Carl Clemens & Noreen Chatfield

FAMILY LINE AND HISTORY

Carl John Clemens
6th of 11 children of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon
Born: Sep 25, 1905, Cascade Township, Olmsted Co., Minnesota
Died: Sep 16, 1986 (age 80), Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California; prostate/bone cancer
Buried: Sep 1968, Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California
Occupations: Farmer, construction laborer, iceman, store owner, managed Sprouse Reitz stores
Married (1): Feb 4, 1933, Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, Colusa, Colusa Co., California
Divorced: Filed Apr 27, 1953; legally separated Dec 1953; finalized May 10, 1954
Five children: Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens, Carleen Barbara Clemens, Elizabeth Ann “Liz/Betty” Clemens, Claudia Clemens, Catherine Frances “Cathy” Clemens
Married (2): 1957, Irene Venita (Tregear) Whitehed (Irene was 19 years his senior)
No children
Married (3): Sep 25, 1961, Marie Lenore (Macdonald) McCartney, San Francisco, California
No children

(m1) Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
10th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Sep 29, 1915, Los Molinos, Tehama Co., California
Died: Nov 9, 1968 (age 53), Whittier, Los Angeles Co., California; suicide
Cremated: Inurned in Memory Garden Memorial Park, Brea, Orange Co., California
Occupations: store clerk, seamstress, cook/housekeeper for priests
Married (1): Feb 4, 1933, Carl John Clemens, Colusa, Colusa Co., California
Divorced: Filed Apr 27, 1953; legally separated Dec 1953; finalized May 10, 1954, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California
Five children: Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens, Carleen Barbara Clemens, Elizabeth Ann “Betty/Liz” Clemens, Claudia Clemens, Catherine Frances “Cathy” Clemens
Married (2): Jul 31, 1955, Raymond D. “Ray” Haynie, Carson City, Ormsby Co., Nevada
Divorced: 1957, San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California
No children

(m2) Irene Vennita (Tregear) Whitehed
4th of 5 children of James Tregear & Anne “Annie” Daniel
Born Sep 26, 1886, Colton, San Bernardino Co., California
Died: Aug 7, 1959 (age 72), San Francisco, California
Cremated: remains at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, San Mateo Co., California
Married (1): Jan 24, 1906, Harry Sackfield Howard (1881-1962, Canadian soldier)
One child: Norma Pearl Howard (1906-1987)
Married (2) bet 1941-1944, Jesse Meigs Whitehed
Married (3): 1956, Carl John Clemens, living in San Francisco
Note: Irene was 70, Carl was 51 (19 years his senior)

(m3) Marie Lenore (Macdonald) McCartney
6th of 6 children of Angus James Macdonald & Mary Gertrude “Mayme” Meyers
Born: Sep 25, 1917, San Francisco, California
Died: Apr 11, 2011 (age 93), Seattle, King Co., Washington; massive stroke
Cremated: Interred at Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California
Occupations: Saleswoman in children’s clothing stores, child care/nanny
Married (1): Sep 13, 1941, Joseph Scott “Mac” McCartney, Reno, Nevada
Two children: Irene E. McCartney, Janet McCartney
Married (2): Sep 25, 1961, Carl John Clemens, San Francisco, California
No children

Five children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
1. Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens
1st of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
Born: Jan 14, 1934, Chico, Butte Co., California
Living: California
Education: San Jose Sate, California, BA; Ohio University, MA
Occupation: High school teacher & counselor; campground & hotel owner; real estate investor
Avocations: AFS/American Field Service: area director, genealogy, travel
Married: Jun 16, 1956, Marian Louise McLellan, Upland, San Bernardino Co., California
Two children: Janet Elaine Clemens, Pamela Jean Clemens

2. Carleen Barbara Clemens
2nd of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
Born: Mar 13, 1935, Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California
Died: Nov 12, 2022, (age 87), Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Co., Iowa; metastasized lung cancer, heart attack
Buried: Walnut Hill Cemetery, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Co., Iowa
Occupation: Secretary for Astro Spar/aerospace and equipment company
Avocations: Ceramics and crafts
Married: Mar 15, 1953, Charles Evans “Chuck” Albertson, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California
Three children: Deborah Ann Albertson, Rand Charles Albertson, Laura Catherine Albertson

3. Elizabeth Ann “Betty/Liz” Clemens
3rd of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
Born: Dec 3, 1939, Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California
Died: Oct 8, 2004 (age 64), Sacramento, Sacramento Co., California; lung cancer, pneumonia
Residence at time of death: Fallbrook, San Diego Co., California
Buried: Masonic Cemetery, Fallbrook, San Diego Co., California
Occupations: Auto leasing; antique collecting and sales
Avocations: Travel, antiques, birding, and collecting a wealth of knowledge
Married: Feb 1, 1958, Anthony Leo “Tony” Duchi, Jr., Whittier, Los Angeles Co., California
Four children: Lisa Marie Duchi, Julie Catherine Duchi, Anthony Leo Duchi, III, John Robert Duchi

4. Claudia Clemens
4th of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
Born: Mar 28, 1942, Vallejo, Solano Co., California
Died: Aug 21, 2011 (age 69), Escondido, San Diego Co., California; lung cancer
Cremated: Ashes with family and scattered at San Clemente Beach, Southern California
Occupations: Customer service manager; traffic manager; purchasing agent
Married: Sep 15, 1956, Bobby Milton McDaniel, Sparks, Washoe Co., Nevada
Divorced: May 17, 1973, Lauderdale Co., Mississippi
Five children: Sherry Lynn McDaniel, Mark Alan McDaniel, Douglas Jay McDaniel, Kathryn June McDaniel (twin), Kenneth Lee McDaniel (twin)

5. Catherine Frances “Cathy” Clemens
5th of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
Born: Aug 16, 1948, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California
Living: California
Occupations: Owner/juice company (5 yrs), Real Estate owner/broker/agent (41 yrs), writer/author
Avocations: Genealogy, writing, dancing, local newspaper columnist
Service: various local commissions, boards, associations, committees, service clubs, and non-profits
Married: Oct 7, 1967, Robert Kenneth “Bob” Sevenau, San Francisco, California
Divorced: 1973, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California
Two children: Matthew Robert Sevenau, Jonathan David Sevenau

***************************

Eleven children of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon

00. (stillborn twins, female and male)
1898–1898
1. Mary Ann Clemens
1899–1994
2. Elizabeth Barbara Clemens
1900–1996
3. Amelia Rose “Mele” Clemens
1902–1972
4. Dorothy Helen Clemens
1903–1903 (died at 4 months)
5. Aloysius Michael “Louie” Clemens
1904–1929
6. Carl John Clemens
1905–1986
7. Cecelia Helen Clemens (Sister Ann Clemens)
1908–2003
8. Agnes Catherine Clemens
1909–2005
9. Anna Frances Clemens
1911–1995
10. Lawrence Matthew Clemens
1912–1978
11. Joseph William “Joe” Clemens
1914–2010

Ten children of Charles Henry “Charlie” Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin:

1. Charles Joseph “Charley” Chatfield
1895–1986
2. Leo Willard Chatfield
1897–1956
3. Howard Francis Chatfield
1899–1953
4. Roy Elmer Chatfield
1901–1978
5. Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield
1903–1983
6. Gordon Gregory Chatfield
1905–1948
7. Verda Agnes Chatfield
1908–1978
8. Arden Sherman Chatfield
1910–1981
9. Ina Chatfield
1913–1993
10. Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
1915–1968

***************************

Timeline and Records

Spellings and information in the census and other records
are retained as in the original documents.
(italicized clarifications or corrections are in parentheses)

***************************

Apr 19, 1898: Marriage of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon, the parents of Carl John Clemens, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota

Eleven children: Mary Ann Clemens, Elizabeth Barbara Clemens, Amelia Rose Clemens, Dorothy Clemens, Aloysius Michael Clemens, Carl John Clemens, Cecelia Helen “Sister Ann” Clemens, Agnes Catherine Clemens, Anna Frances Clemens, Lawrence Matthew Clemens, Joseph William Clemens

Sep 25, 1905: Birth of Carl John Clemens, 6th of 11 children of Mathew Sylvester Clemens & Barbara Nigon, on the family farm in Cascade Township, Olmsted Co., Minnesota

Sep 25, 1905: Minnesota Birth Index:
Name Carl John Clemens
Birth Date 25 Sep 1905
Birth Place Olmsted, Minnesota
Mother Maiden Name Nigon
Certificate Number Dc-48519

Sep 25, 1905: Copy of Minnesota Registry of Births for Carl John Clemens:

Dec 1905: brothers Aloysius & Carl Clemens (age 3 months, probably his baptism):

Dec 1905: All the Clemens babies were baptized at St. John’s Catholic Church in Rochester in the same white lace-collared dress made by their Aunt Lena Nigon. The photo is of my father, Carl John Clemens, in the baptismal dress, with his older brother Aloysius standing next to him.

Aunt Lena Nigon, the sister of Barbara (Nigon) Clemens (1874-1915):

Apr 27, 1910: U.S. Federal Census, Cascade, Olmsted Co., Minnesota:
Name Mathew Clemmons (Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens)
[Mathew Clemens]
Age in 1910 36
Birth Date 1874
Birthplace Germany
Home in 1910 Cascade, Olmsted, Minnesota
Race White
Gender Male
Immigration Year 1881
Relation to Head of House Head
Marital Status Married
Father’s Birthplace Germany
Mother’s Birthplace Germany
Native Tongue English
Occupation Farmer
Industry General Farm
Employer, Employee or Other Employer
Home Owned or Rented Own
Home Free or Mortgaged Free
Farm or House Farm
Naturalization Status Naturalized
Able to read Yes
Able to Write Yes
Years Married 12
Enumerated Year 1910
Household Members (Name) Age Relationship:
Mathew Clemmons Age 36, Head, Married 1, 12 years, born Germany (Minnesota), father born Germany, mother born Germany (Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens)
Barbara Clemmons Age 36, Wife, Married 1, 12 years, born Minnesota (Germany), father born Minnesota (Germany), mother born Germany (Barbara (Nigon) Clemens)
Mary Clemmons Age 10, Daughter, born Minnesota (Germany), father born Germany, mother born Germany (Mary Clemens)
Elizabeth Clemmons Age 9, Daughter, born Minnesota, father born Germany (Minnesota), mother born Germany (Elizabeth Barbara Clemens)
Amelia Clemmons Age 8, Daughter, born Minnesota, father born Germany (Minnesota), mother born Germany (Amelia Rose Clemens)
Alvinia Clemmons Age 6, Daughter (Son), born Minnesota, father born Germany (Minnesota), mother born Germany (Aloysius Michael Clemens)
Charles J Clemmons Age 4, Son, born Minnesota, father born Germany (Minnesota), mother born Germany (Carl John Clemens; note: Carl stated he was not named Charles nor ever went by that name)
Celia H Clemmons Age 2, Daughter, born Minnesota, father born Germany (Minnesota), mother born Germany (Cecelia Helen Clemens)
Agness C Clemmons Age 0, Daughter, born Minnesota, father born Germany (Minnesota), mother born Germany (Agnes Catherine Clemens)
Sebastian Bosneyk Age 26, Hired Man, born Austria, father born Austria, mother born Austria, farmer laborer on general farm

Fall of 1912: Clemens’ farm in Cascade Township, Olmsted Co., Minnesota:

Mathew Clemens, Sr., Matt Sylvester Clemens (Grandpa), mid-rear is Jane Nigon (Elizabeth Susanna “Jane” Nigon, Grandma’s youngest sister), the nine children (Joe, the youngest, was not yet born), Barbara (Nigon) Clemens (Grandma) holding Lawrence, Anna Mary (Reiland) Clemens at far right (Grandpa’s mother); Carl is the blonde-headed boy mid- kids.

abt 1912: Carl Clemens at St. John’s Parochial Elementary School, Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota:

abt 1914: Clemens siblings:
l-r: Carl, Anna, Agnes, Amelia (tallest girl), Lawrence, Aloysius, Cecelia

Everyone had their place at the table and everyone had good table manners. As she was left-handed, Cecelia sat on the end next to Carl. She was his pet. He called her “Chub” and he got all her desserts. “Now Chub, if you don’t want your ice cream, I’ll eat it.” She thought he was pretty grand. When Carl left home, she stepped into his shoes with the chores and the milking.

The kids had nicknames. Lawrence was Mans, Agnes was Tops, Louie was Bunny, and Carl was Pinkie, maybe because he held it skyward when he drank his tea. Carl was strong and healthy. He recollects being sick only a couple of times when he was small, and remembers them as the only time his mother comforted him and where he felt like she loved him. He was happy, the most happy-go-lucky child of the family. He could also be a little rascal, getting in trouble at school for jumping from desk to desk, making all the kids laugh; he thought he was kind of cute. Carl enjoyed life. He made you feel good, he never picked on the other kids, and he never complained… well, except about farming.

Sep 29, 1915: Birth of Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, 10th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin, and 1st wife of Carl John Clemens, in Los Molinos, Tehama Co., California

Oct 1, 1915: Red Bluff Daily News, Tehama Co., California:
WOMAN ALL ALONE GIVES BIRTH
CHILD TAKES CARE OF IT
LOS MOLINOS. Sept. 30 (1915)—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 children, rose from her bed, washed and dressed the child and performed functions of physician or mid-wife. The husband is away from home working in the rice fields at Princeton. Before the child was born Mrs. Chatfield sent for a neighbor woman, who, however, did not arrive until after the child was born and cared for. Both mother and child are apparently doing well. This is the tenth child born in the family.
Note: Newspaper article on the birth of Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield; Nellie’s other daughters who aided with the birth were Nella May (age 10), and Verda (age 5).

1916: Charles, Noreen, and Nellie Chatfield:

1917: Nellie Chatfield with daughters, l-r: Verda, Ina, Noreen/Babe, Nella May:

1917: youngest Chatfield siblings, Boucher Street house in Chico, California:

abt 1917: Clemens brothers: Lawrence, Louie, Carl, and Joe:

Jan 12, 1920: U.S. Federal Census, Cascade, Olmsted Co., Minnesota:
Clemens, Mathew S: head, male, white, owns, age 45, born Minnesota, father born Germany, mother born Germany, farmer, general farming
Barbara: wife, female, white, age 46, born Germany, father born Germany, mother born Germany, year immigrated 1881, year naturalized 1890
Mary A: daughter, female, white, age 20, born Minnesota, father born Minnesota, mother born Germany
Elizabeth Z: daughter, female, white, age 19, born Minnesota, father born Minnesota, mother born Germany (Elizabeth A.)
Amelia R: daughter, female, white, age 18, born Minnesota, father born Minnesota, mother born Germany
Aloysius M: son, white, age 15, born Minnesota, father born Minnesota, mother born Germany
Charles J: son, male, white, age 14, born Minnesota, father born Minnesota, mother born Germany (note: Carl stated he was not named Charles nor ever went by that name)
Celia H: daughter, female, white, age 12, born Minnesota, father born Minnesota, mother born Germany (Cecelia)
Agnes C: daughter, female, white, age 10, born Minnesota, father born Minnesota, mother born Germany (Agnes)
Laurence M: son, male, white, age 7, born Minnesota, father born Minnesota, mother born Germany
Joseph W: son, male, white, age 5, born Minnesota, father born Germany, mother born Germany

Jan 26, 1920: U.S. Federal Census, Chico, Butte Co., California:
Chatfield, Charles H.: head, owns, age 49, born Colorado, father born Illinois, mother born Texas, foreman for rice ranch
Nellie C.: wife, age 46, born Montana, father born New York, mother born Pennsylvania
Charles J.: son, age 24; born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, laborer rice ranch
Leo W.: son, age 22; born Wyoming, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, laborer, rice ranch
Roy E.: son, age 18; born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, Lumber Grader in Match Factory
Nellie M.: daughter, age 16; born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, Forewoman in Match Factory
Gordon G.: son, age 14; born Wyoming, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Verda A.: daughter, age 11; born Montana, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Arden I.: son, age 9, born Montana, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri (Arden S.)
Ina J: daughter, age 6, born Montana, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Norine E.: age 4 3/12, born California, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri (Noreen Ellen Chatfield)
Note: Charles Chatfield is working for the Spaulding ranch 16 miles west of Chico, as foreman harvesting rice.

1920s • Minnesota ~ by Catherine Sevenau, youngest child of Carl John Clemens
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, or Louie as the family called him, slipped the new wheel on the axle. That’s how strong my father was.

Working in the fields one burning afternoon alongside his mother, he observed her intently. Stooped and worn, gray strands of hair straggling from her bun, dampened by sweat escaping her forehead, he saw how tired and weathered she looked. Her back bent shocking wheat, she took the sheaves of grain, tied them, then carefully stood the bundles upright in the field for drying. He decided right then and there that wouldn’t happen to him, knowing if he stayed he’d sink into her footprints forever, tied to endless seasons of disking fields, planting corn, and milking cows.

