#15

The Lind "house" was very nice. All brick, nice lawns, good neighborhood and in the "better" side of town.
Lind, Washington. I really didn't like this town at all! It was small, isolating and very close knit, which meant new people were shunned. I took refuge in books, any kind of book I could find. It was the only activity available other than working at my parents tavern, cleaning anything and everything.
This is where I became aware of my eating problems. I was left at home all day by myself, I don't know where my brother was and probably didn't care. He wasn't a very nice child. I kept going to the bread box because I couldn't think of anything else to do. Finally one day I decided to sew something so I wouldn't be so bored.
I searched the house but I couldn't find any fabric to use. Finally I thought of a Orange, pink and red plaid set of sheets that I had always like the look of and I went to work. I sewed a pencil skirt with belt, a 3 button matching vest and used a white pillow case to make a simple sleeveless short waisted top for under the vest. I thought it looked very nice. I was very excited about wearing it to school on Monday. Of course the house was a disasterous, thread and trimmings everywhere, sewing machine, scissors and pins across the living room floor.
Needless to say mom and dad were less than impressed that night when they came home from a long day at work to a house that looked like a cyclone had hit. It took me the rest of the week end to clean it but i didn't mind, at least I wasn't bored.
This is what really started my enjoyment of sewing. I can't remember learning to sew, it was just always a part of our lives. I know I sewed clothes for my dolls on a little toy sewing machine that had a crank handles but I have no idea how old I was....maybe 4 or 5.
After the "sheet" experiment Mom and Dad made sure I had plenty of supplies around the house. I was sewing all the time. I made most of my clothes from then on.
At the end of the school year it was time once again for Dad to sell the tavern, named "Slim's". Again Gene had a buyer but I remember this time he was being very mysterious about the buyer. After the sale was final Gene had invited us to dinner to meet the new owners. That is when we found out that the buyer was my Aunt Bessie, Dad's sister.
I was glad to be rid of the town and it's selfish people.

Again, when Dad sold the shop in Othello, we (the kids) were only given a few hours notice. Mom, I am sure had a few weeks notice because as I look back I can remember she had most of our things packed when the moving truck pulled up out front. We, however, never had time to say goodbye to our friends, or to ease into the idea of a whole new setting.
We were again in temporary living quarters. My Dad's parents had passed away and he was responsible for selling their property. We moved into their home in Spokane, Washington. It was an older Craftsman home, middle class but very nice. My brother had a bedroom on the main floor, I was relegated to the finished attic space. It was almost nice. It had a very nice window with bench that I spent most of my days watching the people on the street from. It was very hot though because it was summer time.
One day I was sewing something in the living room when the door bell rang. As I jumped up to answer it I stepped on the scissors I had been using. The blade sank into the side of my foot and sliced it open about 4" long. Of course mom and dad weren't home so I answered the door, foot bleeding like crazy. It was the real estate agent about the house. I explained that mom and dad weren't home and that I had hurt myself. He took a look at my foot and immediately went to the kitchen and found a towel. Her wrapped my foot in the towel and carried me to his car. Now days that would be cause for alarm but back then it was cause for relief. He took me to the emergency room, sat with me while the Dr. sewed my foot back together and then real estate agent took me home. He stayed with me there at the house until mom and dad finally came home. I can remember that his first name was Gene but I can't recall his last name. He was very nice.
"Gene" had stopped by the house to tell mom and dad that the house (#14) had sold. We were moving again.

Times have changed

As was usual in our home, life was unusual. The house we had was too small but it had been the easiest one to rent quickly. I slept on the porch, Floyd slept in the eating area of the kitchen. While I enjoyed the openness the windows of the porch gave me, my brother longed for privacy. He decided the best way to get this was to drape a tent canvas from the ceiling to the floor to make a wall between his sleeping area and the active kitchen. (I say active kitchen because it was the entry to the house, we actually never cooked or ate in this home.)
He then painted the walls flat black, including the canvas "wall". He papered the windows with paper grocery sack and painted them black also. He had turned it into a dark hole in the living space of the house.
We lived in this house for 4 months. I didn't object to this house but I wasn't sorry to leave it behind either.
On to # 13.
This house was a tract house, smart yellow and landscaped lawn, on the south side of town. It had hard wood floors, a nice kitchen (again, it was never used other than to store cold drinks and occasionally a loaf of bread.) a modern stylish fireplace of stone and we each had our own sleek bedroom.
It was a very long distance to walk to the city pool though. What I remember most about this house was the loneliness. It seemed no one was ever there. We had no tv, I had no friends in this neighborhood. Although we had moved to the other side of town, mom and dad decided to keep up in the same school district we had been in. All my school friends live on the other side of town. The pool was the meeting place for all the kids in town as this was a desert town.
I have only two outstanding memories of this town:
1. I was at the pool when the lifeguard pulled me out and told me I would have to sit out until my nose bleed stopped. I didn't even realise I had a nose bleed! An hour later the lifeguard called the ambulance because my nose bleed was not stopping. I was sent to the hospital and I remember thinking "Sure hope Dad and Mom can find me". I was given some coagulants and antihistamines and released. I was 12 years old and I walked out of the hospital and walked 3 miles home. I don't think Mom and Dad ever found out about this. I was afraid if I told them they wouldn't let me go swimming again.
2. On Saturdays we went to the "potato sheds". These were buildings with a roof but no floor or walls, just posts supporting the roof. Trucks from the potato fields emptied their load here and the potatoes were moved to the processing area by a conveyor in the center of the building. The ground was covered with potatoes that spilled from the trucks and the conveyor. These potatoes were free to anyone that wanted to glean them. We ate a lot of potatoes that year.

