March -April 1972
I don’t seem to have photos for this period of time. I did discover from my notes that the film hadn’t been advancing– so no pictures, that I thought I had, for Christmas and into the spring apparently. I’m illustrating with just some general photos until I catch up. Reading this certainly explains why I’ve not been able to find slides for that period of time.
My writing may be tedious to some but the daily trivia seems to be what made up our lives during that time, rather than any dramatic happenings. Just generally life going on as life does. Readers may want to skim along until something sparks interest.
March 23rd
Doris brought over Linda’s lookout story for me to blend with mine. (Doris Ohde worked on several lookouts over the years and their children spent a lot of time living with her during the summers.)
Substituted for Mr. Horschel that morning–three math classes and one guitar class. One of the smaller math classes had several hoodish types who spoke constantly of stealing cars, bicycles. What they’d like to do to highway patrolmen, etc. “What a future they have to look forward to.” One boy, whom I taught in 2nd grade at Big Bar, seemed like a really nice kid. I hadn’t seen him since then until now. At noon I rushed home and hardboiled three eggs. I ate one and took the other two to the elementary school for Rebecca to decorate in her class. Turned out she’d already done two extras that they had so she brought them home. Then I went over to the courthouse where Bob was still in the PUC meting. Dick Vance (a phone company upper echelon person?) was speaking. Pat Hamilton and I were about the only non-official people there although she was there as a reporter. The meeting was over in about 15 minutes. Bob introduced me to the phone company’s public relations person.
Pat Hamilton and I headed for Varney’s, meeting Doris on the way. Pat and Doris had lunch while I had coffee and a doughnut. Dotty Murphy came in and sat with us for a few minutes. She said she and Rex had been in Mexico during the mating season of the iguanas and that the iguanas kept dropping out of the trees onto them. It was a good visit with all three friends.
I hurried home and met Rebecca who had been home a few minutes. We went to pick up the boys at Linda Lindsey’s. Jeff was still asleep and it took awhile to wake him. Went home and mowed the lawn, then jogged 13 laps in the backyard. (I figured each length of the backyard at 100 feet). Picked some forsythia and narcissus for a vase in our bedroom.
Bob ate at home that day. He was a lot more relaxed now that the PUC hearings were over with.
The next day I managed to get the “Ranger Rick” story typed. I used most of Linda Ohde’s version in place of part of mine (she wrote well and from her own viewpoint of living on a lookout). It was difficult getting it done though because of interruptions before time to get the children from Warm Mt. School.
Rebecca rode the bus to Nancy Van Duyn’s after school for Nancy’s birthday party. That morning Bob had taken Rebecca to the phone company to see the operators. She brought home one of their cards and a special pencil.
Bob was having tension headaches (I think he had migraines in his teens) and I was having headaches that Dr. Breeden thought were from tension in my neck, perhaps arthritis. No stress in our house!
A couple of days later we had Kent Adrian with us for the day—Florence and Leonard had brought him up from Sacramento for a visit—but she had to go to Redding to help Uncle Stanford pack. He was getting married in Reno in a week and wanted to sell his house.
Ruth Ryan came up to borrow our infant seat (Clarke was too big for it now) as Mildred Hurd had forgotten theirs for Brendan and she and the children were visiting them.
The day Kent was with us I picked up Ceci Hurd and we went to Varney’s and then to the park. Brought every one home, put Clarke down for a nap, and then Ceci and Rebecca started walking down to Ryan’s but Vernon picked them up.
Leonard called to ask whether we wanted the piano tuned and R. Cox came to do the tuning; and that ended my vacuuming for a while. Children came home and so it went.
Another day I drove a little way up the Weaver Bally Road to look for a piece of manzanita to use for an Easter egg tree. I found one and the children discovered a little creek about a foot wide and an inch to 3 inches deep. Clarke threw rocks in, Jeff and Rebecca sailed stick boats. Jeffrey didn’t quite make it across a few times. They had a good time. From there we went to Lowden Park where we ate lunch and the children played on the equipment. I met a woman there whose husband was interviewing for a job teaching handicapped children in Mad River. Now and then I’d follow Clarke up the slide and down before continuing our conversation. Back home I blew out three eggs and Rebecca and Jeff colored them with felt pens. We used those and one dyed at school and tied the eggs on the branch we’d brought home, using thread and tape, after putting the branch in a can covered with aluminum foil and filled with gravel. We put it on top of the piano.
