Notes:
MUMA FAMILY - WESLEY AND VIOLET
From the "History of Hood River"
Wesley and his brother Sidney came to the United States from
Alberta, Canada in 1922. They worked in the lumber industry in
Estacada, Oregon for several months. After earning enough
money, they returned to Canada to get their families and bring
them to the United States. Wesley had purchased a 1919 house car
and left it at Bonners Ferry in Idaho, where they entered the
USA in 1923. Traveling in the house car were his wife, Violet,
and eleven children, All born in Canada. Their first job when
coming to Oregon was picking apples at Nunamakers in Odell; they
followed the harvest to the Willamette valley, then to Dufur, to
the largest apple orchard for the harvest. Wesley decided the
family should go to California to "pick up gold in the streets."
While traveling through Portland, a kindly lady stopped to ask
Mr. Muma if he was in town from the children's farm. Assuring
her that all the children were his, they left for California. In
their faithful house car, traveling eighty miles a day was
fantastic, if there weren't too many flat tires. After working
for a year in Los Angeles, Mr. Muma decided to return to Hood
River. Leaving Los Angeles, they counted noses and discovered
Vivian was missing. In the excitement of leaving, they had left
her behind. Returning to the house, the found the seven-year old
Vivian sitting on the steps crying. Starting out again, they
arrived in Hood River to stay in the spring of 1925. They moved
to the Upper Valley to farm and work hard to raise a large
family. Three more children were born here - Jiggs, Buddy, and
Dickey. They raised the school population considerably by
starting nine children in school at the same time. They had two
school buses; one was a covered wagon, driven by Mr. Melquist.
Alvy Hardman drove a canvas-covered truck for the other bus. Ned
Van Nuys delivered the milk on horseback. The Mumas operated a
dairy farm for several years, delivering milk to the Upper
Valley and around Mount Hood. There were many campsites around
the valley in those days - Midway, Homestead, Cloud Cap, Cooper
Spur and Bluebucket Inn. Faster cars eventually did away with
those places. Six of the Muma boys served in World War II.
Daughter Aileen married Gus Maurer and lived in the area all her
life. Wesley Jr. married Elsie Ross and lived in Los Angeles.
Ross moved to California, where he married Dorothy Patereau, who
came from a pioneer family in the Upper Valley. Dorothy's
parents, with their fourteen children, had moved to Bakersfield,
California about 1929. Buddy and his wife Hazel lived in the
Hood River area. Bubbs and Dickey lived in Alaska. Cliff
married Leona Smith , from a pioneer family who came to the
valley in 1923, and remained in the Upper Valley. Jimmy and his
wife Rita lived in Portland. Wesley (Sr.) was the first to pass
away, in 1939, leaving Violet to raise their last three
children at home. Violet worked until she was eighty two. She
passed away on her ninety-second birthday in 1978.
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Data source was the Muma Family Tree website which is no longer active.
1930 Census, OR, Hood River Co., Parkdale precinct. ED 14-12, dwelling 209
Muma, Westley, head, owns, has radio, 53, 1st m: @ age 23, b: Canada/Canada/Canada, 1st arrived USA 1926, farmer, dairy farm
" , Violet, wife, 43, 1st m: @ age 19, b: Canada/Canada/Canada
" , Ross M., son, 20, single, b: Canada/Canada/Canada, farm hand, dairy farm
" , David, son, 18, single, b: Canada/Canada/Canada, farm hand, dairy farm
" , Clifford, son, 17, single, b: Canada/Canada/Canada
" , Gordon, son, 16, single, b: Canada/Canada/Canada
" , Violet, dau, 12, single, b: Canada/Canada/Canada
" , Vivian, dau, 11, single, b: Canada/Canada/Canada
" , Woodrow, son, 10, single, b: Canada/Canada/Canada
" , Herbert, son, 8, single, b: Canada/Canada/Canada
" , Calvin, son, 3 3/12, single, b: OR/Canada/Canada
" , Selwyn, son, 1 6/12, single, b: OR/Canada/Canada