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Writing About Scientists and Inventors
7th/8th Grade Class

Household Chore Inventions
By Bethany

The methods of completing household chores were greatly improved by many American inventions developed in the late 1800’s through the mid 1900’s. Invented by Henry Seely in 1882, the electric iron electrically heated water inside the machine, making the invention hot enough to press the wrinkles out of clothes. The early hot irons were metal chunks that were heated on cook stoves, making this an inefficient and often dangerous way to press cloth. The electric iron stayed hot until it was turned off and, because it could be plugged into wall outlets, it could be used in many different places and carried easily. Started in 1850 by Joel Houghton, the construction of a machine that mechanically washed dishes was attempted by many people before a successful dishwasher was created by Josephine Cochran in 1893. This device modernized the long and grueling task of scrubbing dishes by hand. Mrs. Cochran’s dishwasher was a large wooden box with wire shelves inside and, once the dishes were in place, a motor squirted hot soapy water onto them. In 1901, the inventor Hubert Booth created the first vacuum cleaner, a machine that picked up dust, dirt, and other particles as it was moved across the floor. Before this invention, throw rugs were carried outside and beaten to get the dust out of them. The vacuum made it possible to clean rugs indoors and to keep wall-to-wall carpet sanitary. Developed by Alva Fisher in 1906, the washing machine thoroughly cleaned clothes and other cloth items. Before this invention, which revolutionized the task of washing clothes, women scrubbed clothing on rough wooden boards and dried them by running them through a wringer. The washing machine finished the job quickly and more effectively, also inspiring the idea for a drying machine. From the 1800’s through the 1900’s, common household tasks were immensely enhanced by many significant American inventions.

Writing About Oregon
5th/6th Grade Class


Doctor John McLoughlin
By Jordan

Doctor John McLoughlin was chosen as the “Father of Oregon” because of the great contributions he made to this State.  One of his contributions was generously helping American settlers and letting missionaries build on his land.  Also, while developing good relations between the Indians and the whites, McLoughlin kept peace between the British and Americans.  His contributions to Oregon history included helping David Douglas, Jason Lee, and the Whitmans, who were all important people in the settling of Oregon.  He built and was the mayor of historic Oregon City, the first incorporated town west of the Missouri River.  Starting industries and services was another great contribution of Doctor McLoughlin.  Fruit, lumber, salmon, wheat, and water power were some of the major industries in Oregon he started.  He set up the first lending library and a school for children.  He also built Fort Vancouver, the first community in Oregon territory.  Because of these many contributions, Doctor John McLoughlin truly was the “Father of Oregon.”

Oregon's State Insect, the Oregon Swallowtail
By Bethany

The Oregon Swallowtail, a strikingly beautiful butterfly, was chosen as Oregon's state insect because of its loveliness and startling strength. On July 16, 1979, the Legislature officially gave this insect the honor of becoming Oregon's state insect. This attractive creature is colored a bright yellow and is covered with spidery black lines running across its wings. Blue dots along the bottom wings add splashes of color to the insect. Located next to these are small circles that are shaded a rich red. These spots are slightly larger than the ones on common Swallowtails, and are the only way to tell these two kinds of butterflies apart. Though they appear to be fragile and delicate, Swallowtails are powerful flyers and are extremely difficult to catch. This ability is required for the long migration south in the winter and the trip home in the early spring. Strength is also needed in the windy and rocky meadows and hilltops of Oregon, Washington, British Colombia, and Idaho, where Swallowtails make their homes. This butterfly is an excellent addition to Oregon's state symbols because of its beauty and incredible strength.

Happy Birthday, Oregon!
By Nathan

Happy Birthday, Oregon,
Today you're 147!
Let’s celebrate this party
Like we’re partyin’ in heaven!

We love the Nike headquarters,
And OMSI and your zoo;
You’re a fun place to play soccer
And watch dairy cows go MOO!

Your trees include the Western Hemlock
And the Dogwood Tree.
Your plants include the Oregon Grape
And the Western Peony

On Valentine’s Day, in 1859,
You became the 33rd state.
In my heart you're number one,
And I think you’re awfully great!

Writing and Publishing Stories
4th-5th Grade Class

Chocolate & Vanilla’s Sweet Escape
By Jade

Once upon a time there lived two hamsters and their mean owner Mearl. The hamsters’ names were Chocolate and Vanilla. They lived in a very stinky cage and only got a few scraps of food from the table each day! Their bedding was made of string because Mearl did not like to clean her hamsters’ cage so when she would do anything with string she would put her scraps of string in her hamsters’ cage. The hamsters’ thought this was hamster abuse so they talked about what they should do:

“Vanilla,” Chocolate questioned, “what do you think we should do about
this? I mean, this cage is so dirty that I can barely see your beautiful little beige spots on your lovely white fur.”

