May 22, 2019
Liz Writes Life
Decisions, decisions! Typically, I whine this time of year
about the fickle, uncertain weather and check the weather stations several
times a day on the internet. If it rains at night, it typically doesn’t frost;
but if it clears-off before early morning, it can bring in a freeze. So, do I
cover the annuals, which means going in search for buckets of all sizes and
cardboard boxes?
Saturday night, it was certainly cooling off. So, I decided
to cover the tomatoes, one six-leafed volunteer pumpkin, zucchini and blue
morning glories that were just pushing out of the ground and also the volunteer
amaranths that are an inch high, oh, and the dahlias that are six-inches tall.
It showered at dusk, but at 11 p.m. the moon was shinning bright and some stars
could be seen. So, I was surprised on Sunday morning when it was about 40
degrees – no frost. Whew! But, there was a solid snow-line on Mt. Bolivar at
about 4,500 feet, when I looked out.
Gotta say, I sure enjoyed the break from the high temps and daily
hours of watering perennials and the planted annuals. I did not get the second
rhubarb plant harvested and it is even bigger at nearly four-feet high with
giant leaves. A friend asked about getting some, so I must get it thinned and
shared.
I volunteered to pick-up my grandson from a track meet in
Weaverville, last Wednesday, and drove through a pretty good wind and rainstorm
over Scott Mt. My, it is a gorgeous drive with dogwood blooming and a variety
of fresh colors of green leaves. Trinity Lake looked full with water standing
in the dredger rock pilings at the bottom of Scott Mt.
My grandfather, Gus Fowler, worked a floating dredger in the
1930s, there. Buzz Helm, who was barber in Etna for decades, told me that as a
child he stayed with grandpa during a summer over in Trinity. Don’t really know
why, except by that time, Buzz was like a nephew to the Fowler brothers –
starting with the youngest, Harry.
Yep, wish I would have asked more questions of relatives and
friends -- and written more down.
After writing last week’s column, I have pondered even more
about the differences of life in 1928 compared to the 21st century.
Dad’s brother, Bob, at 19 was considered a man – at least man enough to be sent
to Siskiyou