|
1937 work ethic
I just got the first of a lot of boxes of old letters and etc from my grandparents. I'm sorting through and reading, anyways, I always knew my grandpa was a hard worker and entrepeneur-type, but I had no idea HOW MUCH. In 1936(20 years old) he hopped on boxcars to come west to look for work. He ended up in Washougal, WA and did whatever jobs he could find, from snow shoveling to logging, the paper mill, dairying, etc to make money to make a home and bring my Grandma and baby mom west. Anyways, he was logging and broke his arm(a really close call, as well as it sounds like he dislocated his shoulder), I thought you'd enjoy his description of it and how he went on afterwards. I always loved him so much and wow I just so wish I could have heard all this when he was alive so I could say thank you and be appreciative(I mean give him ALL the kudos he deserved).
March 20, 1937 (Biddle Butte, east of Washougal above the Columbia River) My Darling and Baby (page of I love you so much) Daddy had a very unlucky day today. I broke my left arm don’t’ worry though dearest couse it’s all ok now. It happened this forenoon, Blondie and I where out in the woods cutting and sawing down trees, one tree didn’t fall completely over so we were going to fall another one directly across this one as the tree started to fall we where watching the top of it to see if it would fal lin the right direction it all happened so suddenly that I cant hardly account for it, instead of it knocking this other tree down it slid down along the tree and came straight towards me. I was standing leaning against a tree with my arm against it, the falling tree came down butt first and pinned my arm against the tree I was leaning on. I could have died at first, my arm was in a bow twisted around. I told Blondie to give it a quick jerk to see if he could get it back to place, but he couldn’t. About that time it was so num that there was not any feeling in it. Then we went down to Nipper who we are working for and got Herman’s car and went to Washougal to the doctor. Boy! When the blood started circuling agin the pain was awful. And when the doctor bent my arm back into shape again I could have knocked him down he was so rough. He took an exray of it I seen the plates two it’s a clean break so its lucky for me that it didn’t splinter couse that would have taken longer to heal up. Well anyway I have a plaster cast on now and its sure miserable doing any thing with my arm in a sling like that. Its lucky that it happened to my left arm anyway, couse I can still saw logs. I can’t chop with an ax of course. But I can saw them while Blondie trims them. If only it could have happened someother time except now, when I’m so angzious to make it possible too get u out here right away. But I’ll do it regardless. Here is apic of him from that time, he's on the right, the other guy is his brother. SO what kind of fish is that? http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b.../violet037.jpg |
PS, he did indeed continue to work with a broken arm, going back to work the next day, doing sawing(cutting the trees to length when they were on the ground with a crosscut saw with Blondie) and milling the lumber.
PPS, come to think of it that pic may be on Puget SOund when Selmer(the bro) worked for the Olympia Bay Oyster Co |
I think you had to be a hard worker back then just to survive. I cringed when I read about the doctor twisting his arm back into place. Ouch.
But I want to comment on the treasure trove of letters, etc., that you are receiving from your grandparents. They must of kept everything to share with their children and grandchildren one day. I wish I had boxes like that from my grandparents to look though. Must feel like Christmas. Is that a pike? |
cool letters....hope you share all the pics in the box with us as you sort throguh them...could it be a shark? or a sturgeon?thanks for sharing this with us!!!!
|
Nice story, and pic!
Before the Welfare State existed, if you didn't work, you didn't eat, and therefore died. Men were expected, and did, whatever it took, to feed their families. Got a broke arm?, well, the good Lord gave you two, work with the other. I remember stories of my grandpa and a couple of local dirt poor blacks (as if my grandpa wasn't also dirt poor) logging back in the 30's. It was rough and dirty work, all with crosscuts and axes. They'd take their clothes off at the beginning of the day, get their work done, and put em back on at the end. Saw a fuzzy photo once of this supposed work scheme... They only had two pair of clothes... one for work and one for church... there wasn't any 'new clothes this week'... new clothes came once a year when the harvest came in (if it was a good one). |
Glad you like them! yes there are a lot of pix, I've started a few albums on Facebook to share with the relatives etc.
