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1 Dorothea Campbell Field Memories Based on interviews conducted July 12, 2014 and beyond By Susan Parsons A Burning Log Flying High in the Sky The horse was hitched to the ropes and pulley. After gathering the hay in the field, Art Campbell would put the giant hay fork into the hay on the wagon and Dorothea’s brother, George, would spread the hay in the mow. One day when Dorothea was about five, she recalls that she had the job of leading the horse down into the yard, causing the horse to pull the ropes through the pulley, lifting the fork load of hay to the mow. Dorothea and her father looked up to the sky to see what looked to her like a long log flying through the sky with a fire at one end. Her Dad told Dorothea that this was not a burning log in flight but a very large meteor. They had recently seen some shooting stars at night but this was in bright daylight. It must have landed in Lake Ontario, they decided, since they did not live far from the lake. Dorothea’s father liked astronomy. She recalled that when she was about ten years old, her father told his children about the night skies and about celestial bodies such as the moon, the North Star and the Big Dipper. Interest piqued, Dorothea asked him if humans would ever go to the moon. “Yes,” he replied, “but probably not in my lifetime.” In his later years, he knew about the space age and that humans had orbited the moon. (Astronauts in orbit around the moon beamed photos back to earth on Christmas Eve, 1968.) He knew about the American plans for a lunar landing. Sadly, he died in an accident in February, 1969, five months before Neil and Buzz Aldrin made their moon landing July 20-21, 1969. ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 An area farmer gathering hay Dorothea Campbell was born at home on her parents’ farm on McIntyre Road, Sterling. On November 8, 1924, Arthur Campbell was asked to go to Fair Haven and summon Dr. Leon Griggs to attend the birth of a baby soon to arrive. When Art arrived at the house of Doctor Griggs, Main Street, Fair Haven, the doctor told Art he had caught him just in time as he was about to go hunting. Art remarked that he had seen some pheasants around his farm, so Doc brought his gun to the farm and the two men hunted until dark. Then they went into the house and ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 soon the new baby, Dorothea, arrived at about supper time. Eventually, eight children grew up in the family. The Campbell Family, about 1942 From left to right, front row: Kenneth, Carol Back row: Arthur, George, Dorothea, Ruth, Margaret, holding baby Kathleen, and Arthur Absent: Miriam who probably took the photo Family History: Father’s Side Dorothea is a member of the Clan Campbell Society of North America which automatically makes her a member of the world-wide Clan Campbell Society. She can trace her ancestors on her father’s side back to Campbelltown, Scotland. They were forced to move to Ireland because of the political situation in the British Isles at the time. English nobles disliked Scottish people and took away their lands, forcing them to leave Scotland. This occurred during ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 the reign of James the V of Scotland who had become James I of England after the death of Queen Elizabeth who left no heirs. The family lived in Ireland for a hundred years before some of them immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts Colony, in 1714. Robert Campbell (Dorothea’s great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather) and his brother became ship captains who traveled back and forth across the Atlantic. Robert had brought his family over by 1714. His immigrant son, John Campbell, became the first doctor in Voluntown, Connecticut Colony (in Sterling, CT). His house still stands and is now a museum. The doctor had a son named Moses, who had a son named Daniel (1776-1850-1). Daniel’s son, Patrick, (1803-1873) and Patrick’s brothers moved from Madison County to County Line Road, one side located in Oswego Town and the other in the Town of Sterling. Patrick was married to Roxy Stevens. Their son was named Samuel Campbell, who was born in the Town of Sterling (1838-1917). He was a Civil War veteran. Samuel married Sarah Jane Eaton whose ancestor had been a Revolutionary War soldier from Vermont. Samuel’s son, Dorothea’s father, Arthur, was born on County Line Road, Oswego, NY in 1888. On the other side of the road was the Town of Sterling. Arthur’s father, Samuel, soon traded houses with Arthur’s grandfather, Patrick, to meet the requirements of a growing family. And so, Arthur grew up in Sterling. When he was 15, Art became apprenticed to a machinist and tool and die maker in Pennellville, NY. He lived at this man’s house, learned the necessary skills as an apprentice and completed his education there. He began working as a tool and die maker at General Electric in Schenectady, NY, and later at Remington Rifles who contracted with GE during World War I. He would use calipers and other tools to calculate the inside and outside dimensions of rifles and calculate where to place the sights. Later, he returned home for a visit and became acquainted with Margaret Andrews. They married on June 20, 1916 at her home in North Sterling. Dorothea remembers hearing stories about their wedding cake, called Hiawatha Cake, and her mother made it several times later on. It consists of an angel food cake layer topped with raisin filling followed by a layer of spice cake, another layer of raisin filling and a final layer of angel food cake. It was iced all around with boiled frosting. The married couple returned to Schenectady and Art continued to work for Remington Rifles at about the time of World War 1, 1916. They returned home when their first child, Miriam was to be born, 1918. They wanted to raise their family on a farm around their families. At the same time, Art’s