CLARENCE LESLIE PALMER
Even after Clarence Palmer married Lena Westlake at which time a man feels he has certainly earned the status of King of his own realm, his dad offered to whip him. The reason is now obscure, but the story remains as a testimony to all that the Palmer in charge is not to be taken lightly.
Photo: Ella
Love, Mildred Rogers, Mabel Rohrer and Clarence Palmer-- Brother and Sisters. 
When Clarence
was young he worked in a factory and there met Lena. From this
meeting they became better acquainted and were married. They lived
down the road from Grandma and Grandpa Westlake and it was here in
DeKalb that their first child, Mabel, was born.
Soon after this they went to Ohio where a business partnership was established with Mr. Collins in the feed and liver business. After about two years the business was sold, and in company with his family, Clarence, Lena, Mabel and his sister Mildred and her husband Oscar Linscott they left for the Boise Valley and Nampa, Idaho. Here they purchased the Share House Cafe located in the Liberty Hotel. In later years the Cafe was known as the Manhattan and the Hotel was renamed the Greystone. They operated the cafe until Oscar's death when Mildred took over and Clarence went to work on different farms. In 1912 the word spread that a dam was to built at Deer Flat and Clarence signed on with the crew. They set up housekeeping in a tent below the dam. The weather that winter was bitter cold and their new son, George, got his nose frosted.
Homesteads were available and Clarence and Lena took out a claim at Glendale, a community 25 miles from Nampa. They soon began to accumulate things around them and the future looked brighter. In partnership with a Mr. Kinser, Clarence bought an 80 acre ranch at Melba.
Mr. Kinser thought they were going to make a mint of money and so he bought a new Scripts Booth car. In the fall he was unable to make his half of the place payment and so even though it was a hardship, Clarence made the farm payment its entirety. This episode, related to the children, stayed in their minds as a lesson in frugality vs. Foolishness and was well remembered.
The Bernards and Palmers were fishing buddies. On one occasion they went to the headwaters of the Owyee river to fish, when a flash flood held them captive for a week. Folks at home were very worried when they finally came in, tired, dirty and most of all, hungry. Fishing was not so good after the flood.
In Owyee county, just across the river, bands of wild horses roamed. It was just for taking that farmers could have a herd of horses. Of course, this was easier said than done, but in company of the Hauchmans they set forth in the winter to gather their share of the wild herd. A corral was built, the horses rounded up, and the winter months spent breaking horses for work and riding. Those that could not be trained were sold for feed. The largest herd ever brought in for this purpose was about fifty.
The family moved from the homestead at Glendale the year their third child was born. The home was remodeled by making the old kitchen into a dining area, and building the pantry into a bathroom, with the old back porch became a garage lean-to. Rooms were added upstairs for sleeping.
Farming with horses just naturally brings about a lot of excitement. A runaway team causes all kinds of havoc. Breaking the mower into bits, scattering pieces so far that putting it together again costs more than a new one. On one occasion Lena was found running after the team yelling “WHOA” and her unfamiliar voice caused them to be even more frightened and more determined to run away. Horses scattering rock that have been painstakingly gathered was disheartening. And there was the time that Reuben kicked Clarence so hard that he determined to sell him---that is, until he remembered that tractors don't give fertilizer.
Some of the hired men were Jake Walters, Lawrence Spencer and Jack Cramm. Each one had something special to give the children in the way of knowledge, if only instructions in obedience. Jack Cramm bought the Glendale homestead, taking with him some of the calves from Clarence’s prize winning cows as a nucleus for his own herd.
Clarence was proud of his cows and took special pride in giving them good care. In 1928 a large barn was raised in the back yard. Clarence had developed arthritis in his hands and so he doubled the size of his herd from eight to sixteen and bought a milking machine. Echo Belvedere was his winning cow for many years. She was a champion registered Holstein. Dad kept good records and pictures of all his cows. Even more pictures than of his kids.
Our horses were Nell, Doll, King, Reuben, Bob, Barney and Dick, used for farm work but also for fun and riding there was Hammerhead and Midget. Horses were an important and integral part of the farm where it took all day for a journey to Nampa, so you went only once a month. What iron monster can replace the nuzzle of a friendly horse, or bring you home safely if you sleep walk?
