Melissa: Hey, Pioneers. Welcome to episode #312. Today's episode is a very special episode because I am bringing my dad back on to the podcast. But this is from the video that I just released very recently on YouTube that many of you have caught. It's quickly becoming (laughs) one of most popular videos for a good reason.
Melissa: So this is where I actually got my dad to come on camera, which I have been trying to do, I'm not kidding, for years. But this is Great Depression-era living, including towards the end, lost off-grid preservation technique for green beans. So this actually lends itself very well to audio, which is obviously this podcast format.
Melissa: But if you wanna actually see the homestead house where my dad grew up, then you're gonna wanna make sure that you head over and check out the video. So you can go to the blog post that accompanies this episode, and the video is actually embedded in there. You can go to melissaknorris.com/312, the number 312, so just numerical there, melissaknorris.com/312 'cause this is Episode 312 where you can actually watch that video.
Melissa: Now, if you have been a podcast listener for a while, thank you very much, but you may have already listened to an episode with my dad. I have my dad on the podcast, it's actually been years ago now, but he did come on and do a podcast episode with me. And so if you wanna hear that one, he tells different stories. I asked him some different questions, um, and that type of thing than what you're gonna hear on this one.
Melissa: So this is definitely not a repeat, um, though he may talk about a few of the same things. But episode #81, oh, my goodness, you guys, episode 81 was that past episode where he was on. I cannot believe it's been that many episodes ago. Wow. Well, time certainly does fly.
Melissa: But I just wanted to let you know as you're listening to this episode, that it did come from the video in case there's some places where you're like, "What?" Uh, because we're talking about something specific that is in the video. Though we did our best to edit this so that it would flow very nicely, as you may be listening to it obviously as a podcast episode.
Melissa: But I have to say out of all the videos and the content that I created, aside from that previous episode that I did with my dad, I feel like this is the most important video or the most special video that I have ever done and probably likely ever will, um, on a personal level because it's my father. But not just because of that, but because we are preserving firsthand accounts from that era where a lot of that information and the stories have been lost from the firsthand accounts.
Melissa: And one of the most touching things was how many of you watched this video and told ... I'm gonna try not to cry. (laughs) You can hear it in my ... I can feel myself. I can feel tears coming to my eyes. But how many of you watched this video and you were as touched as I was, even though it's- it's not your dad, and it's not your family's history. Because so many of you, it brought you back to people and times that you have lost or they have- have passed on. And so this episode was not only a bridge to my past and history, but for many of you it was a bridge to your past and your history as well.
Melissa: And so just for all of you who sent me messages and told me how much it touched you and how many of you told that it brought tears to your eyes, just know that I felt the very same way. In fact, when I got done filming this video, I actually came back to the house and I cried in a good way and a happy way.
Melissa: Because I knew ... Not knowing, and I, and, you know, I still don't; I have no idea how many people this will end up touching or watching it, but I just knew that we had just captured something very special. So without further ado, I want to share that with you.
Melissa: So my dad was born during the Great Depression. He was a child during the Great Depression, but it really didn't change the way that his family and the way that he grew up even after the Depression ended. They were still fairly poor and had to depend upon everything that they put up themselves and raised in order to eat.
Melissa: And I have wanted to get my dad to come on camera to share his stories first person with you guys rather than just through me, and a few years back was able to get him to come on the podcast. But I've not been been able to get him to come on video. He is, um, (laughs) ...
Melissa: He doesn't use computers. He doesn't use a smartphone. He is as old-fashioned as you can get, but I finally got him to agree that we could go on video. So I'm hoping that once he sees the cameras, he still lets us get this on video, so I'm on my way.
Melissa: We're gonna go pick him up and take him over to the original homestead that he lived at as a kid. Except we have to see that the creek isn't too high 'cause we've had a lot of rain, and that it's actually passable. So I'm hoping, one, he'll come on camera with us, and, two, that we can get over there.
Melissa: So we've always called the place the homestead.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. So what year did you guys ... Be- because when you first came here from North Carolina, right, with Grandpa and Grandma, you guys didn't first come to the homestead, right? Didn't you guys go somewhere else at the very beginning?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, we lived at Marblemount for quite a, or a year or so.
