Latah County Oral History Collection

Karen Purtee: Okay. I guess it's all right. Yeah. Let's go back. Train ride.

Melvin Carlson: Come on now. Under six. You know we rode free on the train. Well, I was under six. A birthday on the 1st of October, and it come out. I'll just. I guess so. Dad just passed and hired Jimmy off. Archie was two years older, passengers off of twins, and he had an awful argument with the conductor. Conductor looked at him quite an arch, and he said, oh, he's sick.

he has a six. I know, but he said, this fella, it's divided beats and he's eight jumped out of the way. But I was the biggest of the dude. I was bigger than he was. and I, I will remember that as long as I live for up and down. But I was too. But I don't remember too much about it.

You know, the guys in Spokane and out here. And then Ed did come ahead, and he'd had all the cattle. He'd come and break train, and he had all the cattle wagon unloaded and all the stuff up to the place of every week come any matters.

Karen Purtee: There was already a house.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah. It was a, dad bought a place up here just four miles north. And, I know as kids where he was walking along Madison in the wagon, and we'd go walking along behind the wagon. We was peeking out through the woods looking pretty. It didn't. We did believe that are a lot of Indians out here.

We would want to farm. That's, just about.

All I remember. The trip.

Around to.

Karen Purtee: How old was it then? Was.

Melvin Carlson: Well, let's see, 69 and 83. 14 years old. Oh six entries by 20.

Karen Purtee: He was a young man then?

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. 20 or 21, something like that. But I was trying to think of what I believe. Somebody brought the buggy and horse that mother rode out and that people don't know. We was in the wagon, right in the big wagon.

Karen Purtee: Yeah. I don't think we mentioned this was from North Dakota. Yeah. Did you get to bring a lot of your household things or.

Melvin Carlson: All your shit? Everything had a, boxcar loaded with all the household goods, I think. Everything the wagon, the buggy and the household goods and everything went into one box boxcar, then another cattle car for the horses and the cows, all of that. I know they had to come out ahead because it had to be water fed to cattle, and he'd come right with the freight train.

And they got here unloading, got everything out there. We just had them come in. That place was all set up right here.

Karen Purtee: Oh, that's pretty nice.

Melvin Carlson: But I don't remember too much of the other. I don't know where they're building now. Mabel didn't come. I don't remember whether Hilda did down or not. I don't think she did. I think she came at the same time, though. If you could talk to her, she could probably read number quite a bit more.

Karen Purtee: Do you remember what the town looked like when you.

Melvin Carlson: Well, I know it was a lot of dust and no stumps. And the streets board sidewalks. Whatever time it rained, it was mud. Yeah, it was that way. Up until 1922, because I remember adding, you know, where the bank is. There was a lot of stumps out in the street and they couldn't people or I guess were ashamed.

They wanted work, but they were ashamed to work out their grub and stumps. And I was we spent several days out there grubbing the stumps. I couldn't shoot and pull them. We dig around chapter and out and get the stumps, and I made out somebody holler like that. You probably.

Karen Purtee: Remember.

Speaker 4: That and I don't. So that's the reason I'm. I'm glad you're. Oh.

Melvin Carlson: Oh yeah.

Speaker 4: Well, I don't know the stumps. I don't.

Melvin Carlson: Know how many days we worked.

Karen Purtee: Up. And the good news is that fuller one the never.

Melvin Carlson: Though that was the streets here, man. And then no place to anchor. stump, you know, you got to have another stump off for quite a weight. Well, the stump for based, right. It would be over in the side. And there most of them were right in that corner between the service station and the bank and out into the street.

Dirt.

Karen Purtee: Oh, I don't know how stock puller works.

Melvin Carlson: Well, the stock power is you've got an anchor cable and some big drone and a long sweep. You hook a team of horses out there, and that day you start going around and Reliance's cable up on the drum gunners, dogs, you know, you know, nature. So that if you on stop or slack off this time that hose that was no way to use.

I don't know what the worst stump puller in the country that.

Speaker 4: You know now they all had in.

Melvin Carlson: My well, at that time I don't believe there was too many. I know, that that me to get a new one for quality stamps up there.

Speaker 4: And, and we used one. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: But, well, I was gathered that we are 1920. I must have been 2223 on headers, and I were doing upward. So you see them straight? Sure. But then it hauled sized into some of the worst home. Did you remember that they have Soderstrom along the sidewalks and and is when it rains he would get muddy. Oh that was an awful lot of of.

Karen Purtee: And, you ever lose anybody in those homes?

Melvin Carlson: No, I don't think so. They never found anybody there.

Oh, they. Someday, if they start tearing up, they might find some bones. Come.

Karen Purtee: If you remember, when they first ground state.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, I remember when the gravel. But I couldn't say when it was.

Karen Purtee: That was pretty big moment.

Melvin Carlson: I imagine they started. They must have been traveling. Very well. I think when we get them stumps out, it'd be about 22 or 23. They were starting to pick some up that there was gravel coming. And I remember one 4th of July they had an a big doings and there was a man down here. Oh I don't remember where he'd come from.

And that is when they first started his blacktop. Before that it was all cement and and he had this stuff, and I was mixing in the gravel and showing him trying to sell him stuff to fix the streets in. Oh, he he was getting quite a demonstration down there. Number four, everybody around to look him. Well how good it was he put a match down or for the hot weather.

That stuff, it burned. I see nine streets in Moscow at that time. Didn't real well. One 4th of July was shooting firecrackers. All the once. There were just fire going all around them. Blacktop.

Karen Purtee: Oh.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. Just kind of a tower. I won't do it now. It's a different material.

And tired of that.

Speaker 4: Or they put the gravel on the hill. The country road out there from the safety camp was out there. What year was that?

Melvin Carlson: Right about 33.

Speaker 4: 33

Melvin Carlson: she. Roosevelt started that when, after he got in office. President. They started the seed. See the three seed camps. And, that is one of their projects. Picks him up the roads, gravel. They were all over the country.

Speaker 4: Camp was out there. So they gravel that stretch road.

Karen Purtee: So they could get to camp.

Speaker 4: That's got the benefit of it too.

Melvin Carlson: People. That is about traveling around out there did let's see. That is the first gravel I think. So just about to production. And then he started out on these ridges. And I never thought of plowing snow in the wintertime. They never plowed. They I don't think they started that till. Getting a pretty post 1940 Christmas.

Speaker 4: The boys and CC boys, they had them out with shovels. Yeah. And shovel that by hand. Cleared the road from their camp to town.

Melvin Carlson: when was it? 37, I think it was. Yeah. I believe our fiddler told me in 37. I was working for Driscoll's, and I don't know how many days we never got to mail. So I took the saddle horse and started into the town to get the mayor. I was working for them, and I got to Fiddler's Place, and I left the Saddle Horse there, then took a pair of skis from.

And the rest of the way we had drifts ten, 12, 15ft deep up the top of the hill. They get a whole bunch of seats invoiced up. There was shoveled so that, well, that was a job.

Karen Purtee: Say, how many boys were out there? But is that do you know how many boys they had out there?

Melvin Carlson: I don't know, they had a that they did right along.

The road isn't like it is now. It an old road right close to the top. There was a cut. It swung around and it's gone up and there was a deep cut. It was about 15ft deep, I guess, and it was just straight across. Oh, you know, you couldn't even ride around. Besides, with the horses in there with the horse because it was all the snow was.

Good day. I just took the parish. He's come into town, made a whole.

so that's one of the first things I'd said the other day when he said, I don't think I'd seen him in over 30 years. We got to talk about it. You remember that? You know.

Karen Purtee: When the new the season.

Speaker 4: It's not first year. It was six feet of snow. Right on the level. And then that year, 31 with it down there, it blew and drift and everything. So we walked on the snow clear up on the top of the tree. And that's when I got Mr.. The car, because when we looked way up there, we broke in a limb to show where the snow had been, and it was way up on the tree.

Melvin Carlson: the first year we was out here in 1912, dad had to buy hay and he bought it, you know, over there where it, you know, where the water system is now, the dam up there, big meadows. I let the hay been cut off of that meadow. And dad bought hay from all in house, no road. Just drove right over the fences and all that.

Had that much snow. Then it rained and turned around and froze. Horses and all of walk right on top of the snow over the best. And the cattle was all over. You couldn't find some in remote the down, but they did manage to haul the hay, big loads of hay in the sled.

Karen Purtee: Flare and come on right.

Melvin Carlson: Over the top of the crest. You don't have that winters here now.

Karen Purtee: Not recently. Well, goodness.

Melvin Carlson: You're always look for that silver. Thought your grandpa, if you remember the silver dollar was. Dad and I did belong in. Oh, January. February. We get a rate pretty good rain. And then turn right around and freeze on him. But after that, by cattle, everything. And walk right on top.

Karen Purtee: That's called a silver for silver.

Melvin Carlson: The rain and then the sun come out. Be nice and warm. That's how it all. Because in the saddle that we need, we don't even get that much snow.

Karen Purtee: I don't think there's any reason.

Melvin Carlson: There's a reason. All right. The timbers gone. the timber, I think. Well, bring the rain and I bring some rain. All of these countries as embers gone country. I don't know why I think they find out. I don't know, I think that's I think they found it. I know, for rain, but the timber grocery. But, I don't know about this whole.

But I'm. I can be the same reason.

Speaker 4: You know that we're all covered with timber walls. Each house was just an isolated spot.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah.

Speaker 4: I'm the timber. Come right up to the back. No riprap near.

Melvin Carlson: Them. No places. I think your dad's place, they're all had in cultivation. Right in the meadow. That's right. And all we had of home was a little patch right out for the house, and then maybe 20 acres over across the creek, 15 or 20 acres. But that is all. Now I go up there and I can see from the old home place right where I used to go to school seeker products, all the works.

Karen Purtee: All those trees are gone.

Melvin Carlson: It's all over and over. That burned.

Karen Purtee: Over twice. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: It burned over and the first time in 1940, the second year was here.

Karen Purtee: That scary.

Speaker 4: The big fire was 1931.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. That's the second part.

Speaker 4: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: That was. But, the real big fire was in 1940 and, dad and dad and and they cut wood all winter long, cord it, they just leave it out there, lay in there and they'd hollered in the summer and pile about the next winter when dad was gonna work, and he'd, hollered in here to the brickyard to sell it.

That was our living, except thrashing. He got thrashing. Well, and and him and, Oh, I don't know, your dad was that mad bunch two. They all down there thrashing when there's fire come through. And I think it was 140. Cordage would be lost. Accurate. And you talk about a fire that was on fire. That second one was nothing compared to that.

Speaker 4: It was a dinger, though.

Melvin Carlson: I know I was here when I went through. I come down from the woods, but it was nothing compared to that other see, that was all green, solid. Him and just took the whole works. And the second one was dry. It was dry timber, but it wasn't everything.

Karen Purtee: You remember it as a child was that you remember seeing the fire?

Melvin Carlson: Oh yeah. We was out there all the time. We was carrying water. It took a blister to paint right off the side of the house. I always had been to the painted side or just nothing but blisters, homeworks. They all had to be repaid, scraped and repainted again.

Speaker 4: I remember that. Where did the second fire burn? The house then?

Melvin Carlson: No.

Speaker 4: They just took it down and burned.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, but it didn't run at second fire because Davis was living there and he was telling me how hard you work to used. 35 gallons of water and nine gallons of milk. I'm crazy. But he had all figured out what he did to save the house. He'd have to throw it on the roof. And then, when the sparks hit the shingles.

