New school and neighborhood
I remember crying as we passed the one room school with the kid out at recess. The sawmill was to be shut down and Dad was without work and we were on our way to live with Uncle Art for a short while.
Here, at the joining of the Clearwater and the Snake rivers on the Washington side is a small town named Clarkston. Across the River is Lewistown. These towns are obviously named after Lewis and Clark. In the 1952 era I had lived just a few miles from where the explorers of "Undaunted Courage" actually exited the forest that nearly killed them. Now I lived in twin towns which honored their names and, even more, their survival. I say that because if they had died somewhere in the forest then the towns probably would have had different names?
My cousins were such good company. I had enjoyed times with them near the 100 thousand acre woods and would here too. Patrica was older than me by several years and Catharine was just a year or two older and Rita was a little younger than me.
I met another playground nemesis in Clarkston - the carousel. Even as I think of it I get dizzy. My wonderful peers (though possibly not with malice) invited me to get on and let them spin it and me around. My extreme sickness would indicate that I must have had my balance problem from early childhood.
Some blood was spilt when Rita's heels somehow became lodged against the rear wheel spokes of my older cousin's bicycle. It was a heart rending sight for a second grader. The skin was terribly red.
It was here that I learned to fear spiders. One of my cousins (I think it was Cathy) was bitten by a spider and it made her quite ill. There were ice packs to slow the blood's motion up her leg. There was considerable concern. The suspect was the "black widow".
Very few memories would probably indicate a very short stay. But, in retrospect, I am grateful to Uncle Art and family for taking us in. From there, we moved back up the Clearwater River to Orofino. The name is Spanish and means "fine ore" which implies that the town was at one time a mining center.
Dad rented a modest house in Riverside. Our short stay with Uncle Art would include my only regular contact with an indoor toilet until I was about 12 years old. The rental did have running water so no more trips to the well or melting of snow. Our landlady was Madaline C and she had a son named Bud who was in highschool.
Here, at the joining of the Clearwater and the Snake rivers on the Washington side is a small town named Clarkston. Across the River is Lewistown. These towns are obviously named after Lewis and Clark. In the 1952 era I had lived just a few miles from where the explorers of "Undaunted Courage" actually exited the forest that nearly killed them. Now I lived in twin towns which honored their names and, even more, their survival. I say that because if they had died somewhere in the forest then the towns probably would have had different names?
My cousins were such good company. I had enjoyed times with them near the 100 thousand acre woods and would here too. Patrica was older than me by several years and Catharine was just a year or two older and Rita was a little younger than me.
I met another playground nemesis in Clarkston - the carousel. Even as I think of it I get dizzy. My wonderful peers (though possibly not with malice) invited me to get on and let them spin it and me around. My extreme sickness would indicate that I must have had my balance problem from early childhood.
Some blood was spilt when Rita's heels somehow became lodged against the rear wheel spokes of my older cousin's bicycle. It was a heart rending sight for a second grader. The skin was terribly red.
It was here that I learned to fear spiders. One of my cousins (I think it was Cathy) was bitten by a spider and it made her quite ill. There were ice packs to slow the blood's motion up her leg. There was considerable concern. The suspect was the "black widow".
Very few memories would probably indicate a very short stay. But, in retrospect, I am grateful to Uncle Art and family for taking us in. From there, we moved back up the Clearwater River to Orofino. The name is Spanish and means "fine ore" which implies that the town was at one time a mining center.
Dad rented a modest house in Riverside. Our short stay with Uncle Art would include my only regular contact with an indoor toilet until I was about 12 years old. The rental did have running water so no more trips to the well or melting of snow. Our landlady was Madaline C and she had a son named Bud who was in highschool.
posted by G'pa Bob at 2:59 AM
1 Comments:
This is a very interesting idea -- Thanks for sharing.
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