My Life Sketch
My life story begins on June 9 1943.
NOTE: Click on any of the pictures to view a larger image!I really do not remember anything about my birth except what my Mother told me.
I was born in Ashton, Fremont, Idaho. I belive it was somewhare on Highland St. I was not born in a hospital, but rather in a house somwhere on the south side of town. My mother had a Mid-Wife.
I was raised on a farm about 9-1/2 miles west of Ashton. This is a farming comunity called Sarilda Idaho
The map to the left shows the locations where i was raised as a child up to the age of around 20.
NOTE MAP 1 AND 2:
#1 - The first house I lived in to the age of seven. -- this was a two room house. A kitchen area and a living room that contained 2 beds. My parents foot of the bed against the head of my bed. and a potbelly stove. It also had an attic.
#2 - The one room Schoolhouse. It is still standing today. My cozen lives in it. It use to have one single classroom and a tiny room for a library and a coat room. It also had a full basement -- Here is a photo of the entire classroom with all eight grades. Can you pick me out of the class?
#3 - Here is the second house where I lived until I was around the age of 20. It has also been burnt to the ground.
#4 - Head-gate of the Sandcreek where the water is diverted into a canal. This is where Me and Ray were playing with the snakes and frogs.
#5 - This is where I was chopping firewood when I lost my right eye.
AGE: Under three years old.
I do remember a bit about my childhood during the first five years of my life. I remember the day that I accidentally destroyed my stomach by eating about 85 Bayer Aspirin.
My brother Ted was still in the crib. So I must have been around two and a half or three years old.
I would put an aspirin in my mouth and say to Ted, YUM, YUM, YUM, good candy. Then I would give Ted one. He would put it in his mouth and then shaking and shuddering and making the funniest faces. He would through the aspirin on the floor. This continued untill I had eaten around 85 aspirin. My mother said it was a full bottle of 100 and she said she found around 15 on the floor.
NOTE: Each aspirin contains about 75% pure acid.
I remember hiding under my bed. My Mother got me out from under the bed and made me drink raw egg and milk
My Mother said that I was up-chucking a lot of blood.
It was late in the evening when my dad got home and took me to the Dr. The Dr said that my heart was beating so fast that they could not count the beats. So since Mom had diluted the aspirin using the raw egg and milk. The Dr. said it would not do any good to pump my stomach. So he just gave me some medicine to slow my heart down and sent me back home.
AGE: Under five years old.
I remember playing in the yard with our little red wagon. We had a trail out through the sagebrush that went past some old mounts (Dear and Elk heads). I use to stop and play around there and then continue past and around the barn, then back along the fence to the east side of the house.
AGE: Under six years old.
I remember one day when all of us boys were outdoors playing. Suddenly a bunch of dogs showed up. They were barking and growling at us so we jumped up in the back of dads old truck. My older brother Wayne told me it was around 5:00 PM then. The dogs stayed there for what seemed like hours, I know it was already dark. We had fallen asleep under a canvas tarp. Wayne said it was around 11:00 PM when we woke up and went in. Don and Wayne were feeding my little brother Joe supper when dad and mom came home.
I know that they both got a whooping because it was so late and no one had eaten.
I remember going to St. Anthony one time before I had started school. Mom was in J C Pennies buying my older brothers school cloths. For some reason this girl kept trying to climb up on the truck bed. I remember my older brother Wayne stepping on her fingers to prevent her from getting up.
I remember having to watch my youngest brother Joe while my mother was busy. Joe would want to go out to play and we had a mean old billy-goat that would chase him back into the house. He would go out the kitchen door and run around the house as fast as his little legs would carry him and in the back door. He thought he was pretty cool outrunning that Billy-Goat.
Speaking of goats. We had one that just loved to chew on the cardboard that was covering a broken window. Mother would have me go out and chase it away. This got old fast so Mother figured out a way to cure the problem. She got this huge old fork and the next time she heard that goat chewing at the cardboard. WHAM. that goat got it stuck in its nose. That was the last time I remember the goat chewing at the cardboard.
