1956 - 1958
So free we seem, so fettered fast we are . . .
Robert Browning
Bob's breakdown was the first real wave in my quite serene and happy life. My faith that everything would get better never wavered. So I was not very surprised in January, 1956, when brother Leo told Bob about an electrician job back at the cement plant where Bob once worked, and where Leo was Master Mechanic. They hired Bob as a Journeyman Electrician at Union pay. He was a maintenance electrician but he also designed many of their new installations.
While Bob began once more to feel normal, he repeatedly told me, "I know I'll never do that again!" referring to his depression. Of course, I knew it too, because it was too devastating to ever let it happen again.
Gary was a great source of lovable amusement for our family: For instance on one occasion, I had some money on the kitchen counter and was figuring out my grocery list while preparing to go shopping. Gary picked up one of the dollar bills. Carefully he wadded it up. Being curious to see what he intended to do with it, I watched him head for the bathroom. He went straight to the wastebasket and threw it away! One of his cute sayings at that time was, "I threw it away -- so it was broke."
When Gary was about two years old, he wanted jelly on his toast, so went to the refrigerator. After looking for the jelly and not finding it, he said, "Oh, sh- -! I guess I'll have to use ketchup!" After that, whenever anyone of us in the family had to compromise on something, we would say, "I guess I'll just have to use ketchup!"
Approximately six weeks after getting his job, Bob was also getting his life back together. Driving by our old "homestead," he was joyous to find a FOR SALE sign on our old property on Empire. He came home and said, "Let's buy it back and rent it out for income property." I said "Okay," because we already carried the contraet and owned a large portion of it.
I always wanted Bob to implement important decisions, so long as I could override them whenever I had feelings that were actively opposed to his (which is why the following happened).
Immediately after I signed the papers, Bob said, "Get packing -- we're going to move back!" It had always been his inclination to live there, even though it was property that had been in my family. He always liked to say, "That 's where my roots are." He was very quick to sing, hum or whistle an appropriate song that coincided with what was happening, so he now sang "This Old House."
The first of April we moved back again to our first home (that of my grandparents, and of Bob's roots.) It now cost $7,200. The house we sold on Ninth brought a profit. We paid $10,000 for it and sold it for $11,500. Before we closed our deal, I had Bob promise to remodel "That Old House" by adding a dining room and fireplace. I was forever knocking out those plaster walls, and building cupboard space, and scheming to make the house over to suit me.
For the rest of the school year Mrs. Williams, Barry's fourth grade teacher, met Barry and Nikki at Trent and Pines and took them to finish out the school year at the University School. She lived across the river from us and taught at the new University School.
We vacationed this summer in Montana, staying in motels in Butte ($6) and Helena ($6). The Charles Russell Museum that we visited in Helena was the highlight of our trip -- with many Western paintings and sculptures depicting the artist's impression of a long past life, I found this following by M. M. Browne:
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We visited the Lewis and Clark Caverns. I carried Gary most of the way through, but at one point, no one could stand -- and we all had to literally get down and crawl through. To get to the caverns, we took a cable car straight up to the cave's opening. Gary's hat was blown away, and we couldn't go back for it. We bought him another one for $1.25. When we emerged from the caves we were at the lower end of the site where our cars were parked. |
 Lewis and Clark
Caverns Train |
Our pass through Yellowstone Park cost us just $3. When we returned home, we began seriously to pursuing my determination to improve "This Old House." A friend, Cliff Peterson, was our carpenter. He built our dining room and also built a 20 x 20 garage and shop.
Together Bob and I started to construct the fireplace. We began with directions from a masonry supply store where we purchased a heat-o-later. When we began to realize the job was too much for us, we hired bricklayers to finish. They were happy to get work that January when their work was non-existant.
 Gary Nance
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Gary from day one liked carpentry. He was Grandma Walker's little pal. She was always creating things -- painting, woodworking etc. Gary would say to her, "I gotta get building something, Gramma!" Whenever she would explain something to him she would say, "You savvy?" Then one time Gary said, "That's what Grandma calls me -- she calls me "Savvy"! |
Bob thought it was interesting whenever I wanted to change the color of my hair. One time I had an auburn rinse put on. That day I drove up to the cement plant to pick him up after work, I saw him coming towards me carrying his lunch bucket, and as he zeroed in on me -- stumbling along and grinning -- he had noticed the color change of my hair. He liked it!
