Dale Preedy

These are some remembrances of Uncle Dale. Some mine (Jeff's), some Pop's (Mel's) and some possibly created from family stories: Mel mentioned that Grandma (his mom, Maude) was pregnant with Dale at Sand Point, Idaho when the Evert Preedys were sharing a home with Aunt Hun's family. He says it wasn't an ideal situation as the adults had two beds in the same room, you had to climb on a bed to get through the door, and Max and Cloyce were in bunks in the closet. When Dale was a kid, he got some pimples on his belt line. They hurt and he knew draining them would hurt. Being the youngest, he knew how to torment his older brothers. Both Matt and especially Steve know what I mean. Dale proceeded to do so until one of them chased him down and wrastled him to the ground. In the process the pimples were relieved and even though the wrastling hurt, it was worth it. When Dale was a teenager he got a bad case of pimples around the nose. Again, being the youngest in the family, he had a fairly decent idea just how far he could push someone. He chose the bully at school. Although it worked, he said later he might have over done it a little. Mel and Dale would do section hiking: They'd tie a rope to a gunny sack, sling it over their shoulder and head off cross-country, counting the sections as they went. Mel was driving his dad's pickup up one of the roads to Greenbluff before he had much experience. Dale was the passenger. Mel steered too tight on the corner, went off the pavement slightly, thought if he goosed it, centrifugal force would get them back on the pavement, instead snagged some roadside bushes and rolled the pickup down the bank with Mel and Dale bouncing around in the cab since there weren't any seatbelts. They were mostly unhurt and their dad just raised an eyebrow when he saw the mostly unharmed truck after they drove it home (this doesn't quite sound like some of the other reactions their dad had). Dale's dad had a rule: You couldn't leave a vehicle without gas after using it. Dale frequently pushed the limit, but his best was when the car fired only twice before running out. Suspicions were: He might have dribbled some gas in the carburetor after pushing it into the yard. Dale brought back some colorful silk kid's pajamas from Korea for April, Kathy and Ramona. Dale worked on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass. He'd say, "That if they'd only done it right, they wouldn't of had to keep doing construction on it for so many years." Well, they're still at it and I don't think it is due to any poor work back then! Jeff thinks the first wedding he remembers attending was Dale and Marilee's. It must have been something since he was about 2-1/2. Dale was visiting a lake with the Mel Preedy's near their home when he had an unfortunate swimsuit fit malfunction that he was unaware of. When someone delicately brought it to his attention he said in typical Dale fashion, "Huh. Is that so?," turned around, readjusted, and swam across the lake. Brothers have a special relationship that sometimes doesn't require social etiquette. Dale and family went to visit Mel's family. Not too long before they arrived, Marilee found out that Dale hadn't communicated that they were going to visit. They made a call from the little store in Ravensdale and the Preedy family began their "20-minute pick-up," not realizing where the call had originated from and had not gotten too far when the Dale Preedys rolled into the driveway. Mel and Dale shrugged it off. Dale would spout wonderful tales, then follow them up with, "Well, it wasn't quite like that, but it sounds better that way." Jeff one day decided to emulate this when telling of someone he'd run into from Sublett, Kansas. Clumsily, Jeff, thinking a little notoriety might help, said he'd met someone from Sublett and when asked if the person knew the Preedys, replied, "yeah, them." Soon people were asking what the Preedy's were up to in Sublett that would cause such a disapproving reaction and the story totally fell apart. Guess that is a skill left to the master! Uncle Dale could tolerate a lot (who wouldn't, with three sons), but at times he'd reach his limit and he'd growl, "Daniel!," "Matthew!" or "Stephen!" I bet you know exactly the sound! Dale and Marilee graciously visited Mel last fall with Matt's help. Even though Dale was having health issues at the time, he was upbeat and the visit was quite enjoyable for Mel. Mel mentioned several times afterwards about his "big" little brother coming to visit. Thanks, Dale for giving us another happy moment we can remember! -Jeff