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In 1888 he worked for the railroad by repairing and upgrading the rail gravel bed from Glenwood Springs to Leadville. It was there in that beautiful landscape in the mountains that he met Sarah Catherine Barlow, who lived in Oro. Sarah's Uncle Dennis McMahon was a foreman for the railroad in Canada. A Dennis McMahon was listed as staying at a hotel in Leadville, occupation railroad section foreman, in this time period. Perhaps, Dennis was Thomas' supervisor, and introduced Thomas to his niece.
Sarah Catherine was born May 7, 1877 to John Ernest Barlow,Sr. and Sarah McMahon in Franklin Centre, Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada. She was their second child. As a child she was called Catherine, as an adult Kate. Her eyes were brown and hair black. Her build was stout.
John Ernest was born in April 1849. His marriage record lists his parents as Richard Barlow and Margaret McNamie. Richard was born March 10, 1819 in Ireland to Henry Barlow and Margaret McNamee of County Londonderry and immigrated to Canada in 1842. Richard married his second wife Mary Cairy/Kerry (daughter of Edward Kerry and Abby Pendergast of County Kerry, Ireland) January 10, 1865 in Saint Patrice of Montreal Parish. John Ernest lived with them. Both children of Richard's second marriage died under five years of age.Richard and Mary were both buried in Saint Antoine Abbe Cemetery. Richard died October 26, 1902 in Franklin Centre. Mary died in July 1915 in Valleyfield.
Sarah McMahon was born 29 May 1849 to Dennis McMahon (son of John McMahon and Mary Corcoran of County Roscommon, Ireland) and Sarah Bannigan (daughter of Peter Bannigan and Catherine Ward of Aghnamullen, County Monaghan, Ireland). Dennis died February 26, 1873 prior to John and Sarah's marriage of June 15, 1875 in the Saint Anne Church in Montreal, Canada.
John and Sarah's children were in order-Margaret Ann born November 27, 1875, then Sarah Catherine, Richard Dennis born April 9, 1879, and John Ernest, Jr. on November 4, 1881, all of Franklin Centre, Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada. They were christened at Saint Antoine Abbe.
They moved to Leadville, Colorado in where Mary Jane, who was called Mae, was born on May 16, 1883 at the Blind Tom Mine on Iron Hill. Their last child Ella Bertha, who was called Nell, was born on August 13, 1885.
John Ernest Barlow Sr. was a blacksmith at the Louisville Mines on Iron Hill and lived on Fryer Hill in 1887. He and Sarah had a comfortable home in Canada when they moved to Colorado. Sarah was not accustomed to pioneer life in a cabin, but settled right into being a pioneer wife. John worked hard and built a new house for her.
However, Sarah's enjoyment of life was saddened by the death of her son Richard Dennis on June 29, 1889. His brother John, a couple other boys and himself went to Adalaide Park, where there was a small lake, to collect evergreens for the July 4th holiday. The boys dared Richard to jump into the water from a raft. Richard could not swim, but, eventually took the dare. As he began to drown, his brother John tried to save his older brother, risking his life also. Mr. Barlow had been working at the Colonel Seller's mine on Iron Hill.
City directories dated after Richard's death show the family living at 1007 North Hemlock in Leadville. Grief stricken, Sarah visited Richard's grave almost everyday regardless of the weather. It is believed she read her Bible there, as there are small pieces of pine needles and bark in the book. Less than three years later, on March 17, 1892, Sarah joined her son when pneumonia took her life.
John moved to Oro up California Gulch, just a few miles out of Leadville. There is where they lived when Thomas and Kate where married on December 10, 1893 by the Justice of the Peace in Leadville. Without a baptismal date and place they could not be married in the church. It appears that Thomas did not have the information, so they were married civilly.
Another marriage was to occur in the family about the same time period. That of Margaret Ann to Albert Appleby. Since it was against John's wishes for her to associate with and marry Albert, he being a gambler, Margaret intended to elope. John made it very clear she was not to see Appleby anymore and she asked to be able to tell him that she could not see him any longer. This desire was granted and Margaret left the house to do so, but didn't return home. On June 7, 1894 she was deceased, the death place believed to be Silver Plume, Clear Creek County, Colorado. Not much has been said about Margaret, or her death. No marriage record has been found.
Nell was walking home from school alone when a pack of wolves came up and surrounded her. She wasn't sure what to do and was afraid for her life. She decided that before the wolves had a chance to close in on her, she was not going to let them have her without a fight. She picked up a rock, picked out the one she thought was the leader and threw the rock at him. The wolf gave her an odd look, turned and ran away, with the pack after him.
Thomas and Kate's first child was John, who was listed on the church records as Thomas. His life was just a half hour on this earth, that of March 13, 1895, in Oro.
It was said that John Barlow was a stern man. Once when Nell and Mae were under the kitchen table they got to giggling and John got after them. He was a hard working man. He had much sadness at loosing some loved ones. But, even though he was stern, he still loved his family and on one occasion went all out to show his children a good time. The occasion was in the winter of 1895\6. An ice palace had been built in Leadville. The family walked four miles from Oro.1 They had quail-on-toast,banquet-type, at the Saddle Rock Restaurant, danced and enjoyed the entire evening. When the evening came to a close around 3 a.m., John capped it all off when he hired a sleigh "taxi" to drive them back home, warm under blankets that were provided.
In 1896 tensions rose over better working conditions and higher pay for the miners. John Barlow, Sr. was a member of the labor union. Nell's teacher was one of the militia, organized to help bring law and order to the mining area. One day at school Nell did something the teacher didn't like. To punish her, he set her on a stool in the front of the room and placed his militia hat on her head. She thought that was the worst disgrace he could have subjected her to, so she jerked off the hat and threw it across the room.2
In order to support Kate while the strike was going, Thomas worked in his father-in-law's blacksmith shop. This was considered to be scabbing, and a person could receive a deathly beating from those wanting a union. One day Thomas was riding on his horse either to or from work when some union men came after him. He said he hadn't ridden a horse that hard since he was a boy trying to get away from some Indians.
In 1887 there had been a Ute uprising in the north-western part of Colorado, who were trying to get their former hunting grounds back. This could be a possible link to his statement above in his earlier years in Colorado.
Another son was born to the Flannery's on May 28, 1897. He was christened Francis Keath Flannery on June 13, 1897 in the Church of the Annunciation in Leadville, as were his later siblings. His Godparents were George A. and Avon Flettcher. He lived just fifteen months, dying on September 6, 1898 in Leadville. Thomas and Kate were living at 230 East 2nd with the John Ernest Barlow, Sr. family.
Shortly thereafter Kate became pregnant with Thomas Stanley who came into this life on July 28, 1899. He was christened August 13, 1899. His Godparents were Barney and Belle Secomb. He grew to be tall and slender. His eyes were blue and his hair auburn.
John Ernest Barlow, Sr's time here on earth ended on March 13, 1901 of Dropsy (Congestive Heart Failure), resulting in his children being without parents fairly young.
Then came the family clown on November 15, 1902. Edward Ernest was christened December 14, 1902. His Godparents were John and Catherine Boneoro.
Edward Ernest had a natural way of bringing laughter into the home. When he was young, Thomas pulled a bear skin hide over his head, went to the house scratching and growling at the door, thinking he would scare his sons. When Edward, who was about three years old at the time, realized it was his father, he said, "Damn you Papa"!
On the cold, wintry night of October 28, 1904 in Oro, Florence Regina Flannery came into the world as the fifth child and only daughter of Thomas and Kate. Being a suburb of Leadville, where the doctor was located, Thomas hitched Dobin up to go get Doctor Elliot. Doctor Elliot replied that he would be leaving soon, your wife is always in labor for some time before the baby arrives. When Thomas arrived back home he found Florence had decided to make her entrance without the doctor, leaving her mother Kate to deliver her alone.
Thomas had wanted to call the child Florence and had asked Kate if the baby was a girl if they could call her that. When he came home and found a little girl, Kate asked him what he wanted to call her. He said he didn't care, we got our girl. They lived in the last house in Oro, and he went to every home to spread the news of their new arrival.
Florence was christened November 20, 1904. Her Godparents were William Loppin and Maggie Crandal.
Another family marriage occurred on November 30, 1904 in the family parish between Kate's sister Nell and Joseph Milton Borah, who was born August 7, 1882 in Antonito, Conjos County, Colorado to Milton and Matilda Catherine (Crews) Borah.3 They had been acquainted with each other since Nell was twelve years old. During their late teens their friendship ripened into courtship.
An unfortunate accident occurred to Stanley about mid-January. He had just started his first year of school. Some kid gave him a giant cap that is used to set off dynamite. When Stanley set it off it took his left eye and fingers on his left hand. The cap also damaged part of the school. His parents had planned on leaving Edward with a friend while they took Stanley to Denver, but he was so upset that they decided to take him also. Later Stanley was fitted with a plastic eye.
Joe and Nell had their only child Hazel on December 27, 1905 and Hazel wrote:
"Mom and Dad lived at Fortune Mine at Big Evans Gulch, where dad was hoist man, when I was born. But I was born at the home of Mrs. Thompson-222 East 5th Street in Leadville. She was a practical nurse. The Doctor was Dr. Sol Kahn.
On the day of my christening4 I was carried by my Dad and held by my Godmother-my Aunt Mae and Godfather-Uncle John and christened Hazel Catherine Borah. Aunt Kate was also at the christening.
Then the christening party went to Aunt Kate's for a big turkey dinner and the folks stayed at Aunt Kate's for about a week. Aunt Kate lived at Oro.
Then across the deep snow, to the horses bellies, back to the Fortune Mine.
When I was about 11 months old the Fortune Mine burned and Dad had to look for new work.
Mom and Dad moved to Leadville and lived in the 300 block on West 4th Street and Dad went leasing the Little Johnie. He leased for about 9 months and had to give up because he ran out of money. Later John Cordelanie took over the lease and hit it rich and was known as 'The Dogs King'. The folks then moved to about the 200 block on 9th Street and Dad worked at the Yak Tunnel in California Gulch."
Mae was the last Barlow daughter to marry, which occurred on February 4, 1906 in Leadville to a Louis Anderson. He didn't like his birth surname Gelineau, so he changed it to Anderson.
During this time period the Flannery family moved to Leadville. They were there until the fall of 1907. Thomas found work at the Empire Zinc Mine in the town of Gilman, located upon a mass of rock on Battle Mountain, at the elevation of 9100 feet. Both the town and mine were owned by the Empire Zinc Company. In the early years the ore was sent to a smelter in Leadville, until the company built one underground in Gilman.
Thomas left Leadville first; Kate and the children followed later. Florence remembered the morning they waited at the train station for the 21 mile train ride to Red Cliff, where the train station was located. It was early and she was uncomfortably cold. Upon arriving in Red Cliff, she was almost hysterical when she saw her papa, began running and calling out to him. Because there weren't any company houses open in Gilman, the family settled in Red Cliff. They made their home across the street from the school in a little house. It had a front room, kitchen and bedroom. This small lumber town supported two grocery stores, a dry goods store, a lumber company, a mill, a hotel and a mortuary. Red Cliff, up in a little valley, is the only other town on Battle Mountain with Gilman. Above it towards the west is the cemetery. Thomas would walk each day three miles to and from work along the railroad tracks that ran between Red Cliff and Gilman.6
One day Stanley was turning the wringer on the washer and Florence stuck her middle finger on her right hand in the cogs and the tip was cut off. Doctor Joseph Gilpin was called and he, fortunately, was able to sew it back on. She said, "It looks a little queer".
Joe Borah went to Kokomo about October 1907 and sunk a shaft. John Barlow went to live with Nell and Hazel for a couple of months in Leadville, and then the three went to Red Cliff to stay with Thomas and Kate. Mae and Louis were expecting their son John. They were now living in Victor. Nell and Hazel left so that Nell could assist before the birth. In the spring Joe returned to Leadville and not finding work joined his family in Victor. John Clifford (Anderson) Gelineau was born June 22, 1908.
When Joe came to Victor to be with his family, he was hired to work at the Findley Mine on April 13, 1908 (Miners Card # 2006). Later in life he became employed by brothers A.E. & L.J. Carlton. Except for a short layoff with the Carlton's, Joe worked for them the rest of his life. When he moved to Colorado Springs he worked for them in the Pikeview Mine. When the layoff came Joe went to work in Leadville for a couple of months and then came back to Victor where he ran a saloon for two or three months.
Their first home in Victor was behind the Washington School, their house facing Portland Avenue, in which house Hazel played cards with Laura Keller/Heller. They moved to a little house on the same block on Portland Avenue, then Everett Lloyd took Hazel sleigh riding. They collided with a bakery truck. Hazel sustained a broken leg, resulting in spending Christmas and her third birthday in bed. The doctor cast it too tight and it was as black as soot. This caused her to limp for the rest of her life.
Hazel had her fourth birthday while living in a house on South 1st, that the Beach family owned. Christmas was again spent indoors due to Scarlet Fever. The family made friends with the George Davis family. There was a dairy wagon accident at their home. Their daughter Pearl married 1.-Tom Duncan 2.-Mr. Olsen 3.-Al Williams-making her a sister-in-law to Hazel. Hazel spent her fifth Christmas in the Olcott House where cousin John Gelineau came to stay with them for awhile.
The Flannerys moved to 57 Water Street across from the depot in a two story house . A couple lived downstairs, the Flannerys upstairs. Florence was always falling down the stairs, but felt it was mild in comparison to her falling out of the window in her high chair. She was sitting in a high chair that she maneuvered near a window. She pushed her chair backwards, falling from the second story, out the window, landing in some dirt. She didn't feel that she was hurt, but very surprised to find herself where she was and that it seemed her papa made it to the ground level almost at the same time that she did. Eventually the family occupied the entire house.
While living there the Delee (DaLee) boys started throwing rocks at the Flannery children. One hit Florence in the head at the hair line right where her hair parts, which left a visible scar throughout her life. Doctor Gilpin was called in to give stitches again, with the neighbors gathered around.
Florence went to school with her brothers for a short time in Red Cliff. She made some friends of Anna and Ida Miller. Their mother Beata died in 1910. Kate helped the undertaker dress her, taking Florence with her to the funeral parlor. Their father didn't feel that he could take care of his girls and work, so sent them to Denver to live with an Aunt. She couldn't care for them, so put them in an orphanage.
Florence told of a mishap her "papa" had:
"One night my dad was late coming home. I remember we were in the yard watching for him. At work he had an accident. He operated a jack hammer and it hit him in the mouth, knocking out his front teeth. My poor dad's mouth was bleeding, down his shirt. He got cleaned up and caught the #16 train to Leadville. He was back home that next morning. Wasn't too long until we moved to Gilman. While we were gone, some children came in and raided the cupboards."
This move came just before Florence's seventh birthday. Mrs. Thompson, a neighbor, baked cupcakes and when a piece was given to the birthday girl, there was a small, yellow and gold cup baked inside of it. Written on the side in a white area was "A Present" in gold letters. The cup remained a treasure throughout her life.
The families first residence in Gilman was in the Post Office. The next was in a two story, white house. Florence's favorite house was a two story log house.
One of the few amusements in this small mining town was when someone gave a party. Mrs. Thompson liked to give some. She had a small keyboard. It was passed around and anyone who could play a tune on it would get a prize. Florence was just itching to get her fingers on it. When it came to her, she played "Violet, Blue Violet, Bright". Her prize was a pink, green and white cup, again this was also a cherished keep-sake.
Another pastime were the dances. Thomas sang some of the old Irish songs, danced the Irish Jig and called the folk dances-Ladies to the right, Gents to the left and dosey do, etc..** Sometime during the evening he took his little girl onto the dance floor. Thus, dancing became her favorite pastime.
There were also picnic socials. Thomas raffled off things made to collect money for charity and liked to juggle with whatever was available..**In the early years the town had just a Post Office and a Mine Office. Later came the grocery store, and Pete Doyle ran the dry goods store. One time a guy came in and asked for some bandages. Pete came out with a box of sanitary napkins, thinking them bandages. It didn't take too long until the entire town knew about Pete Doyle's bandages.
Kate made all of Florence's dresses. During the winter white batiste aprons were made to wear over the warm winter dresses. There was a clean one everyday that had been ironed the old fashioned way-by warming the iron on the stove.
Many pleasant memories were had by family and friends of this couple. One story was told of Thomas and Kate getting into a watermelon fight one night. Both refused to clean it up. Kate went to bed, while Thomas stayed up and cleaned. The next day Kate delivered the child she was carrying.
During the summer Thomas worked in the mine while his family stayed on their homestead, where Thomas had built a cabin. It was located up West Lake Creek about two miles or so from the town of Edwards, which had a store and a few houses. During these stays, Florence remembered the only time her mother gave a spanking, she preferred the evil eye.7 Stanley and Edward had done something wrong. Stanley took his spanking right away, but Edward went and hid under the bed. Kate moved the bed out and Edward rolled back under it. This went on several times when Kate informed him if he didn't come out that his "licking" would be much worse. So he finally came out to get his spanking.
Sometime during the summer Thomas hired a team of horses and a wagon to bring the Phillips and Davis families down for the day. Florence sat on the porch and waited to see the wagon come around the corner. When Thomas got down from the wagon she would laugh, and then cry.
One summer cousin John Gelineau came to visit. The children had a horse named Pet. John had a most unwelcome encounter with the horse when he got kicked.
When the Flannery children were in Gilman, Ollie Graham was their teacher. A program was being put on and Ollie had the boys lined up across the stage singing Yankee Doodle Dandy. Edward put his heart into it. He really sang, eyes rolling. He was so funny. This man who was in the audience wanted to know who that boy was at the end of the line. He got a real charge out of the way Edward was singing.
The first car ride Kate and Florence had was in the Desmond's (Dismant) car, driven by Ollie Graham. Ollie lived with the family until elected to be the Superintendent of Schools in 1915. Her father, Aaron Graham, owned and operated the mortuary in Red Cliff. She and Florence shared a bedroom downstairs, where there was also a dining area and kitchen. Upstairs were two more bedrooms.
It was at this young age that Florence listed her first crush as being that of Harry Evans.
The Borah's still lived in Victor, but had made a few moves. They bought a small home on South 1st Street and lived there until the year of the big snow in 1913. For a few months a Mrs. Reed and Nell ran a boarding house in the American House. While living there Hazel had her first communion. The family lived at the City Hotel and then bought a house on the corner of Spieer and 1st Ave.
The worst tragedy Florence remembered is when there was a fire in the Nesha's (Nisja) house on August 26, 1914. The mother was preparing to make a trip to Pennsylvania to visit with family. She was sewing and ran out of thread. She went to the Post Office to put in an order, since Gilman didn't have supplies. While gone, the house caught fire. Inside were her children Stanley Goodson, Eugene Ivor and infant Helga Ann. She ran into the house and grabbed the baby buggy, trying to save her daughter, but couldn't get it out of the door. Her hands and face were badly burnt, but she lived, to suffer the loss of her children.
One night during a terrible blizzard and the family was just getting ready to go to bed, someone knocked at the door. It was Louis Sights. His wife Nancy Jane was in labor with their 4th child. Mr. Sights wanted Kate to go with him to help with the birth. Kate did not hesitate. The way to his home was along a path near the edge of the cliff there on Battle Mountain. Gilman was built on tiers due to the steep slope. Some areas dropping directly off into the canyon. As Kate and Mr. Sights walked the hardened path, each started to slip towards the edge and the one pulled the other back onto the trail. Years later Mr. Sights was going to go to California with family savings to get a new start, but in going to the depot in Red Cliff, he got to gambling and lost all of the family savings. When the family gathered some more savings and did leave Gilman on a train, they tried to abandon one of their children on the train.
If there was any sickness or death Thomas and Kate were always there to give assistance. Money was never involved.
Kate's brother John Barlow met a divorcee Annie Owen while he worked in the mine in Gilman and she ran a boarding house. John and Annie were not of the same faith, so they went to Salt Lake City, Utah on the train and were married July 6, 1915. John raised her two children Florence Alberta, who went by Polly, and Walter Francis as his own. Her eldest son John Evan was taken by her ex-husband Tom, who settled in Grass Valley, CA, where he put the boy to work in the mines.
Florence spent some time with Polly Owen, but there were many confrontations between the two.
One of these confrontations was when Florence was dating one of the young men in town. There was a hayride and Polly was jealous because she did not get the attention that Florence did, plus Polly liked the boy also..**
Before John married Annie it seemed a Viola Dumas didn't like Annie, as Florence remembered she was given a package by Viola to deliver to Annie. Inside was a dead mouse.
About this time the Flannery family moved to Kokomo. It appears that Thomas came home by train, or possibly he now had a car, as he was still working in Gilman. Florence found a friend in Freda Swanson, who had siblings Lillie, Roy and Gus. It seems that she spilled some milk on Francis Tobin. Florence received her first camera, which was used to take pictures of family and friends.
Around 1917 the Empire Zinc Company was bought out by the New Jersey Zinc Company. The new company built more houses for their workers and the town began to boom.
Thomas made a visit to New York City in June 1917. He visited with family and a school classmate. His sister, Julia Nett, came to Colorado. She was a widow. She worked with John Barlow, who was the assistant manager in the company hotel. She stayed with her brother's family. She returned to New York City in the fall of 1918. After loosing her daughter of just under 11 months to bronchitis in 1884 and then her husband, she never married again.
Florence remembered two treasured pets. One was her dog Rover. One day he came home foaming at the mouth. Someone poisoned him. The family knew who it was. There was a lady who was running for the County Superintendent that passed their way and learned about the loss. She later came across a family whose dog just had pups. Due to her visit and sharing the story, the owner rode his horse to the Flannery residence with a puppy for Florence. This was her dog Snookums. She enjoyed his company for many years. He met her for lunch and after school. She said when she was away from home that her Uncle John took him to his farm in Avon. One day he left and never came back. It was believed that he went off and died somewhere. She had been heartbroken over Rover and sure did love her Snookums.
