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My Family Memories
By Aunt Shirley
In the very early days of my ancestry research, I had contacted Aunt Shirley and asked her to please share any memories she had of the Bruemmer family while growing up in San Rafael.
The memories of each Bruemmer sibling are each very different and unique. Barbara, Susan and my mom Nancy remember their days growing up with their Dad and Mom in St. Louis, while the younger ones memories are more strongly related to the days of living in San Rafael with Grandma along with the visits to relatives who lived in Sonoma and San Francisco.
It was three days later after our phone conversation, that I received a nine page hand written letter from Aunt Shirley, describing her personal memories of our great grand parents Charles and Nell, Grandma and other members of the Holmes Cook family in San Fransisco. Shortly after reading it, I called Aunt Shirley to thank her for these wonderful written memories!
Her reply was. "I hope it wasn't too long" BUT these are the kind of documents (whether by email/snail mail) that I love to have. It brings together the history of the Bruemmer family! Too many times my mom, our parents, Aunts and Uncles regret not asking their Mom, Nell or their other family members about the history of our family. I am sure that most of our ancestors Grandma, her siblings and Great Grandma Nell are looking down from the heavens smiling upon me, thankful that someone has taken on the task of family historian and I am ever so happy to do it and share it with all of you!
Toddler Shirley on the Cook farm in Cloverdale
Notice the shadows of Charles on the left and Nell on the right
Aunt Shirley
"This is the story of how I came to live with grandma and grandpa Cook in Cloverdale. Mom contacted polio in 1946 when she was pregnant with Bill. It was shortly before he was born and so I was about 14 months old. Grandma and grandpa Cook came back on the train to help take care of all of us. When mom was recovered enough, they decided that she could handle a newborn and the three older girls, but because I was a toddler, I would go with my grandparents back to Cloverdale.
"Aunt Jane (Grandma Bruemmer's youngest sister) told me the story when I asked her about it at mom‘ s funeral in 1998. She told me that I was in California for about a year, so in the picture where we are on the bench, I was about two years old I guess. Jane also told me that they took me to Russian River once and I forgot my hat and grandma Cook had a fit.
Charles, Shirley, Nell
and Jane.
"In 1947 the family came out on vacation in the trailer and there are some pictures of all of us standing in front of it. They came to take me back to St. Louis, and Mom told me that if she hadn’t had the other older girls with her, she might not have gotten me in the car. Every time I saw someone in overalls I would think it was dad and I would cry Papa Papa.
The older Bruemmer siblings have told me that Aunt Shirley thought grandpa Cook was her father and Nell her mother. So it took a little bit of time to acclimate back to the family again as she did not recognize her real mom or her siblings.
Shirley, Nancy, Susan, Barbara and their mom.
Aunt Barbara remembers her Dad sitting down on the couch and holding his head, wishing desperately for the pain to go away. Cousin Clare remembers visiting the Bruemmer family in St.Louis with her parents. This picture below (most likely taken on the travel from St. Louis to California) was how Clare remembered him. "You would never know that he was dealing with the headaches and cancer"
"I don’t have any memories at this time because I was so young but I do remember having a certain bond with my grandparents different from everyone else. It was during this trip that Dad began having headaches that were the beginning of cancer.
Aunt Barbara, Aunt Susan and Uncle John as they looked during this time.
"Your grandma loved to tell her stories. We would sit at the pool over by Dominican college where we had a membership and she would tell us about her life. After Dad died grandma and grandpa Cook came again to help mom with everything. Mom told me that she brought Barbara, Sue and John who was only infant at on the train first. I remember something about Sue needing her appendix so that was when she found our house in San Rafael. They all stayed with Al and Eleanor (Grandma's older sister) in San Anselmo.
"Mom took the train back to St. Louis alone and then we (Nancy, Shirley, Bill) all drove to California in the 10 Packard with grandpa. I remember a little about that trip. We were crossing the desert and grandpa had to get out to check the water bag on the front of the can. In those days people kept the campus like bags in front of their car filled with water.
Al and Eleanor Schwarz.
Al was a doctor who took care of all the Bruemmer siblings and/or their cousins.He also worked in San Quentin Prison for a time.