“I know,” Vanilla replied. “I think we need to escape to the pet store. Surely
they will treat us nice there. But how should we do it?”

“I have a great idea!” Chocolate exclaimed. “This is it: Mearl and her family
are going on a camping trip this weekend. When they are gone I can push the lid of this cage open. It will probably only take an hour. Then, we can go out the cage, run down the stairs, and go out the cat door in the back room!”

“What a wonderful idea, Chocolate!” Vanilla praised.

On Friday morning Mearl and her family left, and immediately Chocolate started his task of pushing open the screen door. It took longer then he had expected and after he had finished opening the door he had to take a rest. When he woke up Vanilla said he had slept for a little over two days! Chocolate helped Vanilla get out then he got himself out. They ran downstairs and right when they got to the cat door, to their dismay, the back door opened. It was Mearl! Mearl saw the hamsters and ran after them and caught them. She took them upstairs and closed the lid. To make sure that they would not escape again she secured the lid with a twisty-tie!

Mearl raged, “For that I will not give you any scraps from the table! I will also tie your wheel up because you have been very naughty.”

“Well,” Chocolate heaved, “that didn’t exactly work the way we wanted it to, but let’s think of Plan B.”

“Hmmm. I wonder,” Vanilla pondered.

“I’ve got it!” Chocolate declared. “Tomorrow night we should climb up the wheel and bite all the way through the twisty tie, then we can push the door open together and run away. We’ll have all night since Mearl is having a sleep over and will be sleeping downstairs.”

“I don’t know,” Vanilla queried. “It sounds like a great idea, but your other one did too, and it didn’t work. But, I guess we can try it.”

“Great!” Chocolate squealed.

When Mearl went to sleep downstairs the following night they started nibbling on the twisty-tie. To their surprise, it came down after only a few nibbles! They thought, “Mearl must have just tied it very loosely.”

With both of them pushing on the cage door it didn’t take as long to open it. They got themselves out of the cage. Guess what happened when they got to the door. Mearl’s parents started coming up the stairs to go to bed! They saw the hamsters and started running after them. Vanilla and Chocolate ran behind the computer hoping they wouldn’t be seen. But Mearl’s parents had sharp eyes. They saw where the hamsters were hiding. They snatched them up and put them back in their cage.

“We were so close and then Mearl’s parents had to come up and catch us,” Chocolate huffed.

“That’s all right,” Vanilla soothed after a pause, “because I have another plan. You see how this bedding is made of string? Well, we can tie a bunch of them together to make a rope. Of course we will do it at night and make one for you and one for me. Then, we can tie them up on top of the cage with the twisty-tie. Also, you know how people can be forgetful at times? Well Mearl sometimes forgets to close her bedroom door. The cat will come in after a while, pounce on the cage, break the screen and we can fly out like Tarzan. Just thinking of it makes me want to yell like him.”

“What a wonderful, exquisite idea!” (yawn) “But let’s wait until tomorrow night,” Chocolate requested, yawning again, “because …… I am so…so……..so…….” (snore, snore.)

“Well, I guess I’m pretty tired too,” Vanilla agreed.

The next night they started their work. They finished tying the ropes and they tied them to their ceiling.

“Now all we have to do is wait for a time that Mearl leaves her door open!” Vanilla rejoiced.

They stayed awake during the day and slept during the night so they would be awake the day Mearl left her door open. Days and days passed by but Mearl never forgot to close her door. One day, though, Mearl was running late for ballet and through all the hubbub she forgot to close her door! The hamsters ran to their little ropes to wait for the cat’s approach. After about ten minutes in waiting the cat decided it was okay to come in. He bounded in and jumped onto the mesh roof. The screen couldn’t hold the cat up so in fell the cat! Then the hamsters swung themselves out of the cage yelling, “aaAaaaaAaaAaa!” They fell onto the floor and ran for their lives with the cat scrambling after them. They ran down the stairs, across the room and went out the cat door! The cat did not see where the hamsters were and, since it wasn’t a very persevering cat, it started chasing a fly because it didn’t want to take the time to find the hamsters.

“Wahoo! We did it! Your plan worked!” Chocolate congratulated.

Vanilla danced around saying, “Now all we need to do is find the pet store.”

They set out in search of PetCo. They ran into a little wild mouse and asked him if he knew where the pet store was. The mouse knew and told them how to get there. They followed the mouse’s directions and got there with no trouble. Chocolate and Vanilla went inside and climbed up the cash register. The cashier saw them and said to herself, “I wonder how those hamsters got out of our cage.”

She put them inside a cage with other hamsters. Then, can you guess what happened next? You got it! They were adopted by a very caring young boy and they then got married and lived happily ever after. They had many children. They told their children the story of their escape and when their children married and had children of their own they told their children and so on and so forth. And even today I’m sure hamsters are telling their children this story.

The End