On May 5, 1918, in Cripple Creek, Kate's sister Mae married William Jinkerson,8 a widower, born May 5, 1873. He had five living children. After his wife died in March 1916 he was not able to take care of all of his children. The youngest three were taken to Mooseheart, Illinois, where they were placed in an orphanage.
A teacher could not be found to teach school in Kokomo, so Thomas and Edward took Florence to Victor to attend school with Hazel. Aunt Nell called her Peggy.9 Piano lessons were provided at the Borah's home. Before she left, Kate made her a yellow dress with thin green ribbon trim for her birthday.10 An identical dress was made for Hazel for her birthday.
Stanley, now grown and after a short time working in the mines from February 1918 in Victor (Miners card # 9411), listed as unemployed in Telluride September 12, 1918 on his WWI draft registration card, left on the train from Kokomo for Montrose, where he worked on a farm. While working in Montrose, the flu epidemic hit and Stanley got it. He was hospitalized, but quickly went into pneumonia. The family was called, being warned that he was gravely ill. Kate and Edward were able to catch the evening train to Montrose, but Thomas, was not able to leave until the morning. Kate and Edward arrived at the hospital to see Stanley before he died October 30th. By the time Thomas arrived the next morning, his son was deceased.
Arrangements were made for him to be buried in the family plot in Leadville. While there, Thomas, Kate and Edward also caught the flu. Thomas refused to sleep in order to care for Kate and Edward. He was seen on Harrison Avenue by his brother-in-law John staggering all over the sidewalk. John thought he was drunk, but he was just sick and trying to care for his wife and son. Kate died November 7th and Edward November 9th.
Florence stated she got very little of her mother's belongings to remember her by. Her Aunt Mae went to Kokomo and cleaned the house out while everyone was gone. About all she had was the family Bible, a tablecloth her mother crocheted, some linens and some pictures.
Thomas met Mrs. Mary Chisham, who was alone, when he took Florence to stay with the Borah's. They were married on April 12, 1919 in Leadville. He began working in a mine in the Victor area about mid-May 1919 (Miners card # 9884). On the January 2, 1920 census, the census taker assumed that Mary was Florence's mother, giving Missouri (Mary's birth state) as Florence's mother's place of birth. Their residence was at 227 South First Street. Close by, at 101 Spieer Avenue, was the Borah family.
Florence made a lasting friendship with Agnes Melz, who married a Mr. Russell. They stayed in contact with each other until Agnes died September 10, 1984 while on a vacation cruise in Mexico.
Thomas wanted Florence to have advanced schooling and she was sent to Scholastica Catholic boarding school in Canon City. There more music lessons were provided. She said of this school:
"I liked this school, but I would cry at night after going to bed, as I missed my mother so very much. Some times one of the nuns would sneak some candy to me. I guess she felt sorry for me.
One night one of my friends and me decided we would crawl out the bathroom window and go in the orchard and get some apples. This was in the days when we wore black satin bloomers. So, we loaded our bloomers with apples. On our return we heard a noise, started to run and of course I had to fall down and down came my bloomers, loosing most of my harvest. I grabbed my bloomers, retrieved some of my apples and took off, crawling back into the bathroom. So our friends had apples right off the tree.
Then one night, I just had something to tell my friend that was down about four beds. In our dorm there was a bed, night stand, bed, night stand, etc. down the entire room. Each was curtained for privacy. Open them all during the day. So I rolled under the beds and on my return trip a couple girls on the other side of the aisle said my feet kept popping out on my return trip. They thought for sure the nun who was assigned to our dorm was going to catch me, but I made it back just in time.
I get a chuckle when I think of my face loaded with freckles and two big braids, one over each shoulder."
Their home was at the top of Gilman's main street. A hundred feet uphill from the house was the school, where she completed her education in the 1920/21 school year. She was pleasantly surprised to see her childhood friends Anna and Ida Miller. Their father had been able to get his daughters back and brought them home to Gilman.
Florence had many fun times with them and kept in touch over later years. One of these times was when they wanted to get a peek at the Tabor legend. Florence and the Miller girls decided to see her home. They drove to the mine and cabin to peek inside, where they saw a stove, table and chairs. "Baby Doe" was not home that day. Florence often wondered if "Baby Doe" might have had relatives somewhere in Colorado or her native state.
Florence and the Miller girls built snowmen together and dressed up for Halloween. Ida as a clown, Florence and Anna as witches. They then went to the school were they played on the school yard equipment.
Florence was 16 years old when Thomas took her to see The Cave of the Winds. He took a picture of her standing at the edge of the river on a rock. She wore knickers for the first time and felt uncomfortable in them.
The Borah's moved to Colorado Springs in January 1920. Florence lived with them from September 1921 through May 1922 on Arcadia while attending Blair's Business College. She worked at Woolworth's. She dated Lloyd Fender and made a friendship with Ida Cox. Florence also dated Jimmy Wright. One of these young men tried to get her to elope.
It is not known when Thomas and "Mrs. Chisham" parted company, only that the marriage did not last long. Thomas didn't marry again.
Sister-in-law Mae Jinkerson married Harry Player Allinson on October 23, 1922 in Pueblo. Harry was born April 18, 1894 to James and Millie Allinson in Washington, D.C. He was living with his parents in Teller County between 1910 and 1920.
Joe and Nell were having marital difficulties and separated. Nell divorced Joe.11
Florence enjoyed herself by attending dances and socials in Gilman, Red Cliff, Minturn and Leadville. Thomas was involved in helping with a dance in Gilman. At one point the music started when there wasn't anyone on the floor. Hopping, skipping and jumping Thomas went down to dance with his daughter. In the beginning she felt uncomfortable on the dance floor with her father, as no one else came out to dance. Soon she realized she was with her dear father and forgot about her uneasiness.
She met several young men, but had became very fond of Dave Holden when she was 18 years old. One of her favorite pastimes was to dance, and he danced well. She also found him to be a good conversationalist. However, a layoff came to the mine. The first men to go were the single. He decided to leave town to find work. Florence remembers crying when she said good-bye. Through her tears she watched him as he walked down to the corner and then watched between the houses as he walked up the other street.
John and Annie Barlow bought a ranch in Avon. Thomas and Florence went there for awhile, helping to pack lettuce.
I have a story and tidbits of information that I've not been able to place in chronological order. Before leaving Florence's youth, I would like to include them.
After Florence's mother passed away and she returned to Gilman to live with her father, she decided to make him a pie. She had not had instruction on how to make a crust. Neither did she have a recipe. After serving a piece to her father she noticed that he was doing a lot of chewing. She asked him if the pie was good. Not wanting to discourage her, he said that it was good. But when she tried it herself, she found that the crust was very "chewy". She learned that she had put in too much lard.
Mentioned in her notes, but her stories lost to history are:In Gilman-sick-cupie doll, sleigh riding, took an eraser from school; In Victor-first Christmas after mother died, safety pins Hazel and Florence saved; In Gilman again-Danes/Club house and Leadville train wreck.
While at a dance in her home town of Gilman, Florence met Leo Joseph Jones. They began to date and soon he was introduced to the remainder of the family in Colorado Springs.
Florence's Aunt Nell and Hazel moved back to Victor. Florence and Leo attended Christmas Mass at Saint Victors with them on December 25, 1923. Also that day, Florence married Leo, who was born on September 6, 1898 in Gladstone, Clackamas County, Oregon to Roxena Belle Flint. They made their first home in Victor.
Hazel went on a date with Nathaniel Roy Williams, who was engaged to be married to Ruth Chamberlain. Some of their friends dared them to get married. They took the dare and did so on May 8, 1924 in Cripple Creek, to the grief of his intended.
Leo and Florence had their first child Patricia Marie Jones, who was called Pat, on June 28, 1924.
Anna Miller married Lincoln Blakey on August 24, 1924 in Leadville.
In Victor, Nell Borah was joined in marriage with William Vincent Nolan on December 24, 1924. They made their first home in Lake City.
The mining industry was declining in Colorado. Leo left Florence and Pat with Thomas Flannery while he went to California to repair track for the railroad. He was hired by Jack Kayser of Fresno, California, the husband of his half-sister Pearl. He then sent for Florence and Pat, landing them in Tracy, California. This little family lived in a box car, which traveled with Leo's job. It was upsetting for Florence when a high speed train passed them on another track, resulting in their boxcar being shook. While in the Layton area, outside of Tracy, a hobo was looking for shelter. Not realizing that the Jones' car was living space, he walked in, to the shock and fear of Florence. Luckily, the hobo just wanted shelter and stammering apologies backed out.
They ended up in Oakland, California, where Leo's mother, Roxena Schubert, was living at 2712 Grove. They moved in with her, and shortly thereafter she moved to 665 1\2 29th.
Across the bay in San Francisco lived Roxena's sister Pearl and her husband John Triantfil, who lived at 439 26th Avenue, just off of Geary Boulevard.
In Victor, Colorado cousin Hazel bore her only child, Bruce Allen Williams on February 3, 1926.
Florence's memories at this time were not good of Roxena, who was also called Ena. Florence stated that her mother-in-law was always "picking at her". One such instance was when Leo's half-brother Milford Richard Shallenberger, who went by Bud, came to visit. He went to the Grove address and found Florence. She told him where Roxena was living. He invited her to come with him to the house. Florence declined, as she didn't feel welcome. He talked her into going to his mother's house with him. She was to go to the door and knock and he ducked down behind her. Upon Roxena answering the door, she said, "What do you want?" in a sarcastic manner. Milford popped up from behind Florence. Roxena almost squealed, "Milford, come on in", putting her arm around him, she led him in and looking back glared at Florence.
Florence finally decided that she had enough. She had never been treated this way, her family had been so kind and loving to her and in their contact with other people. She packed up and returned to Gilman, Colorado with her two year old daughter to be with her father. Shortly after Leo joined them there and worked in the mine.
Pat and Leo played at the school.
In 1927 the Big Tooth Dam was being built on the east face of Pikes Peak halfway between the summit and the base of the mountain. The reason it was named Big Tooth was because when looking at the reservoir outline from the air, it looks like a molar.12 Nell was cooking for the workers who were building the dam.
While living in Colorado Springs, Nell also worked for the Baldwin and Bradley families, who were millionaires.
John Barlow was now spending most of his time at the ranch near Avon. Due to failing health from miner's consumption (tuberculosis), he left the mines, and was trying to gain his health back. In December of 1928 he had a setback in his health and went to the hospital in Glenwood Springs. While there he believed his health was recovering and wrote his family that he would be home for Christmas. This did not occur, as he died December 21st of that year. At his request he was buried at the hillside cemetery above Red Cliff, "in nature's beauty spot".
In Gilman Leo and Florence had their second child, Barbara June Jones who was born on June 1, 1929 in the company hospital.
Sometimes Thomas stopped to have a drink with his friends before going home. Florence sent Pat to tell Thomas it was dinnertime. Pat didn't like the smells coming from inside, so she stood at the door and yell, "Grandpa, come home for dinner". Occasionally, Leo and Thomas drank together. They came home loudly laughing and singing.*
After Pat started school and Barbara was under six months old, the family was on the move again. This time to Southern California. Leo and a friend went first to find work. He found work at the Standard Oil Company as a welder building tanks. He learned his trade very quickly. He was going by the Standard Oil Company and watched a man welding. He came to the conclusion that he could do this also. After being sure he understood how to weld, he went to the employment office and applied for work. To get the job he was required to do some welding. He left that day with a job. He then sent for his family. They moved into a house at 1529 Kendrick Avenue in Gardena.
At work Leo happened upon an old friend, Arthur Davis. "Art" invited the family to come and visit he and his wife Amelia at their home at 5214 Warfield in Lawndale, insisting they come that very night. At an April Fool's Party, that occurred in Gilman, lemonade was being served. The men knew that "Art" liked to have a LOT of sugar in his lemonade. Knowing that he would come to their table, they dumped the sugar out and replaced it with salt. One big gulp and "Art" knew the trick that had been played on him. Being a fun loving person, he took the joke well.
During the winter of 1929/1930 the Nolans were in a mining camp nine miles from Leadville. Aunt Nell was the cook for 12 miners. She noticed a stranger one Sunday, but didn't question who he was. She soon learned he was a reporter for the Herald Democrat. Her excellent ability to cook resulted in an article being published about her in the Herald Democrat and then was picked up by the Denver Post.13 The meal served that Sunday was chicken with huge snowy dumplings, creamy mashed potatoes, baked squash, homemade bread and cherry pie hot from the oven, golden butter, fresh celery and tea.14 Like most mines and people who live in isolated places, this mine company had put in a good supply of provisions for the winter, and was prepared when a big storm came and they were snowed in. The mine closed down because of the market crash, but still the miners had to be fed. The spring had frozen up, so the miners kept several large barrels of snow behind the stove making enough water for all their needs. Horse-drawn sleds were used to bring in additional supplies during the winter. Nell recalls the drivers always carried boards to lift the telephone wires so they could drive their horses and sleds under the wires. The roads were packed by the sleighs, but if horses stepped out of the beaten tracks they went out of sight in the snow.15 Nell didn't see another woman's face for three months and said although the miners were nice boys she sure got tired of looking at their faces. Her first trip out to Leadville was in a big ore wagon pulled by six horses.16
Leo and Mr. Dutton, a neighbor, were selling punch door to door for awhile to earn money to support their families. This was the depression and times where hard for the families. When Leo had a good day selling, they celebrated by having ground beef. When times were lean, they took a sack and help themselves to the vegetables in the garden of a Japanese family.
After the Duttons moved out, a family with a boy Pat's age moved in. Mac and Doris McWilliams became good friends. While out one day looking for work, the men saw a flock of turkeys. They planned to go out at night, take one of the turkeys and have a feast. The families were excited to have the opportunity to have a good meal. However, when they went to the lot, the turkeys where gone. Florence said, "The owner must have smelled a rat".** They ate potato soap that night, which was frequently eaten, sometimes with bacon added.
The McWilliams and Jones families all piled into the Jones' 1926 Chevy and went to the beach. The families had a lot of fun together. They stayed in contact throughout their lives. The Jones' stayed in Southern California about a year and a half when they moved to Oakland again. This time they went to Jess and Pauline Haynes at 3123 64th Avenue and asked to rent their little house on the back of their property for a couple of weeks. They ended up staying there for a little over a year.
Their only son was born on June 1, 1931 in Highland Hospital. Florence was pregnant with him for ten months. He delivered in the breach position. At birth he was named after Leo's half-brother Milford Richard Shallenberger. Before he was a year old, the couple didn't believe the name suited him. Thus, his name was changed to Leo Thomas Jones, who was called Sonny, to reduce confusion between he and his father, until he reached his teen years.
Florence's joy of bearing a son was soon to be cut short just 25 days later upon receiving a message from Colorado. Florence's father Thomas was working outside on the flume leading from the zinc mill to the settling pond on the old Bolt ranch three miles away, as he was recovering from a severe attack of pneumonia he had in the spring. He fell from the high trestle near Rex, breaking a rib that punctured his lung. He was rushed from the medical ward at the mine to the hospital in Salida, where he died the next morning, June 26. Florence took her colicky son on the train to take care of funeral arrangements. Thomas' obituary attests to his being a well loved member of his community. Many from the community attended the funeral, taking the time from their jobs to travel to Leadville.
The loss must have been very great for Florence. She loved her father so very dearly. She often thought that after she left his home after Barbara's birth that he must have been lonely. She knew his thoughts were with her. The depression was such a hard time for them. There were times when there wasn't any food in the house and she had a hungry family. The Lord blessed them with neighbors who dropped by with a dish of food and the mail brought money from her father when it was most needed. She realized he must have sacrificed a lot in order to support himself and send her money also.
The Jones' moved into a house on 80th Avenue behind the house of Oscar and Gladys Dahlstrom, a couple they knew in Colorado before any of them were married. Leo was working in Richmond for an oil company at a place called "Tank Farm Hill". He was riding to and from work on a motorcycle. When leaving the side road to the main road he hit some gravel or dirt and crashed, resulting in a scull fracture. He was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where he wasn't expected to survive.** His mother insisted on bringing the children to the hospital for one last visit with their father. She was informed that children were not allowed in the hospital. Being a strong-willed woman, she informed a nurse that she would bring them up the drain spout if she had to, but THEY WILL SEE THEIR FATHER! The nurse met them after hours and brought them up the back stairs of the hospital.
The Dahlstrom's bought a grocery store at 1944 90th Avenue, which was on the corner at Olive. With the money Florence inherited from her father's estate, she and Leo bought the store from the Dahlstrom's about October 1932. On the main floor was the store, kitchen, 1/2 bathroom and combination bedroom/living room. Upstairs were a couple of bedrooms and full bath.
Their last child Constance Lee Jones, who was called Connie, was born on April 14, 1933 at Merritt Hospital. Doctor William's delivered Connie.
In July 1933, after Bill and Nell Nolan moved back to Leadville, a friend called to Nell and asked if she wanted to see "Baby Doe". Nell didn't remember any of the Tabor family from when she lived in Leadville as a child. On this warm summer day, Nell's neighbor pointed to an old lady crossing the street two blocks away. Dressed in a beautiful black plush cape, the famous beauty, turned recluse was on one of her infrequent trips to town from her miner's shack a mile and a half from town. She was no longer toasted for her beauty, she was a broken old woman.17 March 8, 1935 she was found frozen to death in her cabin.
Florence had a washing machine and a couple of tubs in the kitchen. While she was washing clothes, Barbara climbed up onto the high chair and yelled, "Watch Me! Watch Me!" She jumped off, hitting her eye on the corner of the washing machine, which caused the biggest black eye a kid could have. For quite awhile afterwards when Florence was looking for Barbara, she only needed to ask, "Did you see a little girl with a black eye?"**
A visit was made in Lake City, Colorado were the Nolans were living. Their stay in Lake City was cut short when Bill decided to throw the visitors out of his house. Florence spent some time in Leadville. It was the family tradition to visit the family plot at the cemetery whenever in the area. She saw one of Dave Holden's sisters on Harrison Avenue in Leadville and asked how Dave was doing. She was told that when Dave found out that she had married, he was heart broken. He went into the mountains to pan gold, never marrying, got sick and died.18 Dave had not asked Florence to wait for him. She realized, since he was out of work, he was being a gentlemen by not asking her to wait for him.
Florence had been writing to her Aunt Julia Nett in Bronx, New York; first at 512 Jackson and then at 833 East 165th. Florence had written of Connie's birth. Thereafter, only a letter or two was received from her Aunt. Florence presumed she passed away. However, Aunt Julia lived until October 9, 1935. She had developed Arteriosclerosis and Nephritis, which resulted in uremia. She died at her home located at 1066 Jackson and was buried October 11, 1935 in the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
Times were still hard to meet, so Leo went to Nevada City to work in a mine, while Florence kept up the store. She stated:
"It was quite a job with four children to care for. I had a schedule made out for all household duties, certain days to clean the store, make up lists of groceries to be ordered and to be put away after delivery. Pat was about eleven years old and a wonderful help."
The family went across the bay on the ferry boat before the Bay Bridge opened November 12, 1936. They usually went to the zoo or picnicked at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Leo fished in the lake. Many times Uncle John and Aunt Pearl Triantfil joined them there with meals large enough to feed an army. John cooked in the Greek restaurant he owned at 765 Market Street and was accustomed to preparing large quantities. Uncle John and Aunt Pearl also met the family at Neptune Beach in Alameda, until the military took over and closed the beach. Uncle John was Greek. He liked to cook and invited them over for dinner. They were such a loving, kind couple; going all out for them and showed them much love.**
Aunt Pearl loved children. She had a child out of wedlock earlier in life and gave it up for adoption. She and Uncle John were not able to have children. After Pearl told John about the child, she unsuccesfully searched for this child for a years. Aunt Pearl attended the sewing bees at church. The ladies met weekly to sew on quilts. Aunt Pearl made several beautiful quilts and gave one to Barbara.** ****
When on the ferry Connie liked it when her father gave her a ride on his shoulders. The trip was never complete until he held her up to an opening where she could see the engine room. She was fascinated with the machinery below!**** On one of these trips, Barbara and Sonny were too short to see over the railing, so put their hands on the railing to pull themselves up to see. This resulted in them getting dirty in sea gull droppings.**
Sonny was about five years old when his father was having a confrontation in front of the store with another man. Sonny wanted to assist and charged outside, in the nude.***
In Colorado, Aunt Mae Allinson died on August 5, 1936. She was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs on August 7, 1936.
Webster Grammar School on 81st was the neighborhood school. Barbara was enrolled in Mrs. Murphy's class. She would loose her temper, sometimes striking the students and tearing their clothing. Barbara went to school wearing a brand new dress. That day Mrs. Murphy got angry and tore her dress. Barbara went home crying and told her mother. The next day Florence went straight to the Principal's office to have Barbara changed to another class.**
Her teacher for the remainder of the year was Mrs. Page, whom Barbara dearly loved. On the last day of school Barbara gave her a "Big Bear Hug". Mrs. Page told Florence sometime later Barbara about choked her. Barbara was strong.**
Pat, Barbara and Leo helped themselves to the candy, as they believed it was there for them. However, Florence didn't have the same belief and prohibited them from helping themselves. So, Barbara decided she took her money and walk to a smaller store near her school to buy her candy. When Florence learned of this, she called the woman and told her she was not to sell the candy to Barbara unless a permission note was sent with her. Well, Barbara showed up with a note that she had scribbled, saying it was from her mother. The woman got such a kick out of it, she gave her the candy and called Florence to tell her about the note that Barbara had written. Thereafter, Barbara didn't travel those nine blocks very often.**
Connie has several memories of this home, as follows:
"In the back of the store was our kitchen and a sitting room. In the kitchen, I remember a jar, containing water, that had flecks of "shiny yellow stuff" in it. We were told it was gold dust. Oftentimes, I would shake the jar just to watch the pretty "yellow stuff" float to the bottom.