"I don’t remember any stories from my grandparents lives. Only what Mom had told me. She said that Nell was in love with Harry first but he married Irene and so she got Charles. I never knew Harry but I think she got the best. Grandpa was never demonstrative but he showed his love and caring with the family by his actions. He certainly helped us out a lot. Mom told me that her dad‘ s grandmother was from Spain (at that time) who knew?- Now 100% confirmed by the ancestry detective
Charles & Nell
Her sister Irene & Charles's brother Harry
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The Cloverdale Citrus Fair began as a typical country fair in 1892 and still remains the earliest fair held in California each year. The fair was established as a way to celebrate the abundant citrus crop that was once part of the northern Sonoma County landscape. MORE TO COME ON THE FAIR IN FUTURE BLOGS
"I do remember the Citrus Fair. Mom used to take me to Cloverdale a lot when we were growing up. We slept on cots in the barn some times and used the outhouse in the Vineyard and were always told to watch out for rattlesnakes. Eleanor‘ s family came sometimes and the older kids would put on plays for the grownups in the barn. They would all try to scare me at night and say there were rattler snakes in the wood piles.
Below are pictures of two of Eleanor's children, Robert and Clare as they looked during that time (both taken from their High School Yearbook.) and a present one as they look today with brother Albert at his 80th birthday.
"Grandpa did most of the cooking. They had their main meal at lunchtime.
Always homemade applesauce and oatmeal was a staple for breakfast.We
used to go to the river a lot too!
"We would visit Eddie (Grandma's older brother) and his wife,Clara Alice often when we went up north. My younger brother John told me once that Clara was from a Royal Indian family in her tribe. I also remember the 50th wedding anniversary party.
"Everyone was in the kitchen -lots of good food & grandma Nell is actually smiling in the picture! I think this is the only time when we were all together. Mom and Eleanor were probably the closest to each other. She would come over a lot after playing tennis. We would go to their house for a special dinner sometimes. Uncle Al was our doctor so there was more interaction with them and they lived the closest. Sue and their daughter Claire are the closest in age.
Sue and Barbara were boy crazy at the time, while my mom and Claire shared more common interests and spent more time together. They loved both ballet and dolls.
There were two the other younger cousins I don’t remember with playing with which were Eddie and Clara Alice’s children even though Robert is closest to my age range and Jean is a little bit younger.
Uncle Norbert (the last born Cook sibling) was a gentle person. He was always quiet but would like to tease us a little. I remember the older kids playing keep away with his hat.
His older brother Gene was kind of grumpy. Mom said they never got along
very well. They were only about a year apart in age. She told me that when
he came back from the war,he was never the same. He fought in the South
Pacific against the Japanese.
He probably suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, but of course no one knew about that then. The family all agreed to give him back the property (in back of Charles and Nell's home on Cloverdale) to build his home on in respect for his sacrifice for them and really for all of us.
Norb couldn’t serve because he was deaf in one ear. They were both mechanics and they loved baseball. In fact that was where mom and dad met at a baseball game at a park in Cloverdale. Mom was there watching her brothers play!
Dad had brought his mother at her on vacation and they stopped by the park, (usually not much was happening in Cloverdale) and the rest is history!
Evelyn and her first husband Joe (Mannix) would come over from San Francisco for visits fairly often. She was always dressed up but she didn’t really relate to us kids. She didn’t seem to like to like kids.
But Joe was nice. He worked for Campbell’s soups and one Christmas we were all at Eleanor‘s and they gave me the Campbell Soup dolls. Their picture used to be on the old Campbell's Soup Cans I loved these dolls!
My mom also remembers playing with these dolls. Alas as the sisters grew older the dolls were probably given away or donated. Today, the market value of these dolls ranges upward from $160 or more!!
Another Campbell Soup story relates actually to myself. Back in the mid to late 1990's when Grandma was making the move from her home to the property in back of Aunt Shirley's, mom and I came over one rainy Saturday to help out. While cleaning out the big long closet that was at the bottom of the stairs, I heard our Grandmother call out, "If you see anything you like, you can have it." What I found was a envelope that said CAMPBELL'S SOUP (my own is tucked away in the ancestry basket somewhere) but looks similar to this photo below.
I asked Grams where this had come from and neither she nor mom knew. For years I tried to figure it out what it was while safely kept in my desk drawer. It was not until many years later when I first borrowed Uncle Bill's collection of family ancestry that I figured out the connection, realizing it was Great Aunt Evelyn's who most likely put it away in the closet having long forgotten about it!
"I remember going to visit Uncle Joe in the hospital Saint Mary’s I think. Before he died he had cancer. Sadly Evelyn along with all of her siblings lost their spouses due to cancer!