#12

After Sleepy Hollow we moved to Othello Washington. My Dad had bought a shoe repair shop there and Mom worked at the local supermarket.
I had been attending the Catholic school so when we entered the public school in Othello it was a bit of culture shock. I didn't mind being the new kid in school, it was always great to meet new friends. I was chosen to be a cheerleader and my Mom made all the uniforms for us. It was a pretty good time.
We had moved so quickly, as usual, we took what ever house Dad could find on short notice. The house was on the north side of town and very old and dirty. My sleeping area was in the enclosed front porch. I like this because I could see the stars at night and the sunrise in the morning.
My parents worked too many hours. One day when Dad came home he was too tired to even bother turning on the lights, he just wanted to go to bed. Mom on the other hand was home all day and decided to re-arrange the furniture......yep, you guessed right. Dad went to sit on the bed and the bed wasn't there anymore. The shocked shreik woke me and when the lights came on there was my Dad sitting in the middle of the floor with a shocked look on his face.
After that Mom didn't move the furniture without Dad's help.
House #12.

Army Green

I married young, I was only 18 and my new husband was 23. He worked hard but had no skills or training. We were very lucky because I had saved some money by working while I was in high school.

A local village character owned a home in our little town (population 101). He had become more and more paranoid as time went on. Finally he knew " They were getting closer and closer" because he could hear them outside at night. Finally one day the air force was having practice maneuvers overhead and he thought "they" were after him. He came to my mother wanting to sell his house so he could have money to "hide". Mom told me about it and that she didn't have any interest but once I heard the price, $700.00, I was interested. His biggest condition was that we had to complete the deal by sundown that day so he could "get away".

The house was about 600 square feet with two bedrooms, kitchen, living room and a jack and jill bathroom. I bought the house sight unseen. If nothing else it was good property. My first tour of the house was a mixture of regret, sadness and overwhelming compassion for the man's state of mind. The entire inside of the house was painted Army Green! In broad daylight it had felt like walking into a cave.

I painted over the army green ceilings a nice white, it took many many coats of paint. I painted the army green walls nice quiet happy colors walls, again it took many many coats of paint. I bought many GALLON containers of paint remover and went to work on the window panes, sinks, tub and toilet. I scraped the army green paint off the door knobs and faucets. I bought cheap linoleum to cover the army green on the floors.

The bathroom had a sink, toilet, claw foot tub and a water tank, all were army green. Let me tell you, you don't feel very clean climbing out of an army green tub.

Did you notice that I mentioned a water tank not a water heater? That is because the water supply ran through the cook stove, which was WOOD fueled, and then filled the water tank which supplied the hot water to the sinks and tub. This meant that about an hour before using any hot water I had to stoke and light the cook stove to heat the water. The cook stove was also the only heat for the house in the winter and heaven help you in the summer. Hot water was unheard of from May to September.

There were 3 plug ins in the entire house. One in the kitchen, one in the living room and one in the from bedroom, all of them on a single 15 amp fuse. There was a second 15 amp circuit for the lights in the house, yard and out building.

Once is it was cleaned and rejuvenated it was a nice little house, both my children were born while I was living there so it has many fond memories. But those stories are for another time.

Talk to me baby!

When your meaning becomes my meaning there has been communication.

Living in today.

You can't have rosy thoughts about the future when your mind is full of blues about the past.

A hug is worth a thousand words.

I like this quote better than the more common one. There are days when I sincerely need a comforting hug but I guess that is why Gramma's have grandchildren. Both of my granddaughters have always been able to comfort me with affection.

It's the 4th of July!!

In the summer of my 15th year I lived in Moscow Idaho. I was working at a restaurant, I can't remember the name, and renting a room from my Gramma. I had worked and saved and bought a 1957 Ford Fairlane. It was a beauty. My first car!

