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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Author tells of hardship, empowerment

Hilton grew up on farm on the West Plains

CHENEY – The period of time between World War I and World War II was one of change – cars were slowly taking over where horses and buggies used to be, telephones were becoming more and more common, and the roles of women were changing, too.

It’s a time Ernestine McMillan Hilton, 88, chronicles in a memoir of her childhood, growing up just to the west of where Cheney is today. Her book, “Once Upon a Green Meadow: An American Family’s Struggles Between the Wars,” will be the topic of conversation at the Cheney Community Library on Tuesday.

“It was something I wanted to do for my own children,” she said. Hilton said that when she used to tell stories about her childhood, not everyone would understand the impact of growing up without money.

Her mother often traded eggs laid by her own chickens with other people in the community. Her father once sold her pet cow to make ends meet. The children had only one doll to last their whole childhood. During the Great Depression, the family – two adults and five children – had to move from an eight-room house to a three-room house in a place called the Green Meadow on their farmland.

Hilton tells a story in the book about when she wanted her parents to buy her something and her father showed her the very last nickel the family had.

But the stories in the book are not all about growing up poor on the West Plains. Hilton recalls that during the election in 1924, her mother was allowed to vote for the president for the first time.

She also remembered when she and her mother bobbed their hair for the first time. The haircuts were not only the latest fashion of the day, but for a woman and her daughter living and working on a farm, they were also practical.

Hilton’s mother and her father argued about the haircut, but the mother and daughter also knew there was a larger significance in bobbing their hair.

“Despite the trouble it might have caused in her marriage,” Hilton wrote in the book, “she regarded it as a step towards personal freedom. It was a lesson she taught me early that I never forgot.”

She also wrote about how her father ran for the school board when it was time for her and her sister, Edith, to start attending school. One of the first things her father changed was to provide busing for the children who lived more than two miles from the school. Her grandfather also talked about running for office, since anyone who didn’t like the way things were going shouldn’t complain if they didn’t do anything about it.

These lessons stayed with her and when she had children of her own, she joined the parent-teacher association, served on the Cheney school board and the National PTA.

Writing was always an outlet for Hilton, who, while a child, wrote a book for her father that included a map of their farm. She said her mother helped her make a cover for the book out of linen and Hilton made a beaded bird to put on the cover as well.

“My dad, of course, was very pleased with it,” she said.

When she attended high school, she had an opportunity to visit the Spokane Chronicle. The students toured the building and had a chance to talk to various editors and writers.

After that, she began writing for the paper, writing stories about the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge that was built at the time, and once about President Franklin Roosevelt’s trip to dedicate Grand Coulee Dam.

“It was really a great honor for me,” she said.

She did notice that women in the journalism profession were treated differently than the men. She said that no matter how hard the women worked, if a plum assignment came up, the men would get the assignment no matter how good or bad a reporter they were.

Hilton made the decision to teach instead and taught the third and fourth grade in Spangle in 1941 and 1942.

She liked living in Spangle, knew everyone and played the fiddle at community dances.

She remembers coming in to teach the Monday morning after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the response of the children in her class.

“We talked for a very long time,” she said.

She tells a story about a 10-year-old boy in her class who was having a difficult time learning how to read. At the end of the discussion, he stood up and asked to say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing “God Bless America.”

“It was a very emotional moment,” she said.

When she wrote her book, she was surprised at how many children responded to it and could relate to the stories she told.

One of her great-grandsons called her last spring when he decided to bring her book to class. He asked her some questions he could share with the class, such as how she got to school every day, what she wore and what she liked to study the best when she was his age.

Another great-grandson was learning in class about how to tell a grown-up if you have a problem. This conversation reminded him of the tale of the Tortoiseshell Comb in the book, when young Hilton broke her father’s comb and she had to tell him about it.

One great-granddaughter wanted to send Hilton one of her dolls, since she read that Hilton had only one when she was a child.

Hilton said she probably won’t read from her book at the library next week. She hopes readers will read their favorite passages and the event will be very informal. Her books will be available at the event, as well.

Contact staff writer Lisa Leinberger at 459-5449 or by e-mail at lisal@spokesman.com.