Section 10 of Wagon Ruts West

The following selection is taken from "Wagon Ruts West" written & published by Ralph Ray Keeney in 1983. The book is currently out of print. This section is published with the kind permission of Ralph Ray Keeney. The book this selection is drawn from is under copyright and permission has been granted for educational purposes and it is not to be used in any way for any profit or commercial venture.

Ida (Crall) Dunn and Harvie Leslie "Les" Dunn. In center of the photo is Alice Loa (Crall) Keeney - daughter of Ida Dunn.

IDA (CRALL) DUNN
(FEB. 3, 1888 - May 31, 1969)

    Ida Loa Sommer was born February 3, 1888, in Thorp, Iowa, the daughter of Fredrick and Mary Sommer, who came from Germany in 1885. Her two oldest sisters, Minnie and Emma, were born in Germany, and her sister, Anna, had been born one month after the family arrived in the United States. Ida and her older brother, Ernest, were born in Delaware County, Iowa. Younger brothers and sisters ? Lena, John, William, Henry, Carl, Mary Alice, and Fritz ? were also born in Iowa; 12 children in all.

    Later, the family moved to Mason City, Iowa, where Ida met Ralph Daniel Crall and they were married in 1904. Their daughter, Alice, was born February 11; 1905, and their son, Albert, was born February 15, 1906. A younger son, Loyd, swallowed a pin and died in his Mother's arms while a small child.

    Ralph and Ida moved their family to Manchester, Iowa where he built a fine house. He worked in a plant, building concrete blocks, and his lungs were damaged from the cement dust. He died May 13, 1914 at the age of 34 years and 8 months.

    Ida and her children moved to Townsend, Montana where she married Cecil Self in 1915. In that year, they again moved to Oregon. After a short stay in Portland, they went on to Woodburn, Oregon, where they purchased and managed the Old Commercial Hotel. In 1916, they sold the hotel and came up the Columbia River to Eastern Oregon and Gilliam County. Ida worked as a cook on various ranches around the Condon area, and Self was employed as a ranchhand. About 1917, Ida and Self were divorced and she married Johnny Kopp, and this marriage also ended in an early divorce. Following this, she wed Jack Wilder, and they went for a short time to Alaska to work in the canneries; returning to Portland with money enough to then purchase a small, corner grocery store, which they ran as partners until divorce terminated the partnership and marriage. Ida then went to Walla Walla, Washington, where her son, Albert, was now engaged in the Neon Sign business. She soon married Alvie Martin. When this marriage was terminated, she went back to Iowa on a visit, and while there married George Carpenter, and they both returned to live in Walla Walla. He passed away in 1947, and Ida married Harvie Leslie Dunn in 1949. Her son-in-law, Willard Keeney, once said:

    "Ida can not live with any man, nor can she live without one." Leslie passed away on Aug. 22, 1967.

    In later life, Ida worked in a laundry in Walla Walla until her health forced her to retire. She was a member of the First Church of God. She had a brother, Carl Sommer of Cedar Falls, Iowa, and two sisters; Mrs. Emma Thompson of Manchester, Iowa, and Mrs. Annie Bellows of Marion, Iowa. Nine grandchildren, 24 great grandchildren, and three great?great grandchildren.

    Ida Loa (Crall) Dunn passed away May 31, 1969 at Walla Walla, Washington, and is buried there beside her son Albert Crall.

Wagon Ruts West

IDA (CRALL) DUNN(FEB. 3, 1888 - May 31, 1969)

IDA (CRALL) DUNN
(FEB. 3, 1888 - May 31, 1969)