Nikki was now in third grade, and the children were making leis for their mothers to wear at the Mother's Tea. She hadn't decided on what color she wanted to make mine. Mrs. Mix, her teacher, asked, "What color is your mother's hair?" Nikki said, "Oh, -- she dyes it red!"
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After that I tried using a blonde color and then frosted hair. One day, Bob's sister-in-law, Nora, told Paul, "I saw Leta today, and her hair really looked nice." Paul said, "Yeah, what color was it?" If you are wondering what my natural color was, it was sometimes called "mousey brown" (by me). As you probably guessed, I never liked the color until later years when I found that it really didn't show very much grey. |
 Paul and Nora
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Bob began a part-time radio and TV repair business, "Nance Radio & TV." I helped, too. During the day, while Bob was at work, very often I was sent around to distributor houses to pick up supplies and parts for him. I did the account books, figuring mark-up prices on tubes, I helped inventory the necessarily large amount of tubes that TV's used at that time.
One day I was sent to get some parts for Bob's business and received my first traffic violation. This day I was not entirely enthusiastic about going . So in order to placate me a little, Bob handed me $5 and said, "Here, go buy yourself a new hat!"
With that, I was somewhat cheerfully on my way to Taylor Distributors. Gary was with me, standing beside me on the front seat. (There were no seat belts.)
I was going along Mission Avenue and following at the speed set by preceding cars. A police officer was directing the car in front of me to pull over. I started to go on around, but the officer motioned for me also to stop. I was charged a speeding fine for driving about 12 miles per hour too fast. While the policeman was writing the ticket, I was crying; and my darling two-and-one-half year old Gary was solemnly standing beside me and patting me on my shoulder to console me!
Spring, 1957, Nikki' s Blue Bird group had their "Fly-Up" with a campfire ceremony at the Pinecroft area. At that time the girls received their awards and were ready to go from Bluebirds to Campfire Girls.
Barry and Nikki told Gary I would be taking them swimming. They were assuming I would, although I hadn' t made any promises. They told Gary, "When Mom says 'maybe' she means 'yes'!" Really ? ?
Dennis and Florence along with Tom, Darlene and Cindy, moved to Whitefish, Montana. Dennis worked in a lumber mill as an electrician and commuted to and from Greenacres every weekend until school was out at which time could make the move to Whitefish. He and the children really liked Whitefish, but Florence couldn't abide the cold, early and long winters.
We poured another section of cement for our patio. Our old cement mixer was always busy. Each year or so, the patio got larger by 8' x 10' sections.
This summer Barry and Nikki had piano lessons on Thursdays at Millwood Grade School. Mrs. Hatch, a school teacher from Cheney, taught them. Barry, being the older, learned quickly; but Nikki stayed with it longer, and was extremely talented.
A couple of my neighbors were doing oil painting. I got some supplies and joined them for outdoor painting sessions. I finished two canvases: "Queen Helen Relents," a jungle scene with two tigers (male and female) and "Forgotten Melody" a picture with a violin, an old clock with the time reading 4:20 and an old piece of torn sheet music. Mrs Hatch when seeing my painting, remarked, "I can play that music you have on that painting."
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Barry was playing first base on Little League Baseball team for Trent School. We went to every game. Once the team met at Trent School and loaded everyone into several cars for a trip to Minnehaha to play against that school. When all the cars arrived at Minnehaha, I looked for Gary. No one had brought him! He was left back at the school -- everyone thought someone else had taken him. We drove back as fast as we possibly could and found him with the lady who lived next door to the school. He was less than three years old, and had told Mrs. Schwaubauer his name and phone number. She kept calling our number; kept him there until we madly dashed back to get him. |
 Barry's
Baseball Team |
The first week after school was out, we took a short, one-week vacation in Yellowstone. Tom Keener came from Whitefish to visit with us for two weeks after we returned home.
