Irene Lefley
As told to Martin MorisetteI was born on a ranch out of Enterprise, Oregon on February 15, 1922. In 1938 I married Wayne Lefley and in 1943 we came to Ochoco's Logging camp on Wolf Creek. We lived in a small house until 1944 when Wayne went into the service. We stored all of our things and I came into town and lived with my folks.
There were eight families living at the camp when we moved there the first time. When we went back after Wayne came home from the service there were about 14 families.
There were no vacant houses when we came back so they built us a nice 24' x 24' house. There was no electricity, no running water or plumbing; only an outhouse. The house they built for us had a kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a living room. We had a kerosene refrigerator that we had bought earlier and a real nice wood cook stove. Kerosene for the refrigerator was delivered by Union Oil.
Wayne was up every morning by three or four o'clock and had a big breakfast before leaving for work. Our daughter was born before we moved to the camp. She started school in Prineville while Wayne was in the service. At the logging camp she went to Howard School until 6th Grade. After the 6th grade the kids were bussed to town.
It was a simple life. We did our washing by hand or with a gas powered washing machine. It didn't seem hard back then. Everybody was doing it and no one complained. We were both raised on a ranch and we were used to hard work and doing without things.
A man who worked for the company brought us groceries once or twice a week. Milk and bread and things that needed refrigeration. We gave him our grocery list. And when any of the other women went to town they'd come around and ask the rest of us if we needed anything. We came in to town once a month to do our shopping and pay our grocery bill.
In 1947 the camp moved from Wolf Creek to Veazie Creek above the Keystone Ranch. We were notified about the move and we'd pack our dishes in boxes and set the boxes on the floor. Pictures and things had to be taken off the walls, too. Then the houses were loaded on logging trucks for the move. At the Veazie Creek camp water was piped into the houses. In 1949 electricity was put into the Veazie Creek camp. We got rid of our wood stove with the hot water tank and got an electric stove, and we put in a shower and a toilet.
Our social life consisted of baby showers, playing cards and playing games with the kids. My house was a community center.
We were about 22 miles from town. If someone got sick another person would take them into town. The road was paved from the Keystone Ranch into town. From Keystone up to the logging camp it was a graveled road. It was always kept open and graded for the logging trucks.
It was a good life. Regardless of the kind of house you had the rent was only $20.00 a month, taken out of the paycheck. About 1950 there was talk that the camp was closing and we'd have to find a place to live. They moved some of the houses down to Prineville for people that had bought land.
We lived in the logging camp because Wayne's work was there but I have fond memories of a good life in the logging camp.