AGE: Between three and 6 years old.
I remember going to my Uncle Sam's place many times. He loved to feed me things like fruit. My dad would get mad at me and claim that I over ate. But as an adult I know that was not the case. The facts are that the aspirin I had eaten when I was around three or so had destroyed my stomach. I had to be very careful what I ate. Not much fruit and little spices. My dad would get really mad at me and yell at me for over eating. And he told Uncle Sam to stop feeding me that stuff.
I went to a ONE ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE. Grades one through the eighth grade. The school had electricity but no running water. We did not have a indoor bathroom. The school also had a basement where we could go play in the winter during recess.
The basement was also used to show the old fashioned movies. You know the kind where you had to have a projector and screen. This happened once or twice a year if and when we were lucky enough.
Iras Boman ran in and told Mr. Kunz that I had given his son a bloody nose. His son told him it was an accident and I did not get into I had Mr. Kunz for my second grade. His son did not attend that year. I always wondered what happened to him. So I did not get into trouble.
I remember one time when the Bowman's discovered they did not have candy in there lunch boxes. They insisted that someone had stolen it. So Denis Moon made up the story that he had seen me steal it. ( He claimed that he was watching me through the keyhole from the basement door. That was imposable to see the area where the lunch boxes were kept. ) Well needless to say. my short little legs and arms were not long enough to reach the lunch boxes. Anyway Mr. Kunz took me into the little bookroom and threatened to beat me with a yardstick. Being a child, I was scared of him since he had spanked me with that yard stick before. ( well at least one like it as I use to take them and stick them down my overalls and toss them down the hole in the outhouse. )
When we got home. My brother Ray. He told me that I had to tell dad or he was going to tell him.
My Dad overheard us talking and wanted to know what I was supposed to tell him. Ray told him what had happened and so my dad took me out to the barn. It was dark so he took along an old oil lamp. I told dad that I did not do it. but he went to spanking me anyway and the horse got spooked and kicked the lamp over. Thank the good lord it did not cause a fire or who knows what would have happened.
I remember walking home with him many times. One time we stopped to play. It had stormed a day or so before and for those that have seen mud when it dries up. it will brake into small cake like pieces. We would pretend that we were eating it then throwing it to the ground braking it into smaller pieces.
Mom got worried and came looking for us. If I remember correctly. We most likely got a willow switch used on our backsides.
I remember my very first ride on a motorcycle. It was an old HOG. Mr. Hays would come down the road yodeling at the top of his lungs. As I was walking home from school. He offered me a ride. Them old motorcycles were much larger than they are now. My poor little legs were not long enough to reach the foot rest. As we rode along. I felt myself sliding from one side to the other. Talk about being scared. I held onto him as best as I could, but my arms were not long enough to reach very far around his waste.
Me and Ray were playing at Sandcreek about half way between our house on the corner and where the school stands. ( #4 )
We were playing in the water just below the head-gate where the canal diverted the water for irrigation.
We was playing with water snakes and frogs when suddenly we saw a snake eat one of the frogs.
It was about this time that we had to go home for some lunch. Knowing children as I know them now. We no doubt did not wash our hands.
We took a knife back to the creek with us to open up that nasty old snake to save that poor frogs life. Well we never did find that frog.
Later that afternoon after me and Ray had returned home. Suddenly my legs and arms started hurting so bad I could not stand it. Then Rays arms and legs started hurting and both of us started swelling up. We got one of the worst headaches anyone can imagine. I remember Ray screaming from the pain. I remember telling my mother to make him shut up.
I use to think everything happened in one day. But according to my Mom. We both passed out from the pain. Dad went to town and got the Dr. to come out to the house. The Dr. did not do anything and went back to town. Later sometime the next day, the Dr. arrived for a second time. I remember hearing the Dr. pronouncing Ray dead. I started crying and that is when my mom realized that I had woke up. She told me that about thirty minutes before I woke up. Suddenly I started chocking and she ran over to attend to me. She said that about one and a half cups of yucky green stuff poured out of my nose.
Apparently my skull split open and the bacteria poured out through the sinuses.
