Here is something my brother Orvil sent out last night to the Robinson mailing list:
Hi Robinsons,August 5 is the 100th anniversary of Omer Robinson's birth. He was born in Mena, Arkansas. Omer married Freda Ernestine Morton on November 30, 1931 in Alma, Arkansas. Omer and Freda were the parents of 9 children: Orvil 1933, Betty 1935, Thelma (Jacky) 1937 d1979, Shirley 1941, Linda 1943, James 1945, Donald 1946, Nancy 1949 d2001, and Margriet 1951.
Omer once worked in the wheat fields of Kansas(?) as a young man. He had a barber shop in Kibler, Arkansas during the late 20s and early 30s charging 10 cents for a haircut. During the Great Depression he worked a while for the WPA for 25 cents an hour. He moved his young family to Califonia in September 1939 - summer 1940. The trip took almost a year. They stopped to pick cotton for one of Freda's relatives in Oklahoma. Omer helped to construct a pond and mend fences at a ranch near near Roswell, New Mexico. They celebrated Christmas 1939 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Omer harvested grapefruits and oranges for several months near Mesa, Arizona. After a brief visit with his brother Ernest and his family in Corona, California he found temporary shelter at a California Agricultural Work Camp near Visalia, California. They moved after a few weeks to Exeter and then to Raisin City where he took care of an apricot orchard for the Merkle (sp?) Ranch. Omer moved his family to Fresno in 1942. He took a job with the Rosenberg Raisin Company becoming a mechanic to keep the equipment operating. I seem to recall that he claimed a 4th grade education. He took a home study course in mathematics to qualify for a war effort work in a machine shop. After Rosenberg closed its doors Omer worked until retirement as a paver for Langworthy Construction Company.
There is a picture of Omer at Jame's web site home page: www.psnw.com/~jimrob Orvil