Doris was born in Chenoa Illinois and resided there in the early part of the Century. She had two brothers Fred and
Alan and one sister Paulene. The Spanish Flu of 1918-1919
which had a death toll greater than WWI claimed the life of her Father Owen Batrum. Owen was a District Attorney in Chenoa. Picking up the pieces, the family moved west. About
this time Doris met an older gentleman by the name of Harry
Gardner. Harry had been married before and had children. One
of the children "Leo" was older than Doris and would affectionately call her "Mom" when Doris married Harry, he was a very successful corn broom salesman and drove a luxury Cadillac in the early 1920's. His business involved
going to Mexico and the family lived in Matamoros on the Texas Border for a few years eventually settling in Los Angeles after a stay in Oklahoma City. Doris and Harry had three children, Harry Jr., Eloise, and Virginia. Doris and Harry Sr. separated while the 3 kids were young, leaving Doris with the task of raising 3 children alone during the depression. To support the family, Doris worked in the May Co. Men's Department as a sales lady. May Co. was anti-union and rewarded their long time employee's with a dollar a month for each year served. After the depression Harry Sr. worked as a grave digger in Hollywood. Eloise (his daughter)would sometime go over and ask him for a small loan as 33 dollars a month only went so far.Doris still saved enough to take her Grandchildren on a trip once in awhile on the "Big White Steamer" to Catalina for a day trip. Tirelessly working at May Co. her lunch would sometimes consist of "an aspirin and a coke" a generous person named Norman who would take her to and from work each day. She never got a drivers license and relied on public transportation to get from one place to another. In the early 60's Doris took a trip to Sheep Ranch California with her Grandson Ed to visit the grave of her former husband Harry Sr. Harry Senior died alone in a cabin in Sheep Ranch in 1947. Doris would dote on her 5 grandchildren from Harry Jr. and Eloise but had very little to do with her daughter Virginia's children. When Virginia died an untimely death in 1958, Doris scraped together enough money to have her buried in Forest Lawn, next to the plot she had secured for herself ahead of time. Thanks to the Ancestry search engines the Grandchildren have been able to
connect to Virginia's children and grandchildren.
Alan and one sister Paulene. The Spanish Flu of 1918-1919
which had a death toll greater than WWI claimed the life of her Father Owen Batrum. Owen was a District Attorney in Chenoa. Picking up the pieces, the family moved west. About
this time Doris met an older gentleman by the name of Harry
Gardner. Harry had been married before and had children. One
of the children "Leo" was older than Doris and would affectionately call her "Mom" when Doris married Harry, he was a very successful corn broom salesman and drove a luxury Cadillac in the early 1920's. His business involved
going to Mexico and the family lived in Matamoros on the Texas Border for a few years eventually settling in Los Angeles after a stay in Oklahoma City. Doris and Harry had three children, Harry Jr., Eloise, and Virginia. Doris and Harry Sr. separated while the 3 kids were young, leaving Doris with the task of raising 3 children alone during the depression. To support the family, Doris worked in the May Co. Men's Department as a sales lady. May Co. was anti-union and rewarded their long time employee's with a dollar a month for each year served. After the depression Harry Sr. worked as a grave digger in Hollywood. Eloise (his daughter)would sometime go over and ask him for a small loan as 33 dollars a month only went so far.Doris still saved enough to take her Grandchildren on a trip once in awhile on the "Big White Steamer" to Catalina for a day trip. Tirelessly working at May Co. her lunch would sometimes consist of "an aspirin and a coke" a generous person named Norman who would take her to and from work each day. She never got a drivers license and relied on public transportation to get from one place to another. In the early 60's Doris took a trip to Sheep Ranch California with her Grandson Ed to visit the grave of her former husband Harry Sr. Harry Senior died alone in a cabin in Sheep Ranch in 1947. Doris would dote on her 5 grandchildren from Harry Jr. and Eloise but had very little to do with her daughter Virginia's children. When Virginia died an untimely death in 1958, Doris scraped together enough money to have her buried in Forest Lawn, next to the plot she had secured for herself ahead of time. Thanks to the Ancestry search engines the Grandchildren have been able to
connect to Virginia's children and grandchildren.