When he was fifteen, Carl pooled his money with three friends, Paul Adamson, Johnny Mohlke, and Tone Conway (Michael Anthony Conway was his given name; later in life he became One-Eyed Mike). They bought a touring car, an open-topped green Chevrolet with isinglass curtains. It was a clunker that cost them $10 apiece; it was all they could afford. When they first got it, Johnny, a fiery redhead who didn’t weigh more than 150 pounds and never sat still for more than ten seconds, was the only one who could drive, and he drove like a maniac. He was the drinker of the group, sometimes pouring it down for a week. Tone and Paul drank heavily too, but not like Johnny. Carl, the oldest of the four, was the only one who didn’t partake; alcohol made him sick as a poisoned pup.

They often rolled the car on the country dirt and gravel roads, got out, and tipped it back up on its wheels to take off again. It didn’t go over 60 miles per hour, but Johnny put the pedal to the metal, in town or out. Carl soon took over the driving. He was reputed to be a hot rodder, accelerating with the cutout wide open. He drove fast, but he drove sober. Every time his mother heard their phone ring, one short and one long, she would shake, sure her son was in another accident and someone was hurt, or worse, dead. Nobody was—not seriously anyway—although Carl did come home once with his arm torn open. A scar ran the whole length of his forearm. It wasn’t something he bragged about.

My grandmother was of the opinion boys should stay home and work on the family farm. Carl was of a different opinion. Trying to please his mother was about as easy as jumping over his own knees, and one morning he disappeared and didn’t come back. Grandma was hurt; she worried about him constantly and prayed he’d return home. No matter to Carl; he was tired of being told what to do. He didn’t go far, just off to his uncle Frank Nigon’s place east of Rochester to work. Then in 1923, he and Tone got a job at St. Mary’s Hospital Dairy Farm, milking cows for a year. The farmstead was a pasteurizing plant and supplied the milk for St. Mary’s hospital. Starting with forty acres, it was run by the Sisters of St. Francis from 1900 until 1925. It was a huge tiled barn built like a U, the east wing used for milking the herd of forty cows, the middle section the bullpen, and the west wing stabling the twelve to fifteen horses. At that time a team of horses cost more than a car. They raised turkeys and chickens too, with everything used for the hospital. A boss and five men did the milking. Carl lived in the bunkhouse over the milk house with Paul Adamson and Tone Conway, each making $15 a month plus their room and board. They did general farm work, milked the cows, and handled the horses, playing penny ante poker in their off time. The nuns worked them hard and paid them little, and after a year and a final straw, the three friends had enough and walked out.

abt 1922: Carl John Clemens at Heffron High School (Carl is 3rd from right)

Apr 28, 1923: Silver (25th) Wedding Anniversary of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon, parents of Carl John Clemens

Apr 28, 1923: Mathew & Barbara Clemens family: Amelia, Lawrence, Barbara (mother), Mary, Agnes, Aloysius, Cecelia, Joe (young boy in front), Mathew (father), Elizabeth, Anna, and Carl

Apr 28, 1923: Clemens and Nigon cousins on the family farm outside of Rochester:

Slightly different photo with all present identified:


Note: #37 (infant Clair Nigon) is in the arms of #1 (Mary (Clemens) Wallerich)

1923 • Minnesota ~When he was eighteen, Carl and his cousin Anthony “Tone” Nigon decided to head west for work and adventure. They called up Johnny and Paul, and the four friends each packed a cowhide suitcase and hopped into their Chevy. The three of them drank their way to Washington state while Carl drove. Sobering up, they decided not to stay, dropped Carl off, and then turned around to drive back. They knew they were farmers, rooted to the soil of Minnesota. Carl remained in Washington, first getting a job in the lumber mills and then working for a dairy delivering milk. He eventually landed in San Francisco and then Stockton, California, where there was better work and better weather. His brother Lawrence joined him for a time, and they gained employment with Frederickson & Watson Construction Company, traveling from job to job. In those days, to find work, unless you were a farmer, you had to go where the jobs were. My father, the only man in the family to leave the farming life, was considered the smart one.

1928: Carl John Clemens is living in Spokane, Washington, working on a construction crew
(Carl may be seated 3rd from right in the front row, wearing a white cap):

Note: Carl is mentioned in his 25-year-old brother’s obituary on May 6, 1929 as living in Spokane: “Mr. Clemens is survived by his parents, Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Clemens of Cascade Township, and by the following brothers and sisters: Carl, Spokane, Lawrence and Joseph, Rochester, Mrs. Frank Wallerich, Wabasha, and Mrs. Patrick Conway, Jr.”

May 5, 1928: Stock shares purchased by Carl John Clemens:

Apr 19, 1929: Stock shares purchased by Carl John Clemens:

Jun 20, 1928: Noreen Ellen Chatfield, 8th grade graduation from Notre Dame Catholic Convent School, a boarding school in Marysville, Yuba Co., California:

abt 1929: Nellie Chatfield family: Ina, Jo, Noreen/Babe (in hat), Hylda, Nellie (standing in middle), Ada, Mamie, Roy, Velma, Charley, Arden in Chico, Butte Co., California:

Apr 12, 1930: U.S. Federal Census, San Francisco City, San Francisco Co., California:
Clemens, Carl Roomer, male, white, single, age 24, born abt 1906, born United States, father born United States, mother born United States, able to read and write, electrician

Apr 23, 1930: U.S. Federal Census, Chico, Butte Co., California:
Chatfield, Nellie Head, owns, Value of property $2,500, age 54, married, 1st marriage at 19, born Missouri, father born New York, mother born Pennsylvania, wrapper in Match Factory
Roy E. son, age 29, single, born Colorado, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, Driver for Ice Plant
Arden I. son, age 19, single, born Montana, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri, waiter in restaurant (Arden S.)
Ina J. daughter, age 17, single, born Montana, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri
Noriene E. age 14, single, born California, father born Colorado, mother born Missouri (Noreen Ellen Chatfield)
Chatfield, Charlie Husband, age 59, married, 1st marriage at 24, born Colorado, father born Illinois, mother born Texas, carpenter for contractor

abt 1930: Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield (abt age 15):

1932 • Colusa, California ~ Two 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, 59-year-old Nellie Chatfield moved to the bustling rice town of Colusa, the county capital built on a lazy river bend in the center of the Sacramento Valley. She left her husband behind and brought her two youngest daughters with her, Ina (age 19) and Babe (age 16), the rest of her children grown and out of the nest. There she opened an eatery. It was Prohibition, and the former Golden Eagle Bar and Hotel was now called the Golden Eagle Hotel and Cafe, serving tea and milkshakes instead of beer and whiskey. They lived in three small rooms over the restaurant, and the girls helped their mother cook for the locals and the men who came to town to work on the big government reclamation project, including the building of a weir and the new bridge. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they also sold coffee, cakes, and pies. Sodas were a nickel, and sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs cost a dime. Nellie carried cigarettes, too; two packs of Camels were a quarter. Word spread through town, and Nellie became known for her one-pot dishes: her beef stew, her spaghetti, her lima beans, tamale pie, beef chili, and especially her chicken soup.

Opening ads in the Colusa Sun running for the month of February 1932 read:
AMERICAN CAFE — 120 FIFTH STREET — NOW OPEN
Coffee, Pies & Cakes
24 Hour Service
Reasonable Rates

On a crisp fall morning after Mass, while Carl and his brother Lawrence perched on the swivel stools at the end of the counter at the Golden Eagle and made small talk with Mrs. Chatfield as she fixed their usual Sunday breakfast of fried bacon and eggs, Babe walked in. Mrs. Chatfield’s sixteen-year-old daughter seldom showed up before 10:00 any morning. She liked to sleep in.

Employed by Frederickson & Watson Construction Company, traveling from job to job and rooming in boarding houses wherever their work took them, Lawrence and Carl came to Colusa in August of 1932 to work on the construction of the new weir, a fifteen-hundred-foot cement dam built to regulate the Sacramento River flow. Work was scarce, and the brothers went where the jobs were.

They became Sunday morning regulars, and Babe always waited for the two of them to come in before making her entrance down the stairs. She sat at a nearby table while her mother cooked her a rare steak. Lawrence sat at the counter, eyeing her. Babe was fast-talking and quick-witted, quick to flirt, and quick to laugh. Snappy-eyed and snappy-mouthed, he thought she was one snappy girl.

Lawrence was the talker of the two lanky men, and he and Babe bantered back and forth, laughing and telling stories. Carl said little when Babe was nearby; he may have been twenty-six and seven years older than Lawrence, but he still had the innocence of a farm boy.

The brothers missed their family and home-cooked food. They liked coming to the café and liked Mrs. Chatfield. She reminded them of their mother; she too, believed in God, hard work, and common sense. They respected that in a woman. In return, Nellie Chatfield admired the men, especially Carl. He was Catholic, dependable, upright, a worker, quiet and kind, and he didn’t smoke or drink. This man was a good prospect for her daughter, and he would be a decent addition to the family. Yes, Carl Clemens was a grand choice in Nellie Chatfield’s book. She wished she were younger.

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 Longhorns and Herefords and Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds. They could talk about almost anything. It was Babe he was tongue-tied around. His sweaty palms refused to come out of his pockets when she was near, his long legs stayed wrapped and glued to the swivel chair post, his large feet locking him on.

Lawrence thought Babe was spoiled, getting up late and being waited on hand and foot by her mother, but he was drawn to her. She was not like the Catholic girls back home, not like most girls he knew. She seemed older and bolder, quick and outspoken. But Lawrence didn’t interest Babe—Carl did—Carl, who didn’t say a word to her, who could hardly look her in the eye, who could only bow his head and lower his lashes and twiddle his thumbs. Perhaps she didn’t understand that Carl was naïve and had never been with a woman. Babe wasn’t used to being ignored. She set her sights on this good-looking, tall, brawny Minnesota farmer, determined to have him. She went after Carl like a western cattle queen and lassoed him like a rodeo calf. He never even felt the branding. Too shy to make a move on his own, he was roped and tied before he hit the ground.

Lawrence did everything he could to talk his brother out of it. “This woman is not going to be good for you,” he warned. “She’s not the kind of woman to marry. She’ll only cause you heartache and trouble.”
Carl turned a deaf ear.

And so, within six months of meeting one another in the Golden Eagle Cafe, in an early morning Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes in Colusa, California, my father married my mother.
As it turned out, Lawrence wasn’t jealous. He was right.

Feb 1933: Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield (engagement/wedding photo):

Feb 4, 1933: Marriage of Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, 10th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin & Carl John Clemens, 6th of 11 children of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon, in Colusa, Colusa Co., California
Five children: Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens, Carleen Barbara Clemens, Elizabeth Ann “Liz/Betty” Clemens, Claudia Clemens, Catherine Frances “Cathy” Clemens

Feb 3, 1933: Affidavit of Marriage License for Carl John Clemens & Noreen Chatfield:

Note: Noreen was 17 at age of marriage

Noreen in middle, Carl at right, unknown couple w/children; picture taken on the day of their marriage

Feb 4, 1933: Colusa Sun-Herald, Colusa, Colusa Co., California:
Noreen Chatfield Weds Stockton Youth at Colusa Ceremony
COLUSA–At an early hour Saturday morning Miss Noreen Chatfield became the bride of Carl Clemens of Stockton at a ceremony performed at the Lady or Lourdes Catholic Church immediately following 8 o’clock mass services. Father Renwald, assistant priest, officiated in the absence of Father James Vaughan.
At the close of the service the bride and bridegroom left for Stockton where they will make their home. Their honeymoon has not been planned although they expect to visit the east sometime this summer. Clemens has many friends and relatives there.

Miss Chatfield is the daughter of Mrs. N.C. Chatfield of Colusa. They have resided here for the past year, coming from Chico. During that time two of Mrs. Chatfield’s daughters have become brides. Mrs. James Fouch, Jr., who was married here recently, is a daughter of Mrs. Chatfield.

At the impressive ceremony this morning Margaret Anderson of Chico, a close friend of the bride, was the bridesmaid. Lawrence Clemens, brother of the groom, was best man. The bride is a girl of many charms and has a large coterie of well wishing friends.

1933 • Los Angeles, California ~ Shortly after their marriage and with his job in Colusa finished with the completion of the weir and bridge, Carl and Babe Clemens moved to Los Angeles for his new job building highways; Frederickson & Watson had the contract to construct a portion of the Grapevine (Highway 99). 

Jan 14, 1934: Birth of Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens, 1st of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, at 10:00 a.m. at the Van Ornum Maternity Home in Chico, Butte Co., California; delivered by Dr. Meyers with Nurse Smith attending. He was 21 inches long and weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz.

Jan 14, 1934: California Birth Index:
Name Gordon Lawrence Clemens
Birth Date 14 Jan 1934
Gender Male
Mother’s Maiden Name Chatfield
Birth County Butte

Jan 14, 1934: Gordon Lawrence Clemens Birth Certificate:

Jan 16, 1934: The Chico Record, Chico, Butte Co., California:
Name Clemens (Gordon Lawrence Clemens)
Gender Male
Birth Date 14 Jan 1934
Birth Place California
Publication Date 16 Jan 1934
Publication Place Chico, California
Newspaper Title Chico Record
Father Carl J Clemens

Jan 28, 1934: From the baby book of Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens, the son of Carl & Noreen: “We went in the car to see Mrs. Chamberlin (Emily S. (Hoy) Chamberlin) at her home in Hollywood (part of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California)
Note: Emily was the maternal Grandmother of Noreen; Larry was two weeks old.

Feb 4, 1934: Baptism of Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Chico, Butte Co., California

Apr 1, 1934: From the baby book of Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens, the son of Carl & Noreen: “Our baby’s first Easter was spent in Griffith Park, Los Angeles”

1934: California Voter Registration, La Liebre Precinct, Los Angeles Co., California:
Clemens, Carl J, Sec 12, T8N, R19X, D

1934 • Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California ~ In 1934, Carl and Noreen moved to Watsonville, a small agricultural town on the central coast, 95 miles south of San Francisco. They wanted to be near George and Verda (Noreen’s sister), and Carl got a job working for the Union Ice Company through George, who was his closest friend. For years, he worked with George at Union Ice, first as a deliveryman, then as a manager. Along with regular home deliveries, Carl also filled commercial ice vending machines, delivered ice to all the restaurants, and to the huge army base filled with hundreds of tents and soldiers near Watsonville.

Carl Clemens and brother-in-law, George Day:

Mar 13, 1935: Birth of Carleen Barbara Clemens, 2nd of 5 children of Carl Clemens & Noreen “Babe” Chatfield, in Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California

Mar 13, 1935: California Birth Index:
Name Carleen Barbara Clemons (Carleen Barbara Clemens)
Birth Date 13 Mar 1935
Gender Female
Mother’s Maiden Name Chatfield
Birth County Santa Cruz

1936: California Voter Registrations, Watsonville No. 20, Santa Cruz Co., California:
Clemens, Carl J. Democrat, Salesman, 1118 Lincoln St., Watsonville
Clemens, Mrs. Noreen E. Democrat, Housewife, 1118 Lincoln St., Watsonville

1936: U.S. City Directory, Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California (pg 308):
Clemens, Carl J (Noreen ) driver Union Ice Co h109a Stanford

Feb 17, 1937: California Ass. of Ice Industries Annual Convention at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco:

Nov 8, 1937: Death of Barbara (Nigon) Clemens (age 64), 1st of 13 children of Nicholas Nigon & Barbara Leinen, wife of Mathew Sylvester Clemens, and mother of Carl John Clemens, in Pepin Township, Wabasha Co., Minnesota; of a stroke

Nov 8, 1937: Rochester Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota (pg 5):

Nov 1937: Burial of Barbara (Nigon) Clemens, at Calvary Cemetery in Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota; Section CC 30 13

Carl’s first time back to the family farm was for his mother’s funeral. He and Noreen took the long train trip to the Midwest, bringing Larry, who was almost four, and Carleen, who was a year younger. Farm kids were seldom catered to, and this woman from California indulged her children, especially Carleen, giving her daughter anything she wanted as the Minnesota relatives raised their midwestern eyebrows. Carl had been gone from home for fifteen years and hadn’t spoken to his mother during that whole time; he was sure she didn’t care about him. What he didn’t know is that she cried every day, hoping each time the phone rang that it was her son who’d run off to California without even saying good-bye.

Nov 1937: Noreen & Carl, with Larry and Carleen, visiting in Minnesota:

Nov 1937: Clemens, Conway, Kleist, and Hauser cousins:

1938: California Voter Registrations: Watsonville No. 9, Santa Cruz Co., California:
Clemens, Mrs. Noreen E. Democrat, Housewife, 29 W. Fifth St.