Melissa: For a little bit. And then during the war, weren't you, wasn't Grandpa at a mill that he had to stay at? Was that down at, around Mount Rainier?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah? And so that was during World War II that he had to stay there, and if he did then he wouldn't get drafted in? Is that right?
Tommy (Dad): Right.
Melissa: About how long were you guys down there?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, probably a couple of year. I went to school down there. I started to school down there in, uh, when I was, uh, six years old.
Melissa: So once the war ended, then you guys came back up here and you settled at the homestead where we're going right now.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Yeah. And I used to walk from the homestead to Rockport to go to school.
Melissa: That's a long ways. Do you know how many ... How many miles do you think that is?
Tommy (Dad): It's about three miles.
Melissa: About three miles?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: And how many miles ... How far back do you think the house is from the road right here on the gravel road? How far do you think that is?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, it's close to a mile.
Melissa: Is about a mile?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. So when you guys first moved in here, was that highway even here or was that just a small little road?
Tommy (Dad): No. No, no. It was just a ... Seattle City Light, uh, called it the transmission line or ...
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): From Rockport. They only had three wires, cable, on the wooden, uh, posts that- that went to Seattle.
Melissa: Oh, wow. And Seattle from here is about, oh, it's about two hours. I'm not sure how many miles it is.
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah.
Melissa: But it's about a good two-hour drive.
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah.
Melissa: There wasn't even the bridge. It was just the ferry at, until ...
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: 'Cause the bridge didn't come in until quite a ways later.
Tommy (Dad): '61.
Melissa: Is when the bridge was put in? So prior to that it was all just on the ferry.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. I used to run the ferry there. And then I drove a- a gravel truck for the County for s- eight hours, and then I run the ferry till midnight.
Melissa: You didn't get much sleep back in the day, did ya?
Tommy (Dad): No.
Melissa: No?
Tommy (Dad): You had to do a little bit of everything to make ends meet then.
Melissa: Am I remembering right? When I was ... Didn't you say when you were little and there was the other families living out here that you had a little, you opened a little store or something out here?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. It was set right up on the bank there.
Melissa: And so what'd you ... How old were you then?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, I was about 14, 15.
Melissa: So you've always been an entrepreneur.
Tommy (Dad): (laughs)
Melissa: So what did you have in your store?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, a little bit of everything.
Melissa: Was just a-
Tommy (Dad): Candy mostly. Pop.
Melissa: (laughs) So did you just buy it from the other store, and then you just would sell it here?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, they give me a special price.
Melissa: Oh, you were a charmer too. So you charmed the store to get it at wholesale, and then you sold it he- over here, huh?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. They, at one time they was one, two, seven families lived in here.
Melissa: Now, did they own all pieces of the land?
Tommy (Dad): No.
Melissa: And then Grandpa bought the land from them later? Or he just ...
Tommy (Dad): No.
Melissa: Grandpa owned the land and then they had- had that land?
Tommy (Dad): Well, uh, your, uh, great-grandpa, er, gra- uh, great-grandpa, he, yeah, never owned any land in here.
Melissa: Oh.
Tommy (Dad): No.
Melissa: So who owned it? It was just like a leasing agreement or rent or how did that work?
Tommy (Dad): It was, uh, squatters.
Melissa: Really?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Oh. I did not know that.
Tommy (Dad): And then I, uh, uh, had, uh, surveyed 40 acres all the way around here, all around this property here.
Melissa: Oh.
Tommy (Dad): And then I finally got a deed for it.
Melissa: Wow.
Tommy (Dad): You can go on the upper end if you want.
Melissa: Wanna go ... And then we'll just circle back to the house?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Okay. So when all the other families were living over here back in the day, did you guys just kinda like help- help one another? Or everybody just kinda had their own garden and their own livestock? Or did you guys share resources? Or how did that work?
Tommy (Dad): Well, like when we lived here, they was a Chapin cabin which I'll show you where it stood. And, uh, that was the ... And then there was the honeymoon cabin that was behind us back there.
Melissa: Okay.
Tommy (Dad): Where you took a left.
Melissa: As we went awen- where, right, it would've been over there?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Yeah. And then right on the, just back of that little tree right there.
Melissa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Tommy (Dad): That little apple tree, uh, that's where the Chapin cabin, uh, was built, and it was seven-and-a-half-foot logs stood on end.