So the house didn't burn. And when it burned, I don't remember the barn burn.

Speaker 4: Yeah, that was it. The barn that burned down.

Melvin Carlson: The barn didn't burn the first time. It went to say.

Karen Purtee: I have any idea how the fire started?

Melvin Carlson: the first fire.

I was trying to think you remember them. Tweet is that. It started over here and there. I believe he was burning brochure stumps or something. And that's where the fire started. Kind of just come right across it from right through and through our place. Shoemakers. And I believe it went down over here to Spring Valley, and I don't remember how far, but it went through it.

It just take place here and there.

Karen Purtee: He was all out and big. No. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: The second year. Where did it start? There. Well, it.

Speaker 4: Started over there and, over west the first place, because we were there that day and we saw this little spiral of smoke coming up. Mother and I walked up to the top of the hill to see where that smoke was. And it was farther over. It was would have been over grandma glass over there. I never did hear exactly, but I think that had been started.

And somebody I guess if maybe that was somebody prior to that, that was maybe the day I in August.

Melvin Carlson: But I do know that Tweety was blamed for that first fire that of course it didn't make any difference. You couldn't do anything about it nowadays. They would. And days they did.

Speaker 4: There's such a terrific remember that second one? It just whipped it through right through the tree house. 100ft or hundreds of feet.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, well, it jumped. There used to be a road going across from the barn over to the, that matter, you know, over where the dam is. And they jumped from that road we thought they had held there, and it jumped from there, clear across to our place. After Shoemaker. Just that quick. It was about a mile jumped in there.

Speaker 4: That's what took the timber off the folks place across the street. That was the fire to theirs. And went right through there, jumped from the side of the road, going right over in that timber. Yeah. The whole thing just cleared it.

Karen Purtee: Did they have any kind of, firefighting equipment in those days?

Melvin Carlson: This bunch of people there was so, so. And then fall trees and try to widen that firebreak. You could do nothing. We didn't there there was no sign of any tire, just wet sacks. And now we didn't have much water. We had to haul the water from the creeks. So there was no chance to go.

Karen Purtee: But you did save the house.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah. We didn't have to use any milking. Oh, you what David was telling me. I heard you were telling somebody else when I told Mel. How much, how I had to work on all I said. He just laughed at. We would have been better off when he got the insurance.

Karen Purtee: Oh, you are renting the house, then?

Melvin Carlson: Well, the place is rented out.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, I think so.

Melvin Carlson: And better off. Turned around and celebrated the place afterwards. They got just too much for it anyhow.

Karen Purtee: Did you have nightmares for a while?

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah.

Karen Purtee: See flames going on through your bedroom or something?

But did you start school out there? Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: I started school. I went to the big minor school. I started in 1964. We had. What do we figure? About two and a half miles to hike to school, but in the wintertime, of course, would have crashed in a week, had our sleds, skis just fine. right over the top of the south long hills. Get up there and go down, kid brother.

He was on a sled. Brand new coat the first time he had it on. Make him out of the car and he was laying down the sled and wire fence. Come. And he couldn't stop because one just ripped cold. Right? Right up.

Speaker 4: Oh.

Melvin Carlson: Are you scared to go home?

Karen Purtee: You was the there.

Melvin Carlson: Oh yeah. Did you get hurt? Just ripped to go.

Karen Purtee: Yeah. I guess it was a pretty expensive item,

Melvin Carlson: Well, it was, you know, they didn't have much money in order to just go on and on and on. cream money and butter and stuff like that. And so.

Speaker 4: There were 12 children in their family.

Karen Purtee: Yeah. That's what I was telling me earlier.

Melvin Carlson: But I believe we lived just as good. We lived better than a lot of them live right now. So we always that there was always planning. You raised everything. Everything was raised right on the place. We had six cows. Mother used two cans and ten gallons of cream cheese. So I think it was I believe it was $13 a week.

She got it off of that. And that that is in good shape. Well, that time, you know, didn't take too.

Karen Purtee: Where did she sell?

Melvin Carlson: you had a creamery down here. The main creamery. Now see it? the creamery used to stand. Well, where the park is down there, right next corner. They used to be a street going over to the warehouse and stood right in the corner there. And a creamery, I believe they made butter and everything there. If I remember right.

no, they haven't tried that.

Speaker 4: I know I worked there and they had the creamery down there.

Karen Purtee: Oh, did you.

Speaker 4: Took samples of cream?

Melvin Carlson: I was trying to think.

Speaker 4: Farmers would bring in the cans of cream. Like we had a special little dip that we had to take it out with, stir it up and take a dip and put it in the glass. Then you have to put it in the old, run it around to see if the butter that was.

Melvin Carlson: they had a tester you passed.

Speaker 4: By the butterfat in their.

Melvin Carlson: Cream. Yeah. I did a little tester that did it get that much butterfat and.

Karen Purtee: So did you take the cream in the town for your mother? Never.

Melvin Carlson: once in a while. Not very. I know my brother. They did. Do you remember that? Mrs..

Oh, they used to live up on that. Put one place and they moved because she was a great big woman, and she would go in town and stop them and wanted to know what was going down. She had to walk. There. No, she was started down the road and Dick was going to town with the cream. He had the buggy, the side springs and all.

That was soft drink. Nice ride and buggy. He gets down the road, stop. She flags them down to underwrite. Okay. She gets in. She grabs a hold of the buggy and steps on the step to get up, but she just leaned over. That way. Over. I want the cream cans to be able to have the cream all there.

Karen Purtee: No.

Melvin Carlson: There was another voice scared to go.

Karen Purtee: Oh yeah. Oh.

Melvin Carlson: Well, there was six $7 worth of cream. That was a grocery for the week, so.

He never stopped to hear that women are riding.

You can't think of what her name was.

Karen Purtee: That she didn't ask again. Her?

Speaker 4: Oh, no.

Melvin Carlson: Bert. Brother used to say her brother used to stay over there with him. They lived in Ryder's place at one point and I shared a picture there.

Speaker 4: That wasn't. It wasn't Runyon, was it?

Melvin Carlson: No.

Speaker 4: That one. Yes, that was me.

Melvin Carlson: No.

Speaker 4: Some other place.

Melvin Carlson: They lived on Randall Flat. They lived on Randall Flat. Across over. It is only about a mile and a half or two miles over there. It was a different road going in. McGregor. McGregor was listening. Something like that. Gregory. You. Gregory.

Speaker 4: Gregory.

Melvin Carlson: Gregory.

Speaker 4: That will sit down.

Melvin Carlson: I remember down, Gregory. Two of us. Oh, she was a big group. If you must weigh 200.

Karen Purtee: Oh, you boys afraid to go home? Makes me wonder what your mother was like.

Melvin Carlson: Well, we was raised. We had we had things to do. If we didn't do it or we were punished for it. And there's a best thing in the world. That's what we're. Kids are spoiled today. We we had our work to do, and we had to do it and do it right. And if we did wrong, we didn't get, too bad.

We'd get away if we had a little sweatshirt, but we'd remember the extra and they didn't hurt us a bit. That's the best thing in the world, I'll tell you. You've got 12 kids to raise. You got to do so.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: You let them run wild and you got something. Oh, no. We had a good life. I don't think there's anybody had a better life. We all had something to do. And Archie and I play horseshoe. We'd be playing horseshoe all day long. Go in and eat dinner. We jump up and start out dad and say, dad, come on, Ed, let's go see the fight.

As soon as we get done playing horseshoe. If I won, we had to fight. See, whoever won the fight won the game.

Wherever they go, fine would be a little argument about when she was the closer to the peg in a fight. When you said, well, now that her shoe back there, that belonged to me and I hadn't won the game. No. Then the fight it, you know, if he won and I would say we had a fight every game.

It was never a dull moment.

Karen Purtee: Oh, I'll bet your poor mother. Yeah, well, what were some of your chores that you had to do?

Melvin Carlson: Oh, we had to. In the summertime. We always had to go out after the cattle morning and night. We'd have to get up about five in the morning, go get tacos and bring them in. Then we'd always pap and squirrel if we got a penny. A squirrel for every squirrel got to. And, well, from the time I was eight, nine years old, our Jim, I and my brother, we cut a lot of wood for the house.

In the summertime. We split, would carry in the wood. We had to do the dishes. But it was the mornings job before we went to school.

Karen Purtee: The girls didn't have to do that.

Melvin Carlson: Well, Sisters? Brothers? Yeah. Just one sister. Younger me. She was two years younger. She was due here and the rest were gone.

But Archie and I, we got smart one morning. We had to a certain time, but we had to leave the school, and we made, oh. We played around and all at once, mother says, you done? No, we haven't got time. We got to go to school. I don't know if you're late to school, she said you've had.

We got them dishes done and we ran over stuff to school. We got that. We never fooled around after that. The next morning that dish was done.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: I went to see her. But if she'd let it get by with it, it happened every day.

Karen Purtee: Which is what you had in mind, right?

Melvin Carlson: She. We knew what we had to do that we thought we'd get by with. We'd always tried one.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, but.

Melvin Carlson: That was it. That never got by the second time. The only time we got by if we go fishing when there wasn't supposed, we weren't fishing then wasn't supposed to. And we got home in time with a great big mess of fish for supper. That was five.

Karen Purtee: Oh when.

Melvin Carlson: We got back in so we could get the rest of our work done, but if we didn't and was too late and didn't get our work done, and that little more trouble to.

Karen Purtee: You didn't have the fish to get you off the hook.

Melvin Carlson: Okay, but we didn't matter. Fish?

Karen Purtee: Where'd you fish.

Melvin Carlson: In that quickly ran through the gay marriage. You wouldn't believe it. Good fishermen. Beautiful. A lot of water. But now he's gone. Yeah, but all the timbers gone. There's a difference again, the timber from when you get the timber starts drying. So that's one reason I believe that is the timber for you. Get your water and get it bronzed rain and snow.

See the snow doesn't out out of there. Surprised that creek was full. We had a great big swimming hole down there. You know, we just had a wonderful time.

It was a beautiful creek, but.

I was glad.

Speaker 4: I see it was a beautiful creek.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. Oh, and your dad used to have a dam across the creek. Pumphouse. We'd sneak up there. And that was the best fishing place in the country.

fishing by that dam. Oh, we catch a lot of them there.

Karen Purtee: What kind of fish? You can't. Trout.

Melvin Carlson: There were trout, cutthroats, cutthroat. Then once in a while, George King caught a salmon under the bed. Like that. It was. Well, it was a big trout, I guess I never will forget when he caught that, he broke my hook. We get tired of will hold straight line. It broke my hook and I didn't have any anymore. 100 and my brother, I see to fish at him and George come down and took George.

George did get pulled out. I swung open, get it over the bank and then dropped off the hook and he jumped right on sitting on it to help me if I could help, help him.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, cuz.

Melvin Carlson: Kids about I guess I was eight, Archie was ten, George 9 or 10. But he was good to that. Fish was pretty nervous waking him around.

Karen Purtee: And it was almost two feet long.

Melvin Carlson: 20, 20 or 21in. And had a little cricket break.

But the big

Karen Purtee: Did your dad got one?

Speaker 4: Yeah. At that time, the creek was going dry. And, earlier in the summer, there would be pools and one of these big fishes in the pool. The water was too shallow for him to get out.

Karen Purtee: Did the salmon come up into Big Meadow Creek?

