Notes
Note N2878 Index
William was with his parents in Cloquet, Minnesota.
Notes
Note N2879 Index
After moving out to California and working at different lumbering jobs, Thomas joined the U.S. Army in 1922. He served in Co. G, 35th Infantry, at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, and was promoted to sergeant. He deserted at one point and spent 1 year in Leavenworth Prison. He came out of prison an avowed Communist. He went back to the lumbering and sawmill industry, as a lumberjack and, later, a labor organizer. As such, he moved from place to place, never staying in one place very long.
He and Dixie first lived in St. Helens, Columbia County, Oregon. Since they were, technically, first cousins, the consanguinity laws of Washington did not allow them to get married. So, they were married in Portland, Oregon, just across the Columbia River from Washington State. They then moved to Battleground, Washington (with her parents), until they moved to Seattle, where they lived until 1935. During the next year, they lived in Auburn (King County), Pacific City and, finally, Methow, on the edge of Okanagan National Forest in Okanagan County, where they lived two years. Both Thomas and Dixie were very interested in politics, and were members of the Communist Party. This indicates why they were so involved in the labor movment and organizing.
After Dixie died in 1938 (from strep throat), the children were split up. "Ben" (Herbert Benjamin) went to an orthopedic hospital in Seattle. Robert and "TJ" went to Washington Children's Home, also in Seattle. Grace lived with a relative for a little over a year. Meanwhile, Thomas moved from job to job, eventually ending up in the small town of Sisters, 22 miles north of Bend, Oregon.
He met Mary in White Salmon (just over the border from Hood River, Oregon), Washington. She became his live-in housekeeper. They were married in 1940 in Portland, and returned to Sisters. There, Thomas sent for his children, and the family was reunited.
Thomas' employers (who operated a sawmill) moved 20 miles to Redmond in 1943, and Thomas and the family moved with them. Later, Thomas operated a portable sawmill in LaPine, 32 miles south of Bend. "TJ" worked with him. Later, he worked and lived at Elkton in Douglas County.
After he retired, he became a traveling musician, playing the saw, as well as being a full-time labor movement activist. Because he had been active in the IWW (International Workers of the World) movement, he was featured in a movie titled "The Wobblies." He also appeared on recordings with Neil Young and George Harrison, famous musicians in the second half of the 20th century. He was featured on one of the segments of the TV show, "On the Road with Charles Kuralt." A bronze statue of Tom playing the musical saw sits in downtown Santa Cruz, California. He had a business card that stated: "The Lost Sound" Musical Saw. Old Time Music. Tom Scribner, 212 Kaye Street, Santa Cruz, CA.
Thomas died of complications due to respiratory failure and pancreatic cancer, at Dominican Hospital, Santa Cruz, California. His ashes were scattered at sea.
Notes
Note N2883 Index
Phil arrived in central Oregon from Minnesota in 1923. He took on photography as a hobby in about 1957. He became well-known for his photos of central Oregon scenes. One of his photos (of Smith Rocks, near Redmond) hung in Oregon Governor Tom McCall's outer office. Another photo of Smith Rocks is owned by Mark Hatfield, son of former U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield, in Washington, DC.
Notes
Note N2894 Index
William served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.
Notes
Note N2905 Index
Thomas, Jr. was known as "TJ". He was born in the same bed in which his mother had been born, in Clinton Steele's house in Battleground.
Frances' family moved from Nebraska to Sherwood (Washington County) just south of Portland, Oregon, in 1929.
In 1986, Frances legally changed her name to Mickey Scribner.
Notes
Note N2906 Index
Robert, who goes by "Bob," served in the U.S. Army from 28 January 1949 to 21 August 1952. At first, he was assigned to supply school, but, then he was assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, to be trained in bomb disposal. He went overseas to Japan in July 1950 and served there until his discharge in 1952. In Japan, he worked in the Tokyo Quartermaster Depot as a stock records clerk, warehouseman and office machine repairman.
Bob and Patricia were divorced in August 1973.