Melissa: Oh, really? Instead of being laying down horizontal they were upright?
Tommy (Dad): Right.
Melissa: Wow. Now, was that ... Did they build that while you were here or when you guys came here it was already built?
Tommy (Dad): No, it was already built.
Melissa: It was already there.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: And that was right here on the knoll right behind the tree?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Right where those ferns are.
Melissa: Now, were there other houses out here?
Tommy (Dad): No.
Melissa: Or was the Chapin one the furthest one out?
Tommy (Dad): They was one, two, three, four, five, six, seven houses that, uh, was occupied before we moved in.
Melissa: Okay. So when, by the time you guys moved in here at the homestead house, how many of those homes were there still people living in when you guys lived here?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, about three.
Melissa: Okay. So like the Chapin cabin was one?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. Now, with the way that the river's changed since then, has the river moved this way? Or was this about the way it was back then that you had all of this forest and stuff?
Tommy (Dad): No, it's moved this way.
Melissa: So you, there was actually more area to hunt than there is now.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: On this piece.
Tommy (Dad): Then you'll take a left here.
Melissa: Left?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Okay. Well, back then didn't- didn't Grandpa like during the winter months ... Like, trapping was still a trade at that time, right, when you were little? Did Grandpa do trapping?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Him and Ralph, er, uh, Buchanan, they, uh, walked in. It was a nine-mile walk into Illabot Lake, and they went up there and trapped marten.
Melissa: Wow.
Tommy (Dad): A good pelt, uh, then on marten, uh, would bring about 80 bucks.
Melissa: Wow. Really?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Well, that was some good money back then.
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah.
Melissa: I mean, 80 bucks still isn't something to sneeze at, but back then that go- I don't even know what the equivalent would've been. Well, aside from the hunting and Grandpa doing the trapping, what ... Did you guys do very much like foraging or wild harvest? Like getting food from the forest? Or was it more just what you cultivated in the garden?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, we raised, uh, three or four pigs a year, and, uh, we had, like I sa- told you before, we had four or five milk cows and we staged them so we'd have fresh milk all the time.
Melissa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Tommy (Dad): And then we raised our own beef. We had a locker in Rockport, and you could rent a- a, oh, a little space about, oh, 4 x 3, and, uh, that's where you kept your meat.
Melissa: So you could actually just rent refrigerator space in a cooler locker at ...
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Was it part of the general store or a different ...
Tommy (Dad): No, no.
Melissa: Or was there power on this side of the river at that point?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Just not to every ... Everybody just didn't have it yet.
Tommy (Dad): Right. It went up the Marten Road there.
Melissa: Okay. And so then if you were further out than that, you didn't have- have access to it.
Tommy (Dad): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Things were quite a bit different then.
Melissa: Do you think for- for better or worse or just different?
Tommy (Dad): Well, I think it was for better. It was a hard times then. I can remember when Dad, uh, he worked for about five or six bucks a- a day.
Melissa: A day.
Tommy (Dad): A day.
Melissa: So that's less than a buck an hour.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. Well, you guys back then because you said you had ... Didn't ... You guys had chickens too, didn't you?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah.
Melissa: Big chicken coop?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. We basically raised everything we ate, except salt, sugar, stuff like that.
Melissa: Yeah. So now, did you ... Did Grandma grind her own cornmeal from the corn? 'Cause I know Grandma did a lot-
Tommy (Dad): No.
Melissa: ... more with cornmeal and cornbread. She'd somewhat flour biscuits and whatnot, but she didn't really make a lot of bread itself.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: So you ... She did buy the flour and cornmeal too then.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. And she would not use yellow cornmeal. She said that was cow feed.
Melissa: (laughs) So she'd only use the white?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. Boy, went Grandma had her mind set on something, that was that. So the house never, this house never has had electricity other than there's a little bit of way we could hook up to a battery, right?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Yeah, you could, uh, put a generator right on those wires and light that. But you'd have to change the, uh, bulbs in the ... See, it's got DC bulbs in it now.
Melissa: Okay.
Tommy (Dad): And, uh, I had it fixed at one time so you could just pull in and plug in to the front of the car.
Melissa: To go off the battery.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. So it, yeah. There didn't, there's never been any electricity lines out here then.