We had a piano in the sitting room. On one memorable occasion, a dog (I don't remember if it was ours or a stray), was running around in a circle. Someone said it was having a "fit". I was told to climb on the top of the piano so the dog couldn't bite me.
As you entered the front of the store, off to the right, behind the counter, was our private bathroom, consisting of a commode, and a wash basin. Vividly, I can remember there being a grate, approximately 5 to 7 inches in diameter, imbedded in the front sidewalk. Under the grate was a sewer pipe that had a hole in it. When flushing the toilet, it became a game to run as fast as I could, stand over the grate, and watch the "poop" go by.
The bedrooms and a full bath was located upstairs above the store. The only thing I can remember about the upstairs is the long staircase and a fan at the top of the stairs. I was deathly afraid of the fan, as I thought it would suck me in.
As a young child, I was subject to nightmares. My mother had to be V E R Y careful what movies she would let me see. NEVER, will I forget the movie, "The Cat and The Canary". My mother mistakenly thought it was about a bird and a cat. WRONG! It was a spine-tingling mystery centered around a castle, a beautiful young woman, and a monster that lived in the bowels of the castle, containing many dark tunnels. In one scene, the beautiful woman was running up a spiral staircase, with the "monster" hot on her trail. Her long gown got caught on the staircase. She grabbed and tugged and tugged at her gown, finally ripping it to free herself. The monster would watch her through the eyes of a portrait hanging on the wall. Another time, the woman thought she heard a noise in the night and sat up in bed to listen. A panel behind her head opened, a hairy hand appeared and as it got close to the back of her head, the woman layed down, the hand withdrew, and the panel silently closed. After the movie, my mother could not get me to sit against a wall. I was convinced the wall would open and the monster's hand would encircle my throat."
In the back yard Leo fixed a cross bar on the support post of the stairs leading upstairs to the tenants by the surname of Brown. Barbara was playing on the bar when Connie came out from the store, picked up the pitchfork and without knowing the danger, held it with the prongs pointing skyward. As Barbara turned on the cross bar, Connie said something and scared her. Barbara fell on the pitchfork, the handle hitting Connie on the head. Florence, hearing Connie's crying, came out to find the pitchfork stuck in the front portion of Barbara's groin. Florence called for the police department ambulance, labeled "the Black Mar-ia". The neighbors began to report her dead, but Barbara fooled them.** **** 19
Leo and Connie rode a pony.
The family stayed in the grocery business for five years and then sold out, moving to 1529 92nd Avenue. They rented the upstairs of a two-story house owned by Clarence and Ida Murphy, who lived downstairs. The Jones family met the Murphy family when they lived at 2008 90th Avenue.
Florence worked at the Ball Cannery in Oakland.** She arranged to work hours that made it possible for her to return home by the time her children came home from school. Florence became anemic, so the doctor told her to drink a glass of wine a day. When she started to look forward to dinnertime, the time of day she drank her wine, she gave up the wine.
Pat and Barbara shared a room. The two had opposite ideas of how the room should be kept. Pat liked to have the room clean and orderly. Barbara liked to toss her clothes on the bed. So Pat drew an imaginary line through the room. This didn't stop Barbara from invading Pat's side of the room. When cleaning day came on Saturday, Barbara's clothes were found under Pat's bed.**
The Murphy's dog had a litter of pups. From this litter came their "beloved" Fluffy, a devoted fox terrier\spitz, who was to become a one-family dog. He let Barbara and Connie dress him in clothing the family had outgrown. Barbara laid him on his back and give him a doll bottle with either milk or water in it, which he tried to suck. Connie wheeled him down the street in a doll buggy. Unconditional love is what he offered all of them. He was kept in a pen surrounded by a six-foot fence. Unbelievable as it may seem, this little rascal jumped up high, and literally climb the fence to liberate himself. A man, whose house was directly behind theirs, cut through the yard and teased Fluffy, resulting in him barking and growling. Leo and this man had some verbal encounters, in which the man claimed the dog was vicious. However, Leo saw this man teasing Fluffy and informed him that he was not to cut across the yard anymore.** **** 20
The garage behind the house had three sections. The middle section was turned into a horse stall, where Buck Anderson stalled his horse. Barbara wanted to ride the horse, which she was sometimes allowed to do in the yard. She also went into the stall with the horse to clean. The horse acted nervous, as it wasn't use to Barbara.**
Once a week a farmer came to the neighborhood to sell fresh produce he had grown. His wagon was pulled by a horse. Connie liked to pet the horse. On other days the Ice Man delivered ice to those houses displaying a diamond shaped "Ice" sign in their windows. The children waited until he left the truck to grab some ice chips. Sometimes he came out and chipped some off for them.****
Barbara had been asking for a two wheeled bike. Her feelings were REALLY HURT when Pat received one instead. One day Pat left her bike in the front yard unattended. Barbara got on it, but hadn't learned how to ride well. Pat came out of the house furious that Barbara was on her bike and began to chase her. Barbara could see that Pat was going to catch up with her, so she "baled off" the bike, which crashed to the ground. Florence scolded Barbara for having tried to ride the bike. As a result, Barbara didn't get a two wheeled bike of her own for two years.**
Connie tells of a couple days of her life there:
"One warm sunny day, using mud and twigs I tried to make a bird's nest. My thinking was, if a bird can do it, so can I! I soon discovered the bird possessed a skill I would never master. Then, I heard a terrible crash! The truck that had just passed our house, collided with a car at the intersection. The driver hadn't closed his sliding door, and when the truck flipped on its side, the driver was thrown under the truck, and crushed. I remember the fire truck coming, and the firemen spraying foam on the pavement. I've never forgotten this odor, it reminds me of death.
As the tow truck began pulling the truck upright, the police asked all others to take their children home and all children were to leave. They didn't want us to see the driver. This was one time I didn't like being a kid. When I heard the driver was crushed, I was curious as to what he looked like. I envisioned him "flat" as a pancake, as if a steam-roller had rolled over him.
Then, there was the episode of the "scary" man who lived in the house on the corner. He had a lot of loquat trees planted in the "parking strip". All of the children in the neighborhood were afraid of him. We were very daring one day, when some of us climbed his trees to pick his loquats. My brother was in the tree when the man came out holding a BIG knife. I was scared and yelled at my brother Leo to get out of the tree! One day I found a stray kitten. My mother said I couldn't keep it and told me to see if I could find who it belonged to. I went from house to house in the neighborhood. As scared as I was, I rang "the man's" doorbell. When he came to the door, I asked him if the kitty was his. He invited me to sit down on the front porch. I did. I don't remember the details, but I knew something was wrong. I don't remember if he exposed himself, or if he wanted me to touch him. I was scared. When I went home, I told my mother what happened. I guess my parents called the police. All I remember is going for a ride, walking into an office and sitting on the other side of a VERY LARGE desk, and a man was asking me a LOT of questions. I was uncomfortable and had the impression what the man did was nasty."
The William and Ellen Kelley family, whom were Irish, were their other next door neighbors at 1521 92nd Avenue. Mr. Kelley stayed in Oakland most of the year, while Mrs. Kelley and the girls stayed only in the summer. The rest of the year they stayed in San Francisco. Katie had been a "blue baby" and was friends with Connie. Carol and Barbara were pals. When they lived in San Francisco the Jones family crossed the San Francisco Bay and take the trolley up Market Street, through a tunnel, to where they lived. Mrs. Kelley was a heavy set, jovial woman, whom the family loved.**
Uncle John and Aunt Pearl Triantfil continued to meet the family in San Francisco. After the Golden Gate Bridge was completed on May 27, 1937, they crossed the bridge to Marin County where there was a park with different kinds of "kiddie rides". The Triantfils continued to bring enough food to feed an army.
The family toured the Tom Thumb exhibit in the "Sutro Baths" Building. Afterwards, they watched the people swim in pools of water that were heated to different temperatures and watched others ice skating.** ****
Florence must have been pleased to have Cousin Hazel move to 391 Valencia Avenue, Apartment 218 in San Francisco. However, one of those trips wasn't as pleasing to Hazel, who invited THE FAMILY to dinner. The Jones' brought along a couple of their pets, Fluffy and Henrietta the chicken. They took the elevator to the Williams' floor and knocked on the door. When Hazel answered the door she was speechless. When she found her voice she hollered to Roy to go get a box from the basement for the chicken. "Chicken! What chicken?!" he replied as he walked into the hall, his eyes about popping out of their sockets. Fluffy was good and stayed in the kitchen, but Henrietta didn't want to stay in the box. All future invitations excluded the pets.**
Hazel was interested in metaphysical teachings and was studying to become a minister.**
The Jones children attended the Catholic Church at Bancroft and 80th Avenue while living on 90th Avenue. When they moved to 92nd Avenue they became dissatisfied, as they didn't understand the Latin spoken services. They attended every church in the neighborhood before they found the Unity Church in the Fairfax area. Leo and Florence attended the Unity services with them.
Lake Merritt was an enjoyable location for picnics. While the family was enjoying one of their picnics there, Sonny was blowing a whistle that sounded like a police whistle. Soon, a Police Officer was headed in their direction. He was directing traffic and the motorists were becoming confused, as they heard the two whistles. Sonny thought for sure he was going to be taken to jail. The Officer just wanted him to quit blowing his whistle.**
The San Francisco World's Fair was held on Treasure Island in 1939. Treasure Island was man-made for this occasion. Leo and Florence took their children to the fair. They saw Johnny Weismiller swim and dive; Sonja Henie and her review skate. Barbara was impressed with the enormous height of the statue of Sun God in front of one of the exhibition buildings. It sent chills down her spine when she saw the detailed carving of the Last Supper in a Mother of Pearl.**
Barbara loved Sonja Henie, who was also in movies. Barbara dreamt the playground at school would be frozen over and she could do jumps, twirls and spins. She was the STAR of her own dreams. At the ice rink in downtown Oakland,21 however, she wasn't that graceful. She had on a wool skirt her mother made her, tried one of the fancy moves and fell, sliding about 2/3rds the length of the rink. Her bottom was sore and her skirt was soaked, which SMELLED TO "HIGH HEAVEN".**
The family visited the Kaysers in Newman. On one of these trips the children decided to have a mock wedding. Everyone had a part to play. Pat was the minister; wearing a brown corduroy jacket, slacks, a shirt and tie. Sonny was the groom; wearing a suit, white shirt and tie. He frequently stretched his neck against the tightness. Betty Ann Kayser was the bride; wearing a fancy dress and white lace veil. Barbara was the crying bride's mother; wearing a makeshift lacy dress with curtain veil. Connie was the flower girl. The adults wore various outfits. Chairs were set up by the large fish pond in the backyard for the guests to sit on and to give the bride an aisle to walk down. Large dragonflies flew overhead. The cameras were brought out to film this special event.**
When returning home after one of their visits with the Kaysers, Leo was chewing on an olive. He spit the pit out the window, the wind caught it, sent it through the back window where it lodged in Pat's nose.***
The Jones family spent some good times with friends they met in earlier years. Jess and Pauline Haynes lived across the street from a cemetery. The children went there at night and told scary stories. Of course, Connie was subject to being scared easily. The stories involved ghouls and the dead rising which resulted in the children running out of the cemetery SCREAMING!****
Gladys Dahlstrom's husband Oscar died March 26, 1937 and she married Carl Reinoldson. At their home the children learned Carl liked children. When they had a party, the children were welcomed and taught how to dance the schottische and the polka. When the doctor told Carl he had to give up drinking or it would kill him, the parties stopped. They had MANY "friends" until the parties were no longer given. Many of these "friends" disappeared, but not the Jones'.****
The Granada Movie Theater was on East 14th Street between 89th and 90th Avenue. After cooking up enough popcorn to fill large brown paper grocery bags, Barbara, Sonny and Connie went to the theater's Saturday matinee, which lasted 5-6 hours.**
Leo and Florence cut their clothing expenses by learning some skills. Leo resoled shoes when they were worn out. The children's new shoes were worn for church and school. The repaired ones were used for play. Florence sewed all of their clothing, except for underwear and socks.**
Some typical Sunday meals at the Jones home were chicken with either noodles or dumplings, lamb curry over rice, or a pot roast with potatoes and carrots. Sonny didn't like carrots. He snuck his portion under the table to Connie, who ate them for him.** ***
At Christmas time many of the gifts were hand made and placed under their Christmas Tree that was decorated with homemade ornaments.**
Roy and Hazel Williams moved to Huntington Park in Southern California. At Christmas time gifts were exchanged between them, the Jones family and Aunt Nell in Colorado. At the Jones home, the children were allowed to open one gift from either the package from Aunt Nell or the Williams as soon as both packages arrived.**
Roy worked for the City of Los Angeles and Hazel worked in an exclusive store that served people of the upper class.**
In sixth grade Barbara was taught by Mrs. Kollenberger. It seemed the teacher took a disliking to Barbara and a fellow student, Freddie Raines. Barbara needed extra assistance learning her math lessons and found it difficult to get the teacher to give her the attention she needed. Due to missed math concepts she found it hard to learn her math lessons afterward. The school brought a wooden Marimba into the class for her to play. She had a talent of being able to "play by ear". Then a xylophone was brought into the room also for her to play. Barbara stayed in from recess to play them. Her teacher appeared to hate this practice. At the end of the school year the Marimba was given to her.**
Pictures were infrequently taken by the Jones family. They were usually taken during special occasions, especially in the warmer months of the year. When Aunt Nell came to visit for Easter the family made sure to take advantage of their camera.
Barbara believes she was in her latter years of grammar school or just beginning junior high when her father was working one summer for Pacific Gas and Electric near Trinidad, California, at a place called Little Red Hen Auto Camp. They stayed one summer at the owners home across from the motel. She shares:
"Mom and Dad went up to Orick to play Whist and one night they won a small pig. They brought it back and put it into the big chicken pen. One day the pig got out and everyone ran all over the beach trying to catch it-Talk about a greased pig. Daddy finally caught it. They left the pig with the owners when we finally drove home.
The town held dances at the grange hall on a Saturday Night and Daddy danced with me. I danced backwards in a one step down the side of the dance floor, we made a complete turn and dance back down the dance floor again.
We went blackberry picking all over the area which included a pasture where we had to climb a sty over a fence. We were getting stung all the time by thistles. Mom made delicious cobbler. Y U M !
One day Daddy took us for a ride to Trinidad to get fresh crab. For some reason he pulled over to the right and "stopped" in a drop off the road. We thought we were going to roll down the steep mountain side. We got out and Daddy was able to get the car back on the road. What a scare we had!
When the family was to head back home, Daddy, myself and Pat rode in the company truck. Mom, Sonny and Connie and Fluffy rode in the family car. Daddy took the lead. When we came to an area between Eureka and Sacramento, near a lake and in a mountainous area, a tire on the car blew out. Mom said she used a little break to try to slow the car down but not enough to make her spin. Then a little gas to keep it moving in a forward direction. She knew that there was a drop off she had to avoid, but the dust was so heavy that she couldn't see where she was going. When the car finally came to a stop, she found the car had stopped against the cliff wall, the drop-off being on the other side of the road from the direction they were traveling. Daddy had not seen the family car behind us and pulled off the road to wait. When the family car did not catch up with us he turned around to see what had happened to them. Upon arriving at the scene, we found a rather unnerved group. Fluffy was jumping from one passenger to the next to make sure everyone was all right. Sonny's freckles stood out like "shiny pennies". After Mom had a chance to calm down a bit, she got back in the car and drove on to Sacramento where Daddy was to deliver the company truck. No doubt a Guardian Angel sat on Mom's shoulder that day."
When Pat turned 18 she and a friend joined the USO to dance with the military men. To join the USO, the agreement stated they couldn't date the men, which they kept.**
In December 1942 Leo and Florence took the money from the selling of the store and what she earned from working at the cannery and bought a home at 158 Euclid Avenue in San Leandro.**** From East 14th Street, Euclid Avenue ran east one long block, until it reached the schoolyard, then turned south to Dutton Avenue. The house, on the north side of the street, faced south.
Connie shares her memory of that moving day:
"On the day we planned to move, it rained. A friend of my parents owned the moving truck and assumed we wouldn't want to move while it was raining. My mother told him we were moving rain or shine! After the first load was in the house, I begged my mother to let me stay. She was apprehensive about leaving me. I told her I'd keep the doors locked. It wasn't until later I learned she wasn't as concerned about someone coming in as she was about my getting into mischief. After exploring the house, OUR VERY OWN HOME, I started looking for something to do. Part of the first load included a fashionable chrome dinette table with four naugahyde covered chairs. I was with my mother when she bought it and was impressed when the salesman told her the seats were fireproof. Being bored and curious, I found some kitchen matches and decided to test his claim.
I put one on the seat and lit it with another. Swoosh! went the match on the seat when it ignited, burning a hole in it. Oh...No!! I'm in BIG trouble. What am I going to tell my mother? What kind of accident can I tell her I had so I wouldn't be punished? My brain was working overtime. I could tell her I struck a match, it flew out of my hand and landed on the seat. Yeah!...that's what I'd tell her. Oh Boy...she wouldn't believe that story!! She'd want to know WHY I was playing with matches. Finally, I figured out I'd better tell the truth. If she knew I was lying, I'd REALLY be punished!! She gave me a good scolding. What a lesson I learned!!"
This train continued to San Francisco by crossing the Bay Bridge on the lower deck, where truck traffic also traveled. Cars traveled on the upper deck.***
During the lunch hour the basic steps of dancing were taught. Barbara didn't find the boys to be much help in the learning process. She went to movies that had dancing in them. At home she practiced the steps in front of the mirror. Florence caught her, getting a "big kick" out of it.**
Fluffy, who was Barbara's dog, still wanted to make 92nd Avenue his home. Barbara rode her bike back to their former home, where she found him and brought him back to their new home. On the way back she was to stop at the bakery at East 14th Street and 94th Avenue to get freshly baked sliced bread. YUM!**
Sonny and Connie shared the back bedroom. Sonny had the upper bunk. He would sometimes sleep-walk. Usually he was heard and steered back to bed while still sleeping. Florence heard it could be extremely traumatic to wake a sleepwalker. On one of these occasions Sonny walked to the front door, unlocked it, went outside and down the stairs. He walked down the sidewalk towards the east. Florence caught up with him, gently turned him around and told him to go back to bed.
Florence worked that December until May as a stocker at Montgomery Wards in Oakland. Sometimes the children took the bus and Leo came after work to meet her there after she got off work. They went to the Cafeteria to eat together. This was always a special occasion.
Leo's mother, Roxena, and her Alaskan Huskie Rex came to live with the family. The children called her Gram. She had the most beautiful white hair. She rinsed her hair with diluted laundry bluing, which kept her hair from turning a dingy yellow.**
She boiled horse meat for the dog to eat. She left a little cereal and milk in her bowl for Rex to eat. One of the children wrote on the bottom of the bowl with nail polish- REX AND GRAM. Roxena, Rex and Connie slept in the middle bedroom. Roxena overheard Connie complain to Florence about Rex farting at night, stinking up the room. Roxena was very offended by this and moved into the unfinished basement to sleep on a cot. Due to the upset, she moved out.** ****
The family planted a vegetable garden. The potato patch was behind the garage. Just to the east of it was an English Walnut tree that was grafted to a Black Walnut stump. Sonny and Connie, who were close buddies all the years they lived together, climbed as high as they could. Sonny always climbed higher, as he was taller and could reach up past an area that had a little further distance between the branches.
Sonny taught Connie to play softball. On one occasion she went to the school and found kids playing. She asked to play and to her sorrow was told she could not. Upon inquiring why, they stated that she hit the ball too hard, which made her feel good.****
Florence worked at Hunts Cannery in San Leandro for the first season after they moved to San Leandro. Then she was able to realize her desire to stay home full time with her family and not work out of the home. She did choose to work in the summer to make some extra money. Leo sometimes had to go out of town to work, being away from his family.
Leo, Florence and Pat went to Southern California to visit with Roy, Hazel and their friends Mac and Doris McWilliams.
