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 1918 -
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| Name |
Jane Hendrick [1] |
| Born |
5 Nov 1918 |
Maxwell, Colfax Co., NM  |
| Gender |
Female |
| Notes |
- From: Allan Horrocks
The following was written by Jane on April 5, 1991, in Hemet, California:
I have decided to write of my life from the early years in New Mexico to
the present, as I perceive it.
My father, William Warren Hendrick was born August 13, 1880 in Montrose,
Missouri. He was the eldest boy of fourteen children; namely Warren,
Etta, Maude, Asa, Gertie, Otis, Belle, Grover, Virgie, Fannie, Ruby,
Ralph and Fern. Ralph is the only one living at this date. Dad died in
1957 and is buried in Kelso, Washington.
My mother, Clara Viola Nelson was born in Cadiz, Wisconsin on October 31,
1886. She was one of eleven children; namely Louella, Grace, Viola,
Esther, Genevieve, Mamie, Ruth, Will (Bill), Ole, Jim, and Lee. Mother
died in 1966 from cancer of the pancreas. She is also buried in Kelso,
Washington.
Dad's mother and father had a large farm and when my dad was in his late
teens, his father died. Dad being the oldest boy took over his father's
chores. Dad's mother later re-married to a man named Thurman. When we
went to Missouri in 1927 we stayed overnight at Dad's home. Grandmother
was a forbidding looking woman. Her maiden name was Mohler.
Grandfather Nelson was a tall, lean man. He was a carpenter and a farmer.
He was so nice when we saw them in 1927. He and Grandmother Nelson were
living in Missouri at the time. Her maiden name was Taylor. A very strong
woman. During their marriage he kept a yearly diary. Any child born in
that year got the diary when an adult. Gene and Doris have the one
written in 1886 when mother was born.
When the folks married they moved from Missouri to Colorado Springs,
Colorado, to make their first home. Mother told of her neighbor who was a
prostitute at night, but a good mother to her son. She said she had to go
to the outhouse during the night, when she was there a mountain lion came
sniffing around. She was really scared and it was a couple of hours
before the lion left and she could return to the house.
Dad worked in a copper refinery until his health was affected by the
fumes. They had their first two children in Colorado Springs; namely
Deena Laurene, born March 24, 1906 and William Clare born March 24, 1908.
They moved to Manzanola, Colorado and had a truck farm raising
vegatables, cantaloupe, watermelon, etc.. Dad loved farming and he could
make anything grow. I believe sister Ruth Etta and Kenneth Bruce was born
in Mazanola. From there Dad and Mother moved to a development in Maxwell,
New Mexico. It was farming tracts opened up with lot's of water. Dad had
sheep, fruit trees, garden vegetables, etc. He had mexican laborers and a
foreman. A family, Dillinger by name, were the folks best friends. Also
the Browns. The Browns had a daughter with one blue eye and one black eye
- I know when ever I saw her I would really stare. While in Maxwell we
had a brother, Kenneth Bruce die. He is buried in Maxwell. Mrs. Dillinger
put flowers on his grave for years after the folks moved - Rachel, Mary
Margaret, John Daniel, Doris Lee and I were born in Maxwell. J.D. was a 6
1/2 month baby. Mother delivered him by herself. He weighed less than 2
lbs. She raised all of us on Eagle Brand milk. J.D. was really a novelty
and people would drive from miles around just to see him. Dad said he
could hold him on the palm of his hand. His diapers were the size of a
man's handkerchief. He could fit in a cigar box and he was kept warm from
the oven door being open. All of my brothers and sisters were less than 4
pounds at birth. other than Ruth (she was 8 lbs or more).
When Mary Magaret was three years old her appendix burst. Perotinitas set
in, so she was in bed for a year. Mother took care of her and when she
could finally get up she had to learn to walk all over again. The doctor
had told the folks the chances of her living with or without an operation
were equal, so Mother decided to care for her herself. The mexican
laborers thought she was so cute, so they taught her all the cuss words
in mexican that they knew. The folks weren't too happy about that.
Mother had a surrey and her own horse. She really loved to go to town in
it. Deena and Clare had horses that they rode to school.
I do not remember much about Maxwell. I do remember when Mother and
another lady and Rachel, J.D., Doris Lee and I were living in a house on
the desert. Dad and the other woman's husband were in Dawson working, and
apparently we were waiting for a house. A terrible lightening storm hit
one evening. Mother and her friend were at the barn milking and we were
told to stay put. The first lightening bolt hit about 15 feet from the
house, so Mary and I took off to get Mother. When it rained the aqua
lotis (water dogs) would come in the house along with the rain. It was so
flat, no drainage at all. Mother would gather us all on the bed and tell
us stories. draw stickmen pictures, sing and whatever it took to keep us
from crying. Thank heaven we moved to Dawson within a month or so. On the
desert the loco weed would grow wild and the animals would eat it and go
crazy.
