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What's Cookin'?
Myrtle follows her 'gyps3 tleart'
By REBECCA WELLS
On December 23, Norma Vincent
took her mother, Myrtle (Ryckman)
Williams, to visit her sister-in-law,
Dorothy Ryckman in Shelton.
"Oh, she has company," Myrtle
observed as they approached their
relative's home, but Norma insisted
they go in to see her anyway. Little
did Myrtle know the "company" she
had noticed were all family mem-
bers who had come to celebrate
her 88th birthday with a surprise
party.
How did she handle the shock
once everyone started cheering for
her'?
"I was too dumbfounded to think
anything," Myrtle remembers.
With the exception of a 99-year-
old aunt, Myrtle is the matriarch
of her family. Her granddaughter,
Tammy Heisey Graham of Seattle,
had organized the celebration.
AMONG THOSE who show-
ered her with "love and devotion"
as her daughter Norma put it, were
Myrtle's nephews Jerry, Terry and
Michael, and niece Michele, along
with their spouses and children.
Also in attendance were relatives
Merle Vanderwal, Margaret Brown,
Ruth and Ruel Pierce, and Myrtle's
other grandchildren, Scott Heisey,
Katy Joy and John Graham.
Myrtle's granddaughters Sheri
Heisey Bickmore and Anne Heisey
Young, who lives in Nashville, Ten-
nessee, with her four boys, could
not make the trip but nephew
Terry Ryckman and his wife Mary
drove up from the Oregon Coast for
her surprise party. Family friends
from Alaska sent flowers for the oc-
casion.
Besides her four grandchildren,
Myrtle also has eight great-grand-
children and two adopted great-
granddaughters. Myrtle also has
three sisters-in-law named Dorothy
who married her brothers. To help
straighten out the confusion, two of
the Dorothys go by the nicknames
"Big" and "Little," since "Little Dor-
othy" stands around 5 feet tall and
is married to Myrtle's little brother
Warren Ryckman, while "Big Doro-
thy" is married to her big brother,
Elmer "Bud" Ryckman.
Myrtle staed o6t as a surprise
Christmas present to her family by
being born on December 25 of 1918
in a fhrmhouse in Emmons County,
North Dakota.
Lingering in her hazy childhood
memories is one adventure she and
her brother had while riding on
the edge of her father's wagon. Her
father drove the horses to a gate
and then got down to open the gate
when all of a sudden the horses took
oil" running. Her brother Bud man-
aged to jump offand then yelled for
her to do the same but Myrtle just
held on and rode the out-of-control
wagon for about a mile before the
dust settled.
This harrowing experience
didn't end up traumatizing her. On
the contrary, she still loves horses
and used to own a number of them
when she and her daughter Norma
lived in Utah. In fact, they would
still own horses if they could afford
them and if their Star Lake neigh-
borhood allowed them.
"I never rode with a saddle; I
rode bareback. I have ridden with
a saddle but as a rule I didri't,"
Myrtle remembers.
BY THE TIME she had turned
18, the family had moved tb Shel-
ton and Myrtle had a new mode of
transportation: hitchhiking.
"My sister-in-law and I wanted
to see places and we didn't have the
money to do it, so we hitchhiked,"
she explains. So 70 years ago the
two young women traveled from
Shelton to Long Beach, Califor-
nia, and back by hitching rides the
whole way. They visited California
because her sister-in-law's boy-
friend was stationed down there
with the U.S. Navy at the time.
During one of Myrtle's hitchhik-
ing journeys, she was in Lynden
ENJOYING A BIRTHDAY CAKE from a celebration a
year or two ago is Myrtle Williams, who just turned 88 on
Christmas Day.
when a distant relative happened
to be the one to give them a ride
to their destination. "I didn't even
know him, but he turned out to be
my uncle's brother," she remem-
bers. "I used to hitchhike quite a
bit when I was young. I don't know
where all I went. I didn't keep track
of it."
She does remember once taking
her mother along on a hitchhiking
journey up to Bremerton to visit
her brother who was in the naval
hospital. "I wouldn't do it today.
It'd be too dangerous," she says.
