THE BOARDINGHOUSE

Ina Dobson, 1935: 

Living quarters are scarce in Idaho Falls, and Earle and Bernice had a hard time finding a place to live this year. They moved into a place and soon a family of seven moved in overhead and nearly drove them wild with noise. Then they moved into a lovely old house with beautiful flowers around it, but it also had been turned into an apartment house, and again a family of seven or eight moved in above, which they couldn’t tolerate. At last, a fellow teacher took them in by making the upper floor of his home over into living quarters for them.

We have several family members who want to live simply at this time – no costly house payment, expensive apartment rental, or amassing of things. These individuals have struggled to find comfortable living situations, which brought to my mind the boarding (or rooming) houses of old. What happened to those?

The house in Orofino, 1959

My parents’ home in Orofino, built about 1913, was large by the standards of that day and configured so that it might be a boarding house. The owner constructed it so that his wife could take in boarders should he predecease her. For instance, my room had two doors so that it could be partitioned into two rooms. However, the wife died unexpectedly soon after the house was finished, and he sold it. It was never a boarding house.

Many large old homes of the 19^th century were eventually converted into boarding or apartment houses. Taking in boarders was a means for a woman – usually the owner/manager was a woman – to make a living or augment her income. Opportunities for women outside the home were limited, remember.

A furnished living room of the '30s

I’m reminded of my dad’s sister, Myrtle, a single woman, who worked as a photographer’s assistant in Portland. I’m sure she didn't make much money. From the ’20s through the ‘40s, she lived in boarding houses. Such accommodations made it possible for many people – men and women – to live and work in the city.  

For that matter, my dad’s brother Earle and his wife lived in other people’s houses for many years. He was a teacher in Idaho Falls, but during summer vacation, he returned to the farm to help with the work. As I understand it, they just lived as roomers during the school term, vacated those rooms in the summer, and in the fall, they searched out new accommodations.

The boarding house provided a supposedly secure place and in some of them, meals were served. Often the roomer just had a room, and one bathroom was used by all.

Many people lived like that, and it met a need. I mentioned this to a friend (older than I), who said that after WWII, her husband lived as a boarder and liked the convenience of it. It was affordable, his meals were provided, no clean-up necessary, and he saved money for the future.

But there were problems, and communities began to discourage boarding facilities. The thing is, they were difficult to regulate. Often the house was rundown and a fire trap. Sometimes a brothel was billed as a rooming house for women. Some boarders (and some owners) were disreputable. (We’ve all seen those suspense movies, right?) Boarding houses in residential areas could be in conflict with zoning laws. According to Wikipedia (here), by 1950, the boarding house was mostly gone. 

I think there's a need for such facilities, and someone told me they're coming back, but I don't know if that's true. KW 

RATTLESNAKE IN THE POND

 As Bess and I walked at the pond this morning, I happened to pause as I rounded the far corner, and there in the mucky algae I spotted a rattlesnake enjoying a bath. I didn't have the camera, but I just happened to have my iPhone, so I was able to take this picture to prove what I saw. It lifted both its head and rattles out of the water and worked its forked tongue. Hard to say how long it was, but it was a large snake.

Mike says it's unusual to see a rattlesnake in water, but research confirms that rattlesnakes do swim, and they can swim on top of water, too. 

Bess didn't notice the snake. Just as well. We continued on our way. Follow the rules, and there won't be trouble. Bess gets an annual immunization against rattlesnake venom. KW

THE SMOKE OF SUMMER

Taken from Plank's. The landscape shows a variety of textures.

When I awoke this morning, I could smell the smoke and even taste it. A fresh breeze blows this afternoon, and the smoke has cleared to some extent.

I was late taking this morning’s walk – too late. It was after 9:00 and already hot. Mike and Bess had walked around the north field earlier, so Bess wasn’t much interested in a walk with me, especially if Mike wasn’t along. She went around the pond with me, but she watched me from the kitchen porch as I went down the lane.

Leyland cypress in town

Mike has flat churned out the work this summer. Besides splitting and stacking wood, fixing the chimney, and spraying the Canada thistle, he took down the fence around the lilacs and hauled the posts and fencing to town where installed them around the Leyland Cypress he’s planted on the bank behind the town house. A couple of years ago, the mule deer just about obliterated the first trees Mike planted, and he doesn’t want a repeat of that experience.

I was sorry to see the fencing go at the farm because I have enjoyed hanging solar lights on it, but the good news is that now I have a place to hang lights in town.

