Dale Claes and Constance Claes

00:05 Hi, my name is Dale Edward Clay's. I'm 75 years old. Today's date is Friday, February 14th. 2020. I'm in Fresno, California. My interview partner is my wife Constance claes or Kane glaze and that takes care of all that information.

00:25 My name is Constance Marie Gabe place I go by the name of Connie. My age of 75 today's date is Friday, February 14th. 2020 Valentine's Day. Our location is Fresno, California, and my interview partner is my husband of 50 years of marriage Dale Edwards clays.

00:56 We at we are been married fifty years almost a little bit of my history some people get to know me a little bit better. I'm a Swedish to send I'm a retard respiratory care practitioner. My grandfather's name was Klaus Eric Peterson. He was orphaned in Sweden and taken in by a tailor. Their in-service is Apprentice by the table moved to the United States in 1880 and brought my grandfather with him. And when I turned do u r s t u s immigration said there's too many Peterson's so my grandfather ended up with his name being changed to Eric Kloss. Taylor says settled in St. Paul, Minnesota.

01:48 1985 hurricane season for Wilhelmina my grandma mother who still in Sweden they settled in Buffalo. Minnesota is business as a tailor and a Mercantile and it grew and it's a 1900. He's helped her. It was name who's named Olson moved to California. My grandfather heard of a Swedish Town name of Turlock in the ass Olson to buy 10 acres for him. My father Carl was born in Buffalo Minnesota in 1904 is the second youngest of the family of 7 and during that time the family time and family Carl's brothers were at a shipping Dock and Inn in Buffalo and saw the name and Clay's on a Otterbox has actually plays inquired what it was and they found out the box contain clothing and they Clay's browns with long. It was a Scottish word for close.

02:48 Vince the family to change the pronunciation of our name surname 2 plays of where I Now Pronounce it in 1909 the business and home burned in a fire was started in the kitchen and saw the family moved across California. My mother's parents John and Anna Peterson came from Sweden and settled in Kansas City, Kansas and grandfather Peterson works as a carpenter actually built my home, I grew up in and Myrtle Street in Turlock, California. They moved to Turlock and early nineteen-hundreds. My mother Elizabeth. That's why I asked you went by Betty was born in 1907 in Kansas the youngest of three my father Carl worked as a grocery run in Turlock and Magic Safeway stores at the Safeway store. My mother was registered nurse has raised Interlaken attended Villa Covenant Church and which Turlock high and then on to Modesto Junior College, which is about a half hour away.

03:46 I learned of Summer work in Yosemite and spent the Summers of 1963 and 64 working in there for Yosemite Park and Creek company and late 1964. I left school and started working full-time Yosemite in January of 1965 in the cafeteria is where I first saw my future wife and night in February. She was working in a serving coffee and I saw I saw her and said she's got it you just missed you. This is where our Story begins.

04:24 My grandparents on my dad's side of the family came came from Back East to Fresno, California because my Aunt Helen was diagnosed as having a respiratory condition that the doctor recommended. She moved to California with a drier climate at that time. They stayed in the family stayed in Fresno with a church family until they could become established in a home. There were three children in my in the family at that time. The youngest sibling was born later when my aunt was born my dad began being a Todd my dad being a toddler came running after the Midwife as she was leaving and hollered out to her. Hey lady you forgot your baby.

05:24 Which my mother used to say say that story every at every chance. She got it family occasions. My grandmother Clara Gade they they would pronounce it gate e at the family would pronounce the name Goethe was responsible for a dissociation for lutherans in Fresno as it was called at that time. Now, it is called Thrivent financial. My grandfather Martin Goethe was a college trained parochial school teacher the position did not earn enough income for a family of 6, so my grandfather was hired to work for McKesson drug and work for them until retirement. My great grandmother on my mother's side of the family was born in 1882.

06:24 She had a difficult life and worked in the jute Mill in childhood. She lost her finger in an accident there. My great-grandmother's name was Mary Margaret white white was her last husband's name.

06:44 When after the singer accident, my grand great-grandmother's relative took her in with them the relative and his wife did not have any children and they were affluent and traveled because he was an interpreter later.

07:07 Later, when my great-grandmother was still young her mother remarried and ask for her to come and live with them so that she could take care of the newborn baby in the family. My grandmother was told she would get a new doll and it turned out to be the baby to take care of my great-grandmother regretted the new baby and that took her away from her life of travel with the loving interpreter and his wife my great-grandmother could speak four languages my great-grandmother married well to a man named Andrews that had a copper mine in Bisbee Arizona that he had one from gambling. They moved to Oakland, California and raise my my grandmother Marie there only.

