The whole point of the 1938 trip to California was to visit the Bakersfield relatives. All the other activities they did and places they went were planned in the context of that primary goal. Once they arrived they stayed in the area for two weeks, visiting and sightseeing. So who were these people? I’ve mentioned Frank’s daughter Jennie (who went by Jane after she moved to California) in previous articles. She was the eldest of his 11 children, and the first to move so far away. Despite the distance, she maintained close connection with her father Frank, and also with her two siblings Fred and Florence, throughout her life, and so it is no surprise that Frank would want to make one more trip to see his eldest child just months after losing his wife Emma the previous year.

Jennie Larson Burnett

Jennie was born in 1884. She was 20 when she married Bob Burnett in Limestone, New York. In their early years they lived in the shadow of her parents in Limestone and Bradford. There is some evidence to suggest that Bob worked for Frank’s brother John’s grocery in Bradford for a time. Around 1915 they left for California to do some prospecting and eventually settled on Richland Street in Bakersfield after first trying their hand at striking it rich in the nearby mountains. It isn’t clear why they went to Kern County, but history of mining in the state confirms that there was some gold successfully mined there, so for whatever reason that’s where they ended up.

Photos confirm that Jane’s brother Walter (who ended up in Mobile) went out to California with them and they prospected together, but Walt did not stay and returned to Limestone after a year or so. Having found no gold (or at least not enough to make them rich), Jennie and Bob moved on to other occupations and became known and respected in their Bakersfield community. When their daughter got married in 1929, the papers announcing the wedding described the bride as “a member of a prominent Bakersfield family.” Bob worked in various businesses, including manager of a gas station, and they seem to have had a happy life together. Sadly, Bob died in 1936 at the age of 62, two years before the New York gang would make their trip. I was unable to find any obituary that would explain how he died, so we are left to wonder what happened.

Florence LaMar Burnett Rogers Meroney Mann

Florence LaMar (always referred to by my mother as LaMar) was born in Limestone in 1908. She went to California with her parents when she was about 7 years old. After growing up in Bakersfield, she worked as an office clerk and when the Depression hit she was able to maintain steady employment, a testament to her office skills. She was vivacious and lively, and perhaps a bit of a party girl. Here is a sample of her personality and evidence of the closeness between the New York branch and the California branch from a letter she wrote to her uncle Fred and family in January 1932:

Dearest Uncle Fred, Lucille, Billy and Baby (that would be my mother Joan):

Now, there! If I missed anyone it isn’t my fault, for I wish you all the very happiest New Year 1932, and prosperity throughout the new years yet to come.

Your package to our little family arrived in plenty of time for us to set it against the Christmas tree and watch it night after night until THE night, wondering what you were doing and where you were at different hours. The only reason I haven’t written before is that Mother has been flat on her back in bed for the past two weeks and between the office and her care I haven’t had time to even wash out my undies.

…

To begin with, I want you to know what a thrill we had opening a package from Fredonia, N.Y. even though our Christmas was delayed until Sunday night since Mother was so bad we couldn’t leave the house. We propped her up on pillows on the davenport and then Don played Santa Claus. I’m just tickled so with my undies because I would rather have pretty, dainty underclothes than all the dresses in the shops. … Daddy’s face broke into a grin from one ear to the other when he opened his cigars, because he knew Mother wouldn’t dare tell him to go outside and smoke when he had good cigars to smoke, especially when “Fred sent them” as she put it. But the best part of all was to see Don’s face when he pulled out his pretty green tie. … First came a linen hankie from “Em to Mr. Rogers” (that would be my great grandmother Emma) as it said on the card. That surprised him and pleased him, but…When he opened your tie and saw it was really for him he kept saying over and over again that he couldn’t see why anyone would think of him when they didn’t know him. I told him I thought he got more pleasure out of holding his hankie and tie than anything on the tree, probably because his brothers were pretty hard hit this year and the only thing any of his family did was for their Mother as she lost her pear crop which was her only means of livelihood.

LaMar married the Donald referred to in the above letter in October 1929, the same month as the stock market crash. It appears that those early years were happy ones for the couple. Although from the letter it sounds as though Don’s family was struggling in those Depression years, he had steady work as a clerk and then assistant manager in the prominent Harry Coffey men’s clothing store in downtown Bakersfield.

It appears they may have been living separately when the visitors were there, but it isn’t clear that the New York group knew anything was amiss because Don appears in several of the photographs taken at the Richland house, and Fred included Don’s business card in his scrapbook.

