Catherine Sevenau is a writer, humorist, and storyteller living in Sonoma, California. The stories in this series are excerpts from her book, Through Any Given Door, a Family Memoir. The full memoir is available as a web series at Sevenau.com. A longtime Realtor and Owner/Broker at CENTURY 21 Wine Country, she can be reached at [email protected]
Then he fainted
Chapter 23: 1946 • Sonora ~ On a sunny Saturday, Mom brought home six-dozen chicks from the feed store and enclosed them in the... Continue
That was your dog…
1942 • Vallejo, California ~ The only dog the family ever had was when they lived in Vallejo, but they didn’t have him for long.... Continue
Well, this turned into almost a novel…
Chapter 21: Letter from my mother (age 26) to my father’s sister living in Minnesota: Watsonville, Cal. Nov. 22, 1941 Dear Amelia... Continue
The women in my family don’t mince words
Chapter 20: 1939 • Watsonville, California ~ Our house was right on her way home from the grammar school and Marceline (Uncle George’s... Continue
From paradise to parking lot
Chapter 19: • Minnesota — My paternal grandparents were tall, sturdy, farming stock. Grandma had a reputation as a relentless... Continue
Like a rock
Chapter 18: • Minnesota, The Clemens Farm ~ My grandparents were known for attending funerals. Relatives, close friends, acquaintances,... Continue
Pleasing his mother was as easy as jumping over his knees
Chapter 17: 1920 • Minnesota ~ When the wheels needed to be changed or the axles greased, my father—not yet a man—lifted the... Continue
My father, the Pinball Wizard
Chapter 16: 1933 • Los Angeles, California ~ Shortly after their marriage and with my father’s job in Colusa finished with... Continue
This woman is not going to be good for you, he warned
Chapter 15: 1932 • Colusa, California ~ Comfortable around Mrs. Chatfield, Carl talked to her about the heat and the bugs, discussed... Continue
He thought she was one snappy girl
Chapter 14: 1932 • Colusa, California ~ Three years into the Great Depression, when there were no jobs and little money and Herbert... Continue
