By Eilene Lyon
Harry Edward Smith (1892–1976)
Born in Missouri, Harry traveled with the family to a hardscrabble farm in Cunningham, Washington, then to Meyers Falls near Colville, and finally, Moscow, Idaho. There he married Callie L. Trout in 1917. Harry and Callie had two sons, Don and Wes. Though both boys married, neither had children.
Harry learned auto mechanics by correspondence and went to work for the Tim Sullivan Ford dealership in Moscow. He later opened his own garage, Smith Brothers, with his younger brother, Leon.
“From the very beginning this business prospered. I believe that it was solely due to the good business sense of brother Harry.”
Harry presciently decided that World War II would kill the business, so he sold it.
“During the war he built a ‘Shell’ service station at the corner of 8th and Main and he operated this station, very profitably, for many years.”
Sources:
Smith, Laurence. “The Passing Parade.” February 15, 1990.
Ancestry.com
Myricopia 
I like your format. Short and full of information.
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Thank you. It’s not something I will do a lot – I prefer a longer story. But I realize not everyone has time for that.
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So this is the second sibling who will have no descendants after his own children, right?
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That’s correct!
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Sad…
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It was not family prone to fecundity.
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Interesting! My grandfather (born ten years before Harry) sold correspondence courses in accounting for a company. I guess they were sort of the online learning of their day! World War II ended that business.
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Accounting I can see. Something hands-on like auto mechanics? Seems odd to me!
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I agree but I think those kinds of classes were really popular back when it was harder to travel for education. I bet there are antique workbooks out there that went along with these courses, including auto mechanics! And, of course, cars were less complicated machines back then.
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All very good points. I’m not really sure where you would have gone for an in-person course on mechanics. Trade schools weren’t a thing then, as you point out. I’m thinking he probably learned more on the job at the Ford dealer and the coursework just helped him get the job.
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Learning auto mechanics through correspondence struck me as odd as well.
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I think this format works best because in a longer one, we might get lost in the who’s who!
Smart man, this Harry…
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Thanks. I think Harry did well for himself. All of Grandpa’s siblings were what we would call “blue collar” but that is not meant as an insult. They were smart.
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Blue collar should not be a definition of lacking in smarts. There are plenty very intelligent beings in this category – as you know 🙂
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Absolutely. It just caused some friction with my Grandpa, the College Boy. And I wouldn’t put it past Grandpa to be the cause of it.
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People have been judging others forever. If we didn’t have blue collar workers, we would not have much. Status is man-made, isn’t it?
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Oh, completely! (and woman-made, I’d venture) 😉
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Should I say… human-made! 😉 Cover all our bases! Mind you, there are ranks in the animal world, too!
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All that matters is I’m the best! 😂
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Darn tootin’! 😉
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😜
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That’s a beautiful marriage certificate, suitable for framing!
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I think it may have been. Don Smith had it. I have no idea what he did with all his family stuff in his will, since he didn’t have children to pass stuff on to. Maybe it all got chucked, which would be sad.
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Yes, it would be. I suspect that happens all too often these days.
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I have a found photo blog coming up soon that I suspect was stuff from an estate – the admin didn’t bother to find family to take the photos. Very sad.
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What a shame.
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I should probably see if I can get one of the four in the next generation to agree to take The Family Archives when I pass on.
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It’s a good thing to plan well in advance. I’ve not done enough of that myself, yet.
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I haven’t done any . . .
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I’ve only started a few lists…
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Interesting how Harry could learn auto mechanics through correspondence school! I had to Google the word “hardscrabble” so a new word for me and I’m surprised I never came across that word having read many books that book place in rural venues in that time period or earlier. Well, I guess I am so old that I remember the gas station attendants looking like that – it may have been when I traveled cross-country with my family from Oakville, Ontario to Anaheim, California in the early 60s, though there were still gas stations where their employees pumped your gas, checked under your hood, etc. when I first began driving in 1973.
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If you want someone to pump your gas, just go to Oregon. They only just recently started allowing some self serve gas in remote areas. There’s a place called Hardscrabble in Colorado. I haven’t read much about it yet, but I will be doing so.
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Interesting! I took a trip to Northern Michigan in 1992 and had never pumped gas before. Stopped in a small town where you pumped and it was the honor system, just drop your money into a metal box with a slot in the middle of it. I actually waited until someone stopped to fill ‘er up to ask to be shown how to pump gas. Hardscrabble would be an interesting name for a town.
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So Michigan had service station attendants even in the 1990s? I’m so used to self-serve, I can’t even remember not pumping my own gas. One time I actually put diesel in my car that took old-fashioned (leaded) regular gas.
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Yes indeed. You are younger than me though, that’s why – I am 66 years old. That was a rude awakening up in Northern Michigan to be helpless at the gas pump. I came back downstate and stayed with full serve until they eliminated them, but at least I knew how to pump gas.
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