Barry was entertaining Tom by showing off the attractions of the Spokane River. After they were gone a short while, we saw Tom running back at full speed from the river, crossing our backyard and heading for the house. I was slow to realize the significance of why he was returning without Barry. Tom shouted, "Call an ambulance, quick! Barry fell down a cliff and he has broken his leg!" Tom didn't try to move him.
I was shaking as I dialed the phone for an ambulance; someone else had also called one. Two ambulances appeared on the scene, coming through by way of the papermill's entrance.
This accident occurred on the Inland Empire Paper Company property. The rope swing on a tree that I mentioned earlier was the reason for the fall. Barry didn't land on the other side of the bank as he was supposed to do. The rope caught on a branch, and the resulting jerk caused him to lose his hold on the rope, and he fell 30 feet!
A neighbor boy, Dick Meyers, happened on Barry while he was lying there injured. He didn't get close enough to recognize him, but ran to Barry's cousin David's house and told them that a bum had been beaten up down by the river.
I rode in the ambulance with Barry to the hospital. The medics were amazed that he was conscious all the way to Spokane and didn't go into shock. Barry had a compound fracture of the femur and a concussion. In the hospital, a pin was put through his leg bone and he was in traction. The doctor said this would last for six weeks.
That evening I didn't imagine that I would be able to sleep. Mrs. Schnell, a neighbor whom I barely knew, called me and told me she believed God had special angels looking out for our children. I felt some better, and decided I could get to sleep with Barry's safety being in Another’s hands.
Bob and I were quite horrified when Barry, our easy-going son, demonstrated a heretofore unseen side of his nature -- he could be irascible and ungrateful, and he was, to the nurses and doctors.
Bob wanted to buy Barry a little pocket knife. And when he tried to find one, all he could come up with was a scout knife that was huge!
After the six weeks, Barry came home, but in a full body-cast which was needed for yet another six weeks. This pretty well finished off his entire summer vaction! Barry referred to his cast as "this place." I didn't know why he called it that, and he couldn't tell me either.
The papermill subsequently posted NO TRESPASSING signs where the accident occurred, and the tree was cut down.
We put up a bed in the dining room where Barry could look out of the window toward the river. That summer, huge log pile after huge log pile had caught on fire down that way. I lifted Barry (in his heavy cast) up to see the flames that were visible from our window. Some people later remarked facetiously that, "You really didn't have to set those logs on fire to get even with the paper mill!!!"
 Barry Nance
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Gary was delighted to have his big brother home. After arranging Barry in his bed, Gary came to crawl in and snuggle beside him as he usually did. He pulled back the sheet, and was aghast! He saw all that plaster, and stood back in alarm! His brother was not very snuggley! |
Barry was on crutches through the first week back at school. He missed one whole month of the sixth grade.
This September, 1957, I helped June (Foster) Balcom with Campfire Girls. And because he showed a fatherly interest and attended the first meeting of the year, Bob was automatically "Scout Leader." for Barry’s Boy Scout Troop.
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Allen Nance, Bob's brother, divorced from Barbara, was staying with us, sleeping in a room in the basement. He wanted to meet my neighbor, Loretta Buchan. Her husband had recently died from cancer and she was left with two small daughters, Pam and Sandy. I told Loretta, "Allen would like to meet you, but as he is somewhat younger than you, I don't think you two would hit it off." |
 Allen and Loretta
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They went on a first date, and Loretta decided right away that she was going to marry him! On September 28, 1957, at Millwood Presbyterian Church, they were married. Bob and I, Mom Nance, and Loretta's girls were present.
On October 4th, we were on our way to Whitefish to visit Dennis and Florence. The news on our car radio told us that the Russians had launched a spaceship and it was orbiting the earth at that very moment. They called it "Sputnik." The beginning of the earth's Space Age -- another important time in my life!
We often had Sunday dinner with Opal and Bill; Mom and George; or Mom Nance. On Thanksgiving we all got together for dinner at our house. There were 14 of us: Grandma Nance; Leo, Phyl, and children, Karyl and Lynn; Allen, Loretta, and her girls, Pam and Sandy, (and the five of us).
