by Donna Swagerty Shreve
I had the privilege and burden of being the only child that lived in the same town as my mother. Thus I spent much of her last decade with her on a regular basis. I tried to encourage her to share her memories of her life with me, as I was the family historian. I also prodded her to take certain trips and visit various relatives. When it was time for doing something out of the usual routine, she usually resisted.
I received an invitation to visit Ernie, Mom’s step-brother. He offered to give me the tour of part of Mom’s childhood in the Clear Lake area. Ernie joined Mom’s family of her father and brother when Mom was in high school.
Jesse, Mom’s father, had been raising Mom and her brother by himself since Mom and Ronnie had been six and four years of age. Over the years there had been a succession of sixteen housekeepers ending at Leota, number sixteen. Once Leota was established and her job seemed secure, she sent for and moved in her two children, Wanda and Ernie.
Mom resented Leota moving in and tried to get her fired. This tactic had worked before when Mom did not like a housekeeper. Mom demanded Jesse chose between Leota or her. Mom was midway between her senior year in high school and had always been quite indulged. Jesse had a choice between a bratty 17 year old who was soon to leave for college or a woman 34 years his junior who was already sleeping with him and would be willing to care for him in his older age. He was currently sixty-three.
Mom packed her suitcase and got a ride with a friend who was driving to Los Angeles. Mom took up an offer from a cousin to stay with her and finish high school there. Mom ended up sleeping on their couch and was obviously an inconvenient guest to that family but she never returned to live with her father. Throughout the remaining years of Jesse’s life, Mom was horrible to Leota and carried a terrible grudge. Leota would not be invited to her wedding and Jesse had to attend alone.
Back to the present day, I was now trying to get my mother to come with me to visit Ernie and his wife Vicky. Ernie had acted like a supportive younger brother throughout the years and Mom could not fault him. She finally agreed to travel with me and I set up the date with Ernie.
As it was summer, and I was not working, I drove the long two and a half hour windy drive to Lakeport to Ernie and Vicky’s home. The ride there was quiet as Mom was having reservations about the wisdom of taking this trip.
I drove us to Ernie’s house and we then switched to his car so he could drive us to selected spots. Our first stop was the sheep ranch where Leota and her kids joined the family. We had to drive down a long dirt road past a large no-trespassing sign. Mom was becoming nervous. We stopped at the house at the end of the road and I got out to take pictures. Ernie got out also and Vicky stayed in the car with Mom.
Soon the owner drove up and questioned why we thought we could trespass on his property. Ernie was all charm and explained that he and Mom had lived there in 1933. Jesse had been the manager of the extensive sheep ranch. Then after rustlers had done too much damage, Jesse and the remaining family moved on and the owners moved back in. This was now a couple of generations later.
The owner became very cordial and now Mom was willing to come out of the car. She showed me where the window was to her former bedroom. She took a quick look around and then we moved on.
Our next stop was Middletown High School where both Jesse’s kids and Leota’s kids attended. This time when we drove into the parking lot, Mom asked all of us to please stay in the car while she went in alone. We honored her wishes and watched her disappear into the high school office that was in the midst of setting up for the upcoming school year. We waited for forty -five minutes and I was ready to go in to check on her.
Just then she came out of the office with the air of a celebrity and joined us in the car. My timid mother had turned into her confident other self. She had entered the high school office and had asked to see the principal. She explained to the principal that she had attended this high school in 1932 and 1933. She also mentioned that she had been the student body president in 1933 and had many fond memories. The principal was thrilled that she had stopped by and gave her a grand tour of the facilities.
Mom told him what had been there when she had attended including the surrounding buildings of the town. The principal begged her to write down her rich recollections and gave her his card. I was surprised and disappointed later that she did not follow through on his request.
Our next stop was Hoberg’s Resort that was near by. Mom had worked there for several summers and the money she earned, helped to pay for her college education at the then College of the Pacific. It turns out Jesse, Leota, and Ernie also had worked there at various times.
Hoberg’s was for sale and was in the best shape it could be for a good presentation. Mom lit up and showed where the swimming pool was, where the dance floor had been, and where the dining hall was located. It was obvious to me that she had truly enjoyed her time here. Hoberg’s ended up being a positive turning point in her life as she made great life long friends and headed for college.
We then went back to Ernie and Vicky’s home where we said our thank yous and good byes and headed home. Mom became quite chatty on the way home as she reminisced about this portion of her life. She confessed how horrible she had been to Leota all those years. She admitted Leota had that heart of gold and her father had made the right decision. As expected, Jesse married Leota and Leota nursed Jesse in his final years when he died at age eighty-seven. Mom had a strained relationship with her father to the end. Ernie disregarded Mom’s treatment of his mother and was a loyal friend to the end of Mom’s life. He and Vicky were always there at all of our family’s major events.
As a postscript, I am proud to say I recently made the extra effort and attended Vicky’s recent eighty-seventh birthday celebration. Somehow I felt I was atoning for Mom’s previous behavior and thanking Vicky for her loyalty over the years.
Swagerty-Aldrich Family Web Site 