Saturday, June 29, 2019

Liz Writes Life 6-26-19


June 26, 2019

Liz Writes Life
Published in Siskiyou Daily News, Yreka, CA

Oh, summer time! The longest day-light day occurred last week and now the sun will be moving back towards winter and shortening days. But, summer weather is here for several months. Yes, garden vegetable plants are growing and flowers are blooming.

I did get some green beans planted even though I didn’t have the energy to enrich the soil with some manure. And that patch of the garden needed some better soil added, so we shall see how they do. Oh, I forgot to mention that I found one volunteer onion plant last April, when I started irrigating perennials, rhubarb and garlic. It grew to about two-inches in size and then sent out a seed stem. I cut it off and a few weeks later stopped watering it. I am trying to stream-line the garden and didn’t want to have to irrigate down there. Well, it got pulled-up this week and is drying in the shade. Yep, one onion.

Picked a small batch of peas this week and made a stir-fry with onion, cabbage, mushrooms and pork.

Can’t believe the yellow coreopsis plants are blooming already along with snapdragons, wild Shasta daisies and now the bigger Shasta daisies are peaking open. There are small daisy-like flowers on feverfew and red bee balm is beginning to top out along with pink hollyhocks.

EHS Reunion

The registration forms have been mailed out for the Etna High School Reunion on July 13, 2019. If you would like to attend and didn’t get one, call Helen Lewis at 530-468-2353. The graduating classes of the 1950s began holding annual reunions 20 years ago and this will be the last one organized by Helen and Alvin Lewis, Betty Young, Ryck Kramer, Alberta Dowling, Larry Wells, Don Meek, MaryAnn Hanna and Melanie Fowle. There was a notice that new organizers need to step-up if the reunions are to continue. Let any of the above know if you are willing to do it.

The reunion will be at the Etna City Park starting at 10 a.m. Cost is $15 with additional cost for 11 a.m. brunch catered by Bob’s Ranch House of $12.75. And a dinner, also catered by Bob’s, at 5 p.m. is $17.

There will be a special birthday treat. Eddi Lou Deppen is turning 90 years old and a celebration will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Collier Hotel on Collier Way in Etna. Wow, Eddi Lou was one of my 4-H Sewing instructors along with a bunch of other moms that decided their girls needed to learn to sew back in the late 1960s. It was quite a project getting 20 girls to settle down and sew a pillow case as our first item. We met in the Home Ec room at the Etna High School using about 12 very old sewing machines and newer ones that the moms were willing to bring. Most girls went on to sew quite a bit with some winning awards at the county fair and regional competitions. I continued to sew, but didn’t win any awards. I was much happier riding horses than sitting at a sewing machine. I claimed it hurt my back – even then!

A few years ago, before Eddi Lou moved up to Roseburg, she told me she was Scott Valley pioneer stock and Fay Lane was named after her family. Sure enough, I just now checked the U.S. census on Ancestry.com and found her ancestor Daniel Fay, who was born in Ireland around 1829 and was living in South, Siskiyou, California, USA in the 1870 census. South was another name for Callahan area. According to several U.S. census and Find A Grave, Daniel was married to Mary Elizabeth Lally also born about 1829 in Ireland. The census showed their family included nine children in 1870. I stopped there, because I don’t know Eddi Lou’s direct line. But, I am sure she could explain it!

I had a nice surprise on Saturday. Suzanne Peckham was working the Etna Native Daughters of the Golden West Museum and a man stop by asking about Hearst Dillman. In thinking about it, she remembered that I was a Dillman. Yep, good memory, Suzanne, as dad died 24 years ago. After checking some genealogy info, I drove in to meet with Ron Dillman, who is 79 and has been living in Redding for years. He is a retired dentist. Family wise, he and my dad are first cousins, but it takes a bit of checking to figure it out. His dad, Ralph, was the youngest of nine kids and was born in 1909. My dad’s dad, George, was the oldest child and was born in 1885, so there is more than a generation of 20 years difference in the brothers and even the first cousins. My dad was born in 1911, in Arizona, and Ron was born in 1939, in California.

Over 30 years ago, Ron and his dad visited Etna and my dad, but had never been close to our side of the family. So, we started making up for lost time. He wanted to see where my family was buried in the Etna Cemetery and I sent him home with an extra copy of the Dillman history that I wrote in the early 1990s. Thank you, Suzanne, for getting us connected.

POW

Scott Valley Protect Our Water will meet this Thurs., June 27, 2019 at the Fort Jones Community Center at 7 p.m. Bring a dessert to share, if it works for you.

I checked with Ray Haupt, Dist. 5 Siskiyou Co. Supervisor, and he will be there to talk about some good news from The Nature Conservancy and a Siskiyou Co. Task Force that is bringing all fire agencies, industrial timber companies and the Fire Safe Councils together to reduce fuel loading on USFS and private lands.

Also, Ray said he was impressed with recent quick responses to local fires, especially Lumgrey Fire that started around June 9th down on Hwy 96 and jumped the Klamath River heading towards Hawkinsville. Klamath National Forest jumped on it immediately and was quickly backed-up by Cal-Fire with full-on attack personnel, Hot Shots, equipment and air tankers working through the night. It was firefighting at its best and contained quickly. He praised the local command leaders that knew the terrain and potential fire behavior. Good job!

Liz Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County and lives near Callahan. Columns from the past year can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

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