Florence and Pat started attending Farm Bureau meetings to learn more homemaking skills, such as clothing pattern making.**
Pat was working at the Naval Air Station in Alameda in the tool and die section. She operated a turret lathe making parts for airplanes. She and other employees had skating parties at the Diamond Roller Rink in East Oakland. The entire Jones family attended these functions. All did well, except for Florence. As she tried to skate her legs just couldn't seem to stay under her body as they should. Leo and Barbara got on each side of her to hold her up. When a fella fell in front of her, Leo and Barbara lifted her over his body as Florence also attempted to jump. That was about all she could take and ended her days on the roller rink.**
Harry Marvin Weed, Jr., a fellow worker, brought bottles of Coca Cola to Pat. She told the family about him doing this and described him as a funny looking man whose hair stood on end like an Indian's. Pat began dating Harry who was born on 27 November 1916 in New York State. He stood about 6'2" and is 1\8 Indian of the Iroquois nation. They were married on December 4, 1943 and made their first home on 28th Avenue in Oakland. For their honeymoon they went to Yosemite National Park. Harry went out to get wood for the fireplace. Suddenly, Pat heard Harry yelling, "OPEN THE DOOR, OPEN THE DOOR"! She opened the door, Harry came flying through yelling, "CLOSE THE DOOR, THERE'S A BEAR OUT THERE"! When Harry reached the wood pile, the bear was there waiting for him. This became a subject of laughter in later years.**
Sonny became enamored with Faye from school. He bought her a wooden "F" pin. She accepted the gift, but when she got home her father told her to return it to the giver. Heartbroken, Sonny took it home and offered it to his mother. Florence, knowing the pin had been bought for Faye, accepted the gift graciously.***
Leo put in a new lawn in the backyard. In the northeast corner of the yard was a palm tree where Fluffy went to relieve himself. As he headed across the newly planted yard Florence yelled, "FLUFFY, YOU GET OUT OF THERE". Fluffy quickly scurried off the planted area to the side of the yard. He learned quickly to make his path around the planted area.**
When Barbara went to visit the Nelson family, who lived across the street in a southwest direction, Fluffy went with her. He liked to chase cats. However, Mrs. Nelson's cat had kittens. Barbara and Fluffy had gone three quarters of the length of the driveway when mama cat saw Fluffy coming down the driveway. She jumped on his back and rode him to the front sidewalk as Fluffy ran from the property. He never went down that driveway with Barbara again.**
Fluffy never took food from anybody but the family. Not even from close friends. His one fault was leaving when a female dog was in heat. He never returned from one of these trips. Florence called the garbage department and street sweepers for a long time trying to find him. Barbara cried for a long time over the loss of her pet.**
The Unity church moved, holding it's meetings at the Mason Lodge near East 14th Street between Oak Street and Harrison Street in Oakland. Leo and Florence attended the adult sessions. Barbara and Connie joined the "Youth of Unity". They took the bus to get to their activities They had a lot of fun with the group, which held activities such as going to the Chinese Restaurant after church, progressive dinners and Sadie Hawkins dances.
When Barbara turned 15 years old in 1944, Florence was able to get her a job at the Ball Cannery in Oakland. This was against union regulations because a child had to be 16 years old to work in the cannery. However, Florence was friends with the union representative. Barbara found it to be hard, dirty work but good pay for a "kid". She first canned peaches and then tomatoes. She was working the canning machine when the machine behind she and Florence jammed. Leo, the mechanic, came to fix it. He bent down to pick up some cans that had fallen to the ground. As he stood up, the handle of the screwdriver went up Florence's leg. She let out a blood curdling scream. Leo was embarrassed and ran. A couple days later he came back to apologize and gave Florence a can of freshly canned tomato juice.**
The following year Barbara worked in the cannery again. When the season for tomatoes began, she broke out in a rash. She left there and went to work for Hunts in Hayward.**
The Kayser family moved from Newman to 1779 Union in San Francisco. Milford Shallenberger was a merchant seaman. He stayed with his sister Pearl's family when in port. When the Jones children went to visit, Milford fell asleep. Barbara set his hair in pin curls and curlers. When he woke up, he left them in. They had a lot of fun with him.**
On one occasion when he was in port he stopped by the Jones', didn't find Leo and Florence home, then talked Barbara into riding with him to Stockton to bring a male friend back to the bay area. Milford drove at top speed, which thrilled Barbara. Upon returning her back home, Florence told him he was NEVER to take any of the children with him again unless he first got permission from she or Leo.**
Fun times were had at Playland at the beach in San Francisco. There was a maze of mirrors to go through upon entering the funhouse. Leo was excellent at finding his way through them. Along the front windows was a path of pivoting floor pieces, padded barrels that revolved and blasts of air that lifted the women's skirts. Florence was talked into going into this area, not aware of the blasts of air. She yelled when she had a skirt raising experience. Sonny was a master at staying on his feet as he went through the rolling barrel. He also was able to stay on the spinning turntable until it stopped. Barbara and Connie linked arms while on the turntable and sometimes were able to stay on until it stopped. Other mirrors distorted the figure to look very fat, thin, short, tall or detached. Up a few stories of stairs was the top of a slick, bumpy wood slide. The rider went down it on a burlap sack.** ***
When friends came from out-of-town, they were taken to San Francisco to Golden Gate Park and they rode down Lombard, a crocked street made with bricks. They also rode the cable car. The men ringing the bells on the cars had competitions among themselves for the most unique bell ringing. This was always entertaining for the riders.**
Nell Nolan divorced Bill Nolan, due to his alcoholism and heavy hand. She moved to live with the Jones family. She was working at the Chevrolet Plant at 73rd Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland. She came home one evening, went into her bedroom and came out dressed in BRIGHT RED long underwear that opened at the back, singing, "I'M THE GIRL FROM HASTING'S CORNER". Her eyes twinkled with devilment as she turned around and ran for her bedroom.**
One of the family jokes involving Aunt Nell was when she made her DELICIOUS cinnamon rolls. They were always light and fluffy. She stated they didn't taste as good because she had to use canned milk. The rolls were as good as always.**
She then made a living by doing housework and cooking for families. One family in Oakland were very interesting. Aunt Nell was living there. On weekends Barbara and Connie were allowed to stay overnight. The husband had been a Fire Chief. He liked to collect things. He had two balls of string about two feet in circumference. There was also newspapers stacked and other things the girls considered to be without worth.**
After she left their home, Nell went to work for Smith and Mabel Wagner in Lake City, Colorado. They owned a resort. Nell cooked for their workers most of the year. During the winter months she accompanied Mabel to California, where Nell took care of her needs. Mabel was in poor health and needed to be away from the cold winters in Colorado. Mabel died April 9, 1946.
When World War II was over, the family turned the garden into a patio with chimney bar-b-que. Leo scavenged large pieces of concrete for the patio floor. The bar-b-que was built from blocks that came from the commercial glass furnace. The entire family was involved with this project.****
Florence went to work at the Ball Cannery on San Leandro Boulevard in San Leandro. She brought home June, a younger co-worker, on several occasions. While Florence was in the kitchen, Sonny had some necking sessions with June in his parents' bedroom.***
Barbara assisted when Leo repaired the car. She held things in place when he repaired the brakes and crank shaft. At other times she pumped the brakes to bleed the air from the brake lines. She learned to change a tire. This knowledge came in handy, as the parking lot of the Ball Cannery had many nails, screws and other sharp things. Florence and Caroline, the floor lady, assisted Barbara.**
When the house needed to be painted, Leo, who wasn't afraid of heights, put up scaffolding. Barbara assisted him in painting the house. She was afraid of heights and became scared when her father bounced the board they were standing on. She was painting the east side of the house when she needed more paint. When Leo was on the ground he filled a bucket of paint for her and left if at the bottom of the ladder. Barbara didn't see it as she was coming down and stuck her foot into it. Luckily, she didn't spill much of the paint.**
Leo made a few changes to the house. When entering the front door, a hallway extended to the bedroom at the back of the house. This room was originally a back porch that was turned into a bedroom by a former owner. To the right were doorways into the frontroom and dining room. On the left were doors into the bedrooms. The lath and plaster wall between the hall and frontroom was knocked out. Where the hall continued parallel to the dining room, the space was walled up at the front room. The opening between the frontroom and dining room was broadened into an archway. From where the hall was walled up at the front room to a couple of feet from the doorway into the dining room, another wall was erected, creating a small coat closet.**
In the east wall of the front room was a small window high on the wall. It was boarded up and insulated. Grooved wallboard was placed over the entire east wall.**
Florence did her laundry in the basement with a wringer washer. It was a nuisance to go out the basement door, up the outside stairs and through the house to use the bathroom. Leo put in a toilet in the washing area, that was partitioned from the rest of the basement, and then built a wall around the toilet area for privacy. **
On November 6, 1945, Leo became a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union, Grand Lodge number 1546. Leo went to the union hall to find work as a welder or mechanic. Barbara always gave him a kiss on the cheek when leaving for work or the hall. On one of these occasions, she had red lipstick on. Leo didn't realize the marks of her lips had been left on his cheek one morning. Right after he entered the hall, the men began to laugh. Leo thought someone had just told a joke. A man Leo knew well came up to him and told him about the lipstick kiss on his cheek. Leo began to laugh and stated, "That damn kid of mine kissed me as I was leaving the house". From then on Leo was cautious of kisses from "the kid.**
Leo always called Barbara kid, unless she was in trouble, then he called her Barbara. When she was younger and had done something Florence didn't like, Florence told Leo to do something with that kid. In later years when Leo wasn't completing Florence's honey-do list, Barbara told him what needed to be done, and request they do it together. He replied back, "O.K. Kid". Thus, Leo did something with "the kid.**
Barbara and Connie rented horses up near the foothills on 106th Avenue in Oakland. They rode southwest across town to the beach at the west end of Davis Street in San Leandro. Half-way they stopped by their home. Barbara was given a skittish horse on one occasion. She was riding on the sidewalk in front of a food store and received a written warning from a policeman. Leo and Florence were required to take her to city hall where she was reprimanded.
Aunt Pearl Triantfil went to church services as usual on March 17, 1946. However, on this Sunday, she died during the services.
The Kayser family moved to Monterey. Roxena lived nearby in a trailer in Seaside.
Sonny taught Barbara to drive in the families Dodge. Part of her second lesson was to drive into the driveway. Barbara thought, "Driveway, DRIVEWAY"! She went up the driveway past the pillar post and came to a stop on the neighbors lawn. As challenging of an experience this may have been for them both, she did get her driving permit, then license.
In 1947 Pat and Harry Weed took Pat's siblings Barbara, Sonny and Connie in their 1941 Chevrolet to Lake City, Colorado to visit with Aunt Nell. Barbara, Sonny and Connie stayed a good portion of their summer in this high, Rocky Mountain town.****
The cabin where they stayed didn't have any modern facilities. The water was obtained from a well just outside of the kitchen door. Oil lamps were used to light the indoors and the heat came from logs that had to be cut and chopped. Since there wasn't any indoor plumbing, the outhouse was used during the day and chamber pots at night. Clothes were washed in a large wash bucket using a wash board and a bar of soap. Their bodies were bathed in a steel, galvanized pan every Saturday night. No matter how hot it was, Aunt Nell ironed the clothes with three flat irons, which were rotated on the stove, depending on which kind of fabric was being ironed. Music was played on a wind-up Edison phonograph. "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" was the youths favorite. Connie decided that her first daughter would be named Kathleen.****
Harry and Sonny built a waterwheel about 18-20 inches in diameter, cleared the rocks, making a channel and diverted part of the river down the channel, turning the waterwheel. Connie thought they were very clever. As the river dropped, the teenagers were kept busy keeping the channel open so that the water-wheel worked.****
Before Pat and Harry left, Harry was taking pictures and caught Aunt Nell walking from the barn to the log cabin. When Aunt Nell spotted the camera, she spun around and ran for the barn.** She didn't like her picture to be taken unless she was dressed in her Sunday best. It became a life-long challenge to get a picture of her in her working clothes. She usually wore a "housedress". Laughter wound erupt when someone caught her and get the picture. This was rare, due to her ability to see the camera person first and she could move quickly.
A horse wrangler rented part of the barn for his tack and corral for the horses. He rented out the horses for day pack-trips or for pleasure riding around town. Sometimes the wrangler turned out all of the horses at night. Oftentimes he left one in the corral to use in rounding up all the others in the morning.****
When all were turned out Barbara and Connie got up early in the morning and listen to hear the sound of their hooves and snorting. Then they knew the horses were down by the river or up towards the canyon. Barbara took the bridle and Connie a pan of oats. Connie coaxed "ol' Baldy" with the oats and Barbara slipped the bridle on him. "Baldy" was Barbara's favorite. Connie's favorite was "Squaw", a buckskin mare. "Squaw" could "stop on a dime", and frequently did.**** They assisted in rounding up the horses and bringing them back to the corral.**
One day the wrangler used "Blackie", who spooked easily, as a pack horse. After the wrangler got the pack on and loaded with gear, "Blackie" reared back, breaking the reins and took off. He ran down several back alleys, spreading pots and pans everywhere. By the time he was caught, there wasn't much in the pack. The wrangler had to retrieve what he could find and he was VERY angry. He put "Blackie" in the corral, got a whip, and proceeded to whip him unmercifully. The horse was "screaming". The teenagers felt this was wrong. They went to Smith, who told them to stay out of it. They felt the wrangler should have known better than use "Blackie" as a pack horse. Barbara stormed out of the cabin, confronted the wrangler and gave him a tongue-lashing he probably never forgot. She succeeded in stopping the abuse.****
While out exploring one day, they were caught in a daily thundershower. They quickly took shelter under a tree. Being from the city, they didn't know the danger. When Aunt Nell heard of this, she educated them in a hurry.****
Sonny went hunting with his 22 rifle. Seeing a rabbit, he aimed and fired. He climbed the hill to see if the rabbit had gotten away. When he came down the hill, he exclaimed in tears, "I KILLED THE RABBIT"!** The only other time he shot his rifle was back at home in the back bedroom. He draped a coat across a chair and shot at it, believing the bullet would be stopped. The hole through the wall proved otherwise.***
Sonny and Connie liked to go exploring together. After they explored Lake City, they decided they needed a new adventure. They told Aunt Nell they'd be back later and headed for the road where Sonny decided to hitchhike. Sonny stuck out his thumb, with no luck. So Connie decided to stick her thumb out. Sonny said, "Girl's don't hitchhike! Put your thumb down." He eventually got them a ride, getting off at the Ramsey Mine. They hiked up the hill where they found the entrance to the mine. As they entered, the shaft went back about 12 feet, turned left for a short way, then turned right. At the right turn, it...was...DARK and SPOOKY! They couldn't see ANYTHING! Connie stopped. She was afraid! Sonny walked down the darkened shaft. Connie could hear water dripping and was afraid of a cave in. She called Sonny, "Come back! It might cave-in!" No response. She called him several times to come back; he was scaring her! Then, she could hear his footsteps as he approached and was glad to get out of there.****
Outside, they found an ore car sitting on the track. The track ended high above a tailings pile. When they found they could actually push this car, they decided to push it as close to the entrance of the mine, then, together, pushed forward, gathered speed and sent the car off the end of the track into the tailings pile. It tumbled end-over-end, going way down the hill. They thought it was exciting! They then toured the cabin, claiming an old broom and a 5-gallon can with a little oil in it as souvenirs.****
When they got back with their treasures Aunt Nell asked them where they had been. "The Ramsey Mine." "Is that where you got the broom and the can?", she asked. "Aaaah...(looking at each other) yeess." Aunt Nell wanted to know if these things belonged to them. If not, it was the same as stealing. She said, "Smith...you take these children back to the Ramsey Mine so they can return these things, EXACTLY where they found them." They weren't about to tell her about the ore car. NO WAY could they drag IT up the hill.****
Another pastime for these two was to play on road working equipment. One day Connie came back with black grease all over her play smock. Aunt Nell asked how she got so dirty. After telling Aunt Nell how this came about, Aunt Nell said, "The way to get grease out, is to fight grease with grease." That didn't make sense to Connie. Aunt Nell got some hardened bacon grease and told her to rub it on the black grease. Connie was amazed when it worked!****
At a dance, Connie met Doug, who lived in a house on the hill.**** Ten pin bowling was played by the family.**
Florence and Leo came to get their children. On the morning that they were to leave, Smith drove his truck up the gorge and caught a bunch of rainbow trout. Aunt Nell made hot biscuits that were light, warm, and tasty, served with butter and honey. It was a GREAT breakfast. Connie never has forgotten how good it was.****
Before leaving, Barbara went to get a drink from the well. She had the only car keys the family owned and dropped them into the well. Using caution not to stir up the bottom Leo was able to retrieve the keys by using Smith's fishing pole and a safety pin.** ****
Aunt Nell married Hemin Smith Wagner August 27th, 1947 in Aztec, New Mexico. Aunt Nell saw the loving care Smith had given his invalid wife and thought this would be her opportunity to have some rest from hard work. However, it was apparent Smith saw his new wife as a healthy, strong woman who could join him in running his business.
A girlfriend of Barbara's introduced her to LeRoy Hunt and they began to date. Barbara invited LeRoy to spend a Sadie Hawkins Day with her. Barbara went to his home to pick him up. He put on her camel hair coat, that he had given her, and she put on his jacket and hat. As they boarded the bus, LeRoy got on first and Barbara paid the fare. She also paid for the movie. Afterwards, LeRoy escorted her home.
Barbara was attending Bancroft Junior/Senior High School. She took a business course and majored in music, taking several choral classes involving acappella and voice from Mr. Dean. She also took seven years of piano lessons. Florence sat in the front room and listen to her sing, as she enjoyed Barbara's talents. Barbara attended the dances that were held during lunch and after school. Mr. Hostadtler, the boys coach, was a good dancer. He danced with Barbara several times. She became very good in her musical pursuits and dancing. She graduated in January 1948.**
Uncle John Triantfil's health became poor. Jack and Pearl Kayser moved him to Monterey to live with them. He caught pneumonia and died on February 6, 1948. Leo believed his Uncle had been treated poorly, which led to his death. He confronted his sister and husband. It resulted in a rift that Pearl never wanted repaired.
Leo and Florence were having marital difficulties. He told Sonny and asked him to take care of his tools because he was going to Saudi Arabia to work on the pipeline for Bechtel Steel. Sonny was so upset he just lied in the front seat of the Dodge after he was told.*** Leo and Florence had their picture taken on the way to his place of departure.
That summer Sonny turned 17 years old. He wanted to go to work for the cannery, but had to be 18 years old to do so. He altered his birth certificate, giving his birth year as 1930. He was assigned to the night shift. One night, another worker decided to pick a fight with Sonny. He hit him across the head with a flat of Apricots. Sonny laid into him and the guy ran. Sonny went to the company nurse, where he got himself cleaned and bandaged.***
He was at work when he received a call from home. His father had come home. He got permission to leave work for awhile. When he arrived home he found that his father was darkly tanned. Leo brought home an embroidered cap for Sonny.*** 22
When Leo arrived in Saudi Arabia he was put to work as a welder building barges. After being there for several months, he stepped back too far from his work and fell to the deck below, hurting his hips. He was sent home and was assigned to work in the shipyard in Alameda.** Sometimes his injured hips hurt so badly he could not walk. Although he rarely complained of the pain, sometimes he needed to stay home from work.
Barbara worked that summer in the cannery. In the fall she enrolled at Merritt/Peralta College, taking a course in business machines, including several printing machines.
Sonny and Connie went on double dates together. On a warm summer night they went to Niles Canyon where they pulled off the road and parked next to the creek. Being a warm night they had all four windows rolled down. Suddenly, they heard a weird noise. It sounded like an animal. The girls were scared and rolled their windows up, leaving them open just enough to continue hearing the noise. They began to scare each other with their speculation of what was making the sound. Finally, they decided they'd better leave.****
The winters in Lake City, Colorado were harsh. Smith and Nell Wagner were finding it difficult to stay there in the winter. They bought a ranch near Cedaredge to stay at during the winter months.
William Vincent Nolan was having some hard times. Leo and Florence took him into their home for awhile to help him. When he left their home he moved to the slums of Denver, Colorado. He was at his residence when he drank himself into a drunken stupor. He lost his balance, fell down the stairs and broke his neck.
After spending a school year at Merritt/Peralta College, Barbara went to work for Orinda Willows in Orinda performing various office jobs, including designing and printing the weekly menus.**
Barbara was still seeing LeRoy Hunt. They began to talk of marriage. However, when Leroy got into some trouble with the law, Barbara decided to end the relationship.
Charlene Hathaway taught ceramics classes. Florence signed up and began to make her own decorative plates and vases. Ida Campbell was a friend taking the class with her. After awhile, Florence bought her own kiln so that she didn't have to pay the cost of firing her greenware. After having a few years experience, she made some vases as prizes for Pat's baby shower. Barbara won a couple of them.
On July 5, 1949 Pat delivered Mark Stephen Weed.
Sonny was to graduate in 1949. However, Miss Shoemaker flunked him in the class in which she taught him. He and some buddies decided to celebrate anyway by going to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. When they headed back home, Sonny soon learned his car didn't have enough compression in forward drive to make the climb back up the grade over the Santa Cruz Mountain road. Knowing that the car would have more compression in reverse, he turned it around and backed the car up over the winding mountain road. He returned to school in the fall, completed the class and graduated at the new high school in February 1950.***
After graduation, Sonny went to work as an office clerk for E. C. Cooley Company.***
Barbara left Orinda Willows to work for Jackson Furniture as a customer service clerk. Outside of work, she and the other gals spent time together. Sometimes they went dancing. Occasionally afterwards, they went out to breakfast before returning home.**
The California Zepher began to run in 1949. Smith and Nell Wagner came on it to visit in San Leandro the following year.
Leo was inspecting the house at the roof level, as there was a leak. The bougainvillaea vine was the cause of the damage. Florence and Barbara were inside the house. They heard a crash and ran outside to see what happened. Leo had fallen off the ladder and landed on his back on the ground. Barbara asked him if he could move his legs. He said he couldn't. Florence yelled at Barbara to call an ambulance. Barbara phoned the San Leandro Police Department for an ambulance, which arrived in minutes. Leo was transported to Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro and then transferred to Permanente at Mac Arthur and Broadway in Oakland.**
When Florence and Barbara arrived, Leo was in the hallway of the emergency department. Florence and Barbara sat for some time, watching to see if anyone was attending to Leo. They were concerned his back may be broken. Barbara told a nurse about the fall and wanted to know when someone would be looking at her father. The nurse told her someone would look at him when they could. Barbara sat back down, fuming that so much time was going by without anyone checking on her father. She got up to see how he was doing. He was getting very drowsy. Barbara returned to the nurse and in a loud voice told her if someone didn't see to her father in five minutes, she would be heard up to the fifth floor. She declared she wanted the doctor to see her father NOW! THAT GOT SOME ACTION. Leo didn't have a broken back and was able to go home that night.**
Connie graduated January 24, 1951. She went to work in San Francisco, working in the mail room at Firemen's Insurance Company. After working for them for three months, she could no longer work with her supervisor.****
Harry and Pat's son Gary Olin Weed was born April 3, 1951.
