“Ranger Rick Nature Magazine” notified me April 18th that I’d get paid $150 for “Linda Lives on a Lookout.” It would be published next spring. They would pay extra for photos—my memory is that photos were taken by Dave Ohde.
On Wednesday when I went to Warm Mt. School to pick up children there was roadwork that delayed me. Rebecca had taken the bus to piano lessons but had to wait about 45 minutes for me to pick her up afterwards. Sandwiched in there someplace was cleaning the oven in a couple of phases. Thursday included cleaning the refrigerator and also signing some papers at the Joss House so they could hire a new intermittent ranger. Leslie Callahan came to take care of children that evening while Bob and I drove to Redding to attend the Shasta County Air Pollution Control Board meeting. We found out that those boards are supposed to have 2 lawyers and a chemical engineer, which they had. Ours had Bob, an electrical engineer; Rev. Richens, a Baptist minister; and Vic Rose, a mill owner.
The next day the high school wanted me to substitute but I had an appointment in Redding with the pediatrician to get Clarke’s feet checked. He was fine, no special shoes required—toeing in will correct itself. He walks fine with no shoes, but trips with shoes. The receptionist/nurse ”kept commenting on what beautiful children I had, which is always nice to hear. She was especially taken with Clarke because she has one about that age. She even brought some doughnuts for the children—they were so hungry.” The appointment waiting time was long. We went to the city park to eat lunch and afterwards they played on the equipment for a few minutes. But I had to drag them away so we could go to the shoe store. Right after we ate, Clarke immediately headed for the river and would “probably have walked right off the edge into it if I hadn’t been with him.” Got sandals for Rebecca, tennis shoes for Jeff and high tops for Clarke but had to get some that were too long in order to fit his narrow feet. Then went to a Baskin Robins for ice cream and a service station for drinking and bathroom. Then to Weaverville and the grocery store, then home—
All of us exhausted. Jeff slept most of the way home, Clarke part way. Clarke fell asleep after dinner while I was putting on his pajamas.
Bob took Mike and Erin Quinn out to the ranch to help dig ditches for gas lines. We were going to get a large tank and the gas company would install it and fill it. This would be hooked up to the stove, the hot water heater and the refrigerator, eliminating the butane tanks which we had to haul out on their sides, not a safe procedure. We were also going to get the generator adapted so it could be fueled from that tank rather than using car gas—which it used it large quantities and on which we had to pay highway taxes. The children and I went out about noon, taking lunches. Rebecca was coughing and droopy so we left not long after lunch.
“The wind was blowing in tremendous gusts. The apple trees were all in full bloom. Standing under them was wonderful—the odor and the sight. When the wind blew, showers of petals would drift down in my face and petals were scattered across the grass.” I did clear out the overflow ditch that ran beneath the apple trees. When we got home Rebecca’s temperature was 102 and she complained of a sore throat. Bob didn’t get home until about 8:00. I had made two pumpkin pies (and Jeffrey a little one of his own) during the afternoon so we had turkey, pumpkin pie, etc. “Thanksgiving!” I’d fixed the turkey Saturday but it wasn’t done in time for dinner so we’d eaten eggs.
Monday Rebecca’s temperature was still 102 in the morning. Florence stayed with the children for an hour so I could do some shopping for food and then took the boys so I could take Rebecca to the doctor. Rebecca stayed home from school Tuesday and Wednesday. Bob flew to Stockton Wednesday morning and then to Gardnerville, Nevada to interview an employee, getting home around 7 that night.
“These dinners that start (preparation) at 4:30 and last until 8:30 or later by the time the dishes are done are for the birds though.”
Rebecca and Jeff turned our little frog loose today. We raised it from an egg.
“Rebecca made some hand puppets out of socks and wrote an act of a play to go with them. She wants to finish it tomorrow. I’m supposed to substitute tomorrow afternoon and all day Friday. “
My dad installed a shower downstairs at their house and said my mother was really enjoying it. With the stroke she couldn’t get upstairs to use one.
Candy Fields stopped in for a few minutes the previous afternoon to loan me a book. It was part 3 of a 3-book diary by Anais Nin and she herself was deeply involved in the books.
