(Part 1 of 2)
Though Brush Picking may be an unfamiliar occupation to some, it has maintained a history throughout the Pacific Northwest. Folks may not get rich by it, yet it continues to be a source of income from the forest. Chances are, pickers today could very well be brush picking in areas their grandparents once picked, and those before them. In both Oregon and Washington state, brush picking has been an active industry since at least 1915.
This story looks back to a time when forests in the Pacific Northwest provided a viable source of non-timber income if one knew how to work it. John Barnes was born in Florence in 1951 and began brush picking as a youngster. He recalls being about 10 years old when he and his brother, Pat, hiked deep into the wooded forest with their father, Archie. It was there they were taught to pick brush as a supplemental source of income for the family. They picked salal, huckleberry, sword ferns and sometimes, holly. Unlike today, during those earlier years, a lease was required to legally harvest brush.
Each year, Archie Barnes purchased leases from the U.S. Forest Service to pick brush in the Cummins Creek, Big Creek, or Ten Mile areas, just north of Florence. A lease legally prevented others from brush picking in that same area. In addition to brush picking on forestry land, John recalls also picking on the east side of Woahink Lake, where his father knew private landowners. In return, his father would respectfully pay a stumpage to the landowner. The stumpage was usually 3 cents per bunch. At times, they also picked near Mapleton (off the highway), in the Upper Indian Creek area.
CALLISON’S GREENERY PLANT
After having hiked far into forest areas to do their picking, they packed out the harvested evergreens on their backs. The harvested huckleberry was bundled, tied, then stacked like hay in the car for the drive to town. John remembers at first his bales were 20 to 25 pounds, but by the time he was 17 or 18 years old, he was able to carry out 40 to 60 pound bales. Their harvested greenery was taken to the Callison Greenery Plant in town. (The old schoolhouse building, now the home of the Pioneer Museum).
The bales were stacked and tagged in the Plant’s ‘wet room” for storage. Later, workers would break down the bales for weighing and packing into cold storage boxes. Callison’s was known to ship boxes of harvested foliage several times a week in refrigerated trucks or rail cars at the Cushman train depot for transport throughout Oregon, California, Washington, and Idaho. Salal and huckleberry continue to be popular for florists who favor the woody stems which make for a hardy, long-lasting fill in floral arrangements. A picker could expect payment from Callison’s for their harvest within a few days. John recalls in the mid-1950’s and 1960’s, they were paid 40¢ to 45¢ per bunch (1 ⅞ lb.) for huckleberry and salal. Together with his dad and brother, they would make $50 to $60 for about 4 hours of brush picking during a favorable market. The income was considered ‘family money’ until he entered high school. It was then that he began saving his brush picking earnings to purchase his first car.
When the Callison Plant closed, John said there were still a few small brush plants that accepted locally harvested pickings. The current site of the Home Grown restaurant was once a brush plant, and another was located in Mapleton.
It should be noted that not everyone who ventures into brush picking finds it to be a viable means of income. In addition to hard physical work, the foliage market has historically been a fluctuating one. Yet, the occupation also has perks – being your own boss, scheduling your own hours, and a way of life to live off a non-timber product of the forest. After graduating from Siuslaw High School in 1969, John went on to attend and graduate from Oregon State University. During his return trips home on weekends in the 1970’s, he often resorted to brush picking for a quick source of income.
According to John, brush picking remains an occupation today. In more recent years however, he described picking is sometimes done as a somewhat organized, mobile business operation. As permits or leases are no longer required on Forest Service land, a van can sometimes be seen transporting crews of pickers to various forestry locations throughout the day. This is in contrast to earlier years, when a brush picker worked independently.
Part 2 of this Oral History interview with John Barnes continues with another story of his work for Idaho State Parks, The Lewis and Clark and Oregon Trails project, and his career with Oregon State Forestry Service. He reflects on a memorable project of coordinating the retrieval of an abandoned Steam Donkey in a remote logging area – an adventure of epic proportions. Stay tuned for Part 2 of the John Barnes story in the coming weeks.
Story by Deb Lobey, 2025
SOURCES:
Know Your Community, Advertisement, 1955.
Mother Earth News Editors. Picking Forest Greens for Profit, July 1, 1978
Schultz, Erika. Pick of the Floral Season, The Seattle Times. Feb 13, 2015..
Weaber, Susan. Brush Pickers and Packers – Their Life. The World. Oct 6, 1960; Pg 20..
Youst, Lionel. Lost in Coos.. Golden Falls Publishing, 2011.