HOLM, Arthur Stephen

   Et andet navn for Arthur var HOLMES, Art.

  Notater:

Kilde: Ole Damgaard, 2018.
Gift 2 gange, 4 børn i første ægteskab.

Source: geni.com (private user).

ART HOLMES
(1908 -
by Virginia Holmes Thomson,
James Stoddart Holmes,
John Arthur Holmes,
William Stephen Holmes.

Arthur Stephen Holm was born in Seattle, Washington on May 14, 1908 in a home at 9th and Denny Way - several years before the Denny Regrade engineering program began - whereby a fairly high hill in what was then north Seattle was removed. Some soil was placed in large barges which were taken out into the bay and "turned over" to drop the contents into the bay. Another process using high-pressure hoses "washed down" the remaining soil to extend the city property further into the Bay. Much of downtown Seattle near the water is built on that fill.

When Art was about 2 years old, the family moved to Rivers Inlet, on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada, north of Vancouver Island. He and Signa had great times playing on the beach and the wharf. Jens fished for the Wadhams Cannery and Jenny baked bread for the family, for the bachelors in the area and for the Indians.

When Art was about 3 years old, the family moved to Campbell River, B.C. on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. Jens designed and built a unique home up on the hill. (For more information, read the "Holm Family History"). Art and Signa went to school in the little schoolhouse just across the road. Art's job was to start the fire in the stove at the school - sometimes, when it was snowing, Grandma Jenny would feel sorry for Art and she would go over and get the fire going. Signa and Art had the entire area in which to play - the beach, the woods, the river, etc. and Jenny did not worry, but sometimes they were "scolded". During one adventure they took a row boat up-river as far as the log boom near the logging mill. (After seeing how swift that river is, I'm amazed at their bravery).

While in school in Campbell River, the favourite lunchtime play for the boys in the school was to climb a tree and swing the tree far enough to be able to grab a branch of the next tree, and swing far enough to be able to grab a branch of the next one, and so on. The topography of the ground dropped steeply, and by the time they got to the 4th or 5th tree, they were in very tall trees. When the school bell rang for them to return to class, they were usually too far out in the trees to swing their way back in time. Though oftentimes late they never fell!

As a young boy, Art saw the Great Fire on Quadra Island. He said it appeared that the whole island burned from one end to the other. Everyone in the path of the fire on the island had to flee for their lives. Art remembers the Indians' Boat Races. There would be three men to a boat, four boats, and a race course of maybe 100-150 yards. They would go one way, stop, jump out and turn the boat over and be out of sight for one or two minutes. Then, they would turn the boat upright, get back in, bail out the boat and paddle back to the starting point. These races were part of a yearly celebration that also included lots of singing and dancing in the evening.

Jenny had three cows for their own milk supply and for milk to sell to the hospital at Campbell River. One of Art's "jobs" was to bring in the cows from the woods (there were no fences). The three cows were let out in the morning to wander - sometimes deep into the woods. Even though each cow had a cow-bell at her neck, Art often had quite a challenge finding them.

On November 2, 1918, Art (or perhaps Signa did it for him?) typed this letter to Ellen, who was in Seattle: "Dear Ellen:
I hope you have not got the flue (sic). We are not allowed to go down to the store. But we don't use masks yet. Signa and I are fighting most of the time, so you can see that we are enjoying ourselves. Our school has closed on account of the flue (sic). Have you heard from Ted yet? Your red-headed brother. Arthur"

When Jenny had to go to Vancouver, B.C. for extensive dental work, Art was left to fend for himself. He would cook a large pot of oatmeal in the morning and eat 1/3 of it for breakfast, 1/3 for lunch, and 1/3 for supper. Guess Jens was out fishing then and Signa must have been down south at school. In the early 1920's (Art was about 13), the local Constable told Art that their boat had been found on a Quadra Island beach. He took Art over to the Island, started up the motor, told Art to take it back to Campbell River, and pushed the boat off the beach. So, never having piloted the boat himself, Art took aim for Vancouver Island. He kept Campbell River in sight and manoeuvred the boat as best he could. Finally, he went up-river and anchored the boat away from the shore. He allowed the stern to swing closer to shore, moving the anchor each time, until he was close enough to jump in the water and swim for shore. The Indians, who had been watching his progress, congratulated him on his success. Later, Art had to beach the boat so repairs and painting could be done.

While attending secondary school in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Art lived with a wealthy family - doing odd jobs in exchange for his room (in the third floor attic) and board. One of his jobs was to bring in the wood and light the fires in the stoves and fireplaces of the residence. Sometime after his father, Jens, died in 1921, he returned to help his mother Jenny move to Seattle. He crated the large items - such as the famous yellow cedar table that was the hand-made prototype Jens made before contracting with a furniture-maker to build the table in a dark wood (probably mahogany) that won the Grand Prize in the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition (AYP) in Seattle in 1909.

