Marvyn Renshaw

James Clyde Renshaw, born July 13, 1880, was raised on a farm South of Van Meter, IA and attended Highland Park College in Des Moines, IA. On January 12, 1905, he was married to Beulah Bunnell (born December 25, 1878). They started farming near Earlham, IA and Marvyn Sylvester Renshaw was born there on June 8, 1907. Little brother, Quentin, was born August 27, 1909. When Quentin started school, he developed am eyesight problem, which caused him to lose his sight. He attended Vinton School for the Blind and later went on to Drake College. He taught Spanish in Lincoln, NE. In July, 1920, Clyde (James) decided to join his family and go to Los Angeles, CA to visit his brother, who had moved there a few years earlier. He packed up Marvyn (13 yrs old) and Quentin (11 yrs old) for this 2,350 mile round-trip adventure in a Reo truck converted into a camper. His sister, Edith, married John Bunnell and their two children, Howard (18 yrs old) and Helen (16 yrs old) joined them in their Crow-Elkhart car, and two other cars. They camped for the 22 days that it took, using a diary (preserved by Howard's son, John) to record their many flat tires and evenings of making fudge, etc. Clyde and sons stayed in CA for about a year before returning to Iowa. Marvyn lived with his Aunt Mabel at first and then his Aunt Edith, who lived in Earlham. Quentin lived at the school in Vinton. Clyde bought the movie theater in Earlham, where he and Marvyn lived in the upstairs. Clyde loved to play on a baseball team and played a bass baritone in a band. That instrument is on display at the Pioneer Museum near Clear Lake, IA. Clyde had inherited a farm on the edge of Earlham, and decided to sell it to buy the John Deere Imp. dealership in Earlham. On October 5, 1928, he married Jessie Clark, who didn't want much to do with his sons. Clyde had a drinking problem that caused problems with his business, which he decided to sell and buy a farm West of Earlham. He farmed there for ten years, until his death on February 2, 1950.