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Bowman, Clella Juanita (audio interview #2 of 4)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of four interviews recorded with Clella Juanita Bowman in the living room of her home in Long Beach, where she lives alone. The house was built during WWII for defense workers and the Bowman family had been its only occupants. Although the living room is open and relatively uncluttered so that she is able to maneuver her wheel chair, it abounds with family photos and momentos. Bowman was quite comfortable with the interview process and was quite prepared to share her recollections, including very personal experiences. Her propensity to deliver long monologues made it difficult, at times, for the interviewer to follow the details and provide direction. Nevertheless, she and Bowman established good rapport and spent time after the interview visiting and eating. 7/23/1980
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- 2021-05-24
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- SUBJECT BIO - Clella Juanita Bowman started working as an assembler at Douglas, Long Beach in 1942 after she moved to southern California with her husband, seeking wartime employment. Bowman was the third of eight children, born in Metea, Indiana in 1900. After completing high school, she attended a teacher training program, and began teaching in a country school one year later. She continued teaching until she married in 1924, after which she worked on the farm and helped in the family store. Attracted by good paying defense jobs, she moved to California in 1942 with her husband three children. After the war, she worked briefly in sales and real estate, and then left the work force until 1952, when she went to work as an aide at the Veteran's Hospital. She retired in 1961. One of the high points of Bowman's life seemed to be her being anointed "Queen for a Day" in 1945. She maintained contact with the other "queens" through a club. Due to health problems, Bowman is largely restricted to a wheel chair and somewhat limited in her activities. He family lives nearby and she sees them regularly. TOPICS - courtship and dating husband; teaching; marriage and wedding; children; small business ownership; relationship with in-laws; physical abuse; marital relationship; separation and reconciliation; managing household;childhood; gender roles; siblings; schooling; children; marital relationship; husband; social values: ERA; separation from and reconciliation with husband; relationships in community; menstruation; and sex educatiosex education; marital relationship; social activities; influenza epidemic of 1918; woman's suffrage; political views; community politics; family relationships; and migration to California;
- *** File: rrrjbowman4.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:05-3:16)... Bowman discusses her marital relationship, including her in-law's influence on her husband, and a physical confrontation with her husband that led her to filing for divorce. Normally, he took his anger out on their livestock or inanimate objects. When they finally reconciled, he treated her better and paid less attention to his family. She believes that another reason why he distanced himself from his family was the fact that his sister (Maude) refused to give him the savings he had banked in her name for several years. (3:16-8:25)... After she and her husband moved to California, she took out a medical insurance policy, which had the effect of creating more trust between them. He later benefited from the insurance when he was diagnosed with cancer. Nevertheless, his family continued to stir up trouble in their marriage. His sister Maude came to California and tried to persuade her husband to sell their home and move back to Indiana. Bowman was relieved when she got away from his family and refused to move back to Indiana. Despite her in-laws' attempts to destroy their marriage, Bowman treated her husband well and worked hard to pay their debts and improve their life together. (8:25-11:18)... Bowman discusses the financial arrangement with her husband. He earned extra money by driving a school bus; however, he turned all of his paychecks over to his sister Maude and she deposited the money into a savings account. Bowman's husband never went shopping with her for household products and appliances. Instead, he went shopping with his sister and they bought the item that Bowman wanted for the house. Although this bothered her, she did not complain about it because she ultimately benefited from the arrangement by receiving a new appliance. (11:18-15:19)... At the time that Bowman met her husband,she was teaching school and dating another man. When she broke off that relationship, her future husband (Roy) began courting her. She ignored his advances for quite awhile and returned to college in the summer. When she came back to teach in the fall they started dating and were engaged by Christmas. She wanted to return to college for the spring semester, but Roy told her that if she went back to school they would not get married. She decided to marry him instead of finishing school. (15:19-19:25)... Bowman describes her wedding day. She was married in a preacher's home with her brother and Roy's sister, Maude, serving as witnesses. Just before she spoke the words "I do," her entire life