Ray and Icel bought and moved into a 4 unit building in Mead. They rented out the other units and during this wonderful time of their lives they became life-long friends with 3 families. Howard and Mary Skaife and Paul and Evelyn Taylor all who lived in two of the apartment units and Hershel and Joyce Kerns. Hershel's dad owned a garage and Hershel worked with him. Ray was often at the garage and the two men became friends. Hershel had met Joyce in England during the war and he had returned there, married her and brought her home to Mead. He soon asked Ray if they could introduce their wives to each other. Joyce was was eager to find friends being that she was so far from home and anything or anyone familiar. The girls became fast and dear friends. All of these friends stopped in at Ray and Icel's for a cup of coffee and a chat every day. Icel was always very welcoming and hospitable and Ray gave in to it even though he would have much preferred to have her to himself all the time.

(This picture of Barbara is stamped Mead Jr. on the back.)

Barbara, who was 12 or 13 around this time remembers having to mop the floors of the apartment and putting the couch in front of the door so visitors could not continually stream in and mess up all her hard work. Her dad really liked that idea. It gave them some time to themselves.

Here is a photo from this time period - on the back it says "Taken January 6, 1951. Janette and Ted Bloskowski."

It looks like they were good friends too doesn't it?


I am told that she and her dad won a prize at a company picnic for having the most freckles. I can certainly believe it. Oh how I wish this picture were in color so I could see just how red her hair was!!

Ray went to work for Kaiser as did many men during those years.

(This picture is stamped "Mead" on the back)

 Here is a tidbit about the  Kaiser plant "Though often referred to as a smelter, this was actually a reduction plant. The process of converting aluminum oxide into aluminum is known as reduction. It's an electrolytic process requiring large amounts of electrical current to separate the oxygen atom from the aluminum allowing it to combine with the carbon of the anode to form carbon dioxide. This plant had 8 potlines that ran in the neighborhood of 70,000 amps at 650 to 700 volts DC each. Built in 1941 by the Defense Plant Corp. and operated by Alcoa. After WWII this plant was declared surplus and bought at a discount by Henry Kaiser in 1946. Alcoa was not allowed to bid to buy it because of monopoly issues". As mentioned in an earlier post Ray had learned the craft of welding with his brother-in-law Ralph so they could work on ships during the war before they joined up themselves. He was hired at Kaiser as a welder. He later went to IR (a term Grandma Icel and Lloyd and Barbara threw out as if I should just know what it meant). Turns out it is Industrial Relations which I had to look up of course. (I love the Internet!) - Industrial Relations has three faces: science building, problem solving, and ethical  - and is associated with the Union. Management really liked him and if he had had a college degree he would have achieved an even higher position. He would have been sent to Oakland which Icel did not want to do so it seems she was somewhat thankful that he did not have a degree. Icel had been to Oakland and remembers it as a filthy place.

One night the citizens of Mead helplessly stood by and watched a home burn to the ground. The nearest fire station was in Hillyard. Ray and his friend Herschel found a used fire truck and rounded up some volunteers and Ray became the 1st fire chief of Mead, Washington. I tried to find this info online but Mead is sorely lacking in any kind of history whatsoever.

Icel, who has never been idle one day in her life, became an Avon representative. She was pregnant with her third child and would drive all over the countryside to the neighboring farms and up into the mountains to take orders and make deliveries. To her customers and neighbors her baby became known as the "Avon baby".
Beverly Ann Perkins was born on June 13, 1950 at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane.

 

 Avon afforded Icel the ability to give wonderful Christmas gifts to her family and friends using the free samples Avon gave her. Who else remembers those tiny white lipstick tubes?

She used her earnings to pay her baby doctor bills. After Beverly was born Icel just took her along and the people just loved her. Icel's dear mother came to Mead to help Icel with her new baby.