The two boys were both getting sick the next day so I had to cancel my substitute job. It was a beautiful sunny day with the temperature up to 75 degrees.
May 2nd-a warm, summery day but there was almost no water pressure and by noon the water was off. I picked up Rebecca and Nancy from ballet, having assumed there would be water by then. In the morning I had gone over to the U.S. Forest Service office to get information about the total number of acres the USFS owned in the United States. I was writing a letter to the Reader’s Digest in response to an article by a man had written about wanting all the wilderness to be “opened” up and tramways, etc. provided –he was making these comments to a Senate Subcommittee after he had visited Switzerland.
After dinner I took the children over to Florence and Leonard’s to give them a bath. Jeffrey sang “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” while in the tub—“he really belts songs out.”
The previous day, while I was running a mile and a half back and forth in the backyard, Clarke went over the bank on the kiddie car. It went all the way to the bottom but he got one foot caught on a bush half way down. He’d already fallen from the counter near the TV, taking the lamp with him, and from a chair near the table. I remember remarking that he was a climber when he first started toddling about.
That Sunday we went out to the ranch, after Bob had already gone first. He was going to rototill the garden but didn’t get to it because of doing plumbing for the gas tank. Clarke took a long nap and I shoveled a six-inch deep ditch from the gas hook-up near the peach tree (where the generator will eventually be) to the generator shed. Rebecca and Jeffrey went barefoot in the little water ditch that comes down under the apple trees. We didn’t get home until nearly 6:30. The older two took baths, then watched “Zoom” while they ate dinner. They found it hard to believe it was so late because we’d just switched to Daylight Savings Time.
I had substituted Friday afternoon and gone to Open House at the Elementary School that night. Two young children were killed in a fire on Hawthorne Street Friday morning. Heartbreaking to read this even now.
Rebecca was continuing to show high interest in piano lessons and had five Nancy Drew books checked out from the library.
On Saturday, May 6th I was writing by candlelight out at the ranch and trying to catch up on my notes. Friday I had substituted all day for Tina Bankston, who taught the three German classes plus World and English literature. “It was a beautiful day and we’d all have been much happier outside but they’re a pretty good bunch of kids in those classes and I had a pleasant day. Did sit outside most of one period when I had a tiny class.”
Bob had taken the day off and when I went home for lunch (was out of money) and
found the sink full of dishes, the bed unmade and no check I was rather upset apparently. But I cooled off later when I found out he’d hooked up the gas out at the ranch so we could have hot water, stove and refrigerator for that weekend.
“School got out at 1:50 so I drove out to Warm Mt. School and on the way gave a ride to a couple of high school kids who turned out to be friends of Scott’s. I didn’t know them but they knew I worked at the high school sometimes. They were hitch-hiking to Douglas City to go swimming. After delivering Donny and Ann Marie to Coverts I went over to Linda Lindsey’s and picked up Clarke, then out to Van Duyn’s to get Rebecca. Back to town to buy groceries and put them away. Heated up dinner, mostly leftovers. Sat down for 15 minutes to read the paper and have a glass of beer. Bob came home around 7:30. By then I had the kids fed, Clarke bathed and in bed, Rebecca in the tub and was reading to Jeffrey. By eight when we finally ate, they were in bed. After the dishes I started folding clothes but Clarke kept waking up, maybe an earache.” Makes me tired just reading about it.
May 6th—Bob had put sprinklers on the roof and may leave one there permanently to reduce the fire hazard and do some watering. He rototilled the garden that
afternoon and I dug around some of the few strawberries. Bob Hooper said that I could have some of theirs as they were going to be in Hayfork all summer. I took a quick walk up the road that goes to the Upper Ranch trailhead and found tracks of a jeep or Honda that had come from our place. Someone left an old bottle on our porch and I was going to take it to show to Florence, who was a bottle expert. Gave Clarke a bath in the sink and the other two had showers. Rebecca had started talking and worrying about things in the dark now—curtains, etc. Probably too much of reading Nancy Drew books. Children were all very restless that night but fortunately slept until eight.