Melvin Carlson: The salmon used to the eggs, but not now. it wouldn't be too many. It coming up. And there used to be a lot of suckers. Come on out. We used to go down to, you know, where the rodeo grounds is. Not. Frank, room on the bottom. The the jam. John troop John Roane owned that across the road, you know, from little north of the road from where the, from where the rodeo ground.

Sam McQueen lived. Where the rodeo Drive for, you know, John room across the road. He owned the property from there up to where, like, live on the balcony here. And, we used to go down there, sucker fish at night. Spirit. We'd take a light, get in the creek and wade around spear mode. We'd get a lot of suckers.

Karen Purtee: You would do.

Melvin Carlson: All we take home was getting up, cooking. They would. Good. All good. They were awful boning, but there were good. And it was fun getting.

Karen Purtee: You know, wasn't in.

Melvin Carlson: Anything. So we didn't have to go to bed at night. But all down there.

And then in the summertime, we used to hide from their kids. I know I was seven, eight once a week. We'd open there in the town, go to show night home. Yep. That's four miles. Can you get a kid to do that now? But.

Karen Purtee: Well, there's no show anymore either.

Melvin Carlson: No, but you couldn't age, daddy. You take them to the show and be it. No, they wouldn't. On Sunday mornings, we'd take off from the time.

I was leaving my my brother's 32 bridge boat.

We'd take off from home, go to the top of the marsh, come out, and we'd sit up there and eat our lunch. Then we'd take off from the mountain. We'd cut back to the other side from Chase around all day, and decided time to go home. Okay, we take off. We come home over to come. I don't know how we did it.

I believe I'd get lost today. You knew them mountains from one side of them every Sunday. We can't.

Karen Purtee: Just hike.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, just hike. It was good. We hiked from hell. I was about 15, 14, I guess Margie was 16. Right from Burnt Ridge, five miles into town. I was about four or a little over up home on a Saturday night. We'd get up early Sunday morning. We'd stay up there, nobody living there. We stay there. You get up early Sunday morning, hike way to the top of the Monster Mountain.

Cut bank of them all around. Whatever. Shotguns hunt all day Sunday. Get there. Oh, by dusk, then hike to nine miles back out on work.

Karen Purtee: Creek in the dark.

Melvin Carlson: Where it would be dark before we'd get there would be dusk. It'd be dark by the time we get in here and we're like, wow. There'd be 918 miles from Saturday night to Sunday night in 24 hours. Plus all that time, a we earned. Yeah, 20 for us all the time. We chased around the park for. You could imagine the shape us kids was here.

Karen Purtee: Yeah. You must look pretty good.

Melvin Carlson: Though. Would be fine. Nobody can talk. Was out of it.

Karen Purtee: What did you hunt?

Melvin Carlson: bluegrass. Pheasants.

Karen Purtee: Pheasants.

Melvin Carlson: Well, there's, native pheasants. There were lots of them.

Karen Purtee: Oh, they're trying to introduce you back now.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, there was lots of my dad all over the country. We never failed to get a limit.

We allowed six persons. I think it's six bluegrass. We didn't always get a bluegrass with that person, so I made it back.

Speaker 4: We used to figure that Archie got more than his limit most of the time.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, yeah. What was Archie, a better shot?

Melvin Carlson: He's a good wing shot, but I never was too much of the way.

Speaker 4: But, he spent a lot of time at it, too, because. Oh, yeah, more than the rest, I think. Well, he.

Melvin Carlson: he wasn't working quite as much as I was. He was, which part of the time? A little bit smarter. He got out of the back.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, yeah.

Melvin Carlson: But we never had any deer. detector. Did you ever see any deer out there? Do they come in first? That we really seen much. was in the 30s. Up until then, there was no deer. I never saw a deer up until now.

Speaker 4: We used to see and hear.

Melvin Carlson: Coyotes like the one the coyotes. Oh, yeah. Coyotes.

Then we had a few cougars around here. There'd be a cougar coming through there once.

Karen Purtee: You ever see him or did you just hear?

Melvin Carlson: We didn't see him, but we heard him. And there's an awful argument in my country whether a cougar sounds like a woman scream. They say they don't, but they do. You and I know because I see them just didn't want to open their mouth and let me scream out. As a matter of fact, friend of mine and I was hiking from Bobo and I.

We weren't hiking. We drove him to,

Camp, be it from the base and that lake to us. And we hiked and down to a and we could get in down pretty close to the camp. And I heard this kid's free woman scream. And Jack turned around to me. And a male is supposed to be women up here before you start going back to work. And I said, no is said there's no family living up here that I know.

And it sounded again, but it removed Jackson when I was there. Somebody has lost and we better start looking for him. And I happen to think you don't imagine it's a cougar to a jack. Well, what's the matter with me? He said, I know it's a cougar. Well, I didn't do that second degree. We got down around the bend and we stopped and started looking in.

Harrison's Cougar had his legs up on a saw, and about that time it opened his mouth and left to scream. And now, if anybody said that, that didn't sound like a woman screaming or a person, you know, young boy or something, they're crazy. It just sounded like that. They were just scared to death. I thought it was. But people say they don't, said they don't make a sound, but I know they do.

But just try to prove it. not failures. And a lot of that is Jack graves. You probably knew Jack graves. He used to be a skater around the Logan County. You'd heard that, but he got great.

Who I know up there, Eldon. Some other dad. An ad man was out harvesting and she was down home. She was going to stay, one night. They lived back that about two miles north of Bemis.

Karen Purtee: Mrs. Scott strong.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. Eldon Strom, some other. And, she was going to stay down there that night. I just don't remember. I believe Lee was all in better about ready to go to bed and hear these cougar. Of course, we were new in the country. We couldn't figure out what it was. There's a struggle. I know what that is. That's a cougar.

You got a shotgun? And she was one of them old pioneer ladies, you know, mothers. Yeah, but there she goes in and gets a shotgun. And Michelle Burton, who shot her there, but ever heard any more cougar? That was a large story, we heard them up there 2 or 3 different times.

Speaker 4: And took off to the high timber.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah.

How about when.

Karen Purtee: You started the school? You walk all the time, right?

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, we walked all the time. But it had to be an awful snowy morning because dad was making two trips a day, and here was. Would. Four miles. 18 miles. That would be, 16 miles a day with a team of horses and a load up number one way. But, we walked in for a real stark. They'd probably walk up to the top of the field, where the trailers blow through the drift over and break trail fast.

And we done. I'm trying to think I believe Hester's name was the first teacher, so I think it was like Elmer Dempster's. Do I know Haskell Sneed? Yeah, I'm sure they leave the house. Dome light is the entry.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, yeah. And the teacher didn't get along too well.

Speaker 4: Well, she was a little old and they, you know.

Melvin Carlson: But yeah, that's one. And where she.

Speaker 4: Was working long and later.

But there was no real upstairs at that time.

Karen Purtee: She was a little strict on her cancer.

Melvin Carlson: She. Right.

Karen Purtee: Well, she scraped on the kids.

Melvin Carlson: We asked, there was a switch in the corner, and there a lot of. And got it, too. And I think she had a little mirrors. I think she had white glasses. Were married. She'd be on the blackboard. You do something about that. You turn around like that. And she was. And that's the only thing that we could ever figure out that she had the glasses.

They were a little wide and they were mirrors. I think I'm ed she them glasses. She said there shouldn't be writing. Look in them glasses of mirrors all the time.

Karen Purtee: What? She can't you do it?

Melvin Carlson: I don't believe she caught me doing anything. She. Well, I was pretty young man.

Speaker 4: Oh.

Melvin Carlson: That was my first year in school, and I can't think of who I had after that. Well, I went to school there two years, and then I went and stayed with my sister.

And I was trying to think of who my teacher was. kick.

Is extra kick. Later, before she lived over Berry Ridge somewhere over there. That if my teacher.

Speaker 4: Should be a pastor because you never text her. Janice.

Melvin Carlson: And I was it.

Was there one room? There was no room. And I'm sure her name was at home. And. But I did get in trouble from that. I never got any weapon. And it never my fault when I got in trouble.

Speaker 4: Oh, there's innocent little.

Melvin Carlson: It always was. Somebody pester me and I turn around and holler, I quit, then I was to blame. I was the one that stayed in aunt and not the other party that left. That was all the biggest. Every day. I never said anything. They held or and figured I was good cold. And so they were fine till the teacher come down here to get this.

I guess he's pretty good. And split it with me. The teacher started.

Karen Purtee: Left. It was about.

Melvin Carlson: Somebody was I have in the corner behind my desk every day. So bad. Didn't hurt nothing there. I didn't have to study.

He had a.

Speaker 4: Younger brother, though I a priest mother died. That was the world's pain.

Melvin Carlson: In the neck. Well, he didn't know the reason that we had. That's right.

Speaker 4: Okay, I called him. Great. Oh. How did those two kicks in January, kids?

Melvin Carlson: Oh, handsome, rich.

Speaker 4: And some friends. Bernie Lee was. I was handsome. Frank was rich. If you ever saw two kids that were into something.

Karen Purtee: Apart and women now or clean, not Eli.

Melvin Carlson: But it wasn't Bernard Ferguson.

Karen Purtee: Ferguson furniture was.

Melvin Carlson: must have been Ferguson. Yeah. Otherwise the Ely boys, it was Melvin and,

Speaker 4: Leonard. Yeah, it was, it was. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Other, learning curves.

Speaker 4: Whose name was, Anyway, the some I sure glad when they both glad.

Karen Purtee: To stay with you 1st November.

Speaker 4: You're teaching.

Karen Purtee: Oh, they were your students. Oh, no. But.

Speaker 4: I think Frank went upstate with his sister out. Rich, I sure did. Yeah. Fond of you.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Speaker 4: And Vernon Ferguson. Oh. Did he go someplace, too? I guess not, anyway, I think they both went from. That was a red letter day for me.

Melvin Carlson: I don't remember, Ferguson moved into town.

Speaker 4: I believe so, anyway, they were both. Those two kids were.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, cross River and Eric here.

Speaker 4: I wish the Franks mother was alive many a time. oh. The caller Francis. His name was Francis.

Melvin Carlson: He ran for the name of Franklin Park.

Speaker 4: Changed at Franklin, but he was Francis Lamb.

Karen Purtee: That man. That must be your youngest brother. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Is four years younger sister. Two years. It couldn't have been Vernon Ferguson. He got. Vernon was just.

Vernon I Jim Clarence was about the same age. And Vernon and I was about the same.

Speaker 4: So it must have been name was definitely somebody who had black hair.

Melvin Carlson: Well, Vernon, that dark haired.

Speaker 4: He was about the size. Afraid of the two of inseparable and in encouraged.

Melvin Carlson: Couldn't turn very much together because she Frank was four years behind me. Well, Vernon could have been there. Vernon was a year behind if you talked to after I was done for what it could have been.

But I think it was.

But did you do track out on the Ridge, too?

Speaker 4: Oh thank goodness.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: that was Miss Lewis. I'll read a little chat about it.

Speaker 4: I talked, I tore down on the ridge in 1926. Or, where was he? I don't know, he was there.

Melvin Carlson: He must have been during, he graduated in with that time. He'd done school. Yeah, yeah. See, I, I got through the eighth grade in 1923, just four years. He he was through 24.

Karen Purtee: And then you came into town with high school, where.

Melvin Carlson: I don't remember you. And I remember the princess. Yeah. I don't think it was, I think hard to argue. It's the only one of us was there.

Speaker 4: So.

Melvin Carlson: We went to work. I couldn't be bothered with high school.