MYRTLE'S FAMILY moved to
Shelton in 1937. By the following
year she had graduated from Irene
S. Reed High School, found em-
ployment working for the Shorter
family and the Booths and had
married James Vincent. Her sister,
Hazel, married Jim's brother Jdhn
and the families lived in Shelton
for many years, off and on. Later,
Myrtle and her husband had two
children, Norma and Milton Vin-
cent, before eventually getting a
divorce.
Myrtle returned to Shelton tom
Tacoma in the early Fifties, work-
lug as a cook at the old Cota Grill
when it was owned by Edna John-
son. Myrtle's two children attend-
ed Shelton schools until 1955. Her
son Milton died at the age of" 16 but
Norma graduated with the Irene
S. Reed Class of 1958. Years later,
Norma's daughter, Anne Heisey,
would graduate from Shelton High
School, making three generations
of family women graduating from
Shelton schools.
Upon her return to Shelton
Myrtle married Cecil Patterson, a
longtime Shelton resident and son
of Grace Patterson, an original pi-
oneer woman who had traveled to
this area in a covered wagon. Their
son Allen, who was born in 1953,
still has an official certificate com-
memorating his pioneering grand-
mother.
Myrtle was widowed and her
daughter grew up and married Da-
vid Heisey. When her daughter was
living in Duluth, Minnesota, where
her son-in-law was stationed in
the U.S. Air Force, Myrtle loaded
up her Volkswagen Beetle with her
son Allen and their two dogs and
drove out to be with them.
LATER, THE entire family of
Myrtle, Allen, David, Norma, their
three daughters, a large German
shepherd and Myrtle's two smaller
dogs piled in the Beetle again and
drove to a Ryckman family reunion
near Pollock, South Dakota. Along
the way, they ran out of gas "in the
middle of nowhere," as Norma re-
calls, and had to park overnight by
a closed gas station and wait un-
til it opened in the morning before
they could proceed.
"It was August, hot, and the
mosquitoes ate everyone alive,
all seven people and three dogs
packed in the little bug," Norma
remembers.
Myrtle's next big move was to
Chugiak, Alaska, where her son-
in-law David was transferred after
returning from military service in
Vietnam. Myrtle trekked, caravan
style, in two cars, up the Alaska-
Canada Highway to Alaska, again
to be near her daughter Norma.
Myrtle brought her son Allen who
was a teenager by then.
Alaska turned out to be Myrtle's
favorite state. "I loved it: the only
place I ever was homesick for,"
Myrtle says of Alaska. She espe-
cially enjoyed the long, sunny sum-
mers and snowy winters, a sharp
contrast from Shelton's rainy,
damp weather. "I came from snow
country," Myrtle explains. "We like
snow a lot better than rain," her
daughter Norma adds.
HIGHLIGHTS from their stay
there include Allen's performance
in the role of "Big Brother" in the
play 1984, before graduating from
high school in Anchorage. He lat-
er went on to become an air traf-
fic controller in Denver, Colorado.
Myrtle, meanwhile, became a cook
again, this time at the Sad Shack
Cafe in Anchorage. "I like to cook.
I like to eat," she says. Myrtle also
did some in-home care in Alaska.
By the late 1980s Myrtle had re-
turned to Washington, settling in
Elma. In 1989 she met and married
Jack E. Williams, whom Norma de-
scribes as "a flamboyant character
straight out of the Old West." At
this time, Norma was living as a
cowgirl on a ranch in Utah. Myrtle
and Jack joined Norma in Utah,
moving to La Sal, Utah.
"Five minutes from the top of the
mountain and on the edge of the
desert: You can't beat that, right
on the edge of the ridge lands,"
Norma remembers fondly of the
area of Utah she used to call home.
Another thing they liked about
this rugged home was it gave them
the chance to see a bear standing
in the wild.
FOR THE NEXT few years
they enjoyed their time "taming
the gypsy in their souls," as Norma
says, by exploring the deserts and
mountains of Washington, Arizona,
California, Tennessee, Colorado
and Utah. One of their jaunts took
them to Graceland, the legendary
home of Elvis Presley in Memphis,
Tennessee.
