I could have entitled this, "THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS--- I MEAN MOHARS.
YES, Ann, my sister and Donald and I are the last of the Peoh point school that I know of. There may be a few who were younger that are yet alive but of the old school pictures, we are the last. Three of us in Peohpoint school just passed away in the last year or so---two just were buried this year.
When my mother was still alive, she would say to me, "Norman do you want this place?" and I would have to say "no" because she had already in the past signed over power of attorney and other what ever papers which were the guidline for distributing her estate. I longed to have at least the old house, but as it turned out , I am satisfied that it in the capable loving hands of the person who really is the best of owners. He has the knowledge and the skills and most likely the money to maintin the old property which will now last another 100 years or more. To me there is no more beautiful setting in the whole world than that property 'neath to face of this great big rock we call Mt Peoh. It is as if it was sculpted like Mt Rushmore--just for me. I climbed it a few times as a boy and was so fearfull I'd stumble and fall thousands of feet below. In the pristine days there were 'rock rabbit's' living in the rocks and I had good hearing ability then to be able to hear them communicating with their sharp whistles. There wasn't a chance to catch one of these small rabbits which were very close to being like the valuable fur bearing animal of South America--the Chinchilla.
I remember that it was some sort of fun to start a big rock rolling down the rocks .The rock would bounce and gain speed as it fell to the bottom crashing into the trees-. I now would call that 'vandilism'. In the early days though we would be able to hear rocks roll which might have been started by a deer or elk as they migrated across the face. It was also natural for rains to lossen rocks. In some areas it was like the Alps. There was no way you could climb those jutting rocks without the proper gear. And I was never born to be a rock climber., I am somewhat fearful of heights--I guess I can visualize being splattered on the rocks below if I fell.
So the first thing to do when arriving at the old place was to go take a view of the mountain in all it's beauty. It is as if God placed it there as an Altar under which to worship. To be so lucky to have been born there. Of course all I might write about is or will not be tales of happiness. Those days in the '20s and 30's were really rough days--.I say that from a standpoint of hunger and lack of all what kids call normal living today. We had as almost every one else a path to an outhouse. A well for water and a bucket to carry water in the house. The well finally became contaminated and so that meant hauling water on a horse drawn sled from th spring which flowed from beneath Mt. Peoh. That distance was remembered by the amount of pipe Daddy bought to try to bring water to the house. It was 2380 feet.
I should explain that the mountain was known by a different name in the early days.It might have been Cle Elum Ridge--but the story is that a lady newspaper writer who wrote the daily (weekly)times of Peoh Point. She named the farm area Peoh Point--in behalf of the Indian Chief Peoh. There was in those days quite a few Natives who lived in the area and also traveled through to the huckleberry fields near us. There were two notable Indians and one was Chief Peoh. There was another notable Indian named Indian John---you must be familiar with the rest stop on the free way that is where the Indian John Hill rest stop is now located. At the base of that hill is a grave which has long ago been desecrated by a farmer who ignored the rails around the grave. He plowed it under to farm over the grave. I remember seeing this grave from the school bus as we stopped to pick up the kids who lived now on the rented farm.
I was very anxious. Like they say, "ON pins and needles"---I made sure I was first one there on that Saturday of June 12th. My grandson, Matt, drove my pickup which was loaded down with tables and chairs and food items. I worried --yes it was worry-- that something might happen to spoil the day---I am a worrier---Hey , worriers make the world. I do my part.
The owner, John Barker, gave me permission to come anytime to visit--and to have this reunion . That was a few years ago, I mentioned it to my daughter Nancy who is a organizer of such events, and the idea spread thru-out the Mohar relatives, shirt tails and all. All of us meet at funerals and we always tell each other that we should have a Non Funeral meeting someday. I got further assurances from John that it was okay. It was a half year or more in this planning and even during the cold icy winter weather, Nancy picked out the nicest Saturday ever to have this event. The weather was absolutely perfect as if God knew we'd like to have this nice a day. Usually you can expect a wind.The rains had stopped presenting a 'window of opportunity'.
Pesonally , I didn't do a thing---I couldn't do anything but to sit and watch the progress. Pretty soon the yard was quite full of cars. It seemed everyone knew where to park--it had happened before in the days when my Mother still rocked on her rocking chair on the little patio I made for her --so she could watch Mt. Peoh. You might not believe she didn't wear glasses. One day when we were together viewing the desecration of the mountain--I mean desecration because we could see that there were homes being built up there where we hunted for deer and elk and grouse--now we moaned about the no trespassing signs all over our old hunting grounds. One day, Ma said, "Norman , see that bush up there with the white flowers?"-- Holy Cow! she could see the white flowers on a bush? Then I smart assedly answered, "Ma you mean the one with the bees buzzing in the blooms?" Heck! I could just barely see the montain.
So the reunion was very nostalgic and I kept my emotions down and I was surprised I didn't go into a bawling fit. I was as happy as I've ever been in my life to see all my family there and then to see those I only read about in Blogs . Such a beautiful bunch of young kids--I am for large families---married couples should have more than four---we are falling behind. I fear.
So with all of those happy kids running over the grounds where I grew up. Only it is better now--much better--. In my day that yard was mostly manured by sheep and Goats and cows and horses. How did we ever survive Ecoli? I remember chasing cows in bare feet--in the stubble or on the gravel--and it was hard to avoid stepping in fresh cow poop. So you just had to run on and maybe if the snow ditch was running, you'd run through the icy water.
I saw some of the pictures on Mandy's blog and Kelley's blog. Isn't this digital age wonderful? I have a few relatives( close ones too) who frown on the use of a computer. This is the 'frosting ' on my cake of life--to be able to write this story--I just let it 'flow out' and there it is for all to see. I can't possibly write it as it reaally was, but I can tell you that big families is 'where it's all at".It's not easy. We are here to propagate the races. Do it, young kids, but please do it in the old fashioned way--. Marriage is for the purpose of creation--not all recreation!! I am preaching now--.
I've offered at the first days of when John Barker bought the land. to buy back from him the old house. In that day he hadn't built his fabulous rustic home. But he said that when he saw this place "I had to have it". He had fond memories of his home place I think he said Idaho. I wouldn't have touched much of the old house, John has really saved it as I mentioned for the next 100 years--and Hey John, after I'm gone you can demolish it. But first and even now--neath the west window take a metal detector and look for that quarter or half dollar the my brother Donald dropped from the upstairs window and we could never find it--maybe it rolled out farther that we thought. Gee--wouln't that be a 'find'?
The yard had grown over alright and I love all those cotton woods and other brush. The reason all our orchard was lost was the herd of sheep and goats my Mother insisted on having--she loved sheep---as if they were family. If you want to clear brush, get goats.
Even the braying of the donkeys was music to my ears. because we had a team almost like them. Jack and Rabbit. They would only let you place the bridle in ther mouth just one time --and you had to be quick and able. Then, since they are very touchy around the ears you buckled up in a hurry--then to hitch them to one of those mowers --they'd be frightend by the clatter and the rattle of the mower and down the field you'd go Mowing all the way. You can believe that my Mother could handle that team. I always speak of my Mother but please believe me that Daddy was there too and he was the best teamster. Plowing and disking and harrowing, but MA never let Daddy 'seed' the wheat. He'd put on too much. Ma was able to seed the whole place on a bushel--that's stretching the point , but she was also able to paint the whole house with just a pint of paint--could she ever spread that paint. It was because of the cost factor--today you can afford to cover a board a half inch thick--I said that to make a point.
The 'pot luck' was enough food to go around twice or three times. I had to guard myself because I eat too much now to hinder my diabetic boundaries. I am pleased that all of this reunion was hopefully NOT a last Hurrah. Lets do it again. Can we ? Please?
I must extend again and say, how grateful I am to John Barker for sharing his facilities for our benefit. I surely hope we didn't do much damage--we did stomp down the dandelions. And John, didn't you notice --there was no smoking---.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Eldon my brother in law
Eldon Morrison middle name of John I think, came into our lives about in 1936 when we finally got wired up for electric lights. He worked as an electrician for Gwen Davies whose father had a Jewelry store in town. Gwen had this electrical business as a main means of income I think and Eldon was a budding student I call it of those most wonderful invention which we know as electricity. We were one of the last to 'hook up' --it was a financial problem but it some became affordable.
Eldon was the chief electrician. It was different then with two wires on split knobs in the open. We had a drop light in each room with a 40 Watt bulb. I remember when I came home from school --still in grade school--we were to have a lighting ceremony with all of us present. We could hardly wait for it to get dark. The kerosene lamp was lit and in the middle of the room with it at its brightest setting. Everybody sorta had a countdown like a moon launch then someone pulled the string to turn on the 40 watt bulb. Immediately the kerosene lamp looked red and the 40 watt bulb almost blinded us. So now we were 'with it'.
On this particular day, I remember that finally the order to Sears came--my order for a stamp collection book. Eyler Elliott at school got all of us interested in collecting stamps and I begged Ma to get this blank stamp book for me. In this new light it looked so good.
Eldon noticed that we had a female person his age in our household and became infatuated. I think this went both ways. He made more visits to check on the job than was necessary I think so that he could visit with Ella my older sister. Ella was 3 years older than I am and eligible for courting. This went on to get 'thicker and thicker' which was a benefit to us because Eldon also became a radio repairman and enthusiast. He brought a used Radio out for us to 'try' which then required a long outside antenna and a ground wire to collect the radio signal energy which was at that time very weak and far away. At last we could hear from the outside world and especially the radio station in Canada--Calgary--I think the call letters were CFCN. It was the best listening of all because they had old time music and old time fiddlers playing and I learned a few hoe downs on the fiddle by listening to that station. The sad thing was that the station was so far away that the signal would die out and I'd miss a part I needed to learn to finish learning a hoedown. We listened all night at times.
On Sundays it was the dickens--because there would be preachers ranting about the end of the world is coming--one of them said it was to end in 1940 and I was really alarmed because I was too young to die. I wasn't enthralled with big band at that time. Then in the day time from a Tacoma station we'd all listen to soap box episodes. "Pretty Kitty Kelly" was one and some other tear jerkers."Our Gal Sunday".
