Hanna Asp was the daughter of Anders and Maria Asp (Aspnäs in Finland). Hanna immigrated to the United States in 1888 with her family from Pedersöre, Finland. The following are entries from the diary of Hanna Asp during the summer of 1902. She worked for the John Olin family in a logging camp near Chinook, Washington. A copy of the diary was generously donated to SFHS by Bernice Olin. Photos of the family are from the SFHS archives unless otherwise noted. We kept the original grammar and spelling from the diary. If you haven’t read the first installment it can be found here.
July 26, 1902
I have not written for four days now, Thursday Mr. Ostrom was here and occupied our room and yesterday we came home too late. So I did not feel like writing.
Thursday afternoon I went out to pick some blackberries and I got in to the worst place I ever into before. I crossed the creek by the barn and then climbed up into an old spruce tree that was lying across a little stream. The branches and blackberry vines were so thick that I could hardly crawl through and I got my apron torn and my hair full of sticks. There were a good deal of berries there though. I must have been a sight when I got out of there and I am heartily glad that I do not meet anyone. (I have to go to eat now).
In the evening August came up here and Ina & I were paring potatoes and August said, “There comes the minister,” and I looked out of the window and sure enough if there wasn’t Mr. Ostrom coming up the road. He came in through the dining-room and shook hands first with August. Then he came to me and said, “I suppose you have some supper for me.” I told him I thought we had and he went into the front room where Mr. & Mrs. Olin were, and I went to find some supper for him. He slept in Ina’s & my room and the next morning he went away right after breakfast when John went to scale the raft.
Alfred Olin as an adult (above) and Alfred as a teenage immigrant (right).
Alfred Jakobsson Olin
Alfred was born July 16, 1882 in Nykarleby, Finland to Jakob Jakobsson Olin and Maria Mattsdotter Aspnäs. Alfred died in a tragic logging accident on March 27, 1923 in Ilwaco, Washington. According to the family, John Olin refused to let them bury Alfred in the church cemetery because, “He never went to church when he was alive, why put him there now.”
July 28, 1902, 9 o’clock
Saturday evening I received a letter from my papa saying that he would come up here Sun. but he did not come. Charlie and August went to Chinook to get him but after waiting as long as they could they returned without him. We thought perhaps he might come later since he was coming on a launch and sometimes they cruise around on the river all day and if so papa would get to Chinook pretty late, so August and Ina and I took the boat and went up nearly as far as Prest’s place but nobody came, so we went home. On the way we met Mrs. & Mr. Olin on their way to take a boat ride. We had to get supper to half past fie so we had to hurry up because the men were going to drive logs.
This morning Olins went to Astoria. They started at 6 o’clock. Mrs. Olin came home this evening but John went to Portland so he is not home yet. This evening when I went to feed the pig the lumber fallers felled a tree. It fell into another tree and after breaking a number of branches got stuck. I went down again to the house to get the calf’s pail and when I got to the calf’s yard I heard them call and I looked and the tree was breaking down. I could see when it cracked and then broke right off and both trees fell down with a great crash.
We have had four suppers this evening and one more is to be eaten later. Mr. Dawson ate at half past four and then went down to ride the steamer at Chinook. At six the largest part of the crew ate but two men had to fix something or other in the woods and came just as we had put everything in the heater to keep warm. Next Mrs. Olin came home and had her supper and now we have the table ready for Dawson when he comes home.
Charlie took in some straw to put in his bed to night and he dropped it all over the floor so I had to sweep it up and as I was sweeping Mr. Christians came up with a broom and some boxes. I thought it was all for Olins so I said, “It’s good that you bring me another broom for this one is pretty worn out.” “Yes it was my broom,” he said, “But you may borrow it,” and so I finished my sweeping with his broom after that I chopped some kindling and put in the chickens but when I was going to shut the pigs door he was in the calf’s yard and I had a hard job to get him into his own but I succeeded at last. That calf and pig are such good friends that they do not want to part even for the night.
July 30, 1902
Yesterday I washed. I begin in the forenoon and did as much as I had time to then and finished in the afternoon. In the evening I had to stay up and keep supper for Dawson and when he came he brought me a letter from home and one from Maria. The forenoon I ironed and this afternoon I answered Maria’s letter and now I am keeping supper for Jack & John and I have just written a letter home.
July 31, 1902
Last night it was a quarter to ten before I went to bed. They were not home yet but Mrs. Olin told me to got to bed when it was so late and I had just got in bed when they came. This morning I ironed the clothes that were left and everything went as usual. This forenoon it was so rainy that the men could not work but then went to work this afternoon.
August 1, 1902
Today everything went as usual except that I went blackberrying this afternoon.
August 2, 1902
At noon today the engineer blew the whistle at 20 minutes to twelve because his watch did not run right. We did not know what to think when everybody began to come home. This afternoon we scrubbed and cleaned up and we got through at half past eight tonight.
August 4, 1902
Papa came yesterday. We made dinner to one o’clock because we expected everybody here by that time but there were only four to eat. We put the things in the heater to keep warm and then Mrs. Olin & I took a walk down the road so that we would meet them (Ina did not to go). We met John & Jack & Eric Berg who had been to the raft but they had seen nothing of the others. We did not want to go home yet so we picked some huckleberries & blackberries & gooseberries that were growing by the road and then we went up the new log-road. When we came back we heard someone hollering and we thought it was the coach from Chinook so when we came to the barn we waited and sure enough if they didn’t come Charlie, August, Willie & papa and some of the loggers. It was pretty late so we made supper and after that we sat in the frontroom talking & singing & playing and at last went to the “land of nod” as Lena said.
Papa went home this afternoon and John went to Astoria and Mrs. Olin to Chinook. When Mrs. Olin came home she had a box of eggs and August carried them up and dropped the box and broke five dozen. When I got through sweeping this evening I threw the sweepings on Jack who was filing a saw and he came after me and he stepped on my toe and as he had corks shoes on it went right through my shoe into my toe so now I am the third here with a sore foot. Anderson cut his foot the other day & Fritison cut his quite awhile ago, but it is not quite well yet.