Sometimes Jack would just
wander off into the desert without
knowing specifically where he was
headed. Though Myrtle has also
always enjoyed traveling, Norma
says she believes what her mother
really appreciated about these par-
ticular trips was just the time they
spent together.
Their fun ended in 2005 when
Myrtle once again became a widow.
She and Norma have since both
come back to Mason County, and
attend Grace Community Church
in Elma.
"Myrtle is still a gypsy at heart
and would still spend her time
FIR
ANE
Volunteers Wanted!
Your special time with our residents is greatly
appreciated. Learn about fascinating lives as you
share stories and talents with unique individuals
who experienced and made history.
Call now to find out about Fir Lane's new
volunteer activities and to become a volunteer.
3601426-1651
2430 North 13th Street .:. Shelton, WA 98584 v,.,,K,
Page 16 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, January 25, 2007
traveling but for a limited retire-
ment income," Norma says.
"I NEVER GET tired of trav-
eling," Myrtle confirms. She says
she has fun encountering new
people and places. However, at
her age, she has let her driver's
license expire and spends most
of her time knitting, crocheting,
doing crossword puzzles, playing
Scrabble, reading and watching
game shows.
Myrtle shared a simple recipe
for a longtime family favorite:
Homemade Noodles
Ingredients:
2-5 eggs
About 1 tsp. of salt, or a few pinch-
es more for a larger serving
2 C. flour
Preparation:
Assemble a very large mix-
ing bowl, a pastry sheet, a fork,
a rolling pin and a knife or pizza
slicer.
Begin by mixing a little of the
flour with one egg and the salt
into a stiff dough in the mixing
bowl. Gradually add the rest of
the eggs and flour while continu-
ally mixing the batter into a stiff
dough. When the dough is thor-
oughly mixed and stiff, roll out
into thin dough on.a baking sheet,
as if it were pie-crust dough.
Use the pizza cutter to make
thin strips, the width depending
upon the desired width of the noo-
dles, as they really expand while
cooking. About 1/4" wide is
Drop the noodles into a
ing or lightly boiling soup.
will take about 10
cook. Serves two or three
She also shared how to
the soup in which to cook i
homemade noodles:
Homemade Turkey
Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
Raw turkey or chicken
Pinches of salt, pepper,
onion and other
taste
Preparation:
The day before serving
noodle dinner, put the raw
or chicken in a large roasting t
with some water. Cover and
in the oven at 350 degrees
enheit until the fowl is
and tender. Let cool.
Debone the bird, separa.
the meat from the broth. Let I#.
meat and broth sit overnight
the refrigerator.
The next day skim off the
layer on the top of the cold b
out of the refrigerator. Keep
spoon or two for the soup and I
the broth and the small spOO ]
fat and the deboned fowl i#°
kettle on top of the stove anda
adding pinches of the seasoni.-"
listed above. Simmer until wp]
cooked.
When ready for supper, P,
the fresh noodles and add the$
the broth.
Danger and downed tree removal
Storm drainage control
Bill Mq Turnal Enterprises
(00t60'p 866.3931 or (360) 432.0971
Ii
i rii
2 :: rQ
EARLY BIRD SPECiALg 1{"
Mol.hg-Thursday 3-5:30 p.m.
$15 i,,,,l,,,th, h,.,,c,,,a,l,,
* (:l.,icc oI' till rcc * (:hoicc o[' sigh' lish
• (:l.icc of' SOUl or salad * (:ornhrcad
10s41 K-,,-ly O-ek P, oad sw, Oiympi 30 866-87[ 2c
S,,,,/rh,,,,, l l,,,,,-+f,q I th
lhv 8 F'ri & Sal I lan,-!)l '11
Keep the home fires burning
with a gas or woodstove or insert by
FIREPLACE PRODUCTS
Even with the
power out...
you stay warm!
Don't let the
next bout of
bad weather
catch you
without heat!
90 Days Same As Cash
Capital City
,e & Fan Center
2118 Pacific Ave., Olympia - 943-5587
Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.,
Saturday 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
What's Cookin'?
