Family Stories that I remember...by Doug Duehning

You ask some tough questions as I don’t remember much from my early childhood. I was born in 1945 and GGPa Fred had a wooden leg as long as I can remember. He lived in a big old house not far from us in Garden Springs up until the time he died, but I don’t know if he was living there at the time I was born. After Fred died (or maybe a little before) GPa Arthur Hoyt moved into the same house. My Gma, Ellen Dotha Seymour Hoyt, died before I was born, so her spinster sister, my Great Aunt Ruth Seymour, lived with GPa for as long as I remember. A few years later, GPa and Aunt Ruth moved to a dairy farm a few miles east by Rathdrum, Idaho. Though it had a milking shed and area for processing milk, I don’t remember GPa ever having more than a couple cows. I think he just liked living on a farm. He did have a big barn with a hayloft, a big Cat bulldozer and a lot of old machinery sitting around to climb on so we kids loved to visit him.

I’m guessing that Fred lost his leg to diabetes. GPa Arthur died in a auto accident in 1952 after he passed out driving his truck up toward Sandpoint, Id. He was coming down a big hill and just ran off the highway into a gas station. Mom was an RN and she always thought he had diabetes (guess he drank a lot of water) and that’s why he passed out. Uncle Chan also lost both his legs to diabetes a year or so before he died. So sad, because he was about 6’5” and just a wonderful man. Their household with the 3 Hoyt sisters (Sue, Sandi & Debbi) was always full of joy. My parents were loving, but they constantly nagged and bickered with each other. GPa’s ambulance got into a wreck while taking him to the hospital in Spokane, so he died en route. Aunt Ruth was also in the accident and spent quite some time in the hospital recovering. After she got out, she moved back into the big house in Garden Springs. The house still had all the great old furniture from GGPa Fred. I used to love to spend the night with Aunt Ruth because she had a TV and my mother didn’t believe in that evil gadget. I’d stay up until midnight watching Dragnet, M Squad and the old westerns. Aunt Ruth always saved things for me to fix. Course I always got to mow her lawn. There was a lean-to shed off the back of the house and I remember GGPa Fred’s wooden leg was stuffed in the rafters. The only arguments I had with Aunt Ruth was when she tried to teach us manners. She was from “Back East” and thought such things important. Now I wish I had listened better. Aunt Ruth died in 1971 after I moved to Seattle following college graduation in 1970. Mom had no use for sentimental items and didn’t even bother to ask her children. She just called an antique dealer and sold all her share of that great old furniture in the house. However, I know Uncle Chan saw that his girls got to pick some of their favorite furniture first. I also think Cousin Sue has some of the books and photo albums. I have NOTHING! Mom also sold all the Garden Springs property in several chunks before she died. We siblings tried to buy the last parcel to keep something in our family but she didn’t understand such silly sentimentality, said she’d already promised it to her brother so she sold it to him. I’m sure Uncle Chan never had any idea that we wanted it and I certainly didn’t want to get in a spat with my favorite Uncle over a piece of land. My sister Kay was upset because she was keeping her horse there and her husband Mike had just built her a little barn on the property. At least Uncle Chan and his girls hung onto most or all of their share of the land. I know, more than you needed to know.

I do have 2 children, M. S. Duehning (wife Heidi) and S. D. (Duehning) Collingridge ( husband Keith). S. has daughter K. and son Ka.. We’ve inherited granddaughter E. from Heidi.. I’m very delinquent getting pictures of my family on Facebook, too many pictures to wade through to find good ones. They don’t exactly dress up when the family gets together to hang out. Kids are all coming up to Shelter Bay this Saturday for a “Family Day” – K.& E. both have birthdays coming up. Doubt they’ll be dressed for portraits.

You might consider designating our branch of the family the “Arthur Bush Hoyt” group, since he’s the common like between my family & Chan’s. As I mentioned above, I believe Cousin Sue has whatever old family photos are still in existence. However, I did come up with a couple of scanned photos which I will attach. I’ll also attach a recent pic of myself with my sweet Peggy.

Cousin Doug
email of 01-25-2010

(Edited for Privacy -jeh)