On the 4th of July, I decided to go to Cd'A to the open air concert in the city park. Mom and Dad lived in Elk River. Cd'A was known for it's 4th of July celebration, professional hydroplane races, the town filled with partying Canadians, bands in the park and of course the fireworks everywhere.

It was a great day. I didn't know anyone there but at 16 years old it didn't take me long to meet a few people. We all watched the race, ate all the carnival food that was being served in the park and enjoyed getting to know new people.

As the day wore on to the evening I noticed that my "friends'' were drinking beer regularly. This wasn't too much of a problem for me, I felt no obligation to stay with them if they became unpleasant.

Eventually, the races ended and the dancing in the park started. It was a mass of people, all dancing, most were drinking, and everyone was having fun. I remember dancing with a new friend when suddenly my world exploded in pain and then no memory. The next thing I remember was lying on a gurney with the bright emergency room lights glaring at me. The people at the emergency room said they found me in my car in the parking lot, unconcious. I had a swollen lip and two front teeth missing.

Ever since then I have spent my 4th of July at home!

Learning to drive!!

It was about 8 pm on a Tuesday evening in the fall of 1965. It was the end of my "after school" shift at my parents restaurant and Jerry, my sister, had come to take me home. Being 6 years older she owned a car! I think she was bored of the small town life, she had been here about 2 months. As we drove away from the parking lot she asked if I wanted to learn to drive. I told her "I guess so."

She pulled over and put me behind the wheel. With only a few instructions I was moving. Jerry patiently taught me to use the clutch, brake and gas. I don't remember popping the clutch or stalling the engine but I do remember being terrified I would side swipe one of the few cars parked along side the road. I was probably driving down the middle of the road!

I also remember trying to make a right turn down an alley. Jerry never said anything negative but I do remember her saying "Maybe that's enough for tonight." We traded places and she drove home.

That was my first driving lesson. Driver's education was just getting started and my parents never thought of letting me enroll. Instead I borrowed the books from the school and read them on my own, in my bedroom and hid the books under my mattress.

After that night I would drive mom and dad's car whenever they were out of town. About a year later we were living in a different little village when dad decided I neede to learn to drive. We lived about 45 miles from the closet town. Often dad would need someone to drive to the town to buy supplies for the business. If dad was working in a "man camp" mom was left to run the tavern so there was no one to go get supplies.

Mom took me out to teach me to drive on the roads of Elk River. She was much more calm than I expected but when I cut a corner too wide and came very close to the opposing ditch mom as decided I had learned enough for that day.

Later that year it was another boring friday night so a friend and I decided that mom and dad were asleep and they would never know that we borrowed their car. It was december and the snow was 3 feet deep. We just wanted to drive around, listen to the radio and gossip. We were having a great time for a while.

One turn and one icy spot and friday night turned cold. We walked the two miles back into town and woke up her brother, he was 20 and would know what to do.

He towed us out of the ditch with his pickup and sent us home. Mom and dad never knew!

The next year I was living with my gramma during the summer. I worked as a waitress and saved up $150. I bought 1957 ford fairlane. It ran great and I began driving, learning as I went. I also checked another driver's manual out of the library and studied hard. In a month I went for my driver's license.

Ahhhh, sweet independence!

Cruising.......

I was about 10 years old, my sister was 16 years old. Once again mom and dad had left Jerry to babysit us on a Friday night. Jerry was with one of her friends. My younger brother was spending the night with one of his friends so I was the sole anchor around my sister that prevented her from having a night cruising the strip of Coeur d'Alene.
Jerry and her friend dressed me sexy, they padded a bra, put make up on me and curled my hair. It was so exciting. They set me in the back seat of the old Hudson hornet, I was too short so they set me on two pillows.
I was under strict orders not to speak. I remember the lipstick felt thick but I liked the mascara. We cruise the strip of Coeur d'Alene, played the radio loud and talked to others on the strip. I never spoke once but I finally felt included in my sister's life. So for me at 10 years old it was a good night.