flashed before her eyes and she almost fainted at the thought of the commitment she was about to make. Soon after they married, they moved into a small home that they rented until the fall. (19:25-25:16)... Bowman's mother was not happy about her decision to marry and thought she was making a big mistake sacrificing her college education for marriage. After she married, Bowman taught school for another year, saving $800 of her earnings. She became pregnant the following February and gave birth to her daughter in October. The superintendent of the school in Fulton refused to hire her back because it was his policy not to hire women with children. Bowman wrote to a school in Richmond, Indiana and planned to teach there for two years. Her husband's family interceded and he refused to go with her. His family expected her to go alone and they criticized her when she refused to leave without her husband. She remarks on the lack of support from her in-laws when she had her first child. She purchased some baby supplies from Sears & Roebucks and made most of her baby's clothes by hand. (25:16-27:36)... Note: there is an interruption in this segment while Bowman answers the door. Bowman and her husband used her savings to purchase a general store with another partner. She worked at the store during the day and her husband and their partner worked in the evenings. They owned the store for about two or three years during which time she got pregnant with her second child. They decided to sell the store because the competition was driving them out of business. They also had financial problems because certain customers refused to pay their store tabs. (27:36-29:54)... Bowman was born on her parents' farm in Fulton and lived there until she was seven years old, when the family moved into their home on Fletcher's Lake. She lived there until she was twenty-one years old. While she was in college, her mother became ill and they moved back to the farm. Bowman took about four months off from school to take care of her ailing mother. When she lived at Fletcher's Lake, she helped her father at his general store by taking care of the rental boats and the icehouse and selling live bait. She also managed a substantial amount of farming responsibilities on her parents' farm considering that both her brothers were gone. End of tape. *** File: rrrjbowman5.mp3 (0:08-0:29)... Bowman notes that after she packed her husband's dinner, he went to his parents' house and his mother threw out the food Bowman prepared and packed his dinner with food that she made. (0:29-1:16)... When she was in grammar school, her teacher told her that it was not ladylike to play leap frog with boys even though she wore bloomers underneath her dresses. Her parents, however, did not restrict her from any activities because she was a girl. (1:16-2:49)... Bowman lists the birth order of her siblings; she was the third child, born in 1900. Her parents had eight children. Bowman and her siblings got along well because their mother would not allow them to fight. Occasionally, Bowman teased the sister closest to her in age. Her sister retaliated one day by throwing a tin can at Bowman, which broke her tooth. The dentist replaced her tooth with a gold crown and it was an expensive procedure. (2:49-4:19)... When she was a senior in high school, Bowman won the school spelling bee and moved on to the county spelling bee which she also won. In addition to spelling, Bowman was good at arithmetic and reading. She had a difficult time with her writing skills because she thought faster than she could write. She talks about her tendency to talk fast and loud. (4:19-7:48)... Bowman enjoyed living and working on a farm. She recalls when her eldest daughter entertained herself by singing to a school ducks on their front porch. Bowman thinks that she probably had a more enjoyable childhood than her own children because she grew up on the lake and got to do all sorts of fun activities. She enjoyed going to church and studying the bible when she was young. She felt it was important to expose her children to religion and believes that they turned out better because of their religious lessons. She digresses regarding physical abuse and crime in today's society. (7:48-13:59)... Bowman discuss crime in society, indicating that she never wanted a gun in her house. When she filed for divorce, she learned that her husband hid in the woods just outside their house with a shotgun to make sure that she did not have any gentlemen callers. She talks about the double standard that persists, stating "we are still not equal to a man even though the ERA claims that we will be... we are more like chattel for a man and they possess us in a way and they can do things and get by with it." During their separation, her husband was allowed to hold an auction to sell their things without her consent. She discusses the way she was treated during and after the auction and the arrangements she made with her attorney during the divorce proceedings. Bowman believes that her husband was greatly influenced by his family and she regrets that they did not move away as soon as they got married. (13:59-22:39)... Bowman details events that transpired during her separation, describing how friends and neighbors tried to convince her to reconcile with her husband. She could never understand why she was not treated like