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- Little is known of Stanley James Barr's father, who was seldom, if ever, discussed. Although pretty much an only child, Stanley did have a younger brother who died in infancy. Stanley was "on his own" at an early age and took to "riding the
rails" to find work across the country. A tall (6-foot) handsome man, he married the diminutive Olive May Barr, who was 4-foot-8, after the two met at work in a Montgomery Ward Store in Hutchinson, Kan. Olive, who had previously worked as an
elementary school teacher, took a job at the Wards store, and Stanley, who came to town on the rails, got a job in the warehouse. While living in Nickerson, the couple had three children (Minta Ann, Ada May, and Dale), but then moved to
California and settled in Petaluma, where their fourth child, Katy, was born. After living for about a year in Petaluma, the family moved to San Francisco, where they remained for about 5 1/2 years before moving to Colusa, where Stanley got a
job as train master and telegrapher. He got "bumped out of his job" when World War II veterans reclaimed their positions, so he took up carpentry and woodworking. The family then moved to a large ranch near El Verano, Calif., where they lived
and tended a chicken ranch for 1 1/2 years. Then it was back to Petaluma, where Stanley drove a frozen food truck. They remained in Petaluma for about a year before moving to the Sebastopol area, where they bought a ranch west of the city off
Jonive Road. Stanley frequented the Sebastopol pool hall, where he often sat and played cards with friends. Before meeting Olive, he was briefly married to a girl, probably in California, but the couple had no children. He also worked as a
railroad man, warehouse foreman, short order cook, sailor, road construction worker, and farmer.
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