Dust+and+Raindrops+-+The+Family+Story+of+Marjorie+L.+(Porter)+VanDyke

Contributed by Jessie Sweeney
One item of original writing and family history in Stewart's Collection is a bound journal titled "Dust and Raindrops: Life in the Willamette Valley Farm Fifty Years After The Covered Wagons" By Marjorie Porter VanDyke.

In it readers will find a first person account of Marjorie and her family, starting with the story of her parents, married in 1903, and the story of how they grew up in Forest Grove during the days of the pioneers. Readers are given a first-hand account of what life was like rowing up in that time and place. Like this for example:

"Living in the country, we had no electricity or inside plumbing. In winter, we heated our house with a wood burning stove. When we let the fire go out at bedtime, the house, especially the upstairs bedrooms, could be very cold. Many a winter night, until we were in our teens, we might be awakened by a darkened figure bending over us, checking our coverings. Of course it was Papa, making sure that our blankets were snuggled around our shoulders..." (Dust and Raindrops, 7).

Throughout the story one can find copies of family pictures, and accounts of what everyday life was like for the family, from growing hops, caring for crops, and making the family clothes. the author also recounts stories of near tragedy, like a boy who hung on to the hop-house elevator platform as it ascended, and had to be rescued before he fell 18 to 20 feet to the ground.

This journal is an excellent piece to read for anyone who is interested in a firsthand account of what pioneer life was like in the Willamette Valley.


 * Source: VanDyke, Marjorie Porter. Dust and Raindrops. Eric Stewart Collection, Box 18, Folder 1.