This one is my Grandma's family, so far I have pix loaded from her sister Violet's stuff. I think she had a talent for getting great shots of people, bringing out their personalites(SHE was a doozy herself!). I started a separate album for her life, she took a lot of photos of the family farm in the 1920's, lots of farming scenes so I'll post taht when I get more pix in there. http://www.facebook.com/wyldthang?re...9&id=616102765 yeah it was always the joke that grandma never threw anything away! Me and my sis received a small attic's worth of boxes to go through. It IS really fun to be a detective and sort things out. Also kinda fun how you start to recognize people in pix. It was liek pulling nails to get my grandma to talk about the past though, she hated scraping by and somehow was ashamed of it(she has a streak of prima donna :D) also they were really wild back then and were since "saved" and wanted to forget the wildness(but since something like that is in the blood there is always a struggle to keep a lid on it:D) Here is a pic of my grandma just before they were married, she's the one on the right :D sh'ed be horrified to know I'm posting it, but this is my favorite pic of her! http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b.../violet011.jpg Elkhound I was thinking shark too, I'm looking up sharks :D |
ha, just noticed there's a guy in the car, and by the shoes that has to be my grandpa--he wore those shoes a lot in the pix and they just get dirtier and dirtier!
|
here's a cool site about logging in WA, these aint no girly trees!
http://www.washington.edu/uwired/out...ction%20I.html |
What a treasure box of memories you have! I hope you continue to share with us.
|
Wyld thang: The shark is a dog fish or sand shark.What wonderful and honest glimpses of the past!
|
Thanks Becca! I really geek out on this history stuff, I really enjoy personal things like this that make another time come alive. I only found out about their time in Washougal when we got into these boxes, I always thought my grandpa ended up straight at Grand Coulee Dam. I think though that they never talked about it because there was great disappointment, my grandpa talks about setting up a farm(which I added below) and finally making a home for my grandma and mom to come join him out here. The loan he talks of didn't go through so the whole farm plan fell through(sounds like if he did get the loan I woulda never been born...), and I notice from postmarks in later letter my grandma did come out to WA for a visit, but had to go back to MN, and my Grandpa made his way up to work on GC dam(and she later finally came out for good there).
Anyways. He was a pretty cool fun grandpa, and I'll always appreciate how he loved us girls but didn't coddle us--for instance he's the guy that saved the tumor from his finger in a jar and chased us around the house(which I loved). We live in the general area (sw of Portland) and pass through Washougal occasionally, so it's really cool to see this area through his eyes so long ago! March 22, 1937 My Darling Ramona … Well, dearest I went to Vancouver today…tomorrow I am going to go get the lease for the farm for 3 years and owner and I are going up to the place and look it over and see whats to be done to the house, such as papering and fixing it up and he’s going to furnish the materials and I’ll do the work. I’m figuring on getting six milk cows and 3 heifers, about a hundred chickens and a couple of pigs, two horses and enough machinery to get along with and furniture enough for the house. There are only two rooms in the house but they are large and can be fixed up real cute and it wont take so much to furnish them either as a large house. There are pair trees on the place too, imagine dear picking pairs, apples, and prunes right off the trees outside of our windows and canning them. I tell u dear your going to fall in love with this beautiful country and so help me God your coming out in a hurry. Just so darn angzious to have u and Vonnie here with me that I’m almost crazy! March 29, 1937 My Darling Ramona and Vonnie … I got the lease on the place for 3 years, darling(John Zeniker farm on Biddle Butte, across the road from Piontek farm where he is staying/working, Piontek bought from Zeniker also) for only $120 a yr. very reasonable I think and he let me have the lease without having to pay a cent down. We made the lease out for the 1st of April and the 26th of May will be my first payment of $15 and $15 every month after till rent is paid for the yr. Pretty darn nice of him isn’t it? He is giving me the chance to get the cows, mech(machinery?), furniture and stuff so that I can be getting cream checks by the time the rent money is due. I bet this makes u feel good don’t it Ramona dear? It should, I’m almost positive its going to go through(grandpa also applied for a loan to start up the dairy farm). … Piontek’s land lies right across ours on the other side of Biddle’s Butte, you can drive way up on topof the Butte with a car and u can see the country for miles and miles around. And at night u can