Lilly Mae is
my given name, but many folks call me "Jewel". I was born in St.
Louis in 1811, the year of the New Madrid earthquakes. In 1830
Ma and Pa, myself, and my four siblings set out for Fort Vancouver in
a place called the Oregon Territory. My brothers and sisters and
I fought all the time all the way on that long trip. Somewhere's
along the trail my parents got into a disagreement with another family
and then they started feudin'.
It were a miserable trip.
My brothers and sisters was always pesterin' me and my folks was
always yellin' and a cussin' at them other folks.
When we was
almost there I ran into a handsome fella' while he was fishin'.
Turns out he was the son of the folks we was feudin' with. I
ended up fallin' fer him. Nedidiah and I had to sneak off to be
able to talk to each other without our parents gettin' all worked up.
After we arrived at Fort Vancouver we had to climb out the windows
to be able to see each other. We hated sneakin' around all the
time and 'specially hated having to hide in the outhouse fer to talk.
We decided to leave our families and run off to Californy. We
wanted to make a better life together fer ourselves.
We ended
up in Banning running the stage stop for the Colorado Stage and
Express Line. |
| Julie Cline
and her husband, Ned, reside in Beaumont. She is a stay-at-home
mom to their two dogs, Riley and Cassi. Prior to moving to
Southern California from Spokane, Washington, Julie taught at-risk
children. |
|
