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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>More from Florence Courtney Melton</FONT></DIV>
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size=4> Father met with an accident on the 25th day of
September, 1870. He had a spasm and fell in the fire. A few coals
were in the fireplace; his right hand and right side of his face were
frightfully burned. Mother dressed his burns four times in twenty-four
hours. That fall I could not go to school. Baxter had a crop to put
in. I had the cows to milk, three of them, and potatoes to dig - to be
"Handy Andy" generally. As soon as Father was able to work, he began
working on the arm chair he longed for, an arm chair to lean his head
against. It was sent to Albany to be stained and varnished and a rawhide
bottom put in. He had several offers to make others like it, but Baxter,
Mother and William Cluster made up their minds to come to Washington. They
had decided in June. I think they didn't have the courage to tell Sarah
until in July. She and Father went out one Saturday afternoon and stayed
until Sunday evening. They had a battle royal. She was determined
she would not move again, and it made her so mad to have them tell of the
failure of the grain crop. <FONT color=#009900>[Jacob]</FONT> Houk would
have liked to come but he did not take a stand at that time.</FONT> </FONT>
<P><FONT size=+1> It seemed to me I was bidding goodbye
to Paradise when we left Oregon. Mary and I felt the same. We had
spent most of our lives in a new country. It may sound romantic to have a cabin
built around you, but the privations that go with it take all the romance out
for the one who experiences it. Oregon Was settled up, everywhere you
traveled you went in a lane, good farms, comfortable homes. What we knew
of Walla Walla, it was terribly rough. It was nothing to hear of a man
being shot in a saloon row. The Vigilantee committee would hang some of
the worst to make things interesting. People were panic stricken to get
away. They had to sell their improvements to get away. It was not
very encouraging to say the least. Will was only going to stay five
years. I think four of them Molly spent her spare moments in tears.</FONT>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Jacob and Sarah Houk lived the rest of their lives in the
Lebanon area, and are burried there.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Cecil Houk, ET1 USN Ret.<BR>PO Box 530833<BR>San Diego CA
92153<BR>FAX 619-428-6434<BR><A
href="mailto:cchouk@cox.net">mailto:cchouk@cox.net</A><BR>ANDERSON - BLAKELY -
FORD - HOUK - KIMSEY - MOE - RULAFORD - SIMPSON<BR>Searchable GEDCOM: <A
href="http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~cchouk">http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~cchouk</A><BR>My
web page MENU: <A
href="http://members.cox.net/~cchouk/">http://members.cox.net/~cchouk/</A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>