Connie traveled with Florence on the California Zepher to Colorado. She enjoyed the domed car so much, she spent the night there. After spending two weeks in Colorado, Florence returned home, leaving Connie to spend a couple more weeks. She was taken to Lake City where she was profoundly disappointed with the changes in the city. Where there had been a HUGE lot, where they galloped the horses she loved so much, now stood many log cabins. Each log was painted alternating bright colors of orange, red, yellow and green. The boarded sidewalks were replaced with concrete and the hitching posts were gone.
In September Connie was hired by American Hawaiian Steamship in San Francisco to type ship manifests.****
Sonny worked as a production worker for Del Monte Cannery in Oakland during the 1951 season. He went to work as a laborer for Willy Motors Incorporated for a few months then enlisted in the United States Navy. Mr. Candelario across the street gave him a sailor's suit. Leo was assigned as a storekeeper on a destroyer that patrolled the waters of Japan and Formosa. Their ports were Yokuska and Sasebo.***
Barbara went to work for Pacific Telephone on Franklin Street in Oakland handling long distance phone calls coming into Oakland. She attained the position of assistant telephone verifier. It was her responsibility to monitor operators to make sure they were handling the calls effectively. She learned to handle outgoing long distance calls, which required timing and clocking of each call. Another board handled calls placed by soldiers stationed in Pittsburgh at the Army camp. These boards were never monitored. Some of the soldiers were broke and so lonely, they called the operator just to talk. The operators were warned to NEVER meet them at any time.**
Barbara increased her attendance at the dances. She and Barbara Becker, a former schoolmate, met Mac and a friend of his at the Sands Ballroom. The men were stationed at the Alameda submarine base. Due to Barbara's love of dancing, Mac took dancing lessons. They had fun dating until Mac was shipped overseas.**
Sonny returned home from his South Seas tour and was assigned on a ship that patrolled the waters off of Korea. Their port was in Hong Kong. Before he left, the family got together to take pictures.***
Smith Wagner's health began to deteriorate, so he and Nell decided to retire from running the resort and sold their ranch near Cedaredge. They bought a cabin at the outskirts of Cedaredge on the main road entering town.
While Leo and Florence were on vacation, Barbara moved into an apartment in Oakland.**
Francis Marion Ames, who went by Bud, lived three houses west of the Jones home. He was an ambulance driver. He and Connie fell in love and were married October 18, 1952 in Reno, Nevada. In the late spring of 1953 Connie became pregnant. When Sonny learned Bud had struck Connie, he wanted to "have a talk" with Bud. Sonny was taking Connie home one day. When he turned the corner onto 136th Avenue, he saw Bud working on his 12-cylinder Lincoln and said, "I'm going to have a little talk with him." Having seen Sonny in a fight at school in earlier years and knowing Sonny would be leaving to go overseas, she said no. She had Sonny stop his car in the middle of the block, then she walked the rest of the way to her residence. During a confrontation with Bud when she was two months pregnant, she feared he would hit her and ran into a field. As he caught up with her, she spun around and said, "Don't hit me Daddy". As the abuse continued, Connie feared she would loose her baby. She returned to her parent's home.
That fall, Leo, Florence, Barbara and Connie went in the Nash on vacation to Colorado. They visited with Aunt Nell in Cedaredge. Upon arriving and giving Aunt Nell a hug, it was a race to the kitchen to get a drink of cold mountain water out of her tin pot.**
Aunt Nell had other visitors come also. Each time someone else came to stay the night, Aunt Nell practiced "musical beds". Barbara felt lucky to sleep in the guest cottage at the back of the property. Upon entering, there was a small entry room with an alcove to the left to hang dresses and coats. Continuing straight back was the sleeping room with two roomy beds. Windows on the back wall opened to a babbling brook. It brought with it a cool air and lulled one to sleep.**Connie enjoyed the babbling brook, but due to having to check for spiders in the bedding, didn't like sleeping in the cottage.****
If assigned a bed at the front of the house, sleep was interrupted. Early summer was the time for sheep to be brought through town heading for open range in the higher pastures. Their bleating and bell tending to wake the city dwellers.**
Arrangements were made to visit with Aunt Nell's friends, the Carpenter family, who lived in Texas and vacationed in Lake City. The Carpenters invited the family to go with them to Lake San Cristobal. The Carpenter boys took part of the family for a motor boat ride. Leo took pictures with a movie camera.**
When they left the Wagner's to continue their trip, they went to Salida then to Leadville to check on the graves in the family plot. In town they walked on the old board walk and did some shopping. Afterward they went up to the Matchless Mine to peek into the shack to see what they could see, which was just a chair and table. They continued their travels that day by going to Red Cliff and Gilman, sharing recollections that were made in the buildings they visited. Their travels took them to Glenwood Springs where they stopped for ice cream. Leo ordered a sundae. When the waitress delivered their order, Leo's sundae was missing the whipped cream, maraschino cherrry and nuts he was accustomed to getting. He asked the waitress about the missing toppings, and the waitress told him "That's how we make them here." Leo then started kidding her, suggesting shaving cream for the whipped cream, and one of us suggested topping it with rabbit droppings instead of nuts. We got to laughing so hard, the waitress said, "Please stop laughing...my boss will think I'm telling you jokes and I will be fired!" Connie, being pregnant, laughed so hard she wet her pants. Afterwards Barbara and Connie swam in the mineral pool. Leo filmed his daughters swimming.** ****
When the film was shown at home, the family was surprised because Leo double exposed the film. His daughters were seen swimming alongside the same boat they riding in on Lake San Cristobal. Leo's film making resulted in other movies that had similar results. Many laughs resulted.
A few other souvenirs of their trip were gathered. Florence's nostalgia about her past and places she visited was remembered in other ways than visiting those places and taking pictures. She gathered colored bottles from the abandoned homes in the towns she visited. She also brought home rocks for her flower garden. Leo found her cache of rocks in the car when he was cleaning out the car to load the suitcases for their trip home. He took them out and threw them aside. When Florence learned of this, she and Barbara unloaded the suitcases, loaded the rocks far inside of the trunk and then reloaded the suitcases in a manner that would hide the rocks.
When they arrived home and Leo was unloading the car, he became angry when he found the rocks. Eventually, Florence's gathering of rocks and how they were hidden became a family joke.
Sonny returned home from the Navy in October of 1953. In December he hired on as a shipping clerk for Willy's Motors.***
Smith Wagner's health began to deteriorate, so he and Nell decided to retire from running the resort and sold their ranch near Cedaredge. They bought a cabin at the outskirts of Cedaredge on the main road entering town.
Two new pets made their way into the Jones' home. Snuffy the dog and Snowball the cat. They got along well. They had a game they played. Snuffy would chase Snowball along the sidewalk to the east for a few houses. Snowball would come to a quick halt, turn around and chase Snuffy back to the house.
Now that Pat had her own home at 543 Doane in San Lorenzo, she and Florence were taking turns having the extended family meals at their homes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Pat had Thanksgiving in her home this year and Christmas dinner was at the Jones' residence.*** The holiday dinner was usually Turkey with oyster dressing, candied yams, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, jelly salad, a relish tray, whole and jellied cranberry sauces, rolls with butter, pumpkin and mincemeat pies topped with old fashioned whipped cream.
On February 25, 1954 Connie delivered a daughter in the East Oakland Hospital. Her baby daughter was named Kathleen Regina Ames.
Florence took care of Kathleen during the day while Connie worked.
On June 15, 1954, Claranna Mary Gelineau was born to John Clifford and Wilma Gelineau, who were living near Detroit, Michigan.
The Jones household and extended family members went on a camping trip to Yosemite National Park July 17th and 18th.
In the fall Leo's mother Roxena came to visit. A four generation picture was taken of Roxena, Leo, Connie and Kathleen.
When Christmas came, the tree was placed on a cardboard fireplace to keep Kathleen away from the ornaments. Florence also needed to keep a watch out for her so that she wouldn't empty all the pots and pans out of their drawers and bother Snowball.
Lakeside Unity Temple was built at 144 Athol Avenue in Oakland. Kathleen was christened there on March 27, 1955 by Miss Alma M. Morse. A booklet was provided with this charge:
Beloved, remembering that before coming to you this
child was God's child and is still God's child, you
brought your little one to this service. This little one
came to you endowed with infinite possibilities of good.
It is your privilege to teach, guide, and bless this
child. Guard well this trust. Through this christening
service you express your willingness to accept this trust
and seek God's blessing. We have faith that you are
worthy of this charge to rear in grace and Truth this
little one committed to your care.
One evening after dinner, Florence was washing the dishes; Connie was drying and putting them away; Kathleen, who was 18 months old, was sitting on the kitchen counter; and Leo was sitting at the end of the table blowing cigarette smoke rings. Kathleen, speaking her first big word said, "Cigarette". She was fascinated with the rings of smoke. Astonished, Florence and Connie tried to get her to say it again, telling Leo to keep blowing them. Kathleen wouldn't say it again because she didn't understand any reason for her to say it again.
On the afternoon of November 1, 1955 Roxena Belle Schubert died of a heart attack in her trailer at 823 Kimbal in Seaside. She willed her trailer and most of it's contents to Leo.
On February 11, 1956 Sonny met Sherry Ann McDonald on campus at Blackmore Hall. He brought her home to meet the family. For the summer Sonny worked at AAA Export Company in Oakland, working for Richard Douglas McDonald, brother of Sherry.***
Two year old Kathleen created a few challenges. In July Kathleen found a bottle of Campho-Phenique on Sonny's dresser and drank some of it. Connie rushed her to the hospital to have her stomach pumped. Kathleen wandered from the back yard around to the front yard and played in the flower bed. When Florence went out to get her, she saw that Kathleen had taken off all of her clothes. Somewhat startled, Florence exclaimed, "Kathleen"! Kathleen, believing she was in trouble, jumped up, ran around to the backyard, up the back steps, through the house and hid under Florence's bed in the front bedroom. Florence chased after her. When she found Kathleen, she tried to coax her out from under the bed. Kathleen slid further under the bed. Eventually, Florence convinced her she wasn't in trouble and Kathleen crawled out. Kathleen's clothes were then safety pinned day and night, as she took her clothes off at night also.
Harry and Pat bought a new G.M.C. passenger truck. They sold their 1941 Chevrolet to Florence and Connie. Connie wanted it because it had a "hill-holder" on it, and it would be easier to drive on the hills of San Francisco. Florence was driving the Chevrolet when she went to visit with Jess and Pauline Haynes. Kathleen was leaning on the armrest when Florence made a left turn. The door hadn't fully latched when it was closed and opened. Kathleen fell out of the car. Luckily, the driver in the other lane quickly swerved and stopped to block traffic. He jumped out and picked Kathleen up, taking her to a grateful Florence.
Leo Thomas Jones married Sherry Ann McDonald on August 11, 1956. After honeymooning at Ricky's Studio Inn in Palo Alto they stayed at the Weed's home while they were on vacation and on Euclid Avenue in September. When Leo returned to San Jose State to continue his education they lived in the trailer that had belonged to his grandmother Roxena.***
At the wedding, someone gave Kathleen spiked punch. She was giddy and kissed a little boy about her age while dancing. Every afternoon for a month afterward she threw up. Connie and Florence would liked to have given a piece of their minds to the person who gave her the spiked punch.
A few changes were made in the frontroom. The Venetian blinds were taken down and replaced with Pricilla curtains and retractable blinds. A braided rug was bought for the floor.
Pat was pregnant and hoping to have a daughter. She delivered another son, Gregg Marion Weed, on May 2, 1957.
Connie bought a new 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. On 15 May a call was received from Cedaredge, Colorado. Smith Wagner had died. Florence, Connie and Kathleen packed up the new car and headed out that night. They stayed in Reno, Nevada, completing their trip to Cedaredge the next day. Smith was buried May 19, 1957 in the Garnett Mesa Cemetery in Delta, in the plot where his parents were buried.
At home, termites were found in the front stairs. They were torn out and replaced with a cement staircase with wrought iron railing.
Rick Owen Jones was born to Leo and Sherry on August 19, 1957.
Missionaries from The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints discussed the beliefs of their religion with Hazel Williams. She accepted what she was taught and was baptized October 12, 1957. She filled out referral forms for her mother, Nell Wagner and her cousin, Florence Regina Jones.23
On November 18, 1957 Florence was in the kitchen doing dishes while Kathleen was in the bathroom cleaning the sink. Kathleen decided she didn't feel well and helped herself to the orange flavored Saint Joseph's aspirin for children. Luckily, the bottle wasn't full, as Kathleen finished the aspirin that was in the bottle. Another trip was made to the hospital to get her stomach pumped. While a police officer talked to Florence, the nurses took Kathleen into a surgical type of room, placed her on a table, covered her with a blanket and strapped her down. They pushed a tube into her throat and told her to swallow. They both went into an adjoining room to count the aspirin as the fluids from her stomach emptied into a basin. Back at home, a lock was placed on the larger medicine cabinet so that this would not happen again.
On Christmas Day each family opened their immediate family gifts at home, then they all met at the Weed's home for dinner and exchanging of extended family gifts.
Vaughn and Ruth Elkington, missionaries from The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints, taught the missionary discussions to Leo and Florence. They accepted the teachings and were baptized April 12, 1958 in the Walnut Creek ward building. The custodian wasn't notified there was to be a baptism until shortly before it was to happen. For the water to be warm, he drew hot water until it turned cold. He waited for the water heater to warm up more water, then filled the font. Due to the lack of time to use this method, he turned on the hot water to fill the font, but there was much more cold water that filled the font. Thus, Leo and Florence were baptized in cold water.
The building in which they attended their meetings was at 250 Juana Avenue, about a mile and a half from their home. Florence joined the Relief Society, a woman's organization. Homemaking classes were taught monthly. Some of the lessons Florence took advantage of were in using spices to add more flavor to foods and how to make quilts. She was able to share some of the things she learned from the Farm Bureau classes. She was asked to be involved with teaching skills to others, which she did.** As a result, she didn't spend as much time participating with Pat in the Farm Bureau classes.
Kathleen was taken to Sunday School and participated in Primary, a youth organization for children through eleven years of age.
At first, Aunt Nell wasn't as receptive to the teachings of this religion. She was devout in her observance of the Catholic religion. Eventually, she too accepted the teachings and was baptized May 31, 1958. She attended the meetings of the Relief Society.
In September Leo, Florence, Connie and Kathleen visited with Aunt Nell in Cedaredge. They visited the family plot in Leadville and the Royal Gorge. The suspension bridge had to be crossed to get to the visitor's center. To get to the bottom of the gorge, a caged-in tram car was ridden to the bottom. Kathleen was frightened, as she feared the car would not stop and would land in the raging river.
After returning to the top of the gorge, Leo saw a pair of glasses on the other side of the guardrail he decided he wanted. As he began to climb over the rail to get them, Florence tried to convince him it was too dangerous. Not being afraid of heights and surefooted, he retrieved the glasses.****
On the way home from Colorado, Connie was driving with Florence in the front seat with her. Kathleen was asleep, her head in Leo's lap, who was sitting behind Connie. A car whizzed by so quickly that it woke Kathleen up. Shortly thereafter when they cleared a rise in the road, they could see a cloud of dust.****
Their car was the second to arrive at the location where they saw the cloud of dust. Two men in a vehicle coming from the opposite direction had repeatedly passed a couple's car, then slowed down to make the couple pass them. After the men passed the couple one more time, their car hit the rear dual tires of a semi-truck. The car the men were in landed off the road.****
Connie quickly took out her medical kit from the glove compartment and rushed to the mens car. She found the passenger, who had been thrown partly under the dash, covered with oil that had come through the broken windshield. She heard the death-throttle come from his throat as she stood there. When she checked on the driver, she found his head and torso out of the car. She couldn't do anything for him. As she walked back towards the highway, she heard the "death throttle" come from his throat and knew he had died.****
When the truck driver walked unsteadily to the car, Connie noticed his forehead was bleeding. She offered to tend to it. Kathleen accompanied Connie to another driver's truck, where the truck driver sat on the step. Connie cleaned up the blood, but when she opened bandaid package she began to shake. She gave the bandaid to someone else to put on the truck driver. She returned to her car where it was decided nothing more could be done and the family continued towards home. When they arrived at the next town, they needed gas. The attendant asked her if she saw the accident the truck driver caused. She told the attendant it wasn't the truck driver's fault and related what occurred.****
For Christmas Roy and Hazel Williams came from Southern California and Aunt Nell came from Colorado to celebrate in San Leandro. On Christmas Eve, Leo dressed up as Santa. Aunt Nell laughed so hard, she almost cried. She stayed with the family into February.
John, Wilma and Claranna Gelineau arrived just before dawn at the Jones' residence in January. They were taken to Fisherman's Wharf, where they had dinner at Alioto's. Florence ordered hot water to make Postum. She was told it would cost her the price of coffee. After the order was taken, the family began to laugh and joke that there was a charge for hot water. Other customers stared at them, as they were being rowdy. They went to Coit Tower to get a good view of Alcatraz Island, then returned to the Jones' home.
Wilma was pregnant. She delivered William John Gelineau on August 18, 1959.
Leo came home from work and found Kathleen attempting to ride the Schwinn bike Connie rode when she was young. This was difficult due to the tires being flat. She fell several times, bending the basket. Leo took the bike into the garage, took off the basket and pumped up the tires. He then ran down the sidewalk to steady her until she could ride without falling.
Many days after work he took her to the schoolyard, where he pushed her on the swing or sat on the bench while she played. Sometimes it was cold, so he stuck his hands into his coat pockets.
At Christmas time kitchen remodeling was occurring at both the Jones and Weed residences. At the Jones residence the curio/china cabinet that could be accessed from either the front room or the kitchen was removed and the kitchen cabinets were replaced. The stove and refrigerator were given new places to occupy. The Weeds were making similar remodeling changes to their kitchen, in whose home Christmas dinner was served that year.
Scott Thomas Jones was born to Leo and Sherry on January 19, 1960.
Aunt Nell came to visit and when it came time for her to leave in March the entire family joined at the Santa Fe bus station in Oakland to send her off. It was decided to take pictures before she left, so the family went outside. A few other passengers who were traveling on the same bus saw the family go outside and thought the bus had come. They followed the family outside and were confused that there wasn't a bus waiting to be loaded. When they realized the crowd was family taking pictures, they returned to the inside of the depot.
On June 3, 1960 Kathleen was in a school play. Some of the kindergarten children were assigned as rats in the "The Magic Piper". A coat hanger tail was attached to one piece sleepers. A microphone was placed on a stand at the front of the stage. The rats crawled around the stage floor troubling the town's people. Kathleen's hooked tail caught the microphone and she began to drag it around with her. She was glad to be off the stage and crawling after the Piper down the aisle of the audience when her tail caught the chair of one of the people in the audience.
In August Florence accompanied Connie and Kathleen on vacation to Southern California. They went to Marineland, Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm and took the boat to Catalina Island where they went on a glass bottom boat to see the beautifully colored fish.
When winter arrived Aunt Nell took the bus to Detroit, Michigan to go on vacation with John, Wilma and Claranna Gelineau. They went to Niagara Falls, into Canada, New York City and Washington, D.C., which Aunt Nell declared to be a never-to-be-forgotten trip.
Mrs. Amelia Davis visited with Leo and Florence in February 1961. She was lovingly referred to as Granny Davis. While she was there, she taught Florence how to make a braided rug. They cut 3 1/2 inch wide strips from wool coats. The outer edges were folded to the center, then folded in half. Three long strips were then braided. On the floor, Leo laced them together with nylon thread. He wound the first revolution in a very small oval and continued to loop the braided strips until a 9 X 12 rug was formed. It was laced together a little too tightly, so it buckled. Kathleen was put to work flattening it out by scooting backwards on her bottom.
While they were working, Mrs. Davis and Florence talked of old times in Gilman. Mrs. Davis stated the Flannery children were the best behaved and best kept children in all of Gilman.
Before spring arrived, the smell of paint was in the house. Connie painted her room a light beige and bought a new bedspread and throw rugs. The front room and dining room where painted a pale shade of green. The louvered blinds in the dining room were taken down and replaced with curtains on the lower half of the windows. Florence's collection of colored bottles was placed on the ledge above the curtains.
Maple became Florence's favorite wood for furniture. She collected furniture for a few years and now had many pieces in her home. In the dining room was a hutch. In the bedroom a dresser for her and a chest of drawers for Leo. The frontroom had the largest collection. Two end tables, a "barrel shaped" table, a four shelf corner unit that stood on the floor and a wall shelf hung above the couch that contained many of the ceramic plates and cups she made.
On September 21, 1961, in the Delta County Independent, a full page article was written about Mrs. Ella (known to friends as Aunt Nell) Wagner, by Hazel Austin.24 Friends from Cedaredge and Delta surprised her by bringing in a cake, a freezer full of homemade ice cream and birthday cards. When it was mentioned that Aunt Nell still liked to cook, her friends said she is an expert when it comes to cooking roast beef and mountain trout.
The article mentioned that she spent many of her winter's with her daughter Hazel and husband in Hollywood, California, but she planned to stay in Cedaredge that winter.
Connie was busy sewing clothes after work and on the weekends for she and Kathleen to model at a spring fashion show. It was held the afternoon of March 29, 1962 at the Washington Elementary School.
