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Claude Chittick Family
posted by the Odessa Digital Library - 1998
- sent to us from Susan Thompson, along with other
valuable information. The following is an excerpt from
a larger article about the history of the town of Wetonka,
South Dakota.
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That best portion of a good man's life--his little nameless,
unremembered acts
of kindness.
- W. Wordsworth -
At the time it seemed too bad that someone, some stranger
from Leola eleven miles away, would get the mail carrier
job which Mr. Earle had held temporarily. Just three men
wrote the Civil Service examination and Mr. Claude Chittick
had been second highest. Earle with his bookish, formal
education and careful penmanship was understandably a
high scorer, but he had not been able to prove United
States citizenship so could not continue in the work.
He sold his equipment; his mare, Pearl; her colt, and
his buggy to the new driver. The Chittick family came
from Leola and moved into Kindred's vacant house. It was
1914.
Claude, a Celtic type of Northern Ireland ancestry, had
light skin, red hair and mustache. His own parents had
lived in Ontario. His wife, Helen, was an artistic studious
person with Scandinavian parents. She had been a rural
teacher. Later she served Wetonka well as substitute teacher
and school board member. There were three boys; Douglas,
Ellsworth (Victor) and the baby, Malcolm.
I remember the proper, older boys calling on us their
first Sunday in town. They wanted to do everything right
so they did not come through the post office entrance,
but went around the building and knocked on the rear door.
It was the beginning of a long friendship that strengthened
as the sterling qualities of the parents became known
and the children grew up to resemble them. They have attained
what seems like greater success than their parents but
only commensurate with the training they received and
the characteristics they inherited and developed in this-later
period.
Claude's idea of Civil Service was just that--civil service.
He had a true love of people and favors for friends were
a matter of course. Probably few days passed without a
patron on the mail route benefiting by his kindness in
some form--a stamp supplied, a package brought to the
door, a lift along the road, or a verbal message delivered
between farms. I have not forgotten the good turns done
for us when we as adolescents cooled at the temporary
camps our dad set up where he put in crops. We'd take
fresh meat, bread, and vegetables along with canned goods
when we went out from town with our dad on Monday mornings,
but Mother knew we'd need more bread and meat before the
end of the week. She dutifully stamped her food packages
since she as postmaster lived by postal regulations, but
the regulations did not interfere with Claude and his
ideas of service.
Without clocks at the camps we sometimes guessed the sun
time right and got to the road to meet the mail. If not,
the mail came down the pasture road to us. "We thought
we still had time to get to the box," we'd apologize,
but Claude brushed off the explanation and made light
of his extra drive in and out from the county road, and
the gate opening, "I didn't want to leave the meat
at the gate on a hot day like this."
We always enjoyed seeing him but were especially glad
one day when he drove in. My older sister had been "first
cook" that week. Already a young teacher and no camper
she had not got along well sleeping on the floor. She
had developed sciatica along with stomach flu and appreciated
getting a ride home "on the mail." Mother could
square this with the postal rules because an "assistant
postmaster" could ride and "inspect" the
mail route even though passengers were not allowed. We
girls were entered as assistants when Mother thought we
were old enough to write out money orders, but this didn't
mean we got paid!
At this time Mr. Chittick had a Ford touring car for normal
driving but must keep the horses for storm weather and
deep snow. He also needed the horses for substitutes like
me. Sometimes I wondered if he laid off because he had
a number of vacation days each year or because he knew
how much I liked to earn money. Anyway I drove a few times,
once with the oldest boy, Douglas, to show me the way,
but other times with the map of the route. Once the map
and my poor judgment got me and the mail service into
trouble. The map indicated straight ahead, but the tall
sunflowers and water on the grade suggested a detour.
I continued on the grade until it was obvious there had
been no traffic that way. Pearl's grown colt, Billy, objected
when I descended from the buggy to turn him on the narrow
road and a wheel scraped the body of the vehicle. With
a bound Billy accomplished the whole maneuver but the
buggy lay on its side in the sunflowers and Billy was
out front and free. Immediately he was sorry so he stood
by and waited for me. He and I and the mail walked over
to Averill's farm to borrow a rig, but there were only
women at the house and they had much more important business
on hand than helping to get the mail around the north
route. Threshers would be there for dinner and I must
stay to eat. After that the daughter, Helen, would take
me into town when she went in for supplies.
What a dinner! I really enjoyed it but I should have called
home. When I arrived in mid-afternoon my mother had worried
since a farmer came in to inquire what had happened on
the mail route, "Chittick's buggy is overturned on
the road." I was well fed and not hurt so Mr. Chittick
qualified as the one person entitled to a grievance but
he graciously explained that an attempt had been made
to deliver the mail and therefore he would be paid and
I should accept my substitute's voucher when it came.
I wish I had been advised to return the money because
there surely was expense in righting the buggy and getting
it back to town and perhaps some harness repair. This,
however, was typical of Claude--thinking the other person
right and being overgenerous.
It didn't follow that he was over-lenient with his own
boys. They received good training and expert counseling
and had the ever present examples of good character in
their devoted parents. Before Claude's death all three
sons had finished college and were established in responsible
jobs. There were also some grandchildren.
While still on the job Claude worked too hard one winter
day getting his stalled car out of deep snow. In the evening
the stroke came. When I saw him at Christmas he had not
recovered his speech but had let Helen know he wanted
the package sent to our nieces and nephews who had moved
to Spearfish. He had started the annual gift giving when
there were only two children and continued as the family
grew to seven children and had moved across the state.
He seemed to be improving and was able to be up in a chair
when the second and fatal stroke ended his life. It was
1942.
This was, of course, a difficult time for Mrs. Chittick
but fortunately (Victor) Ellsworth, the second son, still
lived in Wetonka. He had given up teaching when a second
mail carrier job became available. (Wetonka then had daily
mail service on both routes instead of one carrier serving
the two routes on alternate days.) Later when Ellsworth
transferred to Aberdeen his mother found an apartment
there which she enjoyed. During her senior years there
was the long winter outing in Arizona where Ellsworth
and his family were living. In the fall of 1967 she had
gone with Douglas to Fremont, Nebraska, to the wedding
of Malcolm's daughter, Nola. Douglas's daughters, Karen
and Kay, were on the trip and then again with their grandmother
when they returned to Brookings where Douglas has been
on the faculty of the State University for years. For
Mrs. Chittick the plans and talks of advanced degrees
and professional work must have been very pleasing.
Shortly after her return to the Eastern Star Home in Redfield
where she lived she excused herself from an evening meal.
She said she felt ill and must return to her room. It
was September of 1967 and she was eighty-two. For her
death came gently and spared her the sorrow of her youngest
son's death later that year.
Wetonka SD, 1978
Published by the Odessa Digital Library - 11 Mar 1998
Read the full article:
Enjoy the full article with more information about the
Claude Chittick Family, and Wetonka, SD.
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