Speaker 4: You you didn't go to high school. Knew it was just right. just our.

Melvin Carlson: Year and I was.

Speaker 4: Asking needs. Most of the young people did go to high school. I could remember but I know some of them did.

Melvin Carlson: these living in town, they all did. But, that was out in the country. We all were good.

Speaker 4: I know Alfred and his sister Edith. They were, I think Alfred focus jumped.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah, they did.

Speaker 4: And Edith.

Melvin Carlson: But then they left out there before.

Speaker 4: They went in high school and graduated here. We did. Alfred did. Okay. He was a junior. Anyway, thank you.

Melvin Carlson: Well, he might have a bit. I wonder if Edith did she?

Speaker 4: Probably. They left before she. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: I believe they left before she was through the three or. She just finished eighth grade. I.

Speaker 4: But you can't like the the animals. They didn't go in the courses. Didn't go home and.

Melvin Carlson: House and and go. There none of us boys up that way. I don't remember I don't know I don't know whether Johnny Milton went. Harold and Johnny Milton see, Johnny Milton like to. And Harold add to that, I don't remember. I think Harold went through high school and Johnny might have I don't know.

Speaker 4: To those but like the Samuelson's horse, they had moved away. And the bales I know didn't go.

Melvin Carlson: No, they didn't go.

Speaker 4: Very many in that neighborhood went to see.

Melvin Carlson: None of the Ferguson boys went.

Speaker 4: What year was it, the northern or Robert? Oh, no. Vernon or Irvin were drowned.

Melvin Carlson: You remember?

I did, after I was,

Oh, wait a bit. We were 21 or 22, I believe it. If. I think it was 22.

Speaker 4: That was the same year your mother died.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, I believe now.

Speaker 4: Well, I would say at remembering my age.

Melvin Carlson: Well, what I was going by and. And Ralph and they bought that 1921 Chevy during. Well Ferguson boys, they had to beat him. They go down and buy the Cleveland. You remember that big Cleveland they had and, I think it was the second year, 1922, that, they grounded, we were down our brother, our Jimmy and Claridge Ferguson went down to Silcock to pick fruit.

So you. I'd be, but I must have been 21. Where did they buy that Chevy? And they bought it in 20 1920. So it was 21, I think.

20 or 21.

Speaker 4: I knew it would have been right about in that time.

Melvin Carlson: yeah. They it was 1921, but I.

Speaker 4: Was down.

Melvin Carlson: Because, I was 14, I was 15, I guess 14 or 15. I went down there to pick fruit and then just come on home. When I met Ed on the road, he was going down. He was looking for somebody or whether he was coming down.

For good parents. I don't know where my my dad found a place. He told friends about. So that would have been.

Karen Purtee: The brother of the one that came.

Melvin Carlson: Can see Lester was killed and. Was 18 or 19 up in the woods.

Speaker 4: He was killed first. And.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. That's true. Yeah.

Karen Purtee: Sure. Do you remember where it was? In the ground.

Melvin Carlson: That he grounded?

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Speaker 4: Oh, was that at one leg?

Melvin Carlson: No, no, it was, I don't know, a band. The. Is that the potlatch? Potlatch? It goes through hundreds. It was up in there someplace.

I'd hear the name of. There's quite a place people used to go swimming. That's where they were. And, I forget the name of the place, but I know it is up on the top.

Karen Purtee: That wasn't in the river, but it was a.

Melvin Carlson: I think it was in the river, if I remember.

Right. It wasn't no pond. The river.

Karen Purtee: Then there was a girl down there was. There was a girl around.

Melvin Carlson: The picture making calendar. You know, we were trying to think of that name and Hilda and I, and we were sitting and we were talking on, you know, and they'd mention names. And finally, I have to thank you, Mickey. And then right off, Mickey McAllister. Or was it you that.

Speaker 4: Yeah. McAllister. Yes.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. Did you and I it was my sister. What was your sister's name? Yeah. She, she was the only one out of the four. It was three of the four. And what was her sister's name?

I can't remember that one. All.

Speaker 4: I remember her first name.

Karen Purtee: Would you remember any of the the big things that happened in Troy, like the shooting of Hays or Marshall Hays when he got shot number here in those stories, I'm like, yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Well, I didn't know the stories, but I don't remember now because, when I was going to school, what it was at Alfred Hays about my age weaves together all the time, but I just can't remember the stories. I wouldn't want to say, because.

Karen Purtee: Was that one of his sons?

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, it was one of the boys, but it was it. He had 3 or 4 boys. There was Alfred. I'm pretty sure it was. There was one just about my age. And then there were two older men.

Karen Purtee: Must be the two older ones that went went gunning afterwards for.

Melvin Carlson: yeah. Or was or three.

I know it was the older ones that went down. Alfred, I don't believe was one of the older ones. quite a time around here for a bit, but I pretty near forgot about that.

Part.

Karen Purtee: Did you ever get into Nora?

Speaker 4: See some of the.

Melvin Carlson: Town up here? Yeah. We never got up there very often. Just if we played ball or something. Sometimes we kids, we didn't get in.

There at all.

Karen Purtee: Did a lot of baseball playing.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah. Every Sunday we wouldn't have a football game. And I won't be 5 or 6. But we take on anybody in the country.

Karen Purtee: For a.

Melvin Carlson: While. We did. We had there was four Fergusons and four Carlson's, and I forget who made it the rest of the game. If you want to take one more. But, then, Bob, I've last dragon, Ralph and back. So just left RG nine Clarence and Vernon for.

George King, center and be off playing. Those five that would be 5 or 6 of them. We'd hike down or we'd, you know, our Spring Valley school is there. I forget who's on the Spring Valley team. But he used to play in the meadow right out there. They don't have four or 5 or 6. Whatever you get that made the team?

we had bowl games every Sunday. Then they'd come up there and we come. We played down here. This field down here was going at that time, and we come in here, we'd, maybe get round over flat or not round a flat, but we get some of Spring Valley and get a full team, and we come down here and challenge somebody out.

It'd make no difference who won. I don't know if we ever won a game. Yeah, we had a lot of fun.

Karen Purtee: Was it something you organized ahead of time or you just showed up and.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, we're.

Karen Purtee: Ready to play.

Melvin Carlson: We'd get together and plan to a certain extent. We never practiced. The only time we ever practiced ball was go to school. I know one practice of all got all right there. Hurt a little bit.

Karen Purtee: Work.

Melvin Carlson: But it hit me in the foot. It might have knocked me out.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, but I hit in the head. So then I was all right.

Speaker 4: You said the games were between the married men. The same single man and the girls didn't play ball.

Melvin Carlson: Zero two. But we used to have 4th of July picnics up there quite a bit. You know, and it was always the single man against a married, a hero mulligan. He'd played professional baseball and they had another one. I forget who it was that played professional baseball. We used to beat him. We had the best of the.

Karen Purtee: You were the single man. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: And if we could just randomly walk fast.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: But in the wintertime, then we used to have our coaching partners, he and partners. We had a lot of fun, man. Was you ever up to in the costume parties?

Speaker 4: Well, we coasted. I know, we just. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: You know what? I'm that long hill from Parsons down to the foot of the hill. Well, it was nighttime way. There was. Nobody was always passing buggy days and sleds, and we'd know all the neighbors. Everybody'd be home. We'd have a big, long bobsled. We had one there. I think it was wrong. From here to that wall, I don't know how many of us compiler way we'd go down that hill.

Karen Purtee: Wow. Ten 20ft. The bobsled. Okay.

Melvin Carlson: It, we had a fun. And then that one hill up home when the snow was crested, especially. We'd get up on that. That was good. Coasting and good skier because I know too good. One time I did build a gift like that and craft a lot of all things to build. Oh had done the same thing. He had his favorite time to do.

Speaker 4: I think we all loved it. There was no getting around, especially coasting on the crest. That was just terrible. If you spill off, you have marks to show that if.

Melvin Carlson: Your sled had happened to break through and it had stopped and you'd keep on going.

Karen Purtee: the.

Melvin Carlson: Snow was just what it was like. Sandpaper.

Speaker 4: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Right. You take the hard right off of your face. If you didn't get it up off of the little.

Speaker 4: But it made because casting.

Karen Purtee: If you didn't go.

Melvin Carlson: 100, take a scoop shovel. I took the scoop show, if you can believe it or not. But if you get a scoop shovel and start down, one of them will hard crust and hills and a scoop show. A shovel will get hot.

Karen Purtee: Oh, you.

Melvin Carlson: Get.

Karen Purtee: Hot. You just sat in the in the bowl.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. Get our feet up here.

Karen Purtee: Oh, oh but that.

Melvin Carlson: Scoop the shovel. If you go far enough, it'll get hot. You know.

Karen Purtee: What? Way to warm up, Yeah.

Yeah. Did you ever do much ice skating around here?

Melvin Carlson: Never. Too much. Ice skating is always too much. No, we didn't have any up there. We didn't have any big ponds. You had to go out south. Nelson's had a right outside a bar. But, then as soon as the ice was, they come out with. And they were selling ice at home. Ice? Yeah. so in that room before skating there.

So we didn't do too much ice.

Karen Purtee: Now they do sell ice.

Melvin Carlson: They all that before they have deep freezers or ice makers, just just big blocks of ice. They cut them different sizes. But on average they'd be about that square and I'd be about that thick.

Karen Purtee: And I said about a foot.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, I'd be foot 18in. And, they kept the snow a lot from a solid freeze down. Good. And then they'd take crosscut saw us and just saw blocks. They just make a long cut and cut them crossways and have a crosscut.

Karen Purtee: Saw like you used for tree.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. Same thing used for tree. They was lucky enough to have a chainsaw. Then it just go down here a little crosscut I know I hauled out for there.

Speaker 4: One more in sawdust.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. They, take your sleds, and we just set the blocks in and get a load, and then we haul it down. And Christy's down here. They had a big ice house. What they call it a nice house. They tag values in that, and they covered up with a foot or so.

Karen Purtee: And run. Yeah. Bury.

Melvin Carlson: You talked up.

Karen Purtee: You bury the ice in the sawdust at home and it would last all summer.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. Just great. I'm satisfied.

Dig out a big hole covered up.

Karen Purtee: For your lemonade in the summer. We went for your lemonade in the summer.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, I we didn't use it because that wouldn't be unless we get it on a clear creek or something. But it is made for homemade ice cream. Yeah, that is good for that.

Speaker 4: and then we were hanging our, cream and that for the house that sometimes hung it in the. Well. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Cold. But we never had a well. We never had a well.

Speaker 4: No, I don't know what we did. I know the folks had that cellar.

Melvin Carlson: And we had a cellar at home. That was real cool. You know, they did have a foot of sawdust around. And then inside it had three walls that it had a four inch air space. And it never freeze in the winter and keep nice and cool all summer long. That's the way we kept the stuff there.

Karen Purtee: Would that be vegetables and potatoes and. Yeah, and.

Speaker 4: I remember the one place around another where we used to put it down in a bucket, hung it down in the well so you could sit in the water, you know, the bucket would be in the water to keep things cold. Butter cream. But at home we had a drill. Well, so it wasn't fair. Just been the other place.

Melvin Carlson: We farm in Detroit.

Karen Purtee: Were you a good student when you were in school?

Melvin Carlson: Good student. Naturally. You wouldn't expect me to say anything else.

Karen Purtee: Yeah. You got all your lessons done right on time.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah? Yeah.

Karen Purtee: Had your favorite subject.

