Growing Up and Learning Part 3

 George farmed the homestead as well as some rented land for a year and then we moved back to Raymond in time for Christmas 1925.  I was now 10 years old.  Lyzzie and I went by train and George drove to Raymond by team and democrat.  He had a pack of hounds in the back and he caught coyotes all the way.  He kept the hounds in a box in the back and chased the coyotes until he got close enough, then dropped the trap door to let the hounds out to catch the coyote.  He made the trip in the fall and arrived in Raymond just in time for Christmas.  He travelled 300 miles.   

When we arrived in Raymond, Uncle Nephi and Aunt Jessie lived in the old Atwood home in southeast Raymond and George bought a home east of it on one of the angle streets that used to be in Raymond.  We lived with my father that winter.  We were only 2 ½ blocks from school and I was late at least once a day.   

So, you see, I was back with my old playmates and we sure made up for lost time.  Ray and I became attached to one another and if Ray couldn’t think of enough mischief to get us into trouble, I could.  So, things were kept quite lively.  Summers were not long enough so I can remember going swimming in the old swimming hole east of town in the coulee under the flume when there was snow on the ground.  We also went to the picture show, as we called it.  They were silent shows.  We always went to the Saturday matinee.  As we left the Atwood home to go to the show, we all lined up to receive the money for our tickets.  Aunt Jessie always gave money to me just like the rest, ten cents for our tickets and ten cents to spend on a treat.  So, you see, I was treated as one of the family and it made me feel I belonged.  For this, I will always be thankful and will never forget.  I must have eaten a thousand meals at their table and never once did anyone make me feel unwelcome.  For this, I have been very thankful, and I say, “Thank you!” to all of them and should at any time, any of Uncle Nephi and Aunt Jessie’s descendants show up at my door, as long a I have a home left and two slices of bread to put together, you are welcome.   

We lived in Raymond for three or four years and this is where I got most of my schooling.   I mean to say this is where I got most of my ‘book learning”.  I consider the greater education I received was in the way of being useful.  By the time I was 13, I can remember George telling my father I could do anything there was to do on the farm.   That made me feel proud of myself.  I did enjoy working on the farm.  I remember when I was eight, driving six horses, harrowing the field in the summer. 

In 1925, the Sugar Factory was built in Raymond.  This was the second sugar factory for Raymond.  The first one was built in 1912 but it went broke and the machinery was shipped back to Utah.  George worked for the factory hauling gravel in 1925.  I sometimes rode on the wagon with George. 

I was happy there.  Not only was I with my brothers and sisters, but my friends, Ray, Lyndsey, and Logan.   But there was one problem.  It seems the new kid at school had to fight his way into being accepted with the crowd.  At least that was the experience I had.  There were a couple of bullies and it seemed like I had to prove myself daily.  After taking a few beatings, I decided I had to figure out how to get the upper hand.  I was not very big, but I was fast, and I had worked on the farm long enough to develop some muscles.  We exchanged a couple of punches and then I took off running.  I knew there was an irrigation ditch about a block away and around a corner, so I headed in that direction.  When I got to the ditch, I crouched down so he could not see me.  When he arrived, I reared up and caught him off guard, and before he knew it, I had him in a hold that could be described as extremely uncomfortable for him.  He begged me to let him go, but before I did, I made him promise to leave me alone.  And by the way, leave my two brothers alone as well.  They had also been the brunt of his violence.  My brother, Jim had a club foot and walked with a limp and John was too young to know how to protect himself, so I cleared up those two problems as well, before I let the bully go.  That ended the problem.   

I attended school in Raymond until the Bonnie View school was built on the Milk River Ridge south of Raymond.  I hauled lumber by horse and wagon to the site from Raymond and then I helped build the school so I could attend there.