1938: U.S. City Directory: Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California (pg 339):
Clemens, Carl J (Noreen) driver, h29 W 5th

1938: Noreen, Carleen, Larry, and Carl in Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California:

Jan 2, 1939: Carl Clemens, Union Ice Company, Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California:

Dec 3, 1939: Birth of Elizabeth Ann “Betty/Liz” Clemens, 3rd of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen “Babe” Chatfield, in Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California

Dec 3, 1939: California Birth Index:
Name Elizabeth Ann Clemens
Birth Date 3 Dec 1939
Gender Female
Mother’s Maiden Name Chatfield
Birth County Santa Cruz

Jan 1940: Carl Clemens honored in The Union Ice Company newsletter:

Feb 1940: Carl Clemens mentioned in The Union Ice Company newsletter:

1940: California Voter Registrations, Watsonville No. 9, Santa Cruz Co., California:
Clemens, Carl J. Democrat, Salesman, 29 W. Fifth St., Watsonville
Clemens, Mrs. Noreen E. Democrat, Housewife, 29 W. Fifth St., Watsonville

1940: U.S. City Directory, Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California (pg 343):
Clemens, Carl J (Noreen) driver, Union Ice Co, h29 W 5th

Apr 12, 1940: U.S. Federal Census, Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California:
Clemens, Carl: Head, male, white, married, age 34, born Minnesota, delivery salesman for ice industry, completed 4th year high school, 60 hrs worked week prior to census, 52 hours worked per week in 1939
Norine: Wife, female, white, married, age 24, born California, housewife, completed 2nd year high school (Noreen)
Larry: Son, male, white, single, age 6, born California
Caroleen: Daughter, female, white, single, age 5, born California (Carleen)
Elizabeth A: Daughter, female, white, single, age 3/12, born California (Betty)

1940: Carleen, Betty, Larry Clemens, Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California:

1940: Larry and Carleen Clemens, Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California:

1940: Carl Clemens and daughter Betty, Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California:

Oct 16, 1940: U.S. WWII Draft Card:
Name: Carl John Clemens
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 35
Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head)
Birth Date: 25 Sep 1905
Birth Place: Rochester, Minnesota
Residence Place: Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California
Registration Date: 16 Oct 1940
Registration Place: Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California
Employer: Union Ice Co
Weight: 180
Complexion: Light
Eye Color: Gray
Hair Color: Brown
Height: 6
Next of Kin: Noreen Ellen Clemens

Nov 22, 1941: Letter from Noreen Clemens, age 26, to her husband’s sister, Amelia (Clemens) Conway (age 39), living in Byron, Olmsted Co., Minnesota:

Watsonville, Cal.
Nov. 22, 1941.
Dear Amelia and all:
The last letter I had from you was dated July 11, whether I have written since then I don’t know but I probably haven’t. Not much to write about. I started working in an apple dryer here the first of September and got through the day before Thanksgiving. I sure was glad to be through. I don’t mind working out for a couple of months but I don’t want to any longer, my house is in terrible shape. I had an old lady in who took care of Betty and got Larry and Carleen off to school and that was about all she did do.

We have put the house up for sale and if we do get a buyer I want to buy or rent a place in the country. I want a cow and chickens and a pig family etc. Milk is 14¢ a qt., eggs 50¢ a dozen, butter 45¢ a lb. and all other prices are according. It takes every nickel you make just to eat. Meat is such a luxury even hamburger is 31¢ a lb. and pork chops are 43¢, as for beef, well I don’t even glance at steaks any more, you cant buy a steak for less than 50¢ and it takes two big ones for my family.

You asked me in your letter to send some snapshots but I haven’t any, we took three rolls while on our vacation and Betty got into the boxes and pulled the films out before I ever had a chance to send them away but we have some large ones for Xmas this year again. I just ordered them, in fact the lady came and took my order just as I started to write this. The proofs are very good, what the pictures will be like I don’t know. I hope they are good. My sister and her family from Vallejo just drove up so will finish this later. (Verda and George Day)

Sunday p.m.
Days left about 3:30 this afternoon, things are so hectic while they are here. There are George and Verda and four kids. Jr. is nearly seventeen and the baby is a year old. George and Carl are such good friends, they really think the world of each other. The(y) go off out in the car or someplace by themselves and talk by the hour. I would think they would get tired.

I guess I haven’t written since we got our new furniture. We really couldn’t afford it but it was such a wonderful chance, we’ll never again get such a break. This couple we know broke up and we took over the contract on the furniture. It is just like new, they had it about a year and with only one little baby it hadn’t gotten scratched a bit.

We got a chesterfield set, dark red, blue rug, rug pad, occasional chair, table, floor lamp and big mirror to hang over the fireplace for the living room, a dinette set, walnut colored with cream seats, breakfast set (I sold it and kept my own as mine was a more expensive one) a Hot Point washing machine, white and a swell big white enameled stove. I traded my old washing machine for a new white and black Mix Master. Altogether we got $425 worth of stuff for $204. We pay $11.50 a month on it. I sure am glad to have some decent looking stuff, my old living room furniture was in an awful shape, well, you can imagine. I burned the old rug and sold the chesterfield and one chair for only six dollars. The other chair was a very comfortable one so I kept it and some day I hope to cover it in bright flowered chintz and use it for a bedroom chair.

Everyone here is fine, the kids and I all had an attack of stomach flu but it only lasted one day each. Betty is so cute and growing so tall, she talks a blue streak, she calls her daddy, Carl, which I think is cute but he doesn’t think much of it. Her hair is blonde and real curly and her eyes blue and they just sparkle with the devil in them, then she has a dimple in each cheek and the evenest little white teeth and pinkest cheeks. I wish you would see her before she outgrows her baby cuteness. Larry and Carleen are so proud of her and just love to hear people say that she is cute, they want to take her every place they go, just to show her off.

Larry, Betty, Carleen

We finished off the last of our Thanksgiving turkey today (yes, I still have the frame to make soup with tomorrow) we wouldn’t have had a turkey as it cost 38¢ a lb. this year but I won one last Sunday playing Bingo and it only cost us 60¢. We played six times.

Now that I am through working I must get started on some sewing. I have pajamas to make, coats to make for Betty and Carleen, a neighbor lady gave me two lovely coats, one a gray which I will make over for Carleen. I made her a gray tweed out of an old coat of mine and its as nice as any $10 one I ever saw in a store. The other coat she gave me is of white flannel. I’m going to dye it blue and make her a coat and hat (Betty I mean). Then I have a quilt to line and quilt, a quilt to put together for Betty’s bed. The top is made out of little squares of nursery flannel, peices (sic) left over from pajamas. I line it with flannel and put pink or blue flannel on the bottom side. Then I have kitchen curtains to make, I don’t know where to start on it all but I think I had better make Betty’s coat and hat as I gave her old one to my sister today for her baby, it was such a nice one I paid $5 for them and she only wore it one winter, she has outgrown it now. I told her to give it back to me when her baby out grew it as I may need it again some day. Betty has so many cute clothes that she has outgrown but if I had any more I suppose they would be boys and I couldn’t use them anyway.

Well, this turned into almost a novel but I must stop now, Betty is under the card table and she keeps bumping it and making me scribble all over.
Write when you can and my love to all.
Noreen

Mar 28, 1942: Birth of Claudia Clemens, 4th of 5 children of Carl Clemens & Noreen “Babe” Chatfield, in Vallejo, Solano Co., California:

Mar 28, 1942: California Birth Index:
Name Claudia Clemens
Birth Date 28 Mar 1942
Gender Female
Mother’s Maiden Name Chatfield
Birth County Solano

1942: California Voter Registrations, Vallejo No. 66, Solano Co., California:
Clemens, Mrs. Noreen E. 13 Reis, housewife, Dem.

1942: California Voter Registrations, Watsonville No. 8, Santa Cruz Co., California:
Clemens, Carl J. Democrat, Salesman, 29 W. Fifth St., Watsonville
Clemens, Mrs. Noreen E. Democrat, Housewife, 29 W. Fifth St., Watsonville

Jul 23, 1942: Death of Charles Henry Chatfield (age 71), father of Noreen Ellen “Babe” (Chatfield) Clemens, at the Butte County Hospital in Oroville, California; of cardiac failure and malnutrition

Jul 24, 1942: Chico Enterprise, Chico, Butte Co., California:
C.H. Chatfield Taken by Death
Charles H. Chatfield, widely known Chico resident for the past 25 years, and retired rancher, died at a local hospital yesterday following a short illness.
Chatfield was born in Florence, Colorado, September 21, 1870 and has been a resident of this community for 25 years. The family residence was at 666 East 16th street. He followed his occupation as a rancher until his retirement a few years ago.
He leaves to mourn him, his wife Nellie Chatfield of Chico and the following children, Charles J. of San Francisco, Leo W. of Camptonville, Howard F. and Roy E. of Chico, Gordon of Martinez, Arden with the U.S. Army, Mrs. Nellie McElhiney of Oakland, Mrs. Verda Day of Vallejo, Mrs. Noreen Clemens of Vallejo, and Mrs. Irma (Ina) Fouch of Yuba City. Twelve grandchildren also survive.
One brother, Elmer Chatfield of Wyoming, and two sisters, Mrs. Ella Small of Superior, Arizona, and Mrs. Calla Joslyn of Santa Monica, California.
Friends are invited to attend the funeral services Saturday morning at 9:30 o’clock at the Black and Johnson Funeral home. Rev. Father Patrick J. Cronin of St. John the Baptist Catholic church will read the last rites and the interment will be held in Chico cemetery.

Jul 25, 1942: Burial of Charles Henry Chatfield in an unmarked grave at the corner of a storage shed in the non-Catholic section in Chico Cemetery.

Note: Our grandfather was in an unmarked grave until my brother Gordon and I had a headstone made for him 61 years after his death. Gordon’s wife, Marian, laughed when she saw that we’d added “Son of Isaac W. Chatfield” and asked why we did that. We said because we knew Grandma would have rolled over in her grave if we’d put “Beloved Husband of Nellie”

Jul 26, 1942: Chatfield gathering for their father’s funeral:
Back row: Grandma Nellie Chatfield (in shade), Charley Chatfield, Mamie Rosborough, Carl Clemens, Ina (Chatfield) Fouch, Herb Rosborough, Velma (Turnbull) Chatfield, Ethel (Stirewalt) Chatfield, Jim Fouch (in shadow), Vera Northrup (Jo’s sister), Russell Northrup (Jo’s brother-in-law), Jo Chambers
Front row: Leo Chatfield, Betty Clemens (girl), Noreen “Babe” (Chatfield) Clemens, Verda (Chatfield) Day, Larry Clemens (boy), Howard Chatfield, Roy Chatfield (looking down), Nellie May (Chatfield) McElhiney

Union Ice Company: In the 1940s, the Union Ice Company was a major ice producer in California but faced significant challenges, including an antitrust lawsuit in the mid ’40s that forced it to change its business practices, and the beginning of the end of the natural ice industry due to the growing popularity of refrigerators after World War II.

1943 • Sonora, California In 1943, the family moved to Sonora, the county seat of Tuolumne County in the Sierra Nevada foothills, where Carl traded in his dark blue iceman’s uniform for a suit and tie, managing the Sprouse Reitz on Washington Street. The former farmer, construction worker, iceman, and pinball wizard comfortably settled into small-town life, running a five-and-dime and raising his growing family.

1943: sisters Claudia and Betty Clemens:

Mar 28, 1943: Carl John Clemens:

1944: California Voter Registrations, Vallejo No. 84, Solano Co:
Clemens, Mrs. Noreen E. 13 Reis, housewife, Dem.

1944: California Voter Registrations, Sonora Number 8, Tuolumne Co. (pg 46):
Clemens, Carl J. Store Mgr. Sonora Dem
Clemens, Mrs. Noreen Sales Clerk Sonora Dem

1946 • Sonora ~ No Sunday or Holy Day passed without Carl taking the children to Mass. Noreen no longer attended church; forced to go as a child, she avoided it whenever possible. There were no shades of gray softening Carl’s edges; he was only black and white. Nor was there deviance from the rules—on his part—or anyone else’s. Having moral fiber as starched as his collar, he also drew a hard line with his wife’s behavior and kept her on a short leash. She was smoking cigarettes, which he hated, and drinking, which he also hated. He bought her anything she needed, but controlled the purse strings; she didn’t have money of her own, not even pin money, even though she worked in the store. But Noreen wasn’t to be controlled; she was going to do what she wanted to do, when she wanted to do it, and her husband couldn’t stop her. This was about the time (after thirteen years of marriage, four children, and two years before my arrival) that she began to unravel.

Dec 24, 1946: On his twelfth Christmas, Larry received a small five-year leather-bound diary. He faithfully wrote in it most every day; included here are references to our immediate family:

Jan 14, 1947 • Larry’s diary Today I am entering into my teens, and for my 13th birthday I got a pair of Levis (age 13)

Jan 20, 1947: Carl Clemens is appointed to the Sonora City Council

Jan 21, 1947: Union Democrat, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California (pg 1):

Mar 30, 1947: Death of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens (age 73), husband of Barbara Nigon, and father of Carl John Clemens, at the Colonial Hospital during surgery for throat cancer, Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota; bronchopneumonia

Mar 30, 1947 • Larry’s diary Aunt Elizabeth phoned long distance to tell my parents that my grandfather had died this afternoon. I went to church to inform them.

Mar 31, 1947: newspaper obituary, Rochester Olmsted Co., Minnesota:
MATTHEW S. CLEMENS, 73, SUCCUMBS HERE Matthew S. Clemens, who has lived in Rochester all but the first year of his life, died in the Colonial hospital last night after an illness of two weeks. He was 73 years old. Born in Mazeppa on March 1, 1874, he was brought to Rochester as an infant. On April 19, 1897 at St. John’s church in Rochester, he married the former Barbara Nigon, who died about 10 years ago. Mr. Clemens was a farmer. Surviving him are nine children, a brother, and two sisters. In January of this year, Mr. Clemens received a gold certificate for being a member of the St. Joseph society for 50 years, an award that he treasured highly.

Mar 31, 1947: Union Democrat, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California:

Apr 2, 1947: Burial of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens at Calvary Cemetery in Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota; Section CC 30 14

Apr 30, 1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13) Carleen broke her arm again

Apr 1947: Carleen (arm in cast), Claudia, Betty, and Noreen (Mom):

Jun 1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13)
Jun 4 Graduated from 8^th grade elementary school. I got a wristwatch and binder as gifts.
Jun 5 At 2 PM left for 3 week vacation to stay at George and Verda Day‘s home in Redwood City as Mom and Dad going to Minnesota
Jun 18 Received letter from Mom and Dad in Rochester, Minnesota. They had an accident in their car but no one hurt.
Jun 21 Postcard from Mom and Dad in Minnesota

Jun 1947 • Minnesota Two months after his father’s funeral, Carl and Noreen took the train to Minnesota for a family gathering for the passing of his father and to help settle the estate. Larry stayed with the Day family for three weeks, Carleen went to the Fouchs, and Betty and Claudia stayed with Uncle Charley and Aunt Velma; this was the year before I was born. There wasn’t much to do on the farm, and Mom, finally being free of her children, wanted to go, go, go. Never wanting to sit still, she wanted to see the country, have some fun and kick up some dust. Instead, she visited her in-laws’ farms, meeting the Clemens, Conway, and Nigon clans.

The family liked her. Well, the men and the kids liked her with her easy way and sense of humor. She had an air about her that made most of the women uneasy, nor was she serious about duty. The farm women took care of duty, busy raising corn while my mother was out making hay. They lived the better part of their busy days in aprons and house dresses, wore sensible Red Wings or work boots, used no nail polish or make-up. They had chores to do, men to feed, and kids to care for—from dawn until ten and often back again until dawn. They knew Mom was of a different flock. She dressed, sat, and spoke differently, wasn’t as proper and reserved as they were, not as buttoned up.

The family had their picture taken at the Terrace Room at the Oaks. My mother is front and middle, wearing a low-cut black dress, legs easily crossed at the knee—not the ankle—sandwiched between Dad’s nephew, a handsome uniformed Pat Conway, his arm draped casually over her shoulder, and Dad, his hand discreetly tucked under hers. No, she was not a Minnesotan, and she was definitely not like the rest of the women in Dad’s family. Nor did she care to be.

Jun 1947: The Terrace Room at the Oaks overlooking the Mississippi River in Winona, Winona Co., Minnesota:
Back row: Joe Clemens, Bill & Agnes Hauser, Betty Rose, Pearl & Lawrence Clemens, Amelia & Pat Conway, II, Frank & Mary Wallerich, Elizabeth Clemens
Front row: Betty Clemens, Mary Lou Wallerich, Pat Conway, III, Noreen & Carl Clemens, Joe Wallerich

Jun 1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13)
Jun 29 Mom came to pick me up. She brought my cousins Shirley and JoAnne Fouch and Carleen with her. They stayed overnight.
Jun 30 Went to So. San Francisco to pick up Betty and Claudia at Aunt Velma’s and Uncle Charlie‘s. I was in Redwood City for 26 days

Jul 1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13)
Jul 7 I quit my afternoon paper routes so I could work at my job in Dad‘s store
Jul 13 Went fishing and caught 4 perch. Mom and Dad were in boat and they caught 2 fish including a 14” long catfish
Jul 23 Have lived in Sonora 4 years today

Carl, son Larry, and Noreen, fishing:

1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13)
Aug 13 Bought a full box of bubble gum, 100 pieces for $1. Gum very rare in past 6 years as it was not available during the war

Sep 9 My father plans to buy Tibbits store by end of this month
Sep 22 My father finished buying Tibbit’s Drugs store and will take over the beginning of October
Sep 23 A big article was in tonights Democrat and Daily about Dad buying Tibbits

After running Sprouse Reitz for four years and as the economy was good, Carl went into business for himself. Inheriting some money when his father died and borrowing from his sister Elizabeth, he bought Tibbits Drug Store in September 1947, remodeled it into a record and department store, and opened Clemens’. 

