The Aunts and Uncles

Dad with Aunt Isabel durning the war years.

My dad has four sisters. I really only remember three. The oldest sister, Marie passed away while I was young. I do remember meeting her a few times. The other three I remember quite well. Aunt Alice and Uncle Al lived on a ranch in the little town of Clayton, California. Alice was sort of like a little house on the prairie person, a sweet farmers' wife who knew about things on the farm. A really fun place to have family gatherings. Lots of room to run and explore.

Aunt Weezey( Louise) and Uncle Ame lived in Oakland, California in a house on a quite street. Aunt Weezy has three daughters, all fun to be with. Weezy would have to fall into the category of the big city mom. Always well dressed and a great homemaker.

Aunt Izzy( Isabel) and Uncle Able lived in San Lorenzo, California. I'm pretty sure Aunt Isabel ran the home. I have a picture of her in uniform. She was a Marine during the second world war. I'll blame Uncle Able for teaching me to catch frogs and lizards at Uncle Al's ranch.

Dad has a brother, Clayton Grewe or also known as Uncle Bud. We didn't see him very often and I have very little memory of Uncle Bud. Only a few stories from dad and mom.

On a visit to Aunt Izzy, I can remember walking about three blocks from their home to a church activity, Catholic I think. It was a huge family affair, and it must have been a fund raiser. Dad and Uncle Able were about three sheets to the wind. (check the Internet for a description of that phrase) I remember standing close to my dad while both Uncle Abel and dad were bidding on something, and laughing like there was no tomorrow. I don't remember where mom, my sisters or aunt Isabel were at that moment.

Uncle Abel and dad won the highest bid on something and they were still laughing so hard I think they were crying. I still didn't know what it was all about, but in a short while we were all together and picking up the bid item. With a rope around its neck, we were heading back to Aunt Isabel and Uncle Abels home with a very small bull calf in tow. What fun for us kids. A pet bull calf, and in town, too. After much pulling and tons of laughing we arrived at Aunt Isabels' house. Somewhere, dad and Uncle Abel came up with some hay, and cleared out the garage for what we thought was our very own pet calf.

We went home that nite, but we returned the next day to move the calf to Aunt Alice and Uncle Al's ranch in Clayton. You should have seen Aunt Isabels' garage after just one nite! It was like way stinky with all the things a calf does after it eats and drinks all nite. Our family car at the time was a 1938 Packard four- door. Dad couldn't reach us from the front seat while he was driving. That was a good thing, lots of times. This car was huge. Dad took the back seat out and scattered straw on the floorboards. What fun this is going to be, or so I thought. Mom, Dad and my sisters filled the front seat. I got tossed in the back with my new pet calf and was told to keep him quiet and don't roll down the windows or open the back doors.

It was summer but in the Bay Area that didn't mean much, but as soon as you go over the Oakland hills and into the Walnut Creek Clayton area it got hot real quick. The calf did alright driving back through Oakland. People were looking at us with a calf in the back seat and a wide- eyed, little blond kid trying to keep his new pet calf from climbing over the front seat. Then we entered the Caldecot Tunnel. The calf really didn't like this part of the trip at all. While in the tunnel the calf let it all out. Cow poop and wee wee. I was stumbling in it trying to keep the calf in the back seat. About then I decided that I didn't like the back seat anymore, either. Now mom and dad were trying to keep me from climbing over the front seat. Has anyone ever noticed how much a calf slobbers? Lots!!

Did I tell you how hot it gets when you come out on the Walnut Creek side of the tunnel? Now add the stink of cow poop and wee wee, air conditioning was not even thought of, and we need to keep the windows almost closed so the calf doesn't do something stupid. Of course I'm also trying to climb over the front seat and escape. With more than enough yelling and pushing, my calf and I were kept in the stinky, hot, back seat until we arrived at the ranch. I lost interest in having a pet poopy, and slobbery calf and was glad when Uncle Al opened the back door and we both escaped into fresh air. The calf was coaxed into his new pasture and I headed down to the creek to un-poop my shoes.

I don't really know what happened to the calf, but I do know we had a few barbeque's some time later with family gatherings at the ranch, and there was talk about selling the Packard, especially on hot days.