The Chapter Story — Chapter 4: “The Shellback Chiropractor” — Clifford Witte

By Sherrie Benes
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Acknowledgement: “I would dedicate my story to my wife Beulah (Billy) and my children.”

Introduction: When commenting on this man’s beautiful family he had on display behind his chair, he chuckled and said, “I think they’re very nice.” Then, with some emotion in his voice, he said, “I really appreciate hearing that.” 

I knew before interviewing this kind man, it was going to be a beautiful, interesting story, retold from his 100 year old book….enjoy!

“Did I milk cows? Of course! Everyone milked cows in Mt. Horeb. It was all dairy farming out there, you know,” he answered when asked. “We milked 30 or 40 cows by hand. It took a time, yes it did …” 

Clifford Witte was the youngest of three siblings, who was born on September 13, 1921, in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin on a 160-acre farm that his grandparents owned. When recalling his childhood, he commented, “Mother ran the outfit and was very precise! We always sat around the table for meals, with a table prayer, that we had to take part of. Father, he just made sure we were there to work!”

His childhood did consist of some fun memories besides work, that he shared!

“We had a creek behind our farm that we would dam up with stones and rocks to make a swimming hole! Our cousins would come from the next farm over to join us. We had a lot of fun in that old swimming hole!” 

(This memory must be the reason he loves living on the lake now!)

When it came to his schooling, he recalled how he would have to walk three miles to get to his one room schoolhouse, which held eight grades. “We had a strict teacher, who was an old maid,” he said with a chuckle. I asked if he behaved in school, (after he had disclosed that this strict teacher also had a yardstick’!) “Of course not!” he said laughing. 

“So, what did you do, to find yourself in trouble?”

“I’d prefer not to say!” he answered with another chuckle!

(It is worth noting that Cliff was the champion speller of the Spelling Bee competition, held against three other country schools!) 

After his graduation, and with the start of WWII, many of these young men found themselves being drafted. When Cliff went to the recruitment center, he was asked if he would mind serving in the Navy. At this time, his older brothers were already enlisted, one in the Marine Corps and the other in the Army, so he agreed with the recruitment officer, and joined the Navy.

“I had a lovely time in boot camp,” he said. Since I’ve never heard of anyone referring to boot camp as lovely, the look on my face must have told him to explain! “Well, it was a nice time,” he said. “I was put in the Choir Company, and we went around to different high schools to sing. We would also perform on the radio, and of course we would have to open and close ceremonies.” 

“Oh!” I exclaimed, “you’re a singer?” He laughed and said “well, that’s using the word loosely!”

After boot camp, Cliff soon found himself boarding the USS Osage while stationed in California. “We went west to east, through the Panama Canal. Then we had to do a shakedown of the ship in the Mediterranean, meaning, we had to try the ship out, to see if everything worked! We’d fire the cannons, then take the ship to do quick turns, just to see if the ship was seaworthy!”  he recalled. “Do a dry run, you know!”

During the war, they found themselves sailing all over the Pacific Ocean. He recalled the Philippines, China, Japan, New Caledonia, but without many ports of call he said, since they were always on the move. 

“Our ship was all the way from Shanghai, China, to the Philippines to Okinawa, and to Luzon in the Philippines. We even got close to Australia,” he recalled, which brought him to an amusing story!

Laughing, he said, “That’s when I became a ‘Shellback’!” 

I, not knowing what he was referencing, had to question what caused him such amusement! “Well, before you cross the equator, you’re a ‘Pollywog.’ When you go across the equator you get initiated and then you become a ‘Shellback!’ You never heard of that?” he asked me. “That’s an old Navy tradition!” he said with a chuckle! 

“No, I never heard of that!” I replied. “Does everyone on the ship get initiated then?” 

Apparently amused with my lack of Navy knowledge, he smiled before continuing. “No, there were some men on the ship that were ‘Old Salts!’ They were the ones who held the initiation. They built a big tube of canvas that you would have to crawl through, and of course you were on your knees and hands with your butt up in the air! And those ‘Old Salts’ would give you a whap on the butt till you moved along, you know! Well, I made it through!” he said with a chuckle! 

While listening to more of his travels during the war, I found myself wondering about his two brothers he had mentioned, who were also enlisted.

“Did you ever wonder where your brothers were during this time?” I asked. “Well, I corresponded with my parents, and I knew that all three of us were in the Pacific. Then I found out that my oldest brother, who was in the Marines, was stationed in Guam, after it was taken away from the Japanese. Our ship happened to stop in Guam during this time, so I got off hoping to see if I could find him,” he said with a smile. “I inquired around, as to where my brother might be, and a guy said, ‘he’s down at the supply depot right now, but his desk is right here in this building.’ So, I stood at his desk and waited for him.” 

As he started to chuckle, he finished the story, “when he came up from what he was doing down at the hangars, he was taken by surprise to see a sailor standing at his desk, on a Marine base!  But after he recognized me, he said, ‘What the hell is a sailor doing at my desk!’ He said he couldn’t believe it!” 

After his service in the Navy, Cliff went on to college at the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa, where he would eventually be introduced to his wife. “How did you meet Billy?”

Chuckling he said, “well, that’s another story! We met on a blind date! She was a secretary in the city, and I thought when I first saw her, now that’s a pretty nice lady!” 

On November 9, 1946, Cliff and his ‘pretty nice lady’ Beulah Ohburg, became husband and wife. He completed his studies, a year after their marriage, and they decided to purchase a home in Platteville, Wisconsin. This would soon serve as both their home, and his chiropractic business. 

Cliff continued his practice in Platteville, while they raised their family, until his semi-retirement when they moved to Whitewater. 

After purchasing their retirement home on Whitewater Lake in 1976, he decided to set up a chiropractic office in town, at 222 W. North Street, (which he addressed precisely without thought!) where he served the Whitewater community for another 10 years.

After the loss of his beloved wife Billy, Cliff still manages to spread joy and love to those who surround him, even to a stranger like me …

Before leaving that day, I asked if he had any advice on how to live to be over 100. 

(It was rather a simple answer, coming from a wise Old Salt!)

“Just breathe,” he said, as his laughter once again, filled the air …

A special thank you to Cliff Witte, for sharing his story for our feature “Chapter Story!”

If you know of anyone who would like to share their story, or your own, please contact me at: sherbenes@gmail.com. Subject Line: Chapter Story

I would love to meet you! ~Sherrie

Our thanks, also, to the sponsors of this Chapter Story!