Leo spent the summer building a new water tank in Auburn. The temperature was frequently in the high 90s. In September Florence, Connie and Kathleen visited him. During the day when Leo was working, they went to Nevada City. On the way, Florence gathered rocks for her flowerbed. On the outskirts of town they passed a mine. It was the one Leo worked in, in 1935. It was now closed and plans were being made to turn it into a tourist attraction.
When more guests than usual came for the holidays the older grandchildren were seated at the kitchen table. They enjoyed this because they could carry on their own conversation instead of being reserved at the main table. At Christmas Roy and Hazel Williams and Aunt Nell celebrated with the family, totaling 18 family members.
Florence took a class in cake decorating. It took practice for her to learn how to use the pliable cloth bakery tubes instead of solid metal tubes. She eventually made several cakes worthy for exhibition. She placed a small doll in the middle of a multi-layer cake. The upper body was decorated with frosting. The cake was the skirt of the doll's "Southern Bell" dress.
Clothes were made again for Kathleen to wear in another fashion show, held on March 28th.
Louis Clifford Gelineau was born on March 29, 1963 to John and Wilma.25
Mrs. Amelia Davis was living in Oregon. On their way to a Canadian vacation, Florence, Connie and Kathleen stopped by to visit her in June 1963. They visited the historic sites of Jacksonville. Kathleen rode a Dun horse in a round pen that looked like a stockade.
As they continued their trip, they made a side-trip to Crater Lake. They spent the night in a motel barely inside of Canada. It was July 4th. Permission was received from the manager to celebrate the holiday. Fireworks could be seen that night in the skies above American soil.
A ferry was taken to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, where they toured the Wax Museum and viewed the Parliament Buildings. The remainder of the day was spent at the Bouchart Gardens. These beautiful gardens gave Florence new ideas she would like to use at home. In the evening the gardens took on the appearance of a fairyland.
A visit was made to Prospect Point in Vancouver before continuing their trip to the Canadian Rockies. Kathleen's strongest memory of the point was of the Thunderbird Dynasty Totem Pole.
On their way to Lake Louise and the Columbia Glacier, over a hundred waterfalls were counted cascading from these magnificent snowcapped mountains. Along with many other motorists, a stop was made at Kicking Horse Falls. The torrential river coming down the mountain fell into a bowl shaped rock, where it churned before shooting out a hole into the canyon below.
Wildlife was seen in the woods and along the roadside. A bear was the cause of many cars stopped along the road. Connie pulled over also and decided to take a picture of the bear. She opened her door, turned in her seat and took a picture. When the bear heard the click of the camera, it ran towards the car. It was frightening to see how fast it could move and reached the car just after the door closed.
Snow-Cats were used for tours on the Athabasca Glacier, a "tongue" of the Columbia Glacier. When taking pictures from a distance of this area, the tractors looked like little ants on the ice. The guides explained that the majority of the glacier ran behind the mountains. The tractor was then rolled over a hole, the guide held on to hand holds on each side of the door and the tourist was invited one at a time to come forward to look deep into the hole. The deeper a hole was, the darker the blue.
Connie carried a 20-25 pound rock off the glacier and near the parking lot Florence found a rock, with green veins of color running through it, to take home.
Heading towards home the road went through Calgary. They were holding the "Calgary Stampede".
It was late afternoon as they traveled through Glacier National Park.
On the last day of the trip a stop was made at Shasta Dam. A fawn came into the parking lot and without any fear walked right up to Kathleen, who was able to pet it.
Leo and Florence were very involved with their church. They joined three other couples26 in their monthly "book club". Each couple took a turn hosting the meeting in their home. They studied the Bible; Book of Mormon; and Doctrine and Covenants. Before beginning they prayed and sung a song. When held in the Jones' home, Connie accompanied them on the organ. When Kathleen became good at playing the organ, she accompanied them.
Members of the church are assigned to a congregation, called a ward. The congregation was growing and needed to be split into two wards. The building they were meeting in would not accommodate two wards. The members had projects to raise funds to build a new building. One project was sewing burlap into sacks on industrial machines. After the sacks were sewn, they were taken into another room where they were stenciled and baled. Florence sewed and when Kathleen was there, she took the finished sacks into the other room. She helped Mike Perakis stencil and fold the sacks for baling. He practiced a lot of patience with her, as she liked to play and tease. Sometimes Leo was able to assist with this project.
Leo assisted Florence by taking gathered rummage to the basement of a local building for the annual rummage sale. The neighbors of the area looked forward to this advertised occasion. However, opening day wasn't exciting for the person who opened the door. The people pushed each other, trying to be the first to the tables. If the person who opened the door didn't get out of the way quickly, they were run over. Florence's turn came to open the door, which was next to a wooden sales counter. She unlocked the door and quickly jumped on the counter and slid to the safety of the floor on the other side.
When the family got together for Kathleen's birthday, Aunt Nell was visiting. It was one of those rare moments that a picture was taken when she wasn't ready. Leo Thomas Jones pulled her into his lap and kissed her.
Mrs. Amelia Davis came to visit and the rug making was started again. Aunt Nell was chief cook and bottle washer while Mrs. Davis and Florence were busy with the work of making the rugs. Some old parachutes were acquired and the nylon from them removed to be used in lacing the rug together. Leo laced the braids into a rug, being careful to lace them together a little looser.
Connie was able to acquire a torn tarpaulin from a trucker. It was given to Kathleen to drape over her swing set to create a tent house.
It was decided the patio would be more enjoyable if it had a roof over it. Leo was busy that summer with the construction of the roof and installing electricity. Occasionally a night was spent sleeping in the patio. Towards the end of the summer when the evenings were much cooler the tarpaulin was hung from the north side of the patio roof, being held firm with rocks on the roof. The west side of the patio butted up to a cottage at the back of the neighbors property, which acted as a windbreak for two-thirds of the length of the patio. A six foot fence reached to a foot below the patio roof the last third of the distance. On the south side was the garage. A fire was lit in the fireplace. This created a cozy outdoors atmosphere.
Connie met Gary Marion Calvert, who was a warehouseman working in the vicinity of her place of employment. They were married March 6, 1965 in Reno, Nevada. They moved near the San Leandro Marina until the end of the school year, then they moved to Downey, California, where they lived on Firestone Blvd. Connie, who was pregnant, stayed home so that she could be there when Kathleen came home from school.
That summer, Leo and Florence were going to Cedaredge to celebrate Aunt Nell's 80th birthday. They had Connie fly Kathleen to the Oakland Airport so that she could accompany them. The Weeds went also.
Shortly after arriving, it was learned the Watt's riot broke out the night of August 11 in Southern California. The rioting and looting spread through Downey. Fearing for Connie's safety, she was called. She reported that she was fine, the rioting stopped two blocks away.
The Gelineau family joined the celebration. Claranna and Kathleen got along well. They went for walks together in Cedaredge. While crossing a stream in the park, Kathleen cut her bare foot on a rock.
Later in the week, Claranna, Kathleen, Mark and Gary Weed were taken into Delta to go swimming. They stayed in the water several hours, coming out with hands wrinkled like prunes.
Kathleen continued to walk around with bare feet, as it hurt her sore to wear shoes. It became infected and needed some medical attention. Wilma was trained in nursing skills. The sore needed to be drained, which Kathleen found to be a very painful experience.
The California visitors left Cedaredge to visit the towns where Florence had lived. Aunt Nell arranged for them to stay with a friend a couple of nights. A cast iron stove was used to cook on and heat up the house. The bathroom was an outhouse up the hill.
Mark, Gary and Kathleen went exploring. A post was sticking up from the ground. It didn't seem to have any purpose being there. Mark shook it. An elderly man walked by and told him to get away from there. That post marked the opening to a mine shaft.
A little further along the road, railroad tracks curved away from the road and continued across some loose soil. Close by, the loose soil abruptly dropped off. Mark and Gary walked onto the tracks over the loose soil. They encouraged Kathleen to come out with them. She was afraid because that spot was too close to the drop-off. The soil looked like the soil around the post that marked the opening to the mine shaft.
They found abandoned one room cabins whose floors were sinking into the soil. One had a very old calendar hanging from the wall. The youth asked why the calendar was still there. It was explained that after the silver market crashed, the mines closed. The people living in the cabins moved out and they hadn't been lived in since.
During the night a loud noise was heard. The next morning it was learned a large amount of soil had sluffed off nearby. Mark, Gary and Kathleen went to see where this happened. It was the loose soil that was under the tracks Mark and Gary were on the day before. The tracks were now hanging in the air from the road to the other side of where the loose soil had been.
The travelers spent time in Victor and Leadville, where they slept the night. The following day they traveled to Gilman and Red Cliff where they visited with Walter and Katherine Owen. Later Leo and Florence took Kathleen to go swimming in the mineral pool in Glenwood Springs.
The Weeds and Jones both left for home, taking different routes. The Jones took a southern route to take Kathleen home. They stopped to visit Bryce Canyon in Utah.
Gary Calvert was unfaithful to Connie. During work hours he spent money, that was needed to run the household, on another woman. On November 23rd, two days before Thanksgiving, Leo and Florence rented a moving truck and drove in the rain to Downey to bring Connie and Kathleen home to San Leandro. They packed and returned to San Leandro the next day.
In February a baby shower was held at the Jones' home. Neighbors; friends and family, including Aunt Nell, attended.
On February 17, 1966 Connie delivered a daughter in San Leandro, naming her Colleen Lee Calvert.
Baby bottles were sterilized by placing them in a metal basket shaped to hold each bottle upright. This was placed in a deep container, that resembled a Dutch over, but was smaller and made of aluminum instead of stainless steel. Florence loaded the sterilizer with Colleen's bottles, set it on the stove and turned on the heat. She felt tired and decided to lie down for a few minutes while Colleen was taking a nap.
Kathleen was in her room with the door shut. She came out of her room and saw the front room and dining room filled with gray smoke. The smoke was darker and thicker in the kitchen. She found her grandmother in her room and told her. Florence directed her to get Colleen and go outside until she was told they could come back in.
The sterilizer ran out of water. Florence turned off the heat and picked it up to take it to the kitchen sink. As she did so, the bottom dropped out of it and flames bursting upwards burnt her hands. Dropping the sterilizer she rushed to the sink, filled a container with cold water and plunged her hands into it. She called Pat to come get her and take her to the doctors.
Kathleen, wondering why it was taking so long to be called back inside, left Colleen on a blanket in the yard and went inside. Florence explained to her what happened and that Pat was on her way to take her to the doctors. After the house was aired out, Kathleen was to bring Colleen inside and tend to her.
Florence received second and third degree burns. A few days later she raised a bandaged hand to rub her itchy nose. She smelled an odor that she knew came from infected tissue. She again rushed to the doctor. With anti-biotics and time her hands fully healed.
The bottoms of the baby bottles popped off the bottles, leaving rounded burns in the linoleum. The smoke damaged the paper textured wallpaper. The linoleum and wallpaper in the kitchen were replaced.
When the Christmas season arrived, Colleen's paternal grandmother, Dorothy Calvert, came to visit.
In 1967 the extended family were all together until June for birthdays and holidays. In June Leo T., Sherry and their two sons moved from their home in Fremont to Hawaii, where Leo T. worked at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.
After many years of welding, Leo retired. He spent his time taking care of the yard, which also involved raking up the walnuts in the yard, shelling and cracking them. He did honey-do jobs around the house, then sat down and played cards.
The following summer Leo and Florence left for a month long Hawaiian vacation on October 5th. They were taken to the airport by Connie, Kathleen and Colleen. Bob and Grace Kayser arrived early enough to take them to breakfast. Pat, Gary, and Gregg Weed, plus a friend of Gary's, joined the group.
They arrived in Hilo at 11:20 A.M. and were met by a Silversword Holiday Tour bus, which took them to the Naniloa Hotel. They were assigned room 6010, on the ocean side. Their room wasn't ready, so they ate lunch. They both had Tuna Salad Sandwiches. Leo had apple pie ala-mode and Florence had chocolate ice cream with mint topping. They took the city bus into town that day and started their tour the next day.
On the 8th they arrived at Honolulu at 4:30 and were greeted by Leo T., Sherry and their boys Rick and Scott. Rick and Scott held signs saying Aloha Grandma, Aloha Grandpa. Leis were given to Leo and Florence. After dinner Leo T. went to bed, as he needed to get up to work the graveyard shift. The rest stayed up and gabbed.
During the remainder of the trip they were given a tour of the island of Oahu. Highlights were seeing the Blow Hole, Sea Life Park, visiting the Hawaiian Temple, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the Pearl Harbor War Memorial. During Aloha week they went to two shows at the Shell in Honolulu and watched a parade. They shopped at the Ala Moana shopping center, then the largest in the world.
Florence desired for her entire family to join The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints. She was disappointed when Kathleen stopped attending church meetings when she was nine years old. In December Connie and Kathleen began taking the missionary discussions and attended church meetings.
Kathleen, who was fourteen years old, wanted to be away from the rest of the family. She was given permission to sleep in the south east corner of the basement. Florence got her cardboard refrigerator boxes to hang on the east wall and to create a north wall, separating her area from the remainder of the basement. Part of the tarpaulin, now in two pieces, was hung on the outside of the north wall and around the underside of the furnace to the west wall, to keep warmth from the pilot in her room. The west wall was the middle of the house, where the beam was located. The west wall was created by hanging the other piece of tarpaulin from the beam. Florence took her to the store to select wallpaper to cover the cardboard. Kathleen painted a peace sign in the center of a large daisy on the retractable blind that covered the window on the south side of her room.
On February 27th Hazel and Roy Williams and Aunt Nell arrived to witness the baptism of Connie and Kathleen on March 1, 1969.
Florence went to Pauline Haynes' home to bathe her on March 26th. Pauline was ill. Afterward Florence rubbed lotion on her dry skin.
That afternoon, Kathleen was in the backyard with her boyfriend, Gerald Douglas Minion, Jr. He was chasing her, but could not catch her. He threw the coiled rope of the swing hanging from the tree at her, believing she would see it and run away from it. He ran in the direction he believed she would run to catch her. However, she did not see it. It uncoiled as it came in front of her. She just saw a blur as it caught her throat and she was jerked off the ground. She landed on the ground on her back and turned over before passing out.
The next morning Florence received a call from Jess Haynes. Pauline died about midnight.
That afternoon Kathleen was taken to the doctor's office. She had a whiplash. The doctor didn't want to release her because of the rope burn around her neck. He believed she attempted suicide. Only when he was convinced there was a witness did he agree to release her.
The funeral of Pauline Haynes was held March 29th. Florence went to their home afterwards to assist with serving food. She came home concerned that Jess' despondency could result in death for him also.
Kathleen caught a cold and wasn't getting well. She protested when she was told she needed to move back upstairs. To get to the bathroom it was necessary to walk through the front or middle bedroom to get to it. Kathleen slept in the middle bedroom, which was usually used to reach the bathroom. She resented her privacy being invaded.
On June 21st Kathleen was feverish. The next day she broke out with Chicken Pox. The 23rd she did not sleep all night. The next night, to relieve her discomfort, Florence rubbed Calamine lotion on her and rubbed her back. On July 4th Colleen broke out also. It was questioned whether or not Connie had them as a child, so Kathleen traded beds with her. On the 6th Colleen was fussy and couldn't sleep. Kathleen rubbed her back and sang to her until she went to sleep at 2 a.m. The next night Colleen was fussy again. Kathleen was exhausted. Florence took care of Colleen until she went to sleep, so Kathleen could sleep.
Leo, Florence and Barbara left Friday, July 11th, at 4:00 A.M. for Colorado. They ate breakfast in Reno and lunch in a park in Winnemucca. They arrived in Salt Lake City and spent the night at Ce Rancho Motel. They left Salt Lake City at 5:30 A.M., ate breakfast in Provo and lunch in Green River. They arrived in Delta at 4:15 P.M., called Aunt Nell then shopped for towels and ice cream.
On Sunday they attended church services and took a ride to Peonia for Barbara to see the petunia fields.
On Tuesday they went to Leadville via Aspen and over Independence Pass. They stayed the night in Leadville at the Delaware Hotel.
The next day they stopped by Walter and Katherine Owen's home in Red Cliff. Walter wasn't home. They visited with Swany and Dick Cryan in Gilman. At the school near Minturn they visited with Olive Cryan. They arrived in Cedaredge in the evening.
Barbara needed to return home to go to work. She was taken to Grand Junction to fly home on Saturday, taking Frontier Airlines. After they got out a ways, the pilot announced they needed to return. Someone forgot to fuel the plane.**
Roy and Hazel Williams arrived on Monday, staying until the following Monday. They went to Denver and Colorado Springs to visit with family and friends. They returned on Saturday, July 26th.
Connie and girls arrived at Aunt Nell's August 4th, after meeting and visiting with Gladys Ames, Kathleen's paternal grandmother.
On Tuesday, August 5th, Aunt Nell's birthday was celebrated.
Everyone planned to leave on Wednesday. Roy and Hazel planned to return home, but Roy was ill. Leo and Florence with Aunt Nell and Connie with the girls left for Colorado Springs. Aunt Nell stayed a couple of days with Pearl and Al Williams, Roy's brother. The rest camped in a rented camp trailer at Golden Eagle Campground Wednesday and Thursday.
On Thursday they all went to the Baldwin Estate, that became a girl's school. Aunt Nell worked there in earlier years. She recounted to family and the staff occurrences she experienced there and how the home was used. Then they went to the Air Force Air Academy to take a tour.
On Friday Florence and Leo took Aunt Nell to the bus station and then looked for the house the Borah's lived in on Arcadia when Florence went to Blair's Business School. Connie and the girls moved the trailer to Golden Lane Campground at 3023 1/2 Colorado Boulevard.
On Saturday Leo and Florence went to Pueblo to visit with Lincoln and Anna Blakey. Ida, who was living out-of-state, was visiting with her sister. Florence hadn't seen Ida in almost 49 years. They visited six and a half hours. Anna and Ida were disappointed they couldn't stay longer. Connie and girls went to the Cave of the Winds.
On Sunday they all attended their religious Sunday School services at the Air Force Academy. Afterward, they attended the Presbyterian services in a beautiful chapel. That evening they attended the Sacrament services at the Colorado Springs 1st Ward.
Connie desired to live in Colorado Springs. She went into town on Monday to seek out employment. Florence did the laundry and Kathleen went to the creek, where she met Bob Edson and was introduced to his family.
Tuesday they all went to Pikes Peak. It was warm in Colorado Springs, but breezy and cool at the top of the mountain. They went to Cripple Creek and Victor, finding the Flannery home gone and the home Leo and Florence lived in on Portland Avenue in 1924 was partially gone. Connie and girls took the El Paso Mine tour. They took a dirt road from Goldfield to return to Colorado Springs. At the beginning of the road a large sign was posted that read:
Connie wanted to look into living near Boulder. Everyone headed for Denver. They wanted to go to Boulder, but took the wrong highway and were headed for Idaho Springs. They decided to visit Central City and then backtrack to Golden to spend the night. However, they didn't like the camping there and went to Boulder to spend the night.
Connie didn't like Boulder. She and the girls returned to the Golden Lake Campground in Colorado Springs on Thursday. Leo and Florence went into Denver to visit with Margarite Abrahamsen. Afterward, they went to see Mary Neve, a friend she met in Kokomo, but Mary wasn't home. Then returned to Colorado Springs.
Connie continued to look for work, but was unable to find employment. They all left Colorado Springs the 19th and stayed at Aunt Nell's that night.
Connie and the girls left for home the next day. They stayed in Elko that night and arrived home on the 21st. Leo and Florence arrived home on the 26th.
Gladys Ames came to visit from the 26th until early in the morning of the 29th.
The number of people eating together for the holidays was no longer as large as in earlier years. Mark Weed was in the military. Gary Weed worked as a chef at Sambo's restaurant and joined in after work. Leo T. and family lived in Hawaii. Everyone was easily seated at the main table with plenty of "elbow room".
On January 21, 1970, as the family sat watching T.V., a dog could be heard on the porch. Knowing the cat, Pepper, was on the porch, it was feared he would be attacked. Pepper could be heard hissing. Kathleen jumped up and opened the door. The dog was chasing Pepper across the street into Mrs. Nelson's front yard. Kathleen, who was standing on the porch, was momentarily relieved when she saw Pepper quickly climb into the tree. However, he fell out of the tree and began to run when the dog grabbed him by the neck. As Pepper fell, Kathleen leaped from the porch to the bottom of the stairs and ran across the street. Just as the dog began to shake Pepper, she jumped on the dogs back and beat on his head with her fists. Connie, fearing the dog would turn on her, stood nearby yelling to get off the dog.27 Kathleen was totally oblivious to what was being yelled at her. Her concentration was on the dog releasing Pepper. After Pepper was released and the owner's shrill whistling for the dog was heard, she stopped beating on the dog and got off of him. Pepper wasn't anywhere to be found. Everyone went to bed fearing he was hidden somewhere and dying. However, he was found the next day and survived.
On March 7th Connie and the girls moved to a place of their own in Walnut Creek. When Kathleen went to school the first week, she was made fun of for being a good student and called a square. People approached her several times asking if she wanted to buy drugs. If she changed her mind she could go to a certain teacher to buy some. In her opinion, her teachers were polite, but not friendly. She missed her church's early morning youth scripture study, as the classes were held too far away from where she needed to board her bus. Connie went to the school district to request a district transfer. They denied the transfer and Connie declared they would not get the funds for her either, as she would return Kathleen to her Grandmother's home so that she could attend school in San Leandro. Kathleen spent the week at her Grandparents and weekends with her Mother and Colleen.
Gary Weed's graduation from high school was celebrated June 11th. Extended family members attended the graduation and joined at their home afterwards.
