Everything I Know Came from the Bunkhouse

Here's to Agnes and Loy,

whose lives spanned the era of joy

from Old Barney to Leonard Nimoy.


These stories were written about a time that was, a family that was, and a valley that still is. The winters are still harsh and, though the roads are greatly improved since the time in these stories, they have never been paved. There is no sense in washing your car if you live out in Benewah. After a trip out of the valley behind a logging truck it will just be covered with dirt again. The eight-grade school was closed years ago and, unlike when I was attending school, a bus joggles out from St. Maries to pick up the students every day. Benewah students expect more "snow days" than the kids living in Town. The women's club is going strong and residents formed a Benewah Valley Association that purchased the old school to be used as a community building. They sponsor many interesting activities each year to raise money for maintenance and improvements on their beloved building.
I wrote the first story for my granddaughter and found I liked writing, especially about that time and those remarkable pioneers. If I don't tell their story I feel it will be as lost as if it had never been.
Lois Hodgson