ALFRED CLIFFORD CHRISTOPHER

Alfred Clifford  March 24, 1907 was born in Medina, North Dakota. He was the 2nd child born of 11 children to Inga Lydia (Olsen) and Carl Christopher. His other siblings are: Glenn Arthur, (January 7, 1904; Roy Willard, (Aug 10, 1910); Ruth Lillian,  (Aug 10, 1912); Lauren Ivan and Lester Carl, (Aug 5, 1914) Kenneth Orvin, (Sept 7, 1916); Otto Vernon, (Dec. 19, 1918); Robert Norman (March 29, 1921); Doris Esther, (June 10, 1923); and Donald Edwin, (Sept 10, 1925).

Clifford was never really called Alfred. He was the horseman in the family. He went through the home course of Berry School of Horsemanship.  His brother Ken tells the story about one year that he and his partner came back from the badlands and each rode a horse followed by a pack horse and a bunch of hounds.  His white horse was quite the animal and no one else could ride him  One day he was going to take him out of the barn, but the barn door happen to hit the horse as he went out the door and the horse took off bucking with the saddle on.  He ran right through a fence and broke his leg.  That was a sad day for everyone.  The prize horse had to be shot as there was no way to fix his leg.

Clifford lived in Arlee for a while with his brothers and went back to visit in Medina where he met Florence. He married Florence Catherine Fisher (July 9, 1907-June 27, 1989), on Oct. 7, 1936, Missoula, Montana at the County Court House. They had four children all born in Missoula hospitals, but their home was in Rivelet. Carol Joy (Jan 31, 1939-Aug 5, 2010), James Franklin (June 28, 1940), Ivan Carl (Aug 5, 1941-Nov 7, 2012), Thomas Edward, (May 7, 1944) 

Clifford worked for the Northern Pacific Railway Company as a coal dock worker. He also
mined for gold in Rivelet, where they lived in a log hut and traveled to Missoula to get
all their supplies. Clifford died in Missoula, Montana of complications of enlarged
aortic aneurysm on Jan 2, 1945. Clifford had scarlet fever when he was a child and
this left him with an aortic aneurysm that was never detected.

Later Florence married Ben Carlson from Butte and had three more children:
twins Larry and Linda, Nov. 18, 1947 and Ruth Elizabeth, June 29, 1949
 Florence raised all 7 children togehter as one big happy family.

Anyone having more stories, information or photos to add to this mini biography, can send them
to me at lana.rankin@yahoo.com and I will include them in an update in a future blog post.