The Daughter's Walk (53 page)

Records of deeds and mortgages reveal that Clara had funds as early as 1901 and began buying and selling property shortly after that. She owned more than twenty separate pieces of property and farms or ranches throughout her life. That she paid cash for many of the properties (the Spokane River farm, for one) proves she had funds, though the source I provided is speculation. Half and quarter sections were also owned by Clara in 1911, quite a feat for a single woman of the time. Clara owned several houses in Spokane proper. Somehow she acquired funds even after a financial failing that forced her to take a job as a waitress.

Whether Clara and her friends lost thousands in a risky venture affected by the war is unknown, but returning to Spokane and taking
a position as a waitress suggests that Clara was starting over. Olea did have Clara's power of attorney, a sign of great trust between the women who shared housing in Spokane, lived on Fairview and Cleveland, and purchased burial plots together. The three women looked after each other as family.

There is no evidence that Chauncey Depew, who was a senator from New York and who did help the women return to Spokane, ever purchased the signatures. But in a twist of fate, a descendant of Helga's did marry a great-nephew of Chauncey Depew, linking the Estbys with the Depews in yet another intriguing way.

John Doré is a speculated character. However, there was a Doré in Manistee, Michigan, around the time of Clara's birth, and Clara Doré was the mother of a male Doré in that census; I named him John.

Clara began working for Merchants Rating & Adjustment Company in 1917, a position she held until her death from cancer in 1950. Her niece Thelma and Thelma's husband brought Clara a bouquet during her illness, and Clara told them it was the first time she'd ever received flowers in her life. They greatly cheered her.

The women attended the Unity Church in Spokane, and when Olea died in 1935, the Reverend Emma Wells did perform the service at the Cleveland home. Louise died three years later. After Helga died, Clara and Ida shared the home Clara owned on Eighth Street in Spokane along with Bill and Margaret, who paid their rent to Clara.

Family stories record that Clara traveled with a man to Europe and enjoyed imported European furniture. The Bahrs and Portches look after exquisite settees and chairs Clara gave them. She enjoyed stamp collecting, wore fine jewelry (Norma Fay has Clara's ring and Helga's red shoes), and knew of fashion, though she dressed modestly and fussed often with her hair. She rode the streetcar across town to pick up special pastries and share lunch with her sister Lillian and niece. Norma
Fay Lee, now in her eighties, recalls never hearing of the story of the walk until she was an adult. She and her husband of sixty-plus years began their marriage in a rental owned by Clara.

The burial plot Clara purchased next to Olea and Louise was never used by Clara. When she died in 1950, Clara's surviving siblings (Bill, Ida, and Lillian) had her buried in the Estby plot at Mica Creek. The unused burial plot with Clara's friends was sold back to the cemetery by Norma Fay in 1998. Ida was the last of the Estby children to die, at the age of ninety-nine.

While I discovered much about Clara, where she went and who she was with, I had to speculate about where she got the money to buy property, what she might have been doing in Coulee City, and who this man was she traveled with. One descendant reported his mother saying that Clara had been a courtesan and then corrected herself, saying she “traveled” often to Europe with a man.

Descendants reported that Ole was adamant about Helga not making presentations about the walk after they returned and that he forbade her to write the book or even speak of the journey. Knowing that the daughters burned the manuscript Helga wrote after her husband's death, and knowing that even her son held resentment for her having left them to make the walk, it seemed feasible that Ole might well have seen the source of Clara's funds—if they did come from “eastern parties”—as unacceptable. Helga was a guilt-ridden and shattered woman after their return, and her ability to resist the flood of grief, anger, and demands of her husband and children would have been negligible. Some answers will never be known, but I've tried to uncover the truth as revealed by the facts and stories as best I can.

Whether Clara was involved in the fur industry is speculation, though Olea and Louise's involvement is based on fact. Fur farms were
in operation in Finland and Norway as portrayed. Washington State's involvement in the fur-ranching industry did not occur until the 1920s. News accounts of the famous walk mention Clara's plan to sketch for the proposed book, and Helga was an artist who painted in later years, so it seemed feasible that Clara might have created fashion designs and been successful with it.

Ida never married. She lived out her life with Clara, the sisters coming to a comfortable truce. The great-nieces and -nephews of Clara recall visiting both women and said that Ida seemed more ready for playful, energetic children than Clara was, but that both women made them feel important and welcomed as treasured members of the family. Norma Fay held a special place in Clara's heart, as evidenced by the numerous poems Clara wrote to her and the frequent trips Clara made by streetcar carrying the pastries with maraschino cherries on top on her lap.

The details that lend authenticity to any historical novel often come from people who are passionate beyond that of an individual author. Several such passionate and generous people assisted me in creating this story.

Descendants Harold Portch, Dorothy and Daryll Bahr, and Mary Kay Irwin (Dorothy and Mary Kay are daughters of Thelma Estby Portch), and Norma Fay Lee, Lillian's daughter, met with me in Spokane, answered questions, offered possibilities and, like me, were surprised by the discoveries of Clara's property acquisitions, her living in Coulee City, and her affiliation with the New York women. Dorothy and Mary Kay met with me and Linda Hunt at the little café where Helga often liked to eat pastries with maraschino cherries on top. Their
willingness to answer questions and speculate was invaluable. Harold Portch's warm welcome in his home, Stephen Portch's conversations with me by phone, and Daryll Bahr's sharing photographs of the furniture Clara loved as well as family portraits and remembrances were all greatly appreciated. The kindness and generosity of these descendants, including the best chocolate dessert ever, reflected that same care I imagined in the lives of Helga, Ole, Clara, and the Estby family when they were not dealing with devastating losses.

I was blessed with access to a family history, “The Descendants of Kari Henriksdatter Furuberget Bing, the Mother of Helga Estby,” by an unnamed descendant. It included the copy of Helga's article responding to a
New York Times
piece about unions. She wrote about her trip to the silver mines of Idaho. The article was printed in Norwegian in the newspapers in Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Paul in February 1897 (translated by Tove Dahl Johansen). This family history also verifies that Clara was born to an unknown father, not Ole Estby.

Penny Hutten, coauthor with Don Popejoy of
Early Spokane
and the director of the Westerners International organization in Spokane, Washington, provided numerous details of early life in Spokane, news articles related to furriers, contacts for clarifying burial information, and even details such as who supplied the eggs for the Davenport Hotel. Penny's enthusiasm for this story and her willingness to assist with my many questions were invaluable. Her knowledge of early Spokane was priceless.

Evelyn Fricke, coordinator of the Rockford Museum near Mica Creek, is a treasure, sharing exhibit information about the Estby family and speculating with me about Clara and her relationship with her family. Linda Jones, another Rockford soul passionate about history, provided photographs and gave directions to Linda Hunt and me so we could locate the hog house the Joneses had moved from their farm,
which had once been owned by Ole and Helga. This hog house, built by a careful craftsman, might well have been the place that Ida, Johnny, Arthur, Billy, and Lillian huddled in that cold spring of 1897 while Bertha lay dying in the house with her father and brother Olaf, and while Helga and Clara desperately tried to raise money to return home.

The passages about the fur business drew from the generosity and speculation of Teresa Platt of the Fur Commission (California); Dale Thiesen, Director of American Legend Fur Auction (Seattle); and Howard Noseworthy, Director of Planning for Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. (Ontario, Canada). Any inaccuracies belong to me, but their willingness to suggest the process that might have been in place in the early 1900s, and the hours spent with me at their facilities, provided authenticity to what might have been Clara's, Olea's, and Louise's roles in the furrier industry. Teresa read sections of the manuscript for accuracy, tracked down prices of pelts, and gave of her time. I am deeply grateful to her.

Franklin Doré's character grew out of their discussions that women in the industry would have had a male to act as their agent and to enter the auction houses, as women would likely not have been allowed. Teresa especially went beyond the call and was instrumental in locating the New York verification of Louise's name change in 1897. She also provided two resource books, including R. Turner Wilcox's
The Mode in Furs: The History of Furred Costume of the World from the Earliest Times to the Present
, which provided me with Clara's design for the beads-and-drops cape.

Several archivists provided copies of news accounts written about the walk, including the most extensive articles by the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspapers that included reference to the letter from the mayor of Spokane, the signatures Helga and Clara collected, and the many prestigious people they met, including the McKinleys and the Bryans.

Library archivists Riva Dean (Northwest Librarian, Spokane Public Library), Mark O'English (University Archivist, Manuscripts, Archives, & Special Collections, Washington State University in Pullman, Washington), Brigid Clift (Regional Branch Archivist, Washington State Archives in Ellensburg, Washington), and Amber Paranick (Library of Congress Serial and Government Publications Division) each located valued information, especially access to an unpublished manuscript written by Leslie Edwin Lillquist about the Big Bend country, early Coulee City, which allowed me to create a world for Clara and her acquired family there. Judy Harmon of the Sherman Public School Library in Moro again proved helpful in connecting me to a variety of library sources.

Sandra Gourdin of the Bureau of Land Management located essential maps and directed me to the land grant information for Clara's purchase of property along the Spokane River, and Alan Christianson of Western Rivers Conservancy made references for information about early fur farming that I appreciated. Lynn Wells, Spokane historian, provided details of Clara's river properties and the LaPray bridge. A morning spent with Spokane County's search of deeds located the variety of properties Clara bought in Spokane and helped me find the first mention of Olea Ammundsen. Mary Kay Irwin spent hours there and located the trail of many purchases made by Clara and the power of attorney granted to Olea, then generously gave the information to me, saying she could hardly wait to see what I would tell her about what Clara had been doing with that property. Her confidence is humbling.

Author and artist Mary Anne Radmacher created the idea Louise used to further her understanding of Scripture through Mary Anne's “Wear the Word paraPHRASE” online writing class I was privileged to take.

I must thank again Linda and Jim Hunt, who opened their home to me while I researched, shared reference material with me, and introduced me to the Estby descendants who helped make Clara's life come alive. Thank you for making room for this story in your lives.

The team at WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group continues to amaze me with their support. Special gratitude goes to editors Erin Healy, Shannon Marchese, Laura Wright, and all those behind the scenes who bring this book into the hands of others.

Finally, but not least, my home team deserves accolades: my husband, Jerry, map maker and cook, listener and speculator of story structure and meaning, I could not do this without you. My prayer team, Carol, Judy, Susan, Loris, and Gabby; friends Sandy, Kay, Blair, and Nancy; and my stepson, Matt, and stepdaughter, Kathleen, all sent happy thoughts and prayers through the writing process. I am grateful to them. And finally, to the readers who continue to read my stories and allow them to nurture their days: You all help me listen to the Voice saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” My deepest thank-you.

Robert McKee, in his book
Story
, writes that there is truth in fiction when one can answer this question: do you believe it? If the writer and/or the reader believe it, then a piece of truth has been revealed. I hope you find it so in my accounting of
The Daughter's Walk
.