Born: Sanders, Rosebud (now Treasure) Co., Montana
Died: at age 71; heart failure
Military: WWII, U.S. Army Private, Co. G Infantry Division 184th Reg; cook
Occupation: Farm laborer, Chico Ice Company, cook, waiter, busboy
Avocation: Hobo, traveled USA hopping trains
Married: no
Children: none
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Arden was the wanderer in the family, a vagabond of sorts; he traveled the country by rails or by hitchhiking, seeing every state (except Oklahoma) through his dark glasses. He dressed immaculately (favoring light-colored slacks and shirts), even on the road, with his shoes always shined. Story has it that he wore two shirts, two pairs of pants, and two pairs of socks so he could travel empty handed.
He habitually disappeared for a few days, occasionally for a few weeks, often for a few months, and sometimes for a couple of years. One early Sunday afternoon he got up in the middle of a conversation with his mother, walked out the front door, and no one saw him again for three years. When he returned, he walked back in, sat back down, and finished his sentence as if he'd never left. Years before he'd been hit on the head with a fifty-pound block of ice while working at the ice company. It must have affected him.
Arden broke the rules—and sometimes he broke the law. He was once hauled into court in front of a judge who had lost all patience with him. "You sir," the judge shouted, "are a bum," implying Arden was someone too lazy to work and wasted his life wandering. "I sir," Arden replied with dignity, "am not a bum. I am a hobo." He had deliberately chosen a wandering life.
To the embarrassment of his family, he often made the Chico Enterprise.
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Born: Sanders, Rosebud (now Treasure) Co., Montana
Died: at age 71; heart failure
Military: WWII, U.S. Army Private, Co. G Infantry Division 184th Reg; cook
Occupation: Farm laborer, Chico Ice Company, cook, waiter, busboy
Avocation: Hobo, traveled USA hopping trains
Married: no
Children: none
==========
Arden was the wanderer in the family, a vagabond of sorts; he traveled the country by rails or by hitchhiking, seeing every state (except Oklahoma) through his dark glasses. He dressed immaculately (favoring light-colored slacks and shirts), even on the road, with his shoes always shined. Story has it that he wore two shirts, two pairs of pants, and two pairs of socks so he could travel empty handed.
He habitually disappeared for a few days, occasionally for a few weeks, often for a few months, and sometimes for a couple of years. One early Sunday afternoon he got up in the middle of a conversation with his mother, walked out the front door, and no one saw him again for three years. When he returned, he walked back in, sat back down, and finished his sentence as if he'd never left. Years before he'd been hit on the head with a fifty-pound block of ice while working at the ice company. It must have affected him.
Arden broke the rules—and sometimes he broke the law. He was once hauled into court in front of a judge who had lost all patience with him. "You sir," the judge shouted, "are a bum," implying Arden was someone too lazy to work and wasted his life wandering. "I sir," Arden replied with dignity, "am not a bum. I am a hobo." He had deliberately chosen a wandering life.
To the embarrassment of his family, he often made the Chico Enterprise.
==========
Gravesite Details
Buried Oct 7, 1981
Family Members
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Charles Joseph "Charley" Chatfield
1895–1986
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Leo Willard Chatfield
1897–1956
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Howard Francis Chatfield
1899–1953
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Roy Elmer Chatfield
1901–1978
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Nellie Mary "Nella May" Chatfield McElhiney
1903–1983
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Gordon Gregory Chatfield
1905–1948
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Verda Agnes Chatfield Day
1908–1978
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Ina Jacqueline Chatfield Fouch
1913–1993
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Noreen Ellen "Babe" Chatfield Clemens
1915–1968