Myrtle follows her 'gyps3 tleart'
By REBECCA WELLS
On December 23, Norma Vincent
took her mother, Myrtle (Ryckman)
Williams, to visit her sister-in-law,
Dorothy Ryckman in Shelton.
"Oh, she has company," Myrtle
observed as they approached their
relative's home, but Norma insisted
they go in to see her anyway. Little
did Myrtle know the "company" she
had noticed were all family mem-
bers who had come to celebrate
her 88th birthday with a surprise
party.
How did she handle the shock
once everyone started cheering for
her'?
"I was too dumbfounded to think
anything," Myrtle remembers.
With the exception of a 99-year-
old aunt, Myrtle is the matriarch
of her family. Her granddaughter,
Tammy Heisey Graham of Seattle,
had organized the celebration.
AMONG THOSE who show-
ered her with "love and devotion"
as her daughter Norma put it, were
Myrtle's nephews Jerry, Terry and
Michael, and niece Michele, along
with their spouses and children.
Also in attendance were relatives
Merle Vanderwal, Margaret Brown,
Ruth and Ruel Pierce, and Myrtle's
other grandchildren, Scott Heisey,
Katy Joy and John Graham.
Myrtle's granddaughters Sheri
Heisey Bickmore and Anne Heisey
Young, who lives in Nashville, Ten-
nessee, with her four boys, could
not make the trip but nephew
Terry Ryckman and his wife Mary
drove up from the Oregon Coast for
her surprise party. Family friends
from Alaska sent flowers for the oc-
casion.
Besides her four grandchildren,
Myrtle also has eight great-grand-
children and two adopted great-
granddaughters. Myrtle also has
three sisters-in-law named Dorothy
who married her brothers. To help
straighten out the confusion, two of
the Dorothys go by the nicknames
"Big" and "Little," since "Little Dor-
othy" stands around 5 feet tall and
is married to Myrtle's little brother
Warren Ryckman, while "Big Doro-
thy" is married to her big brother,
Elmer "Bud" Ryckman.
Myrtle staed o6t as a surprise
Christmas present to her family by
being born on December 25 of 1918
in a fhrmhouse in Emmons County,
North Dakota.
Lingering in her hazy childhood
memories is one adventure she and
her brother had while riding on
the edge of her father's wagon. Her
father drove the horses to a gate
and then got down to open the gate
when all of a sudden the horses took
oil" running. Her brother Bud man-
aged to jump offand then yelled for
her to do the same but Myrtle just
held on and rode the out-of-control
wagon for about a mile before the
dust settled.
This harrowing experience
didn't end up traumatizing her. On
the contrary, she still loves horses
and used to own a number of them
when she and her daughter Norma
lived in Utah. In fact, they would
still own horses if they could afford
them and if their Star Lake neigh-
borhood allowed them.
"I never rode with a saddle; I
rode bareback. I have ridden with
a saddle but as a rule I didri't,"
Myrtle remembers.
BY THE TIME she had turned
18, the family had moved tb Shel-
ton and Myrtle had a new mode of
transportation: hitchhiking.
"My sister-in-law and I wanted
to see places and we didn't have the
money to do it, so we hitchhiked,"
she explains. So 70 years ago the
two young women traveled from
Shelton to Long Beach, Califor-
nia, and back by hitching rides the
whole way. They visited California
because her sister-in-law's boy-
friend was stationed down there
with the U.S. Navy at the time.
During one of Myrtle's hitchhik-
ing journeys, she was in Lynden
ENJOYING A BIRTHDAY CAKE from a celebration a
year or two ago is Myrtle Williams, who just turned 88 on
Christmas Day.
when a distant relative happened
to be the one to give them a ride
to their destination. "I didn't even
know him, but he turned out to be
my uncle's brother," she remem-
bers. "I used to hitchhike quite a
bit when I was young. I don't know
where all I went. I didn't keep track
of it."
She does remember once taking
her mother along on a hitchhiking
journey up to Bremerton to visit
her brother who was in the naval
hospital. "I wouldn't do it today.
It'd be too dangerous," she says.