Melvin Carlson: I tell you, with me, I went out very quick, and I was supposed to be in the third grade. That's the reason I got into trouble, that that teacher didn't have any third graders. The back in the second grade. Well, I didn't have to study because I knew everything. And then I go back up to Big Meadows. I was out there one year and went back up to Big Meadows and Edith Fogelson.

She was in my class. She was in the fourth grade heroes and the third. I just skipped to third grade or something. Fourth grade didn't make any difference in those days. It didn't bother me that.

Karen Purtee: I just juggled you around wherever you fit best.

Melvin Carlson: Wherever I thought I could make it, I did tell them that's where I belonged. You wouldn't know any different. I wouldn't have had, like, my report card, you know.

Karen Purtee: Oh, you'd lose your report card. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: I lost my report card.

Karen Purtee: Convenient like that.

Melvin Carlson: No, I, I skipped. Well, I have to wait a time or two, I got through. Yeah, it wasn't 14 yet. When I went through the eighth grade, I was 14 at home. 13 spring. And then I was in eighth grade due to. I was doing more.

Speaker 4: Convenience kids for political classes for convenience. So the teacher.

Karen Purtee: To the teacher. So she only had one student and one guy. She moving around.

Speaker 4: That's okay. I skipped the seventh grade, but I spent two years in the.

Melvin Carlson: Before I left with Miss Kitchen, I'm sure I'll have to ask you to remind. I'll have to ask you a little. And if you get down here before I leave, I'll have to ask her. If that wasn't miss Kit, she'd know.

Karen Purtee: What kind of jobs did you do then?

Speaker 4: When you got out of school?

Melvin Carlson: Oh, beans. Summertime. Eight years old. I was out home being making a dollar and a half a day. You talk about a proud boy? I made 28. Done. And we got to keep the money. The folks getting taken, they took it on. And before school started, they had a. We got a Big Mac. You know it. I guess it's, a kind of a buggy, but it had two seats out.

I always called him a hacker. Didn't have no top, but I had a top. It had been a shirt.

Karen Purtee: Oh. Okay. So,

Melvin Carlson: But then they'd hook the team to those. I know. Ed took his sub one time to Moscow. We all got our money. Then we went in. We picked out our own clothes, but our own on our own school coach. so we were pretty proud boys. If we wanted to come into the show, we'd get a dime. They'd give us a dime that didn't come out of our money, nickel for the show.

And then they put their can. But of course we chipped in and bought cigarets.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Speaker 4: Oh.

Melvin Carlson: But, George. Okay, I get up. I think it was $0.15 for a pack of back cigarets. I think there's ten cigarets. You smoke them on the way home? Couldn't have them after we got home, so we were sure they were smoked before we got.

I know, first year because I made $20, but I bought a suit. Sure, sure, all the clothes I needed. I even bought a winter coat for that kind of a dog. Mom, pair these knickerbocker pants.

Karen Purtee: above the knee or below?

Melvin Carlson: Oh, right up here for me. They hung down on down. You remember what they were like? I tell you, I was proud.

Speaker 4: Lois. Socks.

Melvin Carlson: Well, I think that's what I was wearing in the family picture.

Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, or.

Melvin Carlson: Something like that. It probably wasn't that. I sat down with it.

Speaker 4: Yeah, I know you were, Archie.

Melvin Carlson: These, I don't know, that wouldn't have been that same suit, but it's one like. And because I was 12 then, I know when I was eight it's the first year. But it took so. But we bought all our old school clothes after that, put the money. And then from the time I was 13, I would go out. Oh my oh 12 when I was 12, that was the war it was on and they couldn't get enough men.

I was out here in the region shopping beans and home beans. We'd pitch on our own clothes and then go in and have to pick them off. I was working right with the men on furlough, you know. But I was pretty good. I was, see, when I was 15, I weighed pretty near 200 divided by I right now.

And that wasn't that. I was just. Yeah, in good shape.

Karen Purtee: Working hard.

Melvin Carlson: I was, I was 62 when I was 15 years old.

Karen Purtee: Wow.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, that's I've got these up there too. see, this?

Karen Purtee: In Nelson of Troy.

Melvin Carlson: This is from our team.

Speaker 4: Did bring. It's a little girl that was brown, And their youngest one was buried. Yeah. She's alive. Oh. Oh. Oh.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. That was a family picture there. And then it was taken. They all got home.

Karen Purtee: And I see one.

Speaker 4: Navy.

Melvin Carlson: Now. Bill was in the Navy. He'd left Allied land. And I believe the rest of his Mabel was home. Yeah. And they'd left on Sunday. And her clothes, I believe Monday morning. She died when she was three days after her. They didn't think she was burnt bad. We didn't have any doctor here. They didn't think she was burnt bad at all.

But what had happened? She had inhaled the flames and got infection and. Oh, you were fine, dad. Come on down on lunch time. I had a watermelon. She loved watermelon. She sat down, made a big male and ate a lot of watermelon. And that was about, well, that that'd be about six. We always eight and six. Supper was at 6:00 sharp, and, 8:00 she started throat spasms.

I don't think she lasted only about an hour and a half.

That is 1980.

Karen Purtee: You said they didn't have a doctor here, and.

Melvin Carlson: There was no doctor here in town. There was, a young fellow. He'd had doctor training. Can you. Did you remember him? I can't think of his name. He had doctor training and everything. But he wasn't a doctor. And he said, you're no doctor. But do you remember when that flu went around? He was around to all of them.

And he saved a lot of them, too. He was good. And that night when she saw him, spasms, he called Doctor Whitman in Moscow, told him what he'd done. And director says there's nothing more you can do is no use to bring her up here. He said, you've done all you. So, he was good. He'd had training, but he wasn't a doctor.

He wasn't a full fledged doc. He was probably like one of these medics is now, you know.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Similar to that.

Karen Purtee: The ambulance.

Melvin Carlson: He had a lot of training and they knew drugs and everything. And I can't think of that name. But he was good. He saved a lot of them here during the flu.

Karen Purtee: What kind of, treatment did they have for people that had flu?

Melvin Carlson: I don't remember.

Speaker 4: I don't remember, I remember mother was up there too, but, I don't know what they did, but I was part of the year was that.

Melvin Carlson: I believe it was through the winter quite a bit. Or winter and spring.

Speaker 4: I think that was, that was a good.

Something.

Melvin Carlson: I don't remember what they did there for the. Maggie's going to look and see what kind of pain inside. There, there. Can you.

Karen Purtee: See? We can't see. You're here. You got a good looking student. Your mother. sewed for the family before you.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah. She made all the kids dresses and all that stuff. She made a lot of our shirts and everything.

Karen Purtee: And that just her heart. So little. Well, well.

Melvin Carlson: Archie's got knickerbockers on, so I know I had him.

Karen Purtee: Well, I can see the sock, their back legs. So even had a tie.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, with the tires crossways. Like it always there.

Karen Purtee: So yeah.

Melvin Carlson: I never gave a tie straight for the simple reason I don't like him. I can't stand the shirt, but. I'll go around up there in the wintertime and people go, why don't you button your shirt? I said, because then I freeze my shirt open to get air down. It's very cold.

Karen Purtee: this is up in Alaska.

Melvin Carlson: Keep warm.

Karen Purtee: Don't ride. Okay.

Melvin Carlson: then they want to know why I don't wear a quote. I go all winter without a coat. I always got one in the pickup in case I need it. Don't just run around. Don't even wear heavy underwear. If I do wear a coat, it'll apparently be. Well, I've got it in there right now. The light red shirt, you know, that is of course, if I'm going out there fooling around and things, then I have a coat.

But if I go to town, I just got that little light red coat. Not a heavy one. I have.

Karen Purtee: Oh, I got a thrashing crew here.

Melvin Carlson: Last.

Karen Purtee: Night with the girls in the cook wagon.

Melvin Carlson: That was my two sisters. the two that was here, the old and Mabel.

Karen Purtee: Well, that's a pretty big proof.

Melvin Carlson: Well, yeah.

Karen Purtee: Where did you thrash all right.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, they you have to be down to the Genesee County. And then they would, would work their way up this way. the Genesee was always very.

Speaker 4: relaxed. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, they started way down. Started coming this way.

Karen Purtee: Did you work with the threshing crew?

Melvin Carlson: Not down there. I worked out on the ridge here for a while. This. Well, I worked for the Burnt Ridge machine. So an accident. So, in fact, there. Always the hardest job and always the hardest job that it work. But it hardest job was it. So on side two, I was on a 32 inch machine and them sacks had to be pulled.

We jiggle them and I started figuring one day we put out well. We was averaging close to around 700 when I was working for what was a day. Well, yeah, I was home machine and I was sewing them alone.

Karen Purtee: 700 sacks a day.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, but, they're going 600. Then you jig them six you, Jacob, you would work on while you're on the sector. You take them off and then you jig them. It was an average, I think a seven times you left them six, seven, nine. Then you'd shape them, sit down and so on. And you pick them up, put them on your knee and then carry them over to the side bar.

I mean, Sykes was averaging that higher, Johnson told me when I was out there, you know, the last time when I was down, he said, them sacks average, pretty near 150 pounds each. Well, they're lifting them sacks each sack eight times whatever is 178,000 pounds. Multiply that by six of the 48,000 pounds and you're lifting that a day and you're carrying them one time.

You think you're talking about.

Karen Purtee: Work, and then what'd you do, climb on a wagon or.

Melvin Carlson: No, no, I started at the ground and they'd be up by the high up.

Karen Purtee: And then you just left them for the farmer?

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, the farmer teacher. Her told we have some boots. I was they got rid of that or now they just, bulk dump it in the grain today. Okay. But also and I've seen the time when we'll put out 800 sacks a day, and I. So pretty nervous. So it's always the same way. That's. I had to be so full.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: A farmer beating you jiggle it. You know, if you missed a pound or two, every 150 sacks would be an extra side you could have. And that's I think it maybe it'd be five, $0.10. So you had to fill it. Oh yeah.

Karen Purtee: What they charge the farmer buns.

Melvin Carlson: The farmer by the sacks. Then he had, he paid so much a sack possession the grain. So, you see, he'd have to pay for the sack. Extra sack. You didn't get it full then it'd be that much money for trash. That's the way that all works. So they wanted them to take full.

Karen Purtee: Yeah. So they were watching you,

Melvin Carlson: I think so, they bring all sacks out and they wanted them full, get em full of start busting sacks and taking,

Speaker 4: That was another thing that they all do. But, yeah, I was taking time to go and gather all the sacks in them. Ready?

They had holes in the mice and the hole zoom or something. Why? They like patching. So you could go by most any house in the hole when they're getting ready for harvest. Here they were. Have piles of sacks going through, getting the sacks ready for the harvest.

Karen Purtee: Gunny says.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. And then they'd patch him with a sack, sack needle and real, say, a crooked needle stacked one. And then they got to use and, flour paste and they paste a patch.

Speaker 4: You get pretty solid hours.

Melvin Carlson: Well, yeah, but they started using that a lot. A lot of the sacks used 2 or 3 times. And behold, the solera the top. So for the weapon these you couldn't run a needle through a. Oh you talked about God. We drove over to the side and then the farmer got fired because he went somewhere where you couldn't put a, sack needle through that for you to be a strip that wide.

Well, then they wanted to do some, so we left the side down and left them over. You still couldn't do a decent job and so on, but they put it in flour.

Karen Purtee: Or.

Melvin Carlson: What? I think you saw them.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, that is.

Karen Purtee: What's us a needle look like. It's.

