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ALAMEDA FLATS
There are three quite distinct terraces along the Columbia River from Rod Hopkin's place downriver to the Natural Watering place, a distance of about 12 miles. The terrace nearest the river is quite narrow and sandy. The second one is wider and better soil. The third, or top terrace, is wide and level with good soil. The rises from each terrace are about two hundred yards and quite steep. Mostly sand hills, and in some places a scattering of little round rocks.
Vernile Hopkins came into this area in about 1885 from California and settled on the first terrace along the Columbia River, about fifteen miles downriver from Grand Coulee. He built a log house and developed his land. He had a grape vineyard, fine Bartlett pears, cots with seeds so much like almonds that they were saved to use as nuts, blue Italian prunes, luscious cherries, and probably the best peaches ever raised in Washington. He raised a family of four boys and two girls, Altha and Myrtle. The boys, Rod, Elzy, Clarence, and Babe were great horsemen in early days. Rod homsteaded upriver a few miles from his fathers home. Elzy homesteaded downriver along what is called the Elzy Canyon.
The first school in this area was held in the Hopkin's home in about 1902. Mrs. Rod Hopkins' sister, Eunice Simpson, taught. She was the Eunice Seaton who later taught many years in the Coulee Dam area.
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The second homestead was taken by the Jose brothers, Bob and Harry, in 1902. It was at the foot of what is now Strahl Canyon on Squaw Creek, about fifteen miles downriver from the Hopkins place on the top terrace. It was a fine level piece of land. They developed about 15 acres of fine orchard, taking the water from Meadow Springs to irrigate it. The two young men dug 6,000 feet of ditch, mostly by hand, to bring the water down. This place was sold in 1914 to Lawson Dewey, and in about 1946 to Bill Ehlers, who runs a cattle ranch there now.
John Thirleen was probably the next settler who also had a fine piece of land in the top terrace, but no water except a well for house use, He had a blacksmith shop.
The Edwards came in about 1906. Mrs. Edwards and her three children, Forest, Don, and Dolly settled the land between the Thirleen and Jose places.
It was about this time that a man came into the country who promoted a homesteaders boom by settling homesteaders for one hundred dollars apiece. He was a good salesman for in a very short time the Flats were all settled.
A Post Office was started in 1907 in the Lantzy home on the river where Stout's boat landing was. Lillie Lantzy, a sixteen year old girl, carried the first mail from Rex to Alameda on horseback. Since the post office was named Alameda the whole area became known as Alameda Flats. Sunday School was held in the Lantzy home. Lewie West, another early homesteader, was superintendent of the Sunday School for several years. He also carried mail after Lillie quit.
A schoolhouse was built near the Thirleen place in about 1910. A nice store was built near the Jose place by a Mr. Kincade, then sold to George B. Cooley and later moved down to the Natural Watering Place and eventually sold to Willis Pendell and then moved across the river.
In about 1910 there probably were 25 homesteaders of the Flats, making a real thriving community with post office, school, and country store. There was much social activity such as dances, parties, dinners, and usually picnicking following Sunday School.
An irrigation project was promoted and a group of Surveyors came in to see what could be done and found there was not enough water to do any good. The homesteaders began to realize that the land, without water, would not make them a living, so after proving up, they started moving out in about 1912. Soon there were only the old pioneer homesteaders left. The post office was moved to Forest Edwards' home where it remained until the government closed it.
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The cultivated land on the two lower terraces has all gone back to natural grass. Bill Meyer and Bill Ehlers do some dry farming on the top terrace.
The old Jose homestead, now occupied by the Ehlers family, is the only home left in the whole Alameda Flats country. Even the buildings are gone. The land is rented by different farmers around the area and used for pasture.
Dorothy Strahl Holbert
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WIDBY AND JENNIE CRIDER
Widby and I came to Grand Coulee the first day of January 1935. Widby had a job with Mason-Walsh, Atkinson and Kier as a pile driver. Upon arriving at the dam site we had only $6.00. Widby signed up with Mason-Walsh, Atkinson and Kier and got his slip to report to work at eleven that night, January 1, 1935. After signing up for work we drove back up to Grand Coulee to look for a place to live. We drove up in old Grand Coulee where mud and water was running down the streets. We finally landed on the Heights at the Elmore-Fleishman cabins. These cabins had been moved up there from Rock Island Dam. The cabin that Mr. Elmore took us to was practically bare. He went out behind and brought in a home-made table that had a layer of mud on top, a couple broken chairs and then drove down to old Grand Coulee to get a cook stove and mattress to put on an old bedstead that was in the cabin. We paid $4.00 for a week's rent and had $2.00 left until pay day which was the next day. It was $7.00. There were no take-outs at first. That $7.00 enabled us to pay another week's rent, buy groceries and gas until he got a full week-s pay which was $35.00. That first pay check of $35.00 was like manna from heaven.
Being independent and having a regular income after several months of living with relatives and practically no money coming in except for an odd job now and then, was pure delight.
We had never seen anything like the Grand Coulee area and were intrigued.
The weather got very cold for awhile after we arrived here. The cabin we lived in was just a layer of boards nailed on sum studding and about a 12 x 12 room and one could see daylight coming through the ends up near the roof. We had terrible dust storms at that time. I used to mop up the dust with water instead of trying to sweep it up as that made another dust storm right inside the cabin.
