Charles & Winnie Mae Reel on their wedding day in Deerpark, Washington August 27, 1917
I will try to give you a little
info on two of the most wonderful Parents that any batch of Kids ever had. Dad was a big
man, like me. In fact I am the only one of the Family that looks like him. We went through
the depression, and I don't ever remember of a hungry time. The Twin girls that was too
young to be in school got some Matches someplace and got up in the hay loft and (not
knowing what they were doing) they set the barn on fire. This was in the winter of 1934
into 1935. Dad still found a way to feed us all. He had a herd of milk cows (about 40 of
them), and he had to haul them (all but 2) to Spokane, WA and they sold at the Auction for
$5 each. That was when he had to go to work on the WPA. We still had enough to eat and a
place to sleep and stay warm. There were still 7 of us Rug Rats at home for Mom to take
care of. They were folks that knew that kids had to have a certain amount of time to play,
but they were very strict also. If they told you to do something, you had better get in
gear and do it. There wasn't any of this stuff of saying, "I don't want to." If
you did, you got your britches dusted. Dad had an awful temper, so If you needed a
spanking, Mom was the one that did it. Dad would get you by the ear and take you to Mom
and tell her that you needed a spanking and she would ask "what did he do?" Dad
would tell her and she was the one that decided how much punishment you needed. They were
Married in Stevens County Washington on Aug. 27th 1917. They were both very good looking
people then. Dad was living in Idaho at the time and I don't know what made him go to that
part of WA. He must have been looking for a Woman. LOL. That was a long way to travel back
then when there wasn't many cars around. I do know that he went to work for the Long Lake
Lumber Co. just North of Spokane, WA and the two Brothers that were older than me were
born in Deer Park, WA. I was the first one in the Family that was born in Idaho. Both
folks were quite religious. So we all had to go to church which was held in different
Homes in the area. At the time I was born Dad was logging, and he bought a 1924 Dodge
wagon and started to butcher beef and sell it in the Mining district of Kellogg, Wallace
and Burke. In those days the winters would get as cold as 30 to 40 degrees below and
he had to run that vehicle every week on Saturdays with no Heater in it. I don't know how
he done it but they never had Heaters in the cars those days. The first heater that I saw
in a car was 1934 Ford and it wasn't worth having in there. We lived on a Farm about half
way between Kellogg and Couer d alene, Idaho. The farm was 120 acres to start with, and
then Dad sold 40 Acres to my Uncle and Aunt that had come down from Canada. That
only left 80 acres for us kids to get into trouble on. I left home when I was 12,
because Dad didn't know anything. He sure got smart in a hurry shortly after I had to
start takeing care of myself. LOL. Well, I hope that this will do for a story about
the Best Folks in the ~Bud~
Mid playing is Mom & Dad's Waltz
|
