Lindblad tells of early life in "Settling Down"
From Frank Lindblad's book, "A Pioneer's Ballad."
"A Pioneer's Ballad"
Earlier this year Harold Boyer loaned me a book of poems about living in the Wilson Creek during the pioneer days. Today we begin the second poem in Frank Lindblad's book, "A Pioneer's Ballad," with the title of "Settling Down."
Settling Down
Newloves' hotel served tasty meal,
So piping hot with great appeal
To folks of lunches tiring.
Miss Mabel said, "Beefsteak or fish."
What better choice could family wish
While for new home aspiring?
With knife and fork to food applied
Each appetite was satisfied
Quite promptly after seating.
Two and a half fed ten of us.
At such a price who then could fuss
About the cost of eating?
Two sturdy teams hauled each a hack
To bring us to a vacant shack รก
For cooking food and sleeping.
From sagebrush limbs was built our fire,
With dust and leaves to cause desire
For wood, with less of sweeping.
New creatures found were bobcat wild,
The badger, sage hen, chipmunk mild,
Coyote and the rattler.
Swift whirlwinds lifting dust clouds high
Might carry us into the sky.
Who wants to be a tattler?
One parasite found us real quick,
The brushland's native small sage tick
That fresh red blood was seeking.
At night before we went to bed
We'd search our skin from toe to head.
"Don't scratch when someone's peeking."
We bought two teams quite lean, not fat,
And wagon called a democrat
To haul the needed lumber.
A shed was built to house our goods
With room to cook our daily foods
And home-made bunks for slumber.
Some masons shaped a solid base
Where builders soon could rafters raise
As home for us was growing.
Before the second winter's rime
We there were housed in ample time
Before it started snowing.
E-mail from Cheryl
Facts from the past gleaned from the Moses Lake Herald, Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Driggs) Elkins:
From the Columbia Basin Herald on Sept. 28, 1950:
Washington urges school bond vote
State Rep. Nat Washington of Ephrata spoke before the Moses Lake Grange Saturday night, urging members to support the state bond issue for schools and state institutions which will be on the ballot at the general election.
He pointed out that Moses Lake stands to benefit as much as any school in the state if the bond issue passes, since the money raised by the bonds will largely be used as matching funds for schools in rapidly growing areas such as Moses Lake.
Washington was a speaker during the grange's annual booster night program, which followed a potluck dinner in the grange hall at the country fair grounds.