a respectable woman by her husband, his family, and people in the community, especially since she did not have to get married like other women in town who married because they got pregnant. She finally agreed to consider getting back together with her husband and the two of them with her lawyer to negotiate the terms of their reconciliation. Looking back, Bowman is proud of the way she handled herself during the separation and reconciliation proceedings. (22:39-27:39)... Her mother explained what menstruation was after she came home from school one day and told her about a girl who left blood on the toilet seat in the outhouse. Bowman's mother informed her that at a certain age girls "come sick" and advised her what to do when that happened. Bowman started her period late but she could not recall any other details. She remembers when her mother purchased the book Know Thyself, but Bowman could not understand most of its contents when she was young. Later, she took the book with her when she went away to college; however, someone confiscated it telling her that she did not have the right to read a book of that nature. (27:39-30:20)... Sex education was never discussed in her home or taught in school. She learned about sex from her husband who thought that she was stupid for a teacher. She wrote to Washington, DC (Children's Bureau) and requested a series of books about what to teach children about the facts of life. Bowman allowed her children to read these books and then approach her with any questions. She believes that the way she introduced her children to these matters influenced two of them to pursue careers in medicine. She recounted how she explained reproduction to a neighborhood boy using cows as an example. End of tape. *** File: rrrjbowman6.mp3 (0:05-1:15)... Bowman studied psychology in college, which she believes helped her in raising her children. She feels that it is important for children to learn about sex from their parents. She thinks that sex can be wonderful if it is done right. However, it can also be harmful when men abuse women sexually. She never had any problems with her husband trying to take advantage of her sexually after she filed for divorce because her attorney advised her not to let him touch her during their separation. (1:15-2:44)... Many people were surprised when Bowman filed for divorce and they did not think she was being a good Christian. However, the way her husband treated her was even more egregious than her actions. She also thought it was hypocritical for Christians to question her faith when they were the ones who denied her and her children food. She continues to discuss her marital relationship with her husband. (2:44-6:13)... Bowman's activities outside the home revolved around church and the Ladies Aid Society. She also was active at her children's school whenever box socials or parent meetings were organized. Except for Bowman and her husband, all of the men and women in her family were members of the Masons and the Eastern Star. Her mother was predominantly busy with taking care of her home and working in the general store at the lake. (6:13-13:39)... Bowman discusses the influenza epidemic of 1918. She contracted influenza during her senior year in high school and slipped into a coma for two weeks. She believes she got about two or three months of schooling before she graduated in 1919. Just before she was sent home from school, she was involved in a classroom debate about woman's suffrage. She and her partner's lectures were so persuasive that they ended up winning the debate. Bowman goes into detail about the progression of her illness and how she was treated. (13:39-22:56)... Bowman was aware of the woman's suffrage movement and she felt that woman ought to have the vote in order to change society. Her parents did not discuss politics or woman's suffrage in their home. Bowman and most people in the community were Republicans. Her husband's family, however, were Democrats and they disliked her for her Republican views. She remembers her husband's elation over the fact that she would not be able to vote in the 1924 presidential election because she had just given birth to her first child. Bowman went to the polls anyway. When she announced that she had voted, her husband got very angry and she thought he was going to hit her. From that time on, he stopped being as nice to her as he was in the beginning of their marriage. Bowman discusses the political schisms in her community. (22:56-30:44)... Bowman and her husband (Roy) decided to move to California for his and their daughter Eileen's health. In October 1942, Roy and Eileen went to California and moved in with Bowman's sister. He got a job at a shipyard in Wilmington and rented an apartment while Eileen stayed with her aunt. Within a few days, he put a down payment on a home located in a government housing tract in Lakewood. He sent a telegram to Bowman and gave her the go ahead to sell their belongings and move to California. She briefly mentions that she was employed at an aircraft plant in Logansport, Indiana before she left for California. Bowman ignored another telegram she got from her husband that told her not to come out to California until further notice. The interview ends just as she is describing the train ride out West. End of tape.
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