So Eldon became a fixture in the family. Ella admonished us to be on our best behavior when Eldon was around--and to NOT cuss. Ever. But one time on a Sunday Eldon came and they were in the next room with the door shut. I was with Ma and some others in the kitchen and we were having a heated exchange over some thing when I let out a forbiden term! SHIT TOO!! and then I realized that Eldon could not have missed that for sure--the whole house was stilled and I was embarrassed beyond words so I left the house in my agony to try to recover--how will I ever explain that utterance away anyway? It was dark when I finally came back in in my deep remorse. But nothing was said about it so we lived after all---and a little at a time I found out that Eldon knew a lot more of those vulgar terms having been around hard nosed loggers most of his young days.
Once we got to talking about a little science and we mentioned what they call today as "Greenhouse gasses"---only we were talking about human caused gasses--. He told about his buddies at the logging camp wondered if a fart would actually explode. So one of them let his pants down and with a cigarette lighter farted into the flame and it DID explode--Kapow! so they learned without having a laboratory facts you couldn't learn in high school .
Speaking of high school, Eldon dropped out. He rued the day he told me many times and was a strong advocate of education. He said that he "couldn't get along witht the teachers" and I can understand him because I argued too with my teachers even though the book said I was wrong. By the way, Ella and Eldon paid for my high school pictures and Eldon loaned me his suit and tie. I even wore that suit on a date or two. The tight vest felt so dressy.
Eldon read voraciously and gained a lot more knowledge by reading than most of us. I remember he liked to have popcorn at his disposal and a book or magazine and his pipe too--in which he smoked a flavored Maple Rum tobacco. It was the only topbacco that Ella could stand. Now I am ahead of myself.
The romance went along and I don't know when the date was set or where was there a marriage performed but I doubt if it was in a church because Eldon didn't adhere to any organized church or religion--I might add here though that he was quite anti Catholic in later years but before that I heard him say that if he ever joined a church it would be the Catholic church because it was the original church. But later on he changed in that line of thinking and became a mason which was quite anti Catholic--once after he took his first degree, he showed me a blue mimeod copy of a document which was actually from the Library of Congress--exposing the oath of the Knights of Columbus--I was shocked ---how could that be? and later I learned that it was some of the dirty tricks to thwart Alfred Smith from being elected president---look it up to get the real story. The hoax was actually read into the congrssional records in a expose.
But there was much to be gained in a professional life by becoming a Mason--, Eldon told me he did it to be able to get a good job and that's true, My cousin did the same. Nuff about that.
So Life was tough for anyone in those days. Eldon started several businesses on his own. One in Roslyn --a repairshop. He asked me to draw a cartoon for an ad he might use for his ads. I did but it was never used. At those times in their early marriage Ella helped in the businesses. Eldon repaired his own cars too. I remember one was a 1940 8 cylinder Pontac. He had lots of different cars. One I wish I had today was a 1931 Chev cabriolet. His Dad, named John, had a 1937 Ford which Eldon borrowed to court Ella lots of times. Many times you didn't really know it was Eldon driving in the yard. One car was a 1928 chev coupe.
When TV came along Eldon was reading all he could and learning about this miracle. He started a business over in North Bend. We bought our first TV from Eldon and we had it in Grandview. It was a very weak signal area but it made me wonder what and how come there is a picture out of thin air so I took a course in TV and built one--I still have it--, See? Eldon was quite an influence on all of us.
Before Bonnie was born Ella and Eldon would visit every Sunday--Ella was lonesome I guess for the old home and Eldon told us tales and tales. He also loved guns and had a pistol--a Reising automatic .22 pistol which I admired . Once when he was gone and the gun was left at our place I fondled it and took out the clip. I couldn't put it back in --a spring jumped out of place--. My brothers got onto me and made it all worse. So I left the house in darkness and stayed in the snow ditch till Eldon came out looking for me--he asked, "What kind of a meany( some word like that) do you think I am?" and he said, "come on in, I fixed it--it has happened before." Then he asked, "Do you want that pistol?" and I replied that I surely did. "How much money do you have?" and I said "I have a total of $6.50". He said. "That's my price" and I gave him my nest egg and I still have that gun. It is now a collector and worth over $300.But I wont sell it ever--I promised.
Eldon also had other guns. One 410 shotgun with s slightly bent barrel to the left--and a Winchester model 70 which he had re barreled to a caliber of .270 from a 30-06. I shot a few deer with it. I wonder who inherited those guns now.
Eldon was one of those true entreprenuers. When TV came into being the market was good for TV sets. He also contrived a cable for TV into Roslyn and Ronald. Which later was to be come a sort of Bonanza for him He sold the cable and then was able to pursue a few of his dreams like a cabin in Canada and an Airplane which his family will remember without my telling about it.
Earlier among the endevours , Eldon somehow became acquainted with a bulb farmer--who had an acreage down in the Thorp area. They farmed and cross bred different bulbs. I think we have a few of those Iris plants here which we brought from my Mother's garden.
I know they wanted a family but that wasn't as easy to have as first thought. There was a miscarriage and I remember the alarm in our family and we drove right down to help. Daddy didn't take that news as hard as my Mother did.
I must back up and tell you about where Eldon was actually born. On your way to Cle Elum from Ellensburg there is an open area called Swauk prairie. Then to your right if you left the free way, still going toward Cle Elum you'd pass through a canyon which is named MORRISON CANYON . There are remnants still of the old home in the brush where Eldon was born. He had relatives which I never had a chance to meet who lived in the Thorp area.
Eldon was a great influence on the family. I must say he wasn't fond of my Dad though and my Dad wasn't all that fond of him but Daddy did know that Eldon was a smart man.
Eldon was the chief electrician. It was different then with two wires on split knobs in the open. We had a drop light in each room with a 40 Watt bulb. I remember when I came home from school --still in grade school--we were to have a lighting ceremony with all of us present. We could hardly wait for it to get dark. The kerosene lamp was lit and in the middle of the room with it at its brightest setting. Everybody sorta had a countdown like a moon launch then someone pulled the string to turn on the 40 watt bulb. Immediately the kerosene lamp looked red and the 40 watt bulb almost blinded us. So now we were 'with it'.
On this particular day, I remember that finally the order to Sears came--my order for a stamp collection book. Eyler Elliott at school got all of us interested in collecting stamps and I begged Ma to get this blank stamp book for me. In this new light it looked so good.
Eldon noticed that we had a female person his age in our household and became infatuated. I think this went both ways. He made more visits to check on the job than was necessary I think so that he could visit with Ella my older sister. Ella was 3 years older than I am and eligible for courting. This went on to get 'thicker and thicker' which was a benefit to us because Eldon also became a radio repairman and enthusiast. He brought a used Radio out for us to 'try' which then required a long outside antenna and a ground wire to collect the radio signal energy which was at that time very weak and far away. At last we could hear from the outside world and especially the radio station in Canada--Calgary--I think the call letters were CFCN. It was the best listening of all because they had old time music and old time fiddlers playing and I learned a few hoe downs on the fiddle by listening to that station. The sad thing was that the station was so far away that the signal would die out and I'd miss a part I needed to learn to finish learning a hoedown. We listened all night at times.
On Sundays it was the dickens--because there would be preachers ranting about the end of the world is coming--one of them said it was to end in 1940 and I was really alarmed because I was too young to die. I wasn't enthralled with big band at that time. Then in the day time from a Tacoma station we'd all listen to soap box episodes. "Pretty Kitty Kelly" was one and some other tear jerkers."Our Gal Sunday".
So Eldon became a fixture in the family. Ella admonished us to be on our best behavior when Eldon was around--and to NOT cuss. Ever. But one time on a Sunday Eldon came and they were in the next room with the door shut. I was with Ma and some others in the kitchen and we were having a heated exchange over some thing when I let out a forbiden term! SHIT TOO!! and then I realized that Eldon could not have missed that for sure--the whole house was stilled and I was embarrassed beyond words so I left the house in my agony to try to recover--how will I ever explain that utterance away anyway? It was dark when I finally came back in in my deep remorse. But nothing was said about it so we lived after all---and a little at a time I found out that Eldon knew a lot more of those vulgar terms having been around hard nosed loggers most of his young days.
Once we got to talking about a little science and we mentioned what they call today as "Greenhouse gasses"---only we were talking about human caused gasses--. He told about his buddies at the logging camp wondered if a fart would actually explode. So one of them let his pants down and with a cigarette lighter farted into the flame and it DID explode--Kapow! so they learned without having a laboratory facts you couldn't learn in high school .
Speaking of high school, Eldon dropped out. He rued the day he told me many times and was a strong advocate of education. He said that he "couldn't get along witht the teachers" and I can understand him because I argued too with my teachers even though the book said I was wrong. By the way, Ella and Eldon paid for my high school pictures and Eldon loaned me his suit and tie. I even wore that suit on a date or two. The tight vest felt so dressy.
Eldon read voraciously and gained a lot more knowledge by reading than most of us. I remember he liked to have popcorn at his disposal and a book or magazine and his pipe too--in which he smoked a flavored Maple Rum tobacco. It was the only topbacco that Ella could stand. Now I am ahead of myself.
The romance went along and I don't know when the date was set or where was there a marriage performed but I doubt if it was in a church because Eldon didn't adhere to any organized church or religion--I might add here though that he was quite anti Catholic in later years but before that I heard him say that if he ever joined a church it would be the Catholic church because it was the original church. But later on he changed in that line of thinking and became a mason which was quite anti Catholic--once after he took his first degree, he showed me a blue mimeod copy of a document which was actually from the Library of Congress--exposing the oath of the Knights of Columbus--I was shocked ---how could that be? and later I learned that it was some of the dirty tricks to thwart Alfred Smith from being elected president---look it up to get the real story. The hoax was actually read into the congrssional records in a expose.
But there was much to be gained in a professional life by becoming a Mason--, Eldon told me he did it to be able to get a good job and that's true, My cousin did the same. Nuff about that.
So Life was tough for anyone in those days. Eldon started several businesses on his own. One in Roslyn --a repairshop. He asked me to draw a cartoon for an ad he might use for his ads. I did but it was never used. At those times in their early marriage Ella helped in the businesses. Eldon repaired his own cars too. I remember one was a 1940 8 cylinder Pontac. He had lots of different cars. One I wish I had today was a 1931 Chev cabriolet. His Dad, named John, had a 1937 Ford which Eldon borrowed to court Ella lots of times. Many times you didn't really know it was Eldon driving in the yard. One car was a 1928 chev coupe.
