THE ELMER FAMILY
by Regina (Schmid) Elmer
written in 1952

     I have stood by the graves of so many dear friends that now I am the last of the old generation.
     In these last years of my life my heart is filled with warmth for our bountiful Trout Lake valley and my mind with happy memories of friends who lived here.
     It is a great pleasure to pass on our pioneer experiences to others. But first, a word about myself and family.
     I was born in Switzerland on Oct. 29, 1865. In 1886 at the age of 21 I came to the United States alone and proceeded to the Swiss settlement at Monroe, Wisconsin where I met Albert Elmer.
     Albert was born on Feb. 26, 1861 in Switzerland and came to Wisconsin when he was 17. He hired out as a farm hand at $100 a year. We were married on Feb. 23, 1889.
     My brother, Peter Schmid, and my cousin, Jack Schmid, took up homesteads at Trout Lake in 1888. Albert and I followed them to Trout Lake in the fall of 1890.
     We traveled by Northern Pacific box train to Vancouver by way of Tacoma. At Vancouver the train was divided up into three sections which were loaded on a barge and floated to Portland.
     In Portland the train was reassembled and proceeded to The Dalles where we took a boat to Bingen Landing.
     Our oldest son, Albert, was almost a year old when my husband and I arrived at Trout Lake in the fall of 1890. We took up a homestead on what is now the Howard Hylton and Gene Warner farms.
     We built a 10 x 12 log house and lived on the homestead a few weeks before we both hired out to Harve Burkett and moved to his farm.
     Papa worked outside and I helped Mrs. Burkett who was crippled. Together papa and I earned about $30 a month.          Since we were not living on our own homestead, a Mr. Eggert jumped our claim. Discouraged by the loss of our home and the rough life, we returned to Wisconsin.
     I have often deeply regretted that my husband and I temporarily left the valley from 1891 to 1904.
     Nearly all of Trout Lake Valley was covered by tall green timber in 1890. Clearing a homestead was slow, back-breaking work.
     It sometimes took two days to fall a single tree. Often they were so thick and large that instead of falling to the ground they would hang up on adjoining trees.
     The first settlers had to fall the trees, buck the logs, roll them into piles, burn them and then pull the stumps. It took nearly two months on incessant toil to clear one acre of ground.
     Oxen were often used for clearing land, tilling the soil and for transportation.
     Trout Lake settlers would go to White Salmon about twice a year to purchase staple good. The trip by ox team took two days.
     The only road was a one-track wagon trail known as the Sawdust Road, because the deepest ruts were partly filled with sawdust.
     White Salmon had only one small store in 1890. Indian trails connected Trout Lake Valley with the Gilmer, Camas, Wind River and Lewis River valleys.
     There was little or no underbrush in the virgin timber. One could drive a wagon almost any where.
     The Columbia River was a vital link for transporting our cash produce to Portland and supplies to the valley. The boat trip from Bingen to Portland took one day.
     Trout Lake cows produced heavily in the spring and dried up in the fall as food became scarce. Settlers churned milk into butter which they preserved in two-pound balls packed in 100 pound cider barrels.
     Through spring and summer the butter was stored in cool butter caves. In the fall it was hauled over the narrow, rough Sawdust Road to Bingen Landing for shipment.
     In 1890 many settlers were short of cash. There were no local sawmills and profitable jobs were scarce. Some of the men went to Portland to work for wages and left their womenfolk to care for the stock and children.
     When we first came to this valley, all of the houses and barns were built of logs. Furniture consisted only of crude. homemade chairs, tables and bunks. Most of the floors were hard-packed earth.
     Trout Lake's little school house stood in the woodlot where Clifford Stewart now lives. Only a few children attended. The teacher, a young Goldendale man named Flanigan, boarded at Burkett's house where we lived.
     Between 1891 and 1904 a great many people settled in the valley. Many proved up on homesteads, sold their timber promptly and left.
     When we returned to Trout Lake in the spring of 1904, the valley was quite different from the one we had known in 1890.
     Much land had been cleared so that there were now numerous green meadows with many cattle.
     There were several small sawmills and many new houses and barns which were built of lumber. The valley had acquired a nice school house with about 80 children attending. This school burned in 1918.
     A church was built in 1903 and the town hall in 1904.
     The first settlers were still working hard, but were for the most part content for they could see the fruit of their labors.
     In my opinion the most exciting episode in the history of our valley was the flood of December 23, 1933. The people were gathered for a Christmas party at the school house. Alarmed by the rising water and fear that the bridges would be washed out, the party broke up early. Many people had to drive home over roads which were awash.
     Later that night three bridges and the electric light plant were swept away. Luckily, no lives were lost.