see Washougal, Camas, Vancouver and Portland just as plain, just one mass of lights, all over it’s a beautiful sight. And just can’t wait until u can come to me darling and I can take u to all these places and show u them. You’re going to love it dear, this country. Big transport planes fly over our place every night and day sometimes they fly so low that they are only a few feet above the tree tops. This summer they are going to dig the Columbia river deeper so that steamships will sail only a mile and a half from our place and they are going to make docks in Washougal and Camas so that it will just be like shipping on a train. President Roosevelt is coming out this summer to look at the Bonneville Dam project 20 miles from here, so we will get to see him. Ha! Quite an honor, isn’t it? I could mention a hundred and one interesting things and beautiful places, but I’m going to wait and show them to u. … Some of the pair trees are starting to bloom in our yard too now. We sure will have plenty of fruit to can. I just found out today that we have some cherry trees too, those kind of cherries that are in chocolate candy u know. But I’ll jump for joy when everything is straightened out for u to come. We are still cutting logs, last week it rained so much that we couldn’t hardly work at all, we manage to get in a day or two though after I broke my arm. Pionteks made us come and use their summer kitchen to cook in and a room upstairs to sleep in so our days in the tent where few. … They started hauling the logs today, so will know how much we will be getting pretty soon now. I have something 15 or some odd cents left, pretty rich ain’t I. Ha!well anyway our cupboard is full and we have some money coming from the logs so I can at least manage till I get the loan. Then I’ll have cows to milk, or rather we will u and I. A passenger plane is going over here just now bound for the Twin Cities, Chicago and New York. I can see the lights on the plane now, blue and green, looks very pretty in the air. … Blondie and I worked with our shirts off today, it was so nice and warm, everything is getting so nice and green. They have the most beautiful flowers and shrubs and trees here that u can imagine. *** Now the sad thing is, my Grandma delayed her arrival a few weeks by waiting on a hat and pair of shoes that were backordered--she wanted to look really nice for the trip. Ha, she always was nuts for clothes and shoes(she made a lot of stuff), but GEE Grandma! he woulda loved you BAREFOOT!!! |
thank you SRSLADE< I love knowing the names of things!
|
What a wonderful story, and pics. (Your grandma looks like a hussy! I mean that in an admiring way.) :)
Thanks for sharing them with us. |
You are SO lucky to have those treasures. I looooove stories from the 20s, 30s and 40s. I've always had the greatest admiration for folks who lived back then. Their stories served as my inspiration to become a homesteader.
Thanks so much for sharing your grandparents' letters and pics. They're wonderful. |
Totally awesome to learn about your family history like that. & I agree your grandma looks like QUITE a gal. I also love how your grandpa spells ~angzious. LOL.
|
Wonderful thread. I would read a book about it and then go see the movie.
Beautiful. |
Amazing how hard they worked back then... Most of my family, on both sides, farmed and there were watchmakers, too. DH's family were loggers, farmers, and one city official. I wish we had journals, letters, and more pictures from back then. You are really blessed to have them, Wyldthang!!! How cool :)
DH is a throw-back from the early 1900s, or so it sure seems (a real hard worker). His grandfather made quite an impression on him. My own grandparents greatly influenced me, too. Thanks for sharing! Yes, a book could be written... |
Quote:
I've got one similar, but not as racy, with my granny holding a pistol, as if robbin' a fella. |
I love the letters and the pics too! They just don't make people like that anymore. I've been scanning some old photos from my family too - I've only got a couple dozen pics but they mean the world to me.
|
I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this stuff too. I'm really having fun sorting all this out. I have a lot of old pictures, from my husband's family I have a bunch(not as many tho) of the depression days on the farm in California, near Gustine. I also have a good bunch of pix from ww2 from my Great Aunt's live in boyfriend(he was her first cousin so you know how THAT went over, they lived together for almost 50 years), he was at Camp Richards, CA and Fort Sill, OK, and I believe he went to fight in Europe for awhile(no europe pix tho). My hubby's dad has some pix of the airforce in Japan(he was a mech) and my dad has a load of WONDERFUL pix he took then he was in Japan for the Korean war(he would also travel around "old Japan and lots of Nat Geo kind of stuff:D). I will post up all that stuff eventually(I mean on my FB page)--I watched some of that WW2 inHD, and I think it's so important to not forget it was real people that were fighting, you know?
