KENNETH MOVES TO LAMONI, IOWA, THEN BOISE, IDAHO

In this post, we return to Kenneth's account of his life in his own words:

After graduating from the Chillicothe Business College, I returned home and shortly afterwards obtained a job as office manager with Donaldson and Bill, a Ford agency at Lamoni, Iowa.

Kenneth Leroy Scott

Early Cars
This was in the days when the cars had to be started by the use of a crank at the front of the car. I often operated the gasoline pump, which was operated manually with a crank to dispense the gasoline. After making the gasoline sale the customer usually wanted me to start the car by cranking it. There was danger of the engine “kicking” if the spark lever was too far advanced which could break one’s arm.

Man cranking a Model T Ford.  Courtesy www.ncroots.com

It was customary for Ford dealerships to have a “closed territory”, often for an entire county, in which no one would be given another dealership. This was a very profitable business, but the Ford Motor Company sometimes took advantage of the dealer. There was such a demand for Fords that they couldn’t manufacture them fast enough to supply the demand. So we had to present signed orders to get a freight car load, which was the way they were shipped. So we would order for example: 3 coupes (which were new and very popular), 2 touring cars and one sedan. Maybe I would receive I coupe, 2 touring cars, and 3 solid-tired trucks (the latter being in oversupply). Without warning we would sometimes receive notice that there was a freight car load of Ford parts and tires at the railway station with sight bill-of-lading attached which we must accept or endanger our standing with Ford Motor Company.

Incidentally, my father purchased the first Ford Sedan in our area. In a weak moment, he let me take the Sedan, which he valued greatly. I called a neighbor girl and we started for a ride. Presently I heard a ‘bump, bump” under the car and by the smell realized I had hit a skunk. There was no way to remove that terrible odor except to let it wear off over a period of weeks. Needless to say, I didn’t drive the car again for many weeks.

Ford Model T Sedan.  Source:  http://picsdigger.com/domain/oldcarandtruckpictures.com/

My father, like many others his age, had trouble learning to drive after years of driving a team of horses. He practiced driving in our large barn yard. The Model T Ford had three foot pedals, one was the low gear when pushed down and also the driving range when released, the middle pedal was reverse, and the third pedal was the brake. On his first attempt at driving, Father started off slowly in low and when he saw the woven wire fence "approaching,” he began shouting “whoa, Whoa, WHOA” like he did for the team of horses and only stopped when the fence held the car.

The following is a quotation from a chain letter written by my cousin Geraldine Jordan, daughter of my uncle Charles Scott, in which she describes a typical experience with the very early automobiles:

"That old Overland was a source of pride and achievement to Mom and Dad.  We kids thought we had just about everything!  In fact, we were THE FIRST to own a car in the neighborhood.  I'm not stretching the truth--whenever we came to a steep hill, Papa would tell Mother to get out of the car with us kids and WALK up the incline, and he would make it alone.  He never was sure the top would be reached in safety!   Momma would be so concerned too, for fear the car wouldn't climb a hill.  The driver and rider in the front seat always had to get out each time gasoline was put in the tank.  (Note by Kenneth:  The first car Dad purchased was a Ford Sedan--the first in Harrison County--and it had this same arrangement for a gasoline tank.)

American-made 1914 Overland being pulled over a river in Queensland, Australia, courtesy John Oxley Library, via Wikimedia Commons

If a storm was possible, everyone had to get out and help with the top, and side curtains were installed all the way around.  Our Overland was SUPER.  It had a self-starter and the lights were battery operated.  When we reached a speed of 50 miles per hour, we were really flying and that was TOP speed."

Kenneth joins the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Back to my Lamoni experience. I engaged a room and meals at the home of a family living near the Ford agency. This was a nice clean place with good home cooking. Presently I learned they were members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints and that the headquarters of that church was located in Lamoni. They persuaded me to go to their services and eventually to be baptized and receive membership. About a year later, I migrated to Idaho where I went to the services of the Reorganized Church in Boise a few times. That was the last time I attended any of their meetings.

Kenneth’s parents move to Boise, Idaho
Shortly after I moved to Lamoni, Father sold his bank interests and loaded the family belongings in a railway freight car and the family boarded the passenger train for Boise, Idaho where he purchased a 5 acre tract and large house a few miles west of town on the “Bench” toward Meridian. My Grandfather Scott had sold his farm and moved to Meridian [Ada County, Idaho) where he purchased a nice home and several acres of fruit trees. When my folks moved west, they left their Ford Sedan with me to be driven out later.

Typical farm in Ada County, May 1936  (Source:  Library of Congress)

Trip to Idaho; A Harrowing Experience
In the spring of ..., I started for Idaho in the Ford Sedan, never having been farther west than St. Joseph, Missouri. When I reached the Missouri River at Council Bluffs, Iowa, the highway went onto a planked rail road bridge to cross that rather wide river. The rail road track turned out of sight on the opposite side of the river and there being no watchman in sight, I had visions of meeting a train about half way across the river so I just waited. Presently a car came from behind me and went across so I got up my courage and nervously drove across.

