Bruffey Stage Station, at Fish Creek, Montana
10 November 1999
Curtis James Gravley was born June 26, 1906 in Mission Creek, Montana to Sylvia Geneva Bruffey and James Matthew Gravley. He was the fifth of six children: Grace, George, Hugh, Susan, Curtis and Beryl. He had less than an eighth grade academic education but he was well-schooled in the world of nature and survival. He spent much of his youth ranching and when he was about eighteen, he was thrown from a horse and suffered a severe leg injury resulting in surgery to his hip. It caused his left leg to be about three or four inches shorter than his right and produced a lifelong limp that even built-up shoes and boots could not correct. His limp became as much of an enduring trait to his personality in later life as was his infectious, ear-to-ear grin when he was happy.
When he was thirty years old, he met Margaret Schwartzenberger and her two young boys: Edward Lee and Elmer John. They soon married and bought a tiny house, at 1110 E. Lewis, in Livingston near his mother and sisters and also near Margie’s sister, Betty, and her brother-in-law Bob Perrine. It was the Perrines who introduced them in the first place as Bob was an old friend of Curt.
Curt earned a living for
his new family by working at the flour mill a few blocks from home. Over the
next five years, he fathered three daughters with Marge: Sylvia Geneva, Bergetta
Joann and Michel Patricia.
Sylvia, being his first natural child, was the apple of his eye. He spoiled her
and she loved it. She would stand on the foot of his "good" leg and
cling as tightly as possible to his thigh. He would walk her everywhere as he
went about his business. Sometimes she was allowed to meet him at the corner
after work (he was always covered with white flour dust and looked like a ghost)
and as they walked home together, she would try to emulate his inimitable limp.
She loved to be with him as he tended the rabbits and chickens and learned that
killing them for food was as natural as pulling carrots from the garden.
Wages at the flour mill did not keep pace with the needs of his growing family.
With World War II in progress and the need for war-effort workers in Washington
State, he was prompted to move his family westward.
Their first summer in Washington was spent in the desert of Pasco/Kennewick. It
was miserable for everyone because of the heat, living in a tent, and poor
sanitary conditions which resulted in an outbreak of Trench Mouth.
A short time later, the family moved to Spokane where they rented a house next
door to Marge's sister Genny and her family. About a year later they bought a
large 2-story house at E. 1618 North Crescent and spent the next few years
remodeling it. Curt got a job at Layrite Concrete Company where he worked for
many years.
Curt loved to hunt, fish,
garden and picnic outdoors. Indoors, he loved to play cards, especially
Pinochle. He was always incredibly lucky at Poker. He was a man of few words but
he was loved and admired by many. He was a very patient father and there were
many times when Sylvia would purposely push the limits to see just how far she
could go before he would lose his cool. She only remembers two spankings
(although there were undoubtedly may more). One was when she played hooky in
third grade and the other was when she was caught smoking in the seventh grade.
Both were well deserved.
Curt's favorite song was "Red River Valley".
Marge loved to dance and Curt tried to oblige her but dancing was not his forte.
It was truly a comical sight to see 4’11" Marge with 6’ Curt towering
above her, waltzing or two-stepping to his "rhythm
with a hitch".
Doctor visits were rare because Curt had the medicine and know-how to avoid
them. He probably learned his skill from his mother and from living in isolation
as a cowboy in his youth. When Sylvia was about ten years old, she nearly
chopped her left index finger off while readying kindling for the stove. He
calmly cleaned the wound, opened it, sprinkled sulfa powder in it and bandaged
it securely. Today a wound like that would require at least fifteen stitches to
heal as well as this one did.
Around l960, Curt left the Layrite Company and he and Marge opened a cafe about
a mile from their home. It was new venture for them both and was not very
successful or long-lived.
After 25 years of
marriage, Curt and Margie separated and divorced. Curt moved to John Day, Oregon
to live near his daughter, Betsy. He became a cook for the Forest Service and
once again, he relished his connection to the great outdoors and he continued
his passion for hunting and fishing in Oregon. It was at this point in his life
that he developed a closer than ever relationship with his two stepsons. Betsy
recalls that he told her that Aunt Beryl was furious because James (their
father) left home for another woman. Curt lived on and off with John and his
wife, Beth in Kellogg, Idaho. They and their children all loved having him
around and it was with them that he was able to return to his love of hunting
and fishing for awhile.
In September 1967, Curtis suffered a major heart attack from which he never
recovered. Although he was 61 years old, he had not a gray hair on his head. The
words that best describe his character and personality are GENTLE and
EASY-GOING. May he rest in the arms of Mother Nature forever.
Piper Jean Ross Berger is actively researching and archiving the Bruffey - Gravley Family Histories>, and has an extensive record of these files. Family members are encouraged to contact her with updates/corrections; at: 14 Raccoon Ln. Tiburon, Calif. 94920 - phone (415) 435-2337, or by Email at: [email protected].