Grant County history

The story of Mae Higashiyama has been most interesting. She has provided a different and refreshing view of Japanese descendants just before World War II, during the war and becoming established farmers after the war. Now she is raising a family and tragedy is avoided by two chance events; the timing of her husband walking out the front door and an older son learning about mouth to mouth resuscitation in school just a few days before. Read on.

The Grant County Historical Society has compiled several volumes of Grant County history. The books are available for purchase at the Historical Society Museum gift shop in Ephrata.

These are memories of Grant County, compiled from taped interviews by the Grant County Historical Society.

Today we backtrack a bit and then continue with the story of Mrs. Maeky (Mae) Higashiyama. Read on:

David was flying a kite in a field near his house. Electricity jumped to the kite string David was holding as the kite neared overhead electrical wires. His father, Mack, happened to be walking out the front door as David fell in the field. David’s brother, Dennis, was called upon to get his brother out of the field.

When David didn’t move, Dennis sensed something was wrong and quickly ran to him and started mouth to mouth resuscitation. He had read about it in one of the high school classes just the Friday before. He shouted to his dad that David would have to be taken to the hospital.

As Mack got the car, I called the hospital which by then was established in Quincy. David had come around by then and when Dr. Trantow had taken off his shoes there were tiny, round pinholes in the sole of his feet and socks and the smell of burnt material. Dennis was given an award in a school assembly from the Red Cross.

In all the years up to this point, I knew I wanted to have the children baptized. Friends had taken us to the Lutheran Church so in 1957 the children and I were baptized. When I was a youngster, a lady from the Nazarene Church would pick us up and take us to Sunday School. We would learn verses and take part in the programs.

In 1958 when Mrs. Conrad Weber passed away, her daughter Hannah came from Seattle to care for her father and brother. I found a most cherished friend in her and we did many things and went many places together.

I would go with her often to see her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. George Weber. After several visits with them I said that I just might make a slip and call them aunt and uncle too. Mrs. Weber said that as many nieces and nephews as she has one more wouldn’t make any difference, so for a person who was raised without grandparents, aunts or uncles, you know what that meant. You can understand why my oldest brother-in-law is so special. He was my first relative.