Bob's mother was a wonderful woman. She never failed to make her small income stretch to include gifts and fabulous dinners for her family.
She could sew beautifully and tastefully, and made clothing, toys and dolls for the grandchildren. She did not need to wear glasses for close-up work. The little ones were delighted by her readiness for a game of Canasta or checkers. Every one of them learned to play "double solitaire." We often were invited for Sunday dinner and she told us that her dinners for her children were her greatest source of pleasure.
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She wore her very thin, long hair in an old-fashioned style, brought to the top of her head and secured with a twist and a couple of combs. Her daily attire was always covered with a full-length apron while she did housework or cooked. She kept one or two of these crisp, starched aprons hanging by her china closet in her kitchen. Mom Nance was being situated in a house built on her property by her nephew, Oren Brown. She asked me to make draperies for her -- lined, pinch pleated. They turned out to be quite lovely. |
 Arizona (Zona) Nance
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Her talents did not extend to the mechanical. She was not capable of anything physical in the way of outside work, and she needed me to change her screen door from storm-to-screen and from screen-to-storm door with the seasons. It involved only the turning of two screws!
Mom Nance could effectively "put you in your place" whenever you got a little carried away chattering about someone or something. I never resented her for that, but thought I deserved it, and figured that was a pretty good quality she had.
I would take her to the grocery store or on her errands. Several of us daughters-in-law shared in picking her up and taking her wherever she needed to go.
In December Gary went to see Santa Claus at the Bon Marche’. He had his picture taken, of course sitting on Santa's lap. A recording was made with Gary telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas. He said, "I want a tricycle that's red and white and all black." Santa asked him, "Have you been a good boy?" And he answered, "I do what everybody tells me to!"
Bob kept in touch with his highschool buddy, Bob Miller. At Christmas we received Christmas cards from Bob and his wife, Bobbie. The Millers were presently in Australia where Bob was with the Atomic Energy Commission.
 Etta and
George Walker |
This winter I knitted several pairs of "Howdy Doody" puppet mittens and gave them to some of Gary's friends. On January 2, 1958, Bob and I helped Mom and George take inventory at their grocery store on the corner of Trent and Butler. They gave me a Betty Crocker cook book and paid us a little money for our time. |
A neighbor, Esther Farwell, asked me to take care of her little two-year-old, Nora, while she was at the hospital having a baby. She was on the phone to me just about every day asking my advice because she had a nervous problem and she thought I could help her .
In February, Barry's Boy Scout Troop camped out at Camp Sekani, located just above the Spokane River, where they slept in tents. Bob didn't have to go with them. When we went to pick up some of the boys, they were having a delightful time even though they were a little frozen.
Women these days were occupied with PTA meetings, Preschool meetings, baby- and bridal-showers and the new Stanley parties. These parties being the first home-style sales parties. Stanley sold cleaners and brushes, etc.
I gave a baby shower for Loretta. There were 25 women attending.
Bob was on the Safety Committee for the cement plant. The cement plant prided itself in having several years’ work experience (I think it was five years) with no lost-time accidents. Stay tuned!!!
In March, I took full care of Nora Farwell while Esther was undergoing treatment for her mental depression. "Nordy" was very good. We brought her crib to our house and set it up in our bedroom.
For Nikki's 10th birthday this year, 1958, we fixed up a tetherball for her. Bob cemented a long pipe in the back lawn. Everyone had lots of fun playing with it.
At the end of the sixth grade, Barry's teacher, Miss Wendl, asked us to come in to see her. We had no inkling of what she wanted. She recommended Barry's going straight into eighth grade and skipping the seventh. She said he would get a lot of review in eighth grade. We thought we should do it rather than keep him in a grade where everything was too easy. We finally let Barry in on the plan. He said, "What if you don't want to?"
June 22 was the funeral for Bernal Kent. He was the husband of Mom's double cousin, Frances. He died of throat cancer. We all loved Bernal and Frances very much.
As the children enjoyed playing everywhere along the river, Opal's boy Ricky created a little haven, a retreat from adults and a sanctuary from the world. This little shrine was actually a certain, huge evergreen tree growing out of the side of the riverbank. He named the tree "Fort Dixie" for reasons that only he knew. Rick was later our Vietnam hero, receiving citations for bravery. I will come to that later.
