The Summer of 1950

My brother recently found a old friend of his, David. .

The summer of 1950 was the year I got to know him and his brother Roy. It seemed like I had 2 new big brothers, I was 8 they were 15 & 16.

Dad had recently sold our stump ranch, where we had lived the good life for 5 years.

My first memories as a child was of our life on that ranch, 8 miles from town on Peninsula Road.

There was no indoor plumbing, we bathed in a wash tub in front of the kitchen cook stove, that the water had been heated on, the outhouse was outback, water was hauled from a spring further up the hill. We had no electricity until 1948, Mom had a gasoline powered washing machine that she did laundry with.

I don't recall having any chores of my own, but I know my brothers had many. Life must have been awfully hard for my mother, and them.

After the sale, my Dad moved the family into the town , while he went to Portland in search of a job.

Our "town house" was a wonderful old Victorian house with a bedroom for everyone. What a treat, indoor plumbing!

Boy what a summer it was, seems like the drudgery of life on the ranch was over.

Dad had left the car with Mom, he must have taken the bus to Portland I just don't recall.

There we were in town, with this 1946 Ford and all this freedom.

We were in that car and on the go all the time, seems like David or Roy was always with us. I think that summer we swam in every lake within a 50 miles.

Mom would make sandwiches and off we would go exploring. We visited abandoned fire lookout stations on some of our outings,







like this one on Pratter Mountain.

http://www.firelookout.com/id/praterpatrol1937.jpg

Or this one on Cottonwood Point.

http://www.firelookout.com/id/cottonwoodpoint233.html

Here is an interesting link to more Idaho fire lookout sites.

http://www.firelookout.com/idpanhandle.html

We would stop at a spring
for a cool drink of water.
There must have been a lot of miles put on
the car, that summer of 1950.

There were good times to be had in town too. "Timber Days" was a big event that I remember and the 4th of July fireworks.

Here are some links with photos of those celebrations.

http://www.sd83.k12.id.us/pre/quest/history_of_priest_river.htm

http://www.sd83.k12.id.us/pre/quest/logging.htm

As we recently rejoin our lives, reminiscing about Priest River
and the summer of 1950, we all agree it was a
wonderful summer none of us have ever forgotten..

What a treat to find and old friend.




This is David today with his wife of 56 years.