1940 - That first year with my wife and I and with Scotty's help we put things in order.  We were putting in the old dock in mid-May.  Boy that water was cold!  Margeret helped hold the sawbucks in place while Scotty and I put on the catwalk.  Scotty had a jumper on and overshoes.  Well, part of the decking had drifted down the beach.  Scotty got a tow line tied on the decking and pulled the whole thing up the beach, wading in water up to his waist.  I said, "Scotty, you'll get your feet wet."  He said, "Well, I got my overshoes on."

During the war and rationing we had no trouble getting red stamps for food and gasoline but buying quantities of meat was another thing.  One year all I could buy was canned ham.  Every time a trail party got in we tried to give them a banquet.  All the banquets were the same.  Ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, salad, milk, bread, and apple pie.  After a few weeks of this, the staff was in tears.  They had to eat the same thing every time and I'll bet some of them never ate ham again.

I saved all the ham scraps and some bones and when the last party had left I put it on in a ten-gallon stockpot and we had the richest soup stock anybody ever made.  I put in five pounds of split peas, onions and made croutons out of stale bread.  When I announce pea soup and ham for supper the staff groaned but when they tasted it they wanted more.

Scotty's wife was away for awhile so he had his meals with us.  He cam over - "What's for supper?" Pea soup.  "I won't eat that blankety, blank soup." And he went home.  There was no food in the house so he cam back.  "Give me some of that blankety blank soup in this quart jar." Back he came.  "Give me some more." Then back again.  "Say, will you teach my wife how to make pea soup?"

Waldo Shaver came up for a week's vacation and fishing.  When I got there on a Friday he hadn't caught a fish.  So, after supper we went out.  Well, in half an hour, I caught seven walleyes.  He never got over it and the next morning I came in with four bass, on a four and one-half pounder.

7/80

NWNCB