When TV came along Eldon was reading all he could and learning about this miracle. He started a business over in North Bend. We bought our first TV from Eldon and we had it in Grandview. It was a very weak signal area but it made me wonder what and how come there is a picture out of thin air so I took a course in TV and built one--I still have it--, See? Eldon was quite an influence on all of us.
Before Bonnie was born Ella and Eldon would visit every Sunday--Ella was lonesome I guess for the old home and Eldon told us tales and tales. He also loved guns and had a pistol--a Reising automatic .22 pistol which I admired . Once when he was gone and the gun was left at our place I fondled it and took out the clip. I couldn't put it back in --a spring jumped out of place--. My brothers got onto me and made it all worse. So I left the house in darkness and stayed in the snow ditch till Eldon came out looking for me--he asked, "What kind of a meany( some word like that) do you think I am?" and he said, "come on in, I fixed it--it has happened before." Then he asked, "Do you want that pistol?" and I replied that I surely did. "How much money do you have?" and I said "I have a total of $6.50". He said. "That's my price" and I gave him my nest egg and I still have that gun. It is now a collector and worth over $300.But I wont sell it ever--I promised.
Eldon also had other guns. One 410 shotgun with s slightly bent barrel to the left--and a Winchester model 70 which he had re barreled to a caliber of .270 from a 30-06. I shot a few deer with it. I wonder who inherited those guns now.
Eldon was one of those true entreprenuers. When TV came into being the market was good for TV sets. He also contrived a cable for TV into Roslyn and Ronald. Which later was to be come a sort of Bonanza for him He sold the cable and then was able to pursue a few of his dreams like a cabin in Canada and an Airplane which his family will remember without my telling about it.
Earlier among the endevours , Eldon somehow became acquainted with a bulb farmer--who had an acreage down in the Thorp area. They farmed and cross bred different bulbs. I think we have a few of those Iris plants here which we brought from my Mother's garden.
I know they wanted a family but that wasn't as easy to have as first thought. There was a miscarriage and I remember the alarm in our family and we drove right down to help. Daddy didn't take that news as hard as my Mother did.
I must back up and tell you about where Eldon was actually born. On your way to Cle Elum from Ellensburg there is an open area called Swauk prairie. Then to your right if you left the free way, still going toward Cle Elum you'd pass through a canyon which is named MORRISON CANYON . There are remnants still of the old home in the brush where Eldon was born. He had relatives which I never had a chance to meet who lived in the Thorp area.
Eldon was a great influence on the family. I must say he wasn't fond of my Dad though and my Dad wasn't all that fond of him but Daddy did know that Eldon was a smart man.
baby sister Ann
I was asked about my sister Ann---asked to write something about her and boy here it comes!!
Ann was born May 12th in 1929. I am wracking my brain to dig up my earliest remembrance of her as a baby. It comes to mind now that we had visitors from Dady's side of the family nd Ann was in a basket wrapped in blue shall we say, 'swaddling clothes". Everbody was ga ga about her and I remember them saying she looked like Daddy a lot. Most of the tidings of great joy was spoken in Croation language but I understood. I remember I touched Ann to make sure she was alive because she made no noise at all. I also remember getting a scolding--"Keep your hands off"! Okay okay---.
Then as the year crept towards winter, we all came down with some sort of illness--someone said it was "Scarlet Fever". I as usual got it first and was in gracious to pass it on down the line. I don't remember if John or Ella ever had it, but Donald and Ann sure did. Ann was just a teeny baby yet too,
One morning in the cold kitchen Ann passed out--my mother was changing her at the time--then I saw Ma frantically kinda spanking Ann to make her cough up what ever was choking her. I'll NEVER forget this next scene so indelibly etched in my mind---Ann turned all blue--she was naked now and face down on Ma's lap. Ma was shaking her and really in a fright while we watched. Then Ann went into a spasm. Yes, she was all blue and she urped up what ever she had on her stomach amd also shot a large amount for her bottom---I was narrowly missed by the stream . Then in a miracle she got back her pinkish color and was breathing again---. I am crying as I write this---I can hardly see the keyboard---.We got Ann back again. That was just one of the episodes in Ann's life. It is really a miracle that she is now over 80 years old, Thanks to God for that,
As Ann grew up, we were somewhat mean to our little sister--I mean that we teased her because she spoke 'baby talk'. It's our fault though because that's what she was being taught--never teach your child to talk 'baby talk'--it's a language hard to over come.
The seizure that Ann had was caused by her high temperature --the scarlet fever---this damages the brain if it is not lowered. In Ann's case I think her being naked in a cold house helped keep her fever down. But Ann had other seizures in her youth. She would actually die in front of us and we couldn't do anything except to try to shake her to bring her back to life. She didn't know this was happening.
I remember once we had to stay home from school because Ann had one of these seizures. When I was asked by the teacher Eyler Elliott, why I missed school, I blurted out, "because my sister almost died". There was a hush in the schoolroom in which were 4 grades. I spoke with the teacher later and he diagnosed the ailment as "Worms". But I can't believe that. There is a problem like that with worms but in this case it was damage to a small part of the brain.
Daddy and Ma took her to the doctor in Ellensburg. I think that doctor's name was Taylor. He prescribed a medicine which was oh so darn bitter but cherry red with a cherry flavor for Ann to take twice a day. Somehow, Ann over came this seizure problem but missed a lot of grade school. Gee she was quite old by the time she got out of that two room school house at Peoh Point.
But we teased Ann a lot and mimicked her as she spoke her baby talk. I'll try to write some here--when we did something to her, she'd say, "Mama GiGI koo"--she meant she would tell Ma and she'd give us hell for that. And it did happen.
Ann overcame her baby talk as she got older and went to school where she could learn real English. When I went to high school , Ann would ride the same bus--she would get off at the Peohpoint gradeschool and I would go on down town to High school.We sat usually together in the bus. She was quite pretty I must say.
For a reason I think is genetic, she had a beautiful voice. I remember my Aunt (we called Tetah Fannah) said, in croatian, "My mother had a beautiful voice". I'll write it in Croatian as best I can. "Moja mika imala ljepo grlo"---that's it. and also our cousin Frances Morin was a diva . She sang at masses too and had extensive voice lessons--being an only daughter they could afford lessons.
In about 1936, my sister Ella married Eldon Morrison. I don't remember any particular ceremony for that, but Ann liked Eldon a lot and lived a lot of her life with Ella and Eldon and away from our farm. Even though Ella was a half sister, she took good care of Ann--clothing too.
I will have to deviate from a chronological order, to mention that Ann wanted to take Piano lessons. At this time I had just come home from the army and had bought an army truck for Daddy and Donald--but since their crop of potatoes went sour they weren't able to reimburse me for the truck--which necessitated my taking a different pattern in life--. see, how I deviate? anyway, there was an ad in the paper for sale, a piano for $150. So my mother got into her cookie jar and dug up $150 to buy that piano--I remember the house where we went to load it--across close to the Catholic church in Cle Elum.
We took planks to roll the piano up on the truck bed. My Dad came along too --we needed all the muscle we could get. Daddy left his car at Uncle Steve's cellar and rode with me. After we loaded the piano, Daddy stood behind holding the piano against the back board. We didn't take a single rope to tie it down--not needing it with Daddy holding the piano still and I drove very cautiously.
When we go to the cellar Daddy rapped on the cab and insisted I let him off to get his car. I did that and proceeded on to home. All this while a neighbor Petersen was following in his International pickup. Just at the gate I made a slow turn and the truck dipped slightly to the left side and then I heard it!!! the lost chord!! from the piano which rolled off into a heap with pieces flying everywhere. I was absolutely sick I mean SICK because I abhor mistreatment of musical instruments and guns--that's it!
The driver of the pick up said he wanted to ask me to haul potatoes for him---and he didn't offer any help at all--just, "I'll talk to you later" and he drove off. In the meantime Daddy caught up to the scene and of course he admonished me for dumping the piano off the truck--I was speechless and on the verge of collapse.
Soooo as this goes on---we got the John Deere tractor and a sled and we loaded the pieces on the sled. We took the parts into the house and it was quite quiet even though this was a cause for lots of shouting and blame heaped on me. I remember telling Ann, "If you can't play like Tchaikovsky in 6 months you'll get it from me". I was able to adequately reconstruct the piano which is still in use today and will be finally restored by Mandy. That Piano is now in the house of Nancy's, and it has never needed to be fine tuned--it was built solid. I bought that Piano from Ma at some point in time because it was in her way in the small house. Daddy could play it quite well and I learned to play it too. Imagine not needing to be tuned after being dumped off a truck!! some piano.
Ann wrote letters to me while I was away in the army. She chattered on about the days in Highschool and her girl friends etc. But little about the farm. Donald was too busy and only wrote three letters in almost 3 years and I really was disgruntled about him for not writing more to me--because his letters were about the farm and stuff I was worried about.
In high school Ann took business courses which were good for her later.She got a job over in Seattle . She met Joe Gehring some where and somehow. Joe was a salesman for a tool company--Black and Decker. An astute business man.
THis story wouldn't be complete if I didn't tell about how crazy Ann was about horse---she was the most--the most avid horse lover in the world. We had three horses at the time--Molly and Jack and a crippled horse named Mabel. I thin Mabel bit the dust before Ann got infatuated with horses.
In those days, Daddy would have to go shopping in town taking the team of horses and a wagon. Ann absolutely insisted on riding Molly the fat horse while it was in harness even. The neighbors would kinda snicker about Ann riding a horse to town.
There had to be some discipline taken to remedy this habit. So when Daddy was harnessing the horses Ann was kept in the house almost under lock and key. But she knew what was going on. She heard the wagon go down the lane past the house and calculated the distance the wagon would be away from home so she begged to be freed.Ma was not the type to actually tie Ann down--Ha! so she left Ann out of the house. Ann ran down through the nieghbor's woods and through the fields and came out of a pine forest just as Daddy came by on the wagon. So Ann got to ride the horse the rest of the way into town.Daddy wasn't alarmed all that much about her being on the horse. I think he was proud of her
Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were idols for her--I don't know which was her favorite at this time but you would get into a verbal duel with Ann if you maligned either one of them. Somehow, Ann became disenchanted with horses as she grew older. Maybe Joe took the place of the horses in her heart--that must be it. Just because Joe was a sales agent for Black and Decker drills doesn't mean he was 'boring'. He's over 90 now and I am catching up going on 88.
