Because I was a December baby, I was born in Billings, Mont., and not in Yakima. My dad was an air traffic controller working at the Billings airport tower. He had been transferred to the Yakima airport tower, but the transfer was delayed because the baby was on the way. So in late December, at 18 days old, we loaded up the Ford Coupe and headed for Yakima. We lived in a rental house on 16th Avenue for a short time, and then moved to Terrace Heights and a little house on Cascade Road.
It was Aug. 14, 1945, a nice summer day in Yakima. It must have been nice, because we were outside. At almost 3 years old, these are a couple of my earliest memories: I remember hearing lots of car horns honking and church bells ringing that afternoon. We could hear the noise from downtown Yakima all the way out in Terrace Heights. My dad was working at the airport and had the car, so we could not go down to see the celebration. But I was enthralled by all the horns honking!
In those days, when people got married, their friends, after the wedding, would pile in their cars and form a parade behind the bride and groom. Each driver would honk his car's horn. For several years after VJ Day, whenever I would hear or see a wedding parade of cars, I would ask Mom and Dad, "Is the war over again?" That is my memory of World War II, or at least the end of it.
Years later, working for the Washington State Senate in Olympia, I met "Ole" Scarpelli who worked for Lt. Gov. John Cherberg. I later learned that Ole was the feature in a famous VJ Day photo. He was hanging from a light pole at Fourth and Pike in Seattle. I believe that photo was featured in Life Magazine.
Little did I know then that another August 14 would turn out to one of the best days of my life. I was married on Aug. 14, 1971.
-- State Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia
(Sam Hunt graduated from West Valley High School in 1961. His mother, Deb Hunt, still resides in the longtime family residence on Scenic Drive.)
E-mail
Print
Weather/Forecast
