In October of 1950 Mom and Daddy put the Porterville place up for sale and took a trip into Idaho looking for a farm to buy. They looked at places in Lake Fork, Moscow and St Maries, Idaho, traversing the entire length of Idaho, ending up near the Canadian border. On the return trip they decided to look at the Lake Fork place one last time, and while there, put down earnest money until they could sell the property and take care of their affairs in Porterville. The one negative in this move was, they would be leaving behind, Loraine & Steve and 4 grandchildren.
On December 1st, 1950, four trucks were loaded with machinery, horses, cows and household furniture. A “touring car” carried the rest of the family. The 500 mile trip from Porterville, Utah to Lake Fork, Idaho took two days. We left Utah in a rainstorm and arrived in Lake Fork in a blinding blizzard. The county road, that led to our new house was snow covered, with wind blowing a gale, making it impossible to see the unplowed road. Finally we arrived at the house to find it locked and the key nowhere to be found. I remember standing there in a strange place, in the dark close to the car, wondering what we would do now. I heard Daddy’s voice as he said, “Della come here I have an idea. I will pry up the window with this shovel, and since you are the smallest person here we’ll see if you can crawl through and unlock the door.” With him boosting me up, I squeezed through the window and found myself standing in a dark, bare room, which I assumed was our new living room. A light flashed in front of me and Daddy said, “here is a flashlight, take it, find the door and open it from the inside.” Soon everyone found the open door and came into the house, stumbling around in the dark until the electrical box was found and the electricity turned on.
I remember Mom and Daddy starting fires in both stoves, the fire snapping and crackling and soon the smell of chili, (Mom had planned ahead) filled the room as it bubbled on the stovetop. My sister and I had already explored the main floor and were very intrigued with the stairway that led up to more bedrooms. Daddy and the other men, unloaded the furniture then headed outside to unload the animals, fed them hay, and made sure they could get fresh water. After everyone had their supper of chili and bread with home canned peaches for dessert, mattresses on the floor were quickly made up into beds, and all the weary travelers were soon asleep.
To be continued...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Lake Fork/McCall was snow country...I don't think Mom and Daddy had any idea what they were getting into, when they moved to Idaho.
Daddy is in the drivers seat
Mona and Idella in front.
The road to our house.
Third grade at Wood Grove
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