The wonderful photo at right was taken somewhere around 1909 or 1910.
We believe it shows Finley and Thelma
in the back row,
with Opal, Olive, and George Earl, Jr.
in the front row.
By the early 1960s, nearly all of their eight children had moved to California, so in 1964, Joe and
Opal sold the dairy and moved to Visalia, California to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
Joe initially found a "ranchette" outside of Visalia in a small community called Farmersville, where he
and Opal tended their own gardens and fruit trees. Later, they moved into Visalia to take on the arduous
job of managing a group of apartments.
Opal worked side by side with Joe on the apartments, and at the same time, continued her participation
in her local church, tirelessly working with many of the women's groups within the church.
After a few years at the apartment complex, Joe finally retired, and he and Opal settled in a small
home in Visalia, where they lived out their remaining years, enjoying visits from their friends and family, and even
traveling from time to time to visit their children and grandchildren throughout the US.
In 1922, when Opal was only 18, she met and married Joseph Franklin Montgomery. They were happily married for over 60 years, and produced eight children:
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