Sep 23, 1947: Sonora Union Democrat, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California:
CARL CLEMENS BUYS TIBBITS DRUG STORE
Sale of Tibbits Pharmacy by Lynn Day to Mr. and Mrs. Carl Clemens was consummated this week with Clemens scheduled to take over active management of the business October 4^th. Clemens, who came here in July 1943 has served as manager of the local Sprouse Reitz store. Clemens stated he would add a variety line to the cosmetic, stationary and novelty lines already carried by the store, and will sell general merchandise. The store will be known as Clemens’.

Sep & Oct 1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13)
Sep 25 It is Dad’s birthday. Dad is 42
Sep 28 Sunday, worked all day today at store trying to clean it up and get out some of the new freight we got in

Oct 15 A girl named Sharon may come to take care of the kids regularly until maybe even December 3, 1947.

1947: Sonora Union Democrat, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California:
CLEMENS’
“Only Music Store in Tuolumne County”
A Full Line of Records, Sheet Music, Toys, Cards, Gifts and Variety Items
440 Washington Street, Tel 2143

Dec 1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13)
Dec 25 Had a big Christmas dinner and stayed in nearly all day long. Went to church this morning and wore my new shirt
Dec 28 Sunday: Went to Redwood City and stayed at Day’s house. Mom and Dad had to go down San Francisco to get some records for the store.
Dec 30 Came back home and went through San Francisco and over Bay Bridge with mom and dad

Note: Larry did not keep a diary for much of 1948. Many entries were the typical posts about Boy Scouts, band, and building bookcases; some days were missed, and some weeks and months were completely blank.

1948 • Larry’s diary (age 14)
Aug 16 Got a new sister at 12:10 a.m. Her name will probly be Kathern. Babe Ruth died.

Aug 16, 1948: Birth of Catherine Frances “Cathy” Clemens, 5th of 5 children of Carl Clemens & Noreen “Babe” Chatfield, in Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California

Aug 16, 1948: California Birth Index:
Name Catherine Frances Clemens
Birth Date 16 Aug 1948
Gender Female
Mother’s Maiden Name Chatfield
Birth County Tuolumne

Aug 1948: Sonora Union Democrat, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California:
CLEMENS, In Sonora, August 16, at the Sonora Hospital, to the wife of Carl Clemens of Sonora, a daughter, at 12:10 A.M.

March /April 1949 • Larry’s diary (age 15)
Mar 25 Claudia (age 7) had a birthday party at the youth center but I didn’t go to it.

Apr 21 Claudia may have the measles and Dad is sick.

Apr 26, 1949: Carl Clemens, National Auto Club Card for a 1949 Oldsmobile Coupe Sedan (expires Apr 26, 1953):

May-Nov 1949 • Larry’s diary (age 15)
May 1 Dad owes about $10,000 in bills has to pay bank $1,000 tomorrow, only has $800
May 8 Sunday: Mother’s Day, rained a little and had a rainbow. Mom went to Chico to visit Grandma.

Jun 9 Carleen graduated from grammar school, but I had to stay home with the baby
Jun 21 Dad is sleeping with me because Mom is sick again

Jul 20 Betty got hoard of comics from somewhere. Mom canned apricots this morning.

Nov 5 Mom and Dad went to Modesto to eat.
Nov 6 Mom is sick in bed. Rained first time since August
Nov 10 Mom and sisters went to Yuba City to visit relatives. Dad and I stayed in Sonora to work. 
Nov 13 Mom and kids got back from Yuba City

Apr 3, 1950: U.S. Federal Census, Sonora, Tuolumne, California:
Name Carl J Clemens
Age 44
Birth Date abt 1906
Gender Male
Race White
Marital Status Married
Relation to Head of House Head
Residence Date 1950
Home in 1950 Sonora, Tuolumne, California
Street Name Green St
Dwelling Number 45
Occupation Merchant
Industry Music Store
Occupation Category Working
Hours Worked 48
Worker Class Own Business
Household Members (Name) Age Relationship:
Carl J Clemens Age 44, Head, married, merchant in music store, born Minnesota
Noreen E Clemens Age 34, Wife, married, born California
Gordon L Clemens Age 16, Son, born California, clerk in music store
Carleen B Clemens Age 15, Daughter, born California
Elizabeth A Clemens Age 10, Daughter, born California
Claudia Clemens Age 8, Daughter, born California
Catherine F Clemens Age 1, Daughter, born California

1950: Clemens siblings: Carleen, Claudia, Cathy in middle, Betty, Larry, in Sonora, California:

1950 • Larry’s diary (age 16)
Apr 24 Mom came to my room and told me that she and dad may get a divorce and which one would I stay with. (Dad)
Apr 26 Dad told me about divorce
Apr 27 Mom said goodby to me and left. Told me to tell Dad to get car at Parrots Ferry.
Apr 28 Mom in Columbia Way Hospital, everyone seems to know.
Apr 29 Saw mom in hospital. Looks real sick.
Apr 30 Ima came to house and told me about overdose of sleeping pills.

1950 • Larry’s diary (age 16)
May 2 Dad hired Ima to stay in home to take care of my little sisters. Taught her how to play Canasta.
May 25 Mom left for Chico to visit her mother. 
May 27 Mom got back from Chico. First day of fishing.

Jun 18 Mom and dad went to Modesto toy show. Will stay down 2 or 3 days.
Jun 28 Went swimming at Mosses with whole family and Ima, except dad. 

Jul 1 U.S. troops rushed to Korea. Dug in back yard some. Mom went up to Dardenelle for fishing
Jul 16 Mom and dad gone on vacation, kept store open by myself all day
Jul 22 Got card from Dad and Mom
Jul 26 Phone call from Mom and Dad from Chico. Korean War 1 month old today.
Jul 28 Mom and dad came back from vacation in Oregon, Tahoe and around
Jul 29 Averaged $102 per day during Dad’s two-week vacation

Aug 16 Cathy’s birthday, two year party
Aug 23 Mom, Dad and I saw movie The Big Lift. Mom and Dad feeling low.
Aug 25 Worked at store till midnight when fluorescent lights went out. Dad came after me at 11:30.
Aug 26 Korea War 2 months old. Mom and girls went camping at Pinecrest

Sep 10 Mom fixed a great big turkey dinner.
Sep 25 Dad’s birthday.
Sep 29 Got band sweater from Baers, 3 stripes, name, wildcat heads, pin, block S. (also our mother’s birthday)
Sep 30 Mom sick again, called Dr. Boice.

Oct 2 Mom at hospital for operation.

On September 29, 1950, our mother turned thirty-five. She’d been married half her life and had five children. The day after her birthday, struggling against everything she knew, she once again tried to end it all. Dad was forty-five, Larry, a senior in high school, Carleen, a sophomore, Betty was in the sixth grade, Claudia was in fourth, and I had turned two. Mom was back in the hospital, then five days later, home again.

1950 • Larry’s diary (age 16)
Oct 7 Had company from Vallejo. They slept in Dad’s room, and Dad slept with me. Mom came home from the hospital

Nov 23 Thanksgiving. Kept store open 11 to 7. Great big dinner.

Dec 24 Went to Midnight Mass. Got tie from Betty and Claudia, shirt from Carleen, ties and slacks from mom.

1951 • Larry’s diary (age 16)
Jan 2 Talked to dad about Music and Business
Jan 3 Opened up store at 9:00 and closed at 6:30 counting records. Dad talked about selling out all music and records
Jan 5 Mom sick
Jan 13 Dad borrowed keys and coat, forgot about keys, closed up store about 10 o’clock. 

Jan 14 (age 17) Got $5.00 as present under plate.
Jan 28 Went to Dodge Ridge and Mile Hi for first time with whole family

Feb 8 Dad went to Merced for Elks.
Feb 10 Dad told me we may sell store soon
Feb 11 Saw add for store for sale in San Francisco Examiner

Mar 15, 1951: Union Democrat, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California:

1951 • Larry’s diary (age 16)
Mar 20 Dad sick in bed. I opened up Ben Franklin store for him as he is now managing that as well as our store.

1951: The family’s 1949 Oldsmobile Coupe Sedan, Claudia and Betty looking out the rear window, Cathy in front

Mar 25, 1951: Easter Sunday: Carleen, Betty, Claudia, Cathy

1951 • Larry’s diary (age 17)
Apr 14 Mom, Dad and the Hagens went to Reno for weekend of gambling. Mom lost $90 in wallet. 
Apr 15 Kept store alone all day as Mom and Dad in Reno
Apr 21 Went on driving lesson to Shaws Flat with Carleen and Mom

1951 • Larry’s diary (age 17)
May 1 Sick from eating cherries, missed day of school, Mom and Claudia also sick
May 8 Spring Concert, Band Brass Choir, both solos. Mom and Dad there. 
May 24 Was elected most valuable Music Student. Presented silver cup and trophy with my name engraved on it.
May 29 Had picture taken in uniform – cup – ribbons – instruments – cap and gown. 
May 31 Kids have measles

Jun 4 Got Green & Gold. I have 20 some pictures in it. Mom went to San Francisco
Jun 5 Claudia got award as most beginning progressive student in Grammar school.
Jun 7 Graduation!!!! Played in band and sang in chorus. Mom and dad there. Sat in first row.
Jun 8 First day on job at Moccasin powerhouse. Guy showed me a lot of things and how to take readings.

Larry Clemens: Sonora High School senior photo:

Note from Gordon/Larry: Moving out of the house the day I graduated, I got my first big job as an electrician at the Hetch Hetchy Powerhouse in Moccasin outside of Yosemite National Park. A company town, Moccasin was owned by the City and County of San Francisco. The powerhouse was built as part of the Hetch Hetchy Project system to generate electricity for San Francisco, 134 miles away. It was a great job in 1951 and I made $1,000 that summer, enough money to cover most of my college expenses my first year. I got the job because the wife of one of the electricians worked in Dad’s store told me about it.

Sep 1951: Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens attends San Jose State College in San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California

1951 • Larry’s diary (age 17)
Nov 11 Mom drove me back to San Jose as she was bringing Claudia down for eye trouble.
Dec 24 Got shirt-Carleen, tie rack-Charlie and Velma, kerchiefs-Claudia, blanket-Mom and Dad, overcoat and pajamas.
Dec 25 Went to midnight mass with Carleen. She got hope chest for Xmas and I gave her tennis racquet
Note: As Larry did not write in his diary for part of 1948 and much of 1949, he used those blank days for 1952 entries.

1952: Carl & Noreen buy a 1946 blue four-door Plymouth

1952 • Larry’s diary (age 18)
Mar 14 Painted whole kitchen with green paint while mom was gone to San Francisco as a surprise for her. It turned out a good job but the color was odd
Mar 19 Wrecked dad’s car. Car rolled completely over in gully and was total wreck and they took me to hospital. Had stitches and a sore back. Car insured. (note: this was the new 1946 blue four-door Plymouth)

May 1952 • Sonora ~ For the umpteenth time, I don’t know why she left,” my sixteen-year-old sister snapped. “No, I don’t know when we’ll see her again, no, I don’t know where she went, and no, I don’t know if she’s coming back. Now don’t ask any more questions. Mom was gone, and this time Carleen knew she wasn’t coming back. My oldest sister was in charge now and there was no need to discuss it again. Our lives continued. Spring faded. Summer passed. Fall blew into winter. The first time our mother left was in April 1950, before I turned two. She returned, but knew she couldn’t live a life she didn’t want. She once told Larry she didn’t know what to do, that she’d go crazy if she didn’t get away, that she had to leave. In early May 1952, packing everything she could carry in her two leather suitcases, she finally left for good. Mothers didn’t run away in those days, except ours did, and Betty never forgave her.

1952 • Larry’s diary (age 18)
May 8 Letter from dad, Mom in Las Vegas working.

1952 • Larry’s diary (age 18)
Jun 8 Met Dad in San Francisco. Saw car, 49 Olds. Ate at Omar Khayyams, had Armenian food. 
Jun 19 Took Claudia out. Got first letter from Mom in Las Vegas. 
Jun 24 Took Betty and played tennis. Mom sent $1.00 to each of the kids.
Jun 28 Unpacked belongings and cleaned up room. Played records all day. Wrote letter to Mom. 

1952 • Larry’s diary (age 18)
Aug 5 Letter from Mom, return address San Jose. Forwarded from 7th St. Says she is down to 110 lbs.
Sep 5 Dad left for Fales hot springs over Sonora Pass. Will be gone for one week. 
Sep 9 Letter to Dad from Mom asking why I don’t write
Sep 11 Dad got back from vacation. Had to go through Tahoe
Sep 14 Dad paid me back $200 and still owes me $300.
Sep 15 Drove back to San Jose to get ready for school.
Sep 25 Wrote letter to Dad.
Sep 27 Letter from mom with picture and postcards, she has good job in Nevada.

1952 • Larry’s diary (age 18)
Oct 22 Newman club meeting. Letter from Mom with $5
Nov 11 Went to Sonora for Armistice Day. Mom cooked supper. First time she was home since last April or May, I did not expect to see her. Went to Oakdale football game and both Mom and Dad were there to see Carleen perform as band majorette
Nov 15 Called dad and he will send me money he owes me so I can get my car fixed (new motor cost $269.53). Car in Escalon where it broke down
Nov 19 Got check for $250 from Dad
Nov 22 Motor in car cost $269.33 paid $250.00 and charged rest. Letter from Mom giving new address in Ogden, Utah
Dec 23 Mom came home from Ogden, Utah by train to Stockton where Carleen picked her up. Took in over $1,000 almost every day for a week or so at the store
Dec 24 Whole family together to open presents. Carleen didn’t even thank mom for expensive watch, hurt mom’s feelings. Dad gave me good watch, also got radio, car mirror, suitcase, books, ties, shirts, lots of hankies
Dec 25 We went to midnight mass real early and got a seat, long. Mom cried and I didn’t know what to do.
Dec 26 Drove mom to San Jose and left her at hotel. Slept in San Jose and left for San Francisco 4 A.M. and just drove and walked around in morn.
Dec 29 Picked Mom up at hotel and drove her to So. Palo Alto to apply for government job. She found an apartment on Third Street for $15 week.

1952-53 • Sonora ~ Carleen met Chuck at the end of her junior year when she was seventeen. He graduated four years ahead of her at Sonora High, and was 21 and pumping gas on the corner at Paneros 76 station when he took a shine to her. In April of her senior year, he told her he loved her and asked her to go steady, and every day thereafter, she wore his green letterman sweater: Sonora High, Class of 1949. His class ring shared her gold chain necklace with her crucifix. He took her swimming at Parrott’s Ferry in Columbia, to Mountain River Lodge downstream from Jacksonville, and to her December Winter Ball. Carleen made her dress from daffodil yellow taffeta covered in tulle and wore a shawl of black velvet. Like Mother, she sewed beautifully.

At the end of January 1953, Chuck proposed to Carleen in the front seat of his black Hupmobile. They drove to Stockton to Rogers Jewelry Store for rings, where he bought her a beautiful Heirloom diamond mounted in a 14-carat gold setting for the goodly sum of $220. Under the circumstances, it was a formality for him to ask Dad for her hand. My sister was pregnant. However, Chuck turned out not to be the father. Unbeknownst to anyone, Carleen had gotten pregnant by a fellow cheerleader in the class behind her.

Mar 15, 1953: Marriage of Charles Evans Alberston & Carleen Barbara Clemens, 2nd of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, in Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California
Three children: Deborah Ann Albertson, Rand Charles Albertson, Laura Catherine Albertson

Mar 15, 1953: California Marriage Index:
Name Carleen B Clemens
Gender Female
Estimated Birth Year abt 1936
Age 17 (age 18)
Marriage Date 15 Mar 1953
Marriage Place Tuolumne, California
Spouse Charles E Albertson
Spouse Age 22

Carleen with Cathy on her wedding day, Sonora, California:

On March 13, 1953: Carleen turned eighteen. Two days later, three months before her high school graduation, and nearly four months pregnant, in front of two hundred family and friends in St. Patrick’s Church, Carleen married Charles Evans Albertson. My sister was happy she was getting married and going to have a baby. The vow that weighed heavily on her was forsaking all others. She was worried about what would happen to us. 

Forsaking us was the only wedding vow Carleen wouldn’t keep; over the next thirteen years, Betty, Claudia, Mother, and I would end up under their small roof at one time or another.

Apr 27, 1953: Noreen Ellen (Chatfield) Clemens files for divorce in the Superior Court of Tuolumne County after 20 years of marriage and five children. It was uncontested. The nine-page document discloses the reasons for divorce, property settlement, custody of the children, visitation rights during vacation times, and the amount of child support to be paid. The court allowed Betty, who was thirteen, and Claudia, who was eleven, to choose which parent they wanted to live with. Betty chose Dad, but went to live with Carleen in Southern California. Claudia stayed with the Davises for a year. As I was only five, I was awarded to Mother.