eyesight was beginning to fail so he gave up his previous occupation and became a crop and dairy farmer on McIntyre Road. The house still stands, though the out- buildings are gone. He farmed from 1918-1932. One day when Dorothea was about five, her father came into the house saying that he had seen a very rare bird at the shore on the bar between Juniper Pond and Lake Ontario. Little ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 Dorothea wanted to see it so he took her to the spot and told her to lift some of the leaves on a bush and look at the nest. It was a mud hen. Those birds are now extinct in this area. In 1932 the family moved to Juniper Hill, the year their son, Kenneth was born. Art went to work in Minetto at the Colombia Mills Shade Cloth factory as a machinist. He worked there until he was over 65. He was supposed to retire at 65 but he did not reveal his age so he could continue working. To retire, he needed a birth certificate to prove his age. Since he was born on County Line Road where to find it? One was eventually found in Oswego County since he was born on the east side of County Line Road. After Art retired, he gardened and was well known for the vegetables he grew. He died in 1969 and is buried at Sterling Center. Family History: Mother’s Side Dorothea’s mother, Margaret Andrews Campbell (1895-1980), was born at home on Farden Road, Sterling. The house and outbuildings are all gone today. However, several generations of Dorothea’s family had lived there, beginning by clearing the land and building a home. ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 Dorothea’s Mother, Margaret Andrews and Margaret’s brother, Allen Dorothea’s grandfather, Thomas, used to tell her about life on Andrews Road at his grandfather’s (also named Thomas Andrews) home. The pioneer home there consisted of one large room and a couple of small sleeping rooms. Attached was a large open porch to dry wood, fruits, vegetables and clothes. There was no kitchen. A large open fireplace was used for cooking. Later, a substantial home was built. The pioneer home was converted to an outbuilding to house the animals on the farm. Other outbuildings such as barns would be built as well. By that time, saw mills would be located in the vicinity so that lumber was available for ---PAGE BREAK--- 7 building structures. The first substantial house the Andrews family built still stands on Andrews Road, Sterling. Dorothea’s great great Grandfather, Thomas Andrews (born 1786) arrived here about 1806. With some friends he came to the area along the old Indian trail, now known as Old State Road. He bought a lot in Sterling, cleared it, built a pioneer home and settled in Sterling, on what was later known as Andrews Road. His wife’s name was Jane McAdams (1801-1881) and together they had four children, Will, (Dorothea’s great grandfather,) John, Joseph and Margaret. As a child, Dorothea’s mother, Margaret wanted a piano. Her father, Thomas Andrews (1864- 1942), told her she could have a piano if she paid for it herself by growing something on the farm. She chose sheep. After a time she had built up a whole flock of sheep which she eventually sold to pay for the piano and some lessons. She became a good pianist and played at the Sterling Valley Church as a young lady. Her family always went to church there and at that church she met her future husband, Arthur. Margaret had been good friends with her future husband’s sister, Sadie, but had not known Sadie’s brother when the two girls became friends. By that time, Arthur was living in Schenectady. She went to the McKnight one-room school as had her father, Thomas. Dorothea continued the tradition by attending school there through the second grade. This school still stands and is located where Ontario Orchards holds their fall jamboree. Dorothea’s grandfather had a sugar bush at the farm. Dorothea remembers helping make maple syrup; it was a labor intensive process. The boiling sap had to be watched carefully. The fire had to be tended and new sap had to be added after the finished product was drawn off. Sap season lasted two weeks. Thomas also had a dairy and raised crops. His father, Will Andrews (1819-1872) was born at North Sterling and is buried at Sterling Center. Will’s wife, Phoebe (1836-1920) was born in England and immigrated at age 15. She is also buried at Sterling Center. Will Andrews’ parents, Thomas and Jane, were both Scotch-Irish. Dorothea’s grandmother, Thomas Andrews’ wife, was Mina Hewitt (1867-1950-1). As a teen, Mina was hired by her aunt and uncle, Aunt Mate and Uncle Jerome Hyatt, in Spartanburg, PA, to work in their hotel. There she made the cakes and served the tea, sewed and went to school. She was a very good student, said Dorothea, who has one of her report cards to prove it! Her parents lived in North Sterling. Mina came home for visits and on one of those, met Thomas, who also lived in North Sterling. They married and moved into the Andrews family homestead on Farden Road. They had two children, one of whom was Dorothea’s mother. Mina’s parents were William Hewitt and Emma Peters. William Hewitt’s parents were Ralph Hewitt and Rebecca McCoy. Emma’s grandparents, John Peters (1807-1881) and Mary Thatcher (1810-1892) had emigrated from England. Their two children, a girl, age seven, and a ---PAGE BREAK--- 8 boy, age three, died aboard ship while crossing the Atlantic and were buried at sea. Mary taught her granddaughter, Mina how to sew and gave her a little thimble. Dorothea stressed the difficulties her ancestors had when moving to this area. The land had not been inhabited. She noted that it takes one generation to clear and make the land suitable for farming and another to build solid homes and start the farms. It was a huge undertaking. Included was the need to build bridges over water. Animals that they raised did not want to cross those bridges. Dorothea’s Grandmother, Mina Hewitt Andrews. Note the hand-made, fancy, high-collared