Barry had some tennis lessons this summer which didn't last more than a couple of sessions.
I usually took the children swimming at Sandy Beach on Liberty Lake on Tuesday and Thursday and to swimming lessons on Wednesday.
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Ricky and Kristi were taking swimming lessons with us. Rick and some of the other little boys became alarmed at the lifeguard. They thought the pole he used to reach out and help them to safety was in actuality a device to push them back into the pool when they tried to get out! |
 Kristi
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 Gary Nance
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Gary was four this summer and had swimming lessons at the YWCA. He actually learned to swim. His class was called the "Watersprites."' |
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We bought a water skiing boat. It was 14 ft., wood hull (fiberglassed) with a large fin on its flat bottom. And when the boat started up, it stood up almost vertically out of the water before it "planed." I named it The Dreamboat. We took it to the Pend Oreille River place of Cliff Peterson (our carpenter friend). Cliff and his wife taught Barry to waterski; Nikki didn't try, and Gary was too small. We took the boat a few times to Twin Lakes, Idaho, where Harold and Helen Nance had a cabin which they shared with two other couples. There, I learned to waterski. After several attempts to get up, and I kept falling off the skis, they told me, "just let the boat pull you up." I did -- it worked! |
 Harold and Helen
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We took the boat on our Spokane River. I stayed up on the skis until I was so tired that I fell off! I pulled a ligament in my right leg. This injury took several months to heal. After that, I never tried skiing again. I wasn't really afraid -- I just never liked to humiliate myself.
In the summer, Mrs. Hatch was coming to our house on Saturdays to give piano lessons to Nikki and Barry. Her charge was $3 a week for both. The kids and I had an agreement -- If Mrs. Hatch told them they had had a good lesson, they got to go afterwards for ice cream cones. She wasn't aware of this arrangement. It worked well for them to practice, and have her tell them, "You both did a good job today."
 Barry Nance
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Barry was a good pianist, but all of a sudden wanted to drop out because, he told me, "It isn't for boys." In September, he began guitar lessons ($10 per month). This being the Elvis Presley era, Barry also needed to have longer hair. Because I always had the dubious honor of cutting hair for Bob and the boys, the discord between Mother and Son at this time was too much! I had to turn the teenager over to the barber from that time on. |
More and more remodeling. I texture-painted some walls and built a corner cupboard in the kitchen by the range.
This September I read books on "Do It Yourself," and decided I, myself, could cut an opening in our front outside wall to have a picture window installed. I could save some of the cost of hiring a carpenter by doing this. The carpenter, Ted Esslinger, said, "I have had helpers who couldn't have figured the size so exactly." He put in a double pane, 5 x 9.
Barry began eighth grade but didn't adjust very well. There were complications because of his having to get all new friends. Still excellent in his work, the Mechanical Drawing teacher told the class when he was absent that Barry was the best letterer he had ever had, and he was going to get A+.
Opal and I took classes to learn mosaics. I proceeded to make a picture, a counter top, two Italian glass mosaic tables with wrought iron legs, a mirrored hall shelf and planter. I aligned a row of broken mirror behind the piano keys; then painted the piano white and sprayed it with gold paint. I always got really "into" my hobbies, and never did anything half-way! Opal made a picture of two Siamese cats. Very nice!
Bob got a short wave radio for the boys' room. Barry thought Gary was fooling around with it too much. So putting the ON-OFF knob in his pocket, Barry walked out of the room. Gary followed behind him and announced, "Hey, Barry, if you keep that thing in your pocket all days and all nights, that radio will never work, 'cause I tried it!"
Then, in November, I won a prize on a radio call-in program, and went to Spokane to pick it up. Opal and Gary went with me and waited in the car while I went inside the studio. Gary noticed the rows and rows of parking meters. He had seen me putting money into one. He turned to Opal and asked, "Hey! What do you get out of those?" Opal was amused, and said, "Wait till I tell your mother what you said -- she will sure laugh!" Gary said, "No, don't tell her, she doesn't like to laugh!"
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