Over the weekend, Mike and Clint made a circuitous overnight motorcycle trip to Challis, Idaho, going by way of Hwy 12 and coming back through Banks and Lowman and onto Hwy 55. It was hot, and Mike reported that the traffic was terrible. I dined with friends in town on Saturday night, and I, too, was surprised that so many people were out.

Bess watches from the porch as I head down the lane.

We came back to the farm yesterday (Monday, July 26), and I was so pleased to see that the tomato and zucchini plants had not wilted. The plant nannies really help! I might water the plants twice a day while it’s so hot since the tomato is showing some leaf curl.

The morning smoke is obvious in this photo.

The washing machine at the farmhouse – our old machine purchased in 1998 – has an intermittent leak, leaving water on the floor after it runs a load. This morning, Mike took the face plate off and lay on the floor to watch it run in hopes of diagnosing the problem. Naturally, it worked perfectly – no leaking. Well, if it has to be fixed, he will fix it because it just isn’t worth a service call at this house – perhaps not at any house.

A few hummingbirds still flit around. Mike identified bear scat this morning. And the deer have eaten the lower berries off the black hawthorns in the lane. KW

The north field, looking northwest. The wheat looks ready to harvest.

WELCOMING A NEW BABY, 1930

I’ve been making receiving blankets and a few other simple things for daughter Hallie, who expects “Little Guy" in a couple of months.

My mother clipped tips, articles, and poems from magazines and newspapers, especially when she was younger. At one time, I had an envelope full of these clippings, most of them undated, but I can guess that she saved this one as she was waiting for her first baby (Harriet Lee Walrath) in 1930.

Baby’s First Clothes

In preparing the layette or wardrobe for the new baby, the young mother should keep these “don’ts” in mind.

·      Don’t buy poor material, for baby’s clothes are often soiled and often washed, and should be strong enough to look well after frequent launderings.

·      Don’t make elaborate, fussy garments which make the baby look like an animated pillow sham. They make hard work for the laundress, much trouble for the mother and a great deal of discomfort for the baby.

·      Don’t make more articles than are really needed. Baby grows very quickly and needs larger clothes every few months.

Briefly then – get good materials, make neat, simple styles and get just the needful quantities.

Nina Portfors & son Francis, c. 1909

Despite the outdated language, it’s still good advice – buy quality goods, keep the style simple, and invest only in what you need. And note – the expectation is that the mother will make these clothes herself.

On the same clipping is another brief article on the same subject:

Wee Baby’s Trousseau

Just what articles to prepare for baby’s wardrobe, and just how many of each to prepare, is a question that may perplex some young mothers. The Woman’s Home Companion in an excellent article on the subject recommends this list to the inexperienced mother:

Six night slips

Six day slips

One fine robe

Six barriecoats (pinning blankets)

Three flannel skirts

Three white skirts

Three pairs bootees

36 diapers

Three flannel bands

Three knit wool shirts with long sleeves

Seven bibs

I know about bootees, diapers, shirts, and bibs, but otherwise, I don’t know what they’re talking about. From generation to generation, things change. When my sisters were having babies in the ‘50s, we prepared sacques (short jackets that tie in the front), kimonos (much the same as sacques but longer), gowns, and receiving blankets. Those cute footed sleepers came along in the ‘60s, I think.

Fast forward another 50-60 years to today, and it’s again very different. The baby’s clothing is individual from the beginning, according to the personality his/her parents want to present. Fabrics have improved to the point that I think store-bought socks and hoodies are more serviceable than handmade bootees and sweaters. But – the problem has been the same from time immemorial – how to keep baby (and everyone who handles him) clean, dry, and sweet-smelling. KW

[The portrait is of our maternal grandmother, Nina May Sanders Portfors with her son, Francis Albert Portfors, otherwise known as Uncle Porkie. Baby clothes have changed in style and convenience.]

 

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Bumblebee on teasle

 My email is full of “Christmas in July” promotions, and I love it! Holiday movies, recipe previews, new holiday fabrics, special doll dresses and costumes – it’s all there.

Often in July we have a spell of cooler weather here in the Inland Northwest, and it seems to be upon us. The morning low is around 60 while the afternoon high is about 80. Wheat and garbanzo fields enjoy this respite from the heat. The tomato and zucchini plants take the opportunity to grow and produce. The breeze is so pleasant. We don’t even close the house.

