A trip to Yuma starts a Family

Early on Thursday, December 11th, 1941 Donald Chandler and Olive Short left for Yuma Arizona. They were eloping. Don picked Olive up at her mother’s house in Willowbrook. Olive’s Mom, Florence, dressed in a housecoat, walked them to the car. She had been invited to go with them, but she had declined. As the car pulled away from the curb and started slowly up the street, Grandma walked along with it, crying.


The young couple had her blessing, but not that of Don’s parents, who felt that Don had an obligation to continue to pay for his sister Marie’s education, a commitment he had no intention of ignoring.

The first stop on the 5 hour trip to Yuma was in San Diego where Dad bought a new suit to get married in. They drove on to Yuma, where they were married at 5pm (telegram). The newlyweds spent the night in Yuma, at the San Carlos Hotel on what was then Hwy 80. In the morning they drove to the ranch in Fallbrook to break the news to Dad’s parents.

The spent their second married night in Oceanside, and Mom still remembers listening to the sound of the ocean all night.

Mom does not remember where they spent Saturday night, but by Sunday, she was back in school in Santa Barbara, where she bought a box of chocolates for her sorority sisters (clipping) and Dad was back in school at Ryan’s Aeronautics in San Diego.

Later in the month, Grandma gave Mom and Dad a reception in her home (photo).

They made their first home together in April, on Balboa Blvd in San Diego street. There were several houses during the war, including Aldercroft Heights, and then Morgan Hill and finally Santa Clara.