Page 41 - People & Places In Time

Jamestown to Tulare County
At the rear of the large lot the ‘B’ Street house rested upon was a big garage with the chicken coop along the back, facing the alley. When Smith & Whitney closed down following the death of Earnest in 1955, Grandad expanded the garage, incorporated the chicken pens and put down a concrete floor and lighting to create a quite large wood shop holding all his tools, along with ample wood storage. I spent much of my time here with my grandfather building my projects and learning, long after his death in 1959. When Grandmother finally passed away in 1985 these same tools became mine.
This is the environment, with my parents both working, where I was raised, this is the place that shaped me.
My Grandparents Mitchell
My Grandmother Mary Kathern (Quinlan) Mitchell died in May of 1944, one year before I was born. At some point there was an estrangement between my Mother and her dad; I have no idea what may have happened. I can only speculate as to Walter marrying again at age seventy-two to a lady named Clara, of whom I
Grandparents Rowland Smith and Ruby Eva Moss Smith In the driveway of their home in Exeter.
Grandparents Walter Mitchell and Mary Quinlan. They are seen standing in front of their
house on pg. 15
know nothing. What I do know is that with my grandfather’s death at eighty years, in No- vember 1953 the income from the ranch stayed with his second wife until her death twenty- five years later. Mom remained as executor of her dad’s will, so all was not lost.
I have only a distant memory of going out to the ranch, I can only vaguely picture my grandfather, as I was eight when he passed. As a result, I have little connection to my grandparents Mitchell. My mother had a brother, Lawrence Adolphus Mitchell who died in May 1959 in Exeter. I have no memory of him though I was fourteen and starting high school at his passing. I know that he had worked and lived on the ranch at one time. I wonder that with Walters passing, though he had inherited his portion of the ranch, it remained under the control of his step-mother and he was denied ownership untill she passed unfortunatly he went first. Another brother Walter Howard died in June of 1945 a month before I was born. He had one Daughter born in June 1944. Donna Jean Mitchell (Hendricks) moved with her mother to Los Angeles at his passing. Donna is my first cousin and I’ve met her but once. I remember having lunch in Fresno and that we seemed to really hit it off, but I’ve been un- able to locate her since a big disappointment.
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