Echoes From The Past
By Steve Godfrey
Nov. 04, 2010
My grandmother was Ruth (Godfrey) Baker, and she lived on Riverfront Drive, across the river from the Museum, from in the mid-1950s to the early ‘70s. She passed away in early 1983 at the age of 90 at the Cashmere Convalescent Center. When she was younger, she kept a diary. In 1986, my brother Ed transcribed it onto his computer and gave each of us siblings a copy for Christmas. There are several interesting passages of historical significance in her diary, and this is one of them.
At the time my grandparents owned an orchard on the Methow River, just up from Pateros.
“March 23, 1936
My birthday. The twins made my birthday cake again. Mrs. Gray’s with black walnuts and green frosting.
This spring is rather cold and backward. There is still ice here and there along the river, and a great deal of snow on the hill across the river.
The past season has been exceedingly disastrous to the fruit trees. It appears now that all the peach trees are killed entirely, the apricots, cherries, and pears damaged to an unknown extent, likewise some of the winesaps quite bad. We cannot tell until the trees bloom out the extent of the damage. Orchards up the Methow are hurt much worse than those around here. Some think that nearly all the apple trees are killed.
News headlines tell of Hitler’s occupation of the Rhineland, with the attendant dangers of European war, the devastating floods in the east, worst that have ever been known, with damage amounting to $200,000,000. Efforts of the democratic administration to get the country out of the depression. It still looks like a long pull ahead.”
She was right about that. The effects of the Great Depression lasted until the start of World War 2, still 3 years down the road.
The president at that time was Franklin D. Roosevelt, and he was working with Congress and the courts to push the provisions of his New Deal economic policy. He had already established Social Security and Unemployment Benefits which were very popular with most Americans. He won his bid for re-election in the fall of 1936 by a landslide. (Source: Wikipedia)
The twins are my dad, Robert, and uncle, Richard, who were 13 years old at the time. They both ended up enlisting and fighting in World War 2, my dad in Iwo Jima and my uncle in Europe. Both retired to live here in Cashmere.
Does anyone out there know what a Mrs. Gray’s cake is?
My father's cousin, Mary Ellen Ayres, saw this article and responded: "I believe I can shed light on 'Mrs. Gray's cake.' While Ed Godfrey appeared to have little interest in cooking, Rich and Rob did. Their specialty was 'Mrs. Gray's Nut Tea Cake' from a recipe book Aunt Ruth had. It was a white cake with nuts in it, as I recall. However, it was known in the Godfrey family as 'Nutty Mrs. Gray's Tea Cake.'" Thanks Mary Ellen!
November 18, 2010 at 7:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)