dress. ---PAGE BREAK--- 9 Dorothea’s Grandfather, Thomas Andrews ---PAGE BREAK--- 10 Brief Family Trees Father’s side: Patrick Campbell Samuel Campbell Roxy Stevens Dorothea Arthur Campbell Sara Jane Eaton Mother’s side: Thomas Andrews Will Andrews Jane McAdams Thomas Andrews Phoebe Williams Dorothea Margaret Andrews Mina Hewitt William Hewitt Emma Peters (see below) ---PAGE BREAK--- 11 (continued, from William Hewitt and Emma Peters) Ralph Hewitt William Hewitt Rebecca McCoy John Peters Emma Peters Mary Thatcher John Thatcher Mary Domestic Life The family did not shop together. Most shopping was done out of catalogs: Montgomery Wards, Sears, Roebuck and Spiegel’s. They bought groceries at Ralph Miller’s store in Sterling Center, which was located opposite the mill on the corner of 104A and Center Road, just northeast of the bridge. Dorothea went to Mendel’s store in Fair Haven for her shoes. If they actually went shopping in the city, they would go to Montgomery Ward’s in Fulton. Dorothea’s mother made most of the children’s clothing. She would order fabrics out of a catalog. Major sewing projects occurred twice per year. Just before school began Margaret made school clothes. In late March, it was time to sew household items such as sheets, towels, pillows, feather beds and aprons. This annual event occurred at about the same time that the men would be out making maple syrup. The sewing machine would be set up in the dining room and one time, when Dorothea was about ten years old, she came into the house with wet mittens. She had gotten her hands wet by helping collect sap at the trees. Her grandmother put the mittens into the warming oven part of the stove and told Dorothea to go make herself a new pair out of an old coat that was lying in the dining room. Dorothea traced her hand on a piece of paper and used this as a pattern. She cut pieces out of the coat and then sewed the mittens herself. Dorothea remarks that the seams remained on the outside of those mittens. Church Dorothea attended Vacation Bible School at Sterling Valley during summers from about age 4 through 6 or 7. Often, though, the family did not have transportation to attend Sunday church services and it was too far to walk. Occasionally a church service would be held at school and sometimes people would gather at someone’s house for Sunday school. Sunday school was held at Dorothea’s home sometimes as well. Dorothea points out that she was raised in a Christian home and was encouraged to memorize various Bible verses. Her favorite to this day comes from Micah 6:8: ---PAGE BREAK--- 12 And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. School Days Dorothea began her life on McIntyre Road and lived there until she was seven. Then the family moved to Juniper Hill. Dorothea lived there until she got married, except for a brief time in Auburn. Her first school was the McKnight one-room school house where she attended at age 5 from March to June as her first school experience. She was not in a grade. She and Barbara Cooper began at the same time. They learned the routines of school such as how to write their names and how to color within the lines. Their teacher was Norma Eno who later married into the Irwin family. The next fall she began first grade with Helen Hoppins as her teacher. She had Genevieve Campbell, her first cousin, as her second grade teacher. Then the family moved. Dorothea said she hated to leave that school—she loved the teachers, the other children and the experience of being there. She explained that a group who had attended the McKnight school had yearly picnics from 1996-2006, demonstrating the closeness of the people involved with that school. Some picnic attendees, besides Dorothea, were Paul and Janette McIntyre, Milton Marsh, Eleanor Cooper Terpening, Louise Cooper Dunsmoor, Barbara Cooper Gifford, Betty Williams Malone and Billy Williams. ---PAGE BREAK--- 13 Dorothea (front right) and other girls, classmates at the McKnight School ---PAGE BREAK--- 14 Dorothea, front right, and classmates at the McKnight School After the family moved, Dorothea attended the Juniper Hill School. She walked to the school which was about a mile away. Dorothea could walk a mile in 20 minutes in those days, she said. At the Juniper Hill School Mrs. Leslie (Griggs) Pettit was her third grade teacher. Dorothy Ingersoll taught fourth and fifth grades and Marian Levine was her 6th and 7th grade teacher. One duty the older students had, including Dorothea, was watching the younger children during recess. Dorothea would try to engage the younger children into playing hide and seek, touch tag or skipping rope. They had no playground equipment. Dorothea thinks that at about this time she began to use pen and ink from the ink well. In those days children had to bring all their supplies to school: lunch, pencils, paper, books and even handkerchiefs. No paper tissues existed then. Dorothea carried her lunch to school which consisted of sandwiches made out of homemade bread, fruit, such as apples or pears and a pint can with milk in it. At Thanksgiving and Christmas at elementary school, they sang, acted in plays and decorated a Christmas tree with paper chains they had made. Little dance lessons were held at school where the children learned reels such as Sailor’s Hornpipe. On Arbor Day the students went to the woods to study trees and flowers. Having always walked to school, Dorothea continued this for 8th grade, even though she opted to go to Fair Haven School for that year. Since she had the option of continuing at the Juniper ---PAGE BREAK--- 15 Hill School, she was not allowed to ride the bus to Fair Haven. So she walked for more than an hour each way to attend the school that offered music and science classes. She just was not getting that kind of education at Juniper Hill. She walked in sunshine and dark, rain, snow, wind and once-in-a-while sweltering heat to get there. Her first friends were Joyce Scott (later