Ann was born May 12th in 1929. I am wracking my brain to dig up my earliest remembrance of her as a baby. It comes to mind now that we had visitors from Dady's side of the family nd Ann was in a basket wrapped in blue shall we say, 'swaddling clothes". Everbody was ga ga about her and I remember them saying she looked like Daddy a lot. Most of the tidings of great joy was spoken in Croation language but I understood. I remember I touched Ann to make sure she was alive because she made no noise at all. I also remember getting a scolding--"Keep your hands off"! Okay okay---.
Then as the year crept towards winter, we all came down with some sort of illness--someone said it was "Scarlet Fever". I as usual got it first and was in gracious to pass it on down the line. I don't remember if John or Ella ever had it, but Donald and Ann sure did. Ann was just a teeny baby yet too,
One morning in the cold kitchen Ann passed out--my mother was changing her at the time--then I saw Ma frantically kinda spanking Ann to make her cough up what ever was choking her. I'll NEVER forget this next scene so indelibly etched in my mind---Ann turned all blue--she was naked now and face down on Ma's lap. Ma was shaking her and really in a fright while we watched. Then Ann went into a spasm. Yes, she was all blue and she urped up what ever she had on her stomach amd also shot a large amount for her bottom---I was narrowly missed by the stream . Then in a miracle she got back her pinkish color and was breathing again---. I am crying as I write this---I can hardly see the keyboard---.We got Ann back again. That was just one of the episodes in Ann's life. It is really a miracle that she is now over 80 years old, Thanks to God for that,
As Ann grew up, we were somewhat mean to our little sister--I mean that we teased her because she spoke 'baby talk'. It's our fault though because that's what she was being taught--never teach your child to talk 'baby talk'--it's a language hard to over come.
The seizure that Ann had was caused by her high temperature --the scarlet fever---this damages the brain if it is not lowered. In Ann's case I think her being naked in a cold house helped keep her fever down. But Ann had other seizures in her youth. She would actually die in front of us and we couldn't do anything except to try to shake her to bring her back to life. She didn't know this was happening.
I remember once we had to stay home from school because Ann had one of these seizures. When I was asked by the teacher Eyler Elliott, why I missed school, I blurted out, "because my sister almost died". There was a hush in the schoolroom in which were 4 grades. I spoke with the teacher later and he diagnosed the ailment as "Worms". But I can't believe that. There is a problem like that with worms but in this case it was damage to a small part of the brain.
Daddy and Ma took her to the doctor in Ellensburg. I think that doctor's name was Taylor. He prescribed a medicine which was oh so darn bitter but cherry red with a cherry flavor for Ann to take twice a day. Somehow, Ann over came this seizure problem but missed a lot of grade school. Gee she was quite old by the time she got out of that two room school house at Peoh Point.
But we teased Ann a lot and mimicked her as she spoke her baby talk. I'll try to write some here--when we did something to her, she'd say, "Mama GiGI koo"--she meant she would tell Ma and she'd give us hell for that. And it did happen.
Ann overcame her baby talk as she got older and went to school where she could learn real English. When I went to high school , Ann would ride the same bus--she would get off at the Peohpoint gradeschool and I would go on down town to High school.We sat usually together in the bus. She was quite pretty I must say.
For a reason I think is genetic, she had a beautiful voice. I remember my Aunt (we called Tetah Fannah) said, in croatian, "My mother had a beautiful voice". I'll write it in Croatian as best I can. "Moja mika imala ljepo grlo"---that's it. and also our cousin Frances Morin was a diva . She sang at masses too and had extensive voice lessons--being an only daughter they could afford lessons.
In about 1936, my sister Ella married Eldon Morrison. I don't remember any particular ceremony for that, but Ann liked Eldon a lot and lived a lot of her life with Ella and Eldon and away from our farm. Even though Ella was a half sister, she took good care of Ann--clothing too.
I will have to deviate from a chronological order, to mention that Ann wanted to take Piano lessons. At this time I had just come home from the army and had bought an army truck for Daddy and Donald--but since their crop of potatoes went sour they weren't able to reimburse me for the truck--which necessitated my taking a different pattern in life--. see, how I deviate? anyway, there was an ad in the paper for sale, a piano for $150. So my mother got into her cookie jar and dug up $150 to buy that piano--I remember the house where we went to load it--across close to the Catholic church in Cle Elum.
We took planks to roll the piano up on the truck bed. My Dad came along too --we needed all the muscle we could get. Daddy left his car at Uncle Steve's cellar and rode with me. After we loaded the piano, Daddy stood behind holding the piano against the back board. We didn't take a single rope to tie it down--not needing it with Daddy holding the piano still and I drove very cautiously.
When we go to the cellar Daddy rapped on the cab and insisted I let him off to get his car. I did that and proceeded on to home. All this while a neighbor Petersen was following in his International pickup. Just at the gate I made a slow turn and the truck dipped slightly to the left side and then I heard it!!! the lost chord!! from the piano which rolled off into a heap with pieces flying everywhere. I was absolutely sick I mean SICK because I abhor mistreatment of musical instruments and guns--that's it!
The driver of the pick up said he wanted to ask me to haul potatoes for him---and he didn't offer any help at all--just, "I'll talk to you later" and he drove off. In the meantime Daddy caught up to the scene and of course he admonished me for dumping the piano off the truck--I was speechless and on the verge of collapse.
Soooo as this goes on---we got the John Deere tractor and a sled and we loaded the pieces on the sled. We took the parts into the house and it was quite quiet even though this was a cause for lots of shouting and blame heaped on me. I remember telling Ann, "If you can't play like Tchaikovsky in 6 months you'll get it from me". I was able to adequately reconstruct the piano which is still in use today and will be finally restored by Mandy. That Piano is now in the house of Nancy's, and it has never needed to be fine tuned--it was built solid. I bought that Piano from Ma at some point in time because it was in her way in the small house. Daddy could play it quite well and I learned to play it too. Imagine not needing to be tuned after being dumped off a truck!! some piano.
Ann wrote letters to me while I was away in the army. She chattered on about the days in Highschool and her girl friends etc. But little about the farm. Donald was too busy and only wrote three letters in almost 3 years and I really was disgruntled about him for not writing more to me--because his letters were about the farm and stuff I was worried about.
In high school Ann took business courses which were good for her later.She got a job over in Seattle . She met Joe Gehring some where and somehow. Joe was a salesman for a tool company--Black and Decker. An astute business man.
THis story wouldn't be complete if I didn't tell about how crazy Ann was about horse---she was the most--the most avid horse lover in the world. We had three horses at the time--Molly and Jack and a crippled horse named Mabel. I thin Mabel bit the dust before Ann got infatuated with horses.
In those days, Daddy would have to go shopping in town taking the team of horses and a wagon. Ann absolutely insisted on riding Molly the fat horse while it was in harness even. The neighbors would kinda snicker about Ann riding a horse to town.
There had to be some discipline taken to remedy this habit. So when Daddy was harnessing the horses Ann was kept in the house almost under lock and key. But she knew what was going on. She heard the wagon go down the lane past the house and calculated the distance the wagon would be away from home so she begged to be freed.Ma was not the type to actually tie Ann down--Ha! so she left Ann out of the house. Ann ran down through the nieghbor's woods and through the fields and came out of a pine forest just as Daddy came by on the wagon. So Ann got to ride the horse the rest of the way into town.Daddy wasn't alarmed all that much about her being on the horse. I think he was proud of her
Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were idols for her--I don't know which was her favorite at this time but you would get into a verbal duel with Ann if you maligned either one of them. Somehow, Ann became disenchanted with horses as she grew older. Maybe Joe took the place of the horses in her heart--that must be it. Just because Joe was a sales agent for Black and Decker drills doesn't mean he was 'boring'. He's over 90 now and I am catching up going on 88.
Monday, December 14, 2009
First Christmas in Peoh point
Nancy or Cynthia asked about the first Christmases when I was a child---was I ever a child? Gee---I don't know if I was ever a child---but I guess that means when I was an urchin, a member of the Mohar family living on a farm in a community called Peoh Point.
Well--ummm---.We were told that if we were good we wouldn't get a piece of coal in the sock---.and if you got a piece of coal you might have been a bad boy--so the sock would also be empty--not even an orange or some hard candy, So it was a motive to be nice at all times because Santa Claus was real-- it wasn't a fake if both parents insisted that he'd come if you were good.
It's been a long time ago for me but I do recall one or two Christmases as a child.
One morning when it was very near zero outside and there was about a foot of new snow, we were told that Santa Claus came but since we didn't have a fireplace chimney, he had to have sneaked in the house some other way--it was all so mysterious, My mother said, "Look--look"! and she went to a window and scraped away the frost---, "There --there --look---there's sleigh tracks in front of the house where Santa's sled must have landed then took off to the next farm home. Sure en ough there were imprints in the snow and plenty of evidence that Santa didn't miss us like he missed so many other times as we were growing up.
We all got a new pair of socks and in the socks was some hard candy and a walnut or two and and orange. Oranges were so very scarce to us. The candy was shaped in some cases like a piece of coal and each time you reached in the sock for another piece of candy , you were worried that this time it would be a piece of coal. But in all the sins I committed as a child, I guess they weren't bad enough to earn a piece of coal---surely if I did get a piece of coal I would have been ridiculed by my other saintly brothers and sisters--that would be the worst part.
In this Christmas Morning, there was a stranger among us--- but it was hardly Santa, but dressed in what looked like an old silk sock pulled over the head and speaking very different language--, This Santa's not look alike, said he was a Santa helper, and asked spefically for my sister Ann--to come forward and look into the sack. We were all aghast ---( I have to say I became skeptical) . So Ann who was just a maybe three years old , went forth and looked into the sack. With more urging to investigate further, she reached into the sack. The package was stuck a bit, so she began to yank --then got help from a familiar looking hand. Ah Ah, here's proof I thought about the myth of Santa.That wasn't Santa's Hand!!
The package was just wrapped in ordinary paper--not a ribbon or with any color. Soo, with the package destroyed, there in was an almost life sized doll with rolling eyes and a voice which cried "MAMMA"-if you tipped the doll forward and backward. Sure enough, Ann knew there was a Santa. The doll represented a mother's love on a special day. It took quite a bit of the family money to get this doll.
