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!

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!

English Camp 1960s

Here are six photos from the 1960s, of English Camp, on San Juan Island. Notice that the Barracks and the Blockhouse were in much need of repair, which occurred in 1970.

Postcard from Dolphin

Dolphin Bay was a settlement on Orcas Island, founded by Freeman Iotte. It eventually became a community, in the early 1900s, that even had its own school and post office. Freeman Iotte was the father-in-law of my great-great-grandpa's daughter, Mary Emma. Freeman and Mary Emma are buried next to each other on Orcas Island.

The postcard was sent July 26, 1916. Mary Emma tells her father (my great-great grandpa), and sister Ada (my great grandma), that they are all well and have been picking berries and selling soap. She tells that her daughters Goldia and Myrtle are doing fine, and that it has done nothing but rain for the past two weeks.

I love these types of artifacts; little bits of history that give insight into what the lives of those who went before us were like. It's especially interesting living in the same area as they did. People often comment about the remoteness of the islands in this day and age, yet imagine what it was like in the little community of Dolphin, in 1916!

American Camp

Here are two wonderful images of islanders posing next to the monument at American Camp. The top one is undated, and the bottom one is dated March 25 1923.

Friday Harbor Class Photos 1939-1940

Sure school is out, but that doesn't mean we can't check out some old Friday Harbor class photos! Here are some from 1939-40...

First Grade 1939-40

Second Grade 1939-40

Third Grade 1939-40

Fourth Grade 1939-40

Fifth Grade 1939-40

Seventh Grade 1939-40

FH School Eighth Grade 1935

Here's the eighth grade class from Friday Harbor, in 1935. My grandma's brother Eldon is on the far right, top row.

Lopez School

Here's a great photo of Lopez School, in 1940!

Knights of the Maccabees

For a long time I didn't know the story behind this image; I just knew that my great-grandma's brother, Frank Armstrong, was the man on the far left in the back row. Interestingly, the Lopez Island Historical Society submitted a copy to the Washington Rural Heritage site. Plus, it is also shown in the Images of America~Lopez Island book by Susan Lehne Ferguson and the Lopez Island Historical Society and Museum. I was thrilled when I was looking through my copy of the book, and saw the image. What's really interesting is that my photograph is unlabeled, but the one held by the LIHS is labeled, with one exception...my great-grandma's brother Frank! So, here you have the Knights of the Maccabees group, on Lopez Island, in the very early 1900s. They are (bottom row left to right) Johnny Graham, Tom King, John Cousins, Norman P. Hodgson, and Erv Eaton. The second row (left to right) are Frank Armstrong, Nick Davidson, Robert Cousins, Amoe Carr, Joe Cousins, and Ab Graham. I love looking at the clothes, and each man's expression!

Orcas Island Salvation Army Band

A different kind of gathering...this is a picture of the Salvation Army Band, on Orcas Island, from 1939. I worked with a genealogist I know on this, and we believe that there are members of the Bull, Iotte, and LaPlante families in this picture. My great-great-grandfather's oldest daughter, Mary Emma Chambers Conkle, married into the Iotte family, so it would make sense that this photo ended up with my great-great-grandfather, after she died. The picture itself is not in very good shape, so I digitally cleaned it up a bit, to make the faces more visible.

Ferry Landings

A ferry's gotta land, right? Whenever we leave or arrive at a landing, I love thinking about how they have changed over the years. At my age, and with how I am used to seeing the docks, it's hard for me to imagine it being like this; how close the cars are to the landing, and the casual attitudes of those walking, and visiting, on the ramp. I don't think the WSDOT ferry employees would be too thrilled about someone sitting on the ramp, like the man in the image below!