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The Phone Directory

The following is a “tale” from the memoirs of Earl Trousdale titled “Tall Tales” from the Old Timer.  Earl spent most of his life in Carlin, served as Mayor, and passed on at the ripe age of 99.  All spelling and grammatical anomalies are the product of the author and he requested they not be changed.

By Earl Trousdale

               In going through my files (such as they are) I ran onto a 1940 Carlin Phone Directory! What a jolt to my memory. That phone book is comprised of one page. The entire directory on a 6″ by 9″ page is hard to believe.

            The reading of those names brought memories of times 50 and 60 years ago. A time when the streets were gravel, there was a bonified business district on Main Street. The highway, Highway 40, ran where Bush Street is now. I take it back, it was the Victory Highway then. There was a Standard Station and Motel opposite the school, just west of where the post office is now. The PFE and WP still put up natural ice every winter. The more I think about it those times the farther back in time my mind tends to go.

I remember some of the people, Constable “Dolf” Berning, who was always doing something for the kids like decorating the huge Christmas Tree in the school auditorium. Jim Griffin and his brothers going to the ranch early each morning and (isn’t it funny the little things you remember) I remember how furious the Griffins were when a train blocked the road home. I remember Judge Bielas sunning himself on the south side of the old Beanery at they Stop Sign on Main Street. Old George Arthur coming to town with his two dogs, one on the left running board and one on the right. People who had dogs hated to see him coming because Arthur’s dogs were always spoiling for a fight. I remember my Grandfather, Bill Linebarger, teaching me to milk cows, him on one side and me on the other. Carman Roberts, boy could she ever play the piano at those silent movies and she was mean too.

             I remember the old European Store and all the good old Italian smells coming from the cheeses, salamis, and sausages hanging from the ceiling.

            I remember swimming in the river in the summer–the baseball games and celebrations. I remember the ice skating in the winter and the dances–it was all fun.

            In my opinion, there might have been a depression and there was no television. People made the most of that which they had and although some people had it rough it was still better than the present day “Prosperity.

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Main Street Carlin By Earl Trousdale

The following is a “tale” from the memoirs of Earl Trousdale titled “Tall Tales” from the Old Timer.  Earl spent his entire life in Carlin and was the mayor from    We will be sharing with you some of his stories.  Enjoy!  All spelling and grammatical anomalies are the product of the author and he requested they not be changed.

Do you remember?  The old Puett house on the corner of Tenth and Railroad.  It had a half-dug basement and the house was on what I called stilts.  The Puett family had to use a ladder to get into their hours.  Remember?

Do you remember?  The old warehouse on the corner of Eighth and Main.  It belonged to John Puett and it too was on stilts.  All the ties used for the stilts were wrapped in tin from five gallon cans to keep the mice and rats out.  Do you remember when the kids broke into that warehouse?  For a week or so, half the kids in town wore those funny “Bohler” hats.  Remember?

Do you remember?  Smyth’s Grocery which was situated next door to and east of the present City Club.  Herschel, the son of the grocer use to come back to Carlin periodically to visit old friends.  Remember?

Do you remember?  Linebarger’s General Store which was situated about where the west end of the State Hotel is now.  It had a porch in front.  The meat scales hung from the outer edge of the porch which was where the hogs and beef were weighed.  Inside the store was a wonderland of shelves, bins and barrels.  Most commodities at that time came in bulk and so crackers, pickles, corned beef and sauerkraut came in barrels and beans, sugar and flour came in bins.  Bananas came on a big stock and the clerk would cut off as many as the buyer wanted.  There was all kinds of mining equipment and supplies in the back.  Remember?

Do you remember?  Schermahorn and Vodnicks Store which was located on the ground floor of the Colonial.  Remember?

Do you remember?  The old European Store.  There was Italian sausage, salami, Italian cold meats and cheeses hanging from the ceiling.  What a wonderful small when one entered the store.  There was a porch on this store also and all the Italian men use to sit there and discuss whatever.  I never could understand them and so I never knew what they were saying.  Remember?

Do you remember?  The icehouse across the street from the European Store.  My grandfather used to put up ice from the river and store it in that icehouse for use in the bar and restaurant.  Remember?

Do you remember?  The old post office situated on the southwest corner of Sixth and Main Street.  The post office was part of Kappler’s House.  Remember?

Do you remember?  The Southern Pacific Beanery situated across the street from the post office.  At one time it was the focal point of town.  It had a restaurant, barber shop, rooms upstairs and everything could be paid for with a pie book.  A pie book was a lot like a book of stamps and was issued to all S.P. employees as an advance against their wages.  My Dad always had a pie book to give me for haircuts and candy.  Remember?

Do you remember?  The concrete abutment on the south side of the Beanery right at the stop sign.  Old Judge Bielar used to sit there every day if the weather was good, and I do mean every day.  Remember?

Do you remember?  The freight house and it’s long loading dock on both sides.  In the spring, after the sheep were sheared they would load those huge sacks of wool on the dock.  Boy, that was a kids delight.  We would play on the sacs, find tunnels and crawl under the sacks, crawl between the sacks.  What fun!!  It’s a wonder some of us didn’t get killed or smothered.  Remember?

Do you remember?  The silent movies.  There were benches in front for us kids to sit on.  The piano player would watch the movie and play the music accordingly.  One of the bigger kids would read the words to the rest of us and when the movie got too exciting we’d all whoop and holler then Carman Roberts would yell at us to shut up.  Remember?

Do you remember?  Going to school in what is now the Senior Center.  I remember a huge swing on the west side of the school and one da Willis Drake and Quito Libro were both on that swing going ever higher and yelling that they were going to pump so hard they would go all the way around!  Well, they almost made it but not quite.  When the swing was almost straight up in the air, the law of gravity took over and down they crashed.  It damn near killed them.  Remember?

Do you remember?  The school on the southeast corner of Eight and Cedar.  Well, I don’t but maybe some do.  If so, their older than this old timer.