So that was one of the Christmas days I remember at our home on the prairie---( not a prairie really--but in the mountains).
Later as we all became older , we exchanged presents of some sort. The best present of all was the food my mother made which was always a long day and night's labor to concoct.
WE always would have butchered a pig when the weather got cold. My mother would save the pigs feet and ears for this special day. She would clean and clean the feet. I remember the gross performance especially when she would be able to take the toes off with a quick flip of a sharp knife. The boiling water helped loosen the toes---I mean the hoofs---which were inedible at all--never. Then she would separate the knuckles and boiled all this for hours in a big pot.She would add seasoning which was moslty Garlic and onions and salt. IN the mean time she would be kneading and kneading--making big round Pizza like dough. Then she would make it into a roll about the size of a big cigar---much bigger--. Then she would cut them into marsh mallow size pieces and place them in a pan. There would be a dozen or more pans --maybe even more--lots and lots. The work never ceased. Then into the oven to bake these bread bicuits the size of a Marshmallow. . Her work bench was the Kitchen table and by now crowded with stuff.
The odor of the pigs feed cooking and the garlicky aroma filled the whole house with a festive air. It had be a fun day coming to warrant this much work.
The next chore which some of us volunteered to help was to break up the marsh mallow sized biscuits into a great big kettle--a pot--a big pot. The pot would be over flowing. IN another area Ma would have the meat grinder fastened to the table, She would be busy grinding poppyseed--these were very tiny seeds which when crushed and ground would produce an oily tasty substance. When the seeds were all processed she would add that to the pile of little pieces of bread--then spread with sugar and raisins and I can't think of anything else--then she would have a kettle of boiling water to pour over all the bread pieces and other stuff, mixing it all up with a wooden spoon till now it was about half size in the pot. It was turning out to be a poppy seed pudding which was a traditional food back in Slovakia where her family originated. A lid was placed on top to seal the aromas and to allow it to steep till next morning,
That done, she then would place on the table and everywhere any kind of dish we had into which she ladled the Pig's feet concoction--there is a name I may not be able to print for that --it is a Slovakian word--"Joolitza"---the 'j' has to be sounded like 'zhoolitsta'. It is a pigs' foot gelatin. NOW before you urp, you must know that the Jello you buy is made from this same stuff--and you like it don't you? but I know it all has to taste like candy, doesn't it?
Now with all this work done, every one was 'fasting' because of religious reasons. My mother told us too that on the very stroke of midnight, if you went out into the barn the cattle will all be talking to each other---yes that's true--I mean it was true that my Mother said it was true. She had a lot of Gypsy folklore to tell and some of it would scare the gypsies I think.
So, we would all be going to bed. Now in the mean time, Daddy would hardly be doing a thing--Ma said he was too clumbsy in the Kitchen--so he would be playing his accordion and we would be hopping around doing the polkas as Ma cooked this great big bunch of stuff.
Okay--it was late --really late and we would go to sleep in the icy cold upstairs. WE were really short of good warm blankets so we spread old coats over us to help us from freezing stiff.
Morning came. I don't remember any prayers except my Mother would make the sign of the cross on the loaf of bread cooked that same work day. She would NEVER allow anyone to 'poke' a blade into a loaf of bread. It was the same as poking the blade into Jesus side--so even today I would never stick a knife blade into a loaf of bread. I can feel how it must have felt for Jesus.
Everyone would be at the table and he would have selected a plate of "ZHoolitsa"--with a slice of fresh bread---now is the time to add pepper and salt . The Zhoolitsa was cold now, The fat would be on top and even though it is said to be unhealthy to eat fat, we did.It was food not fat--food. And tasty too with the garlic and onion flavor. Now in this island of gelatin, there was a morsel which also was very tasty--part of the knuckles. Now before you gag, you might also have bought a jar of "Pickled pigs feet" and savored them--like I do. Well--see?
After the Zhoolitsa was done, the real treat came when Ma would bring the now cold Poppyseed pudding to the table. We were allowed to eat all we wanted and we did. The raisins now were so good. We also were allowed to douse this dish with real cold cream--which was thickened by the cold weather.
We had this traditional dish for every winter I lived --for New Years too--. One other thing, on New years eve right at the stroke of Midnight, Daddy would take the old 40-60 winchester to the door and shoot one round off toward the mountain--"for good luck sake", he said.
As I said, we had this traditional food until we got a new member in the family who was an anglo for sure--who only ate meat and potatoes--. Once when Ma presented him with a bowl of this Poppyseed pudding , he ended the whole tradition with ridicule. So Ma just quit making this type foods and I miss it at every Chrismas and New Years days . I should try to make for myself a traditional meal. I wonder if the other ethnics up in Roslyn and Cle Elum still have this dish. I do know every body enjoys another traditional dish and that is "Pig in a blanket".
Well--ummm---.We were told that if we were good we wouldn't get a piece of coal in the sock---.and if you got a piece of coal you might have been a bad boy--so the sock would also be empty--not even an orange or some hard candy, So it was a motive to be nice at all times because Santa Claus was real-- it wasn't a fake if both parents insisted that he'd come if you were good.
It's been a long time ago for me but I do recall one or two Christmases as a child.
One morning when it was very near zero outside and there was about a foot of new snow, we were told that Santa Claus came but since we didn't have a fireplace chimney, he had to have sneaked in the house some other way--it was all so mysterious, My mother said, "Look--look"! and she went to a window and scraped away the frost---, "There --there --look---there's sleigh tracks in front of the house where Santa's sled must have landed then took off to the next farm home. Sure en ough there were imprints in the snow and plenty of evidence that Santa didn't miss us like he missed so many other times as we were growing up.
We all got a new pair of socks and in the socks was some hard candy and a walnut or two and and orange. Oranges were so very scarce to us. The candy was shaped in some cases like a piece of coal and each time you reached in the sock for another piece of candy , you were worried that this time it would be a piece of coal. But in all the sins I committed as a child, I guess they weren't bad enough to earn a piece of coal---surely if I did get a piece of coal I would have been ridiculed by my other saintly brothers and sisters--that would be the worst part.
In this Christmas Morning, there was a stranger among us--- but it was hardly Santa, but dressed in what looked like an old silk sock pulled over the head and speaking very different language--, This Santa's not look alike, said he was a Santa helper, and asked spefically for my sister Ann--to come forward and look into the sack. We were all aghast ---( I have to say I became skeptical) . So Ann who was just a maybe three years old , went forth and looked into the sack. With more urging to investigate further, she reached into the sack. The package was stuck a bit, so she began to yank --then got help from a familiar looking hand. Ah Ah, here's proof I thought about the myth of Santa.That wasn't Santa's Hand!!
The package was just wrapped in ordinary paper--not a ribbon or with any color. Soo, with the package destroyed, there in was an almost life sized doll with rolling eyes and a voice which cried "MAMMA"-if you tipped the doll forward and backward. Sure enough, Ann knew there was a Santa. The doll represented a mother's love on a special day. It took quite a bit of the family money to get this doll.
So that was one of the Christmas days I remember at our home on the prairie---( not a prairie really--but in the mountains).
Later as we all became older , we exchanged presents of some sort. The best present of all was the food my mother made which was always a long day and night's labor to concoct.
WE always would have butchered a pig when the weather got cold. My mother would save the pigs feet and ears for this special day. She would clean and clean the feet. I remember the gross performance especially when she would be able to take the toes off with a quick flip of a sharp knife. The boiling water helped loosen the toes---I mean the hoofs---which were inedible at all--never. Then she would separate the knuckles and boiled all this for hours in a big pot.She would add seasoning which was moslty Garlic and onions and salt. IN the mean time she would be kneading and kneading--making big round Pizza like dough. Then she would make it into a roll about the size of a big cigar---much bigger--. Then she would cut them into marsh mallow size pieces and place them in a pan. There would be a dozen or more pans --maybe even more--lots and lots. The work never ceased. Then into the oven to bake these bread bicuits the size of a Marshmallow. . Her work bench was the Kitchen table and by now crowded with stuff.
The odor of the pigs feed cooking and the garlicky aroma filled the whole house with a festive air. It had be a fun day coming to warrant this much work.
The next chore which some of us volunteered to help was to break up the marsh mallow sized biscuits into a great big kettle--a pot--a big pot. The pot would be over flowing. IN another area Ma would have the meat grinder fastened to the table, She would be busy grinding poppyseed--these were very tiny seeds which when crushed and ground would produce an oily tasty substance. When the seeds were all processed she would add that to the pile of little pieces of bread--then spread with sugar and raisins and I can't think of anything else--then she would have a kettle of boiling water to pour over all the bread pieces and other stuff, mixing it all up with a wooden spoon till now it was about half size in the pot. It was turning out to be a poppy seed pudding which was a traditional food back in Slovakia where her family originated. A lid was placed on top to seal the aromas and to allow it to steep till next morning,
That done, she then would place on the table and everywhere any kind of dish we had into which she ladled the Pig's feet concoction--there is a name I may not be able to print for that --it is a Slovakian word--"Joolitza"---the 'j' has to be sounded like 'zhoolitsta'. It is a pigs' foot gelatin. NOW before you urp, you must know that the Jello you buy is made from this same stuff--and you like it don't you? but I know it all has to taste like candy, doesn't it?
Now with all this work done, every one was 'fasting' because of religious reasons. My mother told us too that on the very stroke of midnight, if you went out into the barn the cattle will all be talking to each other---yes that's true--I mean it was true that my Mother said it was true. She had a lot of Gypsy folklore to tell and some of it would scare the gypsies I think.
So, we would all be going to bed. Now in the mean time, Daddy would hardly be doing a thing--Ma said he was too clumbsy in the Kitchen--so he would be playing his accordion and we would be hopping around doing the polkas as Ma cooked this great big bunch of stuff.
Okay--it was late --really late and we would go to sleep in the icy cold upstairs. WE were really short of good warm blankets so we spread old coats over us to help us from freezing stiff.
Morning came. I don't remember any prayers except my Mother would make the sign of the cross on the loaf of bread cooked that same work day. She would NEVER allow anyone to 'poke' a blade into a loaf of bread. It was the same as poking the blade into Jesus side--so even today I would never stick a knife blade into a loaf of bread. I can feel how it must have felt for Jesus.
