The sternwheelers towed logs to the saw mills and you could see the log rafts anchored and floating along the river bank. The tug boat Ruby towed logs up the Columbia Slough to the Beaver Mill by the railroad bridge in East St. Johns and the Cross Arm Factory on the mud slough. Swimmers jumped into the slough to ride the Ruby’s waves up until 1925. . . Three trunk sewers were running intothe slough by 1925 – the Oswego Street, the Pier Park and the Willis Boulevard sewers. The sanitary plant on John Egger’s dairy farm at the foot of Peninsula Avenue altered the pollution. The city health officer Dr. Parrish closed the four dairies – Widmers, Meeses, Ramseys and Van De Bouviers in 1925. . . “Through the Eyes of Bro. Holmes O.S.M.” St. Johns Heritage, Volume 5, 48-51.
I will tell you something about the Slough. There was a hog ranch down there behind Schlesser’s. The hog ranch used to dump all their waste pork parts into the slough. They also had a sluice that carried the parts out to the slough. It was made of wood. When it wasn’t being used, we would get on it [it was like a trough] and walk across the bank portion of the slough which was mainly mud and ‘muck’. We wanted to get out to a spot on the slough so we could shoot rats. David Schatz, born 1924, Kenton History, 131
Harvey Miller lived down there and then there was a hog ranch owned by the Nagasaki family. There was a hog ranch owned by a Chinese family and one owned by some Italians. There were hog ranches all over by the slough. . .David Schatz, born 1924, Kenton History, 133
There were a lot of meat processing and slaughtering plants in this area. It was convenient for the purchasing people and butchers to come out here and go to different plants. . . . In those days, all the waste products from the slaughter houses went into the slough. There was a lot of fishing done in the slough. We used to bring a ’22’ down here and shoot rats. Edward Schlesser, Kenton History, 136.
I remember something else about Kenton. Have you heard of a pool hall down in the business area? Well, before it was a pool hall it held Saturday night grudge fights between the butchers and meat cutters from Swift & Company and the citizens. . . They put bleachers in there and charged 50 cents to see the fights. We watched ‘Butcher Boy’ Swain, Joe Machowski and ‘Chub’ Rawley. The boxing commission closed down the boxing. After that, we had a pool hall.Earl Stevens, born 1903, Kenton History, 144
After dark we used to go down to the slaughter houses with our 22’s. After I finished my paper route we would go down there on the killing floor and shoot rats. Earl Stevens, born 1903, Kenton History, 145
We were poor. I don’t remember much about my real young years. We raised chickens, had a couple of pigs. We used to live down by the Pacific Meat Company. We lived next door to Armour. It was Schlesser Bros. at that time. Schlessers slaughtered horses for dog food. Armour bought them out and they still slaughtered horses. My husband worked at Schlessers then and then at Armour. He then worked at Kenton Packing Company. . . Geraldine Hooker Mayhead, born 1915, Kenton History, 154