Melvin Carlson: Well, you know what a spear looks like.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Well they'd be that. But the front part of it would be about that long. Everybody used a different length, maybe some.

Karen Purtee: Water, five inches long.

Melvin Carlson: But the needle would fit. Well, then the point would generally be about that long tapered head, like his beard, and then would come back the same way, and then the shank would be all maybe about as big around as a little bit bigger, maybe the man.

Karen Purtee: In the top of the pan.

Melvin Carlson: And then on the side it had a notch, so I had to just bring the plain all you do. You just hook it like that and it threaded. See, you'd have a double twine.

Karen Purtee: I think, and kind of like a crochet hook. Almost.

Melvin Carlson: Well, no. And then you turn the different double, then the needle, you'd hit it right heel of it right there in your hand, and you grab it. That's the way you judge a length of your needle. and you'd grab it right in the white part and you'd shove it through it, shove it through with his, grab it in the palm.

Karen Purtee: Of your hand, and.

Melvin Carlson: Then you'd hit pull.

Karen Purtee: It out with your.

Melvin Carlson: Fingers. Do that three times, and then you pull it tight. And what was it? Nine stitches. Nine stitches in a sack of oats and 11 and a sack. All that was time. And you would play that?

Speaker 4: Now the the needle on the end was kind of flat.

Melvin Carlson: Well, it's like a spear shaped like a spear. You know, how it's varies. It's, Yeah. Poor side. And then that sack, the one seam laid right over the other year, and then you just so that's, you know.

Karen Purtee: You just whipped around the ground, you know, it was like a.

Speaker 4: Sewing machine just tie up. I mean, just pull it over.

Melvin Carlson: Here on each side, and I could flip on and I could see also sag, but my fingers are pretty crippled. I don't think I could do it very fast.

But that I always enjoyed it. I always enjoyed it. I'd be doing anything that time of the year. Come old, come out, you're going to sew for me? Yep. I grew up on what had.

Karen Purtee: You had a good time going with them? Oh yeah. Good food. good, good.

Melvin Carlson: Some farmers out there with boarded with the farmers and the first farmer we'd go to work for. We'd start telling them how good the food, but it would make no difference. But it was never. It's always good, though. It's a whole bunch of sweet. Then when they get to the next place, we tell them how good the food was back there and each one to try it out.

Do the.

I'll tell you, we lived. I oh, there's always chicken. Every place we got chicken, they grow fresh, freshly killed chickens, you know. And that's pretty hard to beat. The store chicken. I don't care for that. You go by. Yeah. And there's one woman I forget. Mrs. Paula Deen didn't have any chickens or some of the boys to steal.

I was trying to think. I think they were having stolen her own chickens.

Karen Purtee: Haha. Anyway, she's trying to save her chickens for herself. Yeah, yeah, she.

Melvin Carlson: Didn't have any to spare her. Oh, yeah. Wolf male to know about that. Do you know them? Well, Smith and Elena Smith. And you did. You know they can tell you about that. They get a big kick up.

Karen Purtee: So you get you got your chickens after all.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, we got two chicken feet, but we had chicken feed every days. We were. But we'd always tell them what we got at the other place, you know, make sure you and they try to beat it.

But they had a hard time to beat. It filled us because they I always well, he'd go on his uncle run a chicken farm and I read by all the roosters that they did. So when, a day old that he got there and he by the roosters a penny apiece, they take them home and feed him. And right at harvest time, they were just right for pride.

oh, God. There'd be heaps of chicken on the table. Another human always had a good garden, so it'd be pretty hard to beat that. They were all good. They couldn't complain any. And there was, There's, Smith's and, West. And Calvary, you know, all of them. They they were hard to beat as you come down the line.

Every one of them was good to go. It was just the big competition. Who was putting out the best for getting the best reputation?

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

And then you'd sleep out there too, or. Oh, yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Just drop out, go back a bunch. Strong throw down or better go to sleep. If it rained and we could, we can just throw it up over your face. And on one night I did that. It started raining, so I just covered myself. I wanted to sleep and then in the morning, pull covers back and there was a hole.

I got all the water, but they. I woke up the bird.

Speaker 4: so I'm slept under the wagon. So anyway.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, yeah, the Genesee there. They all slept under the wagons. They're out here when if it rain or something. Why, we probably we into the barn or.

Karen Purtee: Something like that. That hold up your harvest there. That way.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah. Yeah. I couldn't try to get to the dried out what it was that had me dry.

Karen Purtee: Did you have any run ins with, what was it? W w I w w o we never did. Not out here.

Melvin Carlson: We there did in the logging camps, but never in the harvest out around this part. I owned a log cabin. I don't have to run into.

36 I think mostly the big one here from after that first one, 1918, 19, 19. 20s. And had a big one strike up here. I just took left towards one fireman for a long time. So then I didn't go back to the woods until 1940. I worked for all risk groups out here. The richest Joe in Germany started, you know that?

Speaker 4: Yeah. 43 sorry, brother. And two.

You served with brother in two of them?

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah, in the logging camp. Well, that's what I say when you worked with him, you had to work. He had to be the top man. We go into the logging camp, go to song. His scale was the highest in the camp. They'd cut the price. I had to work that much harder. Had the same amount of money.

Speaker 4: Right?

Melvin Carlson: I tried to tell them, you know, didn't make any difference, was going to make that money. And we got done with one strip. We sat on it for two months. Little overtime we started and it was just a few days. And then we cut the price on him. We saw that one make up the price on us at the end of the month, and then when they got done with the strip, Oscar Sturgis says, I'll show you a dollar strip in the morning.

And I said, not me. And it's always that. I think we were harvesting. So we went harvest. And I think that's the last I saw. Good day.

Karen Purtee: What happened? How did they they pay you? Well, you so much.

Melvin Carlson: A thousand, they'd have a skater come around and scare their moms. And it was so much of those. And then I went up to Elk River, and I started in Grady, building these roads by hand, or two shovels by my roots. I Dolly road first kid and then come down to camp seven. You remember we needed another man there just over and I come down.

See. Yeah. Well, yeah, he come up. I told him, I told him I guarantee him $10 a day. And I was pretty good wages at that time. So he come up, he went out and looked at older. We said we make more money. And then I said, listen, I said before when I worked with you used to about this time I'm the boss.

I got this job, we're making $10 a.

Karen Purtee: Day or.

Melvin Carlson: Going to work that whole fall and winter next summer, straight to $10 a day. And I was most everybody got. But if we tried to make more, finally he said, well, it's it's just no use setting the price. He said, how about if I just pay a $10? That's where we work. When we get done, we measure up.

And he figured, well, so much a station and make the $10 a day would be so much 100ft. Just work. And we we worked, but we didn't work as hard as we would. It could work the other way. Got our prices, got wrong. That was one time I was the boss.

Speaker 4: I think most of the boys work with him, so I didn't take over all the seventh day he tried to kill me.

Melvin Carlson: They come Ralph, they both side. Archie.

Speaker 4: Archie.

Melvin Carlson: Archie saw it. Woodward. Yeah. Hard to until he froze his coat. And then I had to go out. I don't know what it was. I bought him. I worked for a while, and that was a tough. I would been working for Westerberg, I had money, I did have to work, but I. I stayed in and done to cook.

And mother was sick that winter. So I stayed in the cook and she'd sit there and tell me what to do.

Karen Purtee: And you learned how to cook?

Melvin Carlson: Well, I learned how to cook. I learned how to bake bread. I made it to swell bread. You ever see? And then she had to go back to the hospital. So dad says, can you make bread, kid? Oh, yeah. You bet. I went ahead and made some bread. I forget what happened. Oh, it was storming real bad.

And so, dad is hauling wood, and I took the other team and a friend, Bob. Did Alice and Frank the school down the road? Well, when I got back, the Red dad set to law, so, it was, kind of sour, but it looked good. Look, fire. And it was sour, so it was kind of a milk ghost and sour to milk.

Karen Purtee: It must have been awful sour bread.

Melvin Carlson: It was. And then dad said, well, don't give up. He said, try it again. He said, I know you made good bread. Mother is here. So I did, and I done everything exactly the same. I thought. And, Baker no is the most beautiful bread you ever seen. I went to cut it so damn hard I couldn't drive it.

Karen Purtee: Oh.

Melvin Carlson: It's as I threw some out of the chickens. He said no, broke the milk.

So that and the bread. This year I didn't have the bacon in my bread.

Karen Purtee: Did you figure out what you did wrong?

Melvin Carlson: No, I baked bread. Since I baked bread up there once in a while, they put me to cooking up there in a logger in the gap one spring. And, I baked bread, and it turned out fine. I don't know what I did wrong. I never have been able to figure it out.

they put me to cooking for the engineer. Three weeks job. Well, I don't know whether I fed him too good they got done or if they couldn't eat my cooking, but they've done it in two weeks.

Karen Purtee: Now, what?

Melvin Carlson: Do you say you got a, There's an idea. What kind of a cook?

Karen Purtee: Go. Oh, yeah? Well, I'm afraid to say anything.

Melvin Carlson: No, no, don't bother me.

Karen Purtee: To say you you folks, we're thinking of some other games, too.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, that's what they play. Yeah, she's got the whole list of.

Speaker 4: I got a list of things that we did. I hadn't even thought I'd forgotten about them.

Karen Purtee: So we're ready.

Speaker 4: Okay. Yeah, well, these were some that we had played a lot, and I'd even forgotten about it. That one. of course, to name them, like, Red Rover and Flying Dutchman and run sheep, run fox and geese. We played in the winter in the snow. We made a big ring up the snow and kind of like a pie and had, center was tromped out.

That's where they had to. That was prison. Oh, they could catch her out there, kick the can. That was a favorite on high. And see, we played that and now goes out tonight.

Karen Purtee: No goes.

Speaker 4: That way. Well I should have the mailman tell that one. But just exactly how to play that one. I kind of forgot that. But I do remember we played it a lot and this and he over and over, we played that constantly. I think he had a softball. And they divide up the group have two sides, one beer, one side the schoolhouse and the other on the other.

We played at home too, in our houses and that they, toss them all over the roof thing at home or any, any over. And, They toss the ball over the, over the schoolhouse, and the one on the other side would try to catch the ball. If they caught the ball, then they try to sneak around the schoolhouse to see if they could catch somebody with the ball.

If they had it, they can, wherever they either touched with it or threw the ball, and he had to stay with them then. Oh, and the hand. But, got the most over on their side was a winner. And we did it over and over.

Melvin Carlson: And it was much fun. And then, of course, that part of the way we played them a lot and

Speaker 4: Then we had last couple out, I think that one and they played that one, they divided two and two and two and they line up in a straight line, and then they'd have someone be it would stand out in front or their back turn to the group, and they'd hold our last couple out. And the last couple that was in the back of the line would run, and the object was to try and touch each other so they wouldn't get caught.

But the one that was in front tried to catch one up. And if it caught one, why then the one that wasn't caught had to be in. Oh come on, I'll go for that one.

Karen Purtee: This is, boy and girl type point.

Speaker 4: If they happen to be the age they want to be a boy and a girl together. Otherwise on style. Oh, two girls do boys.

Karen Purtee: Oh, okay.

Speaker 4: Man, that's how they felt about the girls. The boys? Then come ahead. another one. keep away. That was played with a ball two. And then we had various types of tag games. We could have stone tag or bass bass tag, wall play. As long as you had it understood ahead of time, they could tag you attached.

Karen Purtee: I have never played Fruit Basket upset that well.

