Bo Can Do it!

“Were you born in a barn?” Mom constantly asked that growing up, and the answer was always no.

How about on a ranch? No?

OK, but surely you rode a wagon to school, right?

Wait a minute. So you DIDN'T live through two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Kennedy assassination, and the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01?

Grandma Bo did. (Well, except for the barn bit.)

Emily Bellue was born on May 8, 1910 on a ranch on 6th street in Beaumont. Later to be known as “Grandma Bo,” she was the sixth of ten children. Grandma Bo started school in Banning at five years old, but rather than having bike racks at school to accommodate those who had to ride to school, there were stables for the older kids to keep their horses. I imagine the school custodians in those days had their work cut out for them! (Well, at least fertilizer was in abundant supply.)

Being only five years of age, Grandma Bo wasn't old enough to ride alone to school, so she traveled in a wagon. (Covered? Nope! That was for the lucky kids!) They set out very early in the morning, all the way down Camp Comfort (North of Banning and up past the Banning Bench; it's now known as the water canyon). Mama, doing her best to help little Emily get to school as comfortably as possible, would warm rocks, wrap them up, and put them in the wagon as a means of staving off the frigid winter days. By the time she'd completed her schooling, Grandma Bo had an eighth grade education; and that's all she needed.

Those were simpler times, to be sure. Christmas wasn't a grand holiday with a room full of goodies: a hair ribbon was bestowed upon the fortunate girls whose parents could afford it. Rollerskating was a bit different, too. Rather than everyone skating at once, Grandma Bo and her siblings had to share the skates (only one skate per child) and take turns using them. What a sight! Ten kids running around with only one skate each! When it came time to drive, her brothers took her out and taught her – no license necessary.

Naturally, as soon as she had finished school, Grandma Bo moved on to work. And work she did. She started by helping out on the ranch her parents owned. One of her more interesting jobs was wringing chickens necks to kill them. If you asked her about it, she would show you exactly what  hand and wrist motion she used in order to do so, with a wry grin and a comic look in her eyes. Another of her duties was candling the eggs that were laid by their chickens. No clue what candling is? Me neither, but it is exactly what it sounds like it'd be: holding eggs up to a candle to check whether they were fertilized or not. At sixteen years old, Grandma Bo started washing dishes at a friend's hotel in Palm Springs (Goff Hotel). She quickly moved on from that to become a waitress, where she worked many more years.

Grandma Bo then moved to Huntington Park, where she met Irving Gow, the man she would marry at 25 years of age.  She quit her job as a waitress in order to focus on starting a  family. Their first daughter, Norma, was born a year later.  When Norma was young, they moved to Ohio for awhile, then  returned to Banning, where Irving proved to be an adept businessman. Irv started working for the Chrysler dealership here in Banning, and when the owner had to sell it, he gave it over to Irv. Not one to sit idle, Grandma Bo started bookkeeping for Irv's “Banning Auto Service” in 1948. It was a turning point for the Gow family

He soon expanded his business to include Auto Club Towing at their dealership and “Gow's Texaco Station” in 1959. Irv had cleverly chosen the location at 16th Street in Banning because he was on the city's planning commission, and he knew that was where all of the freeways would let out. Everyone thought he was crazy to move his business so far out of town... until those freeways were built!

True to professional form, Irving loved to travel. Every chance he was out exploring the sights and closing deals. He was an avid car salesman.  When their youngest, Vickie, was 8 or 9 years old, he was hurt in a train wreck while away in Florida, injuries didn't slow him from pursuing the next adventure, however, in 1960, Irving passed away and Grandma Bo sold the dealership. She kept the gas station, and even in a world run by men Grandma Bo didn't miss a beat―she remained at the top of her game in the face of much adversity!