She was born in a log cabin on her family homestead, one cold night on
January 13th. The year was 1907, the place was near Colville, Wash.
She was the first to be born and some years later, 2 sisters and 2 brothers
would come along. Her name given at birth was Etha Maybelle Swan, but
no one in later years would call her that or even remember her 'real' name.
She was always to be called 'Mable'. It was shorter and easier to say and
certainly easier to remember. Things were hard for them then, hauling
water, chopping wood for the fire, taking care of the animals, tending a
garden, all the usual things a 'pioneering' family had to do to survive.
But life went on and Mable grew up.

At the age of 20, she met and married her first husband, William in 1927.
She was really in love with him and they soon had a son, David born 1928,
in Longview, Washington. She loved her husband very much, but things were
not always so good between them. He played music for dances, barn dances
I was told and traveled all over to play for them. He would be gone
till the wee hours of the am. She was left alone a lot to raise her son.
They both were left alone. But life went on and the son grew up.

The son found himself a wife, Betty, and in 1948 they were married.
Within the next 8 years they would have 4 daughters: Lynda, Pam, Angie
and Lois. But things would not be perfect and this family of 6 would soon
be parted. David and Betty were divorced in 1958 and David decided
to make his new life; hundred's of miles away, with a new wife and
ready-made family. So in 1958, the girls would go to Grandma's to live.

Grandma's first husband had passed away very suddenly and she met
and married Fred in 1951. Grandma and our 'new' Grandpa had a farm
near White Salmon, Washington. Not a big farm, just 50 acres, but there
was always something that needed to be done. Gardens to be weeded,
berries of all kinds to be picked, and always all kinds of garden produce
through the summer to be gathered and 'put up' for the winter. We were
vegetarians, so didn't raise meat to eat. We had chickens for eggs and
a cow for milk. I can remember many a time getting up real early and
going out to milk that cow. She gave us so much milk and 'half' of the
gallon jars would be thick, rich cream. MMMM-was so good over a
bowl of berries. We made our own butter, done the 'old' way, with a
hand churned paddle-wheel contraption, screwed onto the mouth of
a glass gallon jar. (There is nothing better than 'homemade' butter.) *S*

We had a large field of alfalfa which we would get two cuttings, during
the summer. Part of it we kept for our milk cow and the rest was sold.
There was a field of wheat which was harvested and we had our own small
grainery and ground the wheat ourselves. Grandma used wheat for everything.
We never knew what 'white' bread was. We never ate it and the smell of the
loaves of fresh baked bread from the kitchen wood-stove oven-yummmmm.
She also made cakes, rolls, cookies and pies. I can just smell it now!

Whenever Grandpa decided it was time to clear some more land for alfalfa fields-
guess who got to pick up the rocks and help clear the land? Yep, that's right,
my 3 sisters and I. We were all young then, but we were all out there 'helping'.
He would never consider hiring someone else to do the work, us 4 girls was
'help enough' he use to say. I was driving a tractor by the age of 10 and thought
it was the neatest thing!! I always wanted to 'move' it, after we got all the rocks
picked up in one spot and needed to move the tractor-trailer to another.

Well, time has passed, us 4 girls have grown and have families of
our own and grandchildren too. Times may have been hard for us,
back then, but I think we grew to be strong, self-reliant women.

The homestead is still in the family. My cousin Mike owns it and he loves
that place! It has huge beautiful trees and in spring there are all kinds of wild
flowers. He has built a home there to live and 'cares' for the property so much.
I'm glad someone in our family owns it and appreciates the beauty of it.

This 'In Memory Of' page was made on Jan. 22, 2003.
Grandma passed away on January 19, 2003 ~~
just 6 days after her 96th birthday.

October 15, 2008
With sadness I update this page once again...cousin Mike passed away
on May 29, 2008. The property will go to his children; but I imagine
it will be sold and no longer part of the family heritage.