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About this time....1921 Uncle Den
Devine (Mom's brother) got on the Police Force, as it was
called in those days. He came out one evening to tell us
about the job and to show off his paraphernalia, We were in
rapt attention over the star shivered at the night-stick and
billie club could hardly look at the pistol and found the
handcuffs very inter- esting, especially when Uncle Den
demonstrated them to all of us by handcuffing Dads hands
together, to then remember he had left the keys at home.
With mush embarrassment Dad had to ride the Clement Line
streetcar down to Uncle Den's home on Larken Street....like
a criminal yet.3
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Birth & Baptismal
Certificate
Parish of Ballymacelligott, Diocese of Kerry, St. Brendan's
Ballymacelligott by Rev. D. McCarthy
Parents Bernard Devane, Catherine Savage
Sponsors Patrick Devane, Johanna Scanlon
Signed M. O'Donoghue, 23 Sep 1965,
Ballymacelligott2
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Our Mother May Devine Fewer
Mom came on a ship from Ireland, alone, at the mature age of
sixteen. She ventured westerly, after a short stay with her
sister in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Her two brothers, Pat and Den preceded her to San Francisco;
they and another brother, John, came to this country
earlier. Not long after Mom's arrival, the City was
demolished by the 1906 earthquake and fire. She and some
friends rode a wagon to San Mateo until things cooled down.
When life was fairly calm in San Francisco, she returned to
take up where she left off. She finished her studies (I
believe the school was Hastings), and soon went to work for
a Law firm.
Our dear Mother took three of us to the 1915 Panama Pacific
Worlds Fair in the Marina District; most of the Fair was
erected on filled ground The Palace of Fine Arts is the only
retraining building which was restored and should last
another hundred years.
Upon arriving at the Fair by streetcar, our Mother
discovered that she had left the baby's food at home. Two of
us remained at the Fair, while Mom took streetcars back home
for the food and then back to the Fair. One act at the Fair
was a motorcycle stunt. This very noisy motorcycle was
driven around and around on the inside walls of a structure
resembling a very large sewer pipe that was standing on end;
also there were stunt flying airplanes over the San
Francisco Baby. I believe they took off and landed at Crissy
Field. I heard say that San Francisco was the only major
city with an airport inside the city limits. We probably had
food from the Fair booths, but I do not remember now.
There were the years when most of what you needed came to
you. Freed Teller & Freed the coffee and tea merchant
came regularly to 26th Avenue in a horse drawn buggy. The
horse was tethered with a leather strap with a roundish
weight on the pavement One day , while he was getting an
order from Mom and the neighbors, my older brother picked me
up and put me on the horses back; not being a saddle horse,
he bucked me off and as I landed his hind hoof caught me in
the ribs and then my forehead contacted the curb. Dr.
Thompson stitched the forehead closed.
The Ice Man came several days a week. His horse drawn wagon
was enclosed with the back end closed with canvas. The Ice
Man wore a leather apron and back of the shoulder piece. He
would deliver whole slabs, half or quarter. We hung around
his wagon for the chips of ice to suck on.
The Vegetable Man drove a horse and wagon open on both
sides. His scales hung from the back of his seat; several
neighbors would approach the wagon at the same time, for the
usually fresh vegetables.
Peoples Bread came in a truck having metal sides and top. It
was the best smelling vehicle, loaded with trays of bread,
donuts, coffee cake and so on. ( About twenty years later,
my son Brian bought a used panel truck labeled "Peoples
Bread'").
The Rag Bottle Sack Man drove a horse drawn slat sided
wagon. One could hear him approaching from the California
street side of the hill. Truthfully, he bleated just like a
goat , he did not pronounce words but everyone knew when he
was approaching. Our Mother and he got along famously. She
would have her wares ready for him, usually a gunny sack or
two of rags , a few bundles of paper and some metal , maybe
an old sprig and frame of a bed. He saw her at the garage
door and alighted from his wagon.
The conversation went like this: Good morning Main, what
have you got there? Good morning, I have just these few ....
.Ah lady, ~papers don't bring a thing these days but I could
take them off your hands. Not at all.. Now how much will you
give me for the rags? The most would be 50¢... And how
much for the metal?... Believe me lady, 35¢ would be
generous... I appreciate your kindness, now for all of this,
you can have it for $1.95....But lady...but...but...In the
end Mom won out. Every time the Rag Bottle Sack man came,
the bartering was repeated .
Mom was a great cook, she handled the old wood burning stove
without any trouble; she produced many loaves of irish soda
bread, muffins, biscuits, cakes and pies. Corn beef and
cabbage was one of her specialties, The best part was making
hash with hand grinder the next day.
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