Tommy (Dad): Uh, the County says it was built back in the, uh, 1900.
Melissa: Oh, okay. So it's 120 years old.
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah.
Melissa: There's not many of them around here still standing.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. I'd put the metal roof on it.
Melissa: So originally it had shake, a shake roof on it?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. See, uh, and then the, uh, right over the hill there, uh, there was a- a hole dug and Dad fixed it up pretty good. It was water, and it was about so deep. And that's where Mom kept the milk.
Melissa: Was right over this hill here?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: So it's kind of like a little springhouse then, like a dugout springhouse 'cause it had the water in there.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah, that's right.
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Is it locked?
Tommy (Dad): No.
Melissa: No? We can go on in?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, you can go in.
Melissa: Well, she doesn't even stick. Pretty smooth opening.
Tommy (Dad): (laughs) Huh?
Melissa: I said, "She opened pretty smooth."
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. So was the- the woodstove always right here? I mean, there's ...
Tommy (Dad): No. Uh, the-
Melissa: Where- where was that originally?
Tommy (Dad): ... The chimney that's there was right about here, and this was a bedroom.
Melissa: Oh.
Tommy (Dad): And then they were three bedrooms, uh, going in ... I put that door in.
Melissa: You did?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: So where originally, how did you enter into that bedroom?
Tommy (Dad): Uh, you had a door in the kitchen there.
Melissa: That went into there instead?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa: Okay. So then that part you opened up to be as part of the living room later.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Right.
Melissa: Okay.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah, and then, uh, there was two bedrooms upstairs. Well, actually, one. It was all-
Melissa: It was kind of like the main, uh, a main attic there?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. So the wood- then originally the woodstove went right here, so this was just the living room part.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: 'Cause that was a bedroom, and then there was this part.
Tommy (Dad): Well, at one time this was the kitchen.
Melissa: Oh!
Tommy (Dad): And then, uh, Dad changed it 'cause Mom, she got tired of people coming through the kitchen to get to the living room.
Melissa: Oh, okay. So then you guys flipped it.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa: I see. I didn't know that. Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): Oh?
Melissa: I'm getting a good history lesson here.
Tommy (Dad): Hmm.
Melissa: If I ever get my house plumbed for propane instead of electricity, I think this stove would look really good in my kitchen.
Tommy (Dad): Mmm.
Melissa: Don't you think?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Probably would.
Melissa: Probably would. Probably look pretty good. I got that on camera. That's on record, y'all, so ...
Tommy (Dad): (laughing)
Melissa: So did they have to put the chimney in or there was already a chimney back here?
Tommy (Dad): No, that was already here.
Melissa: Okay. 'Cause though they already had two- two stoves for the house.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. Grandma did all the cooking on a woodstove? Or did you have ...
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. It was a-
Melissa: Yeah. Everything was done by [crosstalk 00:19:08].
Tommy (Dad): ... She had a big, uh, stove. It was called, uh, Kalamazoo.
Melissa: Oh, really?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. And it had a 10-gallon water tank on it.
Melissa: Oh. So that was what ... How you- you could just heat your water from right there?
Tommy (Dad): And that's what we took a bath in.
Melissa: Was from that 10 gallons of hot water?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. So ...
Melissa: And wasn't that your chore? That was your chore, you kids, is to have all the kindling and stuff ready for Grandma in the morning to cook with?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah. We had to carry the wood in.
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): Which was through that door.
Melissa: Now, when you were growing up, obviously you guys didn't have television here.
Tommy (Dad): No.
Melissa: 'Cause there's no electricity. But you did listen to the radio, right? So that was kinda your only form of entertainment was- was that.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Or just your imagination? Right?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah, the Lone Ranger and different ones.
Melissa: The Lone Ranger?
Tommy (Dad): Old Tonto. (laughs)
Melissa: Yeah?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. They, uh ...
Melissa: Did Grandpa have, did you just listen to it by battery? Was just battery operated 'cause there wasn't electricity at all.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. No.
Melissa: Yeah. So it was just battery operated. So you probably only turned it on, right, when you knew a specific show was coming on, for the most part to conserve the batteries?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Well, we got about, oh, half hour in the evening we could listen to the radio.
Melissa: Yeah. Hear that Landon? Half hour of entertainment only.
