"A Pioneer's Ballad"

Earlier this year Harold Boyer loaned me a book of poems about living in the Wilson Creek during the pioneer days. Today we begin the second poem in Frank Lindblad's book, "A Pioneer's Ballad," with the title of "Settling Down."

Settling Down

Newloves' hotel served tasty meal,

So piping hot with great appeal

To folks of lunches tiring.

Miss Mabel said, "Beefsteak or fish."

What better choice could family wish

While for new home aspiring?

With knife and fork to food applied

Each appetite was satisfied

Quite promptly after seating.

Two and a half fed ten of us.

At such a price who then could fuss

About the cost of eating?

Two sturdy teams hauled each a hack

To bring us to a vacant shack á

For cooking food and sleeping.

From sagebrush limbs was built our fire,

With dust and leaves to cause desire

For wood, with less of sweeping.

New creatures found were bobcat wild,

The badger, sage hen, chipmunk mild,

Coyote and the rattler.

Swift whirlwinds lifting dust clouds high

Might carry us into the sky.

Who wants to be a tattler?

One parasite found us real quick,

The brushland's native small sage tick

That fresh red blood was seeking.

At night before we went to bed

We'd search our skin from toe to head.

"Don't scratch when someone's peeking."

We bought two teams quite lean, not fat,

And wagon called a democrat

To haul the needed lumber.

A shed was built to house our goods

With room to cook our daily foods

And home-made bunks for slumber.

Some masons shaped a solid base

Where builders soon could rafters raise

As home for us was growing.

Before the second winter's rime

We there were housed in ample time

Before it started snowing.

E-mail from Cheryl

Facts from the past gleaned from the Moses Lake Herald, Columbia Basin Herald and The Neppel Record by Cheryl (Driggs) Elkins:

From the Columbia Basin Herald on Sept. 28, 1950:

Washington urges school bond vote

State Rep. Nat Washington of Ephrata spoke before the Moses Lake Grange Saturday night, urging members to support the state bond issue for schools and state institutions which will be on the ballot at the general election.

He pointed out that Moses Lake stands to benefit as much as any school in the state if the bond issue passes, since the money raised by the bonds will largely be used as matching funds for schools in rapidly growing areas such as Moses Lake.

Washington was a speaker during the grange's annual booster night program, which followed a potluck dinner in the grange hall at the country fair grounds.