Love - The Odessa Record "By Your Relative"

Odessa Record subscriber Larry Fisher of Spokane continues his series of articles on the history of the Batum/Lauer area (where his wife, the former Joyce Kiesz, grew up).

Hi, here I am again.

After my time in hibernation, I told you about one of my dreams I had during hibernation. In it, Joyce and I rode our mules "gettyup" and "slowpoke" from Odessa out to Batum to visit her future mother, Bertha Raugust Kiesz. They were not our mules, we rented them from C.C. Doering who was running the Doering Livery Barn in Odessa, Washington at the time.

In the back of my mind, I always wonder what it would be like having a mule. Well in The Odessa Record dated 04-04-1963, I found an article about "Sol's Mule Had Eventful Life." It read -- Sol Walter was surprised to read of the time he won a mule at a horse sale during livery barn days. He enjoyed owning that mule, a small critter, knot-headed as they make them, and no good for anything but bucking.

It had the bad habit of trying to kick its rider when he got him off his back. The rider, knowing this, tried to avoid the kick. He would be slipping off on one side, while the mule spun to kick him, grab a handful of mane and fight to stay on top. The mule would flip him another direction, again getting set to kick, and the rider would claw for the questionable safety of the mule's back. Once they lost their seat, the riders would hit the ground rolling, to present a small target for the mule. Sometimes he missed.

Sol kept this mule for a time, during which every young fellow in the country took a try at riding him. He finally got rid of him and the last sale, as far as Sol can recall, was when its then owner traded it off for a gallon of moonshine." I wonder if the mule's name was "gettyup?"

Until next time.

Your Relative,

Spokane