I didn’t know Jane that well but she was always nice if they all came over . They always wanted to eat right away because they had a long drive home to Davis. Her (second) husband Art was always very nice.
Seeing uncle Bob next to Nell in that picture reminded me of all the times we would go to visit them in San Francisco.
STEELE FAMILY VISIT TO THE COOK FARM
These cousins are probably the closest to Mom and Eleanor of all the Cook and Steele families in the city. Roberts wife Stell (Estelle) was a fantastic cook, I loved to go to her house and they had a cabinet with games in it -Chinese checkers is my favorite. Their son Robert lived with them all his life and he used to take us to PLAYLAND in San Francisco.
For those of you who might not know, Playland was this wonderful 10 acre theme park that was built in 1913. Located next to Ocean Beach, it was in the Richmond district at the western edge of San Francisco along the Great Hwy bounded by Balboa and Fulton streets. At the entrance, you would be greated by Laughing Sal! See video above.
According to Wikipedia, the park began as a collection of amusement rides in the late 19th century, and was preceded by Chutes at the Beach in 1921. Overtime, the park became ran down closing down on Labor Day weekend 1972.
Cousin Alicia and I went to a museum several years ago called, "Playland Not At The Beach" which featured not only history and memorabilia from the park but some of the original penny arcade machines. Sadly the museum closed but many of these penny arcade machines can be found at Pier 45’s Musée Mécanique!
Eddie and Clara Alice with their nephew Charles Schwarz
Pictures above of an outhouse & armycot.
Norbert,Gene, Eddy and Eleanore
Evelyn, Barbara,Charles,Nell,her brother Robert Steele and Jeannette.
Susan
Nancy, Shirley, Bill, John and Clare (Eleanor's Daughter)
Barbara
Keval- Gene's wife
Children of Eddy and Clara Alice Cook.
A daughter Jean Diane would be born in 1951.
Eddie Jr. Geraldine and Robert
Norbert (also known as Nobbie through the years.The last one was taken with little John Bruemmer
NORBERT
GENE
Joe and Evelyn
Jeannette (Jane)
Robert Steele
Jeannette and Arthur Gonzales wedding day&on their honeymoon.
CHARLES
ROBERT
STEELE JR.
VINCENT
STEELE
NORBERT
COOK
ARTHUR
STEELE
NELL
ESTELLE
ROBERT STEELE SENIOR
HIS DAUGHTERS GERALDINE AND LENORE
1/1
VINCENT STEELE
"Robert's brother Vincent was in the Catholic brotherhood Marianists.
The Marianists aka Society of Mary is known as a 200-year-old Catholic religious congregation of brothers and priests. They are prayerful, joyful men dedicated to the most powerful women in history.
Vincent was both a teacher and student counselor for many years working in the San Francisco school district, along with stints in St. Louis and Hawaii! According to Uncle John he was a really funny man and never what you would expect from someone who was of the religious sect. One time, Uncle John came to visit him in Hawaii at a local school. The secretary in the main office told him that Vincent was not in at the moment,but could be found rollerblading outside!!
"Cousin Vincent was funny as I remember, he would take us for rides down the street what they called their machine they never called it a car. He would whistle at all the girls and make us laugh because we were scandalized. After all he was almost like a priest!
ARTHUR STEELE
"Aunt Estelle was always warm and welcoming but she like to kiss you on the lips UGH!! She came over and stayed with us once in a while Mom and Eleanor went to a health spa. All that yummy food!
"Art was the captain of a merchant ship (MATSON) and would be gone for months at a time. I never met him but he was married and had three or four children I think. His brother Robert was the purchaser on the same shipping line. More on Art to come soon
"Mom told stories about the city cousins coming to visit them in Cloverdale. They would put their bags on the donkey and he would run under a tree and try to knock them off. She said that they played lots of tricks is on them.
I remember my mom talking about Aunt Kitty, (Catherine Cook was great grandpa Charles older sister) and I once went to visit her with Sean (who was bout a year old), I don’t remember much because I was afraid he was going to break something but she was very nice.
Uncle Bill also remembers visiting her in San Francisco. By that time, Catherine and her older sister Jeannette were living together. I asked Uncle Bill if he could remember what they were like, but in his words, "They were two old bitty's!" Future blog postings on the Holmes Cook family to come soon!
"Mom said that Nell was raised by different relatives. I don’t think they were all together as a family unit she was only five or six when the last two children were born. That was probably a rough time for her mom, Mary Ann Steele.