08:07 Marie married and had two girls and a boy My Mother Frances Haddon Goethe was a feisty and fiercely independent woman who was a wonderful mother to my sister and I she was also she was known for her bungee jumping skills in her senior years at the Fresno fair. My dad Edgar Paul Getty was a wonderful provider and was very loving was a very loving father when I was in college. I had the opportunity to work during weekends in Yosemite National Park for the company called YP and see which stood for Yosemite Park and Creek company. There's where our Story begins I kept seeing at a distance is handsome. Kindly hard-working young men and wanting

09:07 Get to know him. It was the winner of of 64/65 that I remember but it is 965 at a break between shifts of meal hours of work. I had seen Dale reading in the lounge at the cemeti lodge so I c'n I shaved to go on a walk with him up to the Yosemite Falls.

09:39 That's where we struck up a we walk together and spin had a lovely conversation. We first met on that walk and later enjoyed another walk together along the Merced river by the Yosemite Lodge on our first official date at El Portal. The Jukebox was playing a Froggy Went A-Courtin and they'll squatted down and hop like a frog on the dance floor. That is when I knew he was the man for me. We enjoyed each other's company and the Beautiful You semity together in the summer of that year. I had previously planned to volunteer for the Mennonite Central Committee MCC doing volunteer work as a camp counselor and swimming instructor for the settlement house in Washington.

10:39 UC named Friendship House, the camp was in Maryland now this this is so far. Would I have written in our our life was so much that that's that's the beginning of our conversation our first meeting Ashley went before like I said, we are you were serving coffee and tea in the cafeteria line. I really enjoyed seeing you the other pretty nice earlier. What was that? You did said to that man in front of me for the banner from you said to you get arrested man in the cafeteria line coming through and and I was dispensing the coffee and tea and so forth and I sawed a landline and in a row there he is and in that we hadn't met yet. We hadn't had any any conversation together at all.

11:39 And I got nervous and that the man had asked for coffee and that's when I put tea and his hodl of coffee and end. I was I was still at distracted by Dale and and then I served it to the man and then I stopped and I said oh after I served it to him I said, oh I'm so sorry. I put tea in your coffee and he said with a smile on his face though. That's okay. That's alright. I like to be in my coffee and on he went and there was Dale in lying there was you were there and I remember that so well, but it was funny about that. I think we remember

12:39 That after we were married it was drugged into her brain.

12:46 Yeah, you do what you had to work so hard for me to go on that walk later on when you from the lodge because I know I thought you were friends friends with that other guy. I've been sort of sitting there and doing my own I didn't want to interrupt anything and so put your soup du jour persistent and I'm happy about that. Do you remember honey you were you were sitting in the lounge at Yosemite Lodge and you were reading along with many other people in the lounge relaxing in the their lounge and it was on our meal break. We had break between meals for we didn't have to work for a few hours and and and and I'm sorry is connived Tom. Do you want to go on a walk and he said sure?

13:46 And I acids left invite a few other people to go on the walk with us and it's okay. So I waved my hands in and got everybody's attention to anybody want to go on a walk with this Yosemite Falls with you're welcome to walk with this and a few people got up and started for the door. It took me three times three attempts at at the invitation to walk to the falls, which was just across the road from where we were almost as bad as when I was trying to ask you to marry me.

14:31 But I'm later on news story that was submitted.

14:35 Oh, I thought they were together and I was just basically kind of naive 21, but I just still pretty and I've Nev so I think you had a good book you were reading probably either that or is working on that little poem book way later on showed you it up at the Valley View Valley View there was

15:10 You've always enjoyed reading you your you really enjoy reading and it had to be persistent and conniving to walk. We enjoy that walk up to the falls and Tom went off scampering up the hills up the rocks to lease a real close to the falls release date walking around in the other talking and I remember doing that. How is a brief very pleasant time and then later on. We went on a another date I was officially with

15:50 I gallon I can't remember her name and your official you were still with the other guy had listened Karen Karen Karen, and I wanted to go on another occasion with you. We didn't call it really dates because they weren't really dates. We just would go for we went for the second walk. And and I told Karen I think that was his name. I said care. I want to meet Dale and would you go on a walk with us and we can invite someone else like maybe Steve to go on the walk with us? So the four of us can go on a walk and and I can meet you know, you have a chance to talk with Dale a little bit and she's all she agreed just that would be great. So I got

16:50 All excited so I went to you and asked you if you wanted to go on a walk set it up it where we could meet and then that was great. You said yes, and then I said Steve was very nice to and I am so I told Steve we're going to go on a walk till Karen and it would you like to go on a walk with us? So the four of us he agreed in four of us went on this one and you weren't sure who you are supposed to be walking with it was if it was Karen or I because I had done all the inviting and

17:36 I thought you were with Steve and I was with Aunt Karen actually worked out for the best cuz I ended up with you and who ended up with Karen and I never didn't know they I don't know if they even dated but it was very confusing cuz you flirted with Karen and and I got very worried and so a bit after that you would ask me out to go to in the evening to El Portal and the

18:14 But that was another weekend when I was it. It didn't happen. Suddenly all this did not take place during the week and occasionally, I would go down tomorrow to visit my folks and then

18:32 And that's when I finally came up there. We went over to El Portal Restaurant and Bar and we were staying there late dancing. And that's when that music came on cuz I always like Froggy Went A-Courtin to and and so I so I did course on that trip back from there and I was falling asleep. So I said we needed to pull over to that to the trade if I tried driving and a further I'd fallen asleep on the road and that would not be good.

