Bygone Journeys : Memories from yesteryear

This story is about families. How they started, how they came together, and how they ended.

It begins three days before Christmas 1945 when a young woman leaves home after a heated argument with her mother.

She hastily marries a recently discharged World War II soldier on a train.

Their families are astounded to learn of their marriage after such a brief encounter.

Although their marriage was sudden, their union has the hallmarks of being successful. Their marriage causes one family member to reminisce about his experiences as a World War I pilot.

After the war, he and a fellow pilot purchase two surplus Jenny aircraft and barnstorm from North Dakota to Washington state.

Two North Dakota farm girl sisters join them and become wing walkers.

Sadly, their aerial troupe ends in Spokane. They use the remaining plane to smuggle liquor from Canada during Prohibition.

Their adventurous journey has been a hollow experience compared to the value of family and friends.

By the early 1950s, the families are united, living and working together in a premier apartment building in Great Falls, Montana, where they spend the rest of their lives.