LEONARD HAMLIN Family

I was born on my parent's farm near Holabird, SD, which had been my grandfather's homestead. My great grandfather homesteaded the next place south, which my father also owned and later on was owned by my brother Wayne until he moved to Highmore, SD.

I grew up here and went to grade school in Holabird and then graduated from high school in Highmore.

The next year while spending some time in Edmonds, WA I meet my wife, then was drafted into the army, We were married while I was on leave before I left for Korea. That was August 29, 1953. We were married in my parents house on the farm near Holabird, SD., We honeymooned one night in Pierre, SD. It was hot that summer. How hot was it? September 2nd it was 112F in the shade and there was no shade as the saying goes. For some excitement that day I took my new wife out back of the farm to the praire dog town and let her shoot(22) at a couple praire dogs, it was their lucky day. The next day I got on the bus back to Ft. Riley, Kansas.

After 18 months in Korea I went to work at the Alcoa aluminum plant in Vancouver, WA. This was where my wife lived with her sister while I was in Korea.

1959 we moved to Edmonds, WA where I drove truck for the garbage company there. We moved to Everett, WA the next year and I still worked for the garbage company, but I also fished crabs commercially that season. This is when I took up appliance repair and refrigeration work part time.

1964 we moved back to Vancouver, WA so that our daughter Jane could attend The Washington State Deaf School there. I worked for an appliance dealer there for about 9 years. We sold our house in Vancouver in 1969 and bought the place in BattleGround, WA. About 12 miles away while still working in Vancouver. We lived on this place for 29 years, 2 months.

1973 I went to work for an appliance dealer in Portland, OR. Then January 1, 1981, my wife and I started our own appliance business, which we did from our home near Battle Ground until I retired January 1, 1998

Later that year we sold the place near Battle Ground and moved here to the Long Beach Peninsula on November 6, 1998. We lived in our motor home in a trailer park until our manufactured home was ready on our lot and moved in February 14, 1999.

We are 1 mile from the ocean and kind of protected from the high winds that are on the on the ocean side. The peninsula is about 1 ½ miles wide (east to west) and about 27 miles long (north to south). We are about two miles south of Ocean Park, WA. (pop. 1400) and 8 miles north of Long Beach, WA. (pop. 1200). We have 27 miles of ocean beach that most of can be driven on with your car. We have many many tourists on the weekends and especially the summer months. A lot of people have their summer homes here. They also have a lot of cranberry bogs here and are just now (october) having their cranberry festival. Clam digging used to be great but the last several years has only been open a few days now and then, something about the toxins in the clams. Willapa Bay is on our east side and is several miles across to the main land. Willapa Bay has many oyster beds that are privately owned and across the bay is South Bend, WA The Oyster Capital of the world.

My wife's asthma was very bad the last year we were in Battle Ground, but on visiting here at times found her asthma goes away here and has had hardly any problem with it since we have been here.

My wife's maiden name was Eunice LaVonne Mikkelsen Father was Julius Antone Mikkelsen, Born 1877, Died April 15, 1943 Sanish, ND Mother was Marie M. Born October 9, 1901 in Verde, Denmark Died February 28, 1996 Vancouver, WA. Marie's maiden name has about seven names and my wife doesn't know these Danish names and they were not written down. Eunice was born July 21, 1936 on the family homestead near Sanish, ND Eunice worked as a cannery worker for several years during the bean, pear and strawberry harvests in Vancouver WA. She was President of our corporation and also a caregiver to her mother for 8 years in our home, for her brother George for a few months before he died of cancer, her sister Mary for her last few months. She took care of them all at the same time for a while and still managed to take care of the business while I was out on calls.

Our kids:

1. 5 daughters
2. 15 grandchildren
3. 12 great grandchildren(updated 9/25/01)2 more expecting.