Yolo
County
Biographies
IRVIN CLOVER
One
of the leading commercial institutions of Woodland, Yolo County, is the store
of Clover Brothers, who are dealers in men’s clothing and furnishings. The partners, Roy, Bert L. and Irvin Clover,
are men of enterprising and progressive spirit and have built up a business
that does credit to their ability and popularity. Irvin Clover was born at Glen Elder, Kansas,
on the 30th of April, 1890, and was an infant when brought to
Woodland by his parents, Isaac and Dora Ellen (Buzzard) Clover. The father was born in Alden, Harding County,
Iowa, August 31, 1855, and when he was seven years of age the family moved to
Mitchell County, Nebraska. From twelve
to seventeen years of age he rode the range as a cowboy,
and in 1892 came to Woodland, California, where he rented land and engaged in
farming. For many years he followed
railroad construction work with the Southern Pacific Railroad in various parts
of the west, including twelve miles of the Lucine cutoff, and the Shoofly track, where the trestle work
crosses the Salton Sea, near Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. He married Miss Dora Ellen
Buzzard, a native of Kansas, and they are the parents of twelve living
children, seven sons and five daughters.
Irvin
Clover attended the public schools of Woodland and graduated from high school
in 1912. During his high school days he
took an active part in athletics, including football, baseball, basketball and
track events. It was also during that
period that the senior class put on the drive among the famers of the
neighborhood to sell the bonds for the new high school building. On leaving school Mr. Clover went to work on
a hay press, and in 1913 he entered the employ of the Modern Grocery
Company. On March 1, 1915, the Clover
brothers engaged in their present enterprise as haberdashers and clothiers,
beginning in a small way and gradually their facilities and stock until today
they have the largest store in their line in Yolo County. They are courteous and accommodating, keep
their stock up-to-date in style and command a large and steadily growing
patronage.
Mr.
Clover was united in marriage to Miss Lela K. Harriman, a native of San
Francisco, who was reared in Yolo County.
Her grandfather, Captain Harriman, was captain of a covered wagon train
crossing the plains in pioneer days, and the family home was established in the
Winters district of Yolo County. Mr. and Mrs. Clover are the parents of two
children, Bettie T., aged twelve years, and Mervin E., aged nine.
Mr.
Clover has taken an active interest in the civic, social and fraternal affairs
of his community and is identified with its principal organizations, belonging
to Woodland Lodge, No. 156, F. & A. M., of which he is past master;
Woodland Chapter, No. 46, R. A. M.; Zabud Council, No. 36, R. & S. M.;
Woodland Commandery, No. 21, K. T.; Ben Ali Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.; and
Woodland Lodge No. 1299, B. P. O. E., which he joined in 1915; the Foresters of
America, of which he has been treasurer since 1913; the Order of the Eastern
Star, of which he is a past worthy patron; Yolo Post No. 77, A. L., of which he
is a charter member and past commander.
He is a charter member of the Yolo Fliers Club and of the Lions Club, of
which he has been secretary from its founding.
In 1908 he joined the Carlton Club, Inc., originally a high school
fraternity, the only club of its kind.
It has the only swimming pool in the city, and this club is very active
in the general welfare of the entire community.
Mr. Clover is one of the oldest members, and is a past president. He is a veteran of the World War, in which he
served as storekeeper at the United States Naval Station at San Pedro,
California, and he is serving as a member of the board of education and has
given hearty support to everything that in any way concerns the general welfare
and advancement of his community.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3, Pages 88-91. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Yolo County Biographies