Red Boots Adventures

Heather Bradrick

Description

In 2009 I had join a local Toastmaster Club and it was my turn to give a speech from a historical person’s perspective. I immediately choose one of Grandma’s “Wild, Wild West” life stories, “Blackberries and the Mountain Lion.” When my club members heard this speech, they collectively said, “You should write a book!” I took their advise to heart, since I knew that when I go... these stories would be lost. I personally had enjoyed them and truly wanted to share their entertainment and history, literally from a “Her Story” point of view.
In 1905, there was more to an Oregon dairy and apple orchard than milking cows and picking apples. Life was slower paced, but never dull as mischievous ten-year-old Josephine gets talked into a logrolling contest on Hood River by her brothers. She is introduced to Native Americans and comes face to face with a mountain lion! She is even in on planning the “great escape” to a forbidden barn dance with all her siblings. Papa, a Civil War veteran, would never approve, but he didn’t need to know!

Sujets

• Native American
• Histoire
• Native Americans
• Letter
• Northwest
• Military
• Pacific Ocean
• American Civil War
• Pacific
• History
• Guerre de Sécession

Informations

• Publié par: Balboa Press
• Date de parution: 06 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798765231678
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

RED BOOTS ADVENTURES


Wild West Life Stories of a Young Girl on Mount Hood Lumberjacks, Native Americans and Mountain Lions




Heather Bradrick







Copyright © 2022 Heather Bradrick.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.



Balboa Press
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well- being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Cover Design and Illustrations by Heather Bradrick



ISBN: 979-8-7652-3077-0 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-7652-3167-8 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 09/30/2022


















Dedicated to You... The Next Generation and Beyond



About the Author
It was 1967 when my father informed me that my grandmother had been born before the turn of the last century, in 1896. I suddenly realized that my Grandma had been there for lumberjacks, Indians and genuine original horsepower! I flooded her with questions about her life at my age of 10. Grandma said to me, “I will tell you about our family history so you will not be lost... without roots.” This book, Red Boots Adventures is a collection of her childhood stories.








CONTENTS
Preface

Chapter 1 Boots
Chapter 2 Who Trapped Who
Chapter 3 Charlie The Pig
Chapter 4 Elderberry Wine
Chapter 5 Sidesaddle
Chapter 6 Games
Chapter 7 The Mountain Lion
Chapter 8 The Barn Dance
Chapter 9 Maggie
Chapter 10 Progress Or Not
Chapter 11 Fire

Author’s Notes



PREFACE

I was born and raised in the Colorado Desert of Southern California. The thermometer hanging in the shade behind our house, routinely read 125 to 132°F on the hottest days. We so-called “desert rats,” had our ways of coping with these extremes. In 1966, I stopped coping. I was nine years old and my world came to a screeching halt when Mother passed away. Dad had to threaten a spanking every morning to get me out of bed. Oh, I’d make it to the bus and my fourth-grade class, but I walked in a fog. Or maybe, it was a blinding sandstorm, and the shifting whispering sands were seeping into my bones and filling in the oasis where my heart once lived. I was parched to my soul. I began to think of Grandma, my mother’s mother.
Grandma had not one but two green thumbs. She could just look at something and it would grow! She had rose gardens and plum trees. We had creosote and mesquite. She had a front yard full of green grass. We had bleached sand. Grandma’s heart was deep as a well. I came out of my fog long enough to request that my father take me to Grandma. This he granted and once a month we would spend a whole weekend - a hundred miles away in Yucaipa - with Grandma.
One particular visit, I went dashing through the kitchen on my way outside to my favorite tree. One could usually find me either sitting on or hanging upside down from the branches of my tree friends. I spotted Grandma on my way through the kitchen. It suddenly occurred to me that I did not know her middle name. I stopped to ask. Grandma said, “My middle name is Victoria.” This made her full maiden name, Josephine Victoria Morton and her married name Josephine Victoria Wilkins. Continuing on, Grandma said, “In our family, the oldest daughter would be named for her mother and her mother’s mother. This means, had I been the oldest daughter, then my first name would have been the same as my grandmother’s first name and my middle name, the same as my mother’s middle name. As it was, I was given the same middle name as my mother.” This was news to me because I was not named in that fashion. Mother sent that tradition out the window for my generation. I wondered what other traditions were broken with me. I looked at Grandma. “How did your mother get the name Victoria?” I asked. “The Queen.” Grandmother replied. “The Queen?” I exclaimed. I was thinking – “We have presidents here.” Grandma must have heard my thoughts and immediately clarified, “Queen Victoria. Children could also be named after an important relative or after the Queen.” “What was she the queen of?” I asked. “England,” she said. Nevertheless, I knew grandmother’s sisters called her “Jo” which was short for Josephine. “What did your classmates call you, Grandma?” I wondered. “Boots!” she replied. Now that begs a story, don’t you think?