Jerry, my sister Jerry

Jerry is my sister. She was so much more too. Jerry taught me compassion, love, family and so much more. She taught me the good things I learned in life.
Mom and Dad taught me strength, morality, ambition, curiosity and shaped my life in many ways. Each of these things are very important in life to succeed and I appreciate that they made sure I understood and became a good person.
Jerry is the only person that taught me what I needed to learn to be happy, not just successful. I learned what it felt like for some one to be kind to me. She taught me to feel the feelings of others. The first time I felt love was from the kind words and concerned actions of my sister. I learned a more powerful way to cope with the world from her.
Jerry was my idol. I wanted to be as good a person as she was. It seemed so natural to her but I had to work very hard to learn her ways.
I miss her terribly every day. It is as if I have lost my anchor in life. Now I am just floating with no place to go and no reason to be.
My children are grown and have lives and families of their own. They no longer NEED me. Their lives are full with "life".
Jerry and I didn't need each other but we enjoyed each other's company and wanted to spend time together. Now that is stolen from me.
I will never fill the hole left in my heart. I hope someday it won't hurt so badly though.
Each day is a struggle, I think of what we would talk about if she were here beside me. I think of all the trips we had planned and never got to take and of the few trips we did take. It makes me feel that each day is useless and unnecessary.
I have no one to bond with now. I have to pay to have errands and chores done. I never have enough time to get things done out side the house so when I am able to leave my "prison" I always feel rushed and guilty so I can't enjoy even that time. I feel frustrated and trapped.
My life is slipping away.

Today

I have wanted to invest in my community for quite some time now. I couldn't decided what was the right way for me to do this because I don't have a lot of money.
I finally decided the way that interests me is to buy a cheap, CHEAP house and renovate it. Then I want to rent it to someone that may not be able to afford decent housing but that is truly trying improve their life and lifestyle.

Ichabod Lane and Sleepy Hollow

No, its not a typo, I mean Ichabod Lane not Ichabod Crane. House number 11!
One weekend Mom and Dad told us they had bought a new home but it wasn't built yet. We were going to spend the weekend at the new building site doing some of the work ourselves. For us kid it was usually grand fun. We raked and shovelled, we moved rocks and moved lumber.
One weekend I remember in particular wasn't so much fun. The basement was poured and the forms were removed. Now the basement needed to be sealed on the outside to prevent it from leaking. When we arrived Dad built a bonfire in the back yard and hung the buckets of tar over the fire. Dad passed out the rag mops. We were each to dunk the mop into a bucket of tar and smear it on the walls of the basement. It was one of the most miserable days I could remember from my childhood years.
Tar really stinks. It burns the skin if you aren't careful and when you get it on your skin it really hurts to pull it off. By the end of the day my clothes were ruined, my freckles were brown and black and my hair was stiff. It was many days with much turpentine to get clean.
When the house was finally complete we were all excited to be able to move in. It was a great day and all the wonders of the new home we ours to explore. The hardwood floors were made of random lengths of 2x4's on edge. The fireplace was of man made stone of pastel colors, very modern at the time. I had a large bedroom with a window facing east.
The house was on Ichabod Lane in the housing development known as Sleepy Hollow. We were here for a short time. One night my Dad got up in the middle of the night. He crossed the living room in the dark and his bare foot landed in the open snarling mouth of the bear skin rug centered on the living room floor. The blood curdling scream of Ichabod Crane could be heard throughout sleepy hollow that night!!!!!!!

Slide Rule

While we lived at a motel I attended yet another school. It was a nice school, with a great math teacher. East Valley Middle School was my next stop on my education trip. Unfortunately I was only there for a few weeks. This was my third school.
At the time I didn't realize it but we were at the motel while we were waiting for our house to become available.

At the first of September 1959 we moved into a small house on south 7th in Coeur d'Alene. It was a nice house but very small and home number 9.
We started attending the Catholic School in Coeur d'Alene. We wore uniforms and attended church before school every morning. The nuns taught the classes. For the first time my teacher was interested in me and how I learned. Before, I was forced to learn anyway they could teach me.
So in the fourth grade I finally learned how to learn and from then on learning was fun!
I remember one night the lighting struck very close to our home and broke several windows.

I also remember I was getting nose bleeds all the time so I had nose surgery. I was recuperating for the surgery , lying on the sofa in the living room for days, my nose packed with cotton.
My sister was dating an older guy, Gary Boothe. He was in college and very intellegent, he was studying to be an engineer. He came to the house to pick up Jerry for a date. Jerry was late so to fill the time he showed me how to use a slide rule to do my math homework. It was so much fun.
One day many weeks after I was back to school I came home and the brand new car Dad had bought was in the drive way with all the tires flat! I knew something was going on and I couldn't wait to find out what the story was.
I didn't say anything when I went in the house. I put my books away and sat down in the kithchen. I waited.........nothing all through dinner. Then as the table was cleared Dad asked my brother "Why?". My brother tried to explain. He saw on tv kid lined up nails behin the car and when the car backed out of the drive the tires went flat. My brother wanted to know if it would really work.
I couldn't beleive it. My Dad just broke out laughing. It was so unfair.
I learned the next day that my little brother would lose his allowance and have to work at the shop every weekend for the rest of the month.
Mom was working at JC Penney's and Dad has opened a shoe repair shop. Things were going good. In October, we moved across town to a much larger home. It was an older two story home with a wonderful front porch and Chestnut trees at the curb on Montana Steet. My half sister Deannie was married and but for some reason she came to live with us. I think her husband was in the military but I am not sure. House #10

