Ed and Rita

Rita Marie O’Callaghan was born in San Francisco, CA, on May 26, 1916, the third child of Timothy O’Callaghan and Margaret Woods O’Callaghan, both Irish immigrants. She was preceded in birth by two brothers, Eugene (1912) and Emmet (1914). Timothy worked as a street car operator for the San Francisco Municipal Railway.

From all accounts, Rita led a quiet life in her early years, with the family happily settled in San Francisco. She attended St. Paul’s Elementary School, then Commerce High School, graduating high school in 1934. But during these years she became quite an accomplished accordion player, often entertaining at local dances and weddings. What follows is the text of a newspaper article about Rita that appeared in a San Francisco newspaper shortly after her graduation from high school. It is entitled “Miss R. O’Callaghan, Premier Accordionist, May Enter Radio Field.”

Miss Rita O’Callaghan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. O’Callaghan, 367 Diamond St., San Francisco, was a recent graduate of Professor G. Miller, teacher of the accordion. Miss O’Callaghan graduated from St. Paul’s Grammar School four years ago and this year received her diploma from the High School of Commerce.

Miss O’Callaghan, who is an accomplished accordionist, has already filled many engagements for Irish and Scottish societies of the Bay Area. Her technique has been highly praised by music critics, and she has a full repertoire of Gaelic, as well as American music, which augers well for her future in the field of music. Miss O’Callaghan, who has the distinction of being one of the few lady accordionists on the Pacific coast, hopes to enter the radio field soon.

But although Rita continued to play the accordion (I can remember her still playing occasionally up until the mid-1950’s), it apparently didn’t pay the bills because shortly after high school Rita took employment as a nurse’s aide at St. Mary’s hospital in San Francisco, a position she continued in until her marriage.

Edward William Trenkle was born in El Paso, TX, on March 28, 1914, the first child of William Henry (Will) Trenkle and Anna Katherine (Katy) Fessler Trenkle. At the time Will was in the employ of the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Following the 1915 birth of a sister, Mary Margaret, the family moved to California in March of 1917. They settled in Ludlow, the desert outpost of the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, located on Route 66 about 50 miles east of Barstow. At its zenith, Ludlow was a bustling community of 200 souls, most of whom, like Will Trenkle, were employees of the railroad. While in Ludlow, the family increased in size by two with the births of Tom in 1917, and Katherine Alice in 1921.

Life in Ludlow could best be described as “spartan.” There was a one-room schoolhouse that hosted anyone needing an education between grades 1-8. There was also a post office and a general store, but needing anything beyond the basics required a not insignificant drive into Barstow or Los Angeles. Recreational activities were pretty limited. I recall a story my father told about playing baseball on the surrounding dry lake beds which were as hard as pavement. The outfielders always played deep, because if a ball got past you it was gone – literally. It might roll for a mile before it came to a stop. Balls getting past the outfielders were routinely chased down by someone in an automobile.

Ludlow didn’t have a high school, so the coming of the 9^th grade meant a daily bus ride to Barstow for Edward. It was during his first year at Barstow High that Edward’s mother, Katy, was tragically killed in an automobile accident. As an adult, Edward rarely spoke of his mother. Her untimely death undoubtedly had a lasting effect on him. But life went on, with Edward completing his first three years of high school in Barstow.

In 1932 Edward’s father married Helen Cremins Diffley, a widow with four children of her own. This was during the depression and jobs were hard to come by, so while Will remained on his railroad job in the desert, Edward and his siblings moved into the city, living with Helen’s other children in Lennox, CA, a suburb of Los Angeles. While living in Lennox Edward completed his senior year of high school at Inglewood High, graduating in February, 1933.

Unable to find work after graduating high school, Edward signed up for the depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal government program for young men. Edward spent about two years in the CCC, working assignments in Idaho and Wyoming, primarily in the maintenance of national forests. In 1936, through the efforts of a second cousin, Edward went to work for the Santa Fe Railroad as a switchman in the Los Angeles yards. This led to a lifetime of railroad employment for Edward. In 1938 Edward was promoted to the position of brakeman, moving his hub of employment to Fresno, CA.

Sometime during the late 1930’s Edward’s step-sister, Helen Diffley, began dating Rita’s brother, Eugene. Eugene and Helen wed on August 18, 1939. Along the way Edward and Rita connected up, fell in love, and were married on May 20, 1940. Their first place of residence was Calwa, CA, a suburb of Fresno, where Edward was employed.

On December 3, 1942, a son, James, was born. For the duration of the war years (1942-45) the family remained in Fresno. Railroad operating employees were considered an exempt occupation, so Edward was never called to serve in the military during the war. In 1946 Edward was able to transfer his workplace to the Bay Area, working out of Richmond, CA. They lived briefly at the O’Callaghan’s Diamond Street residence in San Francisco, before finally buying their own home in Richmond in 1947.

Edward worked out of Richmond as a conductor on the Santa Fe, primarily in passenger service, until 1965. Rita kept busy managing the home and raising their son through the late 40’s and 1950’s. Her love of music was replaced by a love for gardening, where she became an active member of the local Fuchsia Society. Their backyard patio was always a cornucopia of colors from literally hundreds of flowering plants.

In 1965, with James now married and on his own, Edward and Rita returned to Fresno. The move was prompted by the reduction of passenger trains on the railroad to the point that Edward could no longer hold a job in passenger service. With a return to working in freight service, Edward preferred jobs available out of Fresno to those in Richmond. Edward continued his employment with Santa Fe in Fresno until his retirement in 1976.

Edward and Rita lived on in Fresno until Edward’s death in 1993. Shortly thereafter Rita returned to the Bay Area, moving to the city of Alameda where she could be near her son, James. She continued to live in Alameda until her passing in 1997.

Edward and Rita are both buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, CA, in the same plot as Rita parents.