Volume 044-4 - October 1990 (8 pages)

Library was opened. The building was mainly financed by Andrew Carnegie and Chapman was instrumental in obtaining the grant. In 1945 the Nevada County Historical Society was founded; Dr. Chapman was very probably one of the charter members. On June 5, 1948 Dr. Chapman was honored as the first Dinner Honoree. Dr. Chapman died suddenly, apparently from a heart attack on May 17, 1956 at the age of 91 years. Chester and Margaret Chapman had five children, four boys and one daughter. Three of the boys joined the military services and one of them worked as an engineer for the State of California. Hence they all moved away, as so many young people did and still do. They were lost for Nevada County history. The oldest son, Allen, was born on November 30, 1897, He joined the U.S. Air Force. Doris Foley, in the booklet already mentioned, has an interesting anecdote. While preparing for the dedication of the Pioneer Monument on June 5, 1918, Chester conceived the idea of having The Wasley Five brothers and their sister gathered with their spouses at the Howard Wasley residence in celebration of Howard’s 78th birthday’ and spent the afternoon reminiscing over the early days of the Nevada City and Grass Valley area where the family had lived throughout one hundred thirteen years. In the late 1860's grandpa James Green, from Boston and grandma Elizabeth Rowe from Yorkshire, England, were married. To this union, four sons and four daughters were born. One of them was Kate Green. Kate, born in 1880, and William Wasley, born in 1874, were united in marriage in 1901 and lived in the Grass Valley area. To this union were born eight sons and one daughter: William, Cecil, George, Howard, Lorrin, Tom, Gus and Edward. The boys were all born in Grass Valley, but the family moved to Stockton during the World War I years and sister Lillian arrived on November il, 1918. Moving back to Nevada County after the war, they lived on Idaho-Maryland Road and the children romped in the open areas of the then Goat Hill, playing with the goats and roaming the hills. At this time, most of the hillside was bare of buildings, no hospital or offices were evident in those years. As time went on, the children became of school age and many stories of their antics are remembered. One story relates that George and Howard were on their way to the old Washington School in Grass Valley, now replaced by condominiums. As children are prone to do, they checked out their lunch buckets to see what goodies awaited them and, to little Howard's 28 his son fly over the site on that occasion. In those days planes were not yet sufficiently powerful to fly at high altitudes; the Sierra Nevada had never been overflown. It was believed that this feat would be a powerful stimulant for the recruiting efforts (World War I!). This effort would require preparation, such as the location of landing places, the study of air currents and so on and, of course, the Army Air Force had to supply the plane and the necessary logistics. Unfortunately, Allen's commanding officer did not give permission, much to the disappointment of father Chester. Allen died on January 18, 1979. He had one son and three daughters. The second son, Sargent, was born on June Il, 1899. He joined the Navy. He died a few years ago and had one son and one daughter. The third son, Muller, was born on March 22, 1902. He was named for the family friend Professor Muller. He was educated at the University of California and after several minor jobs became an engineer for the State Division of Highways, which position he held for 37 years. There is a story that, at the age of 7 years, he had the distinction of being run over by the only automobile of Nevada City. He died on November 13, 1989 and had two sons and one daughter. The last of the sons, Warren Chester, was born on September 23, 1915. He attended West Point and retired as a full colonel. On November 13, 1842 he married Dorothy June Cloud. They live now in Alexandria, Virginia. They have one son and two daughters. One of the daughters is Debora Ann, who, together with her husband James Luckenbill, now lives in the ancestral home on 227 Sacramento Street. She is the last of the descendants of Allen Chapman to live in Nevada City. The daughter, Helen Elizabeth, was born on November 7, 1911. She attended the University of California in Berkeley and later Columbia University in New York. She became a teacher of history and social sciences at Nevada Union Junior High School and served in the Red Cross during World War II. She never married and died on October 6, 1969. Family of Nevada County by Lorena Wasley dismay, he had mistakenly picked up his father’s tobacco bucket, full of tobacco. Tears were soon quelled when George promised to share his lunch. One year they had failed to receive notice of when school was starting. The truant officer appeared at their door to inform their parents the five boys were due in school or they would be cited. The next day, five little boys, being about two years apart in age, appeared at the Gold Flat school, now the Cal-Trans office, all dressed in Buster Brown suits, which consisted of knee pants, shirts, black stockings and black shoes. They evidently created quite a