I took advantage of the cooler temps to bake cookies. In keeping with “Christmas in July,” I made spicy gingersnaps. At least, I thought I did.

“What kind of cookies are these,” queried Mike, as he munched away. “Molasses sugar cookies?”

“Gingersnaps,” I replied, wondering what was the matter with him anyway that he didn’t recognize the old standby.

“I can taste the molasses,” he said, tentatively.

And that’s when I realized I left out the ginger! So disappointing! I felt like I should just start over and bake another batch. That’s what I get for not double checking the recipe, although even that is no guarantee. Mike graciously said they were fine, but they lack pizzazz.

We came to the farm on Sunday (July 18) in the big old pick-up. We brought the pole saw with us, and Mike sawed several limbs off the big pine at the woodshed to make room for the little maples to stretch upward. Then we loaded a lot of stuff to take back to town -- the pole saw, the splitter, fencing and fence posts, a borrowed post-hole digger, a smelly garbage can, rummage sale items – you know, stuff that would be hard to carry in the Jeep.

Mike, Hallie, and Nick had installed the fencing years ago to protect the lilacs. I called it my compound, but yesterday we took it down. I’ll miss that fence, but the lilacs had outgrown the enclosure and the fence made mowing and trimming difficult. We brought the fencing to town to protect the Leyland Cypress trees on the bank behind the house.

The hummingbirds are drinking much less nectar. We just don’t have as many eager customers. With this last trip I brought another wide-mouth feeder – so much easier to fill and clean!

We saw a rattler in the road Tuesday morning -- #4 for the year. He was lethargic – didn’t even bother to coil or rattle when Mike nudged him. Probably cold. 

A smokey day last week

The smoke from wildfires has drifted in and out, but this morning was as clear as we've seen since it all began earlier this month. Unfortunately, I left the camera in town this trip.
KW

 

FARMHOUSE CHIMNEY REPAIR

I told no one about this – NO ONE! Mike has been re-mortaring the chimney on the farmhouse, a needed repair and a task he has wanted to do for years. He said he had to wait until he was old enough.

It all started July 8 when the tech from an internet company out of Grangeville came by to see if their signal would reach us. Mike tied a rope on the 4-wheeler in front of the house and tossed it over the top to the back of the house so that the tech could get on the roof. The signal didn’t reach us, but at least the rope was in place for Mike’s project.

“Maybe we should contact a bricklayer,” I said, hating the very thought of this project.

“No,” said Mike emphatically.

So, he made a trip to Builders Supply in Orofino to get mortar mix, but the stuff they sold him turned out to be for indoor use only. So, he made another trip to Builders Supply to return the first box and get another product. That stuff wasn’t right either.

Meanwhile, he made trips up the ladder at the back of the house to attach a safety rope and build a foot platform with a 4x4 from which to work. He didn’t like that platform, so he sawed a couple of rungs off an old wooden ladder and attached it horizontally.

In town over the weekend, Mike called Home Depot and finally reached an associate who knew something about chimney repair and advised him to use a quick-set high strength mortar. We bought a box, and Monday morning (July 19) the project finally began in earnest. The mortar set up quickly, so Mike had to mix it in small batches, which meant he had to come back down off the roof to re-mix the mortar. I think he did that four times.

I’m happy to say that he finished this project Monday afternoon. I admit I was stressed, but I tried not to let on. I estimate that from start to finish, Mike made 20 trips up that ladder. I made two myself -- once to set the bucket of mortar to rights and again to retrieve a bag of supplies. Repairing the chimney was quite an accomplishment – a real feat.

And then later I looked out the kitchen window to see Mike splitting some of the big pine rounds. He has to break them with a maul before he can run them through the splitter.

“I just wish I had Mike’s energy,” said brother Chuck.

“We all wish we had Mike’s energy,” I replied.

PS -- It's a little cooler -- low 80s instead of 90, and we had a brief rain shower this morning. The smoke was terrible yesterday, but it's clearer today. KW

THE LOST IS FOUND

IN REMEMBRANCE: HARRIET AND BILL REECE

My half-sister Harriet and her husband Bill Reece had this studio portrait taken in 2003 to commemorate their 50^th wedding anniversary. I was the happy recipient of this picture, which I displayed for a while and then tucked into a desk drawer where I keep photos and cards and such. I knew I had this picture.

Yes, I knew I had it, but I couldn’t find it. Now and then, I would look for it, going through that stack of cards and photos time and again. When Bill passed away in 2015, I looked for it. When Harriet passed in 2016, I REALLY wanted it, and once again put real effort into looking for it.