Grandma
It was 1967 when my father informed me that my grandmother had been born before the turn of the last century, in 1896. I suddenly realized that my Grandma had been there for lumberjacks, Indians and genuine original horsepower! I flooded her with questions about her life at my age of 10. Grandma said to me, “I will tell you about our family history so you will not be lost... without roots.” This book, Red Boots Adventures is a collection of her childhood stories.
In 2009 I had joined a local Toastmaster Club and it was my turn to give a speech from a historical person’s perspective. I immediately choose one of Grandma’s “Wild, Wild West” life stories, “Blackberries and the Mountain Lion.” When my club members heard this speech, they collectively said, “You should write a book!” I took their advice to heart, since I knew that when I go... these stories would be lost. I personally had enjoyed them and truly wanted to share their entertainment and history, literally from a “Her Story” point of view.
In 1905, there was more to an Oregon dairy and apple orchard than milking cows and picking apples. Life was slower paced, but never dull as mischievous ten-year-old Josephine gets talked into a logrolling contest on Hood River by her brothers. She is introduced to Native Americans and comes face to face with a mountain lion! She is even in on planning the “great escape” to a forbidden barn dance with all her siblings. Papa, a Civil War veteran, would never approve, but he didn’t need to know!



CHAPTER 1
BOOTS


My name is Josephine ‘Victoria’ Morton, named for a ‘queen’ no less! However, my sisters call me “Jo” which is short for Josephine, but my classmates call me “Boots.” When school is over and my chores are done, I head off to my queendom... the forest. Sometimes I hike on Mount Hood looking for the famed Tiger Lily, also known as the Columbia Lily, native to Oregon where I live. Other times, I walk along the trout-filled streams, always on the lookout for wildflowers. My “pass-time” is to bring flowers home by the armload to give to my mother. I continually supply her with flowers, which she arranges into centerpieces for our family’s dining table.
Tiger Lily bulbs were one of the many food sources available to the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest Tribes. It was added to meat as a peppery condiment. One culinary favorite was Tiger Lily bulbs and salmon roe.

Tiger Lily ~ Lilium Columbianum
The Morton dining table is quite long, so as to accommodate our large family. I am eighth in a lineup of ten children, a grand total of five boys and five girls. In fact, we often refer to ourselves as a tribe because there are so many of us. Many hands are needed on our family dairy and orchard. There are apples to pick, wood to chop, vegetables to tend, chickens to feed, cows to milk, butter to churn and of course... cooking, washing and sewing for a dozen family members. It is a very busy place!
I found my favorite pair of red boots on sale, for fifty cents, in the “wish book” that my mother had given to me to peruse. The wish book is the Montgomery Ward’s mail order catalog. I loved those boots the moment I first laid eyes on them and told my mother that was the pair I wanted! Along with my brothers and sisters, I was given new shoes at the beginning of each school year. This single pair was intended by my folks to last all year. The question of “What if I outgrow them?” was met with a shrug. Excitedly, I waited for the 1906 - 1907 school year to begin a little after my tenth birthday.
Finally, the first day of school came and I could wear my new red boots!