Then there was 3rd Grade

It was late October of 1958. We drove only a short while in the semi with our new home tagging along behind. We pulled into a small trailer park and slept the night in the cold, unlit and unlevel trailer. Come Monday morning we went to Winton School in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Winton School was a wonderful place. I learned cursive writing, my times tables and wore my first pair of glasses. I had a friend that was dear to my heart, we shared many times and I especially loved the ride home from school on the school bus. She got off the bus before my stop and I was lonely the rest of the ride home. One day I begged her to stay on the bus with me promising it really wasn't very far. She stayed on till my stop and then went home with me. She called her parents from my home and her parents came and got her. The next day at school we snuck off to the restroom. I asked if she got it much trouble, I was feeling very guilty for begging her to do wrong. She raised her skirt and I could see the black and blue marks of the belt. I have never forgotten the terrible guilt I felt. This is the first time I truly saw that my actions hurt someone else. It is also the first time I realized that I actually had very good parents. Our neighbor was a couple from Sweden. They spoke very little english but some how we communicated. I remember a lot of pictures and a translator dictionary. This is when I realized my Dad was deaf. I never noticed before that we had to be sure to face Dad when we spoke or that sometimes we had to write what we were saying. It seemed normal to us. Dad could read lips well enough to not need much help in the world in general. I never thought of Dad as being any different than anyone else's dad. On the other hand I always knew Mom's vision wasn't the same as everyone else. At this time she wore very thick glasses but she could still see and drive. We stayed at this location until August of 1959. Mom and Dad sold the trailer and we moved to a motel in Spokane Valley. Home number 8.

little trailer BIG TRAILER

It was only the last week of school, May of 1958. I came home from school that same as always. I got off the bus and walked about 2 blocks to our house. There in the driveway was a silver trailer, the kind used to camp in. Mom and Dad were chatting and packing things into the trailer. My brother and I assumed we were going camping. We each went to our bedrooms to find that even our bed had been disassembled and were sitting in the garage. Finally we are told that we are moving again. It sounds so exciting. We are moving and it is like an extended camping trip! Come to find out we are only moving to a suburb of Spokane, Opportunity and a new school. We moved to a little trailer park by the railroad tracks. It was grand for us, as children. We loved to watch the trains as they came by but my parents didn't see it the same way. Each time our little trailer rattled because of the passing train Mom and Dad would grumble. I knew they were unhappy. We had a tiny yard, just big enough to play hula hoop in....Dad showed us how to tie a slip knot, how to watch the stars and we even sat outside very late one light and watched sputnik streak across our sky. It was wonderful, I even read about it the next day in the newspapers. We lived in the little trailer for about 4 months and as always Mom and Dad made it seem like a great adventure and wonderful. This small trailer was our 6th home. This chapter ended one day in late September of 1958 when Mom and Dad pulled up in front of the school in a Semi with a large mobile home towed behind. Dad was driving and Mom called me to hop up into the cab and I knew we were off to another adventure.

This is the seventh home.

Another Move

We're moving, we're moving! We sang it throughout the house, throughout the day, throughout the entire drive. We didn't know where we were going but we didn't care. It was the excitement of the change! Better or worse, at least it would be different!! Mom and Dad had worked most of the evening before and now we all worked all day sorting, packing and loading everything. Two trucks, Mom driving one with my brother and me as her passengers. Dad driving the other truck with my older sister along. Down the unknown road we all go, to a new town, a new home, new people and a new start. It was all delicious and breathtaking. It was July of 1957. We all pulled into the driveway of a big new modern home. Very different than the barn-turned-home we had been living in. The new home had sheet rock walls and a Basement! I had my own bedroom, there were two bathrooms and both of them were inside the house. The surprises went on and on. We had a lawn rather than a wheat field around the house. I was in a wonderland.
I have many memories of this home, playing canasta with Mom and Dad, eating grapes form the plant in the backyard, coming home from school with the measles, the doctor coming to the house to pronounce the sentence of bed rest, the mumps a week later. So many things.
My half sister on my Dad's side came to stay with us for the school year. That was awful. I didn't care for her much and my older sister really didn't like her.
We even had an automatic dishwasher in the tiny kitchen. Dad worked at Goodwill learning to upholster furniture and cobble shoes. Mom worked at Safeway as a cashier. We went to McFarland School the entire year. I joined girl scouts and brownies. It was a good year. Dad even bought a Cadillac car.
It was so large that my friends and I would play house in the back seat. It was our living room and the front seat was the kitchen. It was so plush and made a wonderful play house.
I never knew why but it was all to end in May of 1958.

