In the fall of 1922, Knarr & Sons, owner of the local sand and gravel operation on the Sandy River, had a $600 contract to haul sand and other materials to Corbett where the new Corbett high school was under construction.
Corbett High School, also known as Columbian High, burned on July 3, 1922. The contract for the new school was a big one for Richard Knarr, who would later serve a term as Troutdale Mayor. Founder of what would become Troutdale Sand and Gravel, Knarr served in the U.S. Navy on a mine-layer in the North Sea during World War I. When he came home he first hauled sand to his customers by horse and wagon, and then bought an old truck. He loaded his sand into the truck bed shovel full, by shovel full. "I got to be pretty good at it," he once said.
He bought the 19 sandy acres of Sandy River waterfront, north of the Troutdale Bridge for $5,000 in 1921. (The site is now an RV park).