_ Above newspaper photo taken
January 5, 1936, shows the “Four Corners” of
Osceola looking west along McLane (U.S. Highway 34). The two-lane street was partially blocked by
the heavy snows that fell. 1936 was a momentous year
for Dale and Helen. They started the year as farmers but can't sustain
themselves at that. So they got a job working nights at the Puritan Cafe in Osceola, he
as the cook, and she as the waitress. Dale applied for a Civil Service position as a file clerk in Washington, D.C.
He was accepted, and they moved to Washington
in April, but he immediately contracted the
mumps. The move to Washington started
his career working for the federal government until he retired. My parents moved from one
apartment to another in their search for a balance between cost and comfort, so
I include some maps of the various Washington
neighborhoods they were in from time to time.