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William Edward Hathaway was
born May 16, 1894 in Millville, California to John and Vera Volumnia Hunt
Hathaway. His family and friends called him Ed. He was the youngest child
in the family. Ed had six sisters and two brothers. After the death of
his father all of the children had to help do the work on the ranch. Ed
attended the Wilkinson School on Oak Run road. The children had to walk
two miles to school.
Elsie May Hunt was born March
2, 1895 to William and Octavia Atkins Hunt, on their
Clover Creek ranch. Elsie was Octavia's only daughter. Octavia died
in February 1899. Elsie's father remarried in 1906; he married Flora Atkins,
Octavia's twin sister. The family then moved to the ranch in Oak Run, where
Elsie grew up. The Hunt children attended Wilkinson School.
Ed served in World War I; he
was stationed at Camp Lewis Washington for his basic training. Elsie went
to visit Ed while he was at Camp Lewis. They were married December 29,
1917 in Tacoma, Washington They had two children.
William Edward
Harryette Jean
Ed was sent to France, shortly
after he and Elsie were married Ed was in three major battles, he earned
Battle Stars and the Defensive Sector, for St. Mihel, Meuse, and Argonne.
Ed also received the Purple Heart. He was badly wounded at Argonne and
spent many months recovering. After the Armistice was signed and his recovery,
Ed came home to his family and friends. Ed always gave credit to a Lt.
Vincent for saving his life. When his company retreated Ed was left on
the battlefield with just a canteen of water. Lt. Vincent returned to the
battlefield and helped carry Ed out in his trench coat. Ed also gave credit
to a nurse who fed him canned tomatoes while he was in the hospital.
When Ed came home from the army
he returned to the ranch near Oak Run and worked with his brothers Ray
and Dick. In the spring they moved the cattle to the mountains and back
to the ranch in the fall. The family moved with the cattle. They lived
in an old log cabin and Elsie cooked on a little wood stove. They quite
often had beans, seasoned with bacon or ham. Elsie made applesauce from
apples that they picked from the trees. They usually took a milk cow, so
they had milk and butter. When they didn't have a cow they used canned
milk. Applesauce with crackers and canned milk was a treat. Ed worked on
the ranch until his death November 18, 1966.
Elsie grew up on the neighboring
ranch. Elsie was going to college in Stockton and planned to become a teacher.
Elsie quit school when World War I started and she and Ed were married.
When Ed came home, becoming a ranchers wife was a natural way of life.
She was a good mother, an excellent cook and made great dill pickles. Elsie
would give her nieces and nephews pickles to eat on their way home from
school. After an extended illness Elsie passed away November 18, 1958.
Ed and Elsie are both buried
in the Masonic Cemetery in Millville.
Source: Shasta Historical Society - August, 2001
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