This was our fifth home.

Retirement Present?

We were the only white family allowed to live on the DeSmet Reservation. We lived there only because of Mom's position as Federal Post Mistress. We were not overly welcome and often teased about our race.
We attended the Catholic School with everyone else that lived on the reservation. The nuns were difficult task masters and, of course, very rule oriented. I was in the first grade and I was not an easy child, I often would leave class and go home in the middle of an assignment. I did the work when and how I decided to. Consequently I spent a lot of time in the Mother Superior's office (which is the equivalent of the principle's office).
Our class room was set up in rows of desks, the first grade was in the row farthest from the door. The next row was the second grade and so it continued through the 6th grade, all in the one classroom. It wasn't unusual for the class to be interrupted but it usually involved one of the older grades.
It was in the spring of 1957, probably May, when the Mother Superior of the Convent announced her retirement. Of course there was a lot of the talk among the students as to whom would replace her.
I was only 6 years old and in the first grade so all of this "school" stuff was new to me and I didn't understand any of this. What I remember was that one day the class was interrupted when one of the sisters walked into the classroom.
Today it was to announce that there would be a drawing to decided who would represent the school at Mother Superiors retirement. They had put every one's name in the drawing and although I didn't understand what was actually happening I did know that a drawing meant a prize! A prize was always coveted! I must want to win this very much!
I told my parents my version of the events and I was cautioned by them not to hope too much. There were many children in the drawing.
The next morning I was called to the Mother Superior's office. This was not an unusual event so I simply wondered which of the rules I had broken and how long until I could go to recess. Instead I was told I had been selected to ride with Mother Superior to the retirement convent in Spokane Washington. I had won the contest!
I was on a cloud. I got up early the morning of the ride. I wore my best school uniform. I had my hair braided with special ribbons. I ate a special breakfast so as to not be hungry on the trip. It was almost 90 miles!
Three us were to go in the convent's pick up truck. One of the younger sisters was to drive, I sat in the middle and Mother Superior rode in the passenger seat. I could see the road whizzing by through the floor board of the old truck. I was very nervous.
Soon the motion of the truck, the road flowing by underfoot and my breakfast began a war on my stomach. In one explosive moment I had ruined my day. I vomited on Mother Superior! I was terrified.
We pulled off the road and Mother Superior cleaned herself the best she could with the few tissues we had. We all climbed back into the truck and continued our trip.
I was so ashamed. I cried and apologized until I finally fell asleep in Mother Superior's lap and slept through the rest of the trip. I don't remember anything else of the trip but I am sure it was a trip that Mother Superior remembered!

Jobedien

I had a wonderful friend when I was 5 years old. Her name was Jobedien. We shared dollies, ice cream bars and sodas.
When Jobedien's mother would come to the grocery store Jobedien and I would sit on the porch steps and share what ever treat we could whine out of my mother.
I remember her face......round with youthful cheeks and dark shining eyes. We held hands as best friends at 5 years old often do. We talked of our dollies and traded their clothes. It was wonderful.
Then one day in June of 1956 it all ended! We sat on the porch step with a 1/2 Popsicle each. It seemed like every other day. Jobedien's mother came out of the store with her grocery bags.
When Jobedien stood to go home, her mother noticed the wet spot left on the step. "Jobedien did you wet your pants?" she asked. Jobedien never even hesitated. "No momma, Shery did it!"
I was aghast and heartbroken and betrayed. I never sat with Jobedien again. Even at 5 years old I was knew things wouldn't be the same again.
We left the reservation a few months later, moved to another town but 38 years later I was sitting in a restaurant in Chandler Arizona having dinner with a friend. A woman approached our table and asked if I knew of De Smet Idaho.
I was shocked and perplexed. It was such an "out of the blue" question. I answered "Yes I know of it. Why?" She asked if I remembered Jobedien. "Yes" as the astonishment showed in my voice and face I am sure. I asked if she knew her and how she knew I would know her. She announced that she was Jobedien and that she recognized my voice!
We sat a visited a little. I found that she was in Chandler just for the evening and I explained I was there for as long as the job lasted, which would be only a few months. We said our good byes and both went our own ways. Life is strange.

Thats our home?