Landon: 'Cause it ran on batteries.
Tommy (Dad): (laughing)
Melissa: He's not in agreement with this. I think that was pretty good. (laughs)
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, one time, uh, Dad didn't come home, and he was, he was, uh ... Mom said, uh, she come in. That was my bedroom in there.
Melissa: That one was? That room?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah, and Mom's was right there. They was a door right there that went through. And, uh, she said, uh, "Your dad didn't come home last night." And, uh, I said, "Well, what- what does that mean?" "Well," she said, uh, "your horse didn't come home either." So I went out looking for it, and they was probably two foot of snow on the ground.
Melissa: Oh.
Tommy (Dad): And, uh, I got out to where the highway, uh, 530 is now. I could see something black down there, and, uh, course they was, like I said, two foot of snow. And I kind of, I knew enough that, uh, bears and stuff did not come out in, uh, wintertime. They hibernate.
Tommy (Dad): So, uh, I- I kept looking down there, and then I got brave enough till walk on down the, uh, little gravel road to see what it was. And Dad had got the horse down, and it was curled around him. So, uh, I got him up and, uh, I- I finally got him to walk home.
Melissa: Got the horse to come home?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: So the horse curled around him is what saved him because he got the horse [crosstalk 00:22:25] and-
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah. He was just as warm as could be.
Melissa: Wow.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): And the wind blowing over top of him, and he was sitting curled up re- uh, r-right on the belly of that horse.
Melissa: Right. Yeah. Yeah. How old were you then? Remember?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, I probably was 12, 14.
Melissa: Yeah?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Is it still solid enough to go up the stairs upstairs? Or not?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, you probably could.
Melissa: Yes.
Tommy (Dad): All you gotta do is open the door and go up there.
Melissa: So your bedroom was downstairs here for the most part that-
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah?
Tommy (Dad): And Mom, she kept boarders here. And they slept upstairs.
Melissa: Oh. So that was the way she made extra income was that she, people came and boarded here?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. Is there where you guys hung the leather britches? For the fall for the beans? Or was that downstairs?
Tommy (Dad): It was downstairs.
Melissa: Was downstairs. So this was just pretty much bedroom space or if you had boarders for sleeping.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. They was a- a bedroom, I mean, a bed here and then one on that end.
Melissa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Tommy (Dad): That's where the guys slept.
Melissa: Oh.
Tommy (Dad): It's hard to believe that, uh, we lived in here. (laughs)
Melissa: Yeah. Where did Grandma store all the canned goods, like when you guys put up all the food for the winter?
Tommy (Dad): Well, that was a rent house out there.
Melissa: Oh, this was?
Tommy (Dad): And there was ties all the way around like, uh, on that wall?
Melissa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Tommy (Dad): And, uh, then, uh, they was ties across the front here. And the, uh, windows, double-pane windows was, uh, on the opening out there.
Melissa: So that's where she kept all of the- the food at then.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: The majority of it. Gotcha.
Tommy (Dad): See, that's cement in there.
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): Cement floor.
Melissa: Okay. So that was the, that was the storehouse.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Now, I know Grandma did some canning, but you said one of the main ways that you guys preserved the green beans was doing leather britches. Right?
Tommy (Dad): No. Yeah.
Melissa: Or one of the ways? Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. And then she canned a lot.
Melissa: Yeah. So for people who don't know, what's a leather britch?
Tommy (Dad): Well, you, uh, pick the- the green beans and then you- you strung them, and then you put, uh, took a- a needle and a- a long thread and, uh, you, uh, run the needle through the beans.
Melissa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Tommy (Dad): And, uh, then you hung 'em up and dried 'em. And then when the, in the wintertime, uh, you soaked them and they would almost come back to the original color. And, uh, that's what they call leather britches because they were kinda chewy.
Melissa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Tommy (Dad): And which had a pretty good flavor.
Melissa: Yeah. So did Grandma just string 'em up over, like over the- the stove areas where the heat would rise to help 'em dry faster?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. So it's kinda like a bean garland, basically.
Tommy (Dad): Pardon?
Melissa: It's like a bean garland.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. And just dr- dried that way. Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah.
Melissa: So where outside, where was the garden spot then from that?
Tommy (Dad): Right over there.
Melissa: Just right out the front?
