Don Johnson Letters and Journals
Norway Island Years
1944-1987
Part 19

9/20/45 Up at 4:30 to get things going for opening hunt. Layna made breakfast for gang. To Black Bay by daylight. George, Byrne and I in one canoe - Charlie [Ketola] and Carl in other. We got 20 ducks by noon - they got 11. We tipped over canoe about 8:30 - Byrne and I getting wet. George out with hip boots. Kept right on hunting - temperature 38 - until noon. Damned near froze! Byrne and George to town at noon - me out with them. We got 19 more - 50 altogether. Great hunt. Klinker worked fine. A little wild in canoe.

10/3/45 Layna and I to Tilson early to pick cranberries. Moss was frozen when we started and it was mighty cold on the fingers. We came home at noon with about 15 quarts. I put Neptune on Hiawatha and went back to Tilson. Picked a few more cranberries. Gas line plugged on motor so I rowed home. Really enjoyed it.
10/9/45 Finished painting shed and Sally's house. At noon, Layna and I to Newharts Island where they had been clearing all morning. Layna made lunch of pasties, cookies, pickles, coffee. Mighty good. Goalie and I took a hike on Sandpoint. Few signs - mostly wolf - but no deer. Not a partridge - one rabbit. Home after dark to a few drinks and nice visit by fireplace. Sure swell people to have around.
10/11/45 Puttered around in morning getting Newharts off. Helen made cookies with the same amount of fuss that Layna makes in preparing a dinner for 20. To Major Roberts for dinner. Over indulged and paid for it by getting damned sick during night.
10/12/45 My belly still protesting the bad treatment I gave it at Robert's! Home in time to get ready for dinner at Sheldon's. Newharts, Murrays, Sheldons, us. Another big feed but I used a little judgment. Showed movies to an appreciative audience. Home at 11. Ice forming on boat.
11/8/45 Byrne and Stew rowed to landing and Carl, Frank and I to Sandpoint. Hunted 'til noon - all of us got soaked - so we gave up and came home. After lunch we laid on floor and slept about an hour. Up at 2:30 and cut wood 'til dark. Frank threw out sawdust from ice house. Finished supper and heard someone calling on Keyes Island. Rowed over to find Arnold Anderson - out of gas. Carl and Frank took him home. Saw white owl and bobcat.
11/16/45 Today we started our fall navigating - always full of wondering how we will make it, but I guess the real wonder is why we don't stay home until it gets better. We shoved the small boat out on the bay by the breakwater and when it broke we jumped in and started rowing. Made good time to Vance's Island. East wind had broken up ice ahead of us and it was all piled in against the solid ice (one inch thick) which ran out about 300 yards from shore. We pushed and broke our way to the point, walked across it an on the ice to the road. Battery dead in car so hitch hiked to town - walked two miles. Forest Festival in full swing. Layna and I home. Not too much trouble altho we both had ungodly big packsacks to carry over slippery ice of bay.
11/18/45 Lake completely frozen this morning. We walked from breakwater to Bever Island and then on to Keyes for hunt. This was where we had gone with boat yesterday.
11/20/45 Up at 5:30 and met Cliff and Lauren Erickson at landing. On to Black Bay. Glare ice and they skated with load plus me to cabin. On to north shore of Black Bay. No go. Across to Reuters Creek. Tried to find logging road but couldn't. Cut across to damnedest country I ever saw. Finally hit a few ridges. Stayed out until dark. No luck. Damned hungry and tired.
11/21/45 Out before daylight. Found the logging road this time. Met another party so changed our plans and cut across - supposedly to hit some ridge and on to Cliff's cabin. Never saw any country Cliff recognized until we hit his clearing! Had lunch - George Finstad dropped in - had come from Cranberry. Hunting not so hot there either. After lunch, Cliff and I hunted together. I jumped big doe - took flash shot and Cliff got it. Walked to Island View after dark. Layna met me. Heard that John Erickson had gone thru ice. We got home about 8:30. Tired. Caught weasel.

12/3/45 Had our annual fight with Ford to get it started for the season. A cold job. Monkeyed around 'til noon without getting a pop out of it altho we did get crank ratchet in. After lunch I went out alone and really heated up carburetor and manifold. It worked! One leaky tire. Two rear ones still up! As it was getting dark, we quit Ford and I walked to Dahlberg's to look at traps. Nothing.
12/5/45 To town and got stuff to fix up Ford - tire, carburetor, timer, etc. Had supper with Burt and Lou. Home at 12 after visit and lunch with McIntyres.
12/6/45 A good day. Put new carburetor on Ford and it worked swell. Cut and hauled five loads of wood. Tired.
12/7/45 Another good day on the wood hauling. Hauled one big load in a.m. and another in p.m. before Layna off to town. Chased fox by Eight Mile Island. Took Phil LaFrernier to town. Home with Layna and kids.
12/8/45 The wildest day all winter but the most productive for us. I was due in town for Insulite at 11:30 so whole family out early for load of wood. We got a dandy. Byrne and I to town. Snowed so hard that we could hardly see land in any direction. Picked up Insulite - a helluva load on Judy's trailer - and came home without trouble. Ran Chevy on to ice of bay, then tied trailer to Ford. Whole family pitched in for unloading. Worked 'til 9:30 making barrel stove. Snowed about four to five inches.
12/12/45 Another cold day so decided to start insulating house. Began by tearing out shelves, etc. from closet - and God, what a mess we made. Clothes, shoes, magazines, books, umbrellas, etc., etc., all over everything. Tore out cupboard that used to face kitchen so we messed that part of the house up, too. Only redeeming feature is that we can see tonight that we have made some headway. Worked 'til 8 p.m.
12/16/45 Another cold one. Byrne has been wanting to go to Ober's for a long time so decided today as good as any. A cold trip. I wrote to Buck and finished up walls of bed room. About 3 p.m. decided that something had to be done about getting kids to school. Took one lift on crank of Chevy and decided that wasn't it. Finally got them wrapped up good and they walked to bus at Crystal Beach. I went with them as far as Roberts. A cold but beautiful sunset.
12/23/45 It finally warmed up but there is a threat of snow in the air. As getting a Christmas tree is always a pain in the neck for me, Sally and I started out early to get it over with. Glory be! We found a dandy in about 15 minutes. Made a stand and it is all trimmed.
12/25/45 Christmas Day - and no Buck. Wanted to get something done so worked on Ford platform. Getting along pretty good when Cliff Slowe and Willy Hilke came. Ed Johnson hiked in soon after. Layna made Tom and Jerrys all around and the boys left with Ed at 12. Layna and Byrne in Chevy after Oscar and me in Ford for Harry. Just as we were about to eat, Ober got here. Cliff and Willy came back from Ed's - pretty well lit. Stopped a few minutes then in to town. Layna put on her usual swell spread for dinner. Chevy generator on bum so I took guests home in Ford. A pleasant evening alone.
12/29/45 Weather doing us dirt but we are getting along. Worked on ice about an hour when it began snowing so hard we decided to go to landing. Took Chevy over and put in garage. Hauled lumber and gasoline with Ford. Noon before we got unloaded. Gave ice snuss in p.m. Put up slides, plowed field and got 16 cakes in by dark. Andersons, Albert, Oscar, Ernie, stopped in about 3 p.m. "We would stay awhile and visit if you weren't so busy!" Goddamn. They couldn't stay and help?
12/30/45 Another miserable day but we kept at the ice. Ernie came shortly after noon but we kept on working. He cut a few cakes and decided he had business at home. Front tire on Ford finally blew. It was about time. Broke fan belt again but otherwise we did darn well. Put in three tiers. We'll lick it yet.
12/31/45 Woke up to find temperature had dropped to -18 during night. Thot the Old Man was imposing on us but after being out a while decided it wasn't so bad after all. No wind. Byrne and I plowed and got hole open again. Layna came out and by 5 we were thru. A quiet New Year's Eve. Listened to radio and hoped no one would come out. We were tired. To bed by 10.