The new house. What a project. When we first moved to the reservation we were living in a small trailer. Mom had gotten the job of Post Mistress at the reservation Post Office. It was a good job because it was a federal government job. The Post Mistress ran a small post office that was housed inside a local small grocery store. Dad managed the local grocery store for the tribal council.
Housing was not included in either job so Dad decided to tear down the attached barn board by board. He even saved the nails. He used the lumber to build us a home attached to the grocery/post office. Every night after the grocery store closed until the sun was down Dad would work on the house.
Often Mom would be right beside him helping. My self and my younger brother were each given a hammer and it was our job to straighten all the used nails. My older sister was the official holder and helper.
It took many months, from September to May. I never want to straighten another nail! Once it was finished we had a beautiful home, custom and polished with hardwood floors. We had running water, a kitchen sink, bathroom sink, tub and toilet.
I can remember the first time I used the new toilet. There were no walls so Dad tacked up some cardboard for a little privacy. It was so great to have an "indoor" toilet again. We had been using the outhouse.
One Saturday my brother and I had the day off from "nail duty". We decided we would use some of the left over lumber to make ourselves a slide. We propped a board against the out side of the house, we climbed on the roof and I took my turn first. I slid down the board......I only made it about 6".
I immediately went to Mom screaming and crying!! She asked why I was screaming and in between sobs I explained that I had hurt my bum. I lifted my dress and mom burst out laughing. I remember the relief as I lay over her lap, bottom up.
I never tried to make my own slide again.

This barn converted to home was our fourth home.

HOLY SMOKE!!

We have been living in the rented house since September of 1955. We rented it from the Catholic convent for the winter months because Dad had not finished building our home. He worked on the "new" house on week ends only so it was taking a long time to complete. The house used to be the convent's handyman's quarters. Dad had taken the position as handyman also to help with the finances. Each day both my parents went to work and we went to school at the convent. After school we would stay with the nuns until supper time when we would head home and have the meal Mom had already prepared and put in the refrigerator. On weekends Mom and Dad would work on the new house and we would go with them when possible, which was most of the time. Occasionally we would have to stay at home and my sister would babysit us. This Saturday Mom and Dad were working at the new house all day and it was extremely cold so we stayed home. It was only 4 days before Christmas, Mom and Dad had put the tree up, set the lights on it and put the gifts around the bottom. The tree was set in the corner of the living room with a window on each side. It was the perfect place for the tree. We were suppose to add the ornaments, tinsel and popcorn garland. Jerry, myself and my little brother occupied our day by decorating the Christmas tree. We spent most of the day adding to the tree. We stopped only for meals. My brother and I made paper snow flakes, while my sister set up the small manger scene on the floor next to the tree. We were very proud of our work. It was now after dark and Jerry decided to surprise Mom and Dad by lighting up the manger scene under the window to the right of the tree. There were three little candles that were in the scene. She had been told not to light the candles but we thought it would be OK because mom and dad would be home soon anyway. The candles were lit and it was beautiful..........................for about 30 seconds. The candles lit the manger on fire, which caught the plastic curtains, which lit the tree which caught the house on fire. We were running from the kitchen to the fire with pots of water as fast as we could. The fire just grew and grew and soon the presents were on fire. As the flames grew and smoke billowed the nuns came running and they pulled us out. All the nuns rushed the fire and tried their best but to no avail. The sight was not a pretty one that greeted Mom and Dad a few minutes later. It was a Christmas to remember but not in a good way!

Spring Cookies

In the house my family rented from the Catholic convent in De Smet, Idaho we had a few memorable moments. My sister is 6 years older than myself so she ended up babysitting me and my younger brother. Being so young, 11 years old, she thought more like a child than an adult. One December Saturday she wanted to be with her friends but instead she was babysitting us. To entertain ourselves she decided we should bake some peanut butter cookies. We were excited because we could surprise Mom and Dad with the cookies and we could all eat as many cookies as we wanted before they came home. I remember helping measure and stir, my sister even let me put some cookies on the baking sheet. In the oven they went to bake for 10 minutes. We set out glasses of milk to drink with our sample tasting. We went to the living room to play cards while we waited for the rest of the 10 minutes to lapse. We soon forgot the cookies. The banging on the door and the yelling of the nuns from the convent broke up the card game. As we rushed to answer the door we had to pass through the kitchen which was filled with acrid black smoke. As I ran to open the door, sis opened the oven and removed the black pucks. After the nuns "admonished" Jerry to tears, they "assured" us not to bake anymore cookies. Jerry was worried that Mom and Dad would be angry over the burnt cookies, cookie sheet and the commotion we caused the nuns. To hide her "sin" ( the burnt cookies and ruined baking sheet) she buried them in the snow bank under the eave of the house. We opened all the doors and window, mopped the floors with pinesol, bleached the sink, anything we could think of to get rid of or cover the smell of the burnt disaster. When Dad and Mom got home they praised us very much for all the cleaning we had done. We felt we had gotten away with everything and soon forgot about it all. However, when May came around, the weather warmed and the snow had melted Dad found the baking sheet with the burnt cookies still on it. We were found out! Of course enough time had passed since the "sin" that Dad was not mad and we were relieved.

