I've become interested in the first-hand accounts and
reminiscences that are part of the Benton County Historical Museum's archive
collection. Some I've featured in
earlier posts. I've discovered there are
lots more and including parts of them here is a good way to feature something
we probably wouldn't show in a gallery.
Hope you like them too.
Today's account was written by Retha Allen Grieg, shown here
is a young girl and as an adult.
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| Retha Allen Grieg |
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| Retha Allen Grieg |
Retha is the great great granddaughter of pioneer Nahum
King. Here is what she wrote about her childhood.
“Ours was a family of four sisters. Naomi, born 1897, Ethel, 1901, Retha, 1903,
and Mabel 1906. We were born and raised
in Kings Valley, Oregon. The valley was
named for the several King families who took up their Donation Land Claim
there.
“When I was two years old [1905] my father bought a large
part of the Isaac King DLC. We lived in
the Isaac King house until we were grown.
The house was large and well built.
Every piece of lumber in it was hand hewn. The old square-cut iron nails were used
throughout. “
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| Isaac King House in 1985 |
“There were secret passageways in it. (To what purpose I
never know). Flush with the floor
upstairs was a trap door with handle and hinges of thick leather. We children would open the door and lower
ourselves down between two floor to ceiling built-ins, a clothes-press and dish
cupboard. At the bottom we would edge
our way on between them, then past the back and side of the fireplace. This brought me to a low, narrow door. We opened the door and, presto, we were in a
ground floor room without coming down the stairs. All this was done in near darkness, our only
light being from the open trap door above.”
Martha's comment: When I was a child, I always liked to
imagine a secret passage in the house we lived in then. How cool to actually have one!!
Retha continues: “The windows were six feet in
height. It was three feet from the floor
to window sill and three feet from window top to ceiling, making the walls
twelve feet high. There were hooks in
the ceiling of one room for lowering the quilting frames or to pull them out of
the way.
“Back of the house was a built-on room called the “cellar.”
Its double walls and ceiling were sawdust filled for insulation. The room
stayed cool in the hottest weather.
Dairy products and fresh meat were kept there. When the fall butchering of fifteen to twenty
hogs was done, the rendered out lard was put into four and five gallon earthen
jars to be stored in the cellar. The hams, shoulders and sides were salted,
then when ready were hung in a tight building and smoked over a slow fire of
oak and applewood. The pork trimmings
were made into sausage. Other things
were stored in the cellar, smaller stoneware jars of green tomato and, or pear
preserves cooked down so thick and rich they kept without sealing. Pickles and
sour kraut in the big jars. Sweet, ripe
grapes were placed in wooden boxes between layers of grape leaves. They would keep this way so well, that we
always had grapes for Christmas and the New Year holidays.
“Hopestill, daughter of Nahum and Sarepta Norton King,
married Lucius Norton. They named one daughter Sarepta, hence a second Sarepta
Norton. That Sarepta married Willard
Price. Dora, their daughter, was our
mother.
In addition to grandmother Sarepta, I knew one other of
Hopestill's daughter, Ashney Plunkett.
We used to visit Great Aunt Ashney.
I can see her at her big carpet loom.
I think she mad the rag carpets for most of Kings Valley folk. The loom
and Aunt Ashney's operation of it fascinated me. She would feed the long, many colored rag strips
into the loom, then with a quick movement of her hands and feet and an almost
deafening “Clack! Clack!” of the loom the ugly rag strips became beautiful
carpeting and hall runners. It seemed
like magic.”
More of Retha's recollections next time.
By
Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath,
Oregon