After Jens died in 1921, Jenny stayed in Campbell River - but made a trip to her brothers' farms near Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Art wrote to Jenny from Seattle:
"Dear Mother:
Well mother I have a fine place now in a grocery store which is much better than working for room and board because I have my own hours. The store is near Broadway and I am working from after school till 6 o'clock and saturdays for $20 per month. Ted is trying to get me a paper route and with the $15 from him, I will be able to save quite a big sum.
Well mother I do hope you are having a good time and give my best regards to my Uncles, Frances T. and the rest. Please excuse my writing because I am trying to get it of (sic) this morning. From your son Arthur Holmes. My address is 1739 Madrona Drive, Seattle, Wash."

and ... "Dear Mother:
I received your most welcome letter a while ago but have been so busy that I haven't had time to answer it. Well Mother I will send you this to tell you that I am getting along fine, so you will not worry about me. Well I would like to know what is the matter with the folks at home. I haven't had a letter, while I have sent two. Is Norman in the hospital and how are they. Well, Mother write and tell me how you are and how the folks at the home are. It is nearly 8 o'clock so I had better beat it for school. Lots of love from your son Arthur XXXXXXXXX"

and ... "Dear Mother & Ellen:
Ted is out to Mart Wilies for dinner and Norm is down to school. Signa and I are all alone here studying and writing letters to beat the band. I am studying about Radio now and have just sent for several free catalogues that were advertised in a Radio Monthly, so that I can become acquainted with the different parts of a Radio. Believe me if I ever live at Campbell River or in any out of town place again I'll have a radio. The fact is I've got a slight attack of the Radio Bug which is a pretty serious malady. I'm getting along just lovely in school now, I've got about the best teachers in the building and am not behind in any subject so if I don't get several A's on my report card after the first half it'll be dog gone funny. Miss Straten my English teacher used to teach at Lincoln about the time you went there, do you remember her? (To Ellen)
The Sunday before last we went over to the farm and worked our fool heads off. Last Sunday we were going to go but it rained cats and dogs. We are all hopping (sic) and praying for a good day this Sunday. Well old scouts I think I will go and play shut-eye for a while, so I will, with oodles of love from your red-headed son and brother. Arthur
P.S. Please write soon Also tell Lorne, Art and Arnold to answer my letters POQ [Pretty darn quick] Art P.S. I will write soon XXXXXXXXXX"

When Art's son William took him for a ride downtown - in the year 2000 - Art said: "There, that's the Smith Tower. My brother took me there. We went into the elevators and went all the way to the top. What a view. It was the tallest building around. Then, Ted took me to Mannings Restaurant for lunch and I ate too much. The bill was quite high. Ted was 13 years older than me and boy was I proud of him!"

In 1927, Jenny (then a resident of Seattle, Washington) gave Ellen a Power of Attorney to sell the C.R. house. Ellen took care of the sale and returned to Seattle. While living in Seattle, Art attended Broadway High School while also working at the Eba's Grocery Store in the Pike Place Market. Art spent two years as a clerk there, and after graduation, Art became the manager of George Eba's store. He worked there for a total of 10 years. NOTE: "Eba's spot" at the southwest corner of the Pike Place Market currently holds a tea/coffee/biscuit shop and a restaurant which includes the western window wall. The old stairs which led up to the office area are still there - now as the restaurant office area.

Art met his future wife, Lorraine, at Broadway High School. They both graduated in 1929 and were married on August 16, 1930. [22 år]. This marriage produced four wonderful children - Virginia Lee (8-11-1931), James Stoddart (7-21-1933), John Arthur (1-7-1936), and William Stephen (3-29-1938).

Art's (Dad's) recollection: "While working at Eba's Grocery Store, we sold goods to Alaska. One time there was a big fire in the City of Nome, Alaska and half of it burned down. We got a message with a big order - I went down to the store early in the morning, all alone. I parked my car near the store and loaded it with sacks of flour and beans on the fenders. Then, drove down to the wharf to deliver them. I just made it in time - the boat left at 3:00 a.m. I was paid a commission twice a year on top of my pay, and that order made my commission really big. I had lots of money - and just in time. John was born on the 7th of January and I was able to pay the bill the next day in cash!"

Sometime in the 1930's the Aurora Borealis was visible in the northern sky. Dad woke us up, bundled us up, and put us out on the 2nd-floor open sun porch. We spent quite a bit of the night looking at the mysterious flashes and shapes of colour in the northern sky. It was quite an experience!

Mother (Lorraine) became ill about 1939 and was hospitalized until her death at age 32. When Dad told me about her death, he asked me to help the three boys understand what had happened - a pretty big job for a 10-year old. Dad struggled to keep his family together.

John's memories of Mother were expressed in his May 14, 1998 letter to Dad: "I have only two memories of Mother. The first is in the kitchen of the old house ... I was sitting on the kitchen counter between the sink and the old electric range that stood on four long legs, watching mother prepare strawberries, probably for shortcake. I can still see her pulling the stem out and handing that delicious berry to me to eat ... . The other memory is of sitting in a funeral parlor; with white lattice work to my left and Dad to my right, then going down the aisle to see Mother laying in a box asleep. Then we were at the cemetery, the grass was mowed, it was green, and my feet hurt from the new shoes I was wearing. I was about 5 1/2 years old. I also remember taking car rides with Dad to the TB sanatorium so he could visit Mother ... the four of us [children] always had to wait in the car, children were not allowed."

After the funeral for Mother, Dad's best friend Monty Montgomery, took him on a fishing trip to eastern Washington for about a week. Monty knew Dad needed time to recover from the years of personal stress, and from the loss of Lorraine. Monty was a GREAT friend, indeed!

John reminisces that after Mother died, we had a couple of housekeepers live with us and take care of us. I remember three of them, and have written about them. (Smoke Soup l Yellow Canary l Pounds of Sugar l Apple Tree). John remembers that after the death of one of the last housekeepers, the four of us were temporarily split up and sent to various families to care for us. Jim and Virginia went up to Grandma Jenny's brother, Johnnie to stay for a week or two on his farm near Calgary, Alberta. John went to stay with Mr. and Mrs. …. (the parents of Monty's girlfriend, Esther); and Bill went to stay a short while with Mr. and Mrs. Jensen (she was at Firlands with Mother), and then went to live with Signa, Clare and JoEllen up on Queen Anne Hill. (See JoEllen's article about her "almost brother "). When Jim and Virginia returned from Canada, Dad put Jim on the train to Sunnyside, W A, to stay with Pete and Vera Barr (Vera was Mother's cousin) and Virginia stayed at home with Grandma Jenny.

After a couple of days, Jim (who was terribly homesick) wanted to come home. Dad took me along with him to pick up Jim - who was ever so glad to see us. Since Pete (who had a restaurant) had access to butter, he sent 4 or 5 pounds of butter back with us. I'm sure Dad shared this "precious gold" with the rest of the family. As for Jim, all he cared about was being able to come home!

At some point, Dad, realizing that he couldn't be parted from us any longer, was able to gather all four of us up to live together in our home on North 76th Street. That was a happy time, indeed! At one point, the city decided to replace the old street cars with buses. The street car rails were removed and the beautiful red bricks that were alongside the rails were fair game to anyone who wanted them. We four kids made many trips tugging our red wagon up to Greenwood Avenue, loading the bricks in it and dragging that heavily -loaded wagon back to the house for Dad. We brought back so many that Dad, after cleaning off the old mortar/concrete, had enough bricks to build wide sturdy steps at the front of the house and a brick path from the driveway to the back porch steps. And still more, which we used for many other purposes - see John's comments below. I'm sure those SOLID brick steps will be the only thing remaining when the house finally falls down.

In John's May 14, 1998 letter to Dad, he said (re. after we brought the bricks home) ... "That is just one example of frugality that we learned from you: Some materials can be used over and over and for more than one job. I remember you showing me how to split the bricks apart with hammer and chisel so as not to break the bricks and to chip the mortar off the individual bricks. Sometimes the mortar would come off in one piece like a jeweler splitting a diamond on a fracture plane, other times the mortar would fight to the last grain of sand. Seemed like there was a million uses for those bricks. They made a great temporary fall fireplace in the back yard, perfect for baking an apple on the end of a stick for an afternoon snack. All you had to do was stack a bunch of them up for a wind-break and start a campfire. You could even use the bricks to rest the stick on. The apples were always within easy reach in that old back yard. Bricks made a perfect base for any fort or shed that needed to be built on the dirt, they never rotted away; and if later the fort was dismantled, the brick was ready for the next job. They did a fine job of flattening caterpillars that were unlucky enough to be spotted crawling on the ground. They were solid and study enough to use as jack stands under a car if they were stacked right and they made great weights for holding down the corners of a canvass tarp when making a tent. They didn't shrink, crack or peel in any kind of weather .... "

In the early 1940's Monty, Dad & Mother's dear friend, gave Dad a model steam engine (not a railroad engine) and when Monty came over, the two of them had the time of their lives playing like two little kids. Of course, we four were not allowed to play with it - that toy was for the Big Boys!

