhole sold lots when the mill was running.

The mill contractors put in the trailer court behind our property. They didn’t want to drill a well. They started digging ditches and water lines without our permission. Later on we became good friends. There are 34 spots in the park. There has been a few times when it was full. There are only 5 spaces rented here now.

Are there local Mushroom pickers? Yes, they mostly pick Morels; Ed and Opal Patzke are the local authority on mushroom. Once they had a puffball about 30” around. They usually grow in logging areas or burned areas. Season is usually April and May and sometimes into June. They pick Matsutaki near Chemult. It is worth more money than Morels. That season is later than the one here.

Indians used to dig Apos around here.

Sharon and daughter Donna pick boughs, locally, to make wreaths to sell at Christmas. Kids have Christmas tree lots down in California. We make about 600 wreaths each year. We send lots of them in the mail. We start in November and store them in a cooler trailer. We have been doing it for 9 years here. Grandkids help with cutting boughs and picking up pinecones. Donnie works with barn wood making wood projects.

Tickled to see the park where it is now. We would like to have a bike path; interested mostly in things for kids.

I went to the first movie at the theater. Cousin, Jerry Dillavou, helped build the theater. We went to a lot of movies when we were courting. I think it was built in 1948; Opening day was standing room only. Think the movie was The Yearling with Gregory Peck. Debby and Wayne Baio recently bought the theater. Had a smoking room where you could watch through the window. Sherman Seastrong ran the movie projector. It was never a problem for a black person in Bly. We had all nationalities. Benny Moore was in Don’s grade, Could have been a professional basketball player if he wanted. Seastrongs and Lees had children. (Black families) Tecumsees also lived here.

Bly has come back several times; don’t know if it will make it this time. Mill site and 16 acres of asphalt should be desirable. There is not the work force that there used to be.

We try to hold fund raising but it is hard with the existing population. The Sizzlin’ Summer Fest Car Show brings in about 200 people. Vendors come with booths.

Are some people against tourism? There are still some that does not want to be involved.

The Order of the Antelope has been going since 1933.It is held each year on Hart Mountain. Sharon fixes breakfast for at least 40 guys each year that come from all over. They developed for an antelope refuge. It raises money for scholarships for antelope management and etc. Food, drink and sleeping under the stars is provided.

We had a school reunion one year and they all came to our house afterward.

Mitchell Monument is Bly’s claim to fame. The Patzke family asked that I do the logging. In 1995 we had a rededication of the 50-year anniversary. Forest Ranger, Nancy Rose, gave an excellent speech. Japanese came and sent cherry trees to be planted. We had a fly over by the fighter jets. We invited the governor, president etc but they didn’t come. When Dan was in College he wrote about the bombing. Nancy used some of the info for her speech. Weyerhaeuser donated the land to the Forest service before they sold their land to U.S. Timberlands.