As Mike was preparing the desk for storage in the garage, he removed all the drawers. “Look what I found,” he said, handing me the picture of Harriet and Bill. It had slipped over the top and behind the drawers. Fortunately, it was no worse for wear.

“I’ve been looking for that for years!” I exclaimed.

Now I have it and will store it in a photo box where it won’t slip away, and I also have it on my laptop.

And here are a couple of photos of Harriet and Bill at their wedding reception in the backyard at our parents’ home in Orofino – June 14, 1953. Uncle Porkie took these pictures.

It would have been nice to have posted this a month ago on their wedding anniversary – June 14. However, it didn’t happen, and I don’t want to wait another year because, after all, it doesn’t really matter. It’s nice to remember people whenever we think of them. KW

PLANK'S PITCH, 1957

Plank's Pitch, 1957, taken by Vance Dobson

So, having said in a previous post that my dad didn't take pictures from the road, I opened the photo file from 1957 to discover that he DID, and I think he did a great job of capturing the road as it curves to Plank's Pitch. 

Honestly, this picture makes my heart sing. It almost looks like a painting. The dirt lane curves, evoking a bit of mystery. Where does it go? Off in the distance is a clump of trees (on the left side of the photo), and that's the grove behind the house. You can’t quite see the house yet, but you know now that you’re nearly home. And the wildflowers complete this country scene. 

I tried unsuccessfully to take a picture from the same spot this morning, but my memory of his location was off. I think he was standing in the middle of the road right above the curve. I'll try again one day, but I guarantee it won't be the same. 

And the best thing about it is that I think that's just a great spot, and I can see that he did, too. It's like he's speaking to me. 

It's poignant in another way, too. His mother, Ina, died that spring. She's no longer waiting there at the house. Or is she?

It has been consistently 90 and above on the kitchen porch this month. It seems to me that it hardly ever got to 90 at the farm back in the day, and evenings were generally cool. I do remember that afternoons were hot upstairs, though, so I would take my book and read outside in the shade.

It's cooler by 3-4 degrees today -- hardly worth mentioning. KW

THE FARM, 1950

Photo 1 -- the Old Dobson Homestead

It's hot and sultry today, though there's no rain in the forecast. The clothes I hung out an hour ago are nearly dry. 

Mike and Bess walked around the neighbor's field this morning -- spring wheat. It looks like a loss to us due to drought conditions. We saw two snakes -- a "water snake" and a rattlesnake. We also saw a flock of about 20 geese and watched seven American coots play on Pete's pond. Bess enjoyed a brief swim there to cool off.

Mike went to town on his XT and came back with milk and a few other groceries to keep our meals interesting. 

Now -- to our old photos:

My uncle, Earle Dobson, took these photos in 1950. Again, the color slides have deteriorated. We worry about what will happen to photographs taken in the digital age, but clearly the slides don't have staying power. 

Photo 2 -- house & grounds in 1950

By 1950, the small family farm was in transition, and ours was no exception. I wonder if Uncle Earle knew that these would be the last pictures of the yard as it had been when it was a working farm. I suspect he did. 

Photo 3 -- old house becomes machine shed

By 1950, all livestock was gone. My dad had a small tractor instead of horses, and the old house was made into a machine shed. 

Photo 4 -- hen house

This badly distorted photo actually made a better black & white. The "hen house" was still there when I was a child. My dad would move the garden around here and there -- never the same place twice -- and I remember picking beans and strawberries in that area. Mike says it's still the most fertile area of the yard, and we can guess why.

Photo 5

This wonderful shot was taken from the south back toward the house and yard. There were more trees in those days.

 

Photo 6

And this photo is of the flat to the north of the house. You can see that something is going on in the field. KW

ADDITION INFO / QUESTIONS

Photo 1 -- Is the clump of trees on the left side of this picture the same as Photos 3 & 5 in yesterday's post? The "lane" moving south beyond the present pond is no longer there as a pronounced trail. Also, note the east/west line of trees near the house but outside the yard. Are those fruit trees left over from the old orchard?

Photo 2 -- I wish I could see the yard more clearly.

Photo 3 -- My dad tied a rope swing for me in the pine tree just beyond the house. 

Photo 4 -- Is that a telephone pole? And note that a building is just visible to the right of the hen house. What was it? See the boards sticking up -- bottom left. I think that was the compost area.

Photo 5 -- 

Photo 6 --