The Dr. told my parents to take me to the hospital. I was put in a large ward with around 8 to 10 beds in one room. I was in the same ward where all the adults were kept.
The next day after they had done an autopsy on Ray. They told my parents that he had died from Cerebral Meningitis. So needless to say. I had to be quarantined as was my entire family at home.
They took me into a room by myself and placed me into a crib since that was all they had available. Needless to say. I was not a baby and that did not set well with me at all. I remember climbing out of that crib and hiding from them bad nurses that had put me there.
They found me and put me back in the crib. I remember them taking my tempiture. Seems like about 10 minutes later they wanted to take it again. I told the nurse that another nurse had just taken it. She told me that it did not matter and she had to do it again. Well needless to say. I clamped my mouth tightly shut so she could not get that old thermometer in my mouth. Well it kind of went this way. She came back with about 4 or 5 lother nurses and well, they simply rolled me over and, well you may have guessed it. They stuck that darn thermometer in another cavity. one made for things to come out of not in.
Well needless to say. The next time they wanted to take my temperature. My mouth flew open like a little bird.
Shortly they determined that my Meningitis had turned into Romantic Fever due to all the infection left in my body.
They then started giving me Penicillin every hour on the hour. This was done in my rump. I felt like it was a pin cushion before I got out of the hospital. I believe I was there for at least 2 weeks. Can you imagine being stuck twenty-four times a day for two weeks?
My dad had been having trouble with the Reynolds for some time.
I don't know what there squabble was about.
But Dad thought that one of the Reynolds had poisoned me and Ray.
anyway one of the Reynolds got in his vehicle and backed up into my dad, my dad was standing behind his pickup and he was pushed several feet.
This messed up my dads back.
Reynolds told my dad if he would not sue. He could live in there old house 1/2 mile down the road for FREE.
So we moved that summer to the second house. ( #3 )
Shortly after we moved, I was back in the hospital again with a sever bout with the Romantic Fever.
This left me with a bad heart murmur.
I was told not to play. Just sit around in a chair. This was really hard as a young man needs to be playing with the other kids.
I remember my Grandpa coming several times to visit me while i was in the hospital. He brought me a wooden bear and some metal solders. I still have them today.
One of the nurses brought me two glass dogs.
I remember accidentally braking the tale off of the green dog. My dad then took them away from me and placed them on top of his desk. Some time after that I forgot about owning them and always kept telling myself that I would have them someday when I grew up. ( I got one of the little glass dogs back in 1986 after my mom passed away. The other one was lost in the Teton dam flood in 1976. )
At the age of seven, I had survived two near death experiences.
It was some where around this age that I remember suddenly having these dreams. Most of which I would dream over and over.
I remember going to places and thinking. Hey I have been here before.
AGE: seven, second grade.
I remember Mr. Kunz ( teacher ) ask me if I would like to see some stars. this was of course in the middle of the day and you can't see the stars. Yet he insisted that if I was to look through his coat sleeve I would still be able to see them. Well being a little kid. I fell for his trick.
The next thing I knew he had poured a glass full of water down the sleeve all over my face and down my cloths.
At the time I did not think he was funny at all. But over the years when I was reminded of it. Yes i guess it was funny at that.
Mr. Kunz lived in Montpelier Idaho. He lived in the school cottage. Once in a while he would go back home. He lived in Montpelier Idaho. He had to drive through Soda Springs on his way back to the school.
He would stop there and fill up several jugs of soda water.
This was a special treat for us kids as Mom would buy some Kool-Aid. Add a bit of sugar and wow. We had our own Soda Pop.
AGE: between eight and ten.
During my third, forth and fifth grade, we had a Mrs. Blackburn. ( Remember this name as you will see it later one )
During these years, I remember some funny stuff happening.
The old school where my mom had gone to school was no longer in use as a school. They had already built the new one that I attended. I have no clue when that happened. But anyway the old school house was then being used as a coal and wood house.
There was a hold in the ceiling and we would put a plank in the hole and it would extend out the window to the ground.
