A centennial year
KateLynn Slaamot
NLJ Correspondent
Many people see some measure of change in their lifetime, but some see more than others. From minor conveniences to large lifestyle differences, Fern Porter has seen many things in her 100 years of life.
Porter was born on Feb. 13, 1920, on the corner of Main Street in Newcastle and spent most of her life in Wyoming. She lived about 10 miles south of town with her parents, who were dryland farmers who eventually got into the cattle ranching business.
As Porter reminisced about memories and stories from the past, she told the News Letter Journal that she attended country schools until fourth grade. She loved music and played the violin, piano and clarinet.
“I have a really good love of poetry,” Porter said.
She has a passion for poetry and was once able to recite a number of poems; her favorite poem is “Oh Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman, she said. Porter’s love of language also manifested itself in a proficiency in spelling. She studied spelling every day after school and was very good at it. Porter recalled that in fourth grade, she told her teacher that “I wish you would learn how to spell” because it bothered her that her teacher wasn’t as skilled in that area.
Porter knew librarian Anna Miller, whose granddaughter Betty Sue was a couple of years younger than Porter. Miller had Porter come to the library and play with Betty Sue.
“We had the run of the library,” Porter said.
The grocery store in town, where Perkins Tavern currently resides, had a platform elevator, Porter said, and she enjoyed riding it when they went there.
Porter loved sunshine and thought it was beautiful. But she also remembers when the streets would get really muddy and women would have to pick up their skirts to walk around.
Porter also remembers a lady who always put on her riding skirts and rode sidesaddle into town to do her shopping.
When Porter was young, she and other youth in Newcastle enjoyed roller skating, she said. One day, she went into the post office on her roller skates to get the mail, but the postmaster chastised her and told her to go outside and take them off. She obeyed and came back in carrying her skates to get the mail.
“I had the best roller skates most kids had,” Porter said.
Porter remembers when the radio first came out. She was in second grade, and she and her family would go to town to listen to it at a friend’s house.
Life was adventurous and intriguing at times for Porter. She remembers when the location where Isabella’s outdoor patio stands today was a mortuary. One day, the sheriff and his deputy brought an outlaw to the mortuary because he had been shot west of town.
Newspapers back then included news and happenings from around the area. Porter said that she remembers a reporter who carried around a tiny pencil, a little over 2 inches long, and a little notebook and wrote about cows having calves, pigs having pigs and more.
Water was not easy to come by. Porter said that they had barrels around the outside of their house to catch rainwater. They also would bring a 10-gallon bucket of cream to the creamery in town and return home with it filled with water. They used the water to drink, wash up and wash clothes.
Life wasn’t always easy for Porter and her family. During the Great Depression, they were allowed to charge groceries, and in the fall, her father had to sell their cattle. Her dad also trapped muskrats and coyotes and sold their pelts for extra income. Porter remembers seeing the train go by with “hobos” riding in the boxcars, traveling place to place in search of work.
Porter met her husband, Daniel, of 66 years in eighth grade, but she didn’t think much of him at first, she joked.
“I was not interested in red-headed boys at the time,” Porter said.
She was more interested in the tall, dark and handsome young men. However, after she graduated from high school and had a job and a car, she went to a dance at the Roundhouse north of town, and he was there. According to Porter, a romance budded and blossomed from there.
Daniel and Porter were married Oct. 31, 1941, and had an interesting life together. Daniel’s brother served in World War II, and Porter said they spent a lot of time praying for him. Daniel had a heart condition and did not serve in the war.
The couple moved to Portland, Oregon, and Daniel worked in a shipyard as a welder for three years. A welder started a fire there, and the yard burned down. So Daniel and Porter moved to Miles City, Montana, where he worked for a railroad. From there, they moved to Acme, Wyoming, where Daniel worked in a mine.
Daniel and Porter then moved back to Newcastle, where they owned and operated a dirt moving business for 17 years. Porter said that she was Daniel’s second mechanic and knew a lot about the business.
“I was his right-hand man,” Porter said.
Daniel then worked at Paul’s Truck and Tractor in Gillette for a while. After Daniel had a heart attack, the couple moved back to Newcastle again and took over Porter’s parents’ cattle business.
“I’ve lived here since,” Porter said.
Daniel passed away in 2007. He and Porter had seven children – four girls and three boys. They also had 17 grandkids, three of whom have passed on, 34 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandkids.
“I spend most of my day praying and reading the newspaper,” Porter said.
Porter currently lives with her son, Mike, on the ranch. She also enjoys writing letters and gets a lot of calls from her children.
Mike told a story from last year when Porter turned 99. The party was at Pizza Hut, and it had just gone through a change of hands, causing some issues with the liquor licensing. Porter couldn’t order a beer with her pizza, and she wasn’t very happy about that, Mike said.
A centennial birthday is a big deal, and Porter attributed her long life to a couple things. She has remained active throughout her life, and she hasn’t had many health issues. Mike said that she does really well and can move around.
“You got to have the right genes,” Porter said, noting that her mom lived to 97, her aunt Mary lived to 99, and other family members also had long lives.
Mike said that his mother has taught him quite a bit throughout his life, especially that “every day is a great day.”
“She’s a good person,” Mike said.