The Mt. Adams Sun, Bingen, WA., November 3, 1955, page 1
Includes portrait of Regina and Albert Elmer, title below

HER NAME MEANS QUEEN - Three score and six years ago, Regina Schmid and Albert Elmer were married. In 1891 and they came to Trout Lake. Bingen looked like the end of civilization. Last Sunday Mrs. Elmer celebrated her 90th birthday.

REGINA ELMER OBSERVES BIRTHDAY WITH NINETY YEARS OF MEMORIES

     Mrs. Regina Elmer of Trout Lake was 90 years old Saturday, Oct. 29, and Sunday she celebrated with a birthday dinner held family style at the Grange Hall.
     There were 44 descendants present, four generations of sons, daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. One daughter, Mrs. Leona Nelson of Calif. was unable to attend.
     There was lots of food and several beautiful birthday cakes. The largest cake was made and decorated by her 17-year-old grandson, Jack Elmer of Portland. It contained 90 servings.
     Her son, Walter Elmer, presented each of the brothers and sisters with a reprint of a family snapshot taken on his parents silver anniversary 41 years ago. At that time it included 10 children and several grandchildren. She now has 27 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren.
     Mrs. Elmer was born Regina Schmid near Bern, Switzerland and was one of the family of 10 children. She is the only one left.
    It is interesting to hear her tell of life in the old country on her parents small farm: about the two-room log house in which they lived, one room for eating and one room for sleeping.
     Washing and ironing was done only twice a year --except for their gunny sack aprons and hankies which were done indoors each week. The large trunk into which all the clean clothes were stored was large enough for six months.
     Each Sunday morning they walked to church which held 1000 people. In time all ten children imigrated to the U.S. but Mrs. Elmer is now the only one left. She came over with three brothers and a sister-in-law and made their home with an older sister living in Wisconsin.

MARRIAGE

     She met her future husband her first Sunday in America but did house work for other people at $1.50 per week for three years.
     On February 23, 1889, Regina Schmid and Albert Elmer were married. They were destined to have 53 happy years together and ten children, all of whom were raised to maturity. (Two of the children passed away after reaching adulthood).

TROUT LAKE (1891)

     When the first child was only six months old, the young couple came west to Trout Lake valley where Mrs. Schmid's brother Peter Schmid lived. They came to The Dalles on the train, then on to Bingen by boat in 1891. There were two houses in Bingen then and it looked like the end of civilization to Regina Elmer. Harvey Byrkett was in White Salmon so the next day they came out to Trout Lake with him, 25 miles in a horse-drawn wagon. On the way out they met Frank Coate going to town behind a team of oxen.

$10 A MONTH

     This first year they took up a homestead about where Howard Hylton lives now. At that time and there was little cleared land but the pioneers were working hard at it.
     The trees were felled by hand, piled and burned. Mr. Elmer worked a month clearing an acre of land and received $10.00 in pay.
     Most of the farmers spent some time working away from home for a cash income and left their farms to be run by their wives.
     After a year, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer returned to Wisconsin where they spent the next 13 years. When conditions improved and Trout Lake they returned in 1904 to spend the rest of their lives in Glenwood and Trout Lake Valleys.
     The Elmers always supported school and community activities and attended church regularly.
     Mr. Elmer died in 1942.

STILL ACTIVE

     Mrs. Elmer lives alone in the little house they built for their old age. It is always spotlessly clean. She is the soul of hospitality to strangers and friends alike. She still attends club, aid, church and keeps up an active interest in her family and neighbors.
     Her advice on how to live to be 90: "Take care of your health when you're young. Once lost its never regained. Another: "Don't move! You won't find a honey pot anywhere".

GUESTS

     Sons and daughters attended were: Mr. and Mrs. Albert Elmer and family, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Borigo, Mr. and Mrs. Jess Christian, Mr. and Mrs. Art Wilson, all of Trout Lake; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Elmer and family, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Elmer and family and Bill Elmer and son of Portland. Nieces, nephews and grand-children present were: Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Haddock, Mr. and Mrs. Rex Wilson and three children, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hill and two children, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Wilson and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Merlin Litcon and daughter, Adolph Schmid of Yakima, Tommy, Raymond and Susan Knutson. Mrs. Mary Borigo, mother of Charles Borigo, was also there.

The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., November 3, 1955, page 9

VALLEY RESIDENTS HONOR MRS. REGINA ELMER ON 90TH BIRTHDAY

     Mrs. Regina Elmer, of Trout Lake, celebrated her 90th birthday this week end. She is the only one living  of the family of ten children. Both the reporters of the Mt. Adams Sun, The White Salmon Enterprise and the Goldendale Sentinel were in visiting and talking of former Switzerland days and Trout Lake Valley. Mrs. Elmer said in Switzerland in those days church attendance was huge, as many as 1000 people were out for Easter Services and about seven to supervise holy communion, and their big washings were done only twice a year, out doors, they had large vats and boilers for hot water, their small washes of course were done oftener. Their ironing also took a weeks time for about 3 women, they had large trunks to keep their ironed clothes in. The men often had as many as 50 shirts. Leather beds and quilts were used. Cement stoves and fire places were used in their log homes, which were built of blocks made from wood put together with wooden pegs.
     Their irons were hollow and heated with glowing coals. They also used the type that were heated on their stoves.
     Swiss cheese was cut and served as we talked on, this was one of Mrs. Elmer's birthday gifts. Mrs. Elmer came to America when she was 20 years old, she came to Wisconsin to live with a sister, while there she met a swiss neighbor boy whom she later married. In the 1890's they came to Trout Lake Valley at that time they came Bingen had two houses, and White Salmon had one store, owned by Mr. Hunsaker, they went back twice to Wisconsin before finally settling down in Trout Lake Valley where they homesteaded. Mrs. Elmer's brother, the late Peter Schmid lived on the Lake place at that time. Mrs. Elmer is now a widow and lives alone in her own little house at Trout Lake where she does her own housework except occasionally her daughter helps some. On Saturday her daughter had a birthday party for her, having 10 ladies in for coffee and cake (this birthday cake was baked by her niece, Mrs. Buckell), and on Sunday the big birthday dinner was held in the Grange Hall. A big sheet cake, baked by a grandson, Jackie Elmer, was in evidence, it was cut into 90 pieces. About 44 were there for dinner. Adolph Schmid, of Yakima, was down and stayed for the birthday reunion and also visited other relatives. Others attending the dinner were Mr. and Mrs. Charles Borigo; Mrs. Borigo, Charles' mother, who also is nearly 90; Mr. and Mrs. Jess Christian; Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Haddock; Mr. and Mrs. Art Wilson; Mr. and Mrs. Rex Wilson and children; Mr. and Mrs. Larry Wilson and daughter; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Elmer and family from Portland; Mr. and Mrs. Dick Elmer and family of Tigard; Mr. and Mrs. Albert Elmer and girls; Mr. Tommy Raymond and Susan Knutson; Mr. Bill Elmer and son, of Troutdale. One daughter who resided in California was unable to be there. Mrs. Elmer is quite active, she is still a grange member, woman's club and woman's association member and she also belongs to the Presbyterian Church and attends regular. We wish her many more happy birthdays.

The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., November 3, 1955, page 3

MRS. ELMER NOTES 90TH BIRTHDAY AT MONDAY GATHERING

TROUTLAKE (Special) --  Mrs. Regina Elmer celebrated her 90th birthday last weekend. On Monday the news writers for the Enterprise, Sentinel, and the Sun happened to be there at the same time, so had coffee and birthday cake with Mrs. Elmer. She talked about her early years in Switzerland, where she resided until she was 20 years of age. She said over there the church had a tremendous attendance in those days, on Easter and also on Good Friday. Sometimes she thought they had an attendance of 1,000 people. Washing was done twice a year, with heavy wash outdoors, and large boiling pots of hot water. Their ironing also took three women about a week to do. Big trunks held their clean, ironed clothing. Men often had fifty shirts. Their irons were hollow and filled with glowing coals. They held heat a very long time. They also used the old flat irons. Stoves were made of cement, and also fireplaces. Small everyday items were washed in the home by hand. When 20, Mrs. Elmer came to Wisconsin. Her two brothers and sister-in-law also came across. There she met a Swiss neighbor boy, whom she later married.
     In the 1890's they came to Troutlake, where they took up a homestead. When they came through Bingen it had two houses, and White Salmon had one store run by Hunsaker. The Elmers did go back to Wisconsin twice before settling permanently in Troutlake Valley. Her brother, the late Peter Schmid, lived on Troutlake.
     As we were sitting talking, Mrs. Elmer gave us a sample of Swiss cheese which was one of her birthday gifts.
     On Saturday her daughter, Mrs. Charles Borigo, held a birthday party for her mother, having ten ladies in for birthday cake and coffee. Mrs. Tommy Burkell made the cake. Her husband is Mrs. Elmer's nephew. On Sunday a big family reunion and dinner was held in the Grange Hall. Her grandson, Jackie Elmer, baked the big birthday cake, holding 90 pieces. He is about 16 years of age. Those present for the reunion were Mr. and Mrs. Charles Borigo, Grandma Borigo, Mr. and Mrs. Jess Christian, Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Haddock, Mr. and Mrs. Art Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. Rex Wilson and children, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Wilson and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Elmer and girls, Tommy Raymond and Susan Knutson, Mr. and Mrs. Dick Elmer and family, Tigard; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Elmer and family, Portland; another son from Troutlake; one daughter in California was unable to attend; a nephew from Yakima, Adolph Schmidt, came and also spent a few days up here visiting other relatives in the valley. We wish Mrs. Elmer many more happy birthdays. She lives alone in her little home and does all her own housework, except occasionally the daughters help her. She is the only living person from the family of ten children. She also had a family of ten, with eight living.

The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., March 10, 1939, page 7

ELMERS CELEBRATED GOLDEN WEDDING AT TROUT LAKE, FEB. 26

     At a lovely dinner on Sunday, Feb. 26, Mr. and Mrs. A. Elmer, Sr., of Trout Lake, celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary. All of their nine children were present for the occasion.
     The dinner was given at the Mt. Adams lodge, Trout Lake. Decorations carried out the golden motif and daffodils were used on the table. The huge wedding cake was made in sections in Seattle especially for the occasion and brought here by Helen and Elenore Borman.
     The dinner hour was gay with toasts and songs and stories of days long ago.
     Their children presented Mr. and Mrs. Elmer with a beautiful davenport and chair set; many other gifts were received also, among them gifts from relatives in Mt. Vernon, Wisconsin.
     The Elmers were married in New Glarus, Wisconsin. Mr. Elmer came from Switzerland in 1881 (age 17). Mrs. Elmer came to this country in 1886, at the age of 20, and have lived in Trout Lake for 35 years. They raised 10 children; one daughter passed away in 1927. They have 22 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
     Guests at the dinner included, the guests of honor, Mr. and Mrs. A. Elmer Sr., Albert Elmer; Fred Elmer; Mr. and Mrs. Art Wilson; Mrs. Susie Laphorne; Mrs. Hulda Borman; Mr. and Mrs. Jack Nelson; Richard Elmer; Walter Elmer; William Elmer; and families. Other guests were Rev. and Mrs. George Good, Mrs. Elizabeth Deirickx, Miss Nondis Riddle, and Mr. Gerald Baner.
     The occasion was a family reunion as well as a Golden anniversary, all of the children being home, as well as many grandchildren.
     Mr. and Mrs. Elmer have a host of friends who extend to them all good wishes for many more happy years.

The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., October 29, 1937, pages 1 & 9

TROUT LAKE PEOPLE ENJOY EASTERN TRIP
----------
Find Many Changes in 34 Years And Glad to get Home
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     TROUT LAKE, Oct. 26 -- (Special)  -- After living in Trout Lake and vicinity for nearly 34 years, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Elmer, Sr. made a trip this fall to their old home in Wisconsin. They left September 15, and returned October 21. Following is the story of their trip, as told to the reporter by Mrs. Elmer:
     "We left Bingen at midnight, September 15, and arrived in Madison, Wisconsin, on the 18th at 8 a.m. My brother, Adolph Schmid, who lives at Mt. Vernon, met us and took us to Mt. Vernon, where we stayed with my sister, Mrs. Susie Marty. We made visits to relatives and friends at Verona, New Glarus, Monticello and Brodhead. We stayed three weeks at Mt. Vernon, and while there we also visited the state capitol buildings in Madison, said to be the largest and nicest in the U.S. We made a trip to the Catholic Grotto at Dickyfield; a very beautiful place where the posts, railings, arches and fountain bases are all handmade of small stones and tiny pieces of glass.
     We then went to Arpin and stayed with Mr. Elmer's sister, Mrs. Nick Elmer for a week. While there we visited some of my nieces in Parkdale; some of Mr. Elmer's folks at Green Bay and Monroe; other relatives at Wisconsin Rapids; and went to Aubarndale to call on old friends.
     Of course in 34 years many great changes have been made. I could hardly recognize our old home at Arpin; it was a big log house white washed outside and inside. It is about to tumble over now; the log barn is gone and the well is filled up. When we lived there, great forests stood in close; now where the forests were are miles of level farm land. The farms are from 80 to 120 acres in the northern part of the state and from 300 to 400 acres in the southern part.
     One thing I missed was the flowers. Here everyone has flower-beds and I'm fond of them; back there they have no irrigation and have to depend on rain. I saw very few flowers because the season was dry this year. I missed Mt. Adams very much, too.
     It seemed to me that there weren't nearly so many automobiles back there as here. And after we left here I didn't see a school bus. There were no school buses where we visited, to take the children to school.
     The trip going and coming on the train was wonderful. Over the Rockies and many other places of beautiful scenery. We enjoyed the trip there more than coming home because the accommodations were better. Of course we had a nice time and enjoyed ourselves; had good visits with relatives and old friends, though of course a great many of the older ones have passed away. It was the best time of the year to go, the weather was nice most of the time. But the best thing about going anyplace is coming home again; were glad to get back home."

The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., September 16, 1921, page 1

MANY GUESTS AT ELMER HOME AT TROUT LAKE
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     Mr. and Mrs. A. Elmer, Sr., have as their guests Mrs. Christ Schmid, her son and her granddaughter, Miss Steiner, all of Monticello, Wisconsin. Mrs. Schmid is a sister-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer, whom they have not seen in eighteen years. Mrs. Schmid and son drove west in their Buick car, stopped two days in the Yellowstone Park. Although 75 years of age, Mrs. Schmid stood the trip in fine shape. They will soon leave for Salem, Oregon, to visit friends, after which they will auto to Astoria to visit a son. They will return home by way of California, expecting to reach Wisconsin before snow falls. They like the Trout Lake country fine.
     Mr. and Mrs. Elmer also have as their guests their three daughters, Mrs. Bowman, Mrs. Wilson and Miss R. Elmer, of Seattle.

REGINA ELMER
Written by Mrs. Esther (Schmid) Jennings

     Regina Elmer's grandparents were Jacob Schmid (1780-1837) and Maria Zurbrugg (1794-1864). They were married in 1818 and had 8 children. Regina's grandfather died at the age of 57, leaving her grandmother with 8 children ages 18, 17, 16, 15, 11, 9, 8 and 6. Regina's father Christof was their 5th child and was 11 years old at that sad time. He married Susana Trachsel in 1858 when he was 32 and she was 11 years younger. They had 10 children; Christof (1858), Samuel (1860), Susana (1861), Peter (1863), Elizabeth (1870), Regina (1865), Rosina (1867), Johannes (1869), Adolph (1870) and Jacob (1875). They were all born in Frutigan, Switzerland, as were all of their 10 generations of ancestors since 1500 , and, how many before that we do not know. Frutigan is situated in the Alps near Interlocken, a very beautiful place.
     Regina, their 6th child, was born October 29, 1865. Her mother and nine sisters and brothers emigrated to Wisconsin in the early 1880's, but Regina remained in Switzerland with her father, who refused to leave Switzerland. In 1886, when she was 21, she emigrated to Wisconsin to join her family. Her father died in Switzerland in 1897 when he was 71 years old, and her mother died in Wisconsin in 1903 when she was 66 years old.
     When Regina came to America she went to a Swiss settlement in Monroe, Wisconsin, to live with a sister and there she met Albert Elmer.
     Albert was born in Elm, Canton Glarna, Switzerland, February 26, 1861. When he was 10-years old, he herded sheep in the mountain meadows. Just before his 17th birthday in 1878 he emigrated alone to Wisconsin. As he was walking towards Monroe, he was given a ride by a farmer who offered him a job. Two weeks later this farmer told him that he was his brother.
     Regina and Albert were married February 23, 1889. He was 28-years old, and she was 23½. Their son Albert was born June 7, 1890.
      Regina's brother Peter had urged them to come to Trout Lake, Washington where he and his cousin Jacob had established homesteads. So, in the fall of 1890, they went to Trout Lake, and homesteaded on 160 acres on the west side of the White Salmon River across from the Allaway farm. While building their 10 x 12 foot log cabin, they lived in a cabin located on the hill above the Allaway place. A pole bridge without sides, had been built across the river that year, as they had to cross that bridge twice a day while building their cabin. Regina would always alight from the wagon and carry her small son across the bridge.
     At one time a very heavy-set woman was visiting them, who had a son who lived back of Trout Lake. They took her to visit Peter on the Lake Place, and the next day they visited her son by way of the rough narrow road that went along about lake. Regina never forgot how afraid she was that they would tip over into the lake.
     They lived in their new log cabin a few weeks, when they were both hired out to work on Harve Burkett's ranch, situated where the Dan Burdett place is now. Albert worked on the farm and Regina helped Mrs. Burkett, who was crippled. Together they earned $30 a month.
     Since they were not living on their homestead, a man by that name of Eggert jumped their claim, so they lost possession of their home. This was a sad disappointment to them both, and, in the fall of 1891 they returned to Wisconsin. When Regina was 87-years old she wrote, "I have often deeply regretted that my husband and I temporarily left in the valley from 1891 to 1904."When they returned most of the valley had already been homesteaded.
     Their daughter, Susie was born in Wisconsin February 4, 1892; Fred, on September 8, 1893; Rose, September 28, 1894; Hulda, March 28, 1896; William, November 4, 1898; and Rachel February 24, 1902.
     In 1904 they returned to Trout Lake. They stayed with Regina's brother for a few weeks --Albert was 14, Susie 12, Fred 11, Rose 10, Hulda 8, William 5½, and Rachel 2. Peter and Elizabeth's 7 children were: Rose 13, Lillie 12, John 11, Bertha 7½, Adolph 6, Dewey 4½, and baby Mary made quite a house full. The boys' surely must have slept in the barn.
     Albert got work draining ditches at Conboy Lake near Glenwood, and the family moved to Fulda up where Walter was born April 19, 1905.
     On April 23, 1906, Regina's brother Peter was killed in an accident, and Regina went to Trout Lake at that sad time -- eight months later her sister-in-law Elizabeth's ninth child, Albert Peter, was born December 20, 1906.
     Richard was born in December 24, 1907, in Fulda.
     In 1908 their cousin of Lillie, Peter and Elizabeth's daughter, married George McCuistion and they made in a trip with a horse and buggies to visit the Elmer's when they were living in Fulda -- Susie and Lillie were the same age.
     Leona was born January 11, 1909. Soon after that they returned to Trout Lake, and took up a homestead just north of where the Glenwood road leaves the Trout Lake Valley. They didn't have much land to raise hay, but, kept 7 or 8 cows and harvested hay on shares from other farmers. They had a large garden. In the summer when the Indians would come to the valley from Glenwood and Yakima they would stop at the Elmer homestead and camp. They would buy vegetables and hay for their many horses on their way to and from the huckleberry fields. One evening an Indian woman stopped at their home asking for food and permission to sleep in the barn. She told a sad story of how her husband had raced his pony at the Race Track near Big Goose Lake and lost the race. She was to be given in payment to the winner of the race. Rather than go with him, she had escaped, and was making her way home to her own people. The next morning she was gone.
     In 1918 their son Fred was drafted into World War 1 and was sent to France.
     In 1925 their daughter Rachel died when she was 23 years old.
     They moved from their homestead, and at different times rented farms in the valley.
     In 1927, Leona was one of the eight students who graduated in the first high school graduation class.
     Albert and Regina celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1939, at Trout Lake at the Guler Hotel.
     In 1942, their son of Fred was killed in an automobile accident in Portland.
     On March 24, 1944, Albert died very suddenly of a heart attack. The Enterprise stated, "Mr. Elmer will be remembered for his quiet pleasantness by all who knew him. The Elmer's have eight sons and daughters now living and all were able to attend their father's funeral."
     Regina moved into a little house closer to the town of Trout Lake. Some of her relatives living in Wisconsin visited her occasionally. Among them was a nephew who had lost all his family in a cyclone when a boy.
     Regina also made a trip to Wisconsin by airline to visit her relatives. This was a very momentous occasion for her.
     In the late 1950's she entered the senior nursing wing of the Skyline Hospital in White Salmon, where she died in 1961.
     After Albert left Switzerland, on a hot summer day, an avalanche descended on the little village of Elm, killing over 140 people. There is a plaque in the church listing the names of those who died. Among them are the names of 41 Elmer relatives.

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©  Jeffrey L. Elmer