When we moved to Dawson, we had a house on El Capitan, a mesa above the
town. Dad lost his farm in Maxwell. not enough water. So he went to
Dawson to work in the coal mines. The town of Dawson was owned by the
Phelps Dodge Corp.. The mountains were full of coal. Dad was a fire boss,
meaning he went into the mines at night and tested for gas. If safe, the
miners could go in and dig the coal. Dad told of going thru spaces so
small that he would have to shift his pocket watch to get thru. He would
see the eyes (only) of many animals. His hard hat had a light on top
never knowing what was ahead. He would always have a sandwich left to
give us when he would get home, it tasted so good! The KKK were real
active in those days and Dad told of having to join the KKK in order to
work. The crosses would burn on the surrounding mountains at night,
supposedly to scare the "bad" guys away.. He never attended any meetings,
however. We lived amidst all races of people, Mexicans, Italians, Greeks,
some not speaking english. My first boyfriend (I must have been all of 8
years old) was George Scandoli. He dressed in a suit, white shirt and
polished shoes! He also always had candy for me.
One day a girl friend and I walked up the valley called Loretta. On our
way home, the brow of the hill where we lived was lined with people. When
we got there they said someone had seen a panther on the road where we
were, we didn't see it, thank heavens. One of our neighbors was an
Italian family named Genta. The parents didn't speak english. Francis
Genta was my friend, Tony the older and Jenny the oldest. Mother kept in
touch with the family, thru Jenny, long after we moved to Washington. Her
folks left Dawson and bought a hotel in Raton, New Mexico. It turned out
to be a brothel. Were they Mafia?
As kids we played kick the can, hide and seek, jumped rope, played
hopscotch, and roamed the hills. Only once did Rachel, Mary and I dress
up in Ruth's high heels, etc. We sat in the corner for several hours for
that!
At Christmas every miner donated a set amount of money and a gift was
purchased for every boy and girl in town. On Christmas morning all
children would got to the high school and if a girl she would get a doll,
etc. Also we would get a red sock with an orange, apple, candy and nuts.
Usually at Christmas our gifts were put on chairs as there were no trees
around suitable. One Christmas Dad went way back into the mountains and
carried a tree 7 1/2 miles. It was so beautiful! I got an iron and
ironing board one christmas. Mother would let me iron hankies and belts.
I felt so grown up! I loved to sweep our yard - lawns were unheard of. We
lived over a mile high and the sun shone every day (or so Mother said).
The winds would blow and our hands and legs were always chapped and sore.
For gum, we would break off pieces of of tar that would come off the
roofs of buildings.
Dad took J.D. and I for a walk one day. He said we were almost in
Colorado. Saw wild turkeys the one and only time. On payday, Dad would
take J.D. and me. On payday and we could buy whatever candy we wanted.
The next payday, Rachel and Mary went and got what they wanted. Wasn't he
nice?
Mother told of being quarantined for one year - first, one rash of
deseases, then another. I had lobar pneaumonia when I was seven years
old. Was in the hospital, all of the family there, but my fever broke and
everything was o.k.
Mother was a good dress maker and sewed for teachers. Of course she made
all our clothes and she could converse in spanish.
In 1927 our Dad bought a brand new Ford sedan, with rollup windows. He
bought it in Santa Fe and paid $795 for it. His wages were $295 a month.
On Sundays Dad and Mom would take us all on a picnic. We would be gone
all day. We were on a picnic in Cimmaron Canyon and they took pictures.
When the pictures were developed there was a mountain lion on the ledge
above our picnic area. I remember Dad and Mom taking us to a valley that
was so fertile. Large ranch home, fruit trees, etc. It was so hidden from
the valley floor you would not know it was there. In the summer of 1927,
my brother Clare drove the car to Missouri to visit relatives. Mother,
Rachel, Mary, J.D., Doris Lee and I kept him company. Our Dad had put the
Masonic emblem on the car so many people invited us for meals etc. We had
so much fun in Missouri. Got to see Dad's mother and step-father (they
still lived on the farm where Dad was born). Mother's mother and father
were living in Missouri, so we got to meet them, also all of Dad's
brothers and sisters.
While we were in Missouri, it was harvest time so everyone for miles
around helped get the crop in. The women would have such good food for
the men when they came in. Fried chicken, salads, home baked bread, pies,
cakes, etc. When finished with one farm they would move on to the next.
Everyone helped each other! Our trip back to Dawson was uneventful. It
was so good to see Ruth and Dad. Deena had married Wilfrid Horrocks prior
to the trip and Clare was on his own and Ruth and Dad were working. Our
brother Bob was born in 1927.
