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Living a full life in Quincy
Tammara Green/Post-Register
Marge and Don Wilson have lived in the Quincy Valley for 52 years.
Don and Marge Wilson have finally settled into an easygoing lifestyle at The Cambridge assisted living facility in Quincy. The couple, married since 1946, has endured the knocks and pings of life that have come along over their 65 years together, and they are still smiling. Don grew up in Deming, N.M. before moving with his family to the Okanagan area, where he eventually met his future wife Marge (Harris) at school. She had to walk a mile and a half to school, while he had a horse he used to ride in on. “I used to give rides to her brothers,” Don said.
At the tender age of 17, Don signed up for the Navy in 1943. He was discharged finally in March of 1946. While he was waiting out the end of the war, Marge was busy helping out her family of five sisters and five brothers. Her father worked at Wagner’s Lumber Mill, which was eventually relocated to the Twisp area. During the fall and summer, there was not much else to do except to work the fruit harvest. “There was no cold storage, so when the apples were picked, they were exported and the apple sheds were taken down,” said Marge.
Shortly after his return from service in the Navy, Don and Marge were married in the fall of 1946. Don worked many jobs that took him away from home. While he was away, Marge was busy taking care of children and picking apples. Don worked several jobs in Alaska. He worked at a salmon cannery, cooking salmon using an oversized pressure cooker. He also worked on the Alaska Pipeline as a welder.
Around 1959, the Wilsons joined Don’s brother, Kenneth Wilson, in Quincy. The move to Quincy meant new opportunities and new jobs for Wilson. His biggest accomplishment was working at Missile Base C, which was located less than a mile from the intersection where Adams Road crosses with Highway 26.
“I helped with a lot of things. We had to dig an area about one quarter mile in area and 100 feet deep. Underneath there were missiles and generators to keep all of the monitoring equipment going even if the power went out. Everything was underground, and there was an open, empty field on top. No one could even tell it was there,” said Wilson.
During this Cold War time, he did a lot of work there at what was called “C” base. He helped to excavate the area, and helped to build the base and then fill in the dirt on top. According to Don, all of the bases closed eventually, and the missiles were broken down and sold to Monty Holmes, who was a scrap metal dealer from Moses Lake. Once the missiles were gone, all the locations eventually flooded out.
Marge kept busy raising six children while her husband was away, and the whole group went through the Quincy School District. Now the couple has been blessed with a total of 15 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Their favorite time was traveling around the southwest after retirement. “We were snow-birds,” said Marge. They enjoyed the scenery of Arizona, Laughlin, Nev., and visiting Don’s childhood home of Deming, N.M.
During the whole time he spent working away from Quincy, Don admits he was homesick. When they were both asked what they liked about the Quincy Valley, their response was simply, “What’s not to like?” “We love it here. We have good neighbors,” added Marge.