Brown) and Evelyn O’Brien (later DiBello) who helped her to get acquainted with the Fair Haven School routine. They have remained friends since that time (Joyce died in the spring of 2014). Dorothea attended the school on Lake Street when it consisted of only the old building. That next summer (1937-8) the new addition and gym were added. By 9th grade she was in that new addition with the added benefit of being allowed to ride the bus to school, since a high school education was offered only at that location for the Fair Haven-Juniper Hill district. She graduated in 1942. Fair Haven School before the new addition In high school, Dorothea’s favorite subjects were science and then English. Her favorite teacher was Flossie Baldwin, English teacher. Dorothea took baritone horn lessons in high school. She even played the baritone in the Fair Haven Band during World War II while many of the usual players were away at war. Saturday night concerts couldn’t be held unless high school students helped out. She continued playing until her husband, Clifford, came home from the military. Dorothea was involved in the music program where each student musician performed a solo on his or her instrument, Dorothea on the baritone horn. Some band members went to band competitions. One she remembered was held near Penn Yan. They traveled by school bus to ---PAGE BREAK--- 16 perform. Her brass group included “Stretch” Weslie Bonner on trombone, Warren Simmons on bass and Dorothea on baritone. They won first place! They had a rhetoric class in which they had to learn a poem or another piece of literature. An assembly would be held where the rhetoric students went on stage to recite their pieces. She chose to recite the historical poem about this area, Date-ke-a-o-shote by Rev. W. C. Mattison. High School picnics were held at the State Park where her entire class hung out for the day. Other classes may have held them as well. Dorothea had a large part in the Senior Play. She recalled Patricia West as the star of that play. Her class went on their Senior Trip to Washington, DC and then Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell, all arranged by VanZile Tours. About ten or twelve class members left by train from Syracuse or Auburn and were gone for about a week, including Easter Sunday. While in DC they saw The Capitol, Arlington Cemetery and Mount Vernon, to name a few places. Dorothea recalled that the girls had to wear long dresses for the Senior Baccalaureate ceremony. For the graduation ceremony in 1942, they all wore robes, probably of dark blue, since their class colors were blue and gold. World War II had already begun and two classmates had already left for war: Russell Rasbeck and Robert Bond. “Wheels” When Dorothea was very small her parents owned a Model T Ford. She recalled that during the springtime the roads were too rutted and muddy for travel. The Model T was put on blocks to keep the tires from going flat during the winter months. When the car was used, someone had to crank the engine while another person had to hold the spark down. Once the car started, the one in the car would push the spark back up. Little Dorothea would help with the spark sometimes. Later the family got a Model A Ford. During the Depression there was a time without a car. When Dorothea’s father began working in Minetto at the Shade Cloth Factory, he had to stay in that village during the first winter. After that, he got a car and was able to drive back and forth. Dorothea had to learn to drive when she lived on the farm, first with horses hooked to the wagons and then via a vehicle. She thought it was probably the Model A that she drove. She did not drive on roads until after she was married. Dorothea recalls that her family bought gas at Rasbeck’s garage on the corner of Victory and Main Street, and sometimes at Roy Maynard’s garage on Main Street, Fair Haven. ---PAGE BREAK--- 17 In 1932, before Kenneth was born, Dorothea’s family moved to Juniper Hill. One day her dad needed to go to Fair Haven to buy cattle feed. She wanted to ride in the car. She was about seven at the time of this trip. They drove to the feed mill that was located by the railroad tracks, Main Street, Fair Haven, near the corner of Main Street and Fair Haven Road. It was the first time she had ever been to Fair Haven. The train came by. It was the first train she had ever seen as well. The engine made a hissing sound. She thought it was angry because at home when the geese hissed, they were angry. At that time a person in Fair Haven could look down what is now the State Park Road, which was then the airplane strip, and see all the way to the lake and the bay. Before that time the land had been cleared for lumber and farms and the few trees that grew were small at that time. She thought Fair Haven was a beautiful place. Entertainment Dorothea’s family had a radio in their home. Mostly they listened to farm shows at lunch time. The family was not tied to the radio at night because they were so busy tending the farm. At night during the school year the children had to do their homework around the kitchen table; thus distractions from the radio were not allowed. Dorothea liked Tom Swift books. Her favorite books were the ones her brothers liked. Her father liked western paperbacks and Zane Grey books especially. Baby calves and other animals would become the children’s pets. Dorothea liked to lead the babies around. The children also loved to climb the ladder to the hay mow and jump into the hay. The large family played hide-and-seek and touch tag. They jumped rope. They played circus. George and Dorothea learned how to juggle and had a juggling act in the circus. They took old quilts outside and made a circus tent out of them. When Dorothea’s older sister dated, Dorothea was brought to Fair Haven to a band concert. This encouraged her to play an instrument, although she already was part of a musical family. Her mother played the piano and her