The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-09-21

Of them paved with asphalt, and it is
certainly one of the cleanest cities we
have ever visited. 1t has a iobbng
trade amounting to between S150,0OC,-
600 and S175,OOO,000 year, and also
heavy export trade. It's exports of
wheat and lumber are very large The
churches, residences and parks of Port
land are thoroughly modern, and they
have excellent electric street car SER
vice not only in the city but connect-
ing with many of the smaller towns.
Remembering that e. a. Ackerman
and family We're living at University
Park, suburb of Portland, we took an
afternoon and went out to visit them.
I Ihey live about seven miles from the
business center OF Portland in beauti-
ful little suburb. MIR. Ackerman and
son Lee, who has grown from small
boy in Leon few years ago to manls
looking slN-footer, who held position
as one OF the guards at the exposition
all summer, had both gone the week be-
fore to Walla Walla, Wash, MIR. Acker-
man TO work at his trade, painting, and
lee having good position in store.
But we found Mrs. Ackerman and the
chl'dl IN, and good old Aunt Jane Miller
at home and spent pleasant afternoon
with them. We had expected to find
Aunt Jane with yard full of fine flow
ers, and while she had good many she
explained that it was a poor time for
| flowers out there, as it has been many
weeks since they had any rain, and the
dusC was nearly foot deep in the
streets. In few weeks the rainy sea-
son would commence then everything
w uld lreshen up and the grass and
trees get green. They all think there
IS no place like Oregon, as to climate,
and while during the rainy season 1t
rains every day for weeks at time,
they told us that people soon became
used to it and did not mind it, for it
was not a wet rain like we have here i'm
Iowa, and that people actually hung out
their washings and dried them in the
rain. Like everybody we met in Ore
gon, they talked of climate, and we be-
gan to think that people lived on ali
mate. But one thing they do have
which we enjoyed was the coo! rights,
heavy blankets being quite comfortable
every night in the year. But with all
their claims about Oregon climate, and
the wonderful new country, we quickly
arrived at the conclusion that while it
was nice place to go sightseeing, as
! for us we preferred the cold winters
and hot summers Of good old Iowa.
While in Portland we also met d. A.
McMains, the Derby auctioneer who
has been away for five weeks taking
trip through Yellowstone Park on the
way TO Portland, and he was tickled to
death to see someone from Iowa. for he
said we were the first person he had
seen whom he knew since leaving home
five weeks before. We also learned
4 that Auhrav HAhanor frnp,onlv ,,f +bic
city, was living in Portland, having
responsible position with the whole
sale dry goods firm of Dresser & Co.,
but on account of the lack of time we
failed to get to see him. We met Wal
ter Hebener at Seaside, Oregon, where
he is connected with branch house of
! Dresser & Co.
And speaking of Seaside, that reminds
us that our little party made a trip of
lis miles from Portland down along the
banks OF the Columbia river through
Astoria, the greatest salmon canning
center in the west to the Pacific ocean.
as after our long trip we wanted to get
a glimpse of the mighty Pacific.
We took an excursion train from
Portland on Sunday morning along with
several hundred others and after four
hour run were unloaded at Seaside
station, which is the popular summer
resort for that part of the country.
There is a large summer hotel here and
many cottages and tents, the people go
ing to the seashore to spend the sum
mer during what they call their heated
term. At Seaside there is magnifi--
cent sand beach stretching for over
twenty miles, and we found it quite
cool, in fact light overcoat was very
comfortable. The one great amusement
is the surf bathing, and we had to 80
against it. Coughing up 30 cents for a
bathing suit about as big as your hand
we joined the crowd on the beach,
me 1t OF them however standing out of
the water on the sand, while few
were in the water, holding on to the
life lines stretched out for the bathers.
We walked in bravely and as the first
us we thought someone had struck us
with an axe and cut off both feet. La
about three seconds we were back on
the sand realizing that salt water on
the northern Pacific coast is about the
coldest thing we ever went up against.
We diden't get wet over our ankles,
but after watching the others who were
in the water we finally mustered up
courage enough to get hold of the rope
and wade out where the water dashed
over us once, and we were through with
surf bathing. We would rather take
warm bath in bath tub filled with
crushed ice and salt. And as for swim
ming there is nothing to it. All you
can do is to hold on to the rope and let
the waves knock you down and then
get up and laugh and let them do it
again. The surf is so strong that the
strongest swimmer can not live in it
but short time, and there are but Ger
tain hours of the day, when the tide is
coming in, that bathing is permitted, as
when the tide is going out the under
current is SO strong it will carry a per-
son right out to sea. Next week we
will try and interest our readers with
description of a steamboat trip up the
beautiful Columbia river.
Millinery, we'll we should say so, at
Thompson & Warmers store on Friday
and Saturday of this week, the dates
lnf fhns,, II