Our Last Day in Washington State - 1961

I don't remember much about the normal events of packing to leave our childhood home.

It was an idyllic home in which to live and even as children we understood that it was remarkable. It had pocket doors between various rooms, a coal furnace in the basement, several fireplaces, our own well, an attic to explore, a sun-room to marvel at, a dumb-waiter between floors, and many other nooks and crannies for children's interest. It was like heaven living there and it was hell when we moved away. I hated it in Virginia and now that it is fifty-one years later, I cry as I read my grandmother's diary entry for the day we left. 

Here is her entry for the day we left: 


October 9, 1961

Beautiful Day. Lois’s last in Walla Walla--Gail & Dick took
Louise to the doctor wo have her an exam & some med for
earache - they left before noon.

Lois was very busy with last minute preparations. She asked 
me to go with her to Dad’s grave. The children, Lois, and I 
drove past their beautiful home & she waved her hand to it
and said - “goodbye”. The yellow leaves of the tall cut-leaf
birch beside the door waved back to her. 

From there we drove directly to the cemetery -- Lois had
brought some beautiful plastic flowers and she knelt on the
ground at the head of the grave and arranged the flowers in
the tall bronze vase that is part of the beautiful new marker. 
The children wandered about. When Lois and I started
away, she called to them & they came as far as the grave
and grouped themselves around its head to take a last look
for rememberance. 

We then went to a drive in for a sandwich and then went 
home for a brief rest before Lois’s friend, Virginia, came 
with her car to take them on the (1st leg of their long, long
journey to the east coast) (Pendleton, WA)

Kisses and hugs -- & precious loving smiles covering 
tears --

Lois said “God bless you, mother” -- then one close
embrace & they were gone!!

I loved her completely and I still miss the love we shared with each other, her interesting stories, and her fun word-play. I was also leaving my very best friend, Gwen, who lived next door. The trip itself was quite fun! We left Walla Walla and went to Pendleton, Washington to board a train for Washington, D.C. 

We were to have our own sleeper car and the trip would take several days. I remember when we got to Pendleton, the train was late arriving. We waited and when we were ready to board, my little brother asked a porter, "Why was the train so late?" and he responded with a succinct, "Ya bettah shuddup, boah." I was struck by the look of pure hatred that his comment elicited from my mother!

A few days before we'd left on this trip, my aunt and grandmother had a little good-bye picnic for us in their back yard. After dinner they brought out gifts for my brothers and I; each of us received a little suitcase. Mine was a square red train case with a mirror inside. My brothers' both looked like normal suitcases and I think one was striped. 

I saw this suitcase in an antique store-it looks much like one my brother had.

My mother had the genius idea to fill them with trinkets to keep us interested on the trip. Each day we could open another one--whatever one we wanted. One day, my little brother opened his--a little folding fan--and I began to conjecture about what was in my package. My mother snapped, "no need to wonder--you've got the same thing as him", and I was crushed. Feeling minimized, it sure took the fun out of opening that gift. Other days we got Chinese finger-catchers, or little men you could wrap in their parachute to toss and watch them float to the ground. 

But any disappointment I had related to that event was eclipsed by the fun I had exploring that train with my brother, Tom. We traveled the length of the train daily and it was scary to walk on the little wiggly connector between each car. Some cars had little platforms between them but between others you had to actually step on the little moving coupler. We spent hours and hours up in the dome cars looking out over the scenery. I can vividly remember traveling through mountainous and rugged country...maybe Wyoming? I doubt many little kids have experienced such a fabulous trip as we. There was no comparison to that trip and it is one of my fondest memories. Had I been older, or had technology been then what it is today, I would have lots of nice photographs of that trip to share. 

When we arrived in Washington, D.C. one of the very first things I saw was the capitol dome. I was flabbergasted and thought it was the very most amazing thing I'd ever seen. It was so white and stark against the blue sky--and so different from the older buildings I'd seen in Walla Walla or the state of Washington. 

Of course, I've been back to Walla Walla since then, but now it's been years. Here is a photo of our house from the 1970's: