MEMORIES OF GEORGE BENJAMIN PALMER
My earliest memories start at our homestead near Glendale, Idaho. It is difficult to tell what I actually remembered and what I was told that I did. My folks said that when I was very young I went out in the yard and came running back in the house saying I had been bitten by a rattlesnake. They went out in the yard and there was a small rattlesnake. Since they didn't see any fang marks, and I didn't get sick, the concluded that the snake had not actually bitten me. I never did get over the fear of snakes because there were many near the farm and there was always the possibility of being bitten when walking through the fields.
The house where we lived at Glendale had wooden floors and one day I stomped down in anger and got a large sliver in my foot. It was along in the evening, and Dad said he would have to cut it out with a razor. The thought of pain and suffering did not appeal to me at all and I said, “cant a fellow go to bed sometime?!” My plea was not answered until after Dad did the surgery.
My sister, Mabel, should have received a medal for taking care of me when the folks made a trip to Melba to buy supplies. One day when they were gone she mopped the floor and locked the screen door so that I would not come in until the floor was dry. When I discovered the door was locked I thought that action had to be taken, so I found an axe and began to cut holes in the screen door. When the folks got home they blamed Mabel instead of me for the damaged door !. She was a good sister, and usually we got along together very well. We took some fine rides together on Midget.
In the spring when the first warm days came, I enjoyed going gout to the garage and sitting in the sunshine. One day I had a marble and I was having fun bouncing that marble off the little window in the top of the Model T Ford. All at once I noticed that there was a crack in the window, and I knew that I was in trouble. I had heard about the power of prayer and decided this was a good time to try it out. I prayed that the window would be made whole and then would look to see if it happened. This went on for some time. Finally I got up. I donut remember if Dad applied the usual punishment even though it was deserved.
We had many horses on our farm but Dad thought Mabel and I should have a special horse to ride so he bought Midget. Midget was a small, black horse and from what I understand had been used in harness racing which is where the horses pull small two-wheeled vehicles called sulkies. Midget was very gentle, but she never lost her competitive spirit and always wanted to outrun all the other horses. I remember getting on Midget when I was very small, and she wanted to hrr and get to the barn. When she turned the corner of our driveway, I didn't know that I was supposed to lean over or hold onto the saddle horn so off I sent and rolled down the hill. I got up and didn't suffer from the fall but was exceedingly angry at Midget. On another occasion when I was much older, a group of us were out riding our horses shortly after there had been a cloud burst and part of the road had been washed out. We all started to gallop our horses and of course Midget had to be the first. This was fun until she stepped into a washbed out part of the road. She fell and I went sailing over her head. It knocked me out but eventually I regained consciousness. I looked down the road and all the other riders had stopped and were just sitting there waiting to see what I would do. I got back on Midget even though I was very sick and made it back home. I remember the folks had a bowl of cherries on the table and for many years after that, I couldn't stand to eat them. Fortunately that feeling has passed and now they are one of my favorite fruits.
Dad was an excellent farmer and took pride in raising a big garden. He also enjoyed raising watermelons. One year he was particularly successful and planned to take his biggest one to the fair. He pulled it from the vine and placed it near the edge of a deep irrigation ditch and went on with work that needed to be done. He hadn't counted on two little boys coming along and seeing the melon and deciding that here was a big one with a wonderful heart to eat. With the help of my friend we rolled it into the ditch, broke it open and had a real feast. Dad was pretty upset but for some strange reason did not give me a beating. However, the father of my friend had three willow switches used on him. Dad went to the fair and said his melon was bigger than any of the others there and he would have won first prize!
Some of our happiest moments was when our family went fishing in the Snake River. The first step was to catch a large number of grasshoppers. I learned that there was a technique in doing this. You would get close to the grasshopper, it would tense up and be ready to jump, and finally after it had relaxed you would reach out very quickly and grab it. Also we would dig worms and use them. However, a big, live grasshopper was far more attractive to the fish. We would take our long bamboo poles and head for the river. We would always watch out for rattlesnakes, as we made our way to the water. Usually we would be very successful and bring back a large string of fish. We called them white fish, and they were very tasty but filled with bones! Catching them was more fun than eating them.
It was always an exciting time when Aunt Mildred, Uncle Art, and Cousin Clyde came to our home at Glendale. I especially remember going to the Snake River with them once to do some fishing. Aunt Mildred was in the saddle on Midget. I was on behind her and Cousin Clyde was behind me. We were riding through the sagebrush close to the river when suddenly Midget stopped, crouched back and made a big jump forward. I held on to Aunt Mildred but Clyde didn't react quickly enough to grab me so off he went. The reason for this sudden jump was a rattlesnake. Fortunately Clyde missed the snake, and it escaped down a gopher hole. Dad learned of the excitement, got his shovel and kept digging until he reached the rattlesnake and killed it.
I always enjoyed hunting and there were always plenty of jack rabbits to shoot. I had a Stevens 22, single shot, and became quite proficient with it. One day as I was at Glendale, I saw a young coyote. I raised my sights, took careful and shot. He was hit but kept coming in my direction. I shot four times more and each time hit him. Finally the last shot hit him in the spine and that proved fatal. I dragged him to the house, skinned him and sold the hide to the hired man for $1.25. 1 would go hunting for rabbits and would sell them to Mr. Todd who raised silver foxes. One day I shot six rabbits with seven shells, sold them to Mr. Todd for thirty cents and had enough money to buy a box of shells and a candy bar!
Pheasant and duck hunting were always a great pleasure to me. One day I was with my dog, Neut, and managed to shoot three pheasants. Finally another one jumped up that had been wounded and could barely fly. Neut chased after it and brought it down, so we had our limit of four that day! Duck hunting was fun too. I remember crawling along on my stomach to get close to the ducks. One time I got close to four that were feeding on some corn. I shot and killed three. The fourth one flew away, so I used the other barrel to bring him down. The desire to hunt left me many years ago, however I fully understand those who enjoy hunting and see nothing wrong about it.
After we moved to Melba some of our family started to attend the Friends Church. I enjoyed the Sunday School class taught by Clark Smith and the Christian Endeavor. What I didn't like were the revival services! I am sure that Clark and others were praying that I would become a Christian. Conviction made me miserable, but I didn't want to give up all my fun, and I thought that would be the result if I gave my heart to Christ. For years I held out. When I was a senior in high school an evangelist by the name of Fred Harris came to hold meetings. After one service Clark spoke to me as I was leaving and said "George, when are you going to give your heart to the Lord?" I lowered my head and said "I don't know." That night I realized that decision time had come. I thought of Dad who was successful as a father but was not happy. I knew God would not allow me to go on turning my back on Him. That night I knelt by the bed and prayed through to victory.
The next day I felt happy and as if a great burden had been lifted from my heart but I knew that I would have to make a public profession. The next night I went to the revival meeting and went forward when the invitation was given. That was on my I 18th birthday, December 29, 1930. While I cannot say that life after that for the rest of the year was without some severe testing and trials, I can say that there was peace in my heart and that my grades as a senior in high school jumped upward dramatically.
After graduation from high school, I stayed home and worked for several months. Dad thought it would be good if I learned something about business so he purchased a correspondence course from Oxford Institute. The course gave general information on many subjects but could not be compared to the training given in a business college. Several of the Melba High students had gone to a business college in Spokane including Marion Coleman and Edith Zeyer. We found out that for $180 you could buy a scholarship and go to school as long as you wanted to. In 1932 1 left home and enrolled at the Blair-Higley Business College, I had to work my way through so my first two jobs were working in a restaurant three hours a day for my meals and at a rooming house for my room. For the three hours of washing dishes I was given $1 to buy three meals. This small amount did not allow me to have any meat so I learned to en joy potatoes, carrots and peas! The lady who owned the rooming house was one of the most difficult people to work for that I have ever met! I found it impossible to please her and after one month she fired me. Here I was in a strange town and had failed! My mother often told me that life away from home would not be easy and her prophetic words had come true! A fellow student at the school invited me to stay with him and after a week the business college had found a wonderful family for me to stay with by the name of the Melvin Clarks. They had two small children, a rather small house, and an old Ford.
There wasn't a Friends Church in Spokane at that time so the second Sunday I was there I walked out to the Mallon Avenue Free Methodist Church. The people there were very friendly and I was invited out to dinner. The next Sunday I met Arthur Smith, and he invited me to his house for dinner. We became very good friends and many times I enjoyed having Sunday dinner with them. Arthur and I sang in a quartet at the church and enjoyed activities with the young people. During World War II Arthur was in the service, and we kept in contact. He often visited us at our home in Portland. Later he married Velma and they live in Spokane. We have gone to the beach at Newport together a number of times and keep in touch by telephone and correspondence. Their son, Dwayne, has often visited us, and we have wonderful times of fellowship.
The training I received at Blair-Higley was excellent. Accounting was taught by completing sets. I completed single proprietorship, partnership and corporation accounting. I never had an accounting problem in later years that had not been covered in these sets. One of the teachers was E. L. Glick who was an excellent penman. Penmanship appealed to me so I spent many hours doing what was called flourishing. This was done with a flexible pen with the pen point set at an angle. Other courses included business English, spelling, typewriting, and shorthand. In my second year I concentrated on typing and shorthand. I was able to type 65 words a minute on a 15 minute test with less than 5 errors. In Gregg shorthand I finally got in the 120 word per minute class. My hat is off to the teachers there. They really did their best to train us for positions in the business world.
Clarks were wonderful people to live with but there house was small and they needed the bedroom where I was staying for their children. Melvin talked to his boss, Albert Johnson, at the drug store where he worked and Al invited me to live with them. There were three of them: Al, Marthy, and Mary Jayne who was in grade school. Again I was part of the family. Marthy had sinus problems so I often did the cooking in addition to the cleaning and the yard work. I also drove the car for them and some times they would let me drive it to the church on Sunday evening. I kept in touch with the Johnsons through the years and always remembered their kindness. All of them have passed on now.
After I had completed my first year of business college, Ed Harmon and Fred Baker came to the Melba Friends Church to hold revival meetings. This was a wonderful meeting since all the members of the Clarence Palmer family who were not already Christians were converted! Both Ed and Fred had attended Portland Bible Institute in Portland. Mabel talked to them and teamed that there might be an opening there for a student bookkeeper. She wrote to me and I wrote to President Pike to apply for the position. He informed me that they had a bookkeeper for the present year and suggested that I take training in shorthand and then apply a year later. This I did and was hired in the fall of 1934. 1 soon was not only doing the bookkeeping but was also the school car driver. The three years at Portland Bible Institute were great periods of training and deepening in the things of the Lord. I especially enjoyed the chapel services and the opportunities for evangelism at the mission services and weekend conferences.
It was not too long after entering PBI that I began thinking about the possibility of eventually getting married. Not every girl at the school was a raving beauty but they were of good character so there were several possibilities. After looking all of them over, I was particularly drawn to one of the young women who worked in the kitchen by the name of Mary Lou Chapman. She was attractive, had musical talent and was the right height! We started going together and the courtship grew. The school had many regulations about dating. You could have two dates a week. One was a parlor date and the other was a church date. It was not considered proper to spend time with the one you were going with except on an official date. You were not to sit together in chapel or in class. Of course there were some who bent the rules and would "accidentally" meet down at the park. We survived all obstacles and decided to get married after I finished PBI in 1937. On July 16, 1937 we were married at First Friends Church in Portland with Chester Hadley performing the ceremony.
I was penniless when I finished PBI. Dr. Pike had mercy and advanced me $50 with the understanding that I would work in the office for one month. With this money we bought a wedding ring and a watch for Mary Lou. She is still wearing the ring but the watch gave out many years ago. During the summer I painted a house for Mary Lou's uncle that gave us $50 and then in the fall I got a job at Builders Hardware Service that paid $65 a month. Mary Lou did real well in the mail order department at Montgomery Wards and by the end of the year all our debts were paid, and we were able to buy a beautiful 1934 Chevrolet car! We also bought new suits for Easter! Incidentally, we paid $365 for the car, drove it for ten years and sold it for $350! How is that for low depreciation! The reason for the low depreciation was the fact that cars were not made during the war and used cars demanded a premium price.
