Siletz news /, May 01, 2004, Page 12, Image 12

TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Walt’s Words of Wit and Wisdom
by Walt Klamath
Hey hey, by golly how time does
fly when you’re having fun. Seems just
a day ago I was doing this very same
thing, wondering what to say.
Seems there’s something going on
with the thought of being employed by
the tribe and on council. Sounds to me
like there’s not really a foundation for
it. Reminds me of a story I once heard.
A little girl was helping her mother
cook a meal. The mom had purchased
a nice roast and was seasoning it all,
then she cut off the end of the roast.
Gave it to the dog, who of course
seemed all in favor of the situation.
The little girl asked, “Why did you
cut the end off?” “Because we always
have,” the mother replied. This didn’t
satisfy the little girl, so she asked again.
“Well, I don’t know,” said the mother.
“Ask your aunt.”
So the little girl went to her aunt
and said, “Why do we cut the end off
the roast?” The aunt said because we’ve
always done it that way. Again the little
girl was not satisfied and asked why. “Well,
ask your grandmother,” said the aunt.
So the little girl went to grandmother
and asked her. The grandmother replied,
“Well, honey, one time I bought a roast
and it was too big for the pan. I had to cut
part of it off for it to fit in the roaster.”
This is how traditions start and
continue to evolve. At some point, we
don’t know why we do things. We do
them because that’s the way it’s always
been done. This seems to me what
the dilemma is with an employee being
on council.
Well, people have been talking and
sending me e-mails from different parts
of the country talking about old times.
Like, do you remember ...
In many cases, I do remember. In
the early ‘40s during WWII, everything
was rationed. I wasn’t too old then, but
I remember some of what we went through.
For instance, in order to buy meat
of any kind, you needed red stamps. I
don’t remember how much meat was
allowed (on the farm we raised our own).
Butter was rationed; had stamps too.
In order to get shoes, we needed
stamps; I think two pairs a year, so often
the shoes had holes in them. It wasn’t
unusual to see pants with big patches
all over, sometimes of a different color.
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Sugar was rationed. It was used to
make alcohol for torpedoes. That’s where
the term drinking torpedo juice came from.
My uncle used to talk about drinking
torpedo juice up in the Aleutian Islands.
Not many candy bars or chewing
gum were available. There was a gum
called Orbit, then a candy bar called
Dumbo Bar that tasted a lot like
cowfeed smelled. Others were available
occasionally that were pretty good.
For gasoline, there were three cards
that I know of - A, B, and C. The A card
was a general card for about four
gallons a week. The B card (don’t
remember how many gallons) was for
those who had to drive to work, which
really included most everybody.
The C card, though, was coveted
because it was the farm card that was
almost unlimited. There had to be a log
of how the gasoline was used and what
it was used in. I think it made many
people not tell the truth all the time.
At the gas station, the gas had to be
pumped into the tank to go to the car.
Gas was less than 15 cents a gallon. The
speed limit was 35 mph. Tires also were
rationed and weren’t what they are today.
They were cotton cord and a new tire
would break before you got home because
all the roads in the Siletz/Tbledo/Logsden
area were gravel with big potholes.
All the tires had boots, a piece of
heavy corded-like patch glued to the
tire. Sometimes boots would be all the
way around a tire. Some people would
put a tire inside a tire inside a tire, which
wasn’t a comfortable ride and didn’t last
long. I don’t think that there was such
a thing as a balanced tire.
Logging was done the hard way.
Trees were felled by a crosscut saw,
called a falling saw, which was a fairly
thin one. The bucking saw was referred
to sometimes as a Chinook saw because
of the arch of the cutting side.
The donkeys were steam-powered.
Many outfits limited employees on the
day’s pay. At the Bill Wienert sawmill
on Sam’s Creek, the fallers and buckers
were allowed to make $20 a day.
We knew all the neighbors for miles
around. When someone was in trouble,
all of us would gather to help. If a bam
needed building, we’d have a barn­
raising party. Neighbors would bring
food for a potluck.
May 2004
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Kids take off at the Easter egg hunt at the Siletz Tribal Community Center.
Van Peters; Joe Bailey, grounds maintenance, and Wade Newbegin gather around
the tractor/mower that Wade donated to Siletz Valley School.
See story on page 1.
It wasn’t all work though. We’d have
races and games like horseshoes, kick
the can, and rifle shooting. Fourth of
July was a big event; same thing as a
bam- or house-raising where the whole
neighborhood would gather.
The women cooked, the men worked
and the kids would be gofers. No one
drank booze at the events, most were
Pentecostal people The preacher was at
most functions; the one I remember was
Roy Downey.
The schools all had a war stamp
program. We’d by war stamps and
parents were encouraged to buy war
bonds. We’d bring scrap iron to school
for the war effort. Every day we would
sing Remember Pearl Harbor after the
Pledge of Allegiance. Anytime there
was a complaint, the response would
be, “There’s a war going on.”
We talk about the “good ol’ days,”
but I don’t know if they were so good
or not. We had fellowship, trust, and
honor. People were safe; boys and girls
could go anywhere and be safe.
Anytime you went visiting, you
were expected to eat. The first words
after their hellos would be, “Are you
hungry? Better have some spuds.” If
you didn’t eat, it was an insult. It didn’t
mater if you’d just come from a
neighbor’s home, you’d better eat.
City people liked to go to the farm
because plenty of rationed food was
always available. That is, meat (mostly
venison). Ammunition was very scarce.
Our readers can add many things
to this. After all, this was more than 60
years ago.
AHHOH