The Jones family from Hawaii came to visit, arriving on July 26th. They, with Leo and Florence, decided to shop at the Sun Valley Shopping Center near Walnut Creek August 3rd. They picked up Kathleen and Colleen and went to lunch. While Kathleen, Rick and Scott ice skated at the mall rink; the adults, with Colleen, went shopping. Afterward they ate dinner at Connie's. The girls went to San Leandro to visit for the week.
The next evening Leo T. and family spent the evening with Sherry's brother's family. The following day, Wednesday, they spent touring San Francisco.
Mark Weed, who was on leave, visited at the Jones residence on Thursday.
Friday August 14, Sherry cooked a wonderful Japanese dinner for the entire family. Afterwards the family watched a slideshow. The next day extended family members of Leo and Sherry met at a park for a picnic.
On the 21st Leo, Florence, Leo T., Sherry, and Pat met Bob and Grace Kayser at a steakhouse in Napa.
The next evening Sherry's parents and the extended Jones family met at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor in Fremont. When a Zoo was ordered, a HUGE bowl of ice cream was carried around on a platform with a hole in the center for the bowl. This platform rested on poles the carriers held as they ran through the restaurant. A firehouse siren accompanied the event. Most of the family members ordered a trough. This was a double banana split. Anyone eating the entire banana split was awarded a ribbon, while they stood on a chair. The ribbon read, "I made a pig of myself at Farrell's".
The last two weeks of August Connie looked for another place to live because she wanted Kathleen to live with her during the school year. Affordable housing was difficult to find. She learned the little cottage next door to her parent's home, that butted up to the patio, was available. The move was completed by August 31st.
In August Florence received a letter from Aunt Nell. The Beck family had Aunt Nell for dinner on Sunday. They had roast beef, potatoes, creamed carrots, tomatoes and hot biscuits. Afterward, they took a ride to Harts Basin and got some nice ripe peaches. Aunt Nell would can a few of the peaches and a lot of tomatoes, as the price of tomatoes was high. She liked to use the tomatoes in soup.
She made some bread for a bake sale, making an extra for herself. She stated it was so good she gobbled it down like a pig.
The weather at the time was nice, but there had been a lot of rain and high winds.
This poem was included in the letter:
Whare the trees meet across the street,
Whare you wave your hand and say "Hello"
To every one you meet.
I like to stand for a moment
Outside the grocrie store
And listen to the friendly gossip
of the folk who live next door.
For life is interwoven
With the Friend we learn to know
And we hear there Joys and sorrows
As we daily come and go.
So I like to live in a little town
I care no more to roam
For every house in a little town
Is more than a house, it's home.
Aunt Nell enjoyed walking to the Post Office to get her mail. After walking to the Post Office and talking with friends, she headed home, noticing a storm was coming. She walked briskly, but wasn't able to get home before it began to rain. Quickly it turned to a hail storm with golf ball size hailstones. Aunt Nell covered her face with her hands. As she approached homes of well known neighbors, she rushed to ask for shelter. When they came to the door, they exclaimed her hands and forehead were bleeding and brought her inside.
She invited the Huntleys and Nora for Christmas dinner. The Huntleys were sick that day, so only Nora and Nell celebrated together. She received many nice gifts. She cried when she opened the gift from her nephew John Gelineau. Inside of it was a family picture.
Hazel declared this would be her last Christmas alone. They planned to sell both of their homes and buy another house together in another climate.
Hazel and Roy were invited to have Christmas dinner with Ted and Frances Carper. When Frances woke up Christmas morning she was ill. Hazel had fixed a hind quarter of turkey to use for sandwiches, so they were able to have a Christmas dinner at home. Visitors came during the day, so they enjoyed their Christmas. Hazel was pleased with the bed pillows Florence sent and a copy of the picture that was taken when Mark Weed visited with Aunt Nell earlier in the year.
The scripture study group Kathleen attended planned a trip to Mexico. Fund raisers were held. Florence assisted Kathleen by baking goods for the bake sale, got involved with a rummage sale and went to Henry and Rose Winter's backyard, where newspapers were bundled and sold to a company. They left for their trip early in the morning of June 17th.
Aunt Nell, and Roy and Hazel sold their homes. They bought a home at 1208 Rancho Road in Roswell, New Mexico. Leo and Florence left their home July 2nd for Roy and Hazel's to assist them with packing. On the 8th they left for Cedaredge to assist Aunt Nell with her packing.
While in Colorado they went to Denver to visit on the 20th and spent the 21st and 22nd in Pueblo before returning to Cedaredge on the 23rd. They stayed there with Aunt Nell until August 10th, when they left for Roswell, arriving there the next day at noon. They assisted with the unpacking until the 24th, when they headed back for North Hollywood, arriving there the next day at 5 P.M.
They spent the 26th visiting with Mrs. Amelia Davis. After spending the 27th with Roy and Hazel they returned home on the 28th.
Kathleen was having problems swallowing and tasted blood after running in her physical education class. She went to the doctors and he told her she had a nodule on her thyroid. She was given thyroxin to see if it would reduce the nodule. When it didn't, she was scheduled to have surgery late in September. The surgeon removed part of the thyroid when he took the nodule. He said it grew out of a lesion in her thyroid that would have been caused by a severe, direct blow to her throat. She was to have her thyroid checked yearly. Kathleen understood this to mean she was to have a doctor check it to make sure another nodule wasn't forming.
A couple weeks later Connie and the girls went to Hawaii to visit with Leo T. and family. On the way to their home, they stopped at the Pauli. The winds coming up the mountain were so strong a person could lean into the wind and not fall down the mountain.
Kathleen enjoyed swimming at the reef protected beaches in Kailua. She didn't enjoy the Honolulu beaches as well. The bottom was rocky instead of sandy. She tried to surf but kept falling off the board. Rick and Scott showed her how to surf, but she wasn't able to conquer this challenge.
They visited the Pearl Harbor War Memorial, the Hawaiian Temple and Polynesian Cultural Center. Kathleen left the family for awhile to visit friends that attended the college, which adjoined with the Polynesian Cultural Center.
A visit was made to the garden island of Kauai. The runway there was short. The plane was slowed down in the air by adjusting the flaps, which caused the plane to shudder. Kathleen had been on a plane a couple times before, but never had this experience. The "Airport" movies were shown on television. She was afraid they were going to crash. She raised up in her seat as she pushed the armrests. Connie saw the terror on Kathleen's face, quickly told her what the pilot was doing and assured her they were not going to crash.
This is a lush island with many waterfalls. Marriages are conducted in the Fern Grotto.
While in Hawaii, news was received that Pat and Harry separated. Pat filed for divorce.
On January 17, 1972 Florence went to the doctor's office, as she had a cold accompanied by chest pains. Leo was not feeling well either, but he wouldn't go to see the doctor. On the 23rd Leo fell out of bed. Florence couldn't get him to respond to get him back into bed. He was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. He was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. He went into a coma. Florence stayed at the hospital with him. Leo T. was called and told to come to the hospital.
On February 1st, the doctor was concerned that Florence wasn't getting enough sleep. She and Leo T. went to Pat's to rest. Pat, Connie and Kathleen visited Leo at the hospital. At 7:35 Kathleen heard gurgling, as Leo's lungs were filling up with fluid. A few minutes later a nurse came in, left to get a doctor and upon returning informed the family the doctor requested they come into his office. Pat and Connie followed the nurse, but Kathleen momentarily stood in the hall looking into the room as the ventilator was turned off and Leo's head was covered with the bedding.
In the Doctor's office Pat and Connie were informed their father was dead. Neither one of them was emotionally capable to get Florence and Leo T. Kathleen knew she could safely do this and was sent to pick them up. Barbara, who was attending a business training meeting, was called. It was good there wasn't a Highway Patrolman on the road with her, as she sped to get to the hospital. She would not have stopped until she arrived.
Sherry and the boys came to San Leandro to attend the funeral. It was held Friday, February 4th in the Charles P. Bannon Mortuary at 6800 East 14th Street in Oakland. Bishop Gerald Douglas Minion, Sr. gave the invocation. Truman Nethercott sang Leo's favorite songs, "Old Rugged Cross" and " The Lord's Prayer". The speakers were C. LeRoy Bauer and Daniel Canning. Henry Winter gave the benediction. The Pallbearers were: Richard Allphin, Glen Elliott, George Ewald, Theodore Grow, Grant Hollingshaus and Francis Lamph. He was buried in Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette.
Florence found it difficult living alone, so Connie and the girls moved into her home.
Aunt Nell wrote a letter on March 2nd expressing her desire that Florence was well and some concerns she had involving Hazel. With subsequent letters she expressed difficulties she was having living with Roy. There was a plastic runner in the hallway to protect it from dirt and being worn out. Aunt Nell woke earlier in the day than he did and he complained she woke him up. When she used the cutting board to slice the green pepper she ate daily, and other snacks, he was angry with that also. She didn't feel welcome living with them.
It was decided she would live with Florence. The west side of the basement was finished, creating two bedrooms. A heater was placed in the southern bedroom for Aunt Nell. At the east wall of the upstairs middle bedroom a hole was cut through the floor for a staircase. Harry and Connie did most of the work. Working in the basement was difficult for Harry, as the basement had low ceilings and he needed to stoop. Aunt Nell arrived July 14th.
Kathleen graduated on June 16th. When the rooms in the basement were completed, she moved into the northern bedroom and Colleen moved into the middle bedroom Kathleen vacated. She spent the summer days babysitting the Jensen's children, while their mother, Carol, took a nursing course. In the evenings and weekends she attended church sponsored young adult activities.
Late in September Aunt Nell visited friends in Colorado. On September 25th Florence left to visit in Hawaii. Connie and Colleen joined Florence in Hawaii on October 7th. Barbara joined them in Hawaii also. Florence, Connie and Colleen returned October 22nd and Barbara returned home a week later. When Kathleen went to the airport to get Florence, Connie and Colleen, it was a scene of celebration. The Oakland A's won the pennant and were arriving at the same time.
Connie didn't want Kathleen to be home alone. It was arranged for one of the youth her age, Robin Hollingshaus, to stay with her.
Earlier, Robin introduced Kathleen to Darrel Lee Boyd. They began to date while the remainder of the family was in Hawaii. On December 28th Kathleen moved into a duplex with four other ladies Darrel knew. Kathleen and Darrel were married May 26, 1973 in Hayward.
On December 29, 1973 Pat married Andrew Andrews, a widowed neighbor, in Carmel. They honeymooned at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.** "Andy" sold his home. He used the funds to pay off the mortgage of Pat's house and pay Harry for his share of the house.
Aunt Nell had a stroke and was placed in the hospital June 19, returning home on the 24th. While Mark Weed's family was visiting from Kansas, she had a mini-stroke July 9th and another on the 13th. After her first stroke Florence was afraid to let her take walks alone. Aunt Nell also had difficulties climbing the stairs. She felt she was a burden and in the way, so she arranged to live at a rest home in Delta, Colorado. Florence flew to Colorado with her on the 29th, returning home August 1st.
Aunt Nell's cat was a one person animal. She asked Barbara to take her cat and have it put to sleep. Since her cat wouldn't come to anyone, but her, she put it in a box for Barbara to carry to the car. In the car, the cat howled and scratched to get out and Barbara began to cry. She went back into the house and called Pat, requesting she come and assist her. It broke Barbara's heart to put the cat to sleep, but she promised Aunt Nell she would do it.**
Florence went with Connie and Colleen on vacation to Logan, the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone August 16th through September 1st. They were excited to see several geysers shooting out water at Yellowstone. They later learned from a park ranger that this was an out of the ordinary occurrence.
Florence received news from the Rest Home in Delta that Aunt Nell was taken to the hospital October 29, 1974, dying on November 2nd. Florence flew to Colorado to take care of the funeral arrangements.
Another beloved, long time friend, Jess Haynes, died December 16, 1974.
In Roswell, New Mexico, Roy Williams died February 8, 1975 and was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.
Bobby and Grace Kayser invited the entire family to celebrate Easter with them in the Club House of the trailer park where they lived. The extended families of the Kaysers and Jones shared with each other what they were doing in their lives and reminisced. Some swam in the pool.
In April Florence took a five week "Wills and Estate" course, taught by the lawyer Roy King.
Connie, Colleen and Florence stopped to visit with Hazel in Roswell, New Mexico; on their way to an East Coast Vacation, in October.
During the year she attended wedding and baby showers; weddings and a funeral for LeRoy Bauer, a member of the congregation she attended. She went to dinners held monthly at church where she enjoyed visiting with friends.
Florence took a cabinet making class in Adult School. She made mirrored shelves that hung on the wall and gave them away for Christmas.
Kathleen came to stay with Florence the last week of May while her husband went to Colorado Springs, Colorado for some military work training. While staying with Florence she delivered her daughter on May 30th, nine days early. Florence took care of her son while she was in the hospital. She returned home a couple days later after her husband returned.
A week later, Kathleen was in the hospital fighting for her life. Florence took care of her children for the three days she was in the hospital and Kathleen also for a few days after she was released.
For the July 4th, 1976 holiday, Florence and Barbara went to Disneyland in Anaheim. Like two girlfriends, they rode the rides and enjoyed the entertainment. They enjoyed each others company as mother and daughter and also as good friends.** Scott, who was visiting from Hawaii, went on the trip with them. He returned to Hawaii August 10th.
On September 27th Connie and Colleen moved to Eugene, Oregon.
Barbara moved in with Florence on October 1st. They signed up to take organ lessons together.
Rick came to visit from Hawaii from November 11th until December 21st.
Mac McWilliams died in May, 1968. Doris married "Curly" Bray. Florence visited with them in Penn Valley the weekend of February 12th and 13th.
Colleen wasn't happy living in Oregon. She returned to Florence's home February 23rd. A few weeks later Connie moved back to San Leandro, moving into an apartment.
The last two weeks of July Leo T., Sherry and the boys came to visit. Whenever they came to visit, Florence made Lemon Meringue Pies and Cinnamon Rolls. Her daughters wanted to know why it took a visit from Leo T. before she made these treats. Florence made them a little more often afterwards.
In October Barbara went to Idaho to visit with her friend Edie. She met Joseph Stamm, who lived in Nampa and they were married in November. Barbara's belongings were loaded into the moving van November 18th and she left for Idaho the 22nd.
Kathleen, who was having marital problems, moved in on November 19th. After her husband agreed to and attended marriage counseling, she and the children returned to their home in January.
After attending a couple of genealogy training meetings; Florence, with Pat's assistance, started doing research at the Family History Center in Oakland, the National Archives in San Bruno and the Sutro Library in San Francisco.
Wilma Gelineau called Florence May 5th, 1978. John died the day before. He was buried in the Michigan Memorial Cemetery.
Dinner tasted different on May 9. Colleen ate dinner with her while Connie went out for the evening. Florence fixed Beef Stroganoff. She placed portions on each of their plates, replaced the lid and sat down to eat. After they ate, she took the lid off, looked in the pot and saw something at the bottom of the pot. It looked like a bar of soap. Disbelieving what she saw, she looked closer. Sure enough, it was a bar of soap. She stood there, lid in hand, just staring at the soap. She finally realized, when she was cooking the dinner, she took the lid off and placed it on the counter. She didn't realize she placed it over a bar of soap, which stuck and ended up in the pot.28
The next day Florence left with Pat and Andy for a European trip. Sherry, who was visiting with her father, took them to the airport. Andy's sister Flo and her husband George met them at the airport to "send them off". They departed from the San Francisco International Airport at 11 A.M, arriving in New York at 6:55 P.M.
Their plane to Shannon, Ireland left at 8:15 P.M. It was hot and they feared it would be a noisy trip with passengers seated in front of them who were drunk. However, they quieted. A half hour later the pilot announced they could see the Northern Lights from the left side of the plane. They looked like a light haze with streaks going upwards. After another half hour the pilot announced the Northern Lights again and suggested they turn the lights off. This time it was beautiful. Streaks of light were seen everywhere in brighter colors. Shannon Airport was heavily overcast and it was announced they may land in Dublin. However, it raised and they were able to land at Shannon Airport.
They met a very nice young man; Ted Decker from Scottsdale, Arizona; on the plane. Ted had reservations at the Shannon International Hotel. Florence, Pat and Andy went with him to the hotel, where they acquired accommodations.
After getting settled in their rooms, they took a bus into Limerick. They saw the Church of Ireland and Saint Mary's Cathedral. On their way out of Saint Mary's Cathedral they saw a dump truck backing up. It jumped the curb and crashed into the very old and decorative iron fence of the church, breaking an entire section. That night they had a Mediaeval Banquet at Bunratty Castle.
The next day they took a tour bus to Killarney to see Dunlop Castle Hotel and were disappointed, as they were led to believe it was an old castle. In the afternoon they took a taxi into Killarney to do some shopping. It was cold and rainy. In a sweater shop they found Ted, who wasn't dressed for the weather. He was looking at sweaters. It was suggested one looked better than the rest. They learned later he bought the sweater they suggested looked the best on him.
The following day, Saturday, was the day they were all looking forward to riding a jaunting cart to Muckross Abbey and through the lake country of Killarney. They took the side riding cart, which was "out in the open". It was raining, so they bundled up in rain hats, coats and a wool blanket with tarps to put over their laps. Andy decided to wear his tarp over his head, but ended up with a wet bottom. Florence and Pat placed their tarps over their laps, but ended up getting wet. In the afternoon they "motored" to the seacoast to circle the Iveragh Peninsula on the famous Ring of Kerry drive. They could hardly believe they were getting to see all of this in person. Tom, their Irish driver, sang a song of Galaway Bay. His deeply accented Irish Brogue and wit added to their trip. That night after dinner, they went to the Irish Cabaret. Girls danced the Irish Jig. A tenor singer sang, "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" and "Danny Boy". Florence bought one of his records.
Sunday morning they toured Macroom and the Blarney Castle. Legend has it that after kissing the famous Blarney Stone, one is endowed with irresistible eloquence. They all took their turn laying on their backs and with a man holding their waist, inched two feet down to kiss the stone. This is done with the eyes closed, as the rock looks like it's moving if the eyes are open. After lunch they headed to Cork to board the train for Dublin. They had dinner at Jury's Cabaret and greatly enjoyed the show. Andy and Pat bought a record of the Irishman, Hal Roach, who entertained them that night.
The next morning they took a tour of Dublin. In the afternoon they took a bus via Bray to the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains and to the great religious ruins at Glendalough. The bus driver took the long way to Glendalough. They were disappointed they only had 15 minutes to tour the ruins.
On the way to Glendalough, Florence fell asleep. She snored so loudly the passengers began to snicker. Florence's head dropped to one side and her mouth was open. Pat declared Florence was so loud, she'd put a lumber-jack to shame. When Pat told Florence, she began to laugh, believing Pat was kidding her. Pat had Phyllis Dillus,29 the passenger Florence made friends with and was sitting next to her, confirm her report. Florence's expression to this announcement was even funnier to witness.
Caravan Tours scheduled Tuesday as a "free day" for the passengers to select where they wanted to spend their day. Florence wanted to go to the Custom's House, wanting to seek out records of her ancestors. Andy and Pat walked to Dublin Castle to take a tour. They arrived back at the Gresham hotel about the same time as Florence. Florence wasn't able to find addition information at the Custom's House. Later she and Pat went shopping.
Before leaving for the airport Wednesday morning, Pat and Andy took Florence to see Dublin Castle. They arrived ten minutes before any tours started and went inside. Florence saw a map on the wall with the names of where Irish families were prominent. Florence asked a man there if the Flannery's had a Coat of Arms. He said they didn't. He could see her disappointment. He called upstairs to a researcher, who found a Crest. Florence wanted one. She was directed to a store nearby where she could purchase one. Andy returned to the hotel. Florence and Pat went to the store, where Florence ordered the Crest, which would arrive at her home in about two weeks. Florence and Pat went back to the castle. Florence was amazed with the splendor. Pat wasn't quite as impressed, as she and Andy saw larger, magnificent castles in Italy in 1976.
Wherever they went in Ireland, Florence would ask in the markets, restaurants or of the bus drivers, "Do you know of the Thomas Flannery's?".
Their itinerary was to fly to Glasgow, Scotland; but they were informed they would be flying into Edinburgh, which sits in the bottom of an extinct volcano. They arrived at their hotel at 4:30 P.M. The rest of their day was at their pleasure.
The next day they went with Caravan tours to see the places on the itinerary and Ron, their tour guide, arranged for them to take a limousine to Hopetoun House.
As their tour continued they took in the Edinburgh sites. On their last evening dinner was served in a special room at the Post House, where they were staying. They needed a volunteer to be the Tartan. Pat was selected. "Whiskey" was placed on a table and Cyril, the Toastmaster, presented a history. He drank a glass of whiskey. The Tartan was to do also. Pat thought hers was probably something else, but when she drank some of hers, she thought she too was drinking whiskey, yet, it wasn't as strong as she expected. She hadn't finished hers and Cyril announced it was their custom, she had to finish it. She was cheered on by her tour group to finish it off. Later, Cyril came over to her and informed her he put ginger ale in her glass.
Their tour continued into England and part of Wales. In the castles, Florence and Pat, both antique collectors, "about went out of their minds" viewing and desiring to have such beautiful objects in their possession.
After touring Windsor Castle and they met their tour guide to be escorted back to the bus, Pat realized she forgot to take a picture of Queen Victoria's statue. Florence continued to the bus while Pat and Andy went to take the picture. On their way back, Pat and Andy got lost. When they finally found where the bus was located, it was in a parking lot full of similarly looking buses. Frantic they might miss their bus without being noticed, they hurried through the parking lot. Finally, with GREAT RELIEF, they saw their bus driver.
They were grateful they never experienced the cold, foggy weather in London that many others experienced. Except for one day in Ireland, they experienced pleasant weather.
