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Page A—1 6 — Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020
ART SHOWS
YEAR ROUND ROTATING
at Belfair Storage!
“Autumn Orange”
Barbara Treick contact information:
Web Site: www.barbaratreick.com
www.facebook.com/Barbara'lteickArtist/
{Bi FAIR
[stirsrotricii
Acrylic and Collage
by Treick
Oct. 1 Oct. 30, 2020 Mon-Sat. 9—4
Closing reception Sunday, Oct. 25
from 3:00 — 5:00 pm.
If you are interested in displaying
artwork, please contact Belfair Self Storage
Office: 360-275-2257 0 manager@belfairselfstorage.com
23270 NE State Route 3 0 Belfair, 98528
Because "Not Racist"
Isn't Enough...
I Facilitated book discussion
at it
annuals!
Saturdays, 10-11:15am.
October 10 - November 21
i Online via Zoom
Kendi writes with personal power in
that all of'us might understand
and act more fully against the wrong of
. racism. He’s readable, thoughtful, and
helps us lean in to the long road out of
racial inequity and injustice.
" Facilitated by Shelton area pastors
Jeannine Daggett and Brenda Satrum.
Zoom link provided at registration.
. Obtain your own book (free EPub
version available for download/
online use). To register, Email:
welcomehome@faithshelton.or9-
REAL ESTATE OPERATION DURING THE STAY HOME, STAY HEALTHY ORDER
The real estate brokerage industry
shares the (lovcmor's priorities.
The industry’s paramount
concerns are safety of the public home;
and the prevention of the spread of *Offcr video tours
appointment only;
the COVlD-i9 virus. Accordingly, *All persons entering home or office
must wear cloth face mask.
*Provide hand sanitizer
*Limit iunount of “touching surfaces”
real estate brokers will limit‘ 1
personal interactions to the
greatest extent possible and will
engage in-person only when
necessary, and by following these
strict protocols:
to broker only
DIST. CO
W. 150 Sanderson Way
Shelton, WA 98584
1-800-826-8959 0 (360) 427-8084
O'IL
*ln~pcrson activities must be by
*Limited number of persons inside
Brokers who strictly follow these
protocols are permitted to engage in the
following in person activities related to
the purchase and sale of homes:
*Conduct listing presentations, lake
property photos, and create virtual tours
for new listings
*Facilitatc signing of contract documents
*Preview and Show listings by
appointment only
*Facilitatc inspections. appraisals. buyer
‘Xt'alk-thrn,” and key delivery.
0 Motor Oils Hydraulic Oils Industrial
Lubricants - Automotive Oils Metal
Working Fluids - Greases Gear Oils -
Solvents Antifreeze 0 Cutting Oils -
Job Site High-Volume Commercial Diesel
Fueling - Pump Repair, Tanks, Nozzles,
Grease Guns - Heating Oil Delivered - h
Furnace Stove Oil - Kerosene
HISTORYATA ounce
Life of a true pioneer woman
, he following is adapted from a
I family history written by Ada
Frances Myers-Hanscom.
Minnie Belle Ridings was born
in July 1864 at Ford’s Prairie, near
Elma._At the age of 16, after com-
pleting the “Fifth Reader” in a little
school house on the prairie, she was
hired by a Mr.
and Mrs. Sargent,
who insisted on
her attending
another term of
school while help-
ing around the
house (for $2 a
week). In 1882,
Mr. Sargent heard
that a school near
Chapman’s Cove
in Mason County
needed a teacher,
and he encouraged Minnie to take the
job, which paid $20 a month. Minnie
followed this advice and journeyed to
Captain Miller’s place on Hammers-
ley Inlet, where she boarded while she
taught a four-month school term, af—
ter first traveling to Oakland to take
the teacher’s exam.
Meanwhile, a logging camp fore-
man from Michigan named Daniel
Rudy Myers (born in April 1849) had
caught*“Western fever” and come out
to Puget Sound, where he found work
as a logger in Mason County.
On July 4,1882, both Minnie and
Daniel attended a celebration near
the Miller home. Minnie and her
friend Eva were riding on a large
sWing that swooped out over a ravine.
The swing broke, sending Minnie into
the ravine and leaving Eva clinging
to the rope. The young men at the ’
party all rushed to Minnie’s assis-
tance, thinking she must be seriously
injured, but brush had softened her
By JAN
PARKER
fall and she had only minor scratches.
(Eva had broken her collarbone and
was taken by rowboat to a doctor in
Olympia.)
Daniel was among the men who
rushed to Minnie’s rescue, and by the
end of summer they were engaged.
Minnie‘collected her $80 salary and
returned home, stopping in Olympia
to purchase goods for her wedding
dress, gifts for her family and a small
metal trunk. In April 1883, Daniel
rode horseback from the farm he had
bought in Shelton Valley to Monte-
sano to obtain a marriage license, and
then on to the Ridings’ home. It was
dark by the time he approached the
house, but Minnie had placed a light
in the window, which brought Daniel
“safely to port.” p
Minnie and Daniel were married
on April 10, 1883, which was Dan-
iel’s 34th birthday. Minnie baked
the bread for the wedding feast. For
the trip from the Ridirigs’ home to
Shelton Valley, Minnie’s belongings .
were placed in a dugout canoe, which
was poled by Indians down river to
Elma; The bride and her goods were
then loaded onto a stage wagon and
delivered to Olympia. Her new hus-
band met her there and together they
traveled by steamer to the end of Big
3mm ANNOUNBEMENT
This undated photo is of Minnie
Belle Ridings Myers. Courtesy photo
Skookum Bay, site of the fledgling
town of Sheltonville. Upon arrival,
their goods were dumped ashore, and i
before the wagon arrived to take them
to Shelton Valley, the tide had floated
away chairs, tables and other goods
for the new home.
Daniel and Minni'efarmed-in Shel~
ton Valley for 24’years, raising five
girls along the way. In 1890, they
were able to build a house and move
out of the two-room log cabin they’d
been living in with their first three
daughters. In 1907, when Daniel’s
health began to fail, they sold the .
farm and bought a house in Shelton.
Once they had built an addition to
the house that enlarged the 'ning ‘
room, provided an extra bedroom, and
added an outdoor toilet on the back
porch, Minnie began to take in board-
ers. Three of her adult daughters paid
board and three young school teach-
ers joined them.
Daniel died on May 11, 1911. Min-
nie continued to keep boarders for
nearly 40 years. According to her
daughter Ada, “she was such a good
manager that she managed to take
care of herself always with no help
from charity (perish the thought) or
no pension or benefit of any kind.”
Minnie died in 1951 at the age of
87. In an extensive obituary, the edi-
tor of the Journal wrote, “With the
passing of Minnie B. Myers comes the
realization'that the last of the true
pioneers of this community has left
our midst. She was of a race of hardy
women who endured what seems to
us luxury-ringed moderns as incred—
ible hardships in order to settle, civi—
lize, and cultivate a wilderness. Yet
with all the hardships —— or perhaps
because of them — she lived to a ripe
old age, maintaining excellent health,
amazing energy, and a keen mind un-
til the very end.”
I Jan Parker is researcher for the
Mason County Historical Museum.
She can be reached at parkerj@hctc.
com. Membership in the Mason Coun-
ty Historical Society is per year.
Landon Grayle Humphres, a boy, was born on September 11, 2020," to
Heather Ann Elizabeth Petitt and Eli Andrew Humphres, at Capitol Medical
Center in Olympia, WA.
(‘ull us today at 360-42044 l 2 or visit musom‘ountyucom
to subscribe or to place an aulvcrtiscmcnt.