First came the mining jobs and then logging became a major source of income for many residents in Covington.

The railroad had jobs available, but, the major income for most early inhabitants of the area was from products raised and sold from the family farms.

After the trees were cut and people began to settle the lands residents began raising dairy cattle. The cows could feed on grasses growing amongst the stumps that were left on the logged off lands.

Cream was hauled and sold to local creameries to produce milk, cheese and butter.

For many years in the early 1900s family dairies were a big income source until the creameries moved on.

It was costing too much to deliver milk from the individual farms. Farmers were raising chickens at this time for their own use.

Economics in the early days required the husbands and young men to seek jobs outside of their homes and communities to make a living. This meant leaving their wife and family members to survive on the income that their farm could provide.

After the cycle of the dairy industry, many new residents were arriving, and lands were being sold to provide homes for them. The result led to smaller farms. Raising poultry was common at each home site already, and by refining and adding to their flocks, another farm industry began. Egg sales became a hugh resource for just about anyone who could afford to become involved.

Early Meridian Heights, Berrydale and Suise Creek area residents took heed and developed poultry farms as a means to make their living. August Wax of Wax Road created an extensive enterprise at the site of the current MultiCare Urgent Care Center. Many of his poultry barns were built in 1920. He sold not only eggs and meat from his birds, but, supplied fertile eggs to local hatcheries and raised chicks to sell.

Poultry barns 100 feet long were common and numerous amounts of them were built at the home with smaller acreages. The Shandlian home that is still standing in Covington has a few old poultry houses remaining from their time as egg producers.

Aage Foss of Meridian Heights Grocery (Foss Market) had poultry barns at their site for selling and delivery of eggs to local residents. The white leghorn chicken was the most common breed in the area for egg production. A hen could produce 300 eggs per year at the larger farms.

Some of the poultry houses had concrete floors for sterilizing the environmen, while others had multiple floors made of tongue and groove fir. Automatic water systems were used for fresh water consumption by using a closed system of a reservoir and pipes to pump water to the upper levels and gravity flow back to the reservoir.

Grain hoppers with closed auger systems were used to distribute feed into the troughs of these long structures.

Nesting boxes made of wood and built 4-to-6 feet tall were attached along the wall for egg laying and collection. Rooms were built to serve as an office for record keeping, egg candling, washing and boxing.

The whole family, including the children had specific chores to do to aid in maintaining these farms. Manure handling most often became a job for the children.

A few of the farms remained into the 1960s providing eggs for the ever growing population of the area, but all that remains today are a few of the old, long structures with numerous windows, sitting silently.

Today you are limited on the amount of poultry you can have at you home, but fresh eggs are still desired by many, and selling eggs won’t provide a living, but is a great hobby.

Kids are still encouraged by 4-H to get involved with activities and raising poultry in Covington is just one of them.