Bridges over Missouri near Council Bluffs, circa 1952.  Courtesy of Douglas County Historical Society Archives

The next event I recall is when I came to the Platte River in Nebraska. It was a turbulent, rushing stream slapping the bottom of the wooden single lane bridge with a turn-out at midstream and with much of the guard rail missing. I pulled to the side of the road to appraise the situation.

Presently a car load of young people came along and went rapidly across with surface boards rattling. So I cautiously started out gripping the steering wheel and watching the roaring stream from the corners of my eyes until I reached the other side. Later I learned that the river is rather shallow and I was seeing it at the spring run-off time.

When I approached Cheyenne, Wyoming, I got my first glimpse of mountains. While I was eating lunch, I asked the mechanic at a nearby garage to tune up my motor. When I again started down the road, the car keep slowing down, requiring me to use the low gear to get up speed only to have it slow down quickly. I grumbled to myself about that mechanic getting my car out of order until I looked back and discovered I was going up a rather steep grade toward a mountain.

Garages were rather far apart and whenever I came upon one, I filled the gasoline tank and inquired about the direction toward Boise, Idaho. The answer invariably would be “keep to the main road”. When I would reach a fork in the road, each looked similarly traveled. It was just a case of guessing which was the right direction and stopping the first car I met (which was quite infrequent) and asking if I was on the right road. If not, I had some back tracking to do.

Once I came to a sharp incline in the road that was too steep for the gravity gasoline feed in my car. The road was too narrow to turn around and try to drive up in reverse which improved the gravity feed in such a situation. So I parked the car by the road side and walked over to a near-by hill to see if I could locate a ranch house. Fortunately, there was house about a quarter of a mile away. There I inquired about gasoline and the answer was “yes” in five gallon cans at 50 cents per gallon and $1.00 for the car — a terrific price in those days. The nearest I could come to that price was a $10.00 bill which was my salary for 2 days work.  The lady returned presently and said she had no change. I said, “Well, I’m rather tired traveling so I’ll just sit here on the porch until someone comes along with change.” After about a half hour a man showed up with my change and I walked back to the car, poured the gasoline into the tank under the drivers seat and was able to get up the grade.  For the remainder of the trip, I carried five gallons of extra gasoline.

Also I carried a water can as the car would get hot occasionally, when I would get water from a stream and fill the radiator. A few times I had to remove the floor boards to tighten the brake and gear drums.

About half way across Wyoming, I began seeing an occasional splotch of orange colored paint on rocks along the roadway and recognized them as the first highway signs that the Lake Music Company in Salt Lake City had made to mark the road to that city.

Typical highway scene in Idaho County, July 1941 (Library of Congress)

The road from Pocatello, Idaho to American Falls, Idaho I soon discovered had “chuck- holes” hidden by about six inches of dust, so to avoid breaking a spring by dropping into one of those hidden holes, I had to drive so slowly I was constantly in a dense cloud of my own dust for about ten miles of that road.

Late the next afternoon, I reached Boise and presently I saw two boys whom I recognized as my brothers Roland and Marvin waving me into the driveway of a nice large house and I realized that my seven day drive from Iowa was ended. What a joy it was to see my mother, father, and brothers again!

Elzumer with Marvin (born 1916) and Kenneth (born 1899)

 My father was working with the State Banking Department with an office in the State Capital in Boise.

State Capitol, Boise, Idaho.  Courtesy www.CardCow.com

My folks had a nice 5 acre irrigated place, most of which was planted to a variety of fruit trees.

Typical family garden, Ada County, Idaho,  May 1936 (Library of Congress)

 
Kenneth moves to to Kamiah, Idaho

In a few days I returned by train to my work in Lamoni.  Idaho looked so attractive to me that I kept thinking about moving out there--an idea that was encouraged by letters from my parents.

In the spring of...,  I left by train for Idaho. At that time my folks were living in Kamiah [Ada County] in the northern part of Idaho where father was the receiver of a chain of failed banks at Grofino, Kamiah, and Kooskia, Idaho. At Lewiston, Idaho, I changed trains to a two car train that travel up the Clearwater River to Kamiah and a few miles beyond. It was an interesting trip up the Clearwater River Canyon mostly through a forest of splendid timber.

Example of Idaho railroad (Library of Congress)

At the station stops usually there were no houses in sight and I assumed the houses were on the top of the canyon. Frequently I saw a train line with many--what appeared to be--seats hanging from the steel cable. I thought that was how I would have to travel with my suitcase up to the top of the canyon when I reached Kamiah--not a pleasant thought.

When the conductor announced our arrival at Kamiah, to my pleasant surprise, it was located on a flat opening about 4 or 5 miles square, surrounded by stately pine-covered mountains. Later I learned that the tramways were only for transferring the bagged grain from the fields of the prairie down to the railway stations for shipment to market.