Doris was born in Chenoa Illinois and resided there in the early part of the Century. She had two brothers Fred and
Alan and one sister Paulene. The Spanish Flu of 1918-1919
which had a death toll greater than WWI claimed the life of her Father Owen Batrum. Owen was a District Attorney in Chenoa. Picking up the pieces, the family moved west. About
this time Doris met an older gentleman by the name of Harry
Gardner. Harry had been married before and had children. One
of the children "Leo" was older than Doris and would affectionately call her "Mom" when Doris married Harry, he was a very successful corn broom salesman and drove a luxury Cadillac in the early 1920's. His business involved
going to Mexico and the family lived in Matamoros on the Texas Border for a few years eventually settling in Los Angeles after a stay in Oklahoma City. Doris and Harry had three children, Harry Jr., Eloise, and Virginia. Doris and Harry Sr. separated while the 3 kids were young, leaving Doris with the task of raising 3 children alone during the depression. To support the family, Doris worked in the May Co. Men's Department as a sales lady. May Co. was anti-union and rewarded their long time employee's with a dollar a month for each year served. After the depression Harry Sr. worked as a grave digger in Hollywood. Eloise (his daughter)would sometime go over and ask him for a small loan as 33 dollars a month only went so far.Doris still saved enough to take her Grandchildren on a trip once in awhile on the "Big White Steamer" to Catalina for a day trip. Tirelessly working at May Co. her lunch would sometimes consist of "an aspirin and a coke" a generous person named Norman who would take her to and from work each day. She never got a drivers license and relied on public transportation to get from one place to another. In the early 60's Doris took a trip to Sheep Ranch California with her Grandson Ed to visit the grave of her former husband Harry Sr. Harry Senior died alone in a cabin in Sheep Ranch in 1947. Doris would dote on her 5 grandchildren from Harry Jr. and Eloise but had very little to do with her daughter Virginia's children. When Virginia died an untimely death in 1958, Doris scraped together enough money to have her buried in Forest Lawn, next to the plot she had secured for herself ahead of time. Thanks to the Ancestry search engines the Grandchildren have been able to
connect to Virginia's children and grandchildren.
Alan and one sister Paulene. The Spanish Flu of 1918-1919
which had a death toll greater than WWI claimed the life of her Father Owen Batrum. Owen was a District Attorney in Chenoa. Picking up the pieces, the family moved west. About
this time Doris met an older gentleman by the name of Harry
Gardner. Harry had been married before and had children. One
of the children "Leo" was older than Doris and would affectionately call her "Mom" when Doris married Harry, he was a very successful corn broom salesman and drove a luxury Cadillac in the early 1920's. His business involved
going to Mexico and the family lived in Matamoros on the Texas Border for a few years eventually settling in Los Angeles after a stay in Oklahoma City. Doris and Harry had three children, Harry Jr., Eloise, and Virginia. Doris and Harry Sr. separated while the 3 kids were young, leaving Doris with the task of raising 3 children alone during the depression. To support the family, Doris worked in the May Co. Men's Department as a sales lady. May Co. was anti-union and rewarded their long time employee's with a dollar a month for each year served. After the depression Harry Sr. worked as a grave digger in Hollywood. Eloise (his daughter)would sometime go over and ask him for a small loan as 33 dollars a month only went so far.Doris still saved enough to take her Grandchildren on a trip once in awhile on the "Big White Steamer" to Catalina for a day trip. Tirelessly working at May Co. her lunch would sometimes consist of "an aspirin and a coke" a generous person named Norman who would take her to and from work each day. She never got a drivers license and relied on public transportation to get from one place to another. In the early 60's Doris took a trip to Sheep Ranch California with her Grandson Ed to visit the grave of her former husband Harry Sr. Harry Senior died alone in a cabin in Sheep Ranch in 1947. Doris would dote on her 5 grandchildren from Harry Jr. and Eloise but had very little to do with her daughter Virginia's children. When Virginia died an untimely death in 1958, Doris scraped together enough money to have her buried in Forest Lawn, next to the plot she had secured for herself ahead of time. Thanks to the Ancestry search engines the Grandchildren have been able to
connect to Virginia's children and grandchildren.
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