Mother and Dad decided a coal mining town was not the place to raise the
family, so in July of 1928 it was decided we would move to Spokane,
Washington. Grady and Neat Rister were newly weds and wanted to leave
also. They had a Ford roadster and Grady drove it while J.D. and I kept
him company. Neat drove the folks car with Bob (a baby), Doris Lee, Mary,
Rachel, to keep Mother and Neat alert. When we arrived in Spokane it was
hot and a fellow at the gas station suggested Longview, Washington as
agood place. It was a new town and had the Longbell Lumber Co. and there
was work.
Mother found a small house to rent just south of Kelso. We stayed there
until Dad and Ruth came out - they had stayed in Dawson to work. The
folks found an old farm of 80 acres owned by Ole Hanson and they leased
it. The farm had a large apple orchard, cherry trees, a pear tree and
plenty of room for Dad to plant vegetables, berries, etc. At this time
there was only one other place besides Hanson's on Haussler Road. The
house is still there. Water had to be carried from a spring and we washed
clothes on a scrub board.
Dad worked on Ariel Dam for a while until his health failed. The doctor
found that he had pernicious anemia, so Dad had to have blood
transfusions the rest of his life. Clare was his universal blood donor.
Dad would tend Dr. Sells flower gardens to pay for his medical care.. He
also worked at the Cowlitz General hospital for a long time. Later Dad
planted and cared for the flower beds at Longview High School. He drove
an old Hudson Terraplane and was a hazard on the highway.
Mother's brother Ole and his wife, Grace, and sons Ralph and Art and
daughters Edna and Marjorie, left Nebraska and lived with us at the farm.
Uncle Ole found that he had stomach cancer and before he died he
supervised the building of the folks permanent home on Haussler Road.
Mother worked for the Landry's, the same people I worked for. She bought
an acre of land and had their home built. The home is still there and
looks the same.
I went to work for the Landrys when I was eleven. I lived there and had
my own bedroom. I helped clean, scrub, polish silver, brass, etc. and
also served their meals. My salary there was $5.00/month. One year I
worked for just room and board. I worked there for four years. When I
was fifteen I was asked to work for Mr. & Mrs. Vitous. He owned the
Kelso Drug Store and they had a pretty, big new home south of Kelso. I
got $4.00/week and every Saturday from noon to Monday morning off.
I had been going with Norman and we married at Vancouver, Washington.
Norman had a brother, Emil, and my sister was going out with him on
occasion and thats how Norman and I met. Norman and I lived at the
cottage at Landrys. Gene was born in August of 1936 at Cowlitz General
Hospital. Norman built a frame of a house across the street from the
folks. We moved in there and lived there for a year. We bought an acre of
land up Haussler Road. We stared building a house on the land. Dan was
born in December 1937.
From 1937 on it was a real struggle. Norman had been working in the
digest room at the Longview Fibre when we were first married , then he
started painting there. His pay was $37.50 for two weeks work. In those
days we lucky to be working.
When the second world war started, Norman was painting on his own and
there was work at the military base in Vancouver, Washington. We found an
old farm to rent on the Battleground highway
In 1942 we moved back to Kelso and Norman decided that we should go to
Port Orchard, Washington where Norman found plenty of work. We were only
there a few months when Norman decided that we should go to Kennewick,
Washington. They were starting the Hanford Atomic Plant out of Richland,
so there was plenty of work. I got pregnant in 1944 so we moved back to
Kelso. Gary Lee was born in August, 1944. Norman started to paint
contract about this time.
After Norman finally finished the house in 1950 he decided to move to
Southern California. We sold everything except our personal belongings,
loaded the car and away we went. We landed in Azusa were Gary started
school. Later we moved again, this time to Santa Rosa and bought a house,
but Norman got our money back when he decided to move back to Kennewick,
Washington.
In 1953 Norman wanted to move back to Southern California, so we sold our
house and bought a home in Glendora, Calif. Norman and I divorced in
1962. I rented an apartment and started working for a living. After
working at Glentronics, I worked for a company called Acme General Corp
for two years. Then I went to work for Neste, Burdin and Stone in San
Bernardino, Calif. and worked there for 7 1/2 years. I married Bob
Emerson the following July. We bought a mobile home in Glendora. In 1987,
after my divorce from Bob and his subsequent death, I sold the mobile
home and moved back to Kelso. I bought a mobile home in Kelso, but could
stand the climate for only two winters. I sold that mobile and moved to
Hemet, California in April of 1989.
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| Person ID |
I04806 |
irish |
| Last Modified |
3 Jan 2008 |
| Father |
William Warren Hendrick |
| Mother |
Clara Viola Nelson, b. 31 Oct 1886, Cadiz Twp., Green Co., WI , d. 1 Dec 1966, Stayton, Marion Co., OR (Age 80 years) |
| Married |
10 Apr 1905 |
Montrose, Henry Co., MO |
| Family ID |
F0851 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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