picture as all other boys were wearing bib overalls. Needless to say, the boys wore bib overalls the next day. Another story tells that little George started school with big brothers William and Cecil. All three in different classes. Little George kept repeating: ““wee wee, wee wee”’, to the consternation of their teacher. Taking the child to the bathroom did not solve the problem. He was calling for his brother William and could not pronounce his name. Their father bought all the children rainwear. Howard’s jacket had a cat on the back. One of the neighbors saw the boys going to school and Howard was dubbed “Puss in Boots”, a name which was used by his oldest friends until his dying day. Another nick-name story that has stuck to Cecil all these years, was acquired when he worked for a Swede, Olaf Hansen. Ole has stuck with Cecil since that day. Cecil was in a class where someone had feet that were very odorous. He was one of the five boys, singled out to remove their shoes and socks for inspection by the teacher Miss Sadie Clausen. This was at the old Lincoln School in 1919. The teacher’s duty was to send the offending child home to wash his feet. Surely to mother Kate’s pride, Cecil’s feet were found to be clean. Tom remembers his mother’s admonition to “Get down and look up.” They had a large field of raspberries and it was the boys’ job to pick them. They would say that they had picked them all, but their mother, knowing there were still berries, sent them back to “Get down and look up” and, surprisingly, many more berries were gathered. It was common to pick thirty crates a day. The old Eureka schoolhouse was the site of an accident to brother William. While flying his kite and running to vault it up, he ran full speed into a barbed wire fence, cutting his underarms. The old outdoor privies were much in evidence in those days and brother George decided to tidy up a bit. Taking a sheet of the Sears catalog, used in those days in lieu of toilet paper, he proceeded to start a fire to burn up the waste. Luckily for him, an uncle lived near and came to his rescue to put out the fire. Howard, it seems, did not feel it necessary to comb his hair. His father felt it necessary to teach his son a lesson. He was in the fifth grade at this time when, as hair cut time came, Father made a path through the center of his head, rather like Mohawk style. Finally, when his father declined to finish the job, he wore a cap to school. Of course, he was made to remove his cap, much to the entertainment of the class. The lesson was learned as he was combed neatly after his hair grew back. Since Lillian and Edward were the youngest ~~ ao

Library was opened. The building was mainly financed by Andrew Carnegie and Chapman was instrumental in obtaining the grant. In 1945 the Nevada County Historical Society was founded; Dr. Chapman was very probably one of the charter members. On June 5, 1948 Dr. Chapman was honored as the first Dinner Honoree. Dr. Chapman died suddenly, apparently from a heart attack on May 17, 1956 at the age of 91 years. Chester and Margaret Chapman had five children, four boys and one daughter. Three of the boys joined the military services and one of them worked as an engineer for the State of California. Hence they all moved away, as so many young people did and still do. They were lost for Nevada County history. The oldest son, Allen, was born on November 30, 1897, He joined the U.S. Air Force. Doris Foley, in the booklet already mentioned, has an interesting anecdote. While preparing for the dedication of the Pioneer Monument on June 5, 1918, Chester conceived the idea of having The Wasley Five brothers and their sister gathered with their spouses at the Howard Wasley residence in celebration of Howard’s 78th birthday’ and spent the afternoon reminiscing over the early days of the Nevada City and Grass Valley area where the family had lived throughout one hundred thirteen years. In the late 1860's grandpa James Green, from Boston and grandma Elizabeth Rowe from Yorkshire, England, were married. To this union, four sons and four daughters were born. One of them was Kate Green. Kate, born in 1880, and William Wasley, born in 1874, were united in marriage in 1901 and lived in the Grass Valley area. To this union were born eight sons and one daughter: William, Cecil, George, Howard, Lorrin, Tom, Gus and Edward. The boys were all born in Grass Valley, but the family moved to Stockton during the World War I years and sister Lillian arrived on November il, 1918. Moving back to Nevada County after the war, they lived on Idaho-Maryland Road and the children romped in the open areas of the then Goat Hill, playing with the goats and roaming the hills. At this time, most of the hillside was bare of buildings, no hospital or offices were evident in those years. As time went on, the children became of school age and many stories of their antics are remembered. One story relates that George and Howard were on their way to the old Washington School in Grass Valley, now replaced by condominiums. As children are prone to do, they checked out their lunch buckets to see what goodies awaited them and, to little Howard's 28 his son fly over the site on that occasion. In those days planes were not yet sufficiently