Mill reflects on history of Amber, Wash., originally settled by the Calverts

Ron Mill has many memories of his growing up in Amber, Wash. When he was only 5 years old, the district encouraged all parents to have their children vaccinated. Ron doesn't remember what it was for exactly. When you read what happened to him, you will understand why he chose to forget.

Several kids in the school and others who should have known better, teased Ron by telling him the needle for the vaccination was five feet long. Ron decided that he didn't need such a horrible thing pointed at him and ran away.

"I could run very fast and they had to work to catch me and pull me, protesting, into a car," he said.

Later on in life he discovered that he was farming the same land where those people had finally caught him. There was never an apology from any of them for the terrifying hours they had given that little 5-year-old boy.

The original Calvert family settlers arrived in Amber in 1884. They were looking for good grazing land with a good watering spot for their cattle and here was just what they needed.

There were five sons: John, David, Joe, Elipha and Sam. John, the eldest, drove a freight wagon. One of the grandsons, another Sam, eventually had a daughter, Alice Calvert. She married Leslie Mill and they became the parents of Ron Mill.

"There were so many Calverts that the settlers decided to call their town Calvert," Ron said. The first person to run the Calvert post office was "Peg-Leg" Smith, whose real name remains a mystery. He was postmaster until 1924, when Mr. Reed took over the job. The post office was right next door to the public fishing dock at Amber Lake. A swimming pool was also nearby.

Here is where we encounter one of Ron Mill's jokes.

"The folks in the little town decided to change the name of Calvert to Amber, so it could be confused with Amway," he said.

Now, back to reality, Ron said, "My grandmother (on the Mills side) came to this area at the age of 80. She was grandpa James' wife. The first night here, she stayed with the Hatfield family. Yes, that Hatfield family. Everybody has heard of the Hatfields and McCoys, haven't they? They were the real thing."

Around 1907, there was a hotel built for the mostly Irish railroad workers who were laying track for the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad. The train depot was situated at Amber where it was convenient for local dairy farmers to bring their 10-gallon milk cans and load them onto the train to be shipped to Spokane.

In the 1940s, Amber was proud of its wonderful orchestra, perfect for dancing and ably led by bandleader Fred McKinley.

One winter night in the early 1950s, they played at the nearby town of Plaza. The temperature was 40 degrees below zero. The scoffers said, "Nobody will come in this weather."

Ron said, "My dad played banjo that night. There was standing room only."

Also during the 1940s, the Amber school had an excellent basketball team. The players were Nelson Cordill, Mike and Howard Marsh, Bob Harris, the Scroggies, the Showalters and the Leopers.

Ron's mother, Alice Mill, worked as the Amber school cook from 1949 to 1958. His dad, Leslie Mill was the school janitor from 1955 to 1962. During those years, Leslie also served as the "mayor of Amber."

While Ron was still a small boy, he played with Gary Belsby in the school gym. As he grew older, he helped his parents with the cleaning. In 1959, at age 14, he graduated from the Amber Grade School.

Ron Mill has worked and cared for the Mill family property for years. It is a significant part of the Amber community and truly a major part of his life. When the recent Watermelon Hill fire swept through this whole area, the dreaded call came to evacuate.

"I will stay on this property," Ron said. His decision was not made with malice, but as the captain of a ship who stays with what he has cherished and kept for so long.

The next day, he found a number of tiny fires near his house that were waiting to explode.

"There were firemen from Arizona, South Dakota, Alaska and Idaho," he said. "It was humbling to see myself speaking on television. The fire brought many of our own people together."

A local friend, Sue Lucas, told him when she had to evacuate, "Good luck. Take care. We love you. When your house goes then we know we have to go."

Ron reflects on the close bonds the Amber people have for one another. Phil Falk, a deceased pastor of the Amber area used to say, "There's something about us Amber people."

"It's a good community, and I'm glad to be a part of it," Ron said.

Loyal, helpful, friendly, the list goes on. Ron Mill is very much a part of the Amber community. Thanks, Ron.

Luella Dow is a Cheney-area author. She can be reached at lotsaplots1@aol.com.