Our Family moved to Headquarters in early 1952 from Town site 4. It was late February and I had to finish that year of school in Pierce. Every day I went down to the front of the store and got on the bus with the big kids. At that time only the high school went to Pierce and the other grades went to school in Headquarters.
The next fall I started my first year in a three grade classroom at Headquarters. Gladys Clark was my teacher for the next three years. She was always so well groomed and smelled so good. She was such a nice lady and good with the kids.
Winters in town were lots of fun for us. The snow would get so deep where it slid off the roof, we had no trouble just walking right up on the house. Every year we would drag out the sleds and sleigh ride 'till we had to go home. The first few years we lived there, the tow rope was still running on what was called "The ski hill". The hill was busy most of the days the tow was running.
All the years we lived in Headquarters we lived in town site 1. The first few years we were in house number 28. One summer,when all the kids were still taking naps, Maude Vaughn came to give us "shots". I got mine first because I was awake. But he boys were all asleep in a line on the big bed. Maude walked in and have them shots and they slept right through the event. Maude wasn't known for being the most gentle shot giver around, but I did like her and she was always there when you needed her.
My best friend, when we first moved to town, was Linda Baker. We had some wonderful times together. Her father, Clarence, built her a playhouse on the side of his jeep garage. We even got to sleep in it from time to time.
Mary Beyers and her friend, Nancy Platt (from Pierce) used to make paper dolls fro us. They also taught us how to play "Canasta".
Summers were wonderful. Nice warm days and cool nights made the winters easier to put up with. We had the whole area to play in and took full advantage of it.
There was an unwritten law that when the 9 o'clock siren blew, all kids were to be home. In our house, that meant time to go to bed.
Dad (Stewart SMith) worked in the warehouse and I thought it was a wonderful place to see. It was always so cool in the summer and as a child it was such a big place.
When cable TV came in, most families in town stated watching. Our first TV was a big green thing that gave us hours of entertainment. We got three channels and that was the major networks. About the same time, telephones came to Headquarters. Every household that got one was on a party line with five or ten other families.
Some of the girls took dance classes from Ruby Welch or piano lessons from Joann Hansen. The boys had scouts and baseball. a number of us took 4-H and that meant going over the hill to Dogpatch. Helen Smith and Mamie Jones were both leaders. It was exciting getting ready for the Clearwater County Fair and you always wondered if you would be ready. Somehow everything came together.
When the company built the swimming pool, I was in heaven. It was a wonderful place to keep cool. We weren't the only one to use it, sometimes car loads of kids from Pierce would come to swim there too.
When I think of "Headquarters" it will be the place it was in the '50's and '60's.
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