West Family Tree

When grandma was young, her parents divorced and for whatever reason her father was not allowed to be nearby the children, though she did love her father. Her mother tried to support the children for a while but even though she was intelligent, she hadn't had much of a formal education and couldn't take care of the children. Eventually they were put in a children's home. After some time, Diane, the oldest became too old to stay there any longer and was taken under the care of some Roman Catholic institution nearby. Their mother was distraught at the children not being together and essentially contrived a plan to kidnap her own children and take them back. She took them on a train from Turlock down to San Diego where her sisters lived. She managed to get into a small flat but even then had no money. Grandma remembered that the first night all they had to eat was a carton of cottage cheese. She had finished hers and said "Thank you mommy, that was really good, may I have some more?" Her mother told her there was no more but perhaps Rachel (who was youngest) wouldn't eat all of hers. The next day Grandma remembers going down to the beach and eating a raw potato: all she had for the entire day. Grandma's mother sent the kids out to go door-to-door asking for dimes, saying "Hi! We're collecting for the March of Dimes!" That wasn't true though and eventually she was found, the children taken back again. Grandma then grew up in a foster home. Her mother wanted to keep her children with her, but she just couldn't care for them. - Logan West, from a conversation with Arlene Teller Duncan

I remember my grandmother being pretty much there all my life. She was in Oakhurst, where I was born and raised (until I was about ten or so). She always was interested in family history and I remember quite a change in her after she became a Christian. She tried several different things and I remember her talking about a Roman Catholic church and having a Book of Mormon. But after my grandfather died and she seeming to become a Christian around that time, things changed and it was a pleasure to have her over. She would always give nice presents and faithfully gave the grandchildren money for birthdays and Christmas even though her own finances seemed to be in not the best shape. I recall her building several new buildings on the property and storing lots of stuff in it, it seemed there was only little pathways to walk through it all! She had lots of neat books and belongings and I liked walking around and looking at it all. There was a clock on the wall that had little Swiss people, and a rabbit that when you pulled the string, would do a peek-a-boo dance and it would play Brahm's lullaby. She did a lot of family research and most of my Duncan-side history is from her.

As she was going through chemo treatment for cancer, her platelet count was down, the transfusions weren't working as well, there were some antibodies introduced through a transfusion and then she contracted pneumonia and had to go to the hospital for a time. Hannah, Samuel, and myself called her up and talked for a while. She said depending on treatment she could only have a few days but she was content---a bit bewildered at the suddenness but content. Two chaplains came in and the one asked her if she had chosen God. She replied that the way she saw it, God had chosen her and she still had no idea why. It was a wonderful testimony she had and she was a great encouragement to me as she went through this ordeal.

A couple of weeks before she died we my mother took a trip to visit her and put some things in order. She was tired of having blood transfusions (as her blood count kept going down) and was wondering why, if she was so ready to be with her Lord, she was still doing this. So she made the decision to enter the Alexander Cohen Hospice house in Modesto, CA. We had a nice phone conversation the week before she died and said our good-byes. She died in the hope of her Saviour and resurrection and is now with Christ.

I found among her belongings a note that said she was sealed in Salt Lake, UT on May 30, 1991, to my grandfather. A baptism for him was also made that same date, as well as an endowment. She and her two children were baptized LDS 18 Nov 1972 and she had an endowment for herself 10 Aug 1990 and a sealing to parents 19 Oct 1990. A order of service from the Fresno Van Ness Institute of Religion indicates she received a certificate of completion on May 9, 1991, Bishop Garth L. Rasmussen presiding and LDSSA President John Cleveland conducting. This was a period of turmoil for her following his death and I think she was searching for some way to make herself feel better (they had been separated at the time). Thankfully she did not remain in the LDS cult.