Donald shot himself in July 1938, just a few months after the New York group visited in March. In the newspaper accounts of his death, Don was described as having been distraught over the separation from his wife a year earlier. I can’t help but think about the similarities between Donald’s death and Walter Larson’s death in Mobile, Alabama in 1934 (you can read about Walter’s story in an earlier article). I’m sure Fred and Frank and the others thought about that as well when they heard the shocking news so soon after their visit.

The timeline of the chain of events makes me think that perhaps Don was trying to win LaMar back and they were off and on during the separation period, and maybe were sort of together when the family was visiting. Or at least pretending they were, judging from the happy photos. Whatever the status at the time of the visit, by July it was totally over and Don decided life was no longer worth living. Yet another tragedy at a time when there were limited resources to help someone deal with an emotional crisis. According to the papers, he was found near death in his hotel room with the gun still in his hand after shooting himself in the head. Apparently he left two suicide notes (another parallel with Walter), but we have no way of knowing what he might have said.

I want to share excerpts from another letter LaMar wrote to Fred and Lucille in September 1933, about a year and a half after the letter quoted above. I include it here because it mentions happier times in the lives of LaMar and Don, and also sheds light on just how close this California family was to my grandparents and to Frank, Jennie’s father. This letter was written after Jennie returned from a trip to New York to attend Frank and Emma’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration bash in Limestone. The letter also alludes to some falling out among some of the other siblings, and it is impossible to know what that was about. But the richness and depth of the relationship between Fred and the Burnett family comes through loud and clear, and I think is very special (especially since she is describing the people who raised my mother).

Dear Fred and Lucille:

What darlings you are if there ever were any! Moms has been telling us everything about her trip and I think “Fred and Lucille, Joan and Billy” entered into the conversation about 95% of the time.

I know it is useless to try and thank you for what you have done for Mother, but at least I can let you know how sincerely Daddy and I appreciate every little thing you did that makes her say such delightful things about you. I am not surprised the way things turned out with Dot and Harry and the rest - I rather expected that. In fact, when Mother got on the train midst all the tears I told her to remember one thing - forget everything and everyone and just know that if she saw no one but Gram and Gramp and Fred and Lucille the trip would be complete. And from her account of the happenings, I was right.

How I would have loved to have been one of the party, but too many financial difficulties prevented more than one making the 3000 miles this year. I often wonder if you will ever make the trip to California. I don’t think any of the rest will, but I do so very much hope that some day you can take a long vacation and surprise us at our little home on 1416 Richland. And believe me if you do you can just bet your boots that the very best we have will not be good enough for you.

… we have been so busy down at the office I haven’t had a chance to get a breathing spell for myself. Did have a wonderful week’s fishing in the High Sierras and Don and I are going to Delano (about 30 miles) dove hunting this week end over Labor Day. We discovered a little deserted shack last year where we take our bed, gas stove, T-bone steaks and french fries and just have a good time in general playing lazy for a day. Really lots of fun. Fred - I’ll take you when you come out here.

And now dear folks, let me say once again that we can never begin to tell you the gratitude we feel way down inside for all your kindness and hospitality, but if good thoughts and best wishes mean anything at all, you should be basking in an abundance of good health, prosperity and happiness.

Love to you all,

Flo LaMar

AND BY THE WAY - When am I going to get a picture of that adorable Joan (this would be my mother Joan). Honestly, I think Mother has broadcasted all over Bakersfield about Joan and Billy. I wonder if I would recognize Billy now - I’ll bet he’s quite a little gentleman. Anyway, would love to have a snap of both of them although they probably wouldn’t know who I am - just tell them I’m the “punk” from California what loves ‘em both!

Such a sweet letter! We just don’t write them like that anymore, do we?

I wonder if LaMar had regrets about ruining the marriage with Donald, who clearly loved her and wanted to work things out. I believe that the personal circumstances of Walter and Don were vastly different, however similar their method was. While I believe that Walter’s failed marriage was a consequence of his depression, loss of his businesses, and drinking, I am certain that LaMar’s marriage broke up because she was having an affair with a man named Charles Meroney. She married Mr. Meroney in December 1938, just a few months after Donald died.