powerful to fly at high altitudes; the Sierra Nevada had never been overflown. It was believed that this feat would be a powerful stimulant for the recruiting efforts (World War I!). This effort would require preparation, such as the location of landing places, the study of air currents and so on and, of course, the Army Air Force had to supply the plane and the necessary logistics. Unfortunately, Allen's commanding officer did not give permission, much to the disappointment of father Chester. Allen died on January 18, 1979. He had one son and three daughters. The second son, Sargent, was born on June Il, 1899. He joined the Navy. He died a few years ago and had one son and one daughter. The third son, Muller, was born on March 22, 1902. He was named for the family friend Professor Muller. He was educated at the University of California and after several minor jobs became an engineer for the State Division of Highways, which position he held for 37 years. There is a story that, at the age of 7 years, he had the distinction of being run over by the only automobile of Nevada City. He died on November 13, 1989 and had two sons and one daughter. The last of the sons, Warren Chester, was born on September 23, 1915. He attended West Point and retired as a full colonel. On November 13, 1842 he married Dorothy June Cloud. They live now in Alexandria, Virginia. They have one son

and two daughters. One of the daughters is Debora Ann, who, together with her husband James Luckenbill, now lives in the ancestral home on 227 Sacramento Street. She is the last of the descendants of Allen Chapman to live in Nevada City. The daughter, Helen Elizabeth, was born on November 7, 1911. She attended the University of California in Berkeley and later Columbia University in New York. She became a teacher of history and social sciences at Nevada Union Junior High School and served in the Red Cross during World War II. She never married and died on October 6, 1969. Family of Nevada County by Lorena Wasley dismay, he had mistakenly picked up his father’s tobacco bucket, full of tobacco. Tears were soon quelled when George promised to share his lunch. One year they had failed to receive notice of when school was starting. The truant officer appeared at their door to inform their parents the five boys were due in school or they would be cited. The next day, five little boys, being about two years apart in age, appeared at the Gold Flat school, now the Cal-Trans office, all dressed in Buster Brown suits, which consisted of knee pants, shirts, black stockings and black shoes. They evidently created quite a picture as all other boys were wearing bib overalls. Needless to say, the boys wore bib overalls the next day. Another story tells that little George started school with big brothers William and Cecil. All three in different classes. Little George kept repeating: ““wee wee, wee wee”’, to the consternation of their teacher. Taking the child to the bathroom did not solve the problem. He was calling for his brother William and could not pronounce his name. Their father bought all the children rainwear. Howard’s jacket had a cat on the back. One of the neighbors saw the boys going to school and Howard was dubbed “Puss in Boots”, a name which was used by his oldest friends until his dying day. Another nick-name story that has stuck to Cecil all these years, was acquired when he worked for a Swede, Olaf Hansen. Ole has stuck with Cecil since that day. Cecil was in a class where someone had feet that were very odorous. He was one of the five boys, singled out to remove their shoes and socks for inspection by the teacher Miss Sadie Clausen. This was at the old Lincoln School in 1919. The teacher’s duty was to send the offending child home to wash his feet. Surely to mother Kate’s pride, Cecil’s feet were found to be clean. Tom remembers his mother’s admonition to “Get down and look up.” They had a large field of raspberries and it was the boys’ job to pick them. They would say that they had picked them all, but their mother, knowing there were still berries, sent them back to “Get down and look up” and, surprisingly, many more berries were gathered. It was common to pick thirty crates a day. The old Eureka schoolhouse was the site of an accident to brother William. While flying his kite and running to vault it up, he ran full speed into a barbed wire fence, cutting his underarms. The old outdoor privies were much in evidence in those days and brother George decided to tidy up a bit. Taking a sheet of the Sears catalog, used in those days in lieu of toilet paper, he proceeded to start a fire to burn up the waste. Luckily for him, an uncle lived near and came to his rescue to put out the fire. Howard, it seems, did not feel it necessary to comb his hair. His father felt it necessary to teach his son a lesson. He was in the fifth grade at this time when, as hair cut time came, Father made a path through the center of his head, rather like Mohawk style. Finally, when his father declined to finish the job, he wore a cap to school. Of course, he was made to remove his cap, much to the entertainment of the class. The lesson was learned as he was combed neatly after his hair grew back. Since Lillian and Edward were the youngest ~~ ao