Peggy Lee (Fellows) Hammer
Peggy
Hammer was born to Margaret Bennett and Carroll Frank
Fellows. She was born in Spokane, Washington.
Peggy’s father was a policeman in Spokane, and in a twist of fate, put a Spokane County judge in jail during a raid on a speakeasy. Consequently, he was fired from his job. He and Peggy’s mother Margaret went to San Francisco to find work, leaving Peggy with his parents until they could get established. Then, they would come back for her. When the time came for Peggy to leave her ‘Mamma’ and ‘Papa’, they couldn’t bear to part with three-year old Peggy. So, she grew up in Spokane in the home of her grandparents.
Peggy enjoyed life as a child, visiting with friends, playing ‘kick the can’ and ‘squares’. She especially loved to ice skate. She enjoyed school, especially junior and senior high school, where she took journalism classes. One of her most memorable moments from childhood is going to San Francisco at 11 years of age and spending a month with her mother.
Peggy married Jack Walter Hammer whom she met through a mutual friend. Peggy and Jack live in Oroville, California. Jack and Peggy have centered their life around sailing, and although they don’t race anymore, spend much of their time on the boat they keep on San Francisco Bay. They started the Lake Oroville Yacht Club, and have been past winners of the club sailing championship.
Peggy has children from a previous marriage; Kenneth, who is deceased, Susan, and Elizabeth. She has six grandchildren; Patrick, Danny, Jesse, Felicia, Nikki, and Bear, and she also has two great-grandchildren; Emma and Grace.
Peg has traveled extensively in her life, seeing the States and Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Hawaii, and the Grenadine Islands. She has also been to Mexico.
Journalism classes paid off: Peggy was editor of the Mercury-Register, an Oroville, CA newspaper, until her retirement.
Another thing that Peggy is proud of is her Indian heritage. She knew she was Indian but knew nothing of the specifics until her mother passed away. At that point a family member found a cousin, Della Koehler, who lived in Wayehouser, WN.
Peggy has some good advice for the youth of today. She says, "Live a moral life, study and get a good education."