father once took voice lessons. They had a Victrola in the home. She remembers some of the lyrics to her favorite song as a child: “I’m Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines; I feed my horse on corn and beans.” When her parents were not close by Dorothea would sneak to the Victrola to put on the 78 rpm disk and listen to that song. Her parents did not like the song. They preferred classical music and The five girls in the family had dolls but no one “owned” them. They had to share. They sometimes made their own toys such as paper dolls out of old catalogs. They would swim at Lake Ontario near Juniper Pond. The State Park was not very developed early on. ---PAGE BREAK--- 18 They seldom went to the movies but a couple of times they went to the Palace Theater in Wolcott. The one movie she recalls seeing was The Wizard of Oz. Working Life as a Child Even as a child, Dorothea had to work. In the summers she and her siblings picked berries and cherries. All the money the children made they had to give to their parents who used it to buy their school clothes. During the Depression, Dorothea’s mother made 21 loaves of bread per week for the big family. She canned hundreds of quarts of vegetables and fruit. In the winter her parents butchered and canned meat. They raised mostly Rhode Island Reds for chickens, dairy cows including Holsteins and a few Jersey cows for beef and milk. Little bulls became baby beef. The parents sold chickens for butchering. At one time they raised turkeys but Dorothea pointed out that they did not raise turkeys and chickens at the same time because chickens carry disease. They planted a huge garden, and they had eggs from the chickens and fruit from the fruit trees. Her dad sold strawberries at market. They raised wheat and took it to the mill to be ground for their bread flour. Dorothea does not remember a tractor on the farm. She thought the work was done by horses, which she used to ride sometimes. One of the two horses they owned was named “Old Bill.” Though Dorothea did not work during her senior year of high school, during the other three years she worked for George Green who owned an ice cream parlor in the center section of the Mendel Block. George had married Dorothea’s oldest sister, Miriam. Dorothea’s parents had one rule: Dorothea was not to work more than four hours at a time because she suffered from a chronic illness called Bright’s disease. However, she worked at the parlor about three years, making sodas, sundaes, banana splits, etc. She sold newspapers, candy and cigarettes. She cleaned. She learned to make change. She even played the one-armed bandit and did her homework in the back booth, which she referred to as “home, sweet home.” She said she learned to work with people and always felt this was an advantage of this teenage job— learning “people” skills. She also received some help with her homework at the “home, sweet home” booth. Some of the boys such as Jack Hadcock and Clifford Field would help her with math. This was how she met her future husband. In the summers, for band concerts on Saturday nights, George Green and a helper would move the big popcorn machine outside to the sidewalk at the front of the store. Dorothea made and sold popcorn out there. She noted that she had a good popcorn business. After concerts the “inside” of the store would get busy with people sitting in the booths dancing to the juke box, and buying ice cream and Cokes. ---PAGE BREAK--- 19 Dorothea and George Green at Green’s Ice Cream Parlor In the photo soda glasses and Coke glasses can be seen. The silver handles were on the tops of the various syrup containers. A large old cash register was located behind George Green and can be seen in the mirror. Note the bare bulb and the fly paper hanging from the ceiling. In the back left corner was the “home, sweet home” booth. Not shown in the photo, on the other side of the room were glass-topped cases holding candy, etc., the one-armed bandit and more booths. The small back door led to a small room for personal use, such as eating. Dorothea thinks Miriam may have cooked some vegetables out there and they would eat those and a sandwich for a meal. ---PAGE BREAK--- 20 Back of photo of Green’s Ice Cream Parlor Pearl Harbor and World War II Dorothea said she will always remember Pearl Harbor Day. She was seeing Clifford Field but they were not seeing each other exclusively; they were friends. Rumblings of war were in the air; war was raging in Europe. On Sunday afternoon, December 7th, Clifford came to Dorothea’s house to pick her up to take her to an area of Lake Ontario near Wolcott, his childhood home. He had previously taken pictures of the Sterling bluffs area and now worried that war would come soon. He wanted photos of the Lake area by Wolcott. They got the photos and returned to the car, turned on the radio and heard the news about Pearl Harbor. ---PAGE BREAK--- 21 Dorothea at the bluffs, happily unaware that Pearl Harbor was being bombed ---PAGE BREAK--- 22 Clifford said he had to go straight home because his mother was going to be very upset. He was supposed to take Dorothea home first but he didn’t. They went to his home on Lake Street, Fair Haven. As Clifford had expected, his mother was crying and his father was pacing the floor. Dorothea innocently asked “What’s wrong?” Oliver Field, Clifford’s father said that when World War I had begun they had a hired boy who was an orphan. He received his draft notice. The day came when he was to report. They watched him walk morosely down the road and continually turn around waving. He had said he would never be back and sure enough, he was killed in the War. Helen, Clifford’s mother was crying out of worry that Clifford would now be drafted into the army. It began to dawn on Dorothea how serious this situation was. She soon understood that it would affect both Clifford and her. Clifford took her home and apologized to her family for keeping her late but they