THE VOLGA GERMANS IN PORTLAND
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Community > Employers

Employers

Oregon Washington Railroad and Navigation Company Picnic at Bonneville in 1915.
The Oregon Washington Railroad and Navigation Company annual picnic at Bonneville in 1915. Courtesy of Karen Spady Gallio.
As with most immigrant groups around the turn of the century, hard work was a prerequisite for success and upward mobility in their new homeland. The Volga Germans had a strong work ethic and this philosophy was expressed in a traditional saying: Arbeit macht das Leben süß  (Work makes life sweet).

In Portland, many of the early settlers found employment with private companies while others established their own businesses.

​A partial list of companies employing Volga Germans from 1881 to 1945 is shown below.

  • Albina Fuel Company
  • Albina Engine and Machine Works
  • Albina Lumber Company
  • American Can Company
  • B.P. John Furniture
  • Columbia Cabinet Works
  • Columbia Shipbuilding
  • Columbia Steel Company
  • Carman Manufacturing
  • Cassady Fixture Works
  • Commercial Iron Works
  • Doernbecher Manufacturing Company
  • Eastside Mill & Lumber Company
  • Grand Rapids Equipment (752 E 22nd)
  • Hyster Company
  • Irvington Drug
  • Jantzen Knitting Mills
  • John S. Beal Boat Works
  • John Wood Iron Works
  • Jones Lumber Company
  • Jones Stevedoring
  • M&M Woodworking
  • Meier & Frank Company
  • New System Laundry (507 E. Flanders)
  • Nicolai Sash and Door Company
  • Northern Pacific Railroad (North Pacific Terminal Company)
  • Northwestern Steel
  • Oregon Iron and Steel Company
  • Oregon Laundry (54 E. 6th - NE corner near Oak)
  • Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation
  • Oregon Washington Railroad and Navigation Company (later Union Pacific Railroad)
  • Pacific Bar and Foundry Company
  • Portland Cordage Company
  • Portland Cracker Company
  • Portland Railway Light and Power
  • Portland Laundry (324 Union Ave)
  • Rushlight Tin and Plumbing Company
  • Smith and Watson Iron Works
  • Southern Pacific Railroad
  • Stadler Fixture Works
  • SweetArts Candy Factory
  • Tru-Blu Biscuit Company
  • Union Pacific Railroad
  • W.C. Noon Bag Company
  • Western Baking Company
  • White-Mann Company
  • Willamette Iron and Steel Works
Picture
1926 Doernbecher Furniture Advertisement
Picture
Volga German employees of the Tru-Blu Biscuit Company. Photo contributed by Marcia Staunton
Albina Engine & Machine Works
Albina Engine & Machine Works photograph courtesy of Sheryl Scarbrough.
Contact us if you have information about other companies that employed Volga Germans in Portland between 1881 and 1945.

Sources

Albina and Portland City Directories

U.S. Censuses 
Last updated June 21, 2022
Copyright © 1998-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
    • About This Website
    • Reviews
  • History
    • Historical Timeline
    • Migration to Russia
    • Emigration from Russia
    • Settlement in America
    • Migration to Portland
    • Little Russia
    • A Short History of Albina
    • World War I
    • The Volga Relief Society >
      • Portland Volga Relief Society Subscribers 1921
    • World War II
    • Assimilation and Dispersion
  • Beliefs
    • Churches >
      • Albina Seventh-day Adventist Church
      • First United Mennonite Baptist Church
      • Ebenezer German Congregational Church
      • Free Evangelical Brethren Church >
        • German Evangelical Congregational Brethren Church
      • Second German Baptist Church
      • St. Pauls Evangelical and Reformed Church
      • Second German Congregational Church >
        • Evangelical Congregational Church
      • Zion German Congregational Church >
        • Rivercrest Community Church
    • Pastors
    • The Brethren
    • Denominations >
      • German Reformed Church
      • German Evangelical Synod of North America
      • Evangelical and Reformed Church
      • German Congregational Church
      • Seventh-day Adventists
      • United Church of Christ
  • People
    • Our People
    • Notables
    • Pioneers 1881-1892
    • Stories
    • Photographs
    • Help Identify These People
  • Community
    • Characteristics
    • Businesses >
      • Bakeries Retailers and Services
      • Garbage Haulers
      • Grocery and Meat Markets
      • Restaurants >
        • Helsers on Alberta
        • McCormick & Schmicks
        • Wildwood
      • Saloons and Taverns
      • Suppliers and Manufacturers
    • Employers
    • Education
    • Sports
    • Maps
    • Documentary
  • Traditions
    • Foods
    • Folk Medicine
    • Expressions
    • Weddings
    • Holidays
    • Folk Music
    • Funerals and Burial Sites
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Books and Video
    • Works Cited