Trego's Mountain Ear

I was commenting on the school board that got Trego School built with the help of Senator Mansfield back in the mid-sixties when Libby Dam and the tunnel were coming.  The board consisted of Dad, Yolanda Nordahl, and Earl Meier.  The school clerk was Mrs. Ritter – and she didn’t type.  Because I was taking the typing class in high school, their logical decision was to detail me to type every letter that went to the Senator.

I remember that Earl had a welder in 1960 – probably the only one in Trego.  I’m not sure if he ever charged anyone for welding things back together – I know there was no charge for welding my bicycle back together when I was a kid – the weld may not have been beautiful, but it was hell for stout (that pronouncement came from Paul Nordahl).

A couple years later, I was typing the letters Earl wrote for the board to Senator Mansfield.  They must have been convincing – Mansfield put the funding into some major piece of legislation, it passed, and the school was built.  Earl got the duty of writing because he had the reputation of being the smartest man in Trego.

Thinking back, after so many years, I realize that Earl was something rarer than being bright. I’ve dealt with quite a few bright people over the years (and just getting a Ph.D. isn’t enough to prove you’re bright).  Earl was probably the most logical, systematic  thinker I have ever encountered.  Bright is easy, and largely unearned – basically the right combination, essentially picking the right parents.  Disciplined thinking is hard work.

Earl’s systematic, disciplined thinking was something that he had taught himself.  As Trego moved into the construction boom town, the community was fortunate to have him working for its future.