Tommy (Dad): Right across the road.
Melissa: Oh. It was over across the road in the field?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. But see, uh, when this house was, cabin was built, it was only come to right about here.
Melissa: It did?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: And then that part was added on?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. And I didn't know that until, uh ... See, the- the door used to be here? See that?
Melissa: Yeah. I see that.
Tommy (Dad): Goes all the way down.
Melissa: Oh, yeah. Yeah, I do, actually. Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Huh. Who built that on then? It ... 'Cause it was before you guys came here it was built back on.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. You guys didn't add it on.
Tommy (Dad): And they used to be a window right there.
Melissa: Hmm.
Tommy (Dad): And Dad, he, uh, later changed it.
Melissa: Yeah. Sure is peaceful.
Tommy (Dad): And- and if you gotta go to the bathroom, you use that little house right there. (laughs)
Melissa: What'd you guys use for toilet paper?
Tommy (Dad): Uh, catalogs.
Melissa: (laughing)
Tommy (Dad): Sears and Roebuck.
Melissa: Nobody's wanted advertisem*nt for a year. Nothing's changed. (laughs) The Sears Roebuck catalog was-
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Was it? Yeah? Yeah. So there was no toilet paper shortages.
Tommy (Dad): Uh, Montgomery Wards too.
Melissa: Yeah. (laughing) That's funny.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. It's a lot different now.
Melissa: Yeah?
Tommy (Dad): Life. And, uh, it's easier right now. Russ Taylor and I was talking the other days, and he's two years older than I am. And, uh, he said, uh, they never owned a- a car until he was, oh, 20, 25 years old.
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): They just had horses.
Melissa: They just had the horses?
Tommy (Dad): Yeah.
Melissa: Did- did you guys have a vehicle? Or just a horse? When you were growing up, must've just been a horse.
Tommy (Dad): Well, we had horses to start with.
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): And then Dad, uh, he had a '29 Chevy and, uh, then he upgraded there and, uh, had a- a '31 Model A sedan.
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): Boy, we thought we was really going to town. (laughs)
Melissa: You got your upclass then? Yeah?
Tommy (Dad): Oh, yeah. And then he got a '41 Chevy five-passenger coupe, and I've always wanted one. And I would buy one today if I-
Melissa: If you come across 'em?
Tommy (Dad): Look at that.
Melissa: Cottonwood.
Tommy (Dad): Cottonwood.
Melissa: Uh, looks like it's snowing.
Tommy (Dad): And, uh, yeah. I would buy one even today.
Melissa: Yeah. Well, when you guys had the horses, did you have a wagon then? Or did you just ride the horse if you had to go somewhere? But if it was the family, you guys just walked?
Tommy (Dad): Uh, no, we rode the horse.
Melissa: Just rode the horse.
Tommy (Dad): Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): We usually had a team.
Melissa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Tommy (Dad): Bess and- and Bob-
Melissa: Yeah.
Tommy (Dad): ... was the horses' name. Yeah, it was a- a different time.
Melissa: Yeah. You miss it?
Tommy (Dad): Uh, it was hard work.
Melissa: Well, I hope that you enjoyed that (laughs) episode, uh, as much as I did. And I want you to know that I am working on my dad to come back and be on camera and do a few more videos. So we shall see if he does so.
Melissa: I wanted to share with you a verse of the week. So this is from Proverbs, and it's Proverbs 16:16: "How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver?" I thought this was a very appropriate verse, being as we have talked about the Great Depression and the war and times where people didn't have very much money or a lot of material things, but how they still had a very good life.
Melissa: And I feel like in this world, there is a lot of information that is shared, but there's not nearly as much wisdom that is gained or shared with that knowledge. I mean, we have knowledge at our fingertips like no other time in history, honestly, with- with the internet, right? But unfortunately, it seems that we have less people who are exercising wisdom with that knowledge.
Melissa: Now, of course, (laughs) I would like to think that if you're listening to this podcast and myself, that that is not true of us. But I also wanna take a moment to reflect and gain that wisdom and insight from others who have went through and experienced a lot more than I have, my dad being one of those people, people from that generation.
Melissa: And so I leave that with you, and I thank you for sharing these moments and stories right along with me. And I look forward to being here back here with you next week, so blessings and Mason jars for now, my friends.