yup, Texican, there is a pic of my grandma holding up a bandit in Old Tucson, we put it in the slideshow at her funeral. I bet your grandma is pretty darn spicy too! WG I understand :D she was quite the conflicted firecracker, but also she loved very much, and after my mom died a long time ago she filled that hole too. Well then you guys will love my Great Aunt Violet, she did the homesteading thing at least into her 70's and I'm luvvin her 60 yr old guns(very inspirational). She was EVEN interviewed by David Brinkley for the Huntly/Brinkley Report in the late 60's/1970, I just found this out reading thru her things. SHe worked at Itasca St Park doing history talks about the Mississippi River and also dancing in the powwow dances they used to put on. SHe and my grandma would sneak out when they were young and go to the powwows on the nearby reservation(Mahnomen/Chippewa, 1930 or so) and dance with the hot indian guys. heh I remember my grandma saying she had a total crush on one guy but of course her parents would have had a meltdown. |
well since we sharing a few pic's hope ya dont mind me adding a few to your thread wyld.i think yall will enjoy them.
heres my grandfather in the 30's working in the CCC camp.he is working on road going into Hungary Mother State Park in va.i think it is such a cool picture of him. http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/elkhound25/h.jpg this one is about 1949 or 1950 and you can tell i get survival stuff from him...lol..kill the deer and haul it how ever it takes. http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/elkhound25/h-1.jpg here is a picture of my great grandfather who was native american it was taken pre-1920. http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63...aymondbell.jpg |
cool Elkhound! PLease highjack away!!!
A relative worked in a CCC camp in MN, heven't read those letters yet. My hub worked in it too in the 70's for a while, but at that time it was full of stoners :D |
one more then wyld
this is my greatgrandfather and his sons.i was able to hunt with some of these fellows.my great uncles had a great influence on me as they were famous houndsman in this area.they all are gone now...sure wished i could drive over and hang out with them.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63...foxhunters.jpg |
Since Elkhound was brave enough to hijack first, here's a photo of my Nannie that I love. Notice the nail polish AND the gun - she was a tough little thing, but she liked her hair fixed and her nails groomed. This was taken in the early 50s.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...anniegun-1.jpg |
cool cool cool! and her shoes are so WHITE! (how do some people do that???)
where are all these pix from? ha, Elkhound I always wanted a bunch of boys like that(as my kids I mean), I got two :D that's what we could afford You know it's funny, reading the letters and people's comment about how much stuff costs--for instance one person says he works for a dollar an hour(1937), that sounds cheap, BUT my grandpa was able to lease a farm for 15$ a month--two days work and you've got your rent covered for the month, hard to do that these days! (even accounting for dollar values etc.) |
Keep sharing - this history is what makes each of you YOU.
Thanks for putting it in this forum. Angie |
Awesome pics! :goodjob:
I too just found a box of really old (and huge) negatives marked in the 40's... I need to get them developed again or scanned. I can't really tell who is all on them but some of them look, uh :eek: , REALLY interesting from what I can see holding them up. :rotfl: |
Quote:
Also in that thought is that skills used to be handed down through the generations, and no time like the present to learn and do it and keep on tradition! K Freya, get crackin! |
[IMG]http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...randmother.jpg[/IMG]
This is my great grandmother in front of her corn field. I never met her since she passed away when my mom was a little girl. My grandfather talks about what a hard worker she was. |
Quote:
My family is all from Oklahoma - some were Cherokee, and some got their land on the Cherokee Strip land runs. Below are my maternal great grandparents. He was half Cherokee and for a short time attended the BIA school in Oologah (with Will Rogers, a cousin). She was a laundress and took in laundry all through the Depression to make ends meet. Washboard and clothes line, and iron heated on the stove. I don't think she had more than a year or two of schooling. They had 9 children and barely kept them fed, but they never owed anyone a dime. She lived to be 90. This picture is from 1935. http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...family1935.jpg |
Love the stories and pics, hope you put these in a book form. Your family would love it. We have neighbors that put their mothers writings in a book and are selling them. I bought one and love it. Remember everyone has a story, take time to tell it.Thanks Marc.
|
Awesome! GREAT pics and letters. Thanks for sharing with us.
NeHi |
MO4, what interesting faces! love the pose too, with the hands.