Jun 1953: Carleen Barbara (Clemens) Albertson, graduates from Sonora High School; senior photo

August 1953 • Minnesota ~ Wanting to get away from it all, Dad packed Betty, Claudia, and me in the back seat of a new four-door 1953 Chevy BelAir that he bought from Kelley’s Auto, and took us on a month long trip to the midwest to visit his brothers and sisters. Larry came home from college to help drive. We motored for 2,000 miles through California, Nevada, Idaho. In Wyoming we went to Yellowstone National Park and saw Old Faithful, a hole where hell bubbled up in a cauldron of boiling mud and roaring geyser. South Dakota was the most beautiful state on our trip; there we stopped and stood agog, gazing up at the gigantic carved heads at Mount Rushmore. We were in the car for so long that Claudia developed a jerky leg, bad enough that Dad considered taking her to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester where they had a whole building for patients with “restless-leg syndrome.” Her leg still twitches and jerks when she’s stressed or over-tired, and I still get sick in the back seat of a car.

After a week, we finally arrived at the Hauser’s. Aunt Agnes and her family lived on an acre of the old Clemens farm right outside Rochester.

We saw Sister Ann, who was teaching in Owatonna. We visited Aunt Betty and Uncle Joe (Claudia’s godfather), whose farm was northwest of Rochester. Aunt Betty was quite tall, and all Claudia remembers was a stark bedroom lined with a younger swarm of children dressed in the same nightshirts. We visited Uncle Lawrence at his farm, the Conway farm, and the Wallerich farm high above the Mississippi, which had terrible farmland but a gorgeous view. We took a motorboat trip on the Mississippi with our Wallerich cousins. Larry didn’t want to go, he thought it would be boring, but it turned out to be the most fun he had. 

We stayed with our Walsh cousins in Mason City, Iowa, where Aunt Elizabeth took us to the Iowa State Fair with the Walsh twins and where we won a baby duck and saw the Barnum and Bailey big tent Circus. Aunt Elizabeth, also visiting from California, was Claudia’s godmother. Betty was mad that Aunt Elizabeth wasn’t her godmother, especially since she was named for her. Betty’s only fond memory of the trip was eating molasses cookies which she adored, straight from the oven, a specialty of Dad’s spinster Nigon aunts.

End of 1953 ~ Dad’s store was having financial difficulties. Trying to keep his head above water, he worked all day running it, then in the evenings worked at Ben Franklin up the street. Adding to his misfortune, the Pickering Lumber Mill, the largest industry and employer in Tuolumne County, closed down. Over the years, Dad had extended credit to many who worked there, and he continued to do so as everyone hoped the mill would reopen. It didn’t, and they couldn’t repay him. No matter how hard he tried to make ends meet, he couldn’t.

With this final straw, my father surrendered to the opposing forces in his life. He declared bankruptcy, sold all his merchandise, dismantled the sound booths, emptied the windows, and closed his store. Sometime around September 1953, he had a breakdown and spent three days in the hospital. When he got out, he moved to a single upstairs room in the old City Hotel across the street from his store, a stone and adobe brick establishment that at one time was Sonora’s only first-class hotel but was now a run-down rooming house. After he closed the store, he worked at Ben Franklin full-time, then went to work for Curnow’s Home Appliances. He stayed in Sonora a few more months, just long enough to pay off his creditors, then moved to San Francisco to also start a new life, this time as a small fish in a big sea.

May 10, 1954: Affidavit filed for Final Judgment of Divorce, signed by Noreen Clemens on Apr 28, 1954:

1954: Carl John Clemens moves to San Francisco, California, and takes the job of managing the Sprouse Reitz at 1644 Haight Street

1955: Noreen Clemens, San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California:

Jul 31, 1955: Marriage of Noreen Ellen “Babe” (Chatfield) Clemens & Raymond D. “Ray” Haynie, her 2nd marriage, his 4th of five marriages, in Carson City, Ormsby Co., Nevada

Jul 31, 1955: Application Affidavit for Marriage License Raymond D. Haynie & Noreen E. Clemens:

Jul 31, 1955: Certificate of Marriage Raymond D. Haynie & Noreen E. Clemens:

Aug 3, 1955: Marriage Index, Carson City, Ormsby Co., Nevada:
Name: Noreen E Clemens
Gender: Female
Marriage Date: 3 Aug 1955 (Jul 31, 1955)
Marriage Place: Carson City, Nevada
Spouse: Raymond D Haynie
Marriage Description: Carson
Marriage Record Number: 39676333

Aug 4, 1955: Letter from Noreen Ellen (Chatfield) Clemens Haynie to her sister Verda (Chatfield) Day (2 pages):


Note: original letter from Mom was retyped by Gordon Clemens

1956: U.S. City Directory, San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California (pg 347):
Haynie, Ray D (Noreen E) Mechanic Automotive Engineering Co h 1231 Settle av

Jan 2, 1956: Death of Nellie Belle (Chamberlin) Chatfield (age 82), mother of Noreen “Babe” (Chatfield) Clemens, at home on Boucher in Chico, Butte Co., California. Nellie is buried in the Catholic Section of the Chico Cemetery.

Jan 3, 1956: Chico Enterprise, Chico, Butte Co., California:
Nellie Chatfield
Recitation of the rosary will be held in the Brusie Funeral Home this evening at 8 o’clock for Mrs. Nellie Chatfield, who died at her home on Boucher Street Monday.
Mrs. Chatfield was born on Mar 7, 1873 in Kansas City, Mo., to Frank and Emma Chamberlin. She resided in Chico in the same house the entire time.
Mrs. Chatfield was a charter member of the Catholic Ladies relief society.
She is survived by eight children: Charles J. of, South San Francisco; Leo W., of Camptonville; Mrs. Nellie McElhiney, of Oakland; Arden, of Yountville; Mrs. Ina Fouch, of Yuba City; Mrs. Ray Hayknee, of San Jose; and Roy E. and Mrs. Verda Day, both of Chico; a brother, Willard Chamberlin of Corvallis, Ore., two sisters, Mrs. Ada Whitaker and Mrs. Mamie Rosborough, both of Baker, Ore. 21 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Mrs. Chatfield lost a son, Gordon in World War II and another son, Howard, three months ago.
At 9:50 a.m. Wednesday the cortege will proceed to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church where requiem mass will be offered for the repose of the soul.
Those who desire may have masses said in lieu of flowers.

Jun 1956: Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens graduates from San Jose State College, San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California. He moved to Ohio to complete his graduate degree.

Jun 16, 1956: Marriage of Marian Louise McLellan & Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens, 1st of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, in Upland, San Bernardino Co., California
Two children: Janet Elaine Clemens, Pamela Jean Clemens

Jun 16, 1956: California Marriage Index:
Name Gordon L Clemens
Gender Male
Estimated Birth Year abt 1934
Age 22
Marriage Date 16 Jun 1956
Marriage Place San Bernardino, California
Spouse Marian L McLellan
Spouse Age 23

Marian’s parents (Hugh & Viviette McLellan), Marian & Gordon, Noreen & Carl Clemens:

Sep 15, 1956: Marriage of Bobby Milton McDaniel (age 18) & Claudia Clemens (age 14), 2nd of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, in Sparks, Washoe Co., Nevada
Five children: Sherry Lynn McDaniel, Mark Alan McDaniel, Douglas Jay McDaniel, Kathryn June McDaniel (twin), Kenneth Lee McDaniel (twin)

1957: Divorce of Noreen (Chatfield) Clemens & Raymond D. “Ray” Haynie, living at the time in San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California

1957: Marriage of Carl John Clemens & Irene Venita (Tregear) Whitehed (Irene was 19 years his senior; his 2nd marriage, her 3rd)

Oct 1957: A year and a month into Bobby and Claudia’s marriage, Bobby was transferred to Barbers Point, a naval air station about 20 minutes from Honolulu. My mother got the notion that she and I would move there, too. Mom wanted to be near Claudia, she and Ray had just divorced, and as she was not concerned about what would happen to Betty, we followed in their wake.

Betty Clemens, San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California

Mother had to get permission from Dad to take me out of the state, but as Dad’s new wife had no interest in sharing him, it was prudent for him to acquiesce. It worked out quite well for Irene, and also took the heat off Dad who no longer had to choose between her and his children.

Mom proclaimed we were going to live in paradise, so a month into my fourth-grade year—while the world still moved at an unhurried pace, when it took eight hours to fly on a Jumbo DC6, and before it was a state—we moved to the island of Oahu.

Jun 1958: Cathy and Mom, Honolulu, Hawaii

Feb 1, 1958: Marriage of Anthony Leo “Tony”, Jr. & Elizabeth Ann “Betty/Liz” Clemens (age 18), 3rd of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, in Whittier, Los Angeles Co., California
Four children: Lisa Marie Duchi, Julie Catherine Duchi, Anthony Leo Duchi, III, John Robert Duchi

Feb 1, 1958: California Marriage Index:
Name Elizabet A Clemens (Elizabeth Ann Clemens)
Gender Female
Estimated Birth Year abt 1940
Age 18
Marriage Date 1 Feb 1958
Marriage Place Los Angeles, California
Spouse Anthony L Duchi (Anthony Leo Duchi)
Spouse Age 20

In the summer of 1958, I went to live with Carleen. I stayed with my sister and her family until I graduated from La Habra High in June 1966. During that time, Mom, as well as my siblings and their children, were often at the house for holidays, to play cards, or just hang out. Dad also drove down from San Francisco to visit and for my Confirmation and school graduations.

Dec 1958: La Habra, California: Gordon (Larry), Tony, Carleen, Debbie, Cathy, Chuck, Claudia, Mom/Noreen, and Betty, who now went by Liz:

Apr 1959: Clemens siblings: Carleen, Claudia, Liz/Betty, Gordon/Larry, Cathy (age 10):

Apr 1959: Liz/Betty and our mom, Noreen:

Aug 7, 1959: Death of Irene Vennita (Tregear) Whitehed Clemens (age 72), 4th of 5 children of James Tregear & Anne “Annie” Daniel, and the 2nd wife of Carl John Clemens, in San Francisco, California; heart attack

Aug 7, 1959: California Death Index:
Name: Irene Whitehed Clemens
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 26 Sep 1888
Birth Place: California
Death Date: 7 Aug 1959
Death Place San Francisco
Mother’s Maiden Name: Daniels
Father’s Surname: Tregear

Aug 7, 1959: Irene (Trigger) Clemens, Death Certificate:

Aug 9, 1959: The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California (Sunday, pg 53):

Aug 10, 1959: Inurnment of Irene Vennita (Tregear) Whitehed Clemens, remains at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, San Mateo Co., California; Catacombs, Crypt 178, Tier 5, Unit 5

Irene is interred with her daughter, Norma Pearl (Howard) Harris, and son-in-law, Lester Templeton Harris

Feb 1960: Carl in front of his store on Haight Street with his oldest sibling, Mary Ann (Clemens) Wallerich, who is visiting from Minnesota:

Sep 25, 1961: Marriage of Carl John Clemens & Marie Lenore (Macdonald) McCartney, in San Francisco, California; his 3rd marriage, her 2nd

Sep 25, 1961: California Marriage Index:
Name Carl J Clemens
Gender Male
Birth Year abt 1906
Age 55
Marriage Date 25 Sep 1961
Marriage Place San Francisco, California
Spouse Name Marie L Mccartney
Spouse Age 43

Jun 1962: Cathy Clemens graduates from Washington Junior High, La Habra, Orange Co., California

Jul 12, 1964: Death of Raymond D. “Ray” Haynie, 1st of 2 children of Robert Pinkney Haynie & Rachel Theora Jenson, and the 2nd husband of Noreen Ellen (Chatfield) Clemens, in Santa Clara Co., California

Jul 12, 1964: California Death Index:
Name Ray Haynie
Gender Male
Birth Date 13 Oct 1912
Birth Place Colorado
Death Date 12 Jul 1964
Death Place Santa Clara
Mother’s Maiden Name Jensen

Jul 1964: Burial of Raymond D. “Ray” Haynie at Old Manassa Cemetery in Manassa, Conejos Co., Colorado, alongside his mother, Rachel Theora (Jenson) Haynie

1964: La Habra, Orange Co., California: Gordon/Larry, Chuck, Mom/Noreen, Claudia, Carleen, and their various kids: Pamela, Janet, Randy, Sherry, Doug, Laura, Mark

Jun 1966: Cathy Clemens graduates from La Habra High School, La Habra, Orange Co., California

Jun 1966: Aunt Elizabeth Clemens, Marie & Dad, Cathy, and Betty Rose attended the graduation:

Oct 7, 1967: Marriage of Robert Kenneth “Bob” Sevenau & Catherine Frances “Cathy” Clemens, 5th of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, at Holy Name Church in San Francisco, California.
Two children: Matthew Robert Sevenau, Jonathan David Sevenau

Marie & Carl Clemens, Cathy & Bob, Velma & Lou Sevenau (Bob’s parents):

Oct 7, 1967: California Marriage Index:
Name Catherin F Clemens (Catherine)
Gender Female
Birth Year abt 1948
Age 19
Marriage Date 7 Oct 1967
Marriage Place San Francisco City, California
Spouse Name Robert K Sevenau
Spouse Age 21

Clemens siblings w/father: Carleen, Claudia, Gordon/Larry, Cathy, Carl, Liz/Betty

Clemens side of the family: Steve & Irene, Dusty & Janet, Carleen & Chuck, Esther, Marie & Carl, Debbie, Bob (groom) & Cathy (bride), Aunt Elizabeth Clemens, Liz/Betty & Tony, Randy, Marian & Gordon/Larry, Mike, Claudia & Bobby

Nov 9, 1968: Death of Noreen Ellen “Babe” (Chatfield) Clemens (age 53), the 10th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin and 1st wife of Carl John Clemens, in Whittier, Los Angeles Co., California; suicide.

Nov 1968: California Death Index:
Name: Noreen E Clemens
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 29 Sep 1915
Birth Place: California
Death Date: 9 Nov 1968
Death Place: Los Angeles
Mother’s Maiden Name: Chamberl (Chamberlin)

Nov 1968: Cremation and inurnment of Noreen Ellen “Babe” (Chatfield) Clemens at Memory Garden Memorial Park in Brea, Orange Co., California.

Fall of 1968 • Whittier ~ Over the years Mom managed to get along. She worked for room and board with a small monthly salary for clothes, her car, doctor bills, and prescriptions. By the end, she couldn’t hold a job, the hospitals wouldn’t keep her, and everyone in the family refused to take her in.

In September she turned 53. In early November, the week before she died, she was mugged and robbed. Badly shaken, it may have been the final incident that pushed her over the edge. On November 9, she checked into a small motel on Whittier Blvd. The following morning she was found by the maid. Our mother took her own life not because she’d gone mad, but because she was done.

What remained of her life was packed in her small Hillman. The front bench-seat held her clothes, feather pillow, and jewelry; the back seat had her black and gold Singer, button collection, and sewing box. In the trunk were her pots and pans and meat grinder, her mother’s round deco mirror, and her family pictures. On top was her blue Samsonite overnight case, filled with bottles of pills that through the years kept watch over her like toy plastic soldiers with white caps, standing silent sentry atop her dresser. 

There was no funeral, nor flowers or friends; only her children came to witness her ashes ensconced high up on a wall in a small cemetery in Brea. Standing there, the five of us were filled with a mixture of resentment, regret, and relief. We said goodbye and left.

Over time, a few of Mother’s belongings found their way back to me. Her heavy pinking shears are now in my sewing box. Her black cast-iron griddle cooks my grilled cheese sandwiches. Her delicate gold watch with the narrow black cloth wristband, her Liberty half-dollar necklace from the 1939 San Francisco World’s Fair, and her silver charm bracelet crowded with mementos from her life all keep my jewelry company. Her pictures are on my wall and in my photo albums. Her mother’s round deco mirror hangs in my bedroom, reflecting all three of our images in my face. My sisters and brother must have thought these things important to me, that I should have them. They are. I’m pleased when I use, look at, or wear them. They remind me of Mom, remind me of the good parts of her, and remind me of what I missed.