- Logan West

Romance between Arlene & David Duncan

Place started: Home of Hazelle Duncan. Henry Duncan brings David over to meet Arlene Duncan, but no connection.
Time: 1957

David use to come over with his father, “Hank”, to visit Hazelle for morning coffee and enjoy fresh baked coffee cakes with nuts on top, sometimes, we would have just baked a fresh new frosted cake, and other times, there would even be a just baked homemade pie. When we baked pies, we would make at least 8 or 9 at a time. In those days, farmers and friends from around the area, would come and sit around the kitchen table and visit before going back out for the day’s work. Today, they go to Coffee Shops.

The first time I ever heard of David’s name was during the summer of 1957 when Hank and David had just come back from a trip back East which included a trip to Cuba before it was closed off from the United States. Coming back, with Grandpa “Highpockets” who had been living in Florida, David was driving through Arkansas in their Studebaker Hawk when the car skidded on some ice and it wrecked the right fender of the car. They came over to show Hazelle what the fender looked like. We all went out into the yard to look at it. After that, they seem to come over alittle bit more and alittle more.

One evening, while I was cleaning and moving some furniture in my bedroom, which was right off the kitchen, David was sitting at the table watching me. Like any good gentleman, David started to get up and come into my bedroom to help me with some of the furniture. But just as he got up and started to come towards the bedroom, about that time I slammed the door in his face and went on about my work. I wasn’t going to have any man coming into my bedroom!

Hazelle and Hank wanted us to get together, but somehow it just didn’t dawn on either one of us. They thought it would be a good match. Hank was getting worried because David was turning 21 and would never go out with any girls, so Hazelle suggested for me to go out with him. At the time, I was only 16, I wasn’t afraid to do anything, and Hazelle told Hank, that it might calm me down alittle which meant, they thought if we got together, I would get some of David’s shyness while some of my get up and go would rub off onto David.

I guess the real first time we met was when we were getting ready to go on a trail ride with the Turlock Horsemen’s Club to LaGrange. About a day or so before, someone said that David was going to ride up with us. At the time I didn’t think anything about it.

Well, we got started bright and early. Hazelle and Ralph weren’t quite ready to go, so Susan “Susie” Witt, Loren Andrus, David and I started off about 9:00 a.m. For awhile we all rode together, but soon separated. David and Loren rode behind Susie and me. When we arrived at the place in which we were to rest and eat alittle snack, no one was there. We continued to ride until the rest of the Turlock Horseman’s Club reached us at Turlock Lake. From there on, we all rode together with the rest of the group. Loren and Susie seem to go together while David and I rode together. When we arrived at LaGrange, he helped me unsaddle my horse then we rode down to a river to water the horses.

Later in the evening, everyone else was busy taking their horse’s home or had gone to town. There were about six of us sitting by the camp fire. I was in a real silly mood and began to talk and laugh real loud. David was so disgusted with me; I didn’t see him again until about two weeks before my birthday. (April 26th)

One day, Hank had come over and said David’s birthday was a week before mine. (April 21st) He said he wanted to give him a surprise birthday party, as he was turning 21 years old. I told him I would help him plan it. We decided to have a surprise birthday party for him at some archery friends, Pete and Jerry Istilate’s home. Bert Walters was David’s best friend, so we let him pick him up. Bert went to the house and asked David if he would like to go to the movies with him. David said no, because he had a test the next day and he didn’t think he should. Bert almost had to tell him about it, but David soon gave in. They drove around by the show, and then Bert said he had to make a short stop at Pete’s for a minute to see about some arrows. When they arrived, we really surprised them. He said he didn’t even know what was happening.

We had a lot of fun playing games and later in the evening, someone said that David’s car was missing. So, Bert, David and I took a spin around town to different places, to see if we could locate David’s car. It was missing! While riding, David put his arm around me. We came back to Pete’s and the car was in their garage. David sat with me while we finished the evening eating our ice cream and cake. Later, he walked out with me to the car and we said good-nite.

A few nights later, he and Hank came over to show us the pictures they had taken on their trip back East. A bee had stung me near the eye. Man, was my eye ever a sight. I sat on the floor in front of David, while he sat in the overstuffed chair, as we watched the slides.

