Life of Bobbie Neal Overman Part 2

To say life was wonderful to Bob would be perhaps overly optimistic and not particularly truthful; likewise to say his life was terrible would be overly pessimistic and also not particularly truthful. Somewhere between these two extremes would be a more accurate representation.

Pictured: Pauline, Robert, Janet, Winifred and Cecil Chamberlain.

Janet was from a family firmly anchored within the realm of the middle class. Her mother had gone to college and her father had been through high school. Cecil Chamberlain was a depot manager for Santa Fe railroad and from a family that had known success as well as hardship. Winifred was the daughter of a Southern Methodist minister who moved his family every year or so to a different town and church. Janet and both of her brothers had gone to college.

Bob was from a long line of farmers. His mother, Ida, had an 8th grade education. As mentioned previously, John had a 2nd grade education. With a combination of Quaker stock from the Overman side and Baptist stock from the Foster side, none of Bob's family had ever been remotely wealthy or attended college. The Chamberlains were also a completely different generation from the Overmans and though cordial, neither family was particularly fond of the other. How much this tension affected the early years of Bob's marriage is uncertain, but it no doubt had some influence.

Earl Dean Overman

During Bob and Janet's courtship, Bob's brother Dean became ill. On 13 June 1958, a few days after Bob and Janet's first wedding anniversary, Dean, who was terminally ill with cancer, took his own life. The Overman brothers had always been close and it was a hard blow for Bob to lose another brother, made even more so by Dean's decision to end his life on his own terms rather than continue suffering the brutal consequences of radiation treatment.

The newlyweds settled in Southern California where Janet continued to teach in elementary school. Bob had made his first effort to work in the white collar world starting well before his marriage. In 1953 he worked for Southern California Edison as an apprentice clerk in the transportation office. Later, after his marriage, his aptitude for math brought him opportunities as an accountant for Reliance Steel Company and a bid specialist for Pittsburg Des Moines Steel Company, both which had offices in Southern California. At one point he tried to work two jobs while also attending college, but the experience was too stressful and he dropped out of school and quit one of his jobs. In 1960 the first child was born, followed nearly four years later by the second. Both were daughters, Jennifer and Cynthia.

A ticket to participate in the Campus Capers Show.

Around 1961 Bob and Janet produced a television show call Campus Capers for channel 18 in San Bernardino, California. It was a low budget version of American Bandstand and ended up being more than either of them could manage while trying to work their day jobs. It was while Bob was working on this show that his mother, Ida, passed away on 5 May 1962 of a stroke. She was babysitting their daughter Jennifer at the time. Bob recalled his last words to his mother were "Bye mom, I'll see you later."

In 1967/68, Bob left his job with Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel and started his own business. He worked out of the garage at first, then graduated to renting a barn on a hill above San Juan Capistrano. The business grew quickly, partly because he had discovered a niche that was ripe for filling and partly because he was a very good salesman: iron work. Gates, railing, fences, wall units, chandeliers, and furniture. If it could be made with steel, Bob would make it. This proved extremely successful. Soon he had his own shop in town called Valley Forge and a growing list of contracts with housing developers. In fact there was so much work to do he hired a young college student to work for him part-time. 

Unfortunately this would only last until 1969. Though business was booming, Janet wanted to move away from Southern California and back to the San Joaquin Valley to be near her parents.