Diane Putnam's photos

I'm only surmising what's going on here, but the only military base in the Pacific Northwest that is big enough to have equipment to ship elsewhere is Joint Base Lewis-McCord near Lakewood, Washington state. From Wikipedia: "The facility is an amalgamation of the United States Army's Fort Lewis and the United States Air Force's McChord Air Force Base which merged on 1 February 2010." I don't think that Oregon's two Air National Guard bases (one in Klamath Falls near me) would have this kind of equipment, because they are centered around training F-15C Fighter pilots.

I don't know why a trainload of military equipment is going south from either Washington or Oregon, but I wrote some information under the next photo

A lot of tank-type vehicles, some trucks and another train behind. Possibly related and carrying smaller equipment. See more info two photos away from this one. Any former military people know what these are?

Sorry...it's a pun, which I'm ordinarily not in favor of. ;-o

Captured by my father, probably in Londonderry, N. Ireland. He said he was simply walking along a street and suddenly there was a lot of commotion ahead. Then the Queen zoomed by only a few feet from him!

Presumably my dad's trophy. Or, my Grandfather's. It could just as well be a Chinook or Steelhead salmon. They're hard for me to tell apart in B&W, but it's definitely a male. (Big, hooked jaws.) Mmm, what I wouldn't give to have that fella in my freezer!

This was probably in Long Beach, California, around 1915-1916. My late dad and one of my brothers look very much like him. I have no doubt that the car was a Ford.

Dad might have bought this print in the USCG Museum in Seattle, Washington. Or, perhaps in the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon in the early 2000s. The ship's ID number is CGR 2469. CGR is the acronym for Coast Guard Regulation. He was in the Coast Guard from 1942-1945. Shipped out in '42 from Seattle to Manila, Philippines. When he returned in '44 he was based in Astoria, Oregon, where the USCG was guarding the Northern Pacific coast from Japanese submarines. He told me they could occasionally hear them as they tried to get up the Columbia River. Back of photo print (approx. 8" x 10"): Distinctive Photography Photograph No. >17136 Ray Krantz Photographic Illustrations 3300 West 77th St. Seattle, 7, Washington Telephone HEmlock 7400

My father, Harold Putnam, is front row, second from right. These are members of the junior and senior classes. The interesting detail to me is the condition of the boys' boots and pants, stained and worn, boots very dirty. This was (and is) a remote country school. Most of the fathers and older brothers were loggers, millworkers or farmers and nearly all families very poor. I would be willing to bet that those pants and boots are hand-me-downs from dads and older brothers. The flying K sweater insignia stands for Keno Eagles, the school sports teams. Dad was on the track & field, basketball, baseball and football teams. After graduation he was on the Klamath Falls city baseball team and bowling league. To say that he liked sports would be an understatement. The girl in the flowered blouse became my 8th grade home-economics teacher. I learned to sew from her. I suppose I cooked, too, but I had very little interest in cooking and that is still true. AA336 Long ago

In the back: my great-grandmother, Rose Fitz Randolph Woods; mother Mary Gill Putnam; grandmother Ethel Woods Gill Burkholder. Front, yours truly, about 18 months old. Look at all of the snazzy hair waves in this shot! Photographer's proof stamped: Rushmore Photo, Rapid City, South Dakota. I have the final and better print somewhere, can't find it at the moment. AA336 Long ago

Alice Putnam and her boys. A third one came later. This is Long Beach, California. About two years after this photo, the family moved to Ashland, Oregon. Grandpa had worked as a stevedore and had been injured on the Long Beach docks. Fed up with the physical punishment of dock work - he was a slight man - he built a sort of camper van out of the Ford Model something-or-other and they struck out for homesteading prospects up north. There was terrible, hungry hardship for quite a few years. I don't think my grandmother had many happy times after that. For as long as I can remember, she talked longingly about southern California. Grandpa eventually built a logging company and was very prosperous. His three sons worked with him and all continued that work after he died in 1952. Grandpa was only 57 when he died and was my favorite person in the world.

It seems obvious that he was some percentage of border collie. In those days, dogs weren't bathed, groomed or pampered. They were loved by kids, though, and Dad had some funny stories about Spot. I wish I remembered them! AA336 Long ago

Ross LaVerne Putnam and Alice Marie Pearson, both about 19, 1915(ish). They had known each other most of their lives. As Grandma told it, "it was always understood" by both families that Ross and Alice would marry. That mass of daisies must have smelled kind of awful! AA336 Long ago

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!