Carl Harris and Mr. Eichenberger sold water to the members of the community for there were not many wells, most people used a cistern for their supply. No one was very thirsty for a time after the cistern was cleaned out because they knew that no matter what, how hard you tried , there was no way to keep the mice, bugs or other little invaders out.
Community spirit runs high in small towns, especially when there is a certain project in mind. Some of these spring up from necessity as the one held in 1934. Rabbits were taking their toll of the crops. One of the community members organized what was later referred to as The Rabbit Kill. Everyone came at the designated time, clubs of all kinds in hand. A line formed, and , keeping your neighbor in mind and sight, they moved across the terrain in unison. As the line moved together and forward , the rabbits moved ahead. A circle was formed, and the rabbits in the circle were eliminated with a sure and swift hand. Nature takes care of its own and that year the hawks and eagles and magpies grew fat.
Where Bernard’s lived down by the bluff and across the river from the Palmer’s, many times they were the victims of Indian raids, stealing clothes from their clothesline. The notorious Indian known as Chief Blackfoot was a regular prowler in the neighborhood. The last time he was seen in Nampa, the story was told that as the police chased him on horseback, he ran 10 miles down the river, finally jumping into the stream to escape to the other side.
The years on the farm were pleasant and profitable. In 1935 the oldest members of the family made a trip to pick up a truck and two cars from the factory. They first visited relatives in the area and then set out for home. Stopped by a state patrolman on the way, they explained that the vehicles were all for family use. He did not believe them and was going to arrest them for caravanning without a permit. The Palmer temper got in the way and the order was: “If they don't want us in the state, we will leave!”. The whole family drove all night to get out of the state.
Meanwhile back at the farm, Bob and Clarence, Jr. decided that if they were to be left behind at home, then they were entitled to have some fun. And fun called for a party and a party called for a cake. It took 12 dozen eggs before they made a satisfactory cake, and then only because the hired girl came to their aid. Needless to say, there were some angry parents and some boys who had some tall explaining to do.
Several families in the area stand out in our memory as part and parcel of home life. Carl Harris family, the Bachman’s, Bernards: fourth of July always found us together for games, fireworks and swimming. Happy memories were born of these associations and many friends over the years. We often went fishing at Maiden Rapids and would come home with a whole tub full of fish. On one of the times the Montgomerys came, Lena and Mrs. Montgomery refused to ride along the cliff in the car. So they got out and walked, preferring instead to chance an encounter with a rattlesnake.
The last day of school was always a big affair, including all the schools in Canyon county. A playoff tournament of softball was the highlight for the boys and their dads, while the girls contribution was a Maypole dance. Swimming and picnic good filled the remainder of the time, with a big dance at night. It is good to know that at least some of our history involves people who took time off to enjoy life and relax with friends and neighbors. It makes our hurried life take on a little more meaning to know that we came from a family who knew where and when to place things in their proper perspective.
In 1937 Clarence purchased a service station just past the packing plant on the way out of Nampa. He rented the farm at Melba to Jim Wheeler and purchased a lot on Elm street in Nampa to build a house with an apartment in the upstairs and basement. He had a large garden, but promptly announced to all that it was more work than the entire farm at Melba since he had no machinery to work with.
When the second world war was declared on 7 Dec 11941, most life styles changed. Clarence decided to contribute to the war effort by working in the shipyard, so he came out of retirement and moved to Portland, Oregon. With the three children still living at home, Clarence and Bob also worked in the shipyard with their Dad, Lena kept house and Portia attended high school.
After the war was over, they purchased land in Newberg, Oregon on River Road and built another house. Newberg was the site of the Friends Church Yearly Meetings and the Church College, George Fox, as well as having a population among whom they were sure to find friends.
After selling the house on River Street, he built another one on Center Street where he and Lena spent the rest of their lives.
Most of us invest our entire lifetime in the training of and providing food and shelter for our families. So it is with great satisfaction we see our children taking their place in the community. Not one in the line of the family has ever brought disgrace to the name of Palmer. We can take pride in that fact.