Speaker 4: There, there they would all sit in a circle and each one would be given a name of some type of fruit and the one that was it would stand out in the middle and they'd say like peaches, pears, or the ones that had been named peaches. Pears would train with exchange seats. And while they were exchange, you see the one that was it for trying to grab a seat and the one that didn't get to sit down.

It would be if and after if one was up there. Quite a while, hadn't been able to get a seat, she'd say fruit basket upset, and she'd be right, sure that she was close to her chair. Get a seat.

Karen Purtee: Well, that everybody had to.

Speaker 4: But then everybody had to move. Yeah. And that was.

Karen Purtee: did everybody know what fruit everyone that would be named? So if you could remember what was who the banana was, then you could get close to that.

Speaker 4: You just remember that yourself. You know, if you were the banana, you would remember you were the bananas. So if they call banana white and they called banana, you were banana. You'd trade with whoever it was. Their name smells like they said lemon. Well, then you'd watch to see who the lemon was. When the lemon would lock was you.

The banana was like 111 chairs. And the one that was it. I mean, well, I've been named name two, of course. Yeah. And, when they switched twice. Sheet try to get two places. Oh yeah. Doing that one.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, yeah. And then there.

Speaker 4: Might just be them. Right. Ask your mom. Keep away. And then another thing they did, they had a lot of, on their spin the platter. You know how that is not mentioned there. Yeah. Well, they'd be sitting in a circle again and, somebody that was and would twist, take a platter or a plate and they'd twist it like that and they'd holler, I think they were named numbers seven, say seven, 4 or 7 and seven would try to dish out their catch it before the plate landed on the floor.

If they did, then the one that was it had to do it again and call another number. But if they landed flat on the floor, then the number that didn't get there in the end to pick it up had to be here. that was in the ladder.

Karen Purtee: And that's that. Was it like spin the bottle? That isn't like spin the bottle.

Speaker 4: I on the same order, I suppose, because in the twist of all.

Karen Purtee: Yeah. And that that's a kissing game. Oh, the way I played it. Yeah.

Speaker 4: No kissing game. Lost in the.

Karen Purtee: Platter. Oh, okay. Yeah.

Speaker 4: And, kick the can. Of course. That was, they have a can out there, as I recall. And they said they would kick the can and, and while the one that was it was going to rescue the can, everybody ran and hid. And so by the time she came back there or he would put the can there, why they had to start out like hide and seek and find them.

and I believe that if the hand was there, somebody could dash in and kick the can and, then they'd have to go on one. That was it. They have to go rescue the can in, and everybody that was in could run hide again. Oh, I want to ask.

Karen Purtee: I need to be the poor fellow chasing the can. Yeah.

Speaker 4: All right, man, this clapping clap out that one. That was they had, double seats. You know, somebody would pound to sit by you while you clap hands. They had to get out. Or if the the clapping, I suppose you could clap your hands. They can there. But the the one that was it for try to get the place where they place and they had these magic tricks.

Did you ever did you know that, if, you have to head around calculus. But of course it would not was tell this already. Yes they did. And the accomplice would go out of the room. And while he was out, why, somebody would have a broomstick and you would touch the broomsticks either up off the top or the middle or down at the bottom.

And then he'd say, ready? And the accomplice would come in and, and, he would tell, where the broomstick had been touched. And they couldn't figure out how they could tell. He tell by smelling he picked the real stick up and smell the air, or somebody smell them down bottom. Sure enough, because I couldn't figure out how they could tell.

How could that one that was outside absolutely out of sight. How could he tell where they and touched the thing by smelling it? Everybody went around smelling the broomstick, see if it actually did smell different.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Speaker 4: They had a long secret, the one that was holding or was inside of it. Maybe he might have his two feet together. Mom. All right. Might be, reaching up there, scratching your top, or I might be folding his hands little or whatever signal they had agreed with before.

Karen Purtee: I see.

Speaker 4: And so all the campers had to look at you at that position. Was it the one inside, man? Then they could smell it. And why? He could smell.

Karen Purtee: All he could really smell, right? Yeah.

Speaker 4: And quite a number of those. That was one of them. I remember it really had them guessing. And then three d that was, they had that was fun that.

Karen Purtee: What else.

Speaker 4: Would do that. Three D they'd have again, two and two and two. But instead of standing side by each, they'd stand to be and they'd be one in front and behind. And they had a big circle. And the one that was. Yeah. there'd be one chasing one, they'd have to be two. And this one would chase that one and he'd, run and stand in front of one of these petals.

And then the one that was chasing would chase the one that was in the back. Oh, I said, and that one, then that one would have to run and find a place in front of somebody, and they just keep that up until they got tired of it. There was no ending, I guess.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, I. Unless they caught.

Speaker 4: Yeah. But then that was fun. And musical chairs or some other one they enjoyed and that one, you know play that double role and then maybe have 1 or 2 or less. And there were players and they and one that would be it. You try to get a chair and when the music played, everybody circled around and around and around.

And when the music quit, they sat down and always be one. Looked at this one chair two. And the one that was it would try to be sure he wasn't the one left out. He'd try to get a chair while the music was going. And anyway, the one that was left out without a chair had to be here.

And then they keep going till they got all the chairs away. Yeah. And then they're just or one chair and there'd be two people circulating around that one chair. And when the music quit, the one that was the quickest to get the chair and the one that. Was left.

Karen Purtee: Asked without.

Speaker 4: Was out coming. And then these, singing ones, we have skip to my Lou was one of the favorite ones. A little red wagon painted the red, white and faded.

Melvin Carlson: You know, skip to my.

Speaker 4: Darling. And we'd make up all kinds of things. Takes Melvin. Just don't remember those things.

Karen Purtee: Now, this is. This is one of the things that's, again that it's all right to dance to.

Speaker 4: And I remember they did this out in the meadow when we did those.

Karen Purtee: They were your father, did you?

Speaker 4: We were. We were permitted to do those. And they were of they were just lots of them. And this, Captain James Green's. That was one you can't quite remember all of those. So, Virginia real an old man. Tucker. And, as we said, we're going to have to get together with some of these old leaders around here to try and remember how they played, because we forgot and pop goes, we saw some other women we did.

And go in and out the window, go in and out. They had a big circle, I remember. And they go him go in and out. The window. Go in and out the window we. And out the window as you can before. And then we can't remember the line if they were to go and, stand before someone or just what they were supposed to do.

Karen Purtee: This is one couple would go in and out between the other couples.

Speaker 4: The rest will hold their knee, hold their arms out like that.

Karen Purtee: So the day we went.

Speaker 4: Back, we brown, but I can't remember just exactly. That's when I say we're going to have to because, they were all fun. And this part was the reason that this was a whole day. And Tucker, that was another favorite.

Karen Purtee: part of that. Oh, yeah. That's the skull.

Speaker 4: That was a good one. That took, a two for two couples that would do that one. Two for House, two here, right here, and two here for like a.

Karen Purtee: Square dance.

Speaker 4: For couples.

Melvin Carlson: It was similar to square.

Speaker 4: That was it for couples would do that two facing and two facing. Right. And then they'd go, Augustus, go look, that's the school of all the schools. That's that's goal. And then the next one is the school. That's the school almost called it. Let's just go Harvard, Glenn. And then they they drop their partners and they'd go in and weave in and out.

Melvin Carlson: Right is similar to square dance.

Speaker 4: And then when they went through, they'd swing their partners to grab a hold of arm. So I think the swing around them.

Karen Purtee: So it'd be like a grand right. Left. Yes, ma'am.

Melvin Carlson: Instead of grabbing hands, they'd hook elbows, I believe.

Speaker 4: Take hold. Yeah. Together.

Melvin Carlson: Square dancing. I believe they don't. They grab.

Karen Purtee: No, they.

Melvin Carlson: They grab hands and they. I live on the left and that.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: But then they had to hit it. Hook elbows.

Karen Purtee: Oh. As they went around from person to person, they hooked elbows instead of hands. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: You see it that way. And go round and round and square dance and and nail on the left of that element, right where they'd always used to hand take their hands and zigzag around back.

Karen Purtee: Yeah. Was your family allowed to dance?

Melvin Carlson: Oh, yeah.

Karen Purtee: So that you did. Besides the folk dances and.

Melvin Carlson: All the how they used to, Fred Johnson had a big pavilion there on the Paulson place. You remember he bought that? We used to. I was a kid. I didn't do much dancing.

But, we building.

I know Ralph and Big.

Bill, old and.

Speaker 4: I don't think that we did them. We were, a little bit. And the younger say it again. So we didn't get in on it because, like, those other kids were older, and, they were the ones that really did more of it. But when we got on Burke Ridge, everybody did it up there. And, that was really fun.

Melvin Carlson: Up there at that place. The. Well, I was one around 1213 when they had. So we were going to do a mini dance. Then we could go over and listen to the music.

Karen Purtee: They had live music or.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah, I'm bunch or some of their relations around here. Yeah. But they played. Yeah. And then we used to go player over a little later there over to

What did they call that? It was out, out of Moscow. they had a big hall over there. I forget what they call out there, but we used to go over there, and the buyers played over there. They used to play all over the the buyer from the beginning.

Speaker 4: But I know we played them out at Union School between here in Moscow and then at Burnt Ridge. We did them under.

Karen Purtee: These are the folk bands. So these are the folk dances.

Speaker 4: When I was in Lewiston, I learned what fun they were. We did it all the time for our P, and they're all, That's when I learned that. What fun it was. Oh.

Karen Purtee: Well, what else you got on that list?

Speaker 4: No, no, of course we had that Virginia real that one. That's they formed two lines facing each other, and then they come from opposite like this.

Karen Purtee: I know. Yeah.

Speaker 4: I don't remember how they ended, but I know it was. But did they did all the school houses had either an organ or piano. Did they. Is that how they had the music? Yeah. They wouldn't remember.

Melvin Carlson: Or did you? Branford? You had a piano. You remember? Hilda used to play that.

Speaker 4: And I couldn't remember who had played it. But I knew we had a piano out there.

Melvin Carlson: And able to play the piano. There were several other big metal. I don't we didn't have anything up there.

Speaker 4: I was wondering if you had any, because.

Melvin Carlson: I know I now I used to take the phonograph over.

Speaker 4: Time. I think it was called back for use there because I don't think it was a musical instrument.

Melvin Carlson: I remember Roy Nelson when he was singing that song. No music and anything. He had quite a time to get.

Speaker 4: Oh, we were going through some of the things, the programs that they did happen. He agreed that the when the the literary chief, he was sure that they had them regularly and at least twice a month they.

Melvin Carlson: I'm pretty sure they had I know they had him once a month, and I'm pretty sure that they had a place among them.

Karen Purtee: Kind of thing all the way, and had to go home every time they would push the benches out of the way to dance. So how did they last? Did they go all night here?

Melvin Carlson: No, I don't remember. We was, just kids too, so we didn't get to stay too long. But up there. But out on the ridge, they lasted about one morning. So tonight. But then these guys are big. They did, about every so often. They'd have a big oyster.

Karen Purtee: Fee voiced her.

Melvin Carlson: you didn't tell her about that? No, I did, they'd have a big washboard or one of these big top or bottom wash boilers, you know, and. Oh, they'd have a half full of oyster shrimp, oyster feed. That was a big. Wouldn't they advertise that everybody in the country was there one of them washboard or. Well, they hold 15, 20 gallons, I think it was a 20 gallon boiler.

And they'd have that have four horn and take them all out. Every bit of it will.