All of us kids including the girls would climb up the board into the attic to catch bats.
One time Don ( older brother ) caught one alive and he turned it lose in the classroom.
Mrs. Blackburn was screaming, get it out of here before it makes a nest in her hair. Meanwhile she was covering her head with some book or paper of some kind.
One time Don tossed a dead bat on her desk.
Mrs. Blackburn chopped it to pieces using two rulers she had taken from Dennis Moon and my brother Wayne.
I remember going to the graveside where they had a military funeral service and they did the twenty-one gun solute. Seven guns firing 3 different times.
I went to the one room school house for the first five grades. Most of the small schools in our county were closed and consolidated. So we all went to Ashton to school. I had not learned to read very well and this was really hard. All of these new kids. They treated me like I was an outsider and shunned me like I had the plague. I had a sever dry skin condition due to a bad gene we had inherited from my mothers side of the family. Even though no one knew where it came from. We knew it had come from that side of the family as her sister, my aunt Iola's boys had the same problem. It did not show up in any of the other families though, none of the girls seemed to have the problem. Yet they are the carriers.
It was after dark when my Dad got home. He took me to the hospital in Ashton. The Dr. told him there was nothing he could do and to take me to Idaho Falls to the Sacred-Heart Hospital. My Dad must have really flew down the highway as it was over 50 miles to Idaho Falls. The Dr. could not believe it was us when we got there as they figured it would take at least an hour. It took him just over fifteen or 20 minutes according to the doctor.
They gave me gas to put me to sleep.
I was so sick the next day and was not able to eat a thing.
They then decided that since I could not see much more than light and darkness. I should ware a glass eye over the eye as it looked so ugly.
OUCH. now if you have ever had something like that placed over your eye. Well trust me that hurt like the dickens.
I do not remember how much time had elapsed between the time of the accident and the time I got an infection in my right eye. But the Dr. told my parents that I had to have it completely removed or the infection could spread to my left eye. So I was once again in the hospital. This time they gave me a shot as the gas had made me so ill. When I woke up. The eye was gone and an ugly hole remained.
I was in the hospital for a week or more. When I was released. The Dr. told my parents that I would have to see him each day for two weeks to have a new dressing and medicine. I am sure that I was also getting some Penicillin shots to prevent infection.
NOTE: Idaho Falls has changed a lot since 1955-1956. #1 is aproxamitly where I stayed.
#2 is where my Dr. office is. (It is still there after all these years.)
#3 is a small park on an island created by diverting the river for the powerdam.
#4 is where the dog pack started chacing me.
My Dad took me to stay with some of his friends. As we traveled west past the river bridge and south past the water tower. I told my parents that I had been there before. My dad said no I had not. Knowing I would be backhanded if I insisted I had been. I kept my mouth shut and watched as I passed certain houses I recognized and then into a very long driveway. Having parked in such a spot that I recognized the buildings. I jumped out of the car and was introduced to Dads friend. I immediately went into the house as I knew it from front to back. Walking up to the lady of the house. I pointed to a closed door at the end of the kitchen. I ask her. Is that the bedroom I will be sleeping in. She told me that she had planned to put me in the bedroom with Harry. But if I wanted to sleep in that bedroom. It was ok with her since no one was sleeping in that one.
I had dreamed about that house so many times and the walk from first street to that house so many times that it was like I had been there before.
Over the next two weeks. I had been chased by a pack of dogs just as it had happened in my dreams. I was left alone in that strange house as I had been in my dreams. I played with some kids next door in the same house as I had done in my dreams.
Needless to say. I failed the sixth grade and the kids I had gotten use to moved on to the seventh grade. I once again had to get use to a bunch of strangers. And once again. I was shunned by the other students as though I had some dreaded disease.
Kids made fun of me because I would have to go to school without my artificial eye many times due to the fact I would get a cold in that socket and it would be too painful to ware the artificial eye.
Add the first time i left home and we went to los vegus.
second time i left and met james.
The only classes that I got good grades in were, General Math, Algebra and Shop.
