Today i will continue with postings from George Hindley’s 1880 diary, and remind readers that this Sunday, the 7th of August, the current George Hindley will be crossing the bridge just as his grandfather (our original George, the main mover and shaker of Fernbridge construction) did one hundred years ago.
Here is the blurb from the site www.victorianferndale.com : August 7: Centennial Re-dedication of Fernbridge, The Queen of Bridges. Noon: M.C. Bill Morrill begins the speeches, concluding with plaque dedication by Native Sons outside Fernbridge Tractor. 1 p.m. Bridge Walk followed by Grand Marshal George Hindley in horse-drawn wagon, 1911 Model T from Harper Motors, period-appropriate conveyances. In Ferndale: Birthday cake and ice cream for 500 on Brown Street after bridge walk. Pick up Ferndale Factoid word puzzles in shops. First 100 solvers win a prize! 707-786-4477
This Time-Standard story , about Sunday’s event and the Ferndale Museum’s film about the bridge, prompted a comment/correction from Wendy Lestina (of the Museum):
The movie about Fernbridge, “The Span of the Century,” will be shown on November 16, the exact date of the original opening (not November 11, as reported above) at the Veterans Building in Ferndale; two showings, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The movie, a historical interview, is a project of the Ferndale Museum.
All right, let’s resume old George’s journal from the summer of 1880. As always, Bob Stansberry’s comments are in italics, and mine are in [brackets].
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JUNE 1, Tuesday—Clear all day. Truman and Cathey helped me bale wool. We bailed 11 bales. Dan took off 8 bales to Hunters’ today. Milsap was out walking on crutch this day and yesterday.
JUNE 2—Clear all day with cold wind from north. Dan and Truman packed down ten bales of wool. Willie and me baled the rest and marked 111 lambs and sheard 10(?).
JUNE 3—Clear and awful cold wind, nearly freesing. Dan got back from town. I and Cathey packed down 8 bails of wool. Got a letter from wife. John Philbrook, census taker, staid all night. Cathey to town.
JUNE 4—Clear and windy. The shearers were heare and took dinner with me and then went to Rainbow. I went to Parkhursts’ after sheep. Got 2. Mr. Stone and Granville came and staid all night. [Granville Stone.]
JUNE 5—Clear all day and warm. I went with Stone and Son over to Dan’s and down on the creek. Came home at night. Mr. (?) How went by to mill and came back and staid all night.
JUNE 6—Clear all day. Mr. How left for home this morning. I went to Dan’s and marked 106 lambs. Staid at Dan’s all night in company with Terpin and Dan’s folks. All well.
JUNE 7—Foggy and raining a little. I went over to Cathey’s place and marked 26 lambs, ate dinner and then came by way of Millsap’s and got some butter. Came home, kild 3 deer.
JUNE 8—Clear with cold raw wind. I staid at home all day and hoed to garden and watterd some of the vegetables. Fixed my new gun and tried it. I looked for Dan but no come. Nobody past on.
JUNE 9—Clear all day and very cold. Wind blowing from north. I wrote to wife and Brotherenlaw. Dan, Truman, and Cathey came over and we took Millsap home. I came back and am alone.
JUNE 10—Clear all day and very cold wind. I caught the old yergo (?) and took her down to Johnsons’ and then went to town. Ate dinner at Singleys’ and staid all night at Abb’s. No letters. [Probably Petrolia, staying at Ab Godwin’s inn on the square.]
JUNE 11—Clear and pleasant all day. Staid in Petrolia all day and went to a concert at night. Staid at Godwin’s all night. Paid Hurlbutt’s order of 10 dollars to Holeman [Holman, the maiden name of George Hindley’s wife?]
JUNE 12—Clear and very warm all day. I came up home in company with Carrey Boots and Hadley. Ate dinner with Singley, went up to Pack (?) Hunter’s then to Pass’s and got some tomatoes. Came home alone.
Packard Hunter was also a brother of Paschal and John Hunter Sr. [Hmmm, Bob, I will have to check that out. I thought there were only the five Hunter brothers: Shelby, Paschal, Thomas, John Henry, and Walker Sanders.]
JUNE 13—Clear all day and warm. I staid home all day and tinkerd round. Saddled up in the eavning and came over to Fits’s to shear with the boys. Staid all night.
JUNE 14—Clear all day and find all well. I sheard forty sheep. Hand give out 4 5 [maybe he means by 4 or 5 pm?] I. Miner came, and John Crismon. All sleep in the wool.
[The I. Miner may have been miscopied, could’ve been J. for Jacob, or perhaps L. for the various forms of Lee, Leander, Lemuel, etc., in the Miner family tree.]
JUNE 15—Clear and pleasant. Worked all day a-shearing at Fitses. I sheard sixty sheep. I. Ross supenied me as witness for C. Clark. I went down to Singleys and staid.
[Subpoenaed by an I. Ross… again, maybe a J. Ross… and wonder what the deal was with Charles Clark of Petrolia.]