19:14 You either drifting as I was drifting a little bit on the road. And and so I told you what I was going to do and I I sat there and in Dale sat there and and I I don't think you said you were going to take I didn't hear you. Say you were going to take a nap and I said I need to wrap you fell asleep. Will I didn't quite hear that? I guess I'm not sure because I sat there all anxiously waiting for an arm around my shoulders and and and then

19:55 When I finally got the gumption to turn and look at you your eyes are closed and your head was back. So you were asleep. I always shoot no arm around the shoulders and rested for a while and then we drove on to go home to get a kiss out of at least I got to kiss out of it didn't I I think so. Well, maybe was getting late and I did have a curfew so we may be just headed right on our way. And we had a we had a strict curfew of the from the dormitory we call that she's a

20:50 She will say.

20:54 She's out what house your house mother. She was very strict with their curfews and then you left then I left. Yes. I had been planning for a long long time to make plans to volunteer for a for Washington DC's friendship house, which is was the settlement house. It's still in operation that I know of. What did you do there at I was as a camp counselor and swimming instructor for their summer camp and that that was all arranged previous that I paid for my transportation and it was volunteer work and I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to

21:54 Away on my own and I had set that up well in advance of meeting Dale and so that summer of 65 I set out for Washington DC and while I was there you thought well, maybe it would be nice to come in and see me and so you you wrote to me and I thought that would be wonderful and I set directions on the route to count and from from Washington DC and

22:37 Before I knew it. I thought this phone call and

22:43 The phone at the camp was at the summer camp was in a closet and the closet was held the the sports equipment for the children and I was on the phone talking to Dale and he was right there in Washington DC and I'm on the phone and I was so excited and a right about that time. The recess was over for the for the play playground and the children came off of the playground and they opened up the closet door not knowing I was in there cuz it's dark it's not lit and they I was bombarded with sports equipment baseball.

23:43 Footballs bats basketballs and bombarded with all this equipment and it was so unreal here. I'm on the phone talking to you Dale and in an ni it was just really different. So then that evening about dinner time.

24:06 As we we get a knock on the door and there you were and and mrs. Key is the cook for for friendship house French Camp Friendship. She invited you to have dinner with us at the camp the children in in the and the counselors and so you got to have dinner with us and enjoy her good cooking and that was kind of the start of our of our summer a time and then and then for you was a started what I started started out on my birthday leaving Yosemite Valley and went home picked up cut my clothes and I drove out to see you in the title 1960 Corvair and a couple picked up a couple guys and Yosemite who we're going back to the homes.

25:06 East Coast to help pay for the trip and I'll drop them off on the way. We didn't dry. I didn't let them drive. But so it was kind of a lot of driving for me. They're finally had a brief break and Pennsylvania friend of my brother's live there. And that's why I spent the night there and got some sleep and some of their food and then before I went went to Washington DC after talking with you and Vincent having the meal went back through Washington DC and not knowing what I was going to do. I think I told you this I found a good look like a nice little residential area and parked on the street light and curled up on the floor of the Corvair and spent the night there sleeping woke up in the morning and then went off to figure out what I was going to do from there.

26:05 I look for a job got a job as a busboy since I was doing working as a busboy at the lodge restaurant at that time when I left and then I want to see got the job. I found a spot to spot to live a little a little spiders. Don't lose call the Bellevue. Actually. I ran across the receipt to recently. So from that point we continue to that summer. I would come and visit you and you were out of town, but I would go visit the sites of Washington DC and wander around there. Of course nice. I when I worked

26:52 Then I will come out and visit you we went one night. We went out to a bar on word wizard Virginia express to you his opinion to Racin. We were kind of a kind of upset even though he had had a woman help take care of him who is Black. He still had racist opinions. We were both of us taking back by that later on. We went down to actually to the mouth of the Hudson River so we can say look out on them on the Atlantic say we got there at one time. I don't think you had been to the last before had you I know I ain't have it now.

27:37 Where do you buy sand crabs at that bar or restaurant with kind of a combination I guess is what he had. He he he was real prejudiced against the black population are in the area and he said how dangerous they were and I sit I asked him I said in your lifetime. Do you have do you have any memories in the memories positive memories of of an experience with an African American person is any thought for a little bit and thought and then he he stopped in his whole his whole expression his anger expression.