The next day, he came over after school and asked me if I would like to ride to town with him to get his watch fixed. I said O.K. That was the first time I had ever ridden with him alone in his car. When we arrived home, he asked me if I would like to go to the show with him the coming Friday, May 2, 1957. I said O.K. That Friday we went to the show and David says that when he brought me home, I kissed him, but I still say I didn’t.

After that, we continued to date. We have gone to shows, miniature golf, bowling, out to dinner, school affairs, and dances, swimming, horseback riding, archery, and taking trips to the hills and mountains. It was so much fun to just be alone together. Some nights after a date, we would spend hours talking and enjoying each other parked in the yard for hours.

One evening while we were on a date, I asked David why he ever dated me after that first time he had met me. He remarked: Well, the first time at LaGrange, I was really disgusted, but after the birthday party, I thought I’d give it another try, just to see for sure.

We went together for eight months before David gave me his high school class ring, which meant we were going “steady”, as it was called in those days, on November 14, 1957. On February 14, 1958, only four months later, he gave me his mother and father’s wedding rings and we announced our engagement. We were married on May 30, 1959 in Carson City, Nevada by Rev. Gerald V. Case. I had just turned 18 years old by one month and David was 24 years old. His mother and step-father, Rebecca Lowrey Duncan Woolliscroft & William Duncan Woolliscroft were with us, along with David’s best friend, Bert Walters and Joan Edwards, my best friend, who were our Best Man & Maid of Honor.

After our wedding, I lived with Grandma & Grandpa Woolliscroft for a couple of weeks, while David returned to Fresno State College to finish out the school year there and for me to graduate from Turlock High School. Grandma Woolliscroft celebrated our wedding a few days later with a beautiful reception at their home on Duncan Acres in Delhi, California. For our honeymoon, David and I drove to Fish Camp, just before Yosemite Park, and camped for about a week, as we both loved the mountains.

When we returned to Fresno, we lived in a one room studio apartment above a mom and pop grocery store for $40.00 per month, but we were so happy!

Adena Teller, her sister, Francis Parsons & my brother, Glenn Tyler’s wife, Ruth was always so good to us as we were growing up. I remember when Adena & Ruth Tyler, came out to Hazelle Duncan's and took us out of school for the day. They took us to town in Turlock to buy some new school clothes. It meant so much to me at the time. They let us pick out anything we wanted, however, I didn't pick out much, because we never went to town to pick out "new" clothes. We were use to wearing hand me down clothes that were given to Hazelle from others, so this was a very special time for me.

I remember when we were very small, my mother, would visit with Adena in Modesto. Adena was always good to us and to our mother.

Another evening when I was small, my brother Clarence, came to pick us up and we went to Francis Parsons place in Modesto. We swam in the canal next to their ranch house out in the country. Later, all the kids went into the house and played together. She had twin sons who played the piano. They were so good & I was so impressed. I also wanted to play the piano, so I told them that I played also. They wanted me to play something, but of course I couldn’t, so I started telling them I had finished this piano book and that piano book and so on. I think they believed me, but I never had to actually play the piano that evening. I think someone called us in for some ice cream and cake, so that was the end of that. As we went back home along the old Highway 99, Clarence let me sit in his lap and he let me steer the car. It was so much fun. I loved that trip with him and the Parsons.

Through the years, after David & I were married, I often visited with Adena in her trailer in Modesto. She loved oriental food, so we would go out to eat at her favorite place.

When she was in the Bay area in an assistant living, I visited with her and stayed the night. I really enjoyed our visit, and she enjoyed having me there. It was a "Wonderful" visit. As we laid down for the evening, I could hear her saying her evening prays to the Lord. I was very impressed, but laid very still . That was the last time I saw her. She died shortly after that.

Many, many times when the Berg family members would gather, I have many Happy memories as the family would gather around the piano and sing gospel songs. I believe her sister, Francis, played the piano. I always enjoyed joining in on the singing with them and always felt a part of them at those moments. Through the years, I have been invited to attend the Berg Family reunions, and usually went with my cousin, Delmer Berg. - Arlene Teller Duncan