The first of April Bob called to tell me Sandy Sanders had a massive heart attack at the phone company while visiting Gilda. Bob tried to revive him, and Roy helped with the CPR, but by the time Dr. Polka got there, in six minutes, he was gone. We were so fond of both Gilda and Sandy. He was only 52. Bob was in tears off and on all weekend. Bob worked Saturday. Sunday morning, after hunting eggs, we went out to the ranch. I’d gotten up early to hide eggs but Rebecca came in while I was putting on my jacket. I told her I was going out to see whether the bunny had come yet and hurried around outside. The bunny brought her a musical pink pig which she named Petunia; Jeffrey an orange and yellow crab which he named “Susy” after his crabby mother; and Clarke a seal. They wore boots with their pajamas while they hunted because of rain the night before.
It was beautiful out at the ranch and I thought it helped Bob a lot to be there. Many deer. The pear trees were in bloom and the wild mint about an inch high. Rebecca and Jeffrey waded a little in the spring across the road. We got back to town around 3:00. Bob went to work again. He was going to go to Eureka and catch a plane from there Monday–packed for that and left the house. Decided to go see Gilda and after that came home instead. He said he’d catch a ride with Lonnie Monday, which he did.
Monday night I picked up Patty Forero to babysit while I went to my class. Bev and Larry asked me to have a glass of wine, which I did, while the “poor kids” were waiting in the car.
The next day I took the children to Linda Lindsey’s and Kay was dropping Michael off at the same time. Went to Sandy’s funeral. The place was packed. I sat in the back row and promptly started weeping. This was only my second funeral and I felt as if what Sandy would have liked in his open coffin was “a bottle of Trinity Lake water, a picture of Gilda and a good stiff drink”. I left the back way, not going past the coffin. Went home, got myself together and then went to get the children.
Jeff came down with a severe earache and I had to go to Redding to meet Bob at the airport at 9 p.m. As Dr. Breeden said, Jeffrey didn’t handle fevers well. He would get tremors even when the fever wasn’t terribly high. I didn’t want to leave him with any of our regular sitters. Florence came up to the house to take care of the children while I drove to Redding. It was very windy and stormy in Redding, with lightning. The plane was on time but Bob said it had been very rough especially between Chico and Redding.
One thing Bob said on the way home was that he was being considered for a job in Bakersfield and we joked about the commuting costs. We got home around 11 p.m.
I noticed in the marriage listings in the Redding paper that both Uncle Stanford’s and his new wife’s ages were listed as “over 21”.
April 11th there was a school board meeting that I attended and Bob had an air pollution board meeting to go to so we got Lesley Callahan to watch the children. I rode to the board meeting with Bev Callahan.
Saturday Bob worked at the office half a day and then in his home office the other half. Sunday we went out to the ranch. It was a little chilly but we enjoyed the afternoon. “The apple trees all had big fat buds and some a few flowers. Had forgotten how good the apple blossoms smell. We ate dinner at Big Bar Station. Bob talked to Dick Farmer there and found that Fish & Game had planted fish in Little French Creek at the bridge last weekend. We’d seen tracks of their truck but hadn’t been able to figure out why a truck would go only as far as the bridge.”
Clarke got sick and had medicine that he had to take an hour before breakfast. He was so upset watching others eat and kept asking for “wa-wa” even picking up a plastic cup of Rebecca’s and holding it out. I relented and gave him a little water in it, which he gulped down. When it was ok for him to eat he drank most of the bottle before putting it down. Poor child was probably dehydrated from the previous day’s fever.
Although the children were watching t.v. when Bob left for Garberville again, Rebecca said, “You know, Mommy, I’m lonesome when Daddy is gone.”
I attended a teachers’ in-service training session at the high school. Nothing very interesting occurred. Lunch was good-at the Parish House and fixed by the Women’s Fellowship. The guest speaker was “ghastly” I wrote, from the California Teacher’s Association. After lunch there was some communication between the high school and elementary school. “I got frowned upon for speaking of Open House as a circus.” On a Friday I attended a workshop in Hayfork. “It was really boring except for one period of time during which small groups met where our group listed things which inhibited learning.” Our group had a good time with that. I met Mary Murray who had started a class for gifted children over there.
Bob showed me a clock circuit he made…apparently it would give him very accurate timing. The most expensive part was the quartz crystal which vibrated rather like a pendulum from current put into it.
One Saturday, when Bob was working on income tax, we all went over to Lowden Park for a brief picnic. He pushed the children on the merry-go-round, went on a swing and caught Clarke when I turned him loose at the top of the slide. Later we went to Trinity Center for a reception for Uncle Stanford and Coveeta. Everyone else seemed to be formally dressed but I wasn’t going to dress up too much when I had children to feed and spills to clean up.
Sunday we went to the ranch with the Ohdes, all except Eric. A fairly relaxed day and we ate at Big Bar on the way home. It had been a long time since we’d spent a whole day with them.