Had some rain on Sunday but mostly nice. Bob worked most of the day on wiring the house. I planted the garden after lunch. We left after dinner. Kept Jeffrey home the next day because he’d come home with Bob and hadn’t gotten to bed until late. After morning chores, while the boys watched Captain Kangaroo, we went over to Hoopers and I got strawberry plants for us and for Linda Lindsey.
Bev Forero called and wanted to know whether I would be the Shasta Community Concert chairman for our area and I said I would.
Out at the ranch again the following weekend. Bob put pipe up to the sprinklers—I was really mad at the ground squirrels. They’d gotten into the garden and eaten most of the tomato plants so I spent an hour taking apart the piece of black roofing, under which there were two entrances to their burrows. Stripped off the tarpaper and took the boards apart with the claw hammer. It was a hot day and the children played in the sprinklers and with water.
The previous week Doris and Clarke and I went out to the ranch with a bag of steer manure that Florence had collected for me and after mixing it with peat moss we planted strawberries. Got back to town around 2:30. I’d left a note and some nuts for a snack for Rebecca and she was home only a few minutes by herself. Jeff was at Warm Mt. School.
Wednesday night the 4-year olds were supposed to stay overnight at Warm Mt. School. I wouldn’t let Jeff do it and the next afternoon when I went out to pick up Donny I was glad. The sink was piled high with dirty dishes, old spaghetti all over the bunkhouse and Donny was sick.
That Friday I substituted for Tina Bankston. She stayed home because it was her son’s first birthday. I took my accordion and played what few German songs I knew and the kids in the German II class knew.
I called Ella Hardison about ways of making $100 to help pay for a cleanup crew to clean up Canyon Creek Lakes Trail. The Sierra Club had $300 but needed $100 more. This was part of a U.S.F.S. project for various groups to do cleanup. She suggested a drawing on things made from recycled products. So we were well into planning it. Florence was even going to donate a painting of Canyon Creek Lakes.
Al Wilkins was being honored at a dinner in Redding as Sportsman of the Year for all of California. We had thought of going but then didn’t. Figured with 350 people there we wouldn’t be missed.
Mother’s Day was SOME Mother’s Day, I wrote. “ After breakfast Bob wanted me up on the roof to help hold a pipe while he fitted it—I haven’t been up on the roof in a long time and wasn’t at all enthusiastic about the prospect of falling off. Even scared a mouse out when climbing out the window. Neither one of us slept very much Saturday night so we were both rather cross. Bob finally got the pipe fitted after about an hour though and we have sprinklers on both ends of the house. He has also put a pipe up through the apple tree where the tree house is.”
“Later I mowed the lawn. Rebecca and Jeffrey ran though the sprinkler. Dinner was canned beans, canned brown bread and salad, which Jeffrey declared delicious. We got back to Weaverville about 8:30.”
Monday Ella Hardison and I got a window display up at the Thrift Shop while Florence watched the two boys. It was nearly noon when I got back to take the boys and Florence fed us all lunch. I left the boys there and went out to Warm Mt. School to pick up kids. Told Jeanne I wasn’t going to do transportation any more on Mondays because Jeff wouldn’t be going Mondays.
Tuesday night after dinner we got Patty Forero to watch children and went to a meeting of the Business and Professional Women at which Scott Carter spoke about Wilderness. Florence and Leonard were there as were Senta Moore, Vernon and Ruth Ryan, the Bushes, etc. Scott had some good slides and did a pretty good program.
Wednesday I took Bev Forero and Clarke out to the ranch. It had rained the day before and things were wet but we planted the last of the strawberries. I fixed a fire in the stove so we could warm up while we ate lunch and fixed a pot of coffee. Was supposed to go to a Stanley Party at Jeanne Meyer’s that night but couldn’t face it—tired and two nights in a row out already. Bob was gone to Garberville again and wouldn’t be back until Friday. Jeanne needed three people to qualify so she came up and stayed with the children so I could go down and hear the sales pitch.
Governor George Wallace was shot by an assassin Monday and was paralyzed from the waist down.
Read an article in the June McCalls about men in the 35-45 year age group reaching a time of crisis. Wondered whether my spouse might be approaching that. It was a time of summing up “of how far you can go and how far you’ve come, etc. Hope we both survive.” Hmmm. Interesting—don’t remember this. Little did I realize that the women’s movement was rapidly approaching.