6 - Events
6 - Events
Embedded Files
I remember when Pangborn and Herndon flew across the Pacific (from Japan) and landed in Wenatchee at Fancher Field. It really put our town on the map.
Miss Veedol documentary by Voortex Productions
In those days the circus traveled by train and when they dad to feed the animals they would stop have a parade put on two shows feed the animals then off to the next town. It was always a three ring with a wild west shows and an animal act. The one I remember was Clyde Beatty’s wild animals (cats and lions and tigers with clowns. Each year we had an Apple Blossom Festival all the school kids would dress up in crepe paper costumes and march on Friday. Then the big parade would take place on Saturday. It was always a big affair with a pageant and crowning of the Queen by the Governor. They always had a carnival down by the train depot (railroad tracks). If you could scrape up $5.00 you could ride on most everything. It was always held on or about the first weekend in May and in all the years I only remember it raining once the day of the big parade. In those days apple trees were everywhere. Now you can hardly find an apple tree. Most orchards have been cut down. Replanted out of town and now there are houses where the apple trees were. When I was little Wenatchee had the only bridge across the Columbia River everyplace else had to use ferryboats.
Excellent article by Bill Layman about Rock Island, the dam and its petroglyphs. Features a petroglyph photo by Dr. Russell Congdon.
In 1929 the Rock Island Dam was completed just South of Wenatchee to supply electricity for the Great Northern Railroad. In 1932 President Roosevelt had them start Grand Coulee to supply electricity and water to irrigate the Columbia Basin. It was a giant work program to help the country recover from the depression. More dams were built one about every sixteen miles to control water flow and to make power to run industry. Grand Coulee was completed in time to power the industry that was needed for World War II. Now we have Grand Coulee, Bridgeport, Rocky Reach, Wells, Rock Island, Wanapum and Bonneville plus a couple of more. I don’t know what will happen if they decide to take the dams out as we are short of power now at times. I've seen a lot of changes from ferry’s on the river, one bridge across the river now we use it for foot traffic and two car bridges one at the north and one at the south. The railroad doesn’t handle the bulk of traffic like it used to now we have trucks hauling food fruit and most everything else. Airplanes fly in and out about six times a day.
After Dad died mother was able to keep the family together, Helen, Don, Maxine and myself. Louise got married as well as Ruby. Howard and Albert worked in the wheat when it needed harvesting. Everyone helped as they could. I sold magazines door to door till I was big enough to caddy at the golf course. We made seventy-five cents for eighteen holes of golf. Double that if you could carry two bags. Plus go another eighteen holes in the evening on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). I did this till I was old enough to work in the fruit sheds, which I did till I had finished high school. One day I really lived it up and worked eighteen holes took my seventy-five cents went up to the airport. Invested in an airplane ride. It was an old Tri-Motor Ford airplane. Boy was that ever a real thrill. Then I went back to the golf course and carried doubles (two bags) for another eighteen holes.
Until about 1938 we never had electricity so on Christmas our tree had candles. Now this was or could have been a real hazard. But we were able to never have any thing happen, but always had to be careful.
After Howard finished working on the dam he went to Alaska to work. He owned a model T Ford and he left it at our house. When I turned fifteen and a half I got a driver’s license so I was able to have wheels. Gas cost about eight cents a gallon in those days. About the time I started high school I got a job in a service station pumping gas. But I could make more working the apple sheds. I worked for Fruit Growers Service and I would go to school then down to the shed to load cars, cherries, apples, pears, peaches, whatever as long as I could make a few bucks.
In 1940 when the government was gearing up for what ever, they sent the National Guard from California up to Wenatchee to train in the summer. They camped out in Pioneer Park and had the mess hall set up there. During the day they would go to Moses Lake and fire their artillery pieces. Bob came home one day and found his greeting in the mailbox. Instead of opening it he went over and enlisted in the Coastal Artillery Battery in Wenatchee. As long as you hadn’t been drafted they would let you join. He told them he hadn’t seen his draft notice yet so he was in. They went to Fort Lewis and trained some then was shipped to Sitka Alaska where he stayed till 1944 before being sent back to the lower 48. His reassignment as they decided they didn’t need coast artillery anymore. When Pearl Harbor occurred I had spent the day rabbit hunting. Didn’t hear about it till about seven in the evening.
The Wenatchee Valley 1-Family Matters 2-The Family Farm 3-When I Was A Boy 4-Olden Days Travel 5-Growing Up and Winter Sports <Previous 6-Events
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse