The Ground at My Feet by Ann Stinson

Author:Ann Stinson [Stinson, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780870711473
Publisher: Oregon State University Press

PART THREE

Cambium

The cambium cell layer is the growing part of the trunk. It annually produces new bark and new wood in response to hormones that pass down through the phloem with food from the leaves. These hormones, called auxins, stimulate growth in cells. Auxins are produced by leaf buds at the ends of branches as soon as they start growing in the spring.

Mom and Dad purchased our land from Elmer and Dorothy Boone, a longtime Toledo family. They stayed in their home on the tree farm for the first several years after we built our house and were our surrogate grandparents, hosting us for Thanksgivings and sometimes babysitting. Elmer helped tape and sand the Sheetrock as our house took shape. He taught us about tansy, a noxious weed, and showed Mom how to roll under a barbed-wire fence. On our birthdays we received cards with slots for quarters and Dorothy made us birthday cakes using Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix and store-bought frosting. Our granola-and yogurt-leaning home never saw this sort of treat, and the sugary mix thrilled us. After a few years, Steve requested an apple pie rather than a cake. And so every December 10 an apple pie appeared. Once he ate the whole pie himself. After that, she made two; one for the family and one for Steve. Julie and I stayed with the cakes.

As children we told people we lived on “the old Boone place” and they knew exactly where it was. Elmer had purchased the acreage in 1936 from his mother, Lenora Boone; their name was long attached to the land along Collins Road. I wish Elmer and Dorothy were still alive so I could ask about their early days here and listen to stories about previous owners and uses of the land. Instead I must start my search with silent dusty paper.

I begin at the Washington State Archives in Olympia. I’ve asked Dad to accompany me; his fifty-year knowledge of our property will help me notice clues in the deeds we’ve come to examine. We park near the capitol building. Rain hits the streets and has to run for a few yards before it finds soil to sink into. Searching for the building, we hurry, trying to avoid a soaking. Rainy days are no problem on the tree farm. Rain gear from Service Saw and red rubber boots, sometimes called Ketchikan sneakers, allow entrance into the weather. But here in the city, we walk rapidly with our bodies hunched against the elements.

I’ve made an appointment with Jewell, an archivist, and she meets us at the door. She’s gathered a cart full of deed records from Lewis County. Thick twelve-by-twenty-four-inch ledgers hold lists of names, dates, legal descriptions of lands, and many signatures. Hiding behind these lists are stories: dreams of a better future, a falling-out with a sibling, a father’s death, a new marriage. I hope these stories make themselves known as our fingers run over the pages.

We start with grantee ledger B in search of Lenora Boone.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.