Regarding where my family lived when I was born

Corrections from my mom- we did live in the house up behind Barney's junction when I was a baby- but that was the 3rd place we lived after I was born.

They brought  me home to one of Grandma Gilmore's cabins. She had a boarding house and cabins for rent in Kettle Falls. We lived in  Cabin One. note: that's what Grandma always called it "Cabin One".  It had been a barn and 1/2 of it was converted into rental space.  Mama said that daddy was logging and the rent was cheap.

Then we moved into a basement apartment that was in an old house. It was southwest of town on the east side of the intersection where the road to Meyers Falls Dam and the road Old Kettle Falls cross. 


The photo of the three of us (below) was taken there. I was about 6 months old in that photo. Mama's dress is white and lavender. I'm in a pink dress. Daddy is wearing a soft blue shirt. It looks so nice in the picture because as mama says "I ironed it".

Daddy, Mama and me

2.When and where were you born?

I was born on December 3, 1948 at Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville, Washington at about 4:30 in the afternoon.  I always said "my first ride was in a logging truck in a snow storm".  I always thought it was an old beat up truck with a broken window.  But my Dad remembers it as a real nice truck. He told me that he traded off the car for as a  down payment on it- that's probably why it was my first ride.  Mama has maintained her version (old beat up truck with broken window) for more years though.

My folks lived in a little house behind Barney's Junction  up on the side of the mountain. It overlooked Lake Roosevelt and the twin bridges that span the water and link Stevens and Ferry County in Northeast Washington.

Why my grandpa nicknamed me "Big Foot'

Easter Sunday when I was 11 after my 7 inch growth spurt



Part 3 of question 1. What were your nicknames?

Are nicknames- names that you like or ones you don't? Humm.

My parents and Grandma Gilmore called me "Jackie Lea".  My sister Donna and I have called each other  "Sissy" for as long as I can remember.

My grandpa called me "Big Foot".  Mama's father, Art Gilmore,  was  about five foot seven.  He weighed 145 pounds.  By the time 4th grade was over- I was 10 years old and 5 feet tall. Over the summer I grew 7 inches and by September, were  looking eye to eye. In the next four years I grew five inches and by the time I was 14,  I was six feet tall and wore size ten shoes.   

Note:   I was a landmark as a young girl and teenager in Kettle Falls.  "Turn right at Jackie Williams".  

In the 7th grade, Tom McNitt and Tom Bryant named me Paul Bunyan and my sister Babe, the Blue Ox one wintery morning as we got on the bus dusted with snow. That followed us around for awhile. We countered with a poetic and sassy "I'm rubber, you're glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks on you."

When I was in my late 20's & early 30's, Donald called me "Aunt Gorgeous".

A girlfriend and client in Sandpoint dubbed me "Ms Jackie"  in the early '80's.  The one's lasted for almost 30 years.

Mr. Keith  calls me "Miss Scarlett", "Lucy" (as in "you got some 'splain' to do) and "Little Flower".

Gramma Jackie rocks the house these days.

In my mama's arms

Keri's Questionaire

Keri has 50 questions that she would like to have answered as part of her quest to fill in the blanks in geneology she's putting together for Sable.
Good idea. Great way to start posting.

First Question:
1.What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you?

My mother  named me - Jackie Lea Williams.  Jackie, for my dad (Jack Arthur Williams).  He may have not been exactly thrilled to be a parent at the age of 20.  Maybe that was supposed to help.

Mama gave me "Lea" (pronounced Lee) " as a middle name so that  if I didn't like my first name- I could always go by my middle name. Mama had  aspirations that I would stretch my wings far from Kettle Falls and  if I needed a more sophisticated name in the future- it was taken care of.