Handwritten Letter Lot Cavin Family Madera CA Yachats/Grass Valley Oregon 1920's

Description

WELCOME TO SALLY’S DIARIES:
Before I tell you about this group of letters I want to mention that I have begun a podcast called Diary Discoveries. I share stories from some amazing people who are represented in the original diaries from my private collection. If this is the kind of thing you like please check out my podcast as we’ve done 10 episodes already. You can find it on most of the podcast venues. Again it’s called Diary Discoveries.
I don’t have time to read all of these letters so will try and give you a little family history and scan as many as I can to give you an idea of the contents. All of them belonged to the Cavin family of Madera California. There are a total of 45 handwritten letters and some postcards dated between 1920-1947. Most of the letters are 4 or more pages long. They are to and from the different members of the Cavin family.
The head of the family is Thomas Orlando Cavin born in 1868 in Red Oak Iowa. He married Caroline Candace Vanderburg (born: 1868) in 1899 and by that time he was in Madera California. They had three boys: Orlo Carl, Clyde Albertis and Carl Thomas. The family owned a large dairy farm in Madera California. I found Caroline’s (Carrie’s) obituary in a newspaper which give a great history concerning this family, and I quote….
“March 10
th
, 1958. Mrs. Carrie Cavin Dies at Age 90. Mrs. Carrie Candace Vanderburgh, 90, a member of a pioneer California family, died Saturday night…….When Mrs. Cavin was six years old, her parents came to California, loading all their possessions in a box car, with the trip taking more than six weeks. The family settled in Dos Palos where the father was a farmer but after two years moved to Santa Cruz to raise vegetables moving again in two years to Selma. At the age of 17, and a sophomore in High School, Mrs. Cavin passed the examination for a teacher and began teaching near Selma. She taught for a number of years near there and later in the Shannon district near the Adobe Ranch. In 1899 she married Thomas O. Cavin and
they moved to the Mint Ranch east of Madera. Mrs. Cavin was an avid reader of books of every type. She wrote poetry and had two books of poems published. Oil painting was also a hobby at which she spent many hours…...”
It goes on but that gives you a general idea. The photo you see of the family show Carrie, her three boys and little Tommy Cavin. I copied this photo off the genealogy sites and will include it.
The first letter is from November 15
th
, 1920 and written to the “folks”, mom and dad. The envelope actually contains two letters and one is from Clyde and one from Orlo. They are in Davis California writing to their parents and it looks like they might be attending school. In fact several of the envelopes have two letters in them from both boys. There’s one great letter written by Clyde to his parents where he’s drawn some stick figures to give them to help their brother Clyde with his daily exercises. Then there’s a letter from a woman whose a friend of Clyde’s and she’s spending time on the Oregon Coast and goes to a town called “The Yachats” which of course is now just Yachats. She talks about how it’s not even a town yet. So interesting. Then Marion heads to Grass Valley in Oregon and travels along the Columbia River on the old highway. She’s very descriptive in this letter too.
Again, I don’t have time to thoroughly read all of the letters but here are a few excerpts I gathered from some speed reading….
“
September 14
th
, 1921.
Dear Father and Mother, We got safely to Davis. Sent you that card from Sacramento and have since put off writing till we got more time. Had to wait an hour in Stockton at lunch there, was awfully good. The only place we could find was a lunch in the court house park in front of a lot of hungry wren. We rode in the seat with the engineer that wrecked our milk truck 2
years ago and killed Bob Jay’s father and read about 30 pages in that book. Those stage drivers are pretty darned sharp….We are back in class OX and did not have to pay the fine….Please put a quilt a piece in the washing as it is getting cold here now…...Your son, Orlo.”
“
February 2
nd
, 1924.
Livingston California. Dear Clyde…..I went to one dance two weeks ago and decided it would be my last here. At least for some time. Collecting all I had seen and heard and putting them together, supplying what was needed and the results was, trap set, I on the edge but not yet on the pan. Watch out and step back, now stay clear. Never again with her for I will not be blamed for someone else's work. Found my car full of rubbish this morning consisting of concrete, boxes, sand, sacks, old iron and a nice smelly skunk. The same skunk (only better by age) that another one and I put under the back seat of a car here. Motto: never give bad away for it will come back 100 fold. There is a deaf and dumb man here. He is doing a first class job of strapping up the wire in the vineyard and a lot of it too…….You college bum, Marion.”
“
August 10
th
, 1926. Summit Camp, California. My Dearest Clyde. This is just a little note to inquire into your health and send my best cheer…..Have been enjoying myself as usual. I went to Yosemite a few weeks ago. Walt Price and I had a cabin (showers and everything). Went to the dance at Curry. Met a girl named “Bob” Brittelle or Britelle ‘28. Please look her up for me when you go back. Also look up a girl named Mary Isabelle Swickard or something like that. Also look up Tot and give me all the dope you can on her…..Have been attending the dances at Wawona religiously but they are punk or I am spoiled!…..Your friend, Gerald Monstella.”
“
January 8
th
, 1927.
“Goosetown” Wilmington otherwise. Dear Clyde….I had a nice visit with a couple of girls from Berkeley. I don’t know if you remember them or not, Alice Britton and Margaret Walker. Alice lives in Long Beach and Margaret was staying with her cousin in Anaheim so we all met in Los Angeles New Years night. We were expecting another girl but she didn’t show up. We spent the evening in jail. Don’t get excited, it’s a cafe built to represent a jail, the booths are enclosed with iron bars and the waiters wear prisoner uniforms. We were in for smuggling. The dance floor was about the size of a postage stamp but we had lots of fun trying to dance…..As ever, your friend, Helen.”
“
July 1
st
, 1927.
The Yachats, Ore. Dear Clyde, Well, here we are at The Yachats, an out-of-the-way place, not a town or anything like that but just a name and here’s where we’re spending the 4
th
. The place is beautiful, a tiny level, not too big, then mountains coming right out of the sea. The place is rugged but that makes it all the more satisfying. It won’t be long now though until it’s a resort like all other beautiful places are. When we came down we drove for 9 miles along the beach on the sand. That’s lots of fun, you never saw a smoother road in your life…..So you took a flop for Virginia and Jerry took a flop for Virginia, and Russ and Carl. Virginia must be a fascinating creature and I certainly should like to see her. Not to give her the once over! No, I have broken myself of that, but she must be a nice little girl and interesting too…..With love, Marian.”
“
July 10
th
, 1927.
Grass Valley, Ore. Dear Clyde, Now I’m in Grass Valley. The country looks and feels so much like home that it made me homesick so I decided to write to you….We got here (Grass Valley, a metropolis of almost 200 inhabitants, I believe) last night after riding all day. We followed the Columbia River from Portland to about 20 miles above The Dalles then cut across country for about 35 miles and here we are…...Coming back to the Columbia River, I tell you it’s a real river, couldn’t be much prettier. The Columbia Highway is a lovely drive, waterfalls all along the way, and the vegetation hasn’t been sacrificed yet. It looks like nature, yes real nature, in one of her most civilized moods, but it’s lovely…..With love, Marian.”
There is really so much more to these letters. All have their original envelopes and most are in good shape
.