Big news this week...... Russ made a quick trip home from Gunnison, CO, where he is attending college. Dave brought him to see us right from the airport, so we had a good visit. Russ is looking great....so trim and healthy...and BIG. He is like hugging a tree!
     Russ loves history and is presently taking four history classes at the same time! However, he is changing History from his major to his minor and will major in something that will focus on outdoor activity. That seems right for him.
     He, Ryan, Dave and Anne spent time on Saturday with Hildy, Dan and Jack. Russ and Jack were close when they were younger, both having a huge interest in trains. They spent a lot of time up near the tracks in Skykomish.

     We had a rainstrom like nothing I can remember. Our weatherman said we got 5", and I can believe it. As usual, we had a small flood into the workshop part of our basement. Vern and Nan zooped it up with the shop vac. It kept draining in and we kept zooping it out.

     Dave and Anne spent the following weekend with Ryan at Washington State University. They went to a very exciting football game and watched WSU beat O. S. U. Then they all three went to the Jay Leno Show, for which Ryan had acquired tickets some time ago.

     Ryan called after Dave and Anne had started homeward, to tell us what a great time they had all had together. Nice to hear.

     October 26

     Hildy and Dan brought our M&M Sunday in to our house this time, for a change. They brought Submarine sandwiches, curled corn chips, and Snapple. Later, I served ice cream and strawberry sundaes, cookies and lemon cake.
     We spent the afternoon looking at small prints of Heather and Thomas' wedding and the Tiger trip, deciding which ones we would like to have made into prints. It was fun to have both of those special occasions brought back through the pictures that were taken.

     HistoryLink has notified me that my story about starting a kindergarten in 1959 (so that Paul would have one to attend) was up on their website, along with the picture of the Moms involved and handsome Ronald Reagan! That was a day to remember. Glad I have a picture to prove it actually happened. Check it out: http://HistoryLink.org. Then type Nordstrand into Seattle/King County box on website page.

     Getting chilly outside. Just to save them for a bit longer, we brought the still lovely baskets of pink, rose, and white impatiens inside and set them into the big planter box in the living room. I suspect they won't last very long, but it's darn sure they won't outside!

     Dixie/Dorothea, Senior Editor

More about Tiger......

     I'm very glad to have met Anne V. Williams, if only for a short time. We were hoping she and her husband, Terry, would join us at the picnic. They were unable to come, as Terry wasn't feeling well, but she brought the issues of Selkirk Sun she was saving for me to the meeting place at Tiger Store. Anne is the editor of Selkirk Sun, the Metaline Falls newspaper that has published some of my stories. I have her e-mail address and she will be hearing from me, as you can bet.

     We were all sorry Bill Piper wasn't there. I have been wanting to meet him since 1991, when we corresponded for awhile when Big Smoke, the beautiful annual magazine put out by Pend Oreille Historical Society, was getting ready to publish my story about Tiger and the homestead. It appeared in the 1993 issue, a copy of which is one of my treasures. Also, Bill was such a big part of Nancy and John's wonderful experience of actually finding the homestead. Our whole family owes him a huge debt of gratitude. John tells me Bill saved the homestead papers from being tossed, some years ago, saying he would like to have them. That's the BIG REASON we could be there and feel close to our folks whose home it was so many years ago.

     Lila and John Middleton invited all of our family that had stayed over and the Beams, who are friends of theirs, to their home for cookies and coffee in the evening after the picnic. What a gorgeous home. Built on the bank above the river and with a wide deck on the front, it has a tremendous view. The house is of peeled logs, inside and out, with a big fireplace and hearth. It is full of treasures they have gathered over the years, including a lacy, white wasp's nest (unoccupied, of course) that hangs from the ceiling in their dining-room!

     Outside, they have a large gazebo (also on the view) and a yard full of bright flowers, a well kept lawn, a greenhouse where John has tomatoes planted along both sides and several planted in metal containers and hanging upside-down from the rafters! All are in full production. There is a big garden enclosed to about 6ft high with cyclone fencing and several spaced strands of barbed wire above that, to keep out the deer. All around the veggies is a wide border of yellow and orange marigolds, which John told us repels the small animals, like raccoons and rabbits.

     When we went inside, I was led to the "chair of honor", a wood framed, cushioned glider that had its own matching glider footstool. If I knew how to purr, I would have. Lila had made big cookies, oatmeal and raisin, for us. Our John set up his laptop on the dining-room table and showed the pictures we have been collecting from around the family, hoping Mr. Middleton and Walt Beam might be able to identify some of the people and places that we didn't know. They have both lived in the area for all of their lives. We learned a lot and they had fun, too, saying, "Oh, yes, that's......."

