Martin City pioneer mother

When I learned that Edna Rose (Jaybird) Foley would become 93 years old Feb. 12 a column was born. She is truly a Martin City pioneer mother.

A reception honoring Jaybird Foley will be held Saturday, Feb. 14, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Abbott Valley Homestead. Directions may be obtained by calling Kate and John at 387-4436.

First post office in Martin City opened in 1947. The Foley family moved to the area in 1948.

Edna Rose was born to Rose and Edward Hamacher, Feb. 12, 1916, in Spirit Lake, Idaho. Her husband, Thomas (Red) Foley, was born Jan. 21, 1904, in Chatam, New Brunswick, to Martin and Mary Ann Foley. He died in 1982.

Story of the Foley family was compiled by their daughter, Marion Foley. I appreciate and thank her for e-mailing it to me.

The following was written by Marion:

Jay and Tom’s mates had died at the end of World War ll — leaving each of them with small children. Mom was home from Seattle to visit her mother in Spirit Lake. She and Dad met on the main street of Spirit Lake, shared their stories and after three dates through the course of a year, decided to get married on Memorial Day, 1948.

All of them moved to Montana the same day. Home consisted of a one-room cabin two miles outside Martin City that is currently Mom’s bedroom. Mom cooked and washed outside that summer as they added a few more rooms to the house. In the following years, Mom and Dad had five more children.

As a family we were never referred to as blended or step- or half-brother or sister. In fact, Mom never allowed us to use those terms and we never thought of one another as such.

Their children are Hugh (Birgit) Foley; CaraLee Foley, Molly (Mike) Ban; Midge (Jim) Harkins; Rosemary Mattick (Ed Casey); Marion Foley, (Ted McKain); Murphy (Susie) Foley, deceased 2006; Doyle (Ginny) Foley; Kate Foley (John Helton); and several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Edna Rose was Jay’s legal name. As a small child when her father was killed in the 1918 flu epidemic, family members sent Jay and another small sister, Helen, to Kansas to be raised by aunts. They returned to Idaho as 10- and 12-year-olds.

More Foley family history will continue with part 2 of this three-part series next week.

Gladys Shay is a longtime resident and columnist for the Hungry Horse News.