Everyone would be at the table and he would have selected a plate of "ZHoolitsa"--with a slice of fresh bread---now is the time to add pepper and salt . The Zhoolitsa was cold now, The fat would be on top and even though it is said to be unhealthy to eat fat, we did.It was food not fat--food. And tasty too with the garlic and onion flavor. Now in this island of gelatin, there was a morsel which also was very tasty--part of the knuckles. Now before you gag, you might also have bought a jar of "Pickled pigs feet" and savored them--like I do. Well--see?
After the Zhoolitsa was done, the real treat came when Ma would bring the now cold Poppyseed pudding to the table. We were allowed to eat all we wanted and we did. The raisins now were so good. We also were allowed to douse this dish with real cold cream--which was thickened by the cold weather.
We had this traditional dish for every winter I lived --for New Years too--. One other thing, on New years eve right at the stroke of Midnight, Daddy would take the old 40-60 winchester to the door and shoot one round off toward the mountain--"for good luck sake", he said.
As I said, we had this traditional food until we got a new member in the family who was an anglo for sure--who only ate meat and potatoes--. Once when Ma presented him with a bowl of this Poppyseed pudding , he ended the whole tradition with ridicule. So Ma just quit making this type foods and I miss it at every Chrismas and New Years days . I should try to make for myself a traditional meal. I wonder if the other ethnics up in Roslyn and Cle Elum still have this dish. I do know every body enjoys another traditional dish and that is "Pig in a blanket".
Friday, November 20, 2009
Nancy's birthday Nov. 10th
Like snoopy would say, "It was a cold and stormy night" ---not really, though when it was "time" for Nancy's arrival. The stork was winging toward our house and the alarm was to go "NOW!"--so as always there is a worry about having to perform the job myself in the car, we headed out down that same bumpy back road and through the neighbors front yard--this was a short cut however it almost could be used as an Army tank trap or course for training.
We drove by the place where we named Cynthia and on to the hospital in sunnyside. You know, things sorta went blank for me--I recall waiting forthe news in the waiting room. Then the doctor appeared and he made a thumbs up signal but it didn't register that Nancy was a girl--we didn't and couldn't choose.
When I saw Nancy in the crib in the birthing room --through the glass, I could hardly believe that Mickey could carry such a load in her stomach all that time--but only mothers know about that.
Naming Nancy was done with out my input. It came down to the wire when the nurse asked for the name and Mom had to come up with a name quick. I am in total agreement with Mom and the selection--sometimes I kinda abused her name by calling her "Nancykadancy".
Then MOm was released after a period of time making sure all was normal and well. MOm came out with the baby and we got into the car. Mom peeled back the baby blanket and I looked at Nancy, She looked kinda crumpled up and her head was sorta squeezed somehow in the birthing canal. I thought--oooh maybe we have a problem. I told Mom, "I think we'll be keeping this one a long time".
Of course Babies are just that--babies and they have to grow. In a few days things began to change and she resembled me quite a bit. I always worried about that--I wanted my kids to be as beautiful as their mother--.So far that was the normal trend--the others were quite pretty--ask me I know how to pick 'em.Four for four was the score. How about that?
That date was almost on my birthday--. On November 10th. Gee the years have gone by so fast I can't tell you her age--maybe it's just as well.
We drove by the place where we named Cynthia and on to the hospital in sunnyside. You know, things sorta went blank for me--I recall waiting forthe news in the waiting room. Then the doctor appeared and he made a thumbs up signal but it didn't register that Nancy was a girl--we didn't and couldn't choose.
When I saw Nancy in the crib in the birthing room --through the glass, I could hardly believe that Mickey could carry such a load in her stomach all that time--but only mothers know about that.
Naming Nancy was done with out my input. It came down to the wire when the nurse asked for the name and Mom had to come up with a name quick. I am in total agreement with Mom and the selection--sometimes I kinda abused her name by calling her "Nancykadancy".
Then MOm was released after a period of time making sure all was normal and well. MOm came out with the baby and we got into the car. Mom peeled back the baby blanket and I looked at Nancy, She looked kinda crumpled up and her head was sorta squeezed somehow in the birthing canal. I thought--oooh maybe we have a problem. I told Mom, "I think we'll be keeping this one a long time".
Of course Babies are just that--babies and they have to grow. In a few days things began to change and she resembled me quite a bit. I always worried about that--I wanted my kids to be as beautiful as their mother--.So far that was the normal trend--the others were quite pretty--ask me I know how to pick 'em.Four for four was the score. How about that?
That date was almost on my birthday--. On November 10th. Gee the years have gone by so fast I can't tell you her age--maybe it's just as well.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Gopher poison worries
I need to tell about some of the dangers of using poison underground to kill gophers.
In the spring time it was our practice to culivate the fields of alfalfa which envigorated the alfalfa growth it seemed and also killed the first weed which sprouted. For lots of reasons better left alon at this time.
I would use what we called "Spring toothed Harrow. It would sink into the ground a few insches or more and the spring action would loosen the soil and dig out the first sprouted weeds and seeds. Also it would level the gpoher hills down so it was easier and better for mowing.
The sprig tines would sink deep enough to uncover dead gopher bodies which now are shriveled and dried out. The bodies were killed by the pooson and in all cases the gopher had a pouch fup of the BB sized poisoned millet. The millet was treated so that it wouldn't sprout I think.
One morning when I was busy cultivting my little dog name Taffy was out following the tractor. She usually rode the tractor with me and we were inseperable. When I saw a mouse running, I'd point at it and she would jump off and catch the mouse.
This morning was different. When she was following the tractor I noticed that she was walking erratically--really strange. I jumped to the right conclusion--that she was really chewing on a dead gopher and ingested some of the millet poison. I stopped the tractor and picked her up and she went into a convulsion right in my arms--she was a total charlie horse--stiff. I put the tractor in high gear and when I ran into the hous ei yelled to call the VET quick. He said, "Bring her down we'll put her to sleep" --Holy cow --I was losing a very fvorite pet. I rushed down to the vet who was waiting and I though that it was the end. He did put her to sleep because strychnine causes such conviulsions and causes the heart beat to go wild. It was in the nick of time. He gave her a shot in the leg and she went limp--out like a light. I still though that my dog was dead. The Vet told me to go homw and come back in the morning. I did just tha. I was greeted by the gog which was almost normal but when I touched her it was like an electric shock. The Vet aid, "Don;t do that or I'll keep her another night". I wondered why, and he told me what the effects of stychnine was. She would still be touchy for days. And she was.
There was anothe time like this. but I'll save it for another paragraph.
In the spring time it was our practice to culivate the fields of alfalfa which envigorated the alfalfa growth it seemed and also killed the first weed which sprouted. For lots of reasons better left alon at this time.
I would use what we called "Spring toothed Harrow. It would sink into the ground a few insches or more and the spring action would loosen the soil and dig out the first sprouted weeds and seeds. Also it would level the gpoher hills down so it was easier and better for mowing.
The sprig tines would sink deep enough to uncover dead gopher bodies which now are shriveled and dried out. The bodies were killed by the pooson and in all cases the gopher had a pouch fup of the BB sized poisoned millet. The millet was treated so that it wouldn't sprout I think.
One morning when I was busy cultivting my little dog name Taffy was out following the tractor. She usually rode the tractor with me and we were inseperable. When I saw a mouse running, I'd point at it and she would jump off and catch the mouse.
This morning was different. When she was following the tractor I noticed that she was walking erratically--really strange. I jumped to the right conclusion--that she was really chewing on a dead gopher and ingested some of the millet poison. I stopped the tractor and picked her up and she went into a convulsion right in my arms--she was a total charlie horse--stiff. I put the tractor in high gear and when I ran into the hous ei yelled to call the VET quick. He said, "Bring her down we'll put her to sleep" --Holy cow --I was losing a very fvorite pet. I rushed down to the vet who was waiting and I though that it was the end. He did put her to sleep because strychnine causes such conviulsions and causes the heart beat to go wild. It was in the nick of time. He gave her a shot in the leg and she went limp--out like a light. I still though that my dog was dead. The Vet told me to go homw and come back in the morning. I did just tha. I was greeted by the gog which was almost normal but when I touched her it was like an electric shock. The Vet aid, "Don;t do that or I'll keep her another night". I wondered why, and he told me what the effects of stychnine was. She would still be touchy for days. And she was.
There was anothe time like this. but I'll save it for another paragraph.
Cynthia was scared of air planes
While I am thinking about Cynthia , it brings to mind the time I flew over the house.Wait till I explain a little.
The AIRCRAFT APPLICATORS and I had a little dispute over the size of the acreage he just sprayed.They charged by the acre --and zoom there goes some more charges. So I went to the airport and talked to Nelson who was a pilot in the Guard ( a Colonel) but had a business of applying insecticides on fields. In this case it was an alfalfa field. WE had an aerial map to compare known acreages but we couldn't agree. So he said," Let's go see". "Hop in the plane and you can even drive"--Ha! dirve? But I did have enough confidence in myself to believe I could actually fly that Cub PLane.
I sat in the front seat. The engine whirled and we were taxi ing down the run way. I was watching every one of his moves and also watched the position of the tail and flaps to get aquainted with the plane in case he challenged me to fly--for the first time ever.How many guys are like that?
We were airborne. I was all dressed up in a nice clean suntan sort of suit. I was beginning to worry about sir sickness--but by golly I was holding out pretty well.
Finally we reached our farm and we made a few passes over the acreage in question. Then I asked Nelson to make a dive over our house. Outside the kids were playing--I could see them. We dove really close to the light pole and I threw out my cap and hollered and whistled. They had no idea I was in the plane. They wondered who the dickens was the goofy pilot who was scaring the kids.
Then I told Gene, the pilot, to get back as quick as he could because I was about to erupt. We climbed back up and suddenly he swooped low again because we were in the airlane of the daily flights of that day to Spokane. Gene was a wise well informed pilot I could see.
But that last swoop was "it"!! I quickly pulled out my clean bandana and I urped it all up--That morning for breakfast I ate heartily of Cantaloupe and I filled that bandana up . It was a savior as far as messing the front seat up with urpings.
THe result of the swooping over the house scared Cynthia so bad that when ever a plane would fly near the house she'd run into the house. I somehow couldn't explain to her that it was my cap she recovered and ME in that plane yelling my greetings to them.
