Cows & Horses

Farm animals have, and continue to be, an integral part of island life. Looking through my family's collection of photos, I notice they appear in quite a few...sometimes with people, and other times by themselves. Here's a selection of the first kind. Enjoy! 

My grandma is the little girl on the wagon

 

My grandma's brother, Eldon, in 1945

My grandma, with her brother Eldon, and father Gunder

Here's my grandma, Marie Boe, years later...milking cows on her own farm!

English Camp Blockhouse & Shed

Since I recently posted the images of English Camp from the 60s, I thought I'd add in one more, from way further back. This one is undated, but quite old...notice the shed, and how different the area around the blockhouse looks. This photograph is large and matted, just as some of my others of iconic island places are.

Doe Bay Postcard 1945

Here's a wonderful postcard of a cabin at Doe Bay, on Orcas Island. It's addressed to my great grandma, from her friend Francel. The back reads, "Wed. a.m. Dear Adah, We are having such a nice time, just the four of us. Wish you could come and spend the day with us. The men caught a nice silver this morning, so we are going to have fried salmon for Peg and Al's anniversary today. It is so pretty here, and so much activity on the water all day. We are just enjoying ourselves reading and doing a little cross stitch. Wish I had a sweater started tho. See you soon after we get home. Isn't our cabin cute? Love, Francel." The card is postmarked August 1st, 1945...67 years ago, today.

San Juan County Fair Books 1967 & 1971

Since the fair is coming right up, I thought it would be fun to show two of the fair premium books from the past; from the years 1967 and 1971. It's interesting to read about some of the things that were done during the fair back then, such as the 4-H knitting activity. Any 4-H member enrolled in a knitting project could participate, and they had 3 hours (with a 15 minute rest period) in which to make a pot holder or TV slipper. The premium book assures that "a knitting area will be set up with rocking chairs, ample working area and good lighting for each girl." The book suggests that the girls "wear a school dress or slacks that do not collect lint."

It's also fun, for me, to see how many departments and contests my grandma was a superintendent in; dairy foods, bread making, meal preparation, knitting...she was an integral part of 4-H at the fair!

One more important thing to notice is that the fair only lasted 3 days during those years. Now we get a total of 4...gives everyone plenty of time to eat elephant ears and take a look at all those amazing entries!