I use to make leather wallets as fast as I could, then sell them.
Math seemed to be a natural for me.
Donna and I had the same teacher for Math and Algebra.
I was seated on the back row and to the north side of the room near the gymnasium. I would be done with the class assignment in 10 to 15 minutes. That left me the rest of the hour to daydream. OR, just scoot across the room to the south side to help my dear friend with her assignments. Of course we would have to whisper back and forth while I was helping her. Suddenly the math teacher (Principal) would discover that I was not seated where I was supposed to be. He would send me back across the room. this would not last long as I would start my slow move back across the room again to help Donna.
The only dating I had done. I had to rely on my dad to drive me to town. This was in St. Anthony where I could walk my lady friend to and from a movie. Or sometimes we would go bowling.
NOTE: My dad was an alcoholic. This is not something I wanted to subject my girlfriends to.
When school got out. I went to work on the farm working for other farmers as my Dad had his farm in soil-bank. (That is where the government paid you to not raise any crops but keep the grounds seeded with grass and not to be used for anything)
Suddenly we saw dads car coming up the road. Me and Ted hurried and got in bed. As Dad came in the house. He yelled hello. I said hello. He yelled hello again. Ted said hello. He yelled hello again. Me and Ted said hello. He suddenly yelled at us to get down stairs. I don't remember if the phone rang before or after he had yelled hello. But he knew something was up as no one said anything on the phone after he said hello. He wanted to know where Joe was. So we had to tell him what had happened. Joe was so scared that he had run close to 4 miles by the time Dad had gone half way back to town.
The next day I went to work just as I had done before.
That evening We saw Joe in town and he told me that he had been beaten and that I was going to get the same when I got home. I took a look at his back. Needless to say. It was bad. So I took him to see the Police in St. Anthony. The police then arrested our dad and charged him with child abuse or something like that.
He spent 3 months in jail and then they transferred him to Blackfoot for 3 months and said it was so he could dry out from all the booze.
The Judge told us that we did not have to take that kind of abuse anymore.
Dad was put on probation and was told he was not to drink in the state of Idaho anymore while on probation.
Dad use to go to West Yellowstone where no one knew him and get drunk.
My older brother Wayne lived there at the time. Not sure what kind of work he was doing then. Me and my two younger brothers along with my Mother had gone with him. Dad got drunk and forgot where he put his keys. He ordered use three out of the back of the jeep and wanted to know which one of us had stolen his keys. Suddenly he hit Joe. I told Joe to run as he did not need to take that kind of abuse anymore. Suddenly my Dad took a swing at me, he missed me but I ran.
The next morning I had my brother drive me back home and I packed my stuff and moved to town.
When Dad found this out. He went to town and bought him a gun. He told Mom that I would move back home or else. (I will leave this to your imagination what he meant).
Mother got really scared and made up the excuse that her heart was bothering her and she had to go to town to see the Dr. She took Joe with her and we went and got Ted.
Remember no one except me has anything but the close on there backs.
Mother said that we had to all leave where Dad could not find us. I took dads car and hid it a few blocks away and the four of us got a bus ticket and went to Los Vegas.
We stayed with a couple cozens. Me and Ted in South Vegas and Mom and Joe in North Vegas.
After about three or four months. Dad had found out where we were and ask us to come home. Mom, Ted and Joe went back home at that time. I stayed as I had a job working at Atlas Steel.
My cozen traded me a car he had overhauled for my rifle with a scope. I drove back to Ashton where I had planned on staying. My dad ask me to come live back on the farm with them. I used my foot to draw an imaginary line. Telling him that if he crossed that line. I would leave again. Everything went well most of the winter. I would be out late at night and would usually eat before going home.
One winter evening we had a really bad snow storm moving in and my Dad ask me to come home early in case he got stuck driving home. Well I went home around 9 pm.
I ask Mom what was for dinner. She told me nothing as she did not know if and when I would be home anymore. So I told her that I would just make me a sandwich and go to bed.