Speaking of being affected by airplanes--it goes back to when my brother John gave us a collie pup. It had Australian Shepard sheep dog markings and a long collie nose. I didn't want another dog of that type but John had a big litter of odd pups and he gave it to one of the girls for a Birthday present--how do you refuse a birthday present? She turned out to be a really goofy dog. When Chink would be digging after a gopher she'd be cheering him on and jumping up biting the dirt he was tossing with his paw. He'd dig down deep enough to hide his body till he got the gopher. FiFi was the name of the collie--I wondered how she was ever named that. Imagine me hollering for "FIFI" out in the field. She was so very unruly.
Once I had to give the dog worm medicine. I saw signs that she had an infestation of worms-it is a common occurance in pups and can really be deadly and ugly for all to see--including the dog. When you give the dog worm medicine a person has to watch to see if the medication is effective--you do that by observing the pile after she unloads, to see if there are worms being expelled. In this case I went over to see the pile--( you know what I mean I'll bet) and sure enough she was eliminating worms in great numbers. BUT also I noticed that she had been eating too much sand and dirt from sheering Chink on while he dug holes seeking to eat a gopher ( he loved to eat gophers).The odor of the poop was terrible even out in a field!! So FIFI was now an active goofy dog which somehow tried to calch an airplane when it flew over. She had a special trail through the alfalfa to run after a plane which flew over. I asked sometimes, what would she do if she caught one?
I'll tell of gophers and Chink. When Chink was a pup I'd take him out in the fields where I would set traps to catch gophers which populated the fields in really great numbers. Trapping then was the only way to eliminate gophers which could cut down a new planting of trees. They would chew the new roots to kill the tree . The root looked like carrot and as sharp as a pencil.
We later learned to poison them by injecting underground with a machine which made a burrow. It was pulled by a tractor. Poisoned carrots were first used dropped into the tunnel which when it crossed a gophers domain, the gopher would wonder which other gopher is entering his domain--They are territorial animals. The gopher would follow the new tunnel and find the poisoned carrots which to them is a delicacy--later we used poisoned millet ( a grain the size of a bb) . The poison had a sweet smell and attracted the gopher which then caried a pouch full to his den--.IN the mean time the poison would get into his blood stream and finally kill him. It was a successful mass eleimination of the field of rodents
But before some one invented that method trapping was the normal way of eliminating a gopher infestation . They multiplied like rabbits and it was an impossible job to rid all of them.
When I would set a trap, Chink was very interested and watched me. I would leave the trap which I marked with a stake in the ground. I bought hundreds of traps in those days.
The next morning I would go check my traps and find the trap on th ground with no gopher--but there was a telltale piece of gopher meat or fur on the trap . Chink would go out to check the traps and eat them before I could have the pleasure of counting all the gophers I caught.
I'll tell more in another story about gophers.
The AIRCRAFT APPLICATORS and I had a little dispute over the size of the acreage he just sprayed.They charged by the acre --and zoom there goes some more charges. So I went to the airport and talked to Nelson who was a pilot in the Guard ( a Colonel) but had a business of applying insecticides on fields. In this case it was an alfalfa field. WE had an aerial map to compare known acreages but we couldn't agree. So he said," Let's go see". "Hop in the plane and you can even drive"--Ha! dirve? But I did have enough confidence in myself to believe I could actually fly that Cub PLane.
I sat in the front seat. The engine whirled and we were taxi ing down the run way. I was watching every one of his moves and also watched the position of the tail and flaps to get aquainted with the plane in case he challenged me to fly--for the first time ever.How many guys are like that?
We were airborne. I was all dressed up in a nice clean suntan sort of suit. I was beginning to worry about sir sickness--but by golly I was holding out pretty well.
Finally we reached our farm and we made a few passes over the acreage in question. Then I asked Nelson to make a dive over our house. Outside the kids were playing--I could see them. We dove really close to the light pole and I threw out my cap and hollered and whistled. They had no idea I was in the plane. They wondered who the dickens was the goofy pilot who was scaring the kids.
Then I told Gene, the pilot, to get back as quick as he could because I was about to erupt. We climbed back up and suddenly he swooped low again because we were in the airlane of the daily flights of that day to Spokane. Gene was a wise well informed pilot I could see.
But that last swoop was "it"!! I quickly pulled out my clean bandana and I urped it all up--That morning for breakfast I ate heartily of Cantaloupe and I filled that bandana up . It was a savior as far as messing the front seat up with urpings.
THe result of the swooping over the house scared Cynthia so bad that when ever a plane would fly near the house she'd run into the house. I somehow couldn't explain to her that it was my cap she recovered and ME in that plane yelling my greetings to them.
Speaking of being affected by airplanes--it goes back to when my brother John gave us a collie pup. It had Australian Shepard sheep dog markings and a long collie nose. I didn't want another dog of that type but John had a big litter of odd pups and he gave it to one of the girls for a Birthday present--how do you refuse a birthday present? She turned out to be a really goofy dog. When Chink would be digging after a gopher she'd be cheering him on and jumping up biting the dirt he was tossing with his paw. He'd dig down deep enough to hide his body till he got the gopher. FiFi was the name of the collie--I wondered how she was ever named that. Imagine me hollering for "FIFI" out in the field. She was so very unruly.
Once I had to give the dog worm medicine. I saw signs that she had an infestation of worms-it is a common occurance in pups and can really be deadly and ugly for all to see--including the dog. When you give the dog worm medicine a person has to watch to see if the medication is effective--you do that by observing the pile after she unloads, to see if there are worms being expelled. In this case I went over to see the pile--( you know what I mean I'll bet) and sure enough she was eliminating worms in great numbers. BUT also I noticed that she had been eating too much sand and dirt from sheering Chink on while he dug holes seeking to eat a gopher ( he loved to eat gophers).The odor of the poop was terrible even out in a field!! So FIFI was now an active goofy dog which somehow tried to calch an airplane when it flew over. She had a special trail through the alfalfa to run after a plane which flew over. I asked sometimes, what would she do if she caught one?
I'll tell of gophers and Chink. When Chink was a pup I'd take him out in the fields where I would set traps to catch gophers which populated the fields in really great numbers. Trapping then was the only way to eliminate gophers which could cut down a new planting of trees. They would chew the new roots to kill the tree . The root looked like carrot and as sharp as a pencil.
We later learned to poison them by injecting underground with a machine which made a burrow. It was pulled by a tractor. Poisoned carrots were first used dropped into the tunnel which when it crossed a gophers domain, the gopher would wonder which other gopher is entering his domain--They are territorial animals. The gopher would follow the new tunnel and find the poisoned carrots which to them is a delicacy--later we used poisoned millet ( a grain the size of a bb) . The poison had a sweet smell and attracted the gopher which then caried a pouch full to his den--.IN the mean time the poison would get into his blood stream and finally kill him. It was a successful mass eleimination of the field of rodents
But before some one invented that method trapping was the normal way of eliminating a gopher infestation . They multiplied like rabbits and it was an impossible job to rid all of them.
When I would set a trap, Chink was very interested and watched me. I would leave the trap which I marked with a stake in the ground. I bought hundreds of traps in those days.
The next morning I would go check my traps and find the trap on th ground with no gopher--but there was a telltale piece of gopher meat or fur on the trap . Chink would go out to check the traps and eat them before I could have the pleasure of counting all the gophers I caught.
I'll tell more in another story about gophers.
the day Cyunthia was born
Of course I kept worrying about when the 'time' would come so I hovered around the house as much as farm work would provide. I think we were harvesting alfalfa seed --even this late in the year.
All of a sudden it was TIME to go. I think we still had the Belair Chev then, and now I wonder who stayed at home with the kids--was it Lois" or was that a school day? see, my memory is a bit dim on this, but I do remember we took the bumpy short cut through the neighbors property and their Yard--.I had to be careful about hitting the bumps in the road.
We finally got on a county road which was good gravel and was heading toward Sunnyside hospital through a lot of farm steads. We still didn't have a name for Cynthia--I told this story so many times, I wonder if I am repeating myself--yes I am--it is indelibly implanted in my mind.
IN those days there was a womens club made up of farm wives--of all names they called it the "Cy_CO " club. I guess that was a 'run' on words for the fun of it. They made stuff like doilies and Afgahns etc--it was a sewing circle I guess-- that best describes it--or a gossip club.
Anyway we drove right by the ladies house who started the club Her name was Cynthia Copeland. The name was in large black letters on the mail box--and we drove slowly by enough to see it stand out . It was almost automatic, that we would name the girl "Cynthia"--Just like that--I don't remember if we had a masculine name or not at that time because in those days there was no way to know if the baby would be a boy or girl. I thinks it's best to be surprised.
So the birth went off uneventfully I guess--y'see, I didn't dare to watch--I didn't see ANY of the kids born. I think I would have been traumatized. I think it would "cure me".
So, when we brought Cynthia home I thought she looked like Ike Eisenhower the president--bald and all. We have some--a lot --of baby pictures to prove it too.
Cynthia had a good appetite and I remember her digging into the bowl which was the last part of Gramma's Meat ball concoction--she stood up on the chair and reached over with the big spoon in her hand and was scooping out the remnants of the meat balls concoction. See , I call it a 'concoction' because it was a one dish meal--with bread of course.
I gotta add this--I always prayed that my family would be all musically inclined so the time came for Cynthia to learn an accordion. So I enrolled her in a school of accordion and she was really doing fine. Then it came time to graduate into a larger accordion. I knew a neighbor whose daughter quit and he wanted to get rid of the accordion. So one day he asked me to bale his hay. I had to do it at night because I had other farm work to do in the day. Ii was a hot day and in the evening it was cool enough to go down to the field in a shirtsleeves. The field was bigger than I thought and I worked all night to finish the field and I was frozen stiff by the time the last bale was dropped. Anyway, Gramma got worried and came down to the field as I was wrapping up. She had a jacket for me I think because I drove the tractor home to have a breakfast at last.
NOW rather than to take money, I settled as payment for that baling job taking his accordion as full and final payment--a couple hunderd dollars.
CYnthia played several months and in concerts held by the Teacher. I was soo proud and also a bit jealous that she was playing better than I could play.
Then the world ended--that accordion world--Cynthia quit. Pow--I was shot and still in a fit of remorse because Cynthia is very very musically talened in spite of her name--Ha! she has a beautiful voice-to go along with an accordion--like Joan Castle on Lawrence Welks show---ask her to sing--go ahead.
