The following is the text of the booklet I made for the Kosmos Reunion 2008. I will put pictures in where they belong as I work through this blogging process. I apologize in advance for the typos and other confusing things.

Camp: A Look at Kosmos, 1940-1967

Here is an old photo of Kosmos from Dog Mountain, long before the road was built. You can see the mill pond, and in front of it the row houses. To the right of the row houses was the tire shed. For a long time during the fifties, the locomotive was parked near our house and generated power for the tire shop. Lonnie Sickler and I were fascinated by it and one time we got up on it and looked in the cab where the engineer used to sit. The guys in the tire shop chased us away. To the right of the tire shop was the shop, Owen Amondson’s realm, then the bunk houses and the office. Across from the bunk houses is Amondson’s house where my parents lived when they first came to Kosmos. To the right of Amondson’s is Moriarity’s. The fields and the woods are where we played.




In this picture, you see the logging site in the foreground, of course, but also the smoke from the mill at Kosmos, Dog Mountain, a bend in the Cowlitz River, and a nice view of Mt. Rainier in the distance.







Mr. Clarken was the granddaddy of Kosmos. The Bristols and the Harpers came from him, and there must be many stories about him and his large family to tell and write down. What I remember is going by his house on the way to Harpers. Then we crossed their bridge over Rainy Creek and went up toward Harper’s place. When I was really small, they lived in the Clarken’s original homestead house where when I stayed over I would get a boost up to the stairs and then wiggle around under heavy quilts keeping Kay and Gail awake as long as possible at night. I loved staying with the Harpers because there was music in the evening, horses during the day, and creativity around the clock

Mrs. Clarken was always nice to us after he was gone. One time Dawn and I dressed up like loggers on Halloween when we were just a little too old and pushed her doorbell for trick or treat. She saw right through the greased on coffee-ground beards, gave us our treats, and asked if this wasn’t going to be our last time trick or treating. It was a rainy and windy night, and the most fun I ever had trick or treating as we ran on up to Bristols and then back down the road to camp, but I took her suggestion to heart and it was the last time for me.

Joe Clarken doing his Irish jig.




Alfred and Otto Nordlund, David’s maternal uncles had invited him to come to Chicago to work with them because times were tough in Sweden in 1928. He did, and during the thirties he lived in Chicago, traveled to Florida and Arizona and the Northwest where he worked at St. Paul and Tacoma and was photographed by Kinsey with his friend, Jens Christiansen.




David and Karin Benson, Wedding Day, June 22, 1940, Chicago, Illinois
Kosmos Timber Company
Jack and Marilla Sutherland (Söderlind) Jack and his dog, Storm
Jack Söderlind was the larger-than-life figure who started Kosmos Timber Company, and for me Jack and Kosmos Timber Company are synonymous with Kosmos, the place. Ruby Amondson remembered that Owen and Jack had worked together in Packwood in the thirties when Jack said that he was going to start a logging company. He wanted Owen to come and work with him. Sure enough, Jack did just that, and Owen signed on at the beginning. Jack recruited people he respected and liked, and maybe that is why the group that formed the core of the company became such good friends.

I remember well the story of Jack’s trip to Sweden which I heard from my uncle, Gunnar Bengtson. When Jack came to Stockholm, he was impatient to get home to Sörby in Värmland, but the trip took many hours by train and car. Instead, he rented a plane, flew west across the country, and landed on Lakene sjön! He was remembered as the audacious, made-it-big-in-America man of the hour. Värmland’s remoteness meant nothing to him. No airport? No problem? Rent a sea plane. He was living proof that everything in America was bigger, the trees, the potatoes, the opportunities, the ideas, and especially the swagger! I don’t remember Jack as a big shot, but the day that he flew in to Sörby on a sea plane, he certainly was just that!

Fred, Jack and Nels Söderlind: “Skål!”
The Nels Söderlinds and Marilla: Back row: Dan, Thyra, Marilla (Jack’s wife), Reynold; Front row: Helen and Nels
I would like to know how all the pieces came together to start Kosmos Timber Company. I don’t know the details of the start up, but I imagine it had something to do with Jack’s brother, Nels Söderlind, who ran a logging operation at Kapowsin. Nels’ sons, especially Dan Söderlind, later worked at Kosmos too. Dan studied forestry at the University of Washington, and went on to run logging operations in Canada with the Dukabhors, and in New Mexico with the Navajo Indians.
Dan, Reynold, Lawrence, and their sister, Helen, remained close friends of David and Karin Benson throughout their lives. Here is a picture of most of Nels’ family, except Lawrence, along with Marilla, in front of their Bellevue home.

Nels and Jack had wonderful, resonant voices. Dan had it somewhat, but not as round and full as the earlier generation. Both Nels and Jack, when they were retired and living in Bellevue and West Seattle, respectively, never failed to say to my dad that he was a young man. I couldn’t understand what they meant since he was at least fifty! To be a child during those visits was to be quiet and listen to hours of stories about logging, bridge building, road building, Camp 2, trucks, speeder incidents, St. Paul and Tacoma, Sörby, Sweden, and my grandfather, Adolf Bengtsson. To me, it was magical, and I wish I could reproduce for you the warm resonance of their voices.