MYRTLE'S FAMILY moved to
Shelton in 1937. By the following
year she had graduated from Irene
S. Reed High School, found em-
ployment working for the Shorter
family and the Booths and had
married James Vincent. Her sister,
Hazel, married Jim's brother Jdhn
and the families lived in Shelton
for many years, off and on. Later,
Myrtle and her husband had two
children, Norma and Milton Vin-
cent, before eventually getting a
divorce.
Myrtle returned to Shelton tom
Tacoma in the early Fifties, work-
lug as a cook at the old Cota Grill
when it was owned by Edna John-
son. Myrtle's two children attend-
ed Shelton schools until 1955. Her
son Milton died at the age of" 16 but
Norma graduated with the Irene
S. Reed Class of 1958. Years later,
Norma's daughter, Anne Heisey,
would graduate from Shelton High
School, making three generations
of family women graduating from
Shelton schools.
Upon her return to Shelton
Myrtle married Cecil Patterson, a
longtime Shelton resident and son
of Grace Patterson, an original pi-
oneer woman who had traveled to
this area in a covered wagon. Their
son Allen, who was born in 1953,
still has an official certificate com-
memorating his pioneering grand-
mother.
Myrtle was widowed and her
daughter grew up and married Da-
vid Heisey. When her daughter was
living in Duluth, Minnesota, where
her son-in-law was stationed in
the U.S. Air Force, Myrtle loaded
up her Volkswagen Beetle with her
son Allen and their two dogs and
drove out to be with them.
LATER, THE entire family of
Myrtle, Allen, David, Norma, their
three daughters, a large German
shepherd and Myrtle's two smaller
dogs piled in the Beetle again and
drove to a Ryckman family reunion
near Pollock, South Dakota. Along
the way, they ran out of gas "in the
middle of nowhere," as Norma re-
calls, and had to park overnight by
a closed gas station and wait un-
til it opened in the morning before
they could proceed.
"It was August, hot, and the
mosquitoes ate everyone alive,
all seven people and three dogs
packed in the little bug," Norma
remembers.
Myrtle's next big move was to
Chugiak, Alaska, where her son-
in-law David was transferred after
returning from military service in
Vietnam. Myrtle trekked, caravan
style, in two cars, up the Alaska-
Canada Highway to Alaska, again
to be near her daughter Norma.
Myrtle brought her son Allen who
was a teenager by then.
Alaska turned out to be Myrtle's
favorite state. "I loved it: the only
place I ever was homesick for,"
Myrtle says of Alaska. She espe-
cially enjoyed the long, sunny sum-
mers and snowy winters, a sharp
contrast from Shelton's rainy,
damp weather. "I came from snow
country," Myrtle explains. "We like
snow a lot better than rain," her
daughter Norma adds.
HIGHLIGHTS from their stay
there include Allen's performance
in the role of "Big Brother" in the
play 1984, before graduating from
high school in Anchorage. He lat-
er went on to become an air traf-
fic controller in Denver, Colorado.
Myrtle, meanwhile, became a cook
again, this time at the Sad Shack
Cafe in Anchorage. "I like to cook.
I like to eat," she says. Myrtle also
did some in-home care in Alaska.
By the late 1980s Myrtle had re-
turned to Washington, settling in
Elma. In 1989 she met and married
Jack E. Williams, whom Norma de-
scribes as "a flamboyant character
straight out of the Old West." At
this time, Norma was living as a
cowgirl on a ranch in Utah. Myrtle
and Jack joined Norma in Utah,
moving to La Sal, Utah.
"Five minutes from the top of the
mountain and on the edge of the
desert: You can't beat that, right
on the edge of the ridge lands,"
Norma remembers fondly of the
area of Utah she used to call home.
Another thing they liked about
this rugged home was it gave them
the chance to see a bear standing
in the wild.
FOR THE NEXT few years
they enjoyed their time "taming
the gypsy in their souls," as Norma
says, by exploring the deserts and
mountains of Washington, Arizona,
California, Tennessee, Colorado
and Utah. One of their jaunts took
them to Graceland, the legendary
home of Elvis Presley in Memphis,
Tennessee.