We finally completed our house and had quite a nice home at Osborne. I enjoyed at that time watching different ones building, remodeling, setting out trees, planting lawns and improving their homes and property.
Jennie Crider
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MRS. LOUIS EYLAR
We came to Grand Coulee in 1933. We first moved into one of Shaffer's cabins located about a block off of what is now Federal Avenue. There were 24 cabins and nearly everyone living in them had a relative and his family. The floors were of 12-inch plank that were unplaned and green and when it shrunk you could sweep the dirt through the cracks.
I didn't know whether I could live in such a place. Nothing was done in a conventional manner. Just about everyone used powder boxes for
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chairs, cupboards, and storage. They were good and sturdy and air tight. Most people had the idea that they were only going to be here a year or so and didn't want to put much money into a place to live or didn't have any money to put into a place.
Mrs. Louis Eylar
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MR. AND MRS. J. T. McKEE
We arrived in Rosalia, Washington, May 25, 1903 by train from Clarksville, Missouri, a small town on the Mississippi River. We stayed with an uncle of Jim's there and another uncle in Idaho until fall when we came to Bridgeport to live with Jim's brother, Mark, who had come to Washington a few years earlier. It was a hard winter, feed scarce, and the men cut the soft twigs from willow trees to help stretch the feed for the cattle. The next August, we bought the blacksmith shop in Bridgeport and ran it till the spring of 1906.
On may 2, 1906 with our two children, Henry and Irene, we moved on a homestead in the Delrio country. This was hear the "breaks" and not to far from Condon Ferry. Lella was our post office and a store. It later was moved and called Delrio.
The first year we fenced the place and plowed 10 acres, planting it to corn, feeding the fodder to the cattle that first winter. The sod was all broken out with a "foot burner" which was a one-bottom walking plow pulled with horses.
Mr. and Mrs. Phil Rinker were our closest neighbors. They lived only about a quarter mile from us. Not too far distant lived Mr. and Mrs. Alex Trefry, who raised horses and occasionally they would have a barn dance in their hay loft, as it was the only place big enough for such an affair. A violin was the main source of music.
After proving up on the homestead, we bought the W. J. Davis homestead and moved there. This made us close to the Mt. View School which all of our children attended. The building still stands. Mr. Davis had set out a family orchard which was killed by the big hail storm the summer of 1920 or 1921.
It was on this place that our other two children, Hayden and Estelle, were born. Hayden now owns the place where he was born.
In 1923 lightning killed three of our horses and two more were badly cut up in a wire fence. Severe thunder storms were fairly common. During one such storm three of our strawstacks were struck and destroyed in 1941. The grasshoppers ate the crops up in 1924 and feed was real scarce that coming winter.
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We raised mostly shorthorn cattle then as there were good beef stock and also good for milking. During the rough years several were milked and the cream sold to live on and pay taxes. In the early days cattle to be sold were driven to Coulee City. Usually several neighbors with cattle for sale would bunch them and make their trip together. Here, they would be shipped by train to the Spokane market. By the time some of the steers were sold they would be four or five years old.
The closest doctor then was at Mansfield, with hardly any roads and no telephones. it took quit a while to get a doctor. We kept well and didn't need a doctor very often.
In 1917 the Pearl Telephone Company built a telephone line in to the Delrio country and we could call out through Bridgeport.
A veterinarian was unheard of in the early days. A sick animal would be given a simple remedy, and most likely it would come from the pantry shelf.
Our son Henry was fatally injured in a farm accident the spring of 1934. After living here 34 years we moved to Pearl Hill near our daughter Irene (Mrs. Forest Hunt) the summer of 1940. That fall, while on a trip to Missouri, Jim passed away.
I now make my home with my daughter Estelle (Mrs. Paul Rice) at Pendleton, Oregon.
Hayden McKee
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JOE (WILLIAM JOSEPH) PRICE
I was born in South Carolina on December 20, 1883, but our family moved west and eventually lived near Denver, Colorado for some time. When I was about 18 years of age my father, a man named Brockman, and I started out for North Central Washington. we came the slowest way possible! By a covered wagon pulled by two horses! I rode horseback most of the way as we also drove 12 head of horses behind our wagon. Most of our stock were part hotbloods, Hamiltonians-saddle or race horses. We traveled days and days across the Wyoming semi desert prairie seeing nothing but a few antelope or bands of wild horses. These cayuses almost caused us to lose our horses by their interference. We came through the area where Custer had fought the Indians. Empty shells and other signs of the battle were noticed. Forewarned, we had only one or two dry camps, but often had to gather buffalo chips for fuel. We left Denver in the late spring, and I recall that we arrived on the Crow Reservation on the Fourth of July where the friendly Indians were holding a big pow-wow or celebration. We came on and finally reached this part of the state of Washington. We crossed the Columbia at Condon Ferry, and went on to Alma (another name for Okanogan), arriving there during apple harvest.
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I worked there for a time, but my father came back to Washington Flats. Before long, i came back here and filed on a homestead south of Grand Coulee. I worked out some -- especially on threshing crews. I eventually sold my homestead and bought the Alec Trefry place in Delrio. I farmed there for some time and finally sold out and moved. Now I live on the former Whiteley place which belonged to my father.
During these many years I often played my violin for dances held throughout the Rex-Delrio country. I have fiddled at Alec Trefry's Barn Dances, at North Star, and at Fiddle Creek School as well as at the local Grange affairs years ago.
Helen E. Rinker
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