Apr 1973: Joseph Matthew “Joe” Walsh, son of Anna (Clemens) Walsh
Siblings: Elizabeth Clemens, Carl Clemens, Anna (Clemens) Walsh:

1980s: Minnesota: Marie Clemens (Carl’s wife), Aunt Teresa (Nigon) Loundagin, Sister Ann Clemens, Aunt Margaret Nigon, Carl Clemens, Anna (Clemens) Walsh, Elizabeth Clemens 

Siblings Carl Clemens and Mary (Clemens) Wallerich, at their maternal grandfather’s headstone, Jacob “James” Leinen, Sr. (1826–1895), at St. Felix Cemetery in Wabasha, Wabasha Co., Minnesota

1976: Clemens siblings & spouses gathering in Minnesota: Marie (McCartney) Clemens, Elizabeth Clemens, Carl Clemens, Mary (Clemens) Wallerich, Lawrence & Pearl Clemens, Anna (Clemens) Walsh, Betty (McGeary) Clemens, Sister Ann Clemens, Joe Clemens

1976: Clemens siblings: Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota:
Siblings: Elizabeth Clemens, Carl Clemens, Mary (Clemens) Wallerich, Sister Ann Clemens, Lawrence Clemens, Anna (Clemens) Walsh, Joe Clemens

And this is how they did photos then… Poloraid cameras:
Sister Ann, Elizabeth, Lawrence, Marie (Carl’s wife), Mary, Carl, and Joe:

Jun 28, 1980: Sister Ann Clemens (Carl’s sister) celebrates her 50th Jubilee at Assisi Heights, commemorating 50 years of devotion, in Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota

Jul 28, 1980: Clemens reunion for Sister Ann’s Jubilee: Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota: Mary (Clemens) Wallerich, Carl Clemens, Anna (Clemens) Walsh, Sister Ann Clemens, Joe Clemens, Elizabeth Clemens, Agnes (Clemens) Hauser

Sep 25, 1980: Surprise 75th birthday party for Carl John Clemens at the Depot Hotel in Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California:

Sep 25, 1980: Cathy, Claudia, Carleen, Liz, Gordon at the Depot Hotel:

1980s: Carl with his five children: Liz Duchi, Claudia McDaniel, Carleen Albertson, Carl Clemens, Gordon Clemens, Cathy Sevenau:

Oct 28, 1985: Letter from Claudia (Clemens) McDaniel to her brother and his wife, Gordon & Marian Clemens:
Dear Gordon and Marian,
Received your letter and check today, can’t thank you enough. I really believe today is my lucky day. I went grocery shopping and bought 1 lottery ticket and won $100! Sent it off this afternoon so now I’ll get a chance at least to be in the drawings for the big money. I almost fell over as this was only about my 5thticket and hadn’t even won $2.00! Later I went and bought one more ticket and won $2.00. Turned that in and won $2.00 more so quit.

I did receive a letter from Dad and Marie and he sounded good. Guess you received a copy of their letter also. Oh yes, can you send me Cathy’s address? I found her phone number, but no street address. Take care and keep your fingers crossed for me on the California Lottery, after all someone’s got to win and I’ve beat the odds before. The Dr. told me when I had the twins, the way I got pregnant with them (a month apart), the odds were about 1 in 1,000,000 of that happening!
Love, Claudia

Note: “Superfetation is the formation of a fetus while another fetus is already present in the uterus. Essentially, it describes a situation where a woman becomes pregnant when she is already pregnant. It is believed that this is a very rare event and only a few cases have been reported and verified. Superfetation occurs when ova from two separate menstrual cycles are released, fertilized, and then implant in the uterus. Normally, once a woman is impregnated, physical and hormonal effects would make this impossible. Her hormones are the first barrier in a normal pregnancy. They act to halt the process of ovulation and prevent the release of another egg from her ovaries. The uterine lining also changes after one embryo has implanted, making further implantation difficult. Although two fetuses develop simultaneously in superfetation, they differ in maturity, having been conceived days or even weeks apart. Superfetation is observed in animal reproduction, but it is exceedingly rare in humans. Only a few cases are documented in medical literature. Superfetation is suspected only when the twins are of different sizes and at different stages of development. It is typically noticed during a routine checkup on the ultrasound. However, it can be hard to distinguish whether this is a true case of superfetation or due to other factors.” (quoted from an article on the internet)

Sep 16, 1986: Death of Carl John Clemens (age 80), 8th of 13 children of Mathew Sylvester Clemens & Barbara Nigon, in Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California; prostate cancer

Sep 16, 1986: California Death Index:
Name: Carl John Clemens
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 25 Sep 1905
Birth Place: Minnesota
Death Date: 16 Sep 1986
Death Place: Sonoma
Mother’s Maiden Name: Nigon

Sep 16, 1986: Social Security Death Index:
Name Carl Clemens
Birth Date 25 Sep 1905
Issue year Before 1951
Issue State California
Last Residence 95404, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, California
Last Benefit 95404, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, California
Death Date Sep 1986

Sep 16, 1986: Carl John Clemens Death Certificate:

Sep 17, 1986: The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California:

Sep 18, 1986: Cremation of Carl John Clemens

Sep 1986: Inurnment of Carl John Clemens at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California

Clemens siblings at our father’s funeral: standing: Catherine (Cathy) and Gordon (Larry); seated: Liz (Betty), Claudia, Carleen

The family after Dad’s funeral in front of Dad & Marie’s house on Fair Oaks Avenue in Santa Rosa, California:

Painting of Carl & Marie Clemens’ home on Fair Oaks Ave, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California:

Oct 11, 1986: Letter from Claudia (Clemens) McDaniel to her brother and wife, Gordon & Marian Clemens:
Dear Gordon and Marian,
Just sitting here thinking of you so will write. I owe a letter to Aunt Elizabeth so will warm up by writing to you.

I’ve been wanting to write a thank you for the talk you started at Dad and Marie’s. It was the first time I’d been with my sisters and didn’t get caught in the middle of a roast on our mother. I think it set them all back and made them think I’d always get very upset over these sessions, though I hoped it didn’t show.

Please keep in touch. Always love to hear from you.
Love, Claudia

Jun 12, 1987: Letter from Claudia (Clemens) McDaniel to her brother and wife, Gordon & Marian Clemens:
Dear Gordon and Marian,
Just got home from a meeting so will start this. I went to after care last night and they gave me your letter. I got out of Oceanview the 28^thof May. It is a great place and probably the best thing I could have done for myself. I was driving around yesterday (seems all I’ve done lately is drive here and there!) thinking and wondering why I couldn’t have done the same thing only by myself. But I couldn’t. I haven’t felt so well physically and mentally in years. I’ll never be able to thank them or pay them enough for giving my life back to me. Plus, all the really wonderful people I met there. They put you through the wringer intensely for 30 days and if you have any sense at all you put everything you can into it and the benefits are tremendous. I’ve seen miracles at the change in people after time there. I still have a long way to go, to pull myself out of my shyness and keeping everything inside me, but at least now I’ve been given some tools to work with and I stay aware of things that could start me off on a depression and head them off. Plus, I found a whole lot of people that think just like me or worse, so I don’t feel I’m out of step with the world anymore. I go once a week to after care for group therapy and then again on Friday for a meeting, plus other meetings I hit periodically all over the place, but the time I spend at Oceanview is the most supportive.

As for everyday living I’m easing myself back into the mainstream gradually. My first week out was rough but this week I’ve felt really good and am doing more. I’m trying to get the apt. in shape which is difficult as in a small one bedroom, I’ve enough space for my stuff but Kathy’s is kind of crammed in. I’ve sent out a couple of resumes and put in one application, but I’m not desperately pounding the pavement. The nothing jobs I’ve had the last few years don’t exactly inspire me to get myself into another one. Hopefully with a different attitude the next job will be a better place for me.

Liz called for me while I was in Oceanview and I never returned her call. I will call her but it will have to wait for a day when I feel mentally up to coping with her. In the past she’s always been able to undermine my stability without hardly trying. So, I want to make sure I’m really mentally able to deal with her first.

Well it’s late so I’d better close and get some sleep. Love to you both and give the girls my love.
Love, Claudia

Aug 29, 1987: Letter from Claudia (Clemens) McDaniel to her brother and wife, Gordon & Marian Clemens:
Dear Gordon and Marian,
Can’t keep track of you guys. You turn up in the strangest places. I envy you your travels. I keep promising myself to make a better attempt at getting my birth certificate just in case. But I’ve never been able to get one, I’ve always had to settle for my baptismal certificate. I swear this year I’ll do it, or at least find out why I can’t get it.

Everything is going so well here, it’s scary. I started what was to be a temporary job for a month at a commercial baker on the 10^thof Aug. I stood in for an old friend I used to work with while she went on vacation. She runs the customer service department. Anyway, after she came back, they told me they could use me in their shipping office while their shipping manager went on vacation. But then Friday the boss came in and offered me another job permanently as their “distribution specialist”. They had hired a man 6 weeks or so ago and he was on a 90-day trial basis and they said after seeing my work and considering my qualifications, they felt I could do the job better than him as he’s been struggling. They started me at $20,000 a year and considering they were paying him 25, they got quite a bargain. But considering that’s more than I’ve made in years, I think we both made out. I’m still pinching myself. I’ve worked a hell of a lot harder for a lot less money. I can’t believe it. Of course, my girlfriend is none to happy with me for accepting that salary. She said now they’ve got Dummy #1 (her) and Dummy #2 (me) doing their work for them and saving 10 grand a year as every man starting out in their offices all come in at 25 and she knows it. She’s been there 5 years and is only making a little more than me. But I’m happy as a clam, for me it’s doing a job I enjoy and which seems easy to me, as I’ve done so much with traffic and inventory control not to mention customer service.

I’m also staying real close to the aftercare at Oceanview and AA meetings. It is all very helpful which is an understatement. Both programs are mainly ways of gaining insights into one’s own personality and ways to force you (if one sticks with it) to overcoming fears and maintain a positive frame of mind. For instance, I’ve always been terribly afraid of people especially strangers in bunches. Forcing myself to speak out at meetings and group therapy was awful at first. I’d have rather taken a beating. I still don’t enjoy it, but I do it. In fact, I’ve volunteered to go to the hospital one day a week and run a meeting out there. For me that’s a major, giant step.

I’ve also taken up my meditation I learned last year when I went through a stress-reduction course and that is very helpful also.

Looks like everyone’s life is on the upswing at last. God willing it’ll stay like that. Well no more news, so I’ll close for now.
My love to all, Claudia
Note: In these letters to Gordon and Marian, Claudia often wrote of her five children; for brevity and privacy, those references were omitted.

1988: sisters Catherine Sevenau & Liz Duchi, Sonoma, Sonoma Co., California:

Dec 25, 1991: Claudia, Catherine, Liz, Gordon, Carleen, in Carmel, Monterey Co., California:

1993: Clemens siblings: Carleen, Gordon/Larry, Catherine/Cathy, Liz/Betty, Claudia, at Liz’s home in Fallbrook, San Diego Co., California:

Dec 21, 1996: Death of Charles Evans “Chuck” Albertson (age 65), 1st of 3 children of Ernest Odin Albertson & Esther Crocker Gray, and the husband of Carleen Barbara Clemens, in Anaheim, Orange Co., California; heart attack

Dec 1996: Cremation of Charles Evans “Chuck” Albertson, his ashes eventually scattered over the Pacific Ocean

May 12, 2003: A letter from Liz (Betty) to Lorna Harrington, her childhood friend:
Dear Lorna,
It is so great to connect with you. We have lived (more or less) in Fallbrook since 1985. Before that we lived in San Clemente, before that in Vista, before that in Huntington Beach, and before that in Whittier, which is where we married and three of our four children were born.

I am fairly close to my siblings, except for Claudia. We are also in good touch with the next generation, again except for Claudia’s children.

Gordon and his wife Marian live in Carmel and have been there since 1961. They owned a campground in Big Sur for many years. Their girls are lovely, both married with children.

Carleen did not have a very happy life. Her husband died about five years ago (very unlamented) and she moved to Iowa and lives with her youngest daughter and her husband and two granddaughters.

Claudia (much like my mother) made a lifetime of bad choices. She lives in San Diego with her oldest daughter. She was married until she was thirty to Bob, divorced and never married again.

Cathy was only married once, to Bob for about five years. She and I are very close. We talk many times each week. She has lived in Sonoma since 1973 and became a grandmother for the first time last month.

My dad moved to Santa Rosa when he retired from working in San Francisco. He died in 1986. My stepmother, Marie (85), still lives in their house there. She has two daughters and her oldest daughter was married to the older brother of my sister Cathy’s husband. 

Cathy had a family reunion last summer at her house in Sonoma and my stepmother came. We had four generations there.

Re: childhood. Carleen was pretty much our mother and all of us (except Gordon) lived with her at one time or another. She had Cathy both as a small child and from the age of nine on. When our parents divorced in 1953 (after being apart for several years) Claudia stayed in Sonora for a year with the Davis family, Cathy … (letter stops here)

continued on 5-20-2003
Boy, am I the great correspondent! I will try and pick up where I stopped on April 12.

Cathy, I hope by now, has sent you latest draft of her life story. She is very excited to get someone’s take who was on the outside of the family as we all have our own way of filtering our growing up life.

I’ll start to catch you up with myself. Tony and I have been married for 45 years (same as you) and we have had our ups and downs. We have been rich and we have been broke. We have been together and we have been apart (once for eleven months). Our relationship has always been volatile. I see him as very bossy and he sees me as very stubborn and resistant to his ever ongoing good advice which starts as soon as I open my eyes.

He has been really struggling with his leukemia. The doctor hopes that by September he will have him in remission for two or three years. I am disgustingly healthy with only a few age related things. Glaucoma, plantar fascitis and some arthritis in my hands. We have lived here in Fallbrook since 1985. Our house is pretty neat. It was built by a wealthy family from Beverly Hills as their “ranch” in 1929. Actually it was begun in 1929 but not completed til 1931 as they lost everything (almost) in the crash and moved here. It was built on a quarter section but only has a bit over 10 acres left. It is not a big house but it has plenty of privacy. This led to my first interest in antiques and in about 1995, Tony and I started going to auctions and I became an antique dealer.

That was one of my favorite incarnations. I stopped in 2000 as Tony and I had bought another boat that we planned to go to Europe in. But I need to back up a minute. In 1986 (Dec), we had a very big business reversal. We lost everything, but managed to hang on to our house. We had to start all over again and Tony was doing consulting for a company that he had once been a part owner of. He started to develop a new branch to the business (it had been a supplier of ordnance) and he developed an air bag for cars. Now the airbag had been invented but the company made fuses and an explosive device for the airbags. He knew we could not compete in the United States but that the Europeans would be coming on line with mandating airbags also. So we moved to Wales in 1993 and lived in a small (Roman) town, Usk. We could not find a house to rent so we lived in a businessmans hotel there, he more than I as I would fly home often. Then in January of 1994 we moved to Germany and we lived in a medium sized town in Swabia, Schwabish-Gmund. In August of that year, Tony was diagnosed with leukemia and he stopped working entirely as we did not know how long he might have to live and what his quality of life would be. So then we antiqued like mad for a couple of years.

We are walking (for exercise) around Dana Point Harbor. Three months ago Tony had a serious relapse and has been on chemo since then. If Tony gets well, he intends to go to Europe next summer.

I’ll leave you here for now as I have to go pick up my granddaughter from school. I am actually going to mail this or it wont get out for another month.

Love, Elizabeth Duchi (formerly in another incarnation, Betty)

2003: siblings Catherine, Liz, & Gordon on a research trip to Sonora where we lived as kids:

Oct 8, 2004: Death of Elizabeth Ann Liz/Betty” (Clemens) Duchi (age 64), 3rd of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield and the wife of Anthony Leo “Tony” Duchi, II, in Sacramento, Sacramento Co., California; in the hospital, from lung cancer and pneumonia

Oct 2004: Burial of Elizabeth Ann Liz/Betty” (Clemens) Duchi at the Masonic Cemetery in Fallbrook, San Diego Co., California

Oct 17, 2004: Press Enterprise, Fallbrook, Riverside Co., California:

Aug 20, 2009: Death of Anthony Leo “Tony” Duchi, II (age 71), 4th of 5 children of Anthony Leo Duchi, Sr., & Josephine Marie Pirello, and the husband of Elizabeth Ann “Liz/Betty” Clemens, in Fallbrook, San Diego Co., California; lymphoma, leukemia

Aug 2009: Cremation of Anthony Leo “Tony” Duchi, II; ashes scattered out of Oceanside Harbor in the Pacific Ocean, off his boat, the Andiamo

Apr 11, 2011: Death of Marie Lenore (Macdonald) McCartney Clemens (age 93), 6th of 6 children of Angus James Macdonald & Mary Gertrude “Mayme” Meyers and the 3rd wife of Carl John Clemens, in Seattle, King Co., Washington; of a massive stroke

Marie McCartney Clemens and stepdaughter Catherine(Clemens) Sevenau; the last time we were together while visiting Marie and her family in Seattle

Aug 21, 2011: Death of Claudia (Clemens) McDaniel (age 69), 4th of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, in Escondido, San Diego Co., California; lung cancer

Aug 2011: Cremation of Claudia (Clemens) McDaniel, ashes with family, a portion scattered off San Clemente Beach in Southern California

Sept 21-12, 2011: The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California (note: Marie died Apr 11, 2011)
Marie Clemens 1917 – 2011
The last of her generation, Marie Lenore (Macdonald) McCartney Clemens, the 6th of 6 children of Angus J. Macdonald & Mary Gertrude “Mayme” Meyers was born Sep 25, 1917. She is survived by her daughters, Irene Blamire and Janet Rhode & their children & grandchildren; three step-children, Gordon Clemens, Carleen Albertson and Catherine Sevenau & families; nieces & nephews and families; and friends & families she loved and cared for in Santa Rosa.

In 1941 Marie married Joseph “Mac” McCartney (1900-1959); in 1961 she wed Carl Clemens (1905-1986). Moving to Seattle in 2005, Marie died there April 11, 2011 at age 93.

Her cremains will be interred 3:30 pm on Friday, Sep. 23rd at Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 2930 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa.