JUNE 16—Clear all day. I went to Petrolia in the morning. Staid at Abb’s all day. Tended the lawsuit. Seen Abbot and several old friends. Clark won the suit.
JUNE 17—Clear and pleasant. I left Petrolia in the morning. Came by Buckeye to Fitses. Sheard after noon. 31 sheep. Got a letter from wife and answered the same.
JUNE 18—Clear all forenoon and raind in the eavning. Sheard sheep all day. I sheard 68. Herington came with pack train. A heavy frost this morning, cold and frost.
[Herington is probably Harrington, an early family of light station tenders who intermarried with the Paschal Hunter family.]
JUNE 19—Clear and pleasant, a very heavy frost this morning. We finished up at shearing at noon. I sheard 21 sheep. Sold Old Jim and filly to Herington, $50. Came home.
JUNE 20—Clear and pleasant. I tinkerd round fixing up corrals. In the eavning got up some sheep to doctor tomorrow. Cathey past, Tom Rudolph borrow my tent, P. Hunter vis[ited?].
[Thomas Rudolph was brother to John Rudolph, owner of the Petrolia Store, and Morgan Rudolph, a preacher whose daughter, Martha, married Marshall Wright. Thomas’s son William Rudolph was a citizen of Upper Mattole.]
JUNE 21—Clear and warm today. Cathey past going home. I doctored sheep all day and then corralled more for tomorrow. Got a letter from Sloss today. I am alone tonight.
JUNE 22—Clear and warm all day. I doctored sheep from early morn till sundown. Alone, nobody past heare today. I am alone tonight as usual. Got a circular yesterday.
JUNE 23—Clear all day and very warm. I washed up my clothes and wrote a letter to wife then in eavning went to postoffice. Got a letter from Weir and Richardson. Came and staid at Hunters’.
JUNE 24—Clear and warm. I came up and got some cattle and brought them home. Got my dinner and started to Dan’s. Got over all right, found Dan out after a bear. Staid all night.
Who is Dan? [Bob, I am pretty sure he means Dan Merrifield. Not sure what he means by “got over all right.” Over the ridge?]
JUNE 25—Clear and warm. I helped Dan fix up his corral then we surveyed off a line through by his field on the old house prairie. Terpin and Hazleton came. I staid all night.
[Hazletons of Bull Creek; two sisters of that family married two Cummings men—George Cummings of Union Mattole m. Calista Hazelton.]
JUNE 26—Clear and warm. Still at Dan’s. Got up sheep and docterd 311 head. Got throo by eavning. Hazleton, Terpentine [?—a nickname, or just the full name, for Terpin?], and Cathey fixed up field fence. All staid all night, well.
JUNE 27—Clear and hot. Came over to Catheys and we run off his claim. Then got up the sheep to brand and doctor tomorrow. Dans [?] went out to cut a bee tree. Staid all night at Catheys’.
Did they survey Cathey’s land claim? [I think so!]
JUNE 28—Clear and hot, very warm. Docterd Cathey sheep. Saddled up and went over to Dan’s. Found Dan’s numbers then came home. Cathey and Truman came over, staid all night.
JUNE 29—Clear and pleasant. I wrote a letter to Wife. Watterd garden and worked round home all day alone. Cathey and Truman went down to Mattole. Sewed up my clothes, still alone.
JUNE 30—Clear and hot all day. I worked in garden till noon then Dan came over. Let Dan have 2 1/5 dollars. Truman and Cathey came, all had dinner and went home. I came to Petrolia.
JULY 1, Thursday—Clear and warm. Staid with Abb’s last night. Got 60 dol. of Gill’s clerk. Came to Ferndale. Went to IOOF lodge, staid at hotel, seen Stone and family, all leaving. Paid $2 to Wm. Ray.
[C.W. Gill ran the Petrolia Store around this time, in a partnership with Walker Sanders Hunter that was dissolving.]
JULY 2—Clear and warm. I and Hollester left Ferndale and came to Eureka. Staid at Revere Hotell. I went to IOOF lodge to the installation of officers, injoyed it well. Went to court house on business.
JULY 3—Clear and warm. Still in Revere House. I went to Courthouse, registered myself. Went to the land office and found things mixed, all jumbled up. Am tired of this place now.
JULY 4—Clear and pleasant. I am at Eureka stopping at Revere Hotell. Very dull. Walked round town most all day. Went up and spent the eavning at Gatses.
JULY 5—Clear and pleasant. Celebration very dull. I am disgusted and tired. Went to IOOF lodge, seen installation. Well satisfied with my visit. Still at Revere House. Tired out.
JULY 6—Clear and pleasant. Hunnicutt came in and I went to land office but no satisfaction. Mixed survey, no filing safe. Still at the Revere House.
JULY 7—Clear and pleasant and Hunnicutt and me went over to Arcata Wharfe and back in morning. After dinner I came out to Ferndale with King. Am stopping at the Hotell heare.
West of the Redwoods 