“Crick” or “Creek?”

New book about Camp Creek community to print soon

CAMP CREEK: Compiling a hundred years of local history has been a task Susan Thomas hopes to wrap up soon. “This whole project,” she recalls, “goes back to 1999 when I was teaching at Camp Creek Elementary, preparing for the school’s 50th anniversary. I started talking to a lot of people and visited with community member Betty Miller.”

Miller, Susan learned, had always wanted to put together some kind of community book that would include some of the photos and facts she’d already compiled. Struck by Susan’s enthusiasm, she passed it on to her.

At this point, the volume will include chapters covering the facts about the Kalapuya Indians , the time period from 1850 to 1950,  businesses, schools landmarks and journal entries.

“The content comes from what families have written down, word of mouth or news,” Susan says. One of her biggest surprises was learning the area had three school at one time - the Upper Camp Creek School, Camp Creek School and Twin School - spaced out according to the distance students could walk to get there.

Susan’s schedule calls for winding up the book’s text around February. She’s hoping people who’d like their families to be part of it will contact her. If you have information you’d like to share, you can phone Susan at 541-746-2681 or email her at [email protected]. (FYI, the answer to the question in this headline depends on how long you’ve lived there.)

Image Courtesy Curtis Irish

McKenzie River Reflections