At this time Dad came out of the bedroom and wanted to know what was going on. He was already drunk. (nothing new)
Suddenly he tried to strangle me to death. I panicked and knocked his hands loose from my neck. I told him that was it, I was going to move back into town. I should mention that I had already taken off my shirt and shoes. Dad said the hell you are and turned towards the bedroom where he kept that gun that he had promised my mom he had gotten rid of. I knew I was going to be in trouble if I stayed. So I ran about 1/4 of a mile to the car barefoot in a foot of snow. I went to town to find a friend to see if he would go back with me to get my stuff. Craig was no where to be found. But I was told that perhaps he was with another of his friends down the street.
Craig had introduced me to James Beard once.
Craig was not there so I ask James if he would like to go with me to fetch my belongings.
As we drove the 9 and 1/2 miles west to the farm. I explained to James that my dad had a gun and he may try to scare us with it. He just laughed thinking I was only wanting him to come out and spend the night.
Once I got home. I dressed my feet and got my shirt on and a coat. We then starting packing stuff out to the car. I had driven the car into the yard even though the snow was about a foot deep.
At that time, Dad came out of the bedroom having forgotten that I had been home once. He ask what I was doing. I told him I was moving back into town. He started telling me what I was not going to take. Mainly a black and white TV which had never been used since we did not have any electricity. He told James to put it down. I told James to put it in the car. Dad then struck James in the face braking his glasses. (NOTE: James was a few years younger than me) I grabbed Dad off of James and took him to the floor. As he traveled over my shoulder. I took a full nelson on him and held him till James had loaded the rest of my stuff. I had James take the car to the road and return to let me know it was safely on the road. I turned Dad lose and yelled RUN. James was first off the steps. Me right behind him. Suddenly I realized that James was not with me. His broken glasses had fallen off his face into the snow. I ran back and helped him find the glasses and we ran to the car and drove to town. (later I found out that it took Dad 15 minutes to get to his feet).
Being the kind of man my dad was. He removed his wallet and then removed his money. He then proceeded to call the police and when they arrived he told them that we had robbed him and he wanted us both arrested.
Mom left with the police claiming she was having a problem with her heart. Once she had the police away from Dad. She told the policeman what had happened and of course we were not arrested.
On April 13th of 1965. Dad was drunk as he allways was in the past.
He was sitting on the bed with that pistol loaded and cocked. He was planning on coming to town and shooting me as he thought that I was the cause of Joe wanting to move to town.
According to my Mom. She was begging him to put the gun back under the pillow where he kept it and go to town and get a beer. He yelled who the hell is it pointed at? as he yanked it from his lap and moved his arm back to the right side of him. The sudden jerk of the hand caused the gun to go off. (the trigger had been filed to make it easy to fire) The bullet went upwards from the right going through the right cheek and striking the upper jaw bone on the left side. A fragment severed his spinal cord causing instant death. May 15 1965
Mother called me right away along with the police.
With my Dads burial. That brought to a close one of the worst part of my life.
Since $3,500 was all my mother had to her name unless she was to sell the 500 acear farm.
We were not able to find much of a house in town.
We looked at two or three houses in pretty bad condition.
We finely decided on one on the back street near where I was born.
At least it had a indoor twilit and running water. And of course electricity.
We moved into Ashton on October 31st 1965, Just in time for all the Halloween kids to be knocking on the door while we were trying to get things settled into place. My mom had always wanted a modern kitchen.
The ceilings were eleven or twelve feet high.
I started out by striping the walls . they were done with lath and plaster. Good lord I was wishing I had never started that job.
I employed a carpenter only through the contract that he would make the kitchen cabinets. Give me instructions on the work I was to and he would get Dads old Ford Truck.
I believe my Mom came out on the best end of this deal.
I had to lower the ceiling to eight feet and align the walls. Some of the 2x4 was wider than four inches and some was as narrow as two and three fourths wide.
I shaved the wider ones down and used the laths to build up the others.
Once I had done this I had to learn another skill. Sheetrock.
when I had finished all the Sheetrock and painted the room.
The Cabinet maker came to inspect my work. He said he could not even find one nail or even where the tape was.