28:37 Change completely and he said well.

28:42 Yes, I do. I have real good memories of a woman who who took care of me growing up and she was she was closer to me than my very own mother because she she raised me and she was in a negro woman that earning a living by taking care of doing the washing the cooking and watching the children and babysitting and and he had very fond memories ever very fun. Right after that is when the end of the summer came and I decided I was going to go back home.

29:32 And I are you were thinking about staying before that time to recall that yes, I do. I remember how

29:45 Everybody was making plans of leaving leaving friendship friendship house, and we we we briefly talked together, and and I knew you were driving back and

30:09 And I thought this would be maybe instead of me taking the train back home. I had a round trip ticket we could cash in the the round-trip ticket and I could help pay for your gas and go back home with you in the car. And I thought that would be better and and we had a everybody was kind of wanting up. They were making plans. They're some of the people some of the girls that the girls that stayed we all stayed together in the people. They

30:59 They when they worked at the camp. I forgot I was about like a 14 day camp and then the between sessions of Camp Weaver. Tweed stay at Friendship House in Washington DC. Well that night the girl said no, no, don't don't let Dale's sleep in the car. He he can open up a cot and he can he can will share share the living the the quarter with Dale. So they thought that would that would give us their idea and that would be fine. So you do remember sleeping and in that friendship house and headed out through the rain in the Corvair traveled across back to United States through Yosemite and

31:59 Dropped you off at your home and in Fresno and went back up to my home in Turlock. Then I spent time thinking about coming down according you and asking then I move down and I guess it was in 9th and 6th 1966. I moved down to Fresno. Actually, that was by January also, right after the Christmas and got a little. That little spot to live and we continue recording man. We went up to Yosemite frequently and then we start asking you if you'd marry me and I'm Circle x 1 up to my mom and dad's house one. We went to go see the fairgrounds at Stanislaus State Fair.

32:57 And when we were walking out of the fair I asked you if we saw these people walking out pushing the stroller asked you to marry me and I didn't really I thought you responded with it. We will see like you've done before until we got there safe. Your mom and dad's house. So we're going to go back to Fresno that nine of us, but I think Nine-Nine we're having cup of coffee and whatever and then what did you say you were in that conversation quite a bit with your father across the dining table and and your mama across the dining table it if we hadn't we weren't saying much and then I thought well, I can't stand this any longer. So I I I said I said, we're going to be married and

33:57 Probably fell off my chair and I was quite happy about it actually, so we talked a little more about it at that time and you had your good wishes and Mom and Dad and and off we went back to Fresno.

34:15 And then I actually bought bought a bottle of courvoisier couldn't export for the better product stuff. I the only thing I knew it was mostly a Cognac and so I bought a bottle of it went over to your dad to ask your dad a couple evenings later and that if I can marry you and you seem to be accepted to that I still have that bottle and is a little bit of cognac which probably has zero alcohol in it, but I still have that so and then all the big plans and we

34:49 And we have decided we're going to get married in Yosemite and so we went through the. Of of counseling counseling. Chaplin it in River Falls 1/2 hour and then we got married up there has reception in the I know if we're ception in the Ahwahnee Boswell Solarium. We had a great time with all our family and hotels at the lerian was the reception.

35:37 Happily married my mywifi help me it went to work as a nurse is it was as Nurses Aide and she found Respiratory Care which was at going on at Sierra hospital. I went and talked to the guy there a Tim Van Dyne who later became but podiatrist and I said that sounds like a good feel. So I applied to come in and get the Education City College. I was I graduated from the third class I got in for the easily preceded. I got hired into work at Fresno Community hospital with her for over 40 years there as I said earlier and then my wife had we had our daughter. At home. We got it and the Tower District. We had a child Christina. She raised now, we have two grandchildren KY and Lennie who are in Arizona or daughter married to from Japan.

36:37 Fresno City College, my wife went on to become an RN and graduated from Maria and RN program at city college same time as our daughter graduated from high school.

36:53 Then she met Makoto San Francisco before they're married went down to Los Angeles. We followed suit and they married I retired falling. You're my wife retired. We my mother-in-law went through her recent health and died. We sold had bought a house for rental and there was going to be our retirement hold me to home of an old course we decided we would sell it after 15 years wasn't it was about halfway through we bought a motorhome and so we've traveled across Canada and one time we've been back to cross the United States three times so far. We went up to main one time to Washington another time.

37:53 West Canada and down one time we met our are my niece lives in Missouri. We visit then several times and we're getting her down to the end. Do you have anything to say my dear? I just want to say Mystic Place. It is been a wonderful 50 almost 53 years. Is there a marriage and we've had a wonderful life together? Yes, we have and you are still my Valentine is Valentine's Day.

38:30 I love you you to to me. I just said answer conversation was there's any questions?

38:37 No questions from the audience. I love you, bye-bye everybody.