January 16, 2013

The Roland ‘Gayle' And Clara Slavens Family

Last Night (Tuesday January 15, 2013,) Almost By “Divine Guidance , I Started Searching For Information About Gayle And Clara Slavens. One Thing Lead To Another And Finally The Discovery Of Gayle's Recent Passing. Needless To Say, I Join All Those That Were Fortunate To Have Known Him In Expressing My Deepest Sympathy On Your Loss. 

With A Family Of Three Sons, Two Daughters, Daughter-Laws, Son-Laws, Grand And Great- Grandchildren, I Can Just Imagine The Celebrations, Birthdays, Graduations, Holidays, Etc. 

I First Met Gayle And Clara In 1952 While My Brother, Age 9 And I, Age 12 Lived Down The Road At Bar 49 Ranch. We Went To School In Pope Valley. (I Remember The Kirkpatrick Kids). We Lived In A House That Was Located Just Northeast Of The Big Horse Barn. One Day While We Were At School, The House Burned To The Ground. I Still Can Picture All The Ash And Debris In The Concrete Basement. Other Than The Fact That I Had Lost My First Winchester 22LR For Which I Had Worked And Saved To Buy, Life Went On And We Finished That School Term.

We Were City Kids From San Francisco That Were Horse Crazy. After Leaving St. Helena We Had To Go Back To School In S.F. I Kept In Touch With Gayle & Clara By Mail And Long Distance Telephone. Somehow, I Tricked Them Into Letting Me Go Their Ranch, During The Summer And On Some School Holidays.

I Learned To Milk A Cow, Clean The Milk Cans And Hand Operated Cream Separator Equip, Bucket Feed Calves, Wash The Milking Barn (Clean !!!), Clara Taught Me How To Squirt The Barn Cats While Milking, I Finally Could Carry One (1) 5 Gallon Can Out To The Road While Following Gayle With A Can In Each Of His Hands, To Dehorn A Bull, Put A Ring In The Bull's Nose,(This Was Accomplished In A Homemade Wooden “Squeeze Chute”) And Clara Taught Me To Put Mustard On Eggs !

This Act Of Kindness Took Place Barely Three Years After They Were First Married. Gayle Helped Me (Probably After I Invited Myself) To Get Deer Tags Then Went Even Farther To Help Me Get A Used Winchester Lever Action 30/30. He Finally Put His Foot Down And Said “I Don't Mind Helping You Get Ready, But You Are Going To Have To Shoot The Deer Yourself.”  After The Big Hunt, I Heard Gayle Laugh When He Told Clara Not To Worry, That “Her Big Buck” Was Still Out There Because I Made More Noise Talking And Asking Questions Than “A Run-A-Way Colt!”

You All Can No Doubt Understand The Impression That Those Experiences And Memories Have Contributed To My Life. I Still Remember Gayle On A Young Black Horse Sitting Tall And Straight In The Saddle While Riding With A Braided Rawhide Hackamore. I Thought Clara Was The Nicest, Prettiest Lady I Had Ever Seen. 

We All Have Regrets In Lapses Of Communication. I May Have Been Able To Better Demonstrate To Gayle That His Efforts Are Cherished And Highly Valued. The Basics That  He And Clara Imparted To Me Have Shaped The Approach To My Daughter And Son. We Gave Them The “Freedom To Fail” They Learned More From Moments Of Adversity Than Having Things Handed To Them. They Are Successfully Immersed In A Larger Than Average Diversified California Organic Farming And Ranching Operation. They Currently Utilize Some Of The Best Genetics To Improve Their Expanding Commercial Cowherd. They Have Participated With A Major Feeding Company To Get Performance And Carcass Data On Their Yearling Stocker Cattle, As Well As For Their Ranch Raised Calves.

My Daughter And Son Sit A Horse Much Like I Vividly Recall Seeing Gayle Do. We Have Three Granddaughters That Are Into School, Sports, Activities, And are “Horse Crazy”

Now That I Have Read, And Re-Read The Somewhat Limited Information On The Internet, Some Of My Questions Have Been Answered. The Fact That Gayle Was Very Active With The Boy Scouts Might Explain His Willingness To Help Some City Kid Realize Some, And Formulate More Of His Dreams. The Fact That Gayle And Clara Had And Raised A Large Family, Better Explains The Very Enthusiastic Goodbyes And Hellos That I Frequently Observed When Gayle Left In The Mornings And Returned In The Afternoon.

Please Relay My Condolences To Clara. I Don't Expect Her To Remember Me, But Please Tell Her That She Was An Excellent Roll Model And That My Kids Could Not Have Had A Better Mother. Even If She Doesn't Remember Me, We Are Both Old Enough That Now I Could Give Her A Big Hug. You Are Going To Have To Do It For Me. Make It Extra Special.

Sincerely,

Bill Lefty
billleftyauctioneer@yahoo.com

ps-
I Went To Google Earth. It Has Only Been Sixty (60) Years Since I Was Last There...BUT...I Think I Found The POPE VALLEY ROAD Ranch !!

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OBITUARY

Roland Gayle Slavens

July 8, 1927 – December 17, 2012

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