Memory Lane Monday: Berta and Lon

Married February 22, 1914
(the distortion in this picture is the result of the curved glass frame this picture was displayed in)

"So this Lonnie B. was fast winning our hearts. He proved a very fine, respectable fellow in every way... He'd come to see us every evening, but never stayed to late, as he had to drive back home, a ten-mile trip by team and buggy. Sometimes he'd come horseback."
~Berta B.

Some family facts as told by Berta B. in Berta and Lon's Story:

-Clarence Elonzo (Lon) was born on January 23, 1889 in Pullman, Washington.
-Lon's father's ancestors were from England. His father's family lived in Indiana before moving to Oregon where his father drove a stage coach as a young man.
-After marriage, Lon's father moved to Pullman and ran a blacksmiths shop.
-After living in Pullman, the family moved to Kendrick, Idaho where the family ran a livery stable and then to Boulder Creek, Idaho where they farmed.
-In 1909, the family moved to Devon, Montana to homestead.
-The family shipped up their cattle, horses, machinery, and household things by freight cars called immigrant cars. Lon and his brothers rode the cars to care for the stock. They nearly froze crossing the mountains.
-Their home consisted of four small rooms with a coal shed built on and Lon's mother never owned a sewing machine, washer or icebox as long as she lived in Montana.
-Lon's mother was a spic and span housekeeper, did all her sewing, and made the best mincemeat pie.

-Berta Alice was born on February 4, 1895 in Duncan's Bridge, Missouri.
-Berta weighed 4 pounds at birth and her mother's wedding ring could be slipped over her hand.
-Berta's parents were both born in Missouri and were of Dutch, Scotch, and Irish decent.
-Berta's family moved from Missouri to Winoma, Washington in 1900 where her father got a job as a foreman on a cattle ranch. After that they moved into a small four room house in Rock Creek. They rode 3 miles to school on horseback.
-When Berta was 15, the family moved to Endicott, Washington were her father took up carpentry. Her grandparents (her mother's parents) lived nearby in St. John, Washington.
-The families next move was to Galata, Montana were they took up a homestead and did carpentry.
-Berta would never forget the day she came to Galata by train to join her family. It was raining and when she stepped off the platform at the depot into the gumbo mud, she lost first one and then the other of her new patent leather pumps! She landed in her stocking feet right in the mud.
-Berta left home and went to Chinook to attend highschool and prepare for becoming a teacher.

-In 1913, Lon and Berta met at a social event in Galata for the first time.
-They were married on February 22nd, 1914 in the Galata hotel building.
-Her wedding ring cost $5 dollars and was purchased from Sears and Roebuck.
-He carried her over the doorstep of their first home near Devon, Montana, a 12 foot by 16 foot homestead shack.


These interesting early day historical facts are about Randy's great-grandparent's (his mother's father's parent's). They would go on to live in a larger home with 10 children and many grandchildren and generations to follow.

(I apologize for any mistakes or errors I may have made in the typing out of this post. Please let me know if there is anything that is not accurate and I will correct it. Thank you.)

What's around the next corner on Memory Lane?
See you next Monday!

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