understood. They had heard about Pearl Harbor, too, and worried that their son, George, would also be going to war. Dorothea remembered that for the next few days they listened to the radio as FDR gave his famous “Yesterday…a date which will live in infamy...” speech and the Declaration of War speech, etc. Dorothea was a high school senior then. At this time, Dorothea believes that Clifford was probably working at Nestles. Before that, he had worked at Pine Camp (later called Fort Drum) where he did the wiring as an electrician. Clifford wanted to get his FCC radio license before he got drafted. He asked Dorothea to help him study—as he had helped her study math. He picked her up to study at his house on February 21, 1942. She remembered the exact date that they studied, because she got snowed in at his folks’ house. They were married exactly one year later to the day. She was a riveter in Auburn by then and living on her own in that city. He had been drafted into the army. They had previously received their marriage license when Clifford got a weekend pass and came up from Long Island, where he was stationed, to see Dorothea. They went to the minister to show them the license and to ask how to schedule a marriage when they did not know when Clifford would get another weekend pass. The minister said they could get married right then, which they did. Consequently, there were no wedding photos, Dorothea said. ---PAGE BREAK--- 23 Newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Field Not even a week after their wedding, Dorothea ended up in Auburn Hospital with a severe case of scarlet fever. With a continuing case of Bright’s disease underlying her new disease, she was ---PAGE BREAK--- 24 very ill. She remained in the hospital for 21 days. She was given sulfa drugs which cured both her scarlet fever and Bright’s disease from which she had suffered since childhood. This enabled her to have the ability to have a family after all. Dorothea says she believes in miracles! In April of 1942, Clifford went to Buffalo and got his Second Class FCC radio license. He was drafted on May 6th, just before Dorothea graduated from high school. He became a radio man in the military. Several months later, he and Dorothea were married, on February 21, 1943. She left her job in Auburn in June and traveled to Camp Crowder in Missouri to be with Clifford. After a brief trip home they moved to Washington, DC. While Clifford was stationed there, Dorothea helped him study for his First Class FCC license. He took the exam on C Street in DC and passed. He suggested that Dorothea take an FCC exam, too, since she had helped him study. She took the test for a restricted radio license and passed with a grade of 100! She carried the license with her which she believed opened many doors for her pertaining to jobs. ---PAGE BREAK--- 25 Dorothea outside the apartment at Camp Crowder, Neosho, MO Dorothea was only in DC a month, returning home to live with her in-laws around the First of January, 1944. Clifford wanted to be assured that she was safely at home when he left the country, which was soon after she arrived back home. Dorothea remarked that one snow storm that hit Lake Street, Fair Haven in February of 1942 changed the course of their lives. Included in that was that Clifford got his First Class FCC license and played a very important part in World War II. ---PAGE BREAK--- 26 Dorothea and her father-in-law, Oliver Field Clifford Field was selected for special training in high power radio transmission while in the military. He also instructed in this field at various bases where he was stationed. He became field supervisor for the project of installing a 40,000-watt transmitting station at Alexandria VA, which was operated from the Pentagon. Then he spent some time in Newfoundland and later in London where he supervised the installation of a powerful transmitter used by the Supreme Allies Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) headed by General Dwight Eisenhower. In June, 1944, he was attached to the 79th Infantry Division and went to Normandy Beach with the Signal Assault Troops. It was there that he received the battlefield appointment of Warrant Officer. On August 7, 1944 he took the oath to become a Warrant Officer. His primary task was to be a technical expert providing guidance, skills and expertise in his field to the commanders. He was immediately assigned to the Ninth Air Force as a radar maintenance officer, where he worked in France, Belgium and Germany until Victory in Europe (VE) Day. After that he helped close operations at the Signal Depot in the French Ardennes Forest. He returned to the United States in February, 1946 and in April of that year, was placed on the officers’ inactive reserve list. He had been gone for two years before Dorothea saw him again. ---PAGE BREAK--- 27 Clifford, when he was commissioned as a Warrant Officer ---PAGE BREAK--- 28 On D Day, Dorothea was so upset and worried that she went fishing at the spot where Buster’s Boat Base was later located. She was trying to keep her mind off the invasion of Normandy and her worries about this momentous occasion. While Clifford was overseas, Dorothea took a correspondence course in radio and electronics from the Lee de Forest School in Chicago. De Forest had invented the triode grid vacuum tube that made radio broadcasting possible, and founded the field of electronics. After studying the material from the correspondence course Dorothea had to take the train to Chicago to finish the course. While on the train she noticed that windows on various stores were draped to indicate a death had occurred. When she got to Chicago she found out that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had died. Dorothea completed and passed the electronics course, and this, along with her radio FCC license, helped her to get employment. On Victory in Japan (VJ) Day, Helen Field, Dorothea’s mother-in-law, brought some pots and pans