Karen Purtee: Be a fundraising type thing.

Melvin Carlson: I don't think they charge.

Speaker 4: I don't think so. I think that was just the refreshments.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: okay. I think somebody I forget how they worked, but I know they had to raise some money for the oysters in that, but,

Speaker 4: Maybe they passed the hat.

Melvin Carlson: I don't I believe they did. Either that or a dish there. You donation. Throw in what you want.

Karen Purtee: To eat them raw, round here, or did they cook.

Melvin Carlson: A couple cooked in milk.

Karen Purtee: Oh.

Melvin Carlson: Regular ice. Just do.

Karen Purtee: Oh, an oyster stew type.

Speaker 4: Oh good too I think your favorite. And why? She was a good cook. How did they play that one? I can't remember how they played this one. Keep away with the ball. One question. The week. Keep away. Use the ball.

Melvin Carlson: I don't remember that from too much. Wind. We had a big ball or something last I know. Whichever side got it, we'd have to keep it a move and throw on and try to keep it from the other side of getting it somewhere either. I don't I don't remember all the rules and regulations. That's the way it was.

Speaker 4: The relay game. So used to play relay games a lot. Oh yeah, carrying peanuts on a knife from one end of the school to the other one. I don't know if we ever did. We ever had to get down rolling with their noses. I have them to a party when they had to get down and roll it across the floor with their nose, but but most of them, they did it.

They put it on a, knife or something like that. And on a pot of coffee. Would you like a cup of coffee?

Karen Purtee: Would that be fine?

Speaker 4: But,

Melvin Carlson: Any time anything like that happen, we send for him. So he comes up, took a look at it, and did it after we were coming in here. Oh, about booze. And he was drunk, and he took a look at it, and he put rags through this way. You know, to coke. And he never gave me anything. Good book to write through.

Karen Purtee: He had a bullet hole in your hand, and he's.

Melvin Carlson: Putting he had a needle of some kind, and he put a rag like a darning needle and blunt. He put that poker through there in the gunpowder and. Oh, and then he left. No, he didn't leave a regular event today. And I went home. And then when they come home from harvest, I had blood poisoning. It was in this finger I it was all swelled up there.

My these fingers were out of part like that. So healed. I went in with my went to the doctor. He took one look at it and he was drunk. Then he. I remember that he couldn't hardly stand up and he could hear through the hide and he could hear. He didn't give me anything. You know, if you care.

And he gets this thing and he starts poking, you poke right through the meat this side come out on that side. I started to yell and shout out, dad, me out of here! He scared me. I never said a.

Karen Purtee: Word.

Melvin Carlson: Out of there. He started in on you. Turn around and grabbed her and practically threw her out into the other room, locked the door and then he run. Race down this way and down to. Yeah, I was a kid. I had to take the whole thing didn't hurt me, and I'm out of it, all right? He kept thinking.

Karen Purtee: Wow, that's really something. And you were only seven, You're only seven.

Melvin Carlson: Seven? Yeah.

Karen Purtee: You put your hand in front of the gun and pull the trigger again. Since that. No, no, no, not even on a dare.

Melvin Carlson: And every gun I ever touch anymore is loaded. I know whether it is or not. It's loaded.

Karen Purtee: Right.

Melvin Carlson: And I assure you, kids said. I'll tell you the kids are my my grandchildren. Yeah. I'm scared. When they get down there, they want to handle the rifle, you know.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: And that's who I grew up with. But they handle that rifle, right? And the minute they make a bad mood and we go, they got an air gun. I go out with they don't get it by themselves because they have too many. Yeah. Foolish ideas.

Karen Purtee: But yeah.

Melvin Carlson: They have it. As long as they're out there, it's hard to hide. Like I just show them what happened.

I tell them how every gun to gloat, they're beginning to believe it now.

And a friend of mine up there, every gun he's got, he's got about 60 or 70 guns. And every gun he's got, it's loaded. It is. Look.

Karen Purtee: Oh, actually. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: What are you afraid of? Somebody stealing. If anybody steals and gun and shoots the gun at that said, he's going to find the man. I got to be know that, but will find my hmhm will be dead. Because if loaders are hired me to blow the back end of the gun.

Karen Purtee: Oh. yeah, that's, unusual.

Melvin Carlson: Well, I don't buy insurance, I don't buy, I'm like, oh, he got a bullet in every gun and every gun except the 22. But he's got.

36 is in 302. Said everything you can think of. He's got shotguns, and every one is loaded so heavy that it'll just blow the back and it'll kill them. I have walk right to man. had no business.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, yeah, I've.

Melvin Carlson: Said I won't get the gun, but he said, oh, darn, he'll find out who took it.

Karen Purtee: Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Well, he's a he's a gunsmith. That's what he is. and he does. Loading. He's he's one of the best ones. In addition to was rounder. He knows what he's doing. I've seen him load shows. See how we can can load. I've seen that will come up. Drop. Oh.

Karen Purtee: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Well, I was just trying to see if there was anything else here that I didn't know. Oh. What's cat mouse, Cat mouse.

Melvin Carlson: I can't remember what.

Karen Purtee: Okay, how about no ghost up tonight?

Melvin Carlson: Oh, that is one I can't remember.

Speaker 4: I can't mouse that. Wasn't that one. They made a circle and one of them was a mouse and one was a cat. And that was kind of a case of running in and out. They had free, free rein to they, allow the cat to go.

Melvin Carlson: The mouse could go or the cat could.

Speaker 4: I try to keep the cat from the mouse. That was it, right? Open up and let the cat through or the mouse through. But they'd shut off the cat.

Karen Purtee: Oh, they'd all hold hands in my.

Melvin Carlson: I don't remember that. Well.

Speaker 4: And then that, poor pussy. I didn't put that one down, but that was another. Oh, yeah. We went through one for him.

Melvin Carlson: Oh, of poor pussy. Yeah, I'd forgotten about that.

Speaker 4: And then count.

Melvin Carlson: One of the stuff that you just think of.

Speaker 4: just now dawned on me. Well, that one, I think I told him before, but I forgot to tell you about that one. And then count. I kneel to somebody, you know. Hey, now we. Oh, And then try to do it in a such a way. And this other one would have to say. Oh.

Melvin Carlson: Yeah? And you try to make the person.

Speaker 4: laugh.

Melvin Carlson: relax.

Speaker 4: I guess I let them know then that one had to be poor pussy. for.

Karen Purtee: Oh, yeah. Well, it looks like you got it pretty well covered. What's this one?

Speaker 4: Oh, Jeff sticks. He tells that one. Oh, yeah.

Melvin Carlson: Oh. That was. Yeah. Be a lot of play. But all it took was a stick. A willow stick go about as big around as the bottom of that leg. And three feet long. And we had another one that was about nine inches long. We'd, cut a hole in the ground for about that wide, about that long. But, yeah, had a little to start with.

We lay this little. There would be a bunch lined up. Oh, the one, two could play, three could play, a dozen could fly. We'd put the stick across the hole and we get this other stick under. You give it a boot never going near.

Karen Purtee: The little one and go. Yeah.

Melvin Carlson: And then they'd try to catch it. Whoever caught it, well, then they came up and got it. And if they didn't catch it, then we measure the length of these sticks and that would be our score. Oh. Then the next time. See, we'd hold it up and drop it if nobody had it. And we're back at it, and maybe you could bat that way off.

We'd try to get it someplace where nobody could catch it. If they didn't catch it, why then we'd measure out again if they caught it. Whoever coded the after the next time. Behold. Take that stick. Hold it this way. And we'd have to hit it a couple times in the air, then back. And if we missed them ways out.

Karen Purtee: No.

Melvin Carlson: And then third time they're in the fourth time we set the stick on end in the hole this way, and then you'd have to hit it with his other and it would flip, but then hit.

Karen Purtee: Oh.

Melvin Carlson: And every time, if nobody caught it and we measure out the stick.

Karen Purtee: Will be your point.

Melvin Carlson: That is our score. And then we go around it either play, so much we'd say 50 or 100 or, you know, depending on how many were playing. That was a lot of playing. You didn't make one score, but just my brother and I playing, or we'd play or we'll say a hundred because we'd be standing up here and you try to shoot it over.

Mr.. Yeah, yeah. And the only time would be if, well, just bouncing them, hitting them a couple of times and then hitting mistake. It missed that really hit. We could try it three times. And if we managed to try it out. So it was all score point there. If there was a lot of playing, didn't get one.

Sure.

Karen Purtee: How did it get that name?

Melvin Carlson: I don't know.

Karen Purtee: It was something that came from Japan.

Melvin Carlson: I don't know where we got it, but it was chopsticks all the time. They come from over there and that's all I ever knew about Jack. It took me a long time to think about what it was, but that was it.

Karen Purtee: I still like the story about about your ice skating. have you heard that one? You were on the phone.

Speaker 4: That was that.

Karen Purtee: He was telling. Telling me I didn't get it on tape. So the tape from now.

Melvin Carlson: The, about, you know, from the barn down to the spring. Yeah. That's right along stretch and around the corner. Well, aren't you and I in the winter? One time we got smart and we carried water from that spring. The cattle traded their food. But all a lot of all we had that for. And I drove down and we get up in the park on our skates and we'd take off concrete.

We saved that around and that all worked fine till that turned the cattle out in the morning. Oh. Gatlinburg down there. Oh, it was a bad that couldn't hold the wood he comes on, hunts us up pretty quick. We had to chop holes of that up. The trail would be about that right. I get there was a lot of chopping.

Karen Purtee: Yeah I did.

Melvin Carlson: But we got to get more, which we started in and we didn't take it all up, but we got by all right. We never pulled back down.

Karen Purtee: I, I'd like to see those cows and and bellies going out for legs right away.

Speaker 4: Break a leg on them or something too. You know, they had regular ski jumps out there too. Oh, yeah. They were skiing. Some of them were really good at it and they fixed up a ski jump. You know, they come down and they shop there like that. Before we even heard about these professional ones, we never.

Karen Purtee: Heard.

Melvin Carlson: And never heard about all these professionals. Studio. But, mother, tell us. Glad you know that they were jumping back from Norway. We didn't know anything about it, but we fixed them up. We would jump or the fallen, too.

Karen Purtee: Yeah, I.

Speaker 4: Came down there, so my. They were really good at it. I don't know, they're saying.

Karen Purtee: It must be in your blood.

Speaker 4: After the air.

Melvin Carlson: I never will.

Speaker 4: Forget you either. One of you don't. He doesn't get creamed. You know.

Karen Purtee: He's black. Did you run out of tape?

Melvin Carlson: Yes. I was asked. Had it been a big storm? Drifted me from a school. Got us in the sled. Oh, he had the whole bunch there. I don't know how many kids it was, but we was all having a lot of fun. We were running half the time behind, and he never did come after us again unless it was an awful start.

Yeah, I made one dive off into a big snowdrift, headfirst into deep, and I thought it was just my feet to stick it out.

Karen Purtee: Oh.

Melvin Carlson: Dad, get right up and go. And he did pay attention. I had one awful time to get.

Karen Purtee: Out of that. Oh.

Melvin Carlson: Well, I didn't jump like that anymore. Yeah, no, we used to see who had died in the presence. I think I won because nobody else ever tried it back to me.

Karen Purtee: You were jumping off the sled into the snow?

Melvin Carlson: Yeah. We jump off the sled, head first into the snow graves. They were just deep breaths, you know? And then once in a while, it was pretty solid. Hard. Oh.