Flights from England were delayed, thus they missed their connection in New York. From New York to San Francisco they had turbulence. They arrived June 2nd at 9:25 P.M. and were taken home by Flo and George.
Florence, Connie and Colleen left at 6:30 A.M. on August 26th to visit Barbara and Joe in Idaho. They got gas in Reno about 10:30 and stopped in Winnemucca before heading for Nampa, arriving at 6:30 P.M. After having dinner they called Barbara, who came into town to escort them to her home.
Joe fixed them English spare ribs, potatoes with onions wrapped in foil and corn on the cob for dinner on Sunday.
Florence, Connie and Colleen went into Boise on Monday, where they toured the Capitol building. Barbara fixed stuffed green peppers, rice and corn on the cob for dinner.
They worked on art projects on Tuesday, that they bought at an art store on Sunday.
The following day Joe gave them a tour of the plant, that processed corn seeds, where he was a foreman.
Barbara took the rest of the week off from work, taking them to the Western State of Idaho Fair on Thursday. There was a mule competition and Florence was surprised what could be done with a mule. That evening Barbara's friend Edie and her husband Gary visited.
Joe took off Friday and they all went camping. Joe, Barbara and Colleen fished. On Sunday Florence, Connie and Colleen left for Eugene. They spent that night in Bend.
The next day they stopped in Sisters, where the store fronts were remodeled, having rustic western fronts. They continued over highway 241, through a forest, when they suddenly came upon the lava beds in the Oregon Cascades. They stopped on McKenzie pass, where Florence copied information from a sign. Connie and Colleen went for a hike. They stayed at a K.O.A. Campground that night and Tuesday while it rained.
They intended to visit Bob McWilliams, son of Mac and Doris, but when they called and learned it was raining at Lake Tahoe, they headed home.
Gladys and Carl Reinoldson visited the day before Florence's birthday. The next day Bob and Grace Kayser met with the family at Pat's home to celebrate this occasion.
Barbara and Joe came from Idaho to spend Thanksgiving with the family.
The Candelario home was broken into on July 20th. Florence became concerned for her safety, being alone, so had holes drilled into the corners of her wood framed windows so that long, thick pins could be run through the inner frame and partially into the outer frame. This would keep anyone from opening the windows.
Florence was concerned for Hazel's welfare. She fell and broke her hip the previous year on October 24th. In August, 1979 Florence made a couple calls to Hazel's Bishop to inquire how her health really was and request they watch out for her health and safety. She continued to worry about Hazel's care. When Leo T. and Sherry came to visit the end of October, they took a trip to Roswell to see how Hazel was doing. They were gone a week and a half, then stayed with Florence for two and a half weeks.
Barbara and Joe came for Thanksgiving. It had been a long time since Florence and all of her children celebrated a holiday together.
On May 31 Kathleen played the part of Fruma Sara, in the play "Fiddler On The Roof". Florence and Connie attended the presentation. Kathleen received a standing ovation for her performance. Connie wished she bought her movie camera with her.
Pat and Andy were going on a two month East Coast vacation. They were taking the southern route on their way. Florence needed to go to Roswell, New Mexico to take care of legal matters in Hazel's behalf. Hazel was now in a rest home. She was coerced by a "friend" she and Roy knew in Los Angeles, that moved to Roswell, to sign a Power of Attorney. This woman moved a member of her family into Hazel's house and possessions of Hazel's were disappearing from her house.
The evening before they left, Florence went to the viewing of Henry Winter. He died the previous Monday, September 1st.
On the way they saw the London Bridge at Lake Havasu, the Little Painted Desert, the Mummy Caves at Canyon de Chelly, Fort Reliance and the Old Town of Albuquerque. 30
After spending Monday night in the motel, they went to the Chamber of Commerce, wanting to know if there was a motel closer to the rest home. They visited one of the motels, but not finding it to her satisfaction, Florence went elsewhere to look for lodging. A lady she met offered to let her stay in a room in her house if Florence couldn't find lodging that day.
Florence couldn't find anything close to the rest home, so accepted the lady's offer the next morning. She was taken to the bus depot to get her ticket to return home on Monday. Afterwards she went to see Hazel's lawyer. He engaged another lawyer. She said it would be difficult to break a Power of Attorney, but she would see what she could do. At this point, Florence knew of the Power of Attorney, but not that Hazel was coerced into signing it.
Florence and Pat went to the rest home to visit with Hazel, who didn't recognize them. They kept repeating to Hazel, "This is Peggy". Finally, Hazel looked at Florence, smiled, began to cry and said, "Florence".
On Thursday Florence and Pat returned to the rest home, while Andy did the laundry. Hazel spoke in broken sentences. It was hard to understand what she wanted.
Pat and Andy left on Friday and Florence went to stay with the nice lady she met. She spent the remainder of her days in Roswell with Hazel. Hazel was talking in broken sentences, then she showed anger and kept repeating, "Made Me". Florence asked several times, "Who made you do what?" Hazel finally said, "Sign". Florence finally realized what Hazel was trying to tell her and asked if she was made to sign the Power of Attorney. Hazel almost yelled, "Yes!"
A lady ran into Florence's car on October 19th. She was without the use of her car for three weeks. Being a busy person, this was difficult for her.
Bob and Grace Kayser had the family for Easter.
In August Florence visited with Leo in Hawaii for two weeks.
When she returned home, she and Pat went over Hazel's financial papers.
Florence left May 28th, 1982 to visit Hazel, returning home June 3rd. Hazel died July 23rd. Florence returned to Roswell to arrange for Hazel's funeral and burial. Hazel was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs along with Roy and Bruce. Her father Joseph Milton Borah was buried there also. He died July 9, 1962.
From August 21st through September 12th Florence went with Pat and Andy on a European trip to France and Italy.
Joe Stamm's alcoholism was a problem for Barbara, but after he slept with another woman and brought disease home to her, she returned home to California early in 1983.
Florence looked forward with great anticipation to the month of August when Leo T. was coming to visit. He was taking her to Colorado to reminisce in the places she held dear in her heart. He arrived August 19th and they flew to Denver Monday, August 22nd. They rented a Coronado and drove to Colorado Springs. They looked for the house on Tejou Aunt Nell and Hazel lived in when she visited them. It was gone. It was now a business district. Her former boyfriend, Jimmy Wright, lived around the corner when she visited Aunt Nell. Florence and Leo T. stayed at the Quaker Inn.
The next day they visited the Williams' graves then searched for the house on Arcadia Street, the house the Borah's lived in when Florence went to Blair's Business School. The street wasn't continuous. They were about to give up, when Leo T. saw a street without a marker. The house was located on this street. Florence hardly recognized the house. An extension was put on what was once a bedroom and it was stuccoed. They stopped and asked the owner if they could take a picture of the house, as Florence lived there when she was a teen. He invited them in. A partition had been removed, creating a larger frontroom. They got a room in the Dreamer Motel and Florence called Anna Blakey, but wasn't able to reach her. They visited the Garden of the Gods and then had dinner at Furr's.
In Canon City they visited with Sister Mary Edna Cooper at Saint Scholastica. When they were leaving, Florence told Leo T. the story about going into the apple grove to get apples, fell, lost some of the apples and then crawled back in through the bathroom window. Sister Mary Edna was the classmate that accompanied her.
They drove through Salida, where Thomas Flannery died in the Denver and Rio Grande hospital. They went into the Royal Gorge at Gunnison and visited Lake City. They spent the night at Montrose, where Stanley died.
In Cedaredge they visited with Dorothy Cochran who was a good friend of Aunt Nell's. Then up to the Grand Mesa to see the lakes and forests. They continued into Glenwood Springs and stayed the night in Eagle.
Their next stop was Avon before spending a couple hours in Gilman, where they took pictures and looked for the buildings Florence lived in as a child. The Post Office was still there, but it was boarded up. Florence was upset with this because she wanted to look inside. The two story house they lived in, that was still standing in 1965, was burnt down. Florence was told the "hippies" came into the town in the late 1960s and burnt some houses down. They spent an hour or so in Red Cliff and stayed the night in Leadville.31
After spending the day in Leadville, they returned to Colorado Springs and slept in the Dream Motel.
The last day was spent in Cripple Creek and Victor. They returned the car and flew to California.
Leo stayed a week with Florence before returning to Hawaii.
An investigator Barbara knew from the Alameda County District Attorney's office was now the District Attorney for Placer County. She was hired in September as administrator of the Child Support Division.
Another trip was made to Roswell, New Mexico from September 22nd through the 29th. A court trial was held. The Power of Attorney was broken and Florence was free to dispose of Hazel's belongings.
After a divorce, Kathleen and her children moved in with Florence late in January. They lived with her until June 9, 1984, when Kathleen married Gerald Douglas Minion, Jr. They made their home in Modesto.
The following year Florence's garage roof was leaking. She decided it cost too much for someone to do it. She could do this herself. She threw a rope over a limb of the walnut tree, weighted the end on the roof with a rock and tied the other end around a bundle of roofing. She climbed the fence on the west side of the patio, climbed onto the patio roof and then onto the top of the garage roof. She grabbed the weighted end of the rope and hauled the bundle onto the roof. She did a GREAT JOB! The roof was water tight.32
Many of the houses in the towns Florence grew up in and visited in Colorado had "gingerbread" on them. Some were spindled. Florence wanted to adorn her house with "gingerbread". She signed up for wood shop, where she designed and completed her project on a manual lathe. They were hung under the eaves of her front porch.
Florence's life took on a pattern. She went with other senior citizens to Fairmont Hospital for dinner and restaurants for lunch. She continued to attend monthly church dinners and activities. She and Rose Winter went to the cemetery together to place flowers on their husband's graves. She continued to write the birth dates of her family and friends in her calendars so she didn't forget to send them a card. Pat either called or visited with her daily. Barbara came from Auburn to spend almost every holiday with Florence.
Kathleen and her family moved to Utah July 1st, 1986. When her children from her first marriage went to visit their father in California, they spent part of their time with Florence. Gerald's daughter from his first marriage lived in Hayward. Several summers the family visited with Florence for a few days before returning to Utah.
Leo T. and Sherry visited from July 26th through August 19th. They reminisced the trip they took in 1983, laughing when Florence mentioned how she reformed her life.
After seeing the eye doctor December 17th at Kaiser Permanente, a health maintenance organization, she decided to have her blood pressure taken because she was having dizzy spells. The next day the doctor called to tell her she needed to take high blood pressure pills and asked where she wanted the prescription to be filled.
For years Florence desired to write her family history. Early in 1987 she began the process by writing notes to form a framework for the history.
Leo T. and Sherry came to the states, as Leo T. had a business conference at Lake Tahoe in July. They spent a few days with Florence before and after the conference before returning home.
In September Florence took the Greyhound bus to Utah to visit with Kathleen's family. Rick Jones came from Hawaii to visit with friends and stayed at Florence's home while she was gone. Florence and Rick visited for a week after she returned home.
Florence expected to have fourteen to sixteen people for Christmas dinner. She bought a 23 pound turkey. However, some of the planned family guests decided to eat elsewhere. She had eight guests and a lot of left-overs.
Water was a leaking into the basement from under the bathtub. Rick, who was visiting the latter part of March, caulked the leak. However, it continued to leak. Herman Davis, Florence's home teacher from church, came over to see what he could do. He learned the leak came from the shower pipe. It rusted out at the elbow. Herman tore out damaged tile board to replace the pipe.
Florence was in the process of making another braided rug. This one would be in various shades of blue. When she was done, she would make a runner for the hallway.
During a craft day at church April 13th, Florence taught a class on ceramics. After the class she was loading the molds into the car behind the church, where it was dark. She didn't realize she was close to the walkway, tripped and fell; hurting her ribs. She was is pain for awhile, especially at night.
Rose Winter, Pat and Florence held a yard sale October 8th. Florence spent two months selecting things from her home to sell. She collected many yards of material over the years and didn't need it now. She measured and priced it. A green rug with foam backing, that was Barbara's and she no longer wanted it, was taken outside, where Florence took a hoe and scraped off the crumbling backing. She had a pole lamp she no longer wanted.
On February 11th Neva Griggs Adams, a friend who attended church with Florence, died. Florence attended the funeral services on the 15th. On March 18, 1989 Florence's friend Gladys Reinoldson died. Florence stated almost all of her childhood friends were dead. Anna Blakey was in a rest home in Pueblo. The only other person besides Florence was Olive Cryan.
Florence's lawnmower stopped working. On March 14, Pat and Andy mowed her front lawn. Later, Herman Davis mowed her back lawn, then took her lawnmower home to see if he could fix it.
Barbara came down to assist Florence, who had a cataract operation on her right eye March 17th at Kaiser Permanente. The next day it hemorrhaged and Barbara took her to the emergency room.
Early in July Leo and Sherry came from Hawaii and Gerald, Kathleen and family came from Utah. Florence stated that she wanted to have a family reunion with all of her posterity present.
On August 7th Florence went with Rose Winter and Maxine Noble to Ripon to pick peaches. Rose and Maxine planned to can their peaches. Florence bought a few for eating. She canned fruit for years, from the time her children were small, but no longer desired to do any canning. When they arrived at the grove, the Freestone peaches were already picked. Florence was surprised the charge was only 15 cents a pound.
Marg Rhoads and Florence had a yard sale. They got rid of a lot of unused articles, having very little left over.
On October 18 an earthquake centered in Watsonville, California shook Florence's house in San Leandro. She ran downstairs, taking cover at the bottom of the stairs in the basement hallway. She heard the colored bottles she had collected falling to the floor. When she returned upstairs to check for damage, she felt lucky that only a couple of the bottles had broken.
A blood vessel in Florence's left hand ruptured at 3:45 P.M. on October 31st. Herman Davis took her to the doctor. She stated the traffic was terrible.
Florence was in a car accident at 12:45 P.M. December 13th. Her insurance company totaled the car. She contacted a mechanic to learn how much it would cost to repair the damages. She wanted to pay the difference between the cost and what the insurance company would give her. The mechanic agreed to talk with the insurance company, but neglected to do so. Her car was picked up and taken to Sacramento a week later. She notified the insurance company and the car was returned January 5th. Repairs were made at Terry's Body Shop. She got the car back on January 30th, but wasn't able to drive yet. She was ordered to go to traffic court to clear a ticket. She took the class in January and sent the certificate to the Department of Motor Vehicles registered mail. She still hadn't received her license.
On May 1, 1990, Emily Guajardo, who lived next door, died. Florence knew her husband Pete was having a hard time with her death. He was going to support meetings to deal with his loss. He brought her a piece of homemade apple pie he made. Pete asked her how it was after she took a couple of bites. She told him it was good and he was quite a baker. Actually, after she ate the two bites she couldn't eat anymore. Pete had been such a good neighbor, she couldn't say anything that might hurt his feelings.
Kathleen needed to have surgery. Florence went to Utah from May 7th to 23rd to assist her. While there she was able to visit the Family History Library in Salt Lake City a couple of times. However, she was disappointed because she couldn't find any leads that would further her knowledge of her family in New York.
Florence still hadn't received her driver's license in June. She called the Department of Motor Vehicles wanting to know why it wasn't sent. They didn't have any record of receiving her certificate. She called the traffic school, and received another certificate for a $5 fee. The certificate didn't have the correct drivers license number on it. By the way she was treated, she felt like a hardened criminal.
Pat came over to get Florence, taking her to Oakland to get her driver's license. The ticket she received had to be cleared and that had to be done in Hayward. She went to Hayward, got the ticket cleared and returned to Oakland. She was given a permit on June 15th that would expire on August 14. She needed to take a written test and driving test. Now that she could drive, she felt like a new U.S. citizen.
During the summer, Florence went to the county fair July 4th with Maxine Noble, attended Pioneer Day celebrations July 21st and 28th, assisted Rose Winter can her peaches on August 14 and attended the yearly social at the Walker Ranch August 25th.
Barbara spent the Labor Day holiday with Florence, went home and returned September 19th to go with Florence to visit Leo and Sherry in Hawaii for a week.
In November there was problems with the car. Herman Davis worked on it.
A Christmas turkey dinner was held at church on December 8th. Florence remarked, "It was GREAT!"
The following September Leo T. and Sherry left Hawaii for a month. They spent a week with Florence, went to Mexico for a week and returned to spend the remainder of the time with Florence. They took a trip to Vacaville and to visit with Barbara. A large amount of the time was used to spread rock in Florence's front yard. A drought had caused water prices to soar. Florence couldn't afford to water her entire property. The family reunion Florence wanted to have was held in her home and backyard.
As Florence received news of friends dying, she began to feel increasingly lonely, missing the family members she had lost years before. Her extended family members were living lives of their own. Her memory was failing her. She sometimes forgot when they visited, phoned and sent letters to her. When family came to visit; her neighbor, Pete Guajardo, told them Florence worked through the heat of the day in the summer. He tried to get her to come indoors, but she wouldn't. He was concerned for her welfare. Florence told Pete she missed her parents, brothers and Aunt Nell. She felt she had lived a good, long life. She wanted to join her family that had passed from this life. Beginning January 3, 1992, she drew a line through almost everyday as it passed.
She mentioned to family when they came to the family reunion she felt sorry for them. She gathered so many things in her life, they would have a mess to clean out of her house. She had a couple yard sales during 1992 to clear out more of the "junk" she had in the house.
Florence asked her family members to select what they wanted her to will to them. She was having a Living Trust drawn up and would be including a hand written will. This will would state who was to receive items selected. The rest was to be selected in turn. Since several members of the family wanted her to will the original pictures to them, she decided to make copies to place in albums. She made a list of family members she wanted to give them to and were interested in the pictures. Her dining room table was covered with pictures and data to place in the albums. As Kathleen researched and found more family data, she sent it to Florence to include in the albums. Pat assisted her with this project.
Kathleen wanted to take a trip to Colorado. She invited Florence to go with her. Florence thought it would be fun to repeat the trip she took with Leo T. in 1983. Kathleen also wanted to visit at Florence's the last part of September and early part of October, when Leo T. and Sherry were coming to visit. When it came time to plan the vacation, Gerald said he could take time from his work during the same time period that Leo T. was coming to visit. Kathleen needed to decide if she wanted to go to California or Colorado. She chose Colorado, but felt badly for her grandmother, who wouldn't be joining them.
Kathleen wanted to see her grandmother. She suggested Florence visit her in Utah for Thanksgiving. Florence had nose bleeds her last visit and wasn't sure it was safe to go to the higher altitude. She would ask her doctor if it would be safe.
Florence attended the Halloween party at church on Saturday, October 30th. She didn't attend church the next day. Some of the members knew she never missed church unless she was sick or had company. Since she attended the party alone the night before, they knew she didn't have company. Some called after church to see how she was doing.
Pat and Andy planned to take Florence out to dinner after she got home from church to celebrate her birthday. When they arrived at her home they rang the doorbell because the door was locked. Florence didn't answer the door. This alarmed Pat because she knew her mother only locked the door when she was home. Why didn't she answer the door. Andy found a screwdriver and took the screened door off. Pat used her key to get in and went into Florence's bedroom. Not finding her there and seeing the bathroom door open, she looked inside. Florence was lying on the floor with her lower torso in the bathroom and her upper torso in the middle bedroom. Her head was bleeding. Pat called for an ambulance. The attendants declared she had a stroke and three quarters of her brain was non-functional. She was rushed to the hospital.
Florence always stated she never wanted to be in a rest home. If she couldn't be at home, she'd rather be dead. If she could not survive an accident or health problem, she was not to be hooked up to life-saving equipment. Her will was carried out.
Calls were made. Barbara came from Auburn. Leo T. came from Hawaii and Kathleen came from Utah, both arriving Monday.
Kathleen rested for awhile in the afternoon while Pat, Barbara and Leo stayed with Florence. Connie and Kathleen went in the evening to relieve them. Barbara went with Pat to her home and Leo to Florence's home. He had been awake since he was called in Hawaii and was exhausted.
Before Connie arrived, Florence's regular doctor came in to check on her. As he and Kathleen conversed, he asked about Florence taking her blood pressure. She wasn't aware of Florence having a blood pressure collar to do so. He stated her blood pressure was doing so good, he took her off the medication. She was to check her blood pressure three times a week. Kathleen told him her memory was poor, she would not have remembered to do this. His reply suggested he believed since her memory was poor, it was her time to die. Kathleen was in such shock from his statement that she didn't say anything to him before he exited the room.
Not long afterward, Florence's temperature soared, her blood pressure dropped and her breathing was labored. Kathleen called Pat's home and Leo T. Although the doctor declared the process of her death could take up to two weeks, Kathleen believed her death would be soon. Leo T. rushed back, as he wasn't present when his father died and he didn't want the same to happen with his mother. Shortly after he arrived, he joined with Connie and Kathleen in holding Florence's hands and Kathleen checked the pulse in her neck. In this manner, Florence Regina Jones passed from this life.
Funeral arrangements were made. The mortician was Florence's Bishop at church. Kathleen desired to assist him in dressing her grandmother. He let her join him. It was decided Florence's home teacher, Herman Davis, would give a eulogy that was prepared by family members.
Sherry and sons joined together with Leo T. at Florence's home, where Kathleen was staying also. During the days between Florence's death and funeral, which was to be held November 4th, they looked in the albums and reminisced. One of Leo's sons found Thomas Francis Flannery's obituary. He wanted to know, who was Milford Jones. Kathleen stated that was the name his father was given at birth. That was something his sons did not know. The stress of preparing for the funeral was lightened that night with jokes and much laughter.
At the funeral services, the eulogy gave facts of Florence's life and recollections of family members. When the taking of the apples from the orchard and Florence reforming herself was told, the guests laughed. This eulogy was closed with Florence's favorite Irish poem:
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