down to Main Street, Fair Haven. She joined the revelry where she banged those pots and pans together to celebrate the end of the War. Post War Life Because Clifford had to stay in the military longer than most men, when he finally returned home, no places were left to rent or buy. Of course, production of civilian materials, for example, for housing, had been stopped during the war as resources were reallocated toward creating war materiel. Even when the war was over, few goods were available. This made it difficult to build a home. Clifford’s first two priorities were to find a place to live and a job. He went to work for GE in Syracuse. He bought the old schoolhouse on Humphrey Road, Sterling, from Fay Goodsell. Charlie Brown, house mover, moved the school from Humphrey Road to Lake Street, Fair Haven. No buildings were located on the property then. Dorothea said it took two years to complete the process of buying the property, moving the school house and making it into a home. Even then, for a time the south east corner of the house still had barn windows because they could not get new ones. They moved into her present home in March of 1949. Meanwhile, Dorothea and Clifford started their family, altogether having four children: Claudia, Denise, Lisa and Joel. Clifford’s mother, Helen Field, took care of the children while Clifford and Dorothea worked. Helen had worked at the dry house in Fair Haven on east Main Street, where apples were evaporated. She was often wet and cold, resulting in frequent illnesses. Dorothea convinced her that she would be better off if she stayed home and took care of her grandchildren and be paid for her work than to work at the apple job. She was an excellent babysitter, said Dorothea. Clifford and Dorothea both worked and lived in the Syracuse area and came home ---PAGE BREAK--- 29 weekends to see the kids and to work on the house. This lifestyle was the only way the family could get a home of their own as soon as they did. The one-room schoolhouse that once sat on Humphrey Road slowly became a home. The old coal bin was remade into a kitchen. The and shed that was once on a lower level became the dining room. Dorothea has lived there more than 65 years. After a time, Clifford left GE and got a job with the US Navy Department as an inspector. Another job opening occurred for another inspector so Dorothea applied. She, too, became an inspector working for the Navy. She said her credentials helped her. Almost immediately she became a supervisor. After two years, her bosses wanted her to transfer to New York City but she decided to leave the job to raise her family. Clifford stayed with the Navy for the rest of his career, retiring in the early 1970’s. Dorothea raised the kids and transported them all over, she said. Dorothea was busy with church organizations; for example, she belonged to the women’s group, and helped with bazaars at the park, etc. She began to work for Harold Wallace at the grocery store, part time. In 1972, she saw a newspaper article stating that the Village of Fair Haven needed a Justice of the Peace. Russell Rasbeck had resigned from the job to build a marina on the west side of Little Sodus Bay, so the job became open. She took judicial training classes for Justice of the Peace in Syracuse and began the job in 1973. She also worked as Justice for the Town of Sterling when Dick Houghtaling was unavailable. He substituted for her when she was not available at Fair Haven. Later she went to Auburn to take criminal justice classes at night and got a two-year degree. She conducted many of the trials held at Fair Haven Village Hall at the time and also officiated at 22 weddings. She stated that once in a while she will meet someone who will say “I had to go before you when you were JP!” She served as Justice of the Peace for ten years. Several months after resigning his Justice job, Russell Rasbeck also resigned as Town of Sterling Trustee. Dorothea was appointed to the position and was reelected many times. She recalls that a group had begun an organization called Citizens Concerned for Sterling in about 1972. They were protesting the potential building of the nuclear power plant in the Town. Dorothea served as trustee on the Town Board for 15 1/2 years. Dorothea ended up resigning her JP job to take care of Clifford who had had a stroke (1982). She served out her Town Board term and did not run again. Clifford did well at times, especially after rehabilitation in Canandaigua. He spent his last days at Pontiac Nursing Home in Oswego. He died in 1996 and is buried at Springbrook Cemetery. Bicentennial and Sterling Historical Society ---PAGE BREAK--- 30 One goal Dorothea had when she first became member of the Board of the Town of Sterling was to procure some recreational facilities for teens in the Village of Fair Haven and Sterling, such as a tennis court and basketball nets, and a safe playground for younger children, for instance, swings in a protected area of Sterling. At that time the Board did not share Dorothea’s concerns. One evening she was approached by Bernard Craine, also a Board member, about her ideas for some way to celebrate the upcoming Bicentennial of the United States. She told him about some lapel pins she had seen when she had been to an Association of Towns meeting in New York City. She could obtain some catalogues for the Board to review. She repeated that her attention remained focused on the children of the Town. She was concerned about kids congregating and with nothing to do, trouble could result. A safe place for a children’s swing set could be next to the Town Hall (which, at that time was located at the Sterling Schoolhouse.) Basketball nets could be located down by the old Town Garage, where the road crew would be in and out. Bernard had to agree that something needed to be done for the youth in the Town. Within a short time Sterling had a playground and basketball hoops and Fair Haven had a tennis court. (At this