Sometimes Jack would just
wander off into the desert without
knowing specifically where he was
headed. Though Myrtle has also
always enjoyed traveling, Norma
says she believes what her mother
really appreciated about these par-
ticular trips was just the time they
spent together.
Their fun ended in 2005 when
Myrtle once again became a widow.
She and Norma have since both
come back to Mason County, and
attend Grace Community Church
in Elma.
"Myrtle is still a gypsy at heart
and would still spend her time
FIR
ANE
Volunteers Wanted!
Your special time with our residents is greatly
appreciated. Learn about fascinating lives as you
share stories and talents with unique individuals
who experienced and made history.
Call now to find out about Fir Lane's new
volunteer activities and to become a volunteer.
3601426-1651
2430 North 13th Street .:. Shelton, WA 98584 v,.,,K,
Page 16 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, January 25, 2007
traveling but for a limited retire-
ment income," Norma says.
"I NEVER GET tired of trav-
eling," Myrtle confirms. She says
she has fun encountering new
people and places. However, at
her age, she has let her driver's
license expire and spends most
of her time knitting, crocheting,
doing crossword puzzles, playing
Scrabble, reading and watching
game shows.
Myrtle shared a simple recipe
for a longtime family favorite:
Homemade Noodles
Ingredients:
2-5 eggs
About 1 tsp. of salt, or a few pinch-
es more for a larger serving
2 C. flour
Preparation:
Assemble a very large mix-
ing bowl, a pastry sheet, a fork,
a rolling pin and a knife or pizza
slicer.
Begin by mixing a little of the
flour with one egg and the salt
into a stiff dough in the mixing
bowl. Gradually add the rest of
the eggs and flour while continu-
ally mixing the batter into a stiff
dough. When the dough is thor-
oughly mixed and stiff, roll out
into thin dough on.a baking sheet,
as if it were pie-crust dough.
Use the pizza cutter to make
thin strips, the width depending
upon the desired width of the noo-
dles, as they really expand while
cooking. About 1/4" wide is
Drop the noodles into a
ing or lightly boiling soup.
will take about 10
cook. Serves two or three
She also shared how to
the soup in which to cook i
homemade noodles:
Homemade Turkey
Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
Raw turkey or chicken
Pinches of salt, pepper,
onion and other
taste
Preparation:
The day before serving
noodle dinner, put the raw
or chicken in a large roasting t
with some water. Cover and
in the oven at 350 degrees
enheit until the fowl is
and tender. Let cool.
Debone the bird, separa.
the meat from the broth. Let I#.
meat and broth sit overnight
the refrigerator.
The next day skim off the
layer on the top of the cold b
out of the refrigerator. Keep
spoon or two for the soup and I
the broth and the small spOO ]
fat and the deboned fowl i#°
kettle on top of the stove anda
adding pinches of the seasoni.-"
listed above. Simmer until wp]
cooked.
When ready for supper, P,
the fresh noodles and add the$
the broth.
Danger and downed tree removal
Storm drainage control
Bill Mq Turnal Enterprises
(00t60'p 866.3931 or (360) 432.0971
Ii
i rii
2 :: rQ
EARLY BIRD SPECiALg 1{"
Mol.hg-Thursday 3-5:30 p.m.
$15 i,,,,l,,,th, h,.,,c,,,a,l,,
* (:l.,icc oI' till rcc * (:hoicc o[' sigh' lish
• (:l.icc of' SOUl or salad * (:ornhrcad
10s41 K-,,-ly O-ek P, oad sw, Oiympi 30 866-87[ 2c
S,,,,/rh,,,,, l l,,,,,-+f,q I th
lhv 8 F'ri & Sal I lan,-!)l '11
Keep the home fires burning
with a gas or woodstove or insert by
FIREPLACE PRODUCTS
Even with the
power out...
you stay warm!
Don't let the
next bout of
bad weather
catch you
without heat!
90 Days Same As Cash
Capital City
,e & Fan Center
2118 Pacific Ave., Olympia - 943-5587
Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.,
Saturday 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.