Chapter 17: 1920 • Minnesota ~ When the wheels needed to be changed or the axles greased, my father—not yet a man—lifted the more than 200-pound hay wagon with his back, raised it higher with his arms, and held it steady while his older brother Aloysius,... Continue
Rude Awakenings
Chapter 16: 1933 • Los Angeles, California ~ Shortly after their marriage and with my father’s job in Colusa finished with the completion of the Sacramento River weir and bridge, my parents moved to Los Angeles. His employer, Frederickson & Watson, had a new contract to reconstruct a portion... Continue
Chapter 15: 1932 • Colusa, California ~ Comfortable around Mrs. Chatfield, Carl talked to her about the heat and the bugs, discussed the differences between hay and rice farming, and went on about Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds. They could talk about almost anything. It was... Continue
Chapter 14: 1932 • Colusa, California ~ Three years into the Great Depression, when there were no jobs and little money and Herbert Hoover was unable to keep his campaign promises of prosperity, my grandmother, 59-year-old Nellie Chatfield, moved to the bustling rice town of Colusa, the... Continue
Chapter 13: More backstory • Chico ~ As she got older and her burning feet made it too far to walk, Roy drove his mother Nellie the mile and a half to 7:30 morning Mass. Cruising up in his black four-door Hudson Terraplane sedan, hopping from the... Continue
Chapter 12: Boucher Street, Chico, California ~ In 1915 my grandparents left Los Molinos and moved to the up-and-coming agricultural town of Chico, buying a two-story corner residence in the Chapmantown district, a working-class neighborhood near the Diamond Match Factory. In those days most people rented; few... Continue
Chapter 11: My grandfather Sep 30, 1915 • Red Bluff Daily News, Los Molinos, California: WOMAN ALL ALONE GIVES BIRTH, CHILD TAKES CARE OF IT When a baby girl was born last night to Mrs. C.H. Chatfield of this place, the woman, unaided except by some of her small... Continue
Chapter 10: Crazy Quilt 1895 – 1915 • Nellie ~ My grandmother started her crazy quilt in 1895, the same year she started her family. Twenty years later, with the birth of my mother, Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, she completed them both. During Nellie’s first period... Continue
Chapter 9: Backstory, my maternal grandparents -- Diary of Charley Chatfield (age 17), the oldest child of Charles and Nellie Feb 24 Warm and clear, chopped wood. Got a new baby sister. (Ina) May 23 Warm and clear. Went to Forsyth in an automobile. May 25 Warm and clear.... Continue
Chapter 8: Backstory, my maternal grandparents -- Dec 26, 1894 • Fruita, Colorado ~ In a ceremony in her parents’ home, 21-year-old Nellie Chamberlin married Charles Henry Chatfield, a ranching man of 24. Nellie was a no-nonsense Catholic girl and exceedingly religious, but she also had a mind of... Continue