time the Fair Haven Elementary School was still open, providing a playground for young children in the Village of Fair Haven.) After Dorothea had succeeded in getting Bernard to examine the issue, he told her that members of the Board wanted someone from the Board to become chairperson of the Bicentennial celebration and that they had hoped she would accept this position. She accepted and the Board approved and appointed her as Chair. She created a committee right away consisting of Hazel Fralick, Town Historian, Erwin Fineout, Village Historian, Ronnie Smith, local businessman and herself. Interest was piqued and after a time others began to join the group such as Hap and Polly Fowler, Lucille and Miley Flack, Claire and Mary Conroy, Janette and Paul McIntyre, Joel Field, and Hallie and Don Sweeting. These people sometimes brought even more friends to meetings. Dorothea oversaw the entire process of creating the ways that the community would celebrate the Bicentennial, which took about two years to complete. As a group they decided to have a place for exhibits. The Town Board made the second floor of their building available for Bicentennial exhibits. The upstairs had to be cleaned up and painted. Windows needed repair. This work took up the winter of 1975-76. As they cleaned they decided upon divisions of space for various exhibits, such as a kitchen, school room, barbershop, ice harvest, Civil War artifacts, and general store. So dividers went into place and various volunteers chose certain areas of interest to work on. For example, Polly Fowler arranged the kitchen, Erwin Fineout--the ice harvest and barbershop, Paul and Janette McIntyre—Indian artifacts, Hazel Fralick—the school and Hallie Sweeting—the Civil War rotunda. Miley Flack and the Sterling road crew lugged the large old kitchen stove up the stars. The volunteers used it that winter for their source of heat. Joel Field painted the very high ceiling. ---PAGE BREAK--- 31 Many groups in the area wanted to be involved in the Bicentennial celebration, such as scout troops, for instance, by creating displays of their own. The Town Board wanted oversight, which Dorothea provided. As one example, only one group could sign up to create a flag display so that repeats could be avoided. Dorothea at one time had been president of the women’s association at church. For a particular program, she had asked each member to bring an heirloom and discuss it with the other members. The program was so successful that Dorothea figured that people’s attics must be filled with such items. So the group asked to borrow things to be used in the exhibits. Some wanted to donate items so a form was created for people to sign as a record of donations. Dorothea kept a notebook of all the activity. At that time they did not foresee a permanent museum since they did not own the building. The exhibits on the second floor of the former Town Hall/old Sterling Schoolhouse were ready by Memorial Day, 1976. They were shown for a year. People signed in to view them. The next year the group met to make some decisions about the future. There was so much interest that they decided to carry on and form a historical society. They found that there was a need to preserve artifacts, records, books, etc. So they had to follow New York State outlined procedures—creating a constitution and by-laws and applying for a temporary charter. Later, in 1992, The Sterling Historical Society acquired their permanent charter. After all the toil and time it took, Dorothea states with pride that her name appears on the permanent charter. The small group that first met in 1974 to help the Town of Sterling celebrate the Bicentennial became the nucleus of the still-growing Sterling Historical Society. ---PAGE BREAK--- 32 Cover of Church Bulletin, Sunday July 4, 1976, Bicentennial Day ---PAGE BREAK--- 33 Church bulletin, Sunday July 4, 1976, Bicentennial Day Dorothea noted that it was a glorious Sunday as the nation celebrated its 200th Anniversary through church services, fireworks, tall ships, parades, flags and concerts. Fair Haven had white sails on the Bay and artifacts and displays to show as part of the grand celebration. She celebrated at her church, the Fair Haven Presbyterian, from which this church bulletin originated. She saved her copy of the bulletin to remember the day the whole nation celebrated. Dorothea was on the nominating committee of the Historical Society until Judge Pete Blauvelt replaced her. Being on this committee disqualified her from being an officer. She remains a member to this day. She says two things are required to keep an historical society going. First, it is necessary to put the right people in the right jobs. Second, financial assistance is needed. The Town of Sterling has provided some of that assistance. When the Town offices were ---PAGE BREAK--- 34 moved, first to temporary quarters and then to the new Town Hall, the Town allowed the Sterling Historical Society to permanently house their collections and to have meetings at the School house. Dorothea put many hours into the Bicentennial and Historical Society projects. At the same time she was on the Town Board and was Justice of the Peace. Then Clifford retired and had a stroke so she had to give up many of her commitments. Today Dorothea enjoys her home, has a garden, and takes pleasure in her family, including five grandchildren and five great grandchildren. She hears from them all regularly. Every two-three years family reunions are held. Because of a fall, she is not able to get around like she used to. She attends Sterling Historical Society events occasionally with friends. She works on her genealogy, writes some articles for the newspaper (which she has been doing most of her life) and still drives her car, but not far, she says. With all she has contributed over her ninety years, The Village of Fair Haven and the Town of Sterling have been fortunate, indeed, to have had Dorothea as a resident.