By Alex Murray Age 92 

My First Cigarette

One day when I was about six years old, I left the house seeking adventure much as any young boy would do.
    We lived on a homestead in Western Montana, cattle and sheep country.  My dad was a Section Foreman for the railroad and my mother managed the Section House where she did the cooking for the section hands.  They called the railroad the "old Jaw Bone" because there was so much "yaking" about it all the time.  Later, it became part of the Chicago, Milwaukie & St. Paul Railroad.  Before the train arrived each day, my mother would get up early, prepare the food, and then she would go outside and circle the house using an ice chopper to kill all the rattlesnakes before the children were allowed to play.  Once the yard was cleared of snakes, she would bring the children outside. 
   When she knew the train was coming, she would tie us to the house for our own protection because she was afraid that we would get hurt.  click to read more