So Cynthia , when you read this, operate on my heart strings and cure the longing I have to hear you again play the accordion. On bended knee--I ask--no I am at the type writer--and I am too old now to kneel--. If you do play me, get me a bath towel for my tears.
BUT with all that said, she, Cynthia is and was a hard working intelligent girl and I couldn't have ever thought of a better name than CINTYDOLL. Read the story where she drove my old army truck when we were picking up baled hay. She could hardly see over the steering wheel and standing on th seat. What a girl.
All of a sudden it was TIME to go. I think we still had the Belair Chev then, and now I wonder who stayed at home with the kids--was it Lois" or was that a school day? see, my memory is a bit dim on this, but I do remember we took the bumpy short cut through the neighbors property and their Yard--.I had to be careful about hitting the bumps in the road.
We finally got on a county road which was good gravel and was heading toward Sunnyside hospital through a lot of farm steads. We still didn't have a name for Cynthia--I told this story so many times, I wonder if I am repeating myself--yes I am--it is indelibly implanted in my mind.
IN those days there was a womens club made up of farm wives--of all names they called it the "Cy_CO " club. I guess that was a 'run' on words for the fun of it. They made stuff like doilies and Afgahns etc--it was a sewing circle I guess-- that best describes it--or a gossip club.
Anyway we drove right by the ladies house who started the club Her name was Cynthia Copeland. The name was in large black letters on the mail box--and we drove slowly by enough to see it stand out . It was almost automatic, that we would name the girl "Cynthia"--Just like that--I don't remember if we had a masculine name or not at that time because in those days there was no way to know if the baby would be a boy or girl. I thinks it's best to be surprised.
So the birth went off uneventfully I guess--y'see, I didn't dare to watch--I didn't see ANY of the kids born. I think I would have been traumatized. I think it would "cure me".
So, when we brought Cynthia home I thought she looked like Ike Eisenhower the president--bald and all. We have some--a lot --of baby pictures to prove it too.
Cynthia had a good appetite and I remember her digging into the bowl which was the last part of Gramma's Meat ball concoction--she stood up on the chair and reached over with the big spoon in her hand and was scooping out the remnants of the meat balls concoction. See , I call it a 'concoction' because it was a one dish meal--with bread of course.
I gotta add this--I always prayed that my family would be all musically inclined so the time came for Cynthia to learn an accordion. So I enrolled her in a school of accordion and she was really doing fine. Then it came time to graduate into a larger accordion. I knew a neighbor whose daughter quit and he wanted to get rid of the accordion. So one day he asked me to bale his hay. I had to do it at night because I had other farm work to do in the day. Ii was a hot day and in the evening it was cool enough to go down to the field in a shirtsleeves. The field was bigger than I thought and I worked all night to finish the field and I was frozen stiff by the time the last bale was dropped. Anyway, Gramma got worried and came down to the field as I was wrapping up. She had a jacket for me I think because I drove the tractor home to have a breakfast at last.
NOW rather than to take money, I settled as payment for that baling job taking his accordion as full and final payment--a couple hunderd dollars.
CYnthia played several months and in concerts held by the Teacher. I was soo proud and also a bit jealous that she was playing better than I could play.
Then the world ended--that accordion world--Cynthia quit. Pow--I was shot and still in a fit of remorse because Cynthia is very very musically talened in spite of her name--Ha! she has a beautiful voice-to go along with an accordion--like Joan Castle on Lawrence Welks show---ask her to sing--go ahead.
So Cynthia , when you read this, operate on my heart strings and cure the longing I have to hear you again play the accordion. On bended knee--I ask--no I am at the type writer--and I am too old now to kneel--. If you do play me, get me a bath towel for my tears.
BUT with all that said, she, Cynthia is and was a hard working intelligent girl and I couldn't have ever thought of a better name than CINTYDOLL. Read the story where she drove my old army truck when we were picking up baled hay. She could hardly see over the steering wheel and standing on th seat. What a girl.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Mickey's Picture
Be sure when you read these stories to go to some of the very first stories, namely the one titled "The Kissing Tree". You'll see a picture of Mickey. I was re-reading some of my stories the other day and saw that picture and fell in love all over again, she was so beautiful. Still is.
Halloween Tricks and Kerosene
When Halloween came to our place, we didn't have any tricks or treats. The only thing we ever did that I can remember was to get a piece of carbite chalk and drawing a big pumpkin on the screen door on the front of the house, a jack-o-lantern with eyes.
We heard about the neighbor kids getting together and taking the wheels off a buggy and putting it on top of a barn and reassembling it up there, and the old farmer coming out and seeing his buggy up on top of his barn. I can tell you there were probably some cuss words said.
They also would move an out house away from the hole so when you walked out of it you'd fall in the hole.
That'd have to be done by kids with lots of time on their hands. I never got involved in that. I was too nice a boy (well, a nice boy at least, the 'too' is kind of questionable).
Having kerosene lamps maximized and minimized the days and the nights. The lamp would be sat on the table for eating. We didn't sit up late reading, it would have been wasteful of the light. We were early to bed and early to rise. But it was because kerosene cost 25 cents a gallon and would last about a month. The main use for kerosene was for the lantern kept out in the barn, hung on a nail, which would help you see while you did the night time milking. You still couldn't see much, and you'd need to feel around a bit, but so long as you knew where the cow teats were, where the manure was, and which end it came out of so you could steer clear from it, you would be ok! Kerosene was kept corked with a potato.
We heard about the neighbor kids getting together and taking the wheels off a buggy and putting it on top of a barn and reassembling it up there, and the old farmer coming out and seeing his buggy up on top of his barn. I can tell you there were probably some cuss words said.
They also would move an out house away from the hole so when you walked out of it you'd fall in the hole.
That'd have to be done by kids with lots of time on their hands. I never got involved in that. I was too nice a boy (well, a nice boy at least, the 'too' is kind of questionable).
Having kerosene lamps maximized and minimized the days and the nights. The lamp would be sat on the table for eating. We didn't sit up late reading, it would have been wasteful of the light. We were early to bed and early to rise. But it was because kerosene cost 25 cents a gallon and would last about a month. The main use for kerosene was for the lantern kept out in the barn, hung on a nail, which would help you see while you did the night time milking. You still couldn't see much, and you'd need to feel around a bit, but so long as you knew where the cow teats were, where the manure was, and which end it came out of so you could steer clear from it, you would be ok! Kerosene was kept corked with a potato.
BB Gun
When we were kids, Donald and I traded the .22 we had bought from the Roseburg kids for 50 cents to Albert Bozich, my cousin, for a BB gun. The BB gun had already been used a lot and the stock was broken off, but it was our only chance of having a BB gun like our brother John had. BB's cost money, and when you bought a nickel's worth, you might get 100-200 BB's in a small container. We ran out of BB's and we discovered that tiny rocks (about the size of the BB) would work just as well firing out of the gun. However the rocks not being symmetrically perfect it was a slightly erratic shot. For passing time away while Ma was cooking we would find enough rocks to bring in the house and we thought, well BB guns can't kill birds so these rocks can't do much damage. Donald and I had a challenge to see who could stand the sting from the gun. The only thing we would allow to be shot was the bare foot (we were mostly bare footed anyhow). I was a better shot than Donald and he'd yell a little bit.
I can remember like it was yesterday, sitting on the floor holding my knee up, my bare foot ready for him to shoot out, looking through my toes at the barrel of the BB gun. He fired and it missed my foot and hit me right next to the eye!
That was the end of that experiment!
I don't know exactly what happened to that BB gun. It probably got thrown down the well. If the new owner of the house were to dig up the well, he'd probably find it.
I think I was crazier for guns than Donald was. My mother always told a story about 'killaself' and I wondered what she was talking about. Apparently when I was a little boy I would bang a little cap pistol into my head and say "Killaself! Killaself!" I don't know what I was thinking - just a kid I guess!
A Dick Tracy story told about a prisoner in a cell asking for a large potato. They gave it to him and he carved a replica of a gun. He asked for iodine and poured it on the potato and used that to scare the guard into escaping. I was always intrigued by guns, even from the old Dick Tracy columns.
I can remember like it was yesterday, sitting on the floor holding my knee up, my bare foot ready for him to shoot out, looking through my toes at the barrel of the BB gun. He fired and it missed my foot and hit me right next to the eye!
That was the end of that experiment!
I don't know exactly what happened to that BB gun. It probably got thrown down the well. If the new owner of the house were to dig up the well, he'd probably find it.
I think I was crazier for guns than Donald was. My mother always told a story about 'killaself' and I wondered what she was talking about. Apparently when I was a little boy I would bang a little cap pistol into my head and say "Killaself! Killaself!" I don't know what I was thinking - just a kid I guess!
A Dick Tracy story told about a prisoner in a cell asking for a large potato. They gave it to him and he carved a replica of a gun. He asked for iodine and poured it on the potato and used that to scare the guard into escaping. I was always intrigued by guns, even from the old Dick Tracy columns.
WWII Oral History
I've finally been asked to provide an oral history of my experiences during WWII. In the past visits Kelley came over and set up a camera for me to sit in front of, trying to remember as best I could in chronological order (but most likely not) my experiences. There are many stories in between words that are not able to be put to words, so a readers (or listeners) imagination will need to serve them well. If you hear Oliver North's war stories you know the hazards of war. Some cameramen have actually taken some pretty vivid scenes and it makes me regret that I did not have a video camera with me, although I probably would have been shot in the head using it because I would have been concentrating on getting a shot instead of not exposing myself.
So, this enabled me to get some sort of closure to repeat my history for others to hear during a time when I am not here. I fully appreciate my grand daughter's interest and time in doing this. We also have a project of 16mm film from when I came home up until video cameras became more fancy. Someday I want to set up my projector for the old film and not necessarily edit, but transfer to DVD for use in the future.
Well, this answers the question "What have you been doing lately?" I've been providing an oral account of my history.
So, this enabled me to get some sort of closure to repeat my history for others to hear during a time when I am not here. I fully appreciate my grand daughter's interest and time in doing this. We also have a project of 16mm film from when I came home up until video cameras became more fancy. Someday I want to set up my projector for the old film and not necessarily edit, but transfer to DVD for use in the future.
Well, this answers the question "What have you been doing lately?" I've been providing an oral account of my history.
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