LaMar’s fling with Mr. Meroney was apparently more fun than the reality of being married to him. Sadly, that marriage went down the tubes quickly, and Meroney filed for divorce in July 1939, a mere seven months after the wedding. He went on to request a restraining order against her, a pretty clear sign that communication had completely broken down. He claimed “extreme cruelty and habitual intemperance” (i.e. drinking, perhaps additional evidence of her party nature?) against her but it’s difficult to know the actual circumstances of their situation. As a former divorce attorney I can tell you that there are always two sides to every legal case, and divorce cases can be particularly ugly legal battles. When Meroney filed for divorce and claimed that the fault was on LaMar (no-fault divorce was not an option in those days), LaMar counter-sued. In the end her claim against him was the one that prevailed and the final decree of divorce was granted in her favor in September 1940.

Breakup, separation, suicide, remarriage, divorce. That was a lot packed into a two year period!

In the 1940 census LaMar was living with her mother and decided not to acknowledge the brief fling with Meroney even though the divorce wasn’t final yet. Instead, she listed herself as Florence Rogers and “widowed.”

LaMar met her third husband while she was working as a clerk for the Santa Fe Rail Company, where he was also a clerk. When she married James Mann in 1945, she again listed her name as Florence LaMar Rogers (the name of her first husband), and stated that this was her second marriage when in fact it was her third. Clearly she wanted no acknowledgement of the relationship that ended her first marriage, caused Donald’s suicide, and was a big mistake from beginning to end. Apparently Florence LaMar was finally ready to settle down and the third time was the charm for this happy union and they remained together. LaMar had no children and died in 1986. James died in 1972.

1938 Bakersfield Days

The travellers were in Bakersfield for two weeks, and they used the Richland Street address as their home base. They went out into the Kern Valley and saw some mountains up close. They went down into Los Angeles for a couple of days and did a lot of shopping and sightseeing. I’ve already talked about their trip to Long Beach and Signal Hill, but they also spent time in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Fred made a list of all the stars’ homes they drove by, and it was quite the A-list of Hollywood stars of the time. Claudette Colbert, Mary Pickford, Fanny Brice, Charlie Chan, Charles Chaplin, Fred Astaire, Jack Benny, Shirley Temple, Ginger Rogers, Frank Morgan, Loretta Young, W.C. Fields, Gary Cooper. Apparently Harold Lloyd’s house included a 9 hole golf course, waterfalls, a studio, 74 rooms and an elevator. If you don’t know who any of these people are, then you are too young to remember and should watch some of the old classic movies. Just sayin’…

Here is my grandmother’s account of the trip to the races and after they returned to Bakersfield:

Dear Bill & all:

We just got home from Santa Anita race track. Had a fine time and saw lots of sights. Bert and I stood so close to Jack Benny and Mary Livingston we could have touched them. When we got home we found two cards and a letter. I was glad to hear for I hadn’t any mail for two days.

…

No, we didn’t go to church for we couldn’t find one. We were directed to one but when we got to it, it was a Mexican Methodist with the service all in Spanish so we didn’t go in. By that time it was so late we didn’t have time to find another. You see we were in El Paso and that is a very large city and not knowing the streets and being dark it took a long time to find your way about. Some of us will be going to-morrow however.

…

We saw plenty of floods and on the highway between here and Los Angeles the mountains take a slide down on the pavement every little while.

Well guess I will close and go to bed. Have a head ache from looking too much I guess.

Best love to all,

Mother

And that seems like a good place to end this article. Tomorrow I leave Kern County and begin heading north to San Francisco.

Short 2023 update before I close:

I enjoyed my couple of days in Kern County and made the most of my time here. David Lyman, Bakersfield ambassador extraordinaire at the tourist office, loaded me up with maps and advice on what to do and that was very helpful. (yes, he and his assistant Andrea both got a bookmark for their efforts although I forgot to ask for a picture - very nice, kind people!)

Taking David’s advice, I went in search of giant sequoias and found my way up up up the mountain to the Trail of 100 Giants. On the way there I managed to miss a turn and so I took an unscheduled tour of the little one-lane, up and down, curvy roads of Pine Flat (population about 200 and elevation 3800 ft and not very flat at all). I looked for a way to turn around without taking my van into a ditch or running headlong into the big trucks that occasionally competed with me for the narrow road. I’m sure they were all wondering what the heck this campervan was doing driving around their neighborhood in circles for a half hour. I finally found my way back to the main road and was rewarded with a nice hike among some magnificent old giant sequoias.

The next day Sadie and I spent at the campsite. Sadie and I took a long walk around the lake and then I cleaned out the van and rearranged things for the second half of the trip, which is going to be much colder than the first half. In the evening I made a fire and grilled myself a burger. Very relaxing.