I felt pretty proud of myself. And my mother was so proud of me and her brand new modern kitchen.
All of this must have taken place during the spring and summer of 1966.
NOTE: (Today is April 22 2008. So my memory is not the best, and the some of the dates may be off a bit.)
During the early fall of 1966 I injured my shoulder while working For Ivan Crouch in his potato ware house. I was hulling the potato culls to the starch factory. I slipped in the truck bed while unloading the potatoes. (The truck beds are V shaped with a chain link in the center that carries the potatoes out) And the bed was wet and slippery.
I met Debra Gallup October 31 1966 at a Halloween party. (This date I am positive of) I moved to Idaho Falls and worked in another potato warehouse for about 2 or 3 weeks. ( I am not sure if I met Debra before I moved or after I moved ).
I know I was working there when me and my friend Steve Smith heard they were hiring men at a slaughter house in Roberts just north of Idaho Falls Idaho.
I believe I started working at the slaughter house some time in November of 1966
Some time around March of 1966, I had been praying to God and ask him if he would give me Debra as my wife, I would take care of her the rest of her life. On April 21st, Debra ask me to help her run away from home as she was having trouble with her Step-Mother.
I took her over to a friends apartment in Idaho Falls.
Being worried about what was to happen next and my friends asking me what I was going to do now.
I told them I had no clue.
One of the guys told me that I should ask her to marry me and that would solve everything.
So I ask Debra to marry me.
I went to my apartment and left a message knowing that the police would come looking there.
The message read. "Dear Joe. I have gone to Los Vegas with a friend for a few days and will be back."
Of course we did not go south. but we drove to North West to Salmon Idaho and got married April 24 1967. ( Positive date ) May 16th 1967 I told Debbie that I wanted to take her on a Honeymoon to California. Arriving on May 17th which turned out to be my Grandmothers birthday. ( positive date ) We stayed with my Brother Wayne for about 3 months.
Meanwhile I found a Job working for Hyake's Flower Shop makings artificial flowers.
David was born September 16 1968
#--- Ray hit me in the head with a old wagon wheel hub ring. #1 Bought moms house in town = Fall of 1965
#2 Worked for Ivan Crouch = from 1963 till 1966
#3 Hurt my sholder = fall or winter of 1966-67
#4 Moved with a friend to Idaho Falls = winter of 1966-67
#5 Worked in a slughter house = 2inter of 1966-67
#6 Oct 31st 1966 Met my Wife
#7 We elloped and was married on April 24th 1967
#8 Moved to California = May 17th 1967
#9 David is born September 16th 1968
#-------- Moved to 1 bedroom house 13602-1/2 Doty Ave. Hawthorne, California #10 Brian is born August 8th 1970
#--------- Moved to 13604 Doty Ave. Hawthorne, California #11 Stomach surgery = in the summber of 1974, about 3 or 4 months befor Brenda was born
#12 Brenda is born Oct ? 1974
#13 Stacey is born = Febury 13th 1980
#14 Moved to the house on Lemoli , 13636 Lemoli Avenue, Hawthorne, this was in 1984.
#15 Wife had a stroke in 1993
#16 Wife died 2006
#----- Me and Stacey took a trip around the first week of April, 2007 to Oregon to find a place to rent, Not finding one we looked at property for sale. Found a 4 bedroom house and paid cash for it just about 6 hours after viewing the house. #----- We left California on April 25th 2007 at 5pm. #17 Moved to Oregon City. We arived at my brothers place in Silverton Oregon on the evening April 26th 2007
Since my brother and his wife were volentering at some food bank. We borrowed 2 air-mattresses and stayed or first night in the house on April 29th. Our belongings did not arive untill May 3rd.
#18 During the few days i was waiting for our belongings. I bought the new beds and couchs and the washer and drier.
#19 Over the first year. I had a deck built on the front of the house. and I made a lot of change to the yard nearest the street. transforming it with a bunch of shrubs and then adding some flowers in pots.
#20 Debbies faviorite flower was the Yellow Rose. So we agreed to get a miniture rose bush.