Marilla’s voice also flies down through the years. She laughed loud and often. With her lower jaw just a little longer than necessary, her mouth seemed to gather up humor and just belt it out. She was a Seattle girl. They lived in a beautiful home in West Seattle, near the bluff, with a view of downtown Seattle. She was generous and enterprising. She sewed her own clothes and could economize in grand style. Because she was my godmother, I visited her in Seattle several times after she and Jack were divorced. Being with her in the city was extravagant and lovely for a little girl from “camp.” Every thing was always more glamorous with Marilla, and when Debbie Reynolds came to West Seattle, Marilla made sure to get a signed publicity photo from Debbie for Norma.

Marilla’s first son, Frank, was adopted by Jack, and her son by Jack is “Young Jack.”

Fred and Bernice Söderlind

Fred Söderlind lived on the west side of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. From their home I could see Magnolia and the wide panorama of the Olympics. They were quiet, almost unbelievably quiet. I think this picture captures them well.

Yngve and Hazel Söderlind
In contrast to the quietness of Fred and Bernice was the loud, happy couple Yngve and Hazel. Yngve worked at camp throughout my childhood. He too was a distant Swedish cousin, and one of the Swedes who came often to our house for coffee in the evening. As I remember, we borrowed Moriarity’s piano when they went to Ketchikan, and to my astonishment, Yngve sat down and music boiled out of the piano accompanying his big voice singing Swedish songs. That did it, I was hooked on the piano. Unfortunately, the musical gene is weak in me, and I have never been able to produce the magic of 88 keys all tumbling and moving the way Yngve could play. His jovial personality was a bright spot among the quiet and serious Swedes.
Hazel never lived in Kosmos, and maybe never even visited. She lived in West Seattle and we saw her there on holidays. She was generous and kind, but she didn’t want to leave Seattle for Kosmos. Instead, Yngve went home to Seattle on the weekends and lived in the bunk houses during the week.



The Söderlind Boys( Lawrence, Dan and Reynold) and David Benson: For David the Söderlind family was home away from home. He always kept in contact with all of them, and though they were probably fourth or fifth cousins, they felt like family to us. This picture shows you that seventy five percent of the group wore the double breasted suit-type, but one hundred percent buttoned only one button. Did they plan that?





This is the Jack that I remember. He lived with his second wife, Clara in West Seattle. He was also a jovial man, and seemed so kind and pleasant. He enjoyed talking about Kosmos with my father, and we were all very sad when he died.


Petersons lived next to us and as you can see in the picture above there was no log table next to the house, but later on my dad and his brothers, Henning and John, made a table from one log which is probably still going strong at their former home on Uden Road. The log table was where we had lots of camp road dinners with the Petersons, the Sunds, the Thayers, the Sicklers, and the Buchanans. When tides were low we went to the beach to dig clams and came back and had clam feeds at the big log table.

Terri Peterson was famous as the buzzing, energetic girl who happily painted someone’s car when they came over for dinner. She was full of ideas and more than any one adult could manage. That’s not why the Peterson’s moved to Morton, but Terri certainly left us kids a legacy to live up to.

Swedes in front the of the Row House
Here are some of the Swedes that came to work with Jack: Ole Lundin, Emil Lindquist, David Benson, unknown, Henning Benson. In this picture, notice that the two buildings are still separate. Later they were joined and looked as if they had always been one building.

Anyone who was involved with Kosmos in the forties and fifties would remember Leona Peterson. Here she is in her prime. Her kindness, intelligence, and tireless work habits enabled her to provide for her two girls, Terri and Judy, after the tragic death of Ward Peterson. She kept the books for many businesses in eastern Lewis County. She eventually got breast cancer. The tragedy was that she had worked long hours, putting off the medical exam, but by then it was too late.

The picnic table in Kosmos

Karin Benson, Rosa Sund, Kim Sund (the little girl), David Benson, Edna Thayer, and Jess Thayer

In 1949, two of David’s brothers came from Sweden to join him: Henning and John. Sylve Jacobson came too. You see they dressed well, even when they went to Timberline lodge or on a happy trip to Mexico below. John is riding the donkey. Emil Lindquist is in the middle, and Sylve crosses his legs.



Henning brought along his friend from Stockholm, Sylve Jacobson, from Gotland. Sylve was happy, loving, energetic and exceptionally athletic. Here he is eating at the log table with Karin and David.

Henning and Sylve met in the Swedish Army during the war. After the war, they worked with another of David’s brothers, the most creative of all, Gunnar Bengtson, at Gröna Lund, the amusement park in Stockholm. There they made all sorts of rides and structures, but the best of all was the tunnel of love. In it were all sorts of scary wooden figures that moved mechanically to startle and amaze the customers who rode in little wooden boats. One was a wooden giant who popped up and narrowly missed passing water on the little boats. Henning, Gunnar and Sylve were all extraordinarily creative with wood and metal. John went back to Sweden, Henning went to Tacoma, and Sylve fell in love with the beautiful Barbara and settled in Seattle. [NEB1]



Operating the shovel was my dad’s favorite job.