A Better Mouse Trap?!!!

De Smet is the beginning of my continuous memory. I have many memories from De Smet. I remember we were all sitting at the dinner table one evening in a small house that we rented from the Catholic church. It was really just a shack. We always heard the rats in the walls, but this night my dad looked up at the kitchen sink and saw a rat looking at him from behind the counter. Dad was so angry he went into the bedroom and got the shotgun. He stuck the barrel in the hole he had seen the rat through and fired. And I remember him hollering "Take that you filthy creature!" Of course the shot gun killed the rat, the wall, the counter, the sink and the water pipes. What a disaster! Water was spewing everywhere, there was a 12" hole in the wall that you could see the outside through. Dad had to work the whole next day getting everything repaired. I think that was the day Dad decided to build our own home. It was a long project but that is another story for another day.

BINGO!!!!

In 1955 my family lived in De Smet, Idaho. De Smet is an Indian Reservation and we were the only white family allowed to live there. My mom had a government post there as the Post Mistress. The Reservation was served by a Catholic convent. The convent ran the school on the reservation.
To raise money for the school and church the nuns held bingo nights. I was only 5 years old. Mom enjoyed bingo so we children went to bingo with her. If we behaved we were allowed to play our own bingo card. My shining memory was that one night I had bingo and told mom. She told me to yell bingo but I was too shy. She cried out for me "BINGO" but I had to go up on stage and pick out which prize I wanted. I took a long time and looked at all the prizes. I finally decided on a set of Pyrex pots. I was so proud of those pans. They were too heavy for me to carry by myself. The Mother Superior helped me carry them back to my seat. It was a wonderful night.

Beautiful Memory

As we meandered the road in our 1939 Ford Mom and Dad talked. The cupboard at home was bare. The night before mom had fixed the last of the meat for dinner. The family was on the way deep into the mountains to do a little hunting. We live in remote Idaho but we drove even deeper into the forest because it wasn't hunting season, but it was time to fill the larder.
The old truck was very cold. Dad drove, Mom was in the passenger seat and my little brother on her lap, My sister and I were squished in between. The rain was sheeting down with thunder so loud we little ones cried. The lightening was so close that dad told us to not touch any metal in the truck in case we were struck by the lightening.
We were creeping along the road, very slowly. Once I peaked over my brother out the side window. The road was so narrow I couldn't see the side of the road beneath us. I was terrified.
It had been dark for a long time. I was exhausted. Finally there was an old abandoned shack off a side road. There was no stove, no source of heat, there wasn't even a door. There were, however, a few holes in the floor. We each laid out our sleeping bags where we wanted. I remember choosing to lay so I could see the door. I was terrified a bear would come in the door.
Finally my exhaustion won out over fear and I fell asleep. I woke up once in the middle of the night, there was a scratching sound in the far corner. I eventually plucked up my courage and peaked over the edge of my sleeping bag. I saw to little eyes with a sort of red glint, a rat! I knew that look. I threw my shoe and it was gone. I slept the rest of the night.
The opening with no door faced east. I woke early, whether from the discomfort of sleeping on the hard floor or from the shivers of being chilled all night. I woke just before the sun rose. Even at the age of 4 I knew the special moment of that day. I was the only one awake as I watched the sun peak over the mountain view out the open doorway. Slowly the sunshine mark moved across the floor. I noticed a waterfall across the ravine. The memory of the waterfall in the morning mist is the most beautiful memory I have.

My earliest memory

My earliest memory.....It was a spring day. There is a main house, a dirt road, Hauser lake and a mobile home or camper. My sister is standing in the door way of the camper with a very pretty speical dress on. It has methiolate spilled on it. Mom is very angry. I am crying, my sister is crying. Later I was told this was my sister's birhtday at my paternal grandparents lake home at Hauser lake. My dad had built a small shack type home on one end of their property. My sister had scratched herself and mom had told her it was ok. My sister wanted some first aid. She decided to do it herself. When she opened the methiolate she spilled it on her party dress.That is all that I remember of that story.
The other memory of this same age is of two large gallon glass jars sitting on the kitchen counter next to the sink. There is no lid on the jars, instead they are covered with thin dish towels and sealed with large red rubber bands. The milk had curdled with the whey at the top. I know from familiarity that mom is making cottage cheese. I was very small, probably 2 maybe 2 1/2 years old.
According to my mother this was the third place we had lived since I was born. The first was Thompson Falls, Montana, the secon was Noxon, Montana and Hauser Lake was the third.