Interview with Wayne Hunter and Elaine Hunter Ryan

Wayne and Elaine lived in Bly as small children while their father, Harold Hunter, worked at the local sawmill. There were 12 children in the family but not all were born when they first lived here.

Both Wayne and Elaine were born in Idaho. Mother's name was Lura Gertrude Jenkins. Lura was also born in Idaho. Father was Harold Lavern Hunter born in Washington.

Both talked about living in Alice Keadle's house Alice was known as "Ma Keadle" by the local folks. She earned her living by doing laundry for people. Leda remembered that she entertained boyfriends when her husband was out of town. "Ma" was a very large lady with huge bosoms and her husband "Pa" was a very skinny man. One time Leda was told, by her parents, to help Ma with the laundry. One of her boyfriends was there at the time and gave Leda a dollar bill. Ma took the bill and put it between her huge breasts and "promised to give it to Leda later". Leda never got the money.

Harold Hunter used to tell about Ma Keadle getting drunk and falling in the bathtub and he and Walt Patterson had to pull her out. He also told about her bending over in the garden and how he and Walt would shoot her in the rear with a B-B-gun.

Walter Patterson and his brother Joe were at one time the only black folks in Bly. Joe didn't stay very long and left town because he was scared. Leda remembered Walt living in a small one-room shack behind the old Hunt store. The Hunt store is now a part of the old Shell Service station that is owned by Steve Leonardo and used as an antique store. Leda remembers they had a gunnysack nailed on the outside of the building near the door that was used to put their garbage in. The room was pretty much a tarpaper shack.

Walt always played a guitar and sang silly songs. One favorite was "You're gonna look like a monkey when you get old". Another had the words "Mama killed a chicken, thought it was a duck, put it on the table with its legs stickin' up, You gotta go." Walt had a girlfriend (Maxine Jensen) who later had a baby that she claimed was a Black foot Indian. Walt played cards a lot and he liked kids. Walt was a preacher's son. He once said that his feet "swole up like they was full of baking powder". Walt had a dog named "Boy". There was group in the neighborhood that would get together and play music. His lady, Helen, would get up and dance "the Chicken."

Walt had a very nice lady later on that was named Helen. They lived across from Wayne and Leda Hunter on Main Street downtown. She loved to cook and would call for Billie Hunter to come to her house when she cooked catfish. Billie, three years old, tried one time to rub the black off of Helen's arm. Helen explained that it did not rub off. Billie didn't like Walt very well and replied when asked by Walt "You don't like me, do you?" Billie said, "Never did". Leda remembers that when they lived at the Main Street location that Helen's grandkids would hang on the white picket fence in front of her son Sammy's house. Leda's mother, Helen Lawrence, once said they looked like blackbirds on the fence. Leda's son Leland hollered one time "Mom, I'm going to play with the thunderbirds," which was quite an embarrassment to Leda.

Walt used to shoot at the cats, in the neighborhood, with a B-B-gun. Leda once heard a B-B hit her car. Walt liked to play horseshoes and often played with Wayne. Walt would always call out "They're about to close the store," when he was close to winning.

At one time the Hunter family lived at what was known as Ivory Pine. This was located on the Ivory Pine road and was at one time a fairly large community. All that remains now is the old millpond. Lura always called it Podunk rather than Ivory Pine. We assume this was in reference to it being a Podunk town. Lura never did learn to drive but she did have to come into Bly to purchase groceries. Someone would get her started at Ivory Pine and she would drive to town. Ed Patzke would turn the car around and point her towards home so that she could get back. She always drove in high gear.

Harold would tell of another black man named Sherman Seastrong that worked at Ivory Pine. Sherm would sleep, in between shifts, on the lumber piles because he lived in Bly. Sherm's first wife Annie died and he later married Net Lee. Net's first husband, Ernie, also had passed away.

Elaine talked about the street dances that were held downtown. She also told that when they lived behind the store a Mexican family lived next door. The lady would prepare tortillas for the Hunter family.

Elaine would trick or treat, on Halloween, at the bar because she knew the drunks would give her money.

Snuffy Smith was the resident deputy, at Bly, before being killed in a traffic accident at the junction of highway 140 and Ivory Pine road. Snuffy once shot a man in the bar and the man continued to stand up because his coat was caught in the door.

The town of Bly used to be known as a wild town. Carlon Poole was once run over by some Indians near the old Pastime. This resulted in a broken leg.

Wayne and Leda were at the Pastime Tavern one time when a disgruntled patron started shooting through the large front windows from outside. No one was injured; probably because he didn't mean to shoot anyone.

Soon after Wayne and Leda were married they moved to a house on Main Street. An Indian lady went by and shot at Danny Branham's house across the street. We turned out the lights and peaked through the curtains. (We kept our heads down too)