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As told by Billie McDonald, Sr., yr. 2000

City Girl Gets Down on the Farm

I have been working, for a little while on a brief story of how I came to live in the grand town of Howe, Idaho.
Some local women wrote a book on the Howe Valley a few years ago, collecting stories and reminiscences from the “old timers” including UB’s Grandpa McDonald. I guess they are putting together a new one, and I have been asked to contribute a piece, from the aspect of one who raised my kids here in the recent past (especially since they are all such exceptional children…....special I think we shall call them) Actually, I have taken so long to start on this that it may be too late, but I decided I wanted to write it anyway, and when I’m through, if the book has been finished without me, that will be okay too. I thought I’d share with you DUOers sort of the first part of my rough draft, as it may be interesting to you. I’ll post the rest if and when I finish it. Any feedback is appreciated.
And now: MY STORY or “How did a Nice Girl Like You End Up in a Place Like This”

I was 18 years old the first time I ever saw the town of Howe, and I thought to myself “This has got to be one of the most desolate places on earth.” I am happy to report that after living here for more than 25 years, I have completely changed my mind. Now I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
I grew up in Citrus Heights, CA, a suburb of Sacramento, and I had no concept of being “in between” towns. Where I lived, as soon as you left one town, you were in another one. I can remember driving through Nevada on a family vacation when I was quite young and staring out the window at the miles of sagebrush. “Dad, what town are we in?” I was amazed when he replied that we weren’t in any town. But I now have a firm grasp of that concept, as there is a lot of “in-between” in Idaho!
My Dad was an aerospace engineer and worked for Aerojet for more than 20 years. My Mom stayed at home with 5 kids, of which I was the middle child, but she went to college for 2 years when my oldest sister began, majoring in Journalism. She was a very gifted writer. Later, she sold Real Estate. Both of my parents were active Christians and devoted parents. When I was 16, my Dad lost his job; Aerojet did not get the bid for the Space Shuttle, the project on which my Dad has been working. Eventually, he was hired by the INEL, and we moved to Idaho Falls, where I spent ¾ of my senior year of High School. It never occurred to me to remain behind in California. My older brother and sister did stay, but they were already adults making lives for themselves. And it seemed a grand adventure after living in one place for so long. I was really looking forward to SNOW, but it didn’t take too long to become a little less enchanted with the cold, white stuff. I graduated from Skyline High School, and duly registered at Idaho State University, where John’s sister Kathy became one of my best friends. I was still trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, when Kathy introduced me to her older brother John. I remember thinking that I wished he were MY brother; he was so nice! Well, instead he became my husband, and for the most part, he’s still pretty nice.
John was also one of 5 kids. Unlike me, he had grown up all over the country, including a year or two on the island of Guam. John’s dad, Bill worked for Civil Service, but had recently retired from Hill Airforce Base in Utah and moved to Howe with his wife Mary, and children Pat, Kathy and Bill. John and his brother Chuck had recently finished a hitch in the Armed Forces, and decided to go into farming in Howe, the sometime home of their youth, of their father’s youth, and the site of his retirement. When I met John, the brothers were farming and running a dairy. I had always wished I lived on a farm (I know, I know, what was I thinking!), so that was an added incentive. I dropped out of college after a year and a half, and got married at the ripe old age of 19.
I had a lot of adjustments in my life, not only to being married, but also to living so far away from everything, but for the most part I liked it. Growing up, we had very few pets, so I soon made up for lost time. My first dog, Jeff, was a black Irish Setter; not the smartest dog in the world, but very good natured. I also raised three orphan kittens; Bright Eyes, Pudge and Mike. Bright Eyes later became the mother of many, many kittens. I used to keep John company while he milked the cows in the old rundown barn. We played tunes on his 8-track player. Almost every night, our neighbor Wayne Isham would stop by for a little visit. Everyone was so friendly, and I soon became used to waving at each car I passed on the road, just in case it was someone we knew! Also, while John milked, I fed the calves with calf milk replacer in huge bottles. I got bum (orphan) lambs, who became my first “children”. I’ll never forget Candy, Taffy and Marty. I do have a way with names, don’t I? Candy eventually had lambs of her own.
Milking was an adventure all in its own, especially the way we did it. John used to run the Holstein bull through the milk barn so he could get his dose of grain along with the cows. Sometimes when John was especially sleepy (hard to imagine being that way at 4 A.M.), he would try to “milk the bull”, much to the surprise of both of them! After a while the bull became unpredictable, as Holstein bulls often do (too much milking?) After he tossed John around the holding pen a few times, the brothers decided he would have to be sold. They were trying to herd him into the loading chute, John on a tractor and Chuck on foot armed with a club. (Chuck, what were you thinking?) Brother Bill stood by with a pistol just in case. It was a good thing he did because Chuck’s club turned out to be no match for the bull, and Bill shot him just as he was getting ready to deliver the “death blow.” I missed the whole thing as I had run to the barn to answer the phone! Another time, the electric fence current had somehow got routed through the metal milking stalls. John herded 4 cows in to milk, and closed the gate behind them. Well, that completed the circuit, and two cows were dead before he figured out what was going on and turned the current off. Usually, John grabbed the metal stall preparatory to jumping down off the concrete stall. I’m glad he didn’t that time.
For the most part, having my own children has been even better than raising the bum lambs. Bob, our first-born child was born with water on his lungs. He underwent surgery when he was only one or two days old, and still has little scars under each arm where they inserted tubes to drain the water away. Thankfully, there have been no lasting effects (we think.) Bob has always been very intelligent and inquisitive, but he hated to play by himself. So both he and I were thrilled when his beautiful sister Heather was born, also a redhead. They used to ride their tricycles around and around the kitchen table. A few years later, Johnny came along. Johnny could and often did play by himself, and was frequently in a world of his own, building towers of blocks, or swinging on the glider and making up songs. Jim was supposed to be my second girl, but I am now very glad he wasn’t. Although an extremely handsome young man, he would have been one homely girl. Jim was the one who usually got along with all of his siblings. Once when I asked him for his secret he replied, “Well, I just did whatever they told me to do.” But sometimes he had had enough. One day, Bob told him that he had his shoes on the wrong feet. Jim firmly put Bob in his place with this reprimand: “You aren’t the boss of my feet!”
I loved getting to stay home with my kids while they were young. We read books, had picnics in the yard in the summertime, and played games. As they got older, there was Vacation Bible School, 4-H, T-Ball and Softball. Since John and I have 4 brothers and sisters each, there have been a lot of fun times with Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. They were especially close to cousins Nicki and Sara, who also lived in Howe , and they spent many happy hours building “forts” among the trees, floating in the ditch and watching “Duck Tales” and eating Popsicles. Grandma and Grandpa McDonald (Bill and Mary) lived just a few miles away, so that was another incentive for all of the McDonald cousins to visit often. The McDonald Grandparents had a spoiled little terrier named Willie, who would hide his favorite toys when the kids came to visit. The Wesley Grandparents were in Idaho Falls, but sadly, Bob Wesley died not long after Heather was born. Grandma Wesley, however, continued to be a major influence. Now, all of the Grandparents are gone