Right after our marriage in 1937 we started a new church in Camas, Washington, called Oak Park Friends Church. This was an interesting experience as we worked with Mary Allen and Olive Terrell. They lived in a tiny four room house and on Sunday every room was filled. At the end of the year Mary Allen gave a large gift that was used in building a new church. Since the work needed a full-time pastor, Fred Baker took over and the church continued to grow through the years. In the fall of 1938 we were convinced that I should go on and get a degree and were seriously considering going to Seattle Pacific College. Our plans changed when Dr. Pike came and asked me to teach business classes at PBI. I would attend Albany College, which had now moved to Portland, in the morning and then teach business courses in the afternoon. This worked out well and in 1940 1 graduated with an A. B. degree. I continued to do some teaching even after the business courses were dropped and taught Sociology and Economics, Eventually I stopped teaching and worked full- time in the office as Business Manager. The biggest problem with this job was the lack of funds. We managed to keep the school going but the faculty were underpaid and improvements were kept at a minimum. Through it all God richly blessed and hundreds of young people were trained and went out to serve the Lord as ministers, missionaries and teachers. Leaving the school was indeed a difficult decision. I promised Dr. Habegger that I would stay for one year as he made the transition from a minister to President of the school. Before the year was over I realized the time had come to leave, and I received the Scriptural word: "Arise and go."
Ron and Rozanna were born while we were at Cascade and what joy they brought to us. They thought it was great to be at a college and mingle with the college students. Ron enjoyed going to the library and attended some classes as an auditor. Rozanna enjoyed visiting with the caretakers and some of the faculty. We enjoyed taking trips together. One was a trip to Canada in 1949 and the other was a trip that took us to the East Coast and many states in 1954.
After spending 22 years at Cascade, I left "Not knowing whither." We found a comfortable house to rent near Jefferson High School, and I secured employment as Business Manager at Edmundson, Kochendorfer, and Kennedy, Architect and Engineers. This was a good transition job. The bookkeeping was simple, and I soon learned to fill out all the many tax forms. At the end of three years I realized this job did not have a future. I went to an employment agency and secured a job at Far West Federal Savings in the accounting department. I stayed in this department for several years and became Assistant Treasurer. During these years I never encountered any accounting problems that had not been covered in my business college training.
After several years in the accounting department at Far West, I moved up to the loan department, was in charge of the loan closing department and was given the title of Assistant Vice President. At one time I had 19 ladies under my supervision. As you can imagine, getting this many people to work together in harmony was not always easy! I am sure praying helped to clear up many difficult situations. During this time I worked very closely with the computer department and had the responsibility of designing forms that could be used by people with no computer experience to make entries into the system. Far West was a leader in processing savings and loans for many other savings and loan companies. I worked for this company for 16 1/2 years and retired in 1976.
Mary Lou always wanted to be a teacher and after working a few years as a librarian started her teaching career out at Boring in 1958. This was a great blessing financially since we needed funds for the college education of Ron and Rozanna. Later she taught at Ventura Park in Portland and worked there until she retired in 1978.
Through the years we have en joyed the privilege of starting churches. In 1953 we i started the Maplewood Friends Community Church. In 1957 we started the Lynwood Friends Church, and in 1965 we founded the Clackamas Park Friends Church. As we look back we marvel that God gave us the energy to carry out this church planting in addition to having full-time jobs.
As I reflect back upon each one of our family, I greatly appreciate many characteristics of Dad. He believed in hard work, honesty, paying your bills and keeping your word. He was very opposed to smoking, drinking and playing cards. Mother amazed me by the amount of work she did and in later years her deep devotion to God. She loved the Lord and was happiest when the family was present, and she was in the kitchen preparing a meal. Mabel left home before I did and I left home before John, Bob, Clarence and Portia were very old. I appreciate each one of my brothers and sisters. John and I keep in close contact through our letters. Bob is clear over in Umatilla so we seldom see each other. We have some good visits with Mabel and Portia either by phone or in person. Clarence and I meet about three times a week at the gym and have some lively contests on the racquetball court. Yes, the Lord has blessed the Palmer family and we have every reason to praise His name!
Mary Lou and I appreciate the good health that God has given us and allowed us to reach our ripe old ages! It is wonderful to think of all the blessings that He has given and the wonderful promises for the future. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled right before our eyes as we see the nations failing in line for a one world government. For the Christian the best is yet to come, and we can look forward with joy to Christ's soon return. With the writer of Revelation, Chapter 22:20 we say "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."