Jim recalls that in about 1942 when Dad had to report for the WWII "Draft" (they processed the men really fast in those days, as evidenced by the following) they had him all ready to ship out when he asked who would take care of his four children. Your wife will have to, they replied. Dad told them his wife was dead and there was no one else to take care of the children. With this they said, sorry we don't need you, marked him "rejected,' tore up his shipping orders and bid him goodbye.

Another of Jim's memories: During the war, Dad bought a '36 Ford which needed repairs. He bought it so he could get more gas ration stamps in order to be able to cover his large sales route. That route covered a large portion of the city - as most of the salesmen had been drafted. And, another of Jim's recollections was a trip up to Mt. Rainier. They came upon a fellow who had run off the road into a ditch, and Dad helped push him out of the ditch. A little further along the road, that same driver was in the ditch again. Again, Dad helped push him out of the ditch. Finally, after coming upon him in the ditch for the third time, Dad had had enough and left him there to solve his problem on his own.

Jim (and the rest of us) enjoyed working in Dad's Garage Workshop. It was quite well equipped and was filled with lots of "valuable junk" - much of which was used on our projects. One of those exciting projects Jim talks about is when Dad showed us kids (the boys) how to make crystal radio sets. He had a drawer full of old coils, condensers, wiring, headphones and crystals. He mounted a long wire antenna in the attic, provided a good ground and fed it to the wires and terminals all the way around the boys' bedroom. They each could listen to the radio on our headsets as we went to sleep. Dad was always working on and repairing his cars. Sometimes, I (Jim) think it was so he could get away from the noise of four kids!

For two summers (probably 1945 and 1946), Dad took the four of us up to Indian Beach on Camano Island - a lovely beach with a row of small, old, old 3-room cabins. Aunt Signa came up to take care of us - along with JoEllen, of course. What fun we had - even though things were quite primitive! Signa had her hands full with the five of us, but she took it all in stride and was just a great "Mom" to all of us. I think we stayed up there for from two to four weeks each time - Dad and Clare came up on weekends. Dad made some crab traps and he and the boys took them out into the water, hoping to catch "dinner." Evidently, they forgot to retrieve them that last day up there, when it was time to pack up and go back to Seattle, for Jim remembers going back up to the Island on a Saturday to retrieve those three Holmes'made crab nets. They were in deep water and the float markers had sunk. But, they retrieved all three of them. (Jim didn't say whether or not there were any crabs in the nets).

In 1947, Dad met and married Orion J. Gray. Orion brought her daughter, Dolores Yvonne Gray, to live in the North 76th street house as a step-sister to the Holmes children. Work continued on in the old house - we even had paint on the walls, after Dad finished putting up the plasterboard. We all pitched in on the assignments Mom distributed - although perhaps not always on time. One by one, as we five graduated from high school, each of us left home with a purpose - girls, marriage; boys, to military service in the U.S. Air Force.

About 1954, Dad and Mom left the youngest son, William, with Virginia and her husband, Bill, and moved to California. William finished his last two years of high school at West Seattle High School, and then served four years in the U.S. Air Force.
After a year in Los Angeles, Dad and Mom moved to seek their fortune in Phoenix, Arizona. They lived in their house on East Missouri for quite a few years - until the State of Arizona bought it for a projected freeway. The land where their house was is now empty space over a busy freeway.

During fifteen of their years in Arizona, Dad and Mom would spend their vacations up at Campbell River on Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada, with their friends, Franklin and Evelyn Plant. They would bring their trailer and boat up from Arizona, for a week of fun and fishing and bring their "catch" back to Seattle and have it canned at the cannery on Elliot Avenue. They had many salmon dinners in Phoenix from those excursions.

After living for a few more years in Tempe, Arizona, they decided to move to lot #30 in the Port Susan Camping Club on the Tulalip Indian Reservation near Marysville, Washington. In January of 1996, Mom died. Dad is now living with his youngest son, William (Billy) in the Seattle area. Dad celebrated his 92nd birthday on May 14, 2000. Mom's daughter, Dolores (Lori) now lives in Mukilteo, WA. Dad's 4 children have 9 children. They in turn have 9 children ....... And so it goes.

Arthur blev gift med Lorraine Virginia STODDART den 16.08.1930. (Lorraine Virginia STODDART blev født omkring 1909 og døde i 1941 i Seattle, King County, Washington, USA.)

Arthur blev derefter gift med Orion J. GRAY i 1947. (Orion J. GRAY døde i 1.1996 i Seattle, King County, Washington, USA.)