     I think we have made a new circle of friends to cherish.

     Next morning, we drove down to see the site of the original Tiger Town....across the railroad tracks and right on the riverbank. There, we met Gordon and Mary Wallace, who are the current owners of this beautiful, historical stretch of land and the old buildings on it. They were very welcoming and told us of their plans for the future. They are both presently teaching in the Tri-Cities area, but will build a new cabin on this land and retire here.

     Lila remembered that an old cabin still standing not far from Tiger may have been the home of Florence Early, in whose home I was born. We drove there, and met Nanette Chatwin who told us, yes, that it did once belong to Florence Early.... and that she was a midwife! That was a brand new fact for me. It makes perfect sense that Mom be moved there from the remote cabin when there was 10 ft. of snow on the ground and she had been warned (due to her almost fatal bout with diphtheria) not to have more children. What a scary time this must have been for them! Now I wish I knew if she took in the rest of the family, too, as my sister Florence told me they all moved into Tiger for my birth. I guess I will just have to wonder, won't I?

     Nanette told us they plan to restore, as much as they can, the cabin to the way it was when Florence Early was there. She said she has some pictures from the previous owners, whose name is Maupin, that show the interior as it was. At present, it has been remodeled so much that only the log front and sides are original. Even the front door is no longer like it was, looking more like a barn door than one to a home. There was one inside door with a very old glass doorknob which might have been turned by Mom, when she was there. At least, we're going to believe that.

     On this same property, but out of view of the road and on the river, is an even older log cabin, somewhat damaged by fire. Nanette said they plan to refurbish that one and turn it into a "Bed & Breakfast..Without Breakfast".

     Dixie/Dorothea, Senior Editor

    The Trail to Tiger was all I could have wished for, and more! We left here on Friday morning, the 3rd, and were back Monday evening, the 6th, but packed an unbelievable amount of excitement, adventure, discovery, and just plain wonderfulness into that short time. I don't think any of us who shared that time will ever forget it. We found an unspoiled, beautiful corner of Washington State that we will return to many times, certainly in our minds, hopefully in reality.

    The homestead is about four miles from where the little town of Tiger used to be and half way up the side of Tiger Hill. The town, itself, is all gone, except for the old store building which now is Tiger Historical Center. We stayed in the small town of Ione, about five miles from where Tiger Town used to be. Each morning, we awoke to mist over the river, which gradually dissipated to reveal almost perfect reflections. There were some gorgeous views and lots of picture-taking. The beautiful Pend Oreille river will be the picture I call up in my mind when I want to dream.

The Pend Oreille River

    Having all four of our kids, Dave, John, Hildy and Paul there, plus Nan, Dan, Liz, Anne, Ryan, Suzie, and, last, but far from least, Kirby, would have been wonderful. Having Lee and Curt Stark, Lila and John Middleton, and Phyllis and Walt Beam, three local couples, join us with their friendship and interest, made it perfect.

John, Paul, Vern, Dave
Dan, Hildy, Liz, Suzie, Ryan, Nancy, Anne
Me, Kirby

Kirby and I greet Phyllis & Walt Beam
and Lila & John Middleton

Lee, Curt, Walt & Phyllis

    We spent several hours on my folks' land, just wandering around or sitting soaking up the feel of the place. We shared a potluck picnic that filled three long tables, borrowed by Paul from History House. Everyone brought something to share, so it was a real feast. We sat in a circle on the folding chairs and ate from TV tables everyone brought for themselves, set out on a "carpet" of golden grass on what must have at one time been a planted field. The furrows from a plow were clearly visible through the yellowed growth. I had hoped for some flash of recognition, but felt only a deep sense of belonging. It was enough.

Our Homestead Picnic

    Most of the group risked their necks to take the old path diagonally down along the side of a 50ft ravine to actually see the 4 log high dam that has been there since my Dad built it to support the ram he put into the creek to pump water to our cabin in 1911 -1912. He described it so many times that it just has to be the one. I opted to not risk my 87 year old neck and wait for the pictures. Just as well I didn't try it. I'd like to be around to celebrate my 88th. There were fallen trees which had to be climbed over or under. Not for me in my "Golden" (or, is it "Rusty"?) Years. Everyone seemed to have cameras, so there will be lots of pictures.

The Dam My Dad Built

    The weather was perfect for us. Crisply cool mornings, with that lovely mist over the river. Bright, clear afternoons in the high 60s - low to mid 70s.

Pend Oreille in Mist

    We won't forget the Pend Oreille country. It is easy to understand why generation after generation chooses to stay there.

    Dixie/Dorothea Senior Editor