Growing up in Nome Alaska - part eight

Our phone number in Nome was Main 96 and you had to talk to the operator to connect your phone call. Our mail box number at the Federal building was Box 104. There was no mail delivery so you rented a box and had to go to the Federal building to pick up your mail.

Mother took this picture of me after one snow fall. There was so much snow and Dad was gone working for the Army Engineers. Mother thought she wouldn’t have to go to the bank to work but the President of the bank came to our house and shoveled the snow so mother could go to work and I could go to school.

Some of my friends and I were able to take tap dance lessons. There must have been someone at Marks Air Force Base that could tap dance and they donated their time. It was fun. We were in a program and ordered pajamas from the catalog to wear as costumes.

My parents told me that I was never to let friends come into the house if they weren’t home. One day I had several friends in the house when I saw my mother coming home from work. I had my friends hurry out the back door but mother saw them and she was very unhappy with me. She tried to spank me with her yard stick… I jumped under the table and she broke the yardstick. It was her favorite yard stick and she was not happy with me. This was the only time she every tried to spank me.

I told you near the beginning of my story that we went swimming in a small creek north of Nome called Dry Creek under a little bridge called Red Bridge behind the mining company. Well, I was searching for pictures and I found a couple that I could share. So here they are:

 











One warm day a couple of my friends and I decided to go swimming in the ocean. There was no one around so we took off everything but our underpants and went into the water. It was cold but fun. I remember there was a big drop off as the waves rolled… luckily we were smart and didn’t go into the ocean too far. I don’t remember if I ever told my parents or not. I know they would have been horrified. I found a picture of a different time that we were playing in the ocean. 

My father bought an old boat and was going to repair and restore it. It was parked in our front yard during one summer. Dad had friends from Marks Air Force Base that came often to help dad with his boat. Lt. Jennings was one of the G.I.’s. My mother named the boat “Ben’s Folly”!! So here is a picture of the boat and the guys who were helping my dad repair it. This picture was taken when they took the boat to see if it would float. Not sure what happened with the boat.

One night after we had gone to bed my dad wokeup because he heard someone in our storage room in the back of the house. It was the middle of the night and someone was in our house! My dad woke mother up and told her to get his gun while he got his pants on. The person heard my dad and ran out the back door. It was very scary! I think that experience had a profound effect on me and I still lock all the doors. Here is a picture of my dad, Bill Millhouse and a friend.