Here is a letter my grandpa received(after the loan and farm plans fell through) from a friend working on Grand Coulee Dam. My grandpa went up and joined him a few months or so after this(I think he was looking for work again)My grandma gives my grandpa a tongue lashing in a letter for going to "filthy shows" with this guy. Ah, the drama! My grandpa ran a crew pouring concrete. (again I kept all the spelling mistakes, and I did have to fix a few words) Mason City, WA May 9, 1937 Hiye Pal(Norman), Damed if you didn’t surprise me with a letter the other day. I just now got over the shock enough to write back. Thanks anyhow. Seeing as you’re a cripple I’ll let you off this time. Cripes u must have almost worked up a sweat. Ha you should be more careful remember your heart me lad. Darn you will have that old place good as new yet if you keep going at that rat. What (ha) haven’t you go that arm out of the cast yet, cripes are you getting insurence on it or something. Ha Shore I wish u lots of luck in getting it off --- pronto. You should have both arms in shape when Moe comes out you know. Heh. What te-ell do you mean to say something went wrong with the Rolls Royce already. Dam! And almost a new car. Cripes if you could stop running in to trees and coasting down hills with it maby you it would last. Wear out those hydraulic brakes ect. Ha. I suppose when u had that loan guy in to those beans and rice he got to thinking how terrible they were and his little tender heart got the best of him, ha. Can’t blame him Ive eat em here to shore Ive get spinach every now + then also. Get three lbs for 8 or 9 cents. By gosh Pionteks shore do treat you nice don’t they. I’ll just have to write to them one of these days. If I get time. Here I am working for four bits per hr. Cant get rich that way. Though I hope I can get something better soon. Seems funny to get up at ten at night get something to eat and be ready to go to work at twelve. Ha more dam fun. I shore ketched me an a** of a boss too. Reckon I’ll have to kill him one of these days. Ha. They do kill or hurt about one or two men every night it seems. Got about four last week anyway. One guy let one of these half ton skiff full of dirt slide down on him I was working about four ft from him at the time. Guess he got too scared to move. I helped carry him out on a stretcher. Thurs night a big slab of clay slid down on top of a man, that was working down in a deep pit. We had to climb at least a 20 ft ladder to get him and got him out of there. Guess they don’t espect him to live either. Then Friday one guy run a steel thru his foot. He worked on a jackhammer t*t I guess(I think he meant “tip”, ha or maybe not). I’m going to see can I get on something that pays more this week. A jackhammer or some dam thing. Ha. I heard they are starting another big dam north of Seattle. May try that later on, better country ect. Hasn’t rained scince Ive been out here. Everything is so dam high up here it costs like hell to live. About all Ive do is sleep, eat, and work seven hrs a day, 40 hrs a week. Well Windy go easy on the beans and rice and take care of yourself. Tell Moe hello for me when she gets there will you, and Kreppers and Pionteks ect. I’ve got to get some sleep now as I got to work at twelve sharp. What I mean work, oh yes and much work Your Pal Pop Eye PS, what do you mean writing all over the outside of my letter ye crumby, ha. Later love my darlink XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ect far into the night. Hey you should see what leans out of the windows above this wild place in ------ on these warm days. Wow. Oh No I don’t go up there. So far, ha |
Haha, what a character!
|
I just love these stories and pics. I have such an appetite for, and appreciation of history. While I don't have any pics to share, my "historical" project right now is restoring an old quilt to its former glory. My mother in law's mother made it many years ago and it's in tatters.
I don't know the age of the quilt, but some of the squares are from the 60's and 70's and some before that. It's just a patchwork quilt made from scraps of clothing they had worn back then. There's so much history in that quilt. |
Great reading, thanks for the letters. Keep the original spelling variants coming, they are funny.
Life was certainly hard back then, don't think I would have done to well, being as I am so lazy. Ha! |
I am absolutely loving all the pictures and stories. Thank you all for sharing them with us!
|
The big joke with grand coulee was dam this and dam that, my aunt is kind of a prude to the world, but she enjoys saying she was a "dam baby". I just got another album of pix from living there at Grand COulee dam. In all these pix people look like they're having so much (dam)fun!!!
Ha, Thanksgiving Eve I had a dream I was making TG dinner for my grandparents, and their families from back then, they all came, way cool :D |
Quote:
|
I would say that little lady would run me into the ground! She just looks like she's full of fire! I hope I might have a little of that fire in me!
|
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:07 PM. |