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Kosmos Timber Company’s Blue Room. During the war and in the late forties, the Blue Room was the social center of camp. It was probably the location where Mr. Clark did his jig, because you can see Rosa Sund in the background.

When camp was really a logging camp and the logging was done by railroad, the women cooked huge breakfasts for the loggers, made lunches to take out in the woods, and made big dinners for after they had come back to camp. I was born in 1949, so I don’t have more than word of mouth, but I remember the Blue Room and the grange hall feel of it. To me it seems like they mostly had safety meetings there. Here is a picture and there are lots of faces you’ll recognize. In front is Olin Lee, Jess Thayer, X, Jess Hurd, X, X, Frank Stiltner, X , X, Kevin Kelly, Chub Buchannan. In the second row you can see Owen Amondson, Sid Johnson. These were the glory days of Sid Johnson. He was the Kelly Stanley of that era.


Is this the Time Shack? The time shack was my favorite place. I loved to go there when I saw my dad’s truck parked along side. Inside, he’d be leaning against the desk, probably writing out the crew’s hours and discussing what they had done that day and what was taking shape for the next day. Other guys in the time shack were Jimmy Donovan, Jess Thayer, Cecil Brown, and others. They wore their “cork” shoes and the threshold was worn down on one side. It smelled deliciously of dust, sweat, oil and work. They wore their tin hats tipped back on their heads. My slender dad used suspenders to keep up his black work pants, and in winter he wore long underwear under his work pants and a Filson coat to keep the rain and snow off his shoulders.


Spar Tree


Tommy


At first the Bensons lived in what became Amondson’s house, but soon they moved to a row house. The row houses were rentals, and they consisted of two bunk houses side by side, one for living space and the other for a garage. Later, my dad joined the two and put my room and a bathroom behind the garage space. I loved crawling through the adjoining closets between their bedroom and mine, and that’s where I hid my Halloween candy. Since I didn’t have siblings and didn’t have to worry about anyone else getting into it, I made a game of seeing how long it would take me to eat that bowl of candy. One year, I never finished the prior year’s cache, so I threw it out (or gave it to Jerry or Lonnie), and started in again.

Speaking of Jerry: Mother used to hang out her laundry on a laundry line on a reel that went up to a light pole from the back corner of my bedroom. Jerry thought of the circus act he could perform for us, and he got up on the roof and put one foot on the line. Immediately, when he put his weight on the wire, he spun around like Daffy Duck in the cartoon and flopped on the ground. We thought he was hilarious, but he didn’t feel too good and had to rest a while. That same corner of the house is where Sparky showed me his matches in amongst the buttercups. I think that later Sparky got in trouble for starting fires, and I often wondered what came first, his fascination with fire or his name.

In 1949 Norma was born and in 1950 she was baptized at Gethesemane Lutheran Church in Seattle with Henning and Marilla as godparents. Soon after, John had to go home to Sweden because he was too fond of drink, so everyone went to Sweden in 1950 where Norma had a nice summertime bath and David’s captions reads: Norma tar ett bad hos farfar I Satter.


Dawn Amondson and I had to teach ourselves to drink Seven-Up. It was so fizzy and tickled our noses. My mother gave each of us a bottle with one straw. We would take the tiniest possible sips so as not to destroy our noses and our taste buds. We sat on the back door of our house which went into my bedroom. On the little stoop, we looked through the cottonwoods to the mill pond dike. We could hear the bull frogs all the time, and daffodils brightened even further the sunny afternoon of adventurous pop drinking. We giggled, then took another sip. Each of us wanted to drink fast, but the fizzy liquid bubbled right up to our noses, so we would have to settle in and wait until we were ready for another adventurous, but tiny, sip. We put our pop bottles down and rode on the double swing my dad had set up in the cottonwood tree. The little cotton fluff rained down, along with the sawdust from the mill, and childhood magic reigned. She was four and I was three. Orange pop was our next challenge.




Building Road: The compressor for drilling rock

Road building
Logging
Jess Hurd and another man with a large log
Columbus Day Storm 1960
Ingeborg Quick and her boys, her house, and Dog Mountain


The lawn where we played with the road to Vanson Peak in the background.


Nice looking load of logs and three satisfied men. New truck, good load.

The men from New York? U.S. Plywood takes over?

New bridge over Rainy Creek. See Charlie and Ada’s house behind and Bristol’s store in the distance. Jess Hurd wields his hammer. A design flaw was a later problem for Neil Amondson when he was riding his bike at six years old and cut his foot badly on a bolt that had not been recessed into the bridge. David Benson commented then about how he had wanted to set the bolt’s head deeper, but they didn’t do it.

John Carnahan bareback with Kenneth and Elizabeth Barrett riding in their saddles. Elizabeth loved roses and Kenneth loved Palominos, thus the Palorose Café.


Here is the road cut on Dog mountain. Where this road takes off is where our friend in the middle died due to rock fall.









Thank you everyone. Please send your suggestions and comments for a revision to Version 2.0 in 2009.

Norma Benson, Mayor of Kosmos, August 10, 2008
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