Sep 23, 2011: Interment of Marie Lenore (Macdonald) McCartney Clemens in a plot next to her 2nd husband, Carl John Clemens, at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., California

Nov 12, 2022: Death of Carleen Barbara (Clemens) Albertson (age 87), 2nd of 5 children of Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield and the wife of Charles Evans Albertson, in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Co., Iowa; metastasized lung cancer, heart attack

Nov 16, 2022: Carleen Albertson: Memory Card:

Note: Carleen was born in Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co., California

Nov 2022: Inurnment of Carleen Barbara (Clemens) Albertson at Walnut Hill Cemetery in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Co., Iowa

***************************

2014: Published Passages from Behind These Doors: A Family Memoir, twenty short stories from Through Any Given Door, by Catherine Sevenau

Nov 13, 2014: Catherine Sevenau, Behind These Doors book launch

2016: Published Queen Bee, by Catherine Sevenau:

2016: Readers Books, book signing event

2018: Catherine Sevenau completed third book, A Memoir-Through Any Given Door
I imagine it’s no coincidence that my writing began when I was 53, the same age my mother was when she called it a day. Nor that it took me five years to write our chronicles, the same amount of time I lived with her when I was a child. I have a suspicion she’s had a hand in the whole thing, directing from the ethers, enjoying having her story told. She would have LOVED all the attention. My father, on the other hand, would have cautioned me to keep much of what I wrote behind closed doors. He was a private man, of the generation that didn’t discuss affairs of the family, money, or sex.

Dredging up some of the stories was a cross between Groundhog Day and post-traumatic stress syndrome. It’s amazing how long the shelf life is on the defining moments that smack us as kids. They’re like Wonder Bread: always fresh. I made it through my childhood, and then I lived through five years of writing about it, which was at times as anxiety producing as experiencing some of it the first time around. My right shoulder froze, then my left, my stomach wasn’t happy, nor was my sister, and I had three computer crashes. In the last crash I lost my motherboard. Now what are the odds of that? I didn’t even know a computer had a motherboard.

I put the manuscript away for five years, picked it back up again, fiddled with it for a few more years, published two other books in between, and then decided to post the full family memoir as an online serial. I spent two years re-editing, adding photos, and uploading a chapter every three days. It’s now 17 years since I started, and this book is done. The last chapter posted on the 50th anniversary of my mother’s death, another instance of synchronicity, and yet she continues to show up in my life like a bad Hallmark card. I’m continually bowled over how I manage to recreate her in so many of my relationships. The bane of my existence and my greatest teacher, she is a gift that keeps on giving.

***************************

Elegy to my Father

CARL JOHN CLEMENS
1905 – 1986

Born on a Minnesota farm, you milked cows, picked corn, and shocked wheat. You hated farming; that’s why you left home, that, and your mother always telling you what to do. She cried when you left; you were only sixteen. You had nine siblings, all with the same Clemens nose; your sisters all looked like you in a wig. As a boy, you slogged three miles to and from school in the snow—uphill—both ways.

Mom was 17 and you were 27 when you married. You were 43 when I, the youngest of your five children, was born. In Sonora, you were a store owner and town councilman: a big fish in a small sea. Things changed. Never speaking of Mom after she left, you told me not to either. You lost your business, your family, and your pride, paid your debts and left town.

You ate bottles of aspirin and rolls of Tums. When I was sick, you rubbed Vicks on my chest, gave me two Aspergum, and stroked my forehead. Sitting on the edge of my bed, you had tears in your eyes as you remembered the only time your mother comforted you was when you were sick. You taught me how to sew on a button, iron a shirt, and dust a banister. You let me put your donation envelope in the copper collection plate during Mass. You sang me German songs, found quarters behind my ears, and slapped your thigh at your own corny jokes. You gave me crisp two-dollar bills and a ballerina music box. We held hands when we went to Golden Gate Park, Fleishhacker Zoo, and Fisherman’s Wharf, my triple-time steps keeping up with your long stride. We took pictures with your Brownie; I have them still.

You were tall and upright, with wire-rimmed glasses, blue eyes and gray hair, and smelled of Old Spice, Vitalis, and Listerine. You wore a three-piece suit, a tie, and your felt hat with two small red and black feathers in its brim. Your starched white shirt hid muscles you built from working in construction and delivering ice. Offering your arm, you walked on the curbside and tipped your hat. Always the first to stand and the last to sit, you also held chairs, doors, and umbrellas. You had no sense of direction, none, and missed the same turn-off three times. You tried to fix the living room door when it was sticking at the bottom. You sanded it, sanded it again, and sanded it some more. Then you sawed it. When done, it was an inch and a half too short at the top. You re-hung it anyway and was embarrassed every time anyone mentioned the gap. You cooked double-thick lamb chops, canned green peas, and new potatoes, and you loved fresh crab, asparagus, and French bread. You read Look, Reader’s Digest, and The Saturday Evening Post. Blood made you faint. Alcohol made you sick. Arrogance made you mad. The Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense directed your life.

You ran a five-and-dime on Haight Street. After work we drove home along Stow Lake, counting the rabbits and squirrels. When I got my learner’s permit you let me drive, even though I scared you. When I was fifteen, you locked me out of the house while I was out with the neighborhood boys. When you told me to pack my bags, that I was going back to Carleen’s, I cried. You let me stay. I worked with you every summer from the time I was twelve until I got married. You taught me to make change, stock shelves, and take inventory; to sweep the floor, run the register, and watch for shoplifters. You taught me honesty and you taught me loyalty. You also taught me the cost of security: in twenty-five years of running a dime store, you never made more than $500 a month. You hated the Summer of Love, throwing buckets of cold mop water on the “goddam dirty hippies” when they slept against your shiny red and grey storefront in the morning fog. You resented their freedom, sexuality, and values, detested their music, drugs, and panhandling. When the Haight—along with the world—changed, you closed the store.

On my wedding day you walked me down the aisle; you taught me to dance that day. You weren’t fond of my husband, but you loved our babies. You cradled, tickled, and kissed them. You fed Matt his first watermelon and Jon his first ice cream. We played cards and cribbage and you taught my sons to play too. They were easy to beat and fun to cheat and you laughed when they caught you.

At the movies during the nude scene (it wasn’t even a nude scene; she was standing at the second-story window and slowly lifted her sweater off over her head while the cowboys watched from below), you were so startled you covered your eyes and threw your popcorn and Coke all over the people in the row behind us, your false teeth flipping out into your lap.

At your surprise seventy-fifth birthday party, you cried in the doorway of Sonoma’s Depot Hotel. For your twenty-fifth wedding anniversary you had your tiny 1852 gold piece made into a pendant for Marie. You asked me to give it to her, knowing you wouldn’t make it until then as cancer had spread to almost every part of your body. You could no longer walk, eat, or turn over by yourself. When the black-robed priest quietly appeared in the doorway to give you the last rites, you blurted, “Oh shit,” and ducked under the covers. Three days later, just before dawn, you took your last breath. They drove your body away in the back of an old brown station wagon. We got to say goodbye. You got to say you’re sorry. I got to say I love you.

I have your Kodak Brownie, pearl cufflinks, rosary beads, and your felt hat with the small red and black feathers. They remind me of you, the best parts of you, and remind me of what I had.

Your daughter, Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau

***************************

My Mother, Noreen Ellen “Babe” (Chatfield) Clemens):

NOREEN ELLEN “BABE” (CHATFIELD) CLEMENS 
1915 – 1968

My parents were like black and white, oil and water, sin and prayer. My father, not one to boil over, married a kettle of emotions. If he could have loosened his grip and if my mother hadn’t completely unraveled, perhaps my childhood would have been different. But it was what it was. Look, we all have moments of grace and we all experience unfortunate events, I simply happened to have been inoculated early. Babe was not the mother I wanted, but she was the one I got. Was she a good mother? No. Did I love her? No, I can’t say I did; I’m not that big. But as life would have it, having Babe as a mother turned out to be in my best interest, though it took me a long time to see that, and although she may not have been “good enough,” I’ve had many stand-ins who were.

Working on my genealogy and writing the memoir connected me to my ancestors and living relatives about whom I knew little or nothing. Through the unions and reunions, through the phone calls and e-mails, and through the writing and reading and weaving of our stories, I’ve come to know us, to see our strands are woven in the same translucent web. There are striking physical resemblances. I look at my brother’s wedding photo and I am startled to see my younger son staring back at me. I study my father’s baby picture and I see my grandson. Sitting next to my Uncle Joe, I sense my dad. Joe looks so much like my father, stands and walks and talks like him. I sit close so I can feel that father energy I miss so much. Aunt Agnes and Sister Ann have Dad’s laugh and his same twinkle in their blue eyes. I look a lot like my brother and some of my cousins. My female cousins on Mom’s side are younger versions of their mothers. When I search for my mother’s face in theirs I can’t find her—I see my sisters’ faces instead. My cousins remembered Mom and liked her. They thought she was honest, humorous and hip. And smart. They said she held her own on just about any subject, was well read in history and well versed in sports, rattling off team stats and scores with the best of them. Until I’d met the cousins, I’d never come across anybody that liked my mother. Now that I write this, I think it’s not true. I only know four people who didn’t like Mom, my father and my sisters. (Larry managed to steer clear of her, though he hated her cigarette smoking.) They were the ones who had issues with her, and I think Claudia simply went along for the ride. Even my brothers-in-law liked Mom. I was glad to find she had people in her court. My mother wasn’t as “out there” as I thought. She was just like the rest of her family; who, compared to my father’s family, were all a little out there. It’s all relative.

My sisters and I are much like her, likely to have fall out of our mouths whatever flits into our minds. I’m a hardheaded woman like my grandmothers, Barbara and Nellie, who were two peas of the same pod. I live in that pod too, that place of righteousness and rightness, of rules and regulations, of stubbornness and inflexibility. I just don’t take myself quite as seriously as they did. I also appreciate my flip side: my will and willingness, my doggedness and determination, my trust and persistence.

I’ve fallen in love with this family, this huge, funny, strange, interesting and odd assortment of kith and kin scattered about the country. I’m part of this lineage, my roots deep in their soil. I’m not alone. I’m not the waif I thought I was as a child. I’m not lost. Okay, so maybe a little dazed and confused, but not lost. I have found redemption. I belong.

***************************

Written in 2018: Gordon/Larry & Marian Clemens, by Marian (McLellan) Clemens ~ In 1952, Gordon Lawrence Clemens was a music major at San Jose State College where I was studying to be an elementary teacher. On one of my first dates with him, I sat by myself in the San Jose Civic Auditorium listening to the strains of the San Jose Symphony being conducted by Sandor Salgo. On stage was Larry playing, his large brass tuba sounding out the low harmony notes. When they played “Der Meistersinger” by Wagner, Larry had the tuba solo, and I was impressed. It was a clear, pure tone with rapid perfect fingering. He was a music major for three years and then changed his major, graduating with a degree in philosophy. He continued his music throughout college and graduate school. Larry put himself through college and he lived in the placement office looking for jobs, often having as many as three part-time jobs at once.

When we met, Gordon was still called Larry. After graduation from San Jose he received a graduate assistant position at Ohio University while he completed his Masters Degree to become a school counselor. It was when he moved to Ohio University that he made the decision to use his first name, Gordon. During this time, I was teaching second grade in Ventura. At the end of that year when we married, I married “Larry.” But when I moved to Ohio after the wedding, I made a speedy change to calling him “Gordon.”

We’ve had an unusual life, making happy changes along the way. In Long Beach, Gordon taught science and math for two years before becoming a counselor. I was teaching third grade. We bought our first home and had our first child. After six years Gordon accepted a counseling position in Pacific Grove which resulted in a new job, new town (Carmel), new home, and a new baby, our second daughter. Two years later we bought a campground and cabin business in Big Sur (Riverside Campground) which was our focus of energy and excitement for twelve years, with Gordon fitting it into his school counseling schedule. Some of our fondest memories are of those years by the Big Sur River in the redwoods, even though we experienced a Big Sur fire (1972) and two major floods. Our many family reunions there are still treasured and remembered. When we were ready to sell it, we bought two small motels in Carmel, now loving the tourism industry, and Gordon resigned from his school career. To keep busy we bought 20 properties to remodel and sell through the years. One home we remodeled was overlooking the bay and Carmel Beach. We moved to it for ten years and rented out our real home until we moved back to our lovely old 1926 stone house where we raised our children and where we are enjoying our twilight years. From 1996 to 2000 we spent five years working and living in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks in the Sierras where our company and son-in-law managed the concessions in the National Park.

2016: Big Sur, McLellan and Clemens family reunion:

We became active in the AFS International Student exchange program and have taken leading roles in it. In 1958 Gordon was once again in the nearby college placement office looking for a summer job, when he saw a notice for a couple to chaperone a bus load of AFS students completing their year in the U.S. with a bus trip across country, staying in homes and communities before arriving in Washington D.C. and being greeted by President Eisenhower. That changed our lives as we soon became involved in selecting students to go abroad, counseling international students in our home for a week or more when needed, planning orientations, interviewing host families, and all that goes with the program. In 1987 Gordon was honored with the Stephen Galatti Award for the outstanding AFS volunteer in the world, an international honor. The award was a three-week trip to Thailand where we were hosted by Thailand AFS, visiting schools, staying in homes, being honored, and seeing the country from north to south. Another year Gordon was selected as chairman of a ten-member delegation of AFS representatives to China, hosted by educators in China. I enjoyed being able to communicate and even gave a short speech in Chinese at our banquets. I studied Chinese for a year to enrich our experience. The following year we hosted ten Chinese educators in California. During the years we hosted four students in our home for the year, coming from Germany, Australia, Russia, and Turkey. Our own daughters went on the program as well, one to South Africa and the other to Austria. We have daughters and grandchildren around the world.

Gordon started doing genealogy when he was in his forties, before computers. We traveled all over to genealogy libraries, Oakland, Salt Lake City, and Denver, to Germany, Luxembourg, England, and Scotland, combing through records, searching graveyards for headstones, collecting stories and photos. He had boxes of files, newspaper clippings and documents. Thank goodness the computer soon came along. It became even more fun when his sister Catherine also became interested in genealogy as we took trips together from Minnesota and Colorado to Montana and Utah, from Chico and Colusa to Sonora and Los Angeles. His sisters Betty (Liz) and Carleen joined us for some. 

After Gordon retired, he joined local music groups, the Monterey Community Band that played at local civic events, the concert band at Monterey Peninsula College, and then he was invited to play in the Del Monte Brass Band from the Navy Post Graduate School when they needed a tuba player. The Navy band came and played in our backyard reception at our 50^th wedding anniversary celebration. The day started off with a reunion at the Carmel Beach with three generations of our family. (This would be the last time Gordon and his remaining three siblings would be together.)

Jun 16, 2006: Marian & Gordon Clemens, 50th Wedding Anniversary, Carmel, California

Jun 2006: Carleen, Claudia, Gordon, and Catherine, in Carmel, California

Not long after that, Gordon’s eyesight suddenly changed with age-related macular degeneration, and within a week, he couldn’t see well enough to read the musical score. His medical treatment has been amazing and his eyesight has been stabilized, so he lives normally, reading slowly, driving, and enjoying life, but not enough for reading music. I think he is very glad that playing the tuba came back into his life in retirement. It brought him the joy that many of us experience when we hear music. But even more importantly, it gave him what you feel inside when you can make music.

I remember what it felt like when I finally had time to take art lessons and began oil painting. I enjoyed doing our beautiful local scenes and then ventured into some folk art. Next, I began writing memoir, and our children have been appreciative of that. My most satisfying piece was a series of stories about our twelve years we had our campground in Big Sur. In retirement I’m also active in my church and community projects, many to benefit homeless needs in the area.

Our two daughters have had successful careers and given us five amazing grandchildren, so being grandparents is one of our current joys. Traveling has always been important, and last time I counted we had explored 40 countries. Most of the trips when we were younger were chaperoning AFS student groups or traveling on our own, climbing every tower, using every mode of transportation, and enjoying new cultures. As we’ve grown older, we’ve had some choice guided tours and riverboat trips. Now in our mid-80s, just being at home and taking our local hikes in the woods and by the ocean are our favorite things. 

We appreciate Catherine for bringing to life her story of growing up. Parts of it were really hard for us as family to read as we became aware of her sadness and difficult childhood which she told with both honesty and humor. It was quite different from Larry’s young years, as he was fourteen years older than Cathy and ready to leave home for college when she was only three. We thank you, Catherine, for being the special sister that you are to us. Congratulations on completing your book. We love you.
by Marian Louise (McLellan) Clemens, Nov 2018

Gordon & Marian (McLellan) Clemens in 2005:

***************************

Written in 2018: Carleen & Chuck Albertson, by Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau
Chuck died in 1996, doing what he loved best, driving down the highway like a maniac. He cashed in his chips on the Orange Freeway on his way to work, his cigar butt clenched between his teeth, his morning mug filled with Cutty Sark and a shot of black coffee. He had a heart attack and hit the fast lane’s center divider. It was the only time he ever slowed down behind the wheel of a car.

Never meeting a Scotch he didn’t like or a horse that couldn’t lose, Chuck’s drinking and gambling habits cost them their comfortable home in Diamond Bar, lost in foreclosure. The kids were grown and out of the house, so they moved to a small rental in Walnut. As family traditions go, Carleen never forgave him for that, and for hundreds of other hurts.

