Valley man publishes account about his life in the 1920s through ’40s

Published 10:24 am Thursday, October 2, 2008

At age 84, Snoqualmie resident Ralph Riley just published his first book, a memoir about his life in the 1920s through the 1940s called “Riley’s Journey.”

In it he notes his affection for Ellen, his wife of almost 60 years; what it was like to grow up in a logging town; his travels to Alaska, where he built Air Force bases; and his time in the Marines during World War II.

Thinking about writing his life story for many years, he finally decided to make the effort when his son Michael suggested Riley put his memoirs down on paper in 1980.

In 1981, he got to work.

“I started by hand, then I used to type [on a typewriter] but I made so many mistakes; then my wife had a computer, so I wrote the rest of it on that,” Riley said.

He wrote over the next 20 years, with a few breaks to attend to life issues.

“When I had time, I did it,” he said.

“I started out by writing about everything I could remember,” he said. “The first thing that I remember is when [Charles] Lindbergh flew the ocean.”

That was in 1927.

Since his book came out three weeks ago, he has sold more than 40 copies.

He even had to order another set of 50 from his publishing company because the books have been so well-received, he said.

Though he is proud of what he has accomplished, the process of putting his life on paper was not always an easy one.

Not only did he have to recall his war memories, some of which he called “horrible things that you just don’t talk about,” but his wife, who served as his editor throughout the process, died of emphysema last November. For about three years during her illness, Riley was too busy attending to Ellen to write. When she passed away, Michael took over the editing process.

Riley graduated from high school in the Valley in 1941, took a few odd jobs and finally ended up working for Weyerhaeuser for more than 30 years, retiring at age 60 as a construction foreman.

His book goes into much more detail, he explained.

He first learned about Ellen in the 1940s, while he was serving alongside Ellen’s brother in the Marines as a corporal and a sergeant.

Riley saw that his fellow soldier was receiving letters from his sister and he asked if he could write her, as well.

At first though, Ellen’s brother was less than enthusiastic about introducing the two.

“‘I don’t want no Irishmen in my family,'” laughed Riley, recalling Ellen’s brother’s comment.

Riley and Ellen corresponded with each other during the three-and-a-half years he served overseas.

After he finished his time in the service, he traveled to Seattle and met her in person.

They dated, sharing their first kiss on Jan. 10, 1946.

They were married in March 11, that same year.

Riley still lives in the house along Delta Street in Snoqualmie that he and his wife bought in 1946.

Since his retirement, he has been playing golf and taking notes about his life and writing.

He is also working on at least two unfinished books; one is a love story and the other focuses on another part of his life.

“I’ve been here a long time,” he said, noting he still has lots of stories to tell.

The book is available for purchase online at www.trafford.com/06-0113.