Blanche & AJ: A Love Story

circa. 1923

Once upon a time, somewhere around Eugene in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, there was a very independent young woman hired on at a Booth Kelly Lumber Company logging camp as the assistant to the cook. The oldest of eight, Blanche was accustomed to self-reliance and work since she had stepped in at a young age to help her crippled mother raise and provide for her younger siblings. In a camp full of men, this pretty young woman of about 19 did not go unnoticed, but one, in particular, won her heart. Abner James, better known as Boots, became friends with Blanche and a fast friendship blossomed into love.

Only a year older than her, Boots had run away to Oregon several years earlier. Doing everything from clean up to working in the treetops to being a choker, hard work and discipline eventually earned him one of the hightest paid jobs in the logging industry. Called a powder monkey, he set the dynamite charges that cleared the way for laying down train tracks that were used to haul out the logs. In time, these two kindred spirits decided to get married. While Blanche managed to get permission to take a day off for the event, Boots did not. Long on determination and stubbornness, they quit their jobs, got married and found work elsewhere.

This quiet love story of your fraternal great grandparents did not end there. It went on for over 50 years until Blanche died unexpectedly from a blood clot that broke loose during her recuperation after hip surgery. Side by side they worked, raised two boys, hunted, fished, and in their retirement, traveled around in their camper going to rock shows, collecting rocks that they made into tables, clocks, and jewelry, and visiting grandkids. So compatible were they that it was hard to tell where one left off and the other began. Each seemed to be the other's best friend and greatest admirer and neither needed anything else to feel complete. Their lives were simple but connected, quiet but strong, and inextricably linked. What more could any of us hope for in our own relationships?