She had no memorial for her husband. Before the end of the month, my sister emptied out the rental in Walnut. She sold, gave away, or tossed everything of Chuck’s. She rented the largest dumpster she could find and filled it with nearly everything he’d hoarded over the years: boxes of engine parts, stacks of newspapers, and coffee cans of screws. She made $10,000 from a garage sale, selling his truck, tools, and pinball machine. She also sold all her furniture, her platters and pots and pans, her kilns and hundreds of ceramic molds. She parted with her years of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, collectible whiskey decanters, her 45s, and her Kingston Trio, Johnny Cash, and Smother’s Brothers albums (she used to make us leave the room when she played Redd Foxx). She gave to family her childhood photo album and the rest of her family pictures, her set of good hand-painted dishes, her giant puzzles, and the coffee table we mosaic-tiled the first summer I lived with her.

Packing her gray Ford Probe with her clothes, television, and Tupperware, she left California to live with Debbie in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Deb caught a plane to help her mom make the trip. Driving through Albuquerque, Carleen didn’t realize she was on a two-lane road. Deb looked up and screamed as they were headed towards a semi in the wrong lane. Both were throughly shaken. Carleen pulled off and turned the wheel over to Debbie.

That was one of the last times my sister drove a car. Little by little, she relinquished her freedoms, becoming frail and shaky. Laura and her family lived near Debbie, and Carleen rebounded when she stepped in to help take care of Laura’s youngest child, who was born three weeks after Chuck’s death; being needed brought her back into the world.

Carleen, my saving grace, is now in her eighties and has lived with her youngest child Laura and family in Iowa for the past twenty years. She spends her time reading, watching baseball, playing solitaire, and smoking Carlton Ultra Light Menthol 100s. Her cough is worrisome, but she’s content.

***************************

Written in 2018: Elizabeth Ann (Clemens) Duchi, by Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau:
My sister Liz knew everything about everything—and what she didn’t know—she made up. Her library was lined with books from architecture, antique lamps and art nouveau to tomes on history, the human body, and Henry VIII. She also had every field guide on flora, fauna, and all things feathered.

Liz was an avid bird-watcher and the aristocratic and ancient crane was her favorite. A “craniac,” she could tell you everything about their habits and habitats, their migration patterns, and their courting rituals. She even knew their mating calls. The birds inspired her, weaving their nests into her daily living. A life-size bronze statue stood sentry at her front door. A delicately feathered watercolor flew on her plaster walls. Cranes perched on her shelves, danced on her Japanese robe and winged across her glass lampshade.

Every fall, thousands of greater sandhills streak across the Pacific Flyway, migrating in families to feed and roost in the safety of the Central Valley wetlands near the Sacramento River. They are one of the world’s largest birds, the males standing at a stately five feet tall with a seven-foot wingspan. They are long-legged, long-necked, and bustle-bodied, sporting ash gray plumage, a black chiseled bill, sleek white cheeks, and a bald red crown. Their trumpet can be heard for miles. Between feeding and roosting, they dance this peculiar choreographed avian ballet: first one crane starts out slowly, then a second, the tempo picks up, and soon the whole flock is hopping and bowing—wing flourishing and stick tossing in wild rap-like abandon. My sister loved their elaborate floorshow, cackling her delight.

In February, Liz was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. In September, she had experimental surgery at the UC Davis Cancer Clinic in Sacramento. Two weeks later, she came to stay with me. Two weeks after that, pneumonia set in, and I took her back to the hospital. Three days later, she died.

Just after she took her final breath in that cool early morning, her husband Tony stepped outside to call the family. Dialing his cell phone, there was an overhead cacophony of long drawn-out bugling and clanging so loud he was unable to converse. Looking up, his irritation turned to slack-jawed wonder. A feathered cortege of two-hundred greater sandhills passed directly over his wife’s top floor hospital room in single and V-line formation—first one string, then another behind the first, then another behind them, then another, and another, necks extended, legs and tails outstretched, the slow rhythmic beating of their wings vibrating the crisp October sky, incessantly declaring GAROOO-A-A, GAROOO-A-A.

As is their nature, the whole flock trumpets most raucously when concerned or alarmed. As was her nature, Liz was probably disturbing their flight pattern on her way out. Or maybe she was joining them on their migratory trek. Or perchance, the winged ones knew she was ready and arrived to escort their friend in style—blessing my sixty-four year old sister with an exquisite tribute and a final accompaniment.

***************************

Written in 2018: Claudia (Clemens) McDaniel, by Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau:
I didn’t see a lot of Claudia during our adult lives, but reconnected with her while gathering information for the memoir. A couple of friends noted she was seldom mentioned in it, and I realized I didn’t know much about her. We thereafter spent hours on the phone; she talked and I took notes. We also shared stories about our kids, work, health, and ex-husbands. We were both divorced within months of each other in 1973. She made it through 17 years and I only lasted five. She told me of her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and manic depression, and wondered if Mom also suffered from these problems. We agreed that was probably so; there just wasn’t a name for it in those days.

Claudia and Liz seldom got along. Claudia avoided confrontation at all costs and Liz generally came out with guns blazing. On one of her manic days, Claudia drove from Escondido to Liz’s place in Fallbrook, thinking she could clear the air of all their past upsets. Sitting by the pool, Claudia talked nonstop for hours, dredging up every hurt and insult that she felt Liz inflicted on her since they were kids.

It didn’t go over well.

Liz sat in stony silence. She already had little affection for her younger sister, and now she really hated her. I gave Claudia kudos for finally speaking up, but perhaps she did go on a tad long. Liz thought Claudia was not only manic, she was crazy. Liz, who was one of the funniest people on earth, had absolutely no sense of humor when it came to relationships. You were in or you were out. She now considered Claudia a dead woman. I tried my best not to laugh when I heard both versions of the story. Claudia thought it went well. Betty, fuming and furious, reported it was an effing train wreck.

Claudia relinquished alcohol in 1987, but giving up smoking was impossible. For several months, I sent her money for nicotine patches, but one time over the phone, I heard her inhale. She admitted to buying cigarettes with what I was sending her, but only a few cartons. I quit sending her money. A couple of years later, in August of 2011, at the age of 69, my sister died of lung cancer.

Note: The stories herein are excerpts from A Memoir THROUGH ANY GIVEN DOOR, by Catherine Sevenau, full story completed in 2018 and posted as a web series at www.sevenau.com

***************************

Family of

Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield 

Charles Henry “Charlie” Chatfield
6th of 9 children of Isaac Willard Chatfield & Eliza Ann Harrington
Occupation: Cattle rancher, stock raiser, butcher, rice farmer foreman, Diamond Match Company, carpenter
Born: Sep 21, 1870, Florence, Fremont Co., Colorado
Baptized: Feb 25, 1923 (at age 52) in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Chico, Butte Co., California
Died: Jul 23, 1942 (age 71), Oroville, Butte Co., California; cardiac failure, senility, malnutrition
Buried: Chico Cemetery, Chico, Butte Co., California
Married: Dec 26, 1894, Nellie Belle Chamberlin, Grand Junction, Mesa Co., Colorado
Ten children: Charles Joseph “Charley” Chatfield, Leo Willard Chatfield, Howard Francis Chatfield, Roy Elmer Chatfield, Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield, Gordon Gregory Chatfield, Verda Agnes Chatfield, Arden Sherman Chatfield, “Ina” Jacqueline Chatfield, Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield

Nellie Belle Chamberlin
1st of 6 children of Finley McLaren “Frank” Chamberlin & Emily S. Hoy
Occupation: Diamond Match Company, ran the Eagle Café in Colusa, California
Born: Mar 7, 1873, Kansas City, Jackson Co., Missouri
Died: Jan 2, 1956 (age 82), Chico, Butte Co., California; excess choler
Buried: Chico Cemetery (Catholic section), Chico, Butte Co., California
Religion: Catholic, as were all her children
Married: Dec 26, 1894, Charles Henry “Charlie” Chatfield, Grand Junction, Mesa Co., Colorado
Ten children: Charles Joseph “Charley” Chatfield, Leo Willard Chatfield, Howard Francis Chatfield, Roy Elmer Chatfield, Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield, Gordon Gregory Chatfield, Verda Agnes Chatfield, Arden Sherman Chatfield, Jacqueline “Ina” Chatfield, Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield

1. Charles Joseph “Charley” Chatfield
1st of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Nov 18, 1895, Fruita, Mesa Co., Colorado
Died: Aug 6, 1986 (age 90), Paradise, Butte Co., California; heart attack
Buried: Glen Oaks Memorial Park, Chico, Butte Co., California
Military: 1916: Mexican Border Campaign
Mar 1917: WWI, Army Sergeant, Co. H, 160th Infantry, American Expeditionary Force, served in replacement and depot divisions in France
Occupation: Rice rancher with father, truck driver for Union Ice Company, fruit stand owner in Lodi; ship builder and welder for U.S. Steel & Westinghouse Electric Co.
Affiliation: Veterans of Foreign Wars (Post 1555)
Avocation: Photographer (8mm movies, mainly of dams)
Married: Apr 30, 1927, Velma Avis Turnbull, Oroville, Butte Co., California
No children

2. Leo Willard Chatfield
2nd of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Oct 23, 1897, Ten Sleep, Big Horn Co., Wyoming
Died: Jul 20, 1956 (age 58), Grass Valley, Yuba Co., California; heart attack
Buried: Jul 24, 1956, Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, San Mateo Co., California
Military: 1914/15; Company I, Red Bluff, Tehama Co., CA; sent to Mexican border
1916: WWI, Private U.S. Army, Co I, 1st Republic Regiment, American Expeditionary Force; served in England (the ship he was on was bombed off the Irish coast by a German U-Boat; confined to a military hospital in England)
Occupation: Rice rancher, miner, forest service ranger, Cal-Ida Lumber Co. log scaler
Affiliation: Veterans of Foreign Wars
Married: abt 1933, Ethel Helen (Stirewalt) Zornes
Two stepchildren: (by Ethel Stirewalt and Wayne E. Zornes)
Etta Mae/May Zornes, Joseph Eugene “Gene” Zornes

3. Howard Francis Chatfield
3rd of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Jun 13, 1899, Eldora, Boulder Co., Colorado
Died: Jan 16, 1953 (age 53), Chico, Butte Co., California; Bright’s disease
Buried: Chico Cemetery, Chico, Butte Co., California
Occupation: Diamond Match Company, Chico Union Ice Co., Levy-Zentner Company, Mulkey’s store, Chico Meat Co./butcher
Affiliation: BPOE/Local 423 (Elks Club Lodge) Chico, Butchers Union/Local 352
Married: Dec 29, 1919, Evelyn Alice “Merr” Wilson, Fresno, Fresno Co., California; eloped
Six daughters: Maye Francis Chatfield, Gloria Jane “Dodie” Chatfield, Patricia Joy “Peaches” Chatfield, Yvonne Jessie “Vonnie” Chatfield, Nadine Evelyn Chatfield, Judith Lynne Chatfield

4. Roy Elmer Chatfield
4th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Mar 20, 1901, Rifle, Garfield Co., Colorado
Died: Jul 11, 1978 (age 77), Chico, Butte Co., California; heart failure
Buried: Glen Oaks Memorial Park, Garden of Holy Cross, Chico, Butte Co., California
Occupation: Diamond Match Co./mill worker, Chico Ice & Cold Storage/driver, Grey Eagle Lumber
Affiliation: 50-year member of the Modern Woodmen of America
Married: Aug 1, 1956, Josephine Elizabeth “Jo” Chambers, Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada
No children

5. Nellie Mary “Nella May” Chatfield
5th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Mar 11, 1903, Rifle, Garfield Co., Colorado
Died: Nov 21, 1983 (age 80), Martinez, Contra Costa Co., California; stroke
Buried: Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Lafayette, Contra Costa Co., California
Education: Heald’s Business College
Occupation: Diamond Match factory, Moore Dry Dock Shipyard WWII, Sears &
Roebuck, cook/housekeeper for Catholic priests
Married (1): Apr 17, 1926, Edward Waldon McElhiney, Chico, Butte Co., California
Three children: Roy Joseph “Buster/Mac” McElhiney, private, private
Married (2): abt 1931, Louis Lee Mote
One child: Mary Ellen Mote (McElhiney)

6. Gordon Gregory Chatfield
6th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Dec 20, 1905, Casper, Natrona Co., Wyoming
Died: Nov 19, 1948 (age 42), San Francisco, San Francisco Co., California (in Letterman’s Veterans Hospital, Presidio); WWII war injuries
Buried: Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, San Mateo Co., California
Military Service: WWII, Aug 12, 1942: Enlisted in National Guard, San Francisco
U.S. Army Air Corps, warrant officer, Private 1st Class, 306 AAF Adm. Squadron
Occupation: Worked with father in rice fields, Diamond Match Co., mattress manufacturer, furniture upholstery & refinisher
Affiliation: Member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Van Nuys, Los Angeles Co., California
Married: 1929, Hylda Pauline Hughes
Divorced: between 1939 and 1942
Children: none

7. Verda Agnes Chatfield
7th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Aug 23, 1908, Sanders, Rosebud (now Treasure) Co., Montana
Died: Sep 26, 1978 (age 70), Chico, Butte Co., California; heart attack
Buried: Chico Cemetery (Catholic section), Chico, Butte Co., California
Occupation: Ran a boarding house for college girls in Chico, California
Affiliation: Catholic Ladies Relief Society
Married: Mar 27, 1927, George William Day, Jr., Dunsmuir, Siskiyou Co., California
Two stepchildren: (of George Day & Florence Louise George): Robert Elwood Day, George Louis Day
Four children: Marceline Dolores Day, Leo Ronald “Jim” Day, Judith Lee Day, Jeffery Brian Day

8. Arden Sherman Chatfield
8th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Aug 29, 1910, Sanders, Rosebud (now Treasure) Co., Montana
Died: Oct 3, 1981 (age 71) Chico, Butte Co., California; heart failure
Buried: Oct 7, 1981: Chico Cemetery (Veteran’s Section), Chico, Butte Co., California
Military: WWII, U.S. Army Private, Co. G Infantry Division 184th Reg; cook
Occupation: Farm laborer, Chico Ice Company, cook, waiter, busboy
Avocation: Hobo, traveled the USA hopping trains
Never married, no children

9. “Ina” Jacqueline Chatfield
9th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Feb 24, 1913, Sanders, Rosebud (now Treasure) Co., Montana
Died: Feb 17, 1993 (age 79), Yuba City, Sutter Co., California; old age/heart
Buried: Catholic Cemetery, Colusa, Colusa Co., California
Occupation: Purity Grocery Store, assistant butcher
Married: May 22, 1932, James Leroy Fouch, Reno, Washoe Co., Nevada
Three children: Joanne Arlene Fouch, Shirley Jean Fouch, James Edward “Jim” Fouch

10. Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield
10th of 10 children of Charles Henry Chatfield & Nellie Belle Chamberlin
Born: Sep 29, 1915, Los Molinos, Tehama Co., California
Died: Nov 9, 1968 (age 53), Whittier, Los Angeles Co., California; suicide
Buried: Cremated/niche Memory Garden Memorial Park, Brea, Orange Co., California
Occupation: Worked in family store, professional seamstress, cook/housekeeper for Catholic priests and in private homes
Married (1): Feb 4, 1933, Carl John Clemens, Colusa, Colusa Co., California
Divorced: Dec 1953, Sonora, Tuolumne Co., California
Five children: Gordon Lawrence “Larry” Clemens, Carleen Barbara Clemens, Elizabeth Ann “Betty/Liz” Clemens, Claudia Clemens, Catherine Frances “Cathy” Clemens
Married (2): Jul 31, 1955, Raymond D. “Ray” Haynie, Carson City, Ormsby Co., Nevada
Divorced: 1956, living in San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California

***************************

Five generations, Gordon Clemens; paternal side:
Gordon Lawrence Clemens (1934–living)
father, Carl John Clemens (1905–1986)
grandfather, Mathew S. Clemens (1874–1947)
great-grandfather, Mathew Clemens (1836–1920)
g-g-grandfather, Peter Clemens (1808–1871)

Four generations, Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau; maternal side at about the same ages, upper and lower panel:
Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau (1948–living)
mother, Noreen Ellen Chatfield (1915–1968)
grandmother, Nellie Belle Chamberlin (1873–1956)
great-grandmother, Emily S. Hoy (1850–1940)

***************************

Chatfield and Clemens Ancestral line by Gordon Lawrence Clemens:

***************************

2025: Researched and compiled by siblings Gordon Clemens and Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau. Thank you to Marian (McLellan) Clemens for her support, love, and contributions.

Direct Clemens line of Catherine Frances (Clemens) Sevenau & Gordon Lawrence Clemens:
Peter Clemens & Maria Mary Reding (gg-grandparents)
Nicholas/Nikolas Nigon & Barbara Leinen (gg-grandparents)
Mathias “Mathew” Clemens & Anna Mary Reiland (great-grandparents)
Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon (grandparents)
Carl John Clemens & Noreen Ellen Chatfield (parents)

Note: The cemetery headstone photos from Find A Grave contained herein are the property of those who photographed them.