Monthly Archive for March, 2008

Today is my Dad’s birthday. My Dad spent several of his adventurous childhood years in the sticks in Idaho. When I was a kid, my brothers and I heard many stories about “Dogpatch.” It wasn’t the same Dogpatch that was made famous in Li’l Abner, but I imagined there were many similarities to that poor and fictional Appalachian town.

My Mom’s cousin, Ken Magee, wrote this story for his granddaughter. It condenses many of my Dad’s childhood years in several homes into one story. Enjoy!

Mountain Trout and Bears
by Kenny Magee

Stephie, I’m sure glad you can go with me to visit our cousin Gene in Idaho. That’s a long ways from here. Do you suppose their house will be burned down again before we get there?

He’s got lots of brothers and sisters and they used to all live in a house made from an old granary until it caught fire.

Next they lived in a tent house. It was fixed up real neat with slats nailed to poles on the outside of the canvas. They covered it with shakes nailed to those slats. It looked just like a regular house. But it burnt down awful fast when the stovepipe caught the canvas on fire. They had to all hurry and climb out a window.

My cousin’s voice gets trembly yet `cause he lost some special little pulleys and a train steam engine he had made out of an apple tree limb. It took a lot of careful work sawing out those wheels and then nailing them on the engine.

Gene’s Dad is a logger, like my Dad. Their town, “Dogpatch,” is right close to the main logging camp called “Headquarters.”

Stephie, we won’t have to wear shoes since it’s summer there too. You’ll love walking with us to search for treasures. Gene tells me they have a very special place only about a mile from Dogpatch. That’s where he and his brother got their bike. It must be a beaut! Three wheels and three colors.

I’m told we will take along a shovel for digging and a big pan for bringing our findings home. Before we get there it’s best to pound on the pan with a stick and holler real loud. That’s so the bears will be gone when we arrive.

It sounds sort of like going to the store; except our cousin says, “Sometimes squishy stuff comes up between your toes, and the smell is different than a regular store.”

While we’re there we can learn to ride their bike. I think it will be easier when Gene rides on the front seat and you or I ride on the back one. He says, “The bike’s fork that holds the front wheel is a real pretty red. The part by the front seat and middle wheel is purple and the frame s’porting the back seat and wheel is a shiny green. Baling wire holds that back part on real tight.” Gene wraps friction tape around the tires where they bulge. I think he’s a top-notch mechanic.

He’s also got several gallon cans set around to help in getting back on the bike again when it falls over or loses a wheel. Doesn’t that all sound like super fun?

Stephie, we may get to go fishing with our cousin too. He’s an expert at that `cause he has a real pole. He says it’s one of the best treasures he ever found. It was broken in the middle but he fixed it with bicycle repair parts —friction tape and baling wire.

You and I may have to cut our own poles from a brush patch near their house. I figure Gene will loan us some of his hooks and fishing string.

There’s a nice crick that runs by Headquarters and near Dogpatch. Oodles of hungry mountain trout are just waiting in the deeper holes.

Gene likes to use grasshoppers for bait. This is how you catch them: When a grasshopper flies, chase it quick and pounce with both hands just as it lands. It will spit tobacco juice on your fingers, but that only shows you did a good job.

Some days we may get to fish all day long. We’ve got to remember that the limit for mountain trout is only 25. Stephie, do you know counting pretty well?

I’ll show you how to cut a forked branch on which to carry the trout. Our cousin says, “By the time we get back home they may be awfully dried out, but they still taste good `cause Mom cooks them in bacon grease.”

The track for the logging train runs close to the crick. Sometimes the train engineer stops and picks kids up if it’s late in the day. Gene says, “It’s sure fun riding in the cab.”

If he gets to ride while we are there he plans to ask if he can drive it some. Maybe you and I can blow the whistle.

“Stephie, are you a fast runner? Gene is certain that to fish properly you’ve got to be a good one. There are two main reasons. As soon as the fish quit biting in one hole he and his brother run like everything to the next deep spot. He’s upset `cause his brother generally gets there first. That’s one reason for needing to be a fast runner.

Last year a bear crossed the trail by the crick right ahead of Gene and his brother. They nearly had their limits of fish so they turned around and took out for home.

It would have been nice if the logging train would have come by about then, but they’re speedy runners so I `spect that bear couldn’t have caught them anyhow. At least not the one in front. That’s the second reason for needing to be a fast runner when you go fishin.

Stephie, are you a better runner than me?