Memories

Their daughter Ruth has some memories and descriptions of her mother I would like to share.

“Mrs. Quam spoke of the times on the ranch when they didn’t know where their next sack of flour was coming from, but they managed to get by. She often told how she would mend clothes and then re-mend them, as there was no money for new things at the time.”

Ruth also comments that Mrs. Quam was essentially a home loving person, a fine character with strong devotion to her family.

Another memory of the area: Mr. Quam and some of his neighbors mined lignite coal and hauled it to Ekalaka by team and wagon in the 1920s. In 1925, six of the seven children were ill with scarlet fever over a period of three months. He hauled coal in the day time and helped his wife care for the children at night.

Of course the family was quarantined during this time and no one was allowed to go out, only for groceries and supplies, and no one came to the house during this time. When it came time to fumigate they were all moved into a one room sheep wagon.

This reminded me of our family in the fall and winter of 1936 when my brother Robert and I were also stricken with the scarlet fever and had a long quarantine. So much for the “good old days.”

Tony became an active part of the Ekalaka community as he served as clerk of his local school district for thirty years, was on the Carter County High School board, helped organize the local Agricultural Adjustment Act, was director of the Carter County Farmers Union, and also the Carter County Federal Credit Union. Oh yes, and one of the original directors of the local REA. His comment: “Electricity on farms was really an improvement from the kerosene lamp and the old hand pump for water.”

Some other organizations that Mr. Quam belonged to were: Carter County Sheep and Cattle Growers Association, a member of Beaver Lodge No. 65, IOOF, a member of the Carter County Chamber of Commerce, and belonged to the Lutheran Church.

Now some information on the rest of the family by Ruth. I will give you readers some history of these children, but you can learn more by reading “Shifting Scenes Vol. II.”

In reading the articles I find six sons were born to the family. Four served Uncle Sam during the war and two boys remained home to help with the farm and ranch.

Thanks to Luther and Marlene Waterland who supplied me with more information, pictures, an April 8, 1960 article in the “Ekalaka Eagle” and a large volume of letters written by the boys to their parents and sister Ruth. I would estimate around 300 of these were written while serving in the states and overseas.

After sampling a few of the letters, one caught my attention. It was written by Frank H. Quam on July 20, 1942 with a San Francisco, California return address while he was in Australia. He stated that he had seen Roy Howey who saw Max Dague before he left for India. Frank states: “His [Roy’s] wife stays with “Granny” Oliver.

You may ask, who is “Granny” Oliver? She was the mother of Aileen Hedges and the grandmother of “Skeet” Hedges. She lived and ranched on what is now the Bruski Ranch on Beaver Flat.

After reading some of these war time letters, I was impressed how much these boys loved their parents, the community and their neighbors. They wrote asking how the crops were doing and how they were looking forward to coming home to good old U.S.A. and their home. Very touching.

One more article to come.