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Michael Bushfield, Eureka, MT, is the winner!

Midge Wilson is the answer for Clearwater History Trivia #615, a special feature to celebrate the history and heritage of Clearwater Country. Watch each day for another clue.

When you think you know the answer, drop us an email at: info@windowontheclearwater.com. Please, let us know where you are from, if it is out of the area.

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Monday: Teakean

Tuesday: Post Office

Margaret Jane 'Midge' Wilson was born March 9, 1923 at the family home near Arrow Junction to Simon and Nannie Baugh. She was the sixth and final child in the family and because she was quite small as a child, her father called her Midget which was later shortened to Midge.

The family moved to Teakean when she was a child and that is where she started school. According to her obituary, she may have been the teacher's pet because she was allowed to help older students with their work. When the family moved to Orofino, she was placed in fourth grade, covering two grades in one year.

A few years after her mother passed away, Midge moved to Nezperce to live with her older sister, Pearl who was managing the Nezperce Hotel. She had her own room at the hotel and worked part time as a maid. As a high school student, she won a regional competition in algebra and typing. She could type 55 words correctly per minute on the old manual typewriters. During her junior and senior years, Midge worked as a student aide in the superintendent's office. After graduating, she attended business school in Lewiston and then worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a secretary in the supervisor's office of the Clearwater National Forest when it covered the top two floors of the post office.

Midge married Bernard 'Barney' T. Wilson on June 10, 1941. They made their home in Orofino where he worked for BJ Carney and Company. They had four sons, Bernard Allen 'Buster', Simon George 'Skip', Victor James 'Jim; and Michael Jack 'Jack'. The family moved to the Riverside area in 1947 and she lived there until her passing.

Midge spent much of the early years at Riverside keeping the boys in line since their father worked in the woods and was gone during the week. She began working part time at Riverside Lanes in the early 1960s and took up bowling and continued to enjoy doing to it until she was in her 80s.

Her husband was killed in a forest accident in 1965 and she took a full time job at Orofino Credit Bureau. In the late 1960s, she returned to Riverside Lanes and remained there until she retired at 84.

She had a sense of humor and enjoyed hearing and telling jokes. She was an avid sports fan and especially enjoyed baseball and basketball, besides bowling. She could be counted on to take a load of baseball players in the family car to out-of-town games. She was an excellent cook and provided holiday meals for the family into her early 80s.

She passed away Jan. 3, 2017.

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Window on the Clearwater
P.O. Box 2444
Orofino, ID 83544
Orofino 476 0733
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