Page 19 - Forest Grove Years 17 Feb

and was settled on the couch beneath the window facing the store. I clearly recall the
windows being broken above my head, as the ammunition in the store exploded with
the result that shell casings and lead bullets were widely distributed in all directions in-
cluding through the window above my head.
At various times during the years we all lived together at the “Grove” new money mak-
ing ideas were introduced to augment the existing activities. One year we cut Christ-
mas trees and according to the record on one of Madelene’s photos shipped 21,000
trees to the coast. Another year we raised turkeys – hundreds of them. For the most
part these were not very clever birds, but I do recall a turkey gobbler who was named
Alexander the Great. He may not have been clever but for a small boy he was to be
avoided. He attacked without just cause and could inflict a nasty bite. I gave him a
wide berth despite instructions to the contrary that essentially suggested that he was to
be shown who was master. I had a similar experience with one of dad’s horses – a big
buckskin called Sonny. I was sent to the far field to ride him back to the barnyard. I
arrived leading the horse much to the annoyance of my father who insisted that I get
up and ride him. I explained that I had tried but the horse had refused to move. I was
issued a pair of spurs and told to try again. It was a brief ride. I used the spur, proba-
bly a trifle vigorously, and the next thing I realized I was headed up into the sky from
which flight I was rudely deposited into the muck of the barnyard and left most unhap-
py about the experience.
Ruth Lake

In 1946 we began to visit a local lake called Ruth Lake. This mostly due to a couple
that my mother and father had come to know quite well through the store and the post
office. Ron and Florence Riley had taken up a homestead on the lake directly across
from the sawmill owned by Ray Devore. The story that is told regarding the acquisition
of Buckhorn Point revolves around a rowboat ride for a picnic on the point presumably
in the summer of 1946. Clearly, the lunch was a success and by 1947 we had pur-
chased twenty acres of property including the point of land where the picnic took place.
My recollection of these events is very vague. I do recall accompanying my mother to
the log cabin on the lake now owned by the (Jan and Rick Elliot) Albert family. There
were, in fact, two buildings, both still standing. We used the small guest house located
on the left of the log cabin. This property was at that time owned by a friend of Bob
Parkin’s called Manley Romans. It had been acquired in 1943 or 1944 from Mel McGuf-
fin who, as I recall, was a great builder of shiplap boats many of which used to be visi-
ble along the shoreline on the bottom of the lake. The last of these that I remember
seeing was on the west side of the big island at about the mid point between the north
and south ends.

Two memories of our visits to the Roman’s property stand out in my mind. The first
was being introduced to green olives. I recall being told that it was an acquired taste
but in my case the acquisition was swift, and I continue to retain a fondness for this
type of olive. My other memory was less pleasant and that was of a large leach which
attached itself to my foot as it rested in the muddy bottom of the lake. My father felt
that I had made far too much of a fuss over this harmless creature, but I wanted it re-
moved as quickly as possible and for a time was reluctant to return to the water.

It was in the summer of 1947 that our cabin was constructed on Buckhorn Point. The
cabin became a haven for both the Parkin and White families where they could escape