Bob, Heather and Johnny attended Howe Elementary through 6th grade, and Jim through 5th grade. There are pros and cons of going to such a small, close-knit school, but I think that the pros outweighed the cons. A definite “con” was (and continues to be) Lou Jones, whose wonderful cooking (which I’ve never managed to measure up to) and loving attention made each child feel special and cared for. Sue Norris as kindergarten teacher was another plus. Bob’s class was her first kindergarten in Howe, and I was glad that she retired a few years AFTER Jim made it through. At one time, when Bob and Heather were in school, the total enrollment was around 70 students, and 3 full time teachers were required, as well as Sue, Lou and Betty Allen as school secretary.

A “Weighty” Matter

I have just completed my THIRD annual Weight Watchers INNOVATION. Are you impressed? Well, I’m sure you will be once I explain myself. You see, I have been a member of Weight Watchers for about 2 1/2 years now, and a Weight Watcher leader for about 2 years. I have lost 50 lbs and maintained my weight loss for over 2 years. NOW you are impressed. I just had a stimulating conversation with “The Cook”, and we discussed the fact that WW teaches you how to eat in a healthy manner. It also addresses the mental side of food issues and weight loss cause that’s where a lot of the issues we have with food originate: in our heads! I am sure most of you have at least heard of Weight Watchers, being the international organization that it is. I’m sure its not for everyone (for instance, not for those who don’t need to lose weight!), but it worked for me. Innovation is the big meeting we have each year where all the leaders from Idaho get together and learn what changes there are in the program, and get kind of a “pep talk” about how terrific we all are, and how even more terrific we can be!
The thing that makes it so successful, however, its also a problem for me. WW is a business, whose goal is to….....MAKE MONEY! Of course, the more succesfully they can market their product, the more money they make. This is where the problem comes in. We are a very small community, and in order for our meetings to continue, we have to have 20 member at each renewal time or our meetings will be cancelled. Without that number paying in, our WW franchise thinks its not economically sound to pay us to lead meetings. It’s getting harder and harder to reach that number of continuing members. Inceasingly, people come, try us out, aren’t committed, and drop out, so our pool of potential WW members is shrinking! (though we do have a small, loyal core). Also, as people reach their goal and become “Life Time Members”, they no longer have to pay, so we can’t count them towards our 20.
However, I just designed a KILLER poster that I’m sure will attract many new members and “Save the Farm” so to speak. It has COLOR, BULLETS, a GRAPHIC, and LITTLE CARDS THAT YOU CAN TAKE WITH YOU.
I’m sure all you web designers would be envious if you could see it. I alternate leading the meetings with my co-leader and very good friend, Debbie. I am the one who likes to make stickers, magnets, cards, etc to hand out for visual reinforcement, cause its fun! (and I think its kind of makes up for my lack of preparation in learning the actual program material). Debbie likes to lead her meetings by learning the material so thoroughly that she needs very few notes, giving quite a polished performance…...the show off!
So, I’m sure with a super poster like this one, we will be okay,,,,,,,,,,,,, but if you have any other ideas I would be willing to listen, just so as to not hurt your feelings…....—Slender UltraMom