I remember going to Sonoma once but I don’t know who we’ve visited. I assume it was Harry’s family (photos below). I remember we had a reunion and loved it. I don’t think Harry was living because I don’t remember meeting him but I know they have many relatives.
STEELE BROTHERS ON THE DONKEY~ ROBERT, ARTHUR AND VINCENT
CATHERINE HOLMES COOK-CHRONISTER-HILL
NELLIE ELLEN STEELE-COOK
DAUGHTERS OF HARRY AND IRENE
IRENE AND IMELDA
Nell and sister Christine
CHARLES FREDERICK HOLMES COOK
"Grandpa Charles was married once before and his wife and daughter were killed in a huge buggy accident. I don’t know how long after that he married. (Married Nell on Nov 4, 1905 -Research on his first wife and daughter buggy death accident pending)
I loved to hear the stories about life out in the hills in Cloverdale. Grandpa was a sheep rancher who managed the property and business for the owner who lived in San Francisco. He lived on the property with horses, one mule and a dog. Grandpa had to sleep out on the ranch sometimes with the sheep. One night he woke up and knew something had crawled up his pants leg to keep warm. He was afraid it might be a rattlesnake so he pounded it to death and then shook his leg and out come a big toad!
Another time some wild boars had him cornered on the roof of a shed. His dog came and chased them away which saved his life.
"Uncle Eddie was chopping wood on something and his sister Eleanor kept bugging him and he told her to stop it or he would cut her finger off -she didn’t stop so he cut off her middle finger! I never heard what happened to him for doing that!
One time Mom and Eleanor were going outside and they saw a rattlesnake going into a hedge. So Eleanor grabbed it by the tail and took it in the house but it got away from them! Their dad was really mad!!! He eventually found and killed it.
I also remember hearing the story of when your grandma ate some belladonna berries. According to one online medical site, "When taken by mouth: The STEM of bittersweet nightshade is possibly safe. But the LEAVES and BERRIES are poisonous and likely unsafe. Consuming the leaves or berries can lead to poisoning symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, slowed breathing, and death.
"Grandpa had to take her on horseback over the mountain to town so they could pump her stomach." There was a time when the whole Cook family came down with scarlet fever except for my mom who had to take care of everyone. The family survived and maybe that’s when she decided to become a nurse.
I remember grandpa had false teeth on the bottom and he used to poke them out to scare us we would always scream so he would always do it.
Our mothers and/or fathers of the Bruemmer clan well remember this and it was quite fun to see their Grandpa makes them chatter in his hand. His grandchildren would ask him to do it again and again!!!
Nell always loved cats but they were all feral she fed them outside. No animals inside the house ever!
Donnie alas wasted his life on drugs and alcohol while taking advantage of his step father Norbert. He died at age 55.
"We grew up in the era of all children should be seen and not heard. The adults would all talk and we would find something to do sit outside and be quiet.
"No one ever taught me anything except maybe my cousin Charles Claire’s Brother. He used to rub mercury on coins to make them shiny. His father, my Uncle Al was doctor and his son is playing with mercury?! Of course no one knew about mercury poisoning in those days!
"My uncle Al used to show movies sometimes at their house or sometimes at ours. I remember one time he showed the Mummy's Hand! We were so scared we went upstairs behind the screen so we couldn’t see it. but years later I saw the movie and it was so funny.
I don’t remember any other chores except washing dishes after meal. Grandpa like listening to the ball game on the radio. I used to love the warm summer evenings with everyone talking and the baseball game on in the background and grandpa seemed content in later life. I never heard him complain.
I remember visiting him with Jim a couple of years before he died and he had a little trouble figuring out who we were. After grandpa died, grandma Nell would come down for a visit or Mom would drive up and get her. But she would no sooner get here and grandma would want to go home again. This was a hard time for Mom until they finally convinced her to give up her home and come here live with her and Evelyn in San Rafael permanently.
BELLADONNA BERRIES
ADDITIONAL STORIES TOLD BY GREAT GRANDPA CHARLES AND/OR GRANDMA BARBARA TO SHIRLEY
I remember going to Cloverdale for Father’s Day but never for Mother’s Day. I think grandpa was the more hands-on parent. I know Mom was much more closer to him than to her mom Nell. Sylvia's son Donnie would always play his accordion at our gatherings.
SHIRLEY WITH GREAT GRANDPA COOK
Gracious and appreciative thanks
to Aunt Shirley for sharing these wonderful memories!
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