Clifford Earl Florer

John Henry Florer? Clifford Florer’s father 

Birth: September 8^th, 1898 in Spencer Nebraska.

By Cora Florer

Dad married a girl named Ruby Smith in Oklahoma where they lived at that time. Dad back then liked parties and related things that young people did back in the 1920s in Oklahoma.

I guess Dad and Ruby were happy. After Dad and Ruby were married, there was a man who wanted to have Ruby for himself and the man set up a situation to make Dad look bad. The man, don’t know his name, wrote a letter and put it in the pocket of Dad’s coat. The letter was a fake supposedly from a woman that Dad was seeing and having an affair with. Ruby of course found the letter and was upset and got a divorce.

Dad then left the state of Oklahoma and started out to travel with the wheat harvesters. They traveled from farm to farm harvesting the crops of wheat, corn and other things they grew back then. The harvesters would go from state to state doing the harvest. There would be many men in the caravan that worked on the farms and ranches. Back then the farmer’s wife would cook huge meals for the workers, for breakfast, lunch and dinner lots of food for the harvesters. The men’s work was hard with long hours as the men traveled harvesting the farmer’s crops.

Meanwhile. Ruby learned the truth about the letter and wanted Dad back. So, she tried to find Dad and went out to where the harvesters worked. But she was too late and never found Dad as Dad had moved on going from farm to farm. 

As to Ruby, Mom said that years later Mom and Dad moved back to Oklahoma when Mae Lavone was a baby. Ruby was still living there and had remarried. Mom said that Ruby was very sweet and played with baby Mae. All was forgiven, and they had all moved on.

Many years later when Mom and Dad lived in Rogers Arkansas, Dad at age 98, told me the story of what happened.  I had asked Dad about it and he opened up and told me all about it. Even though it was many years later and Dad was old, he was still very bitter about the man who caused his divorce from Ruby. Dad said that the man who wrote the bad letter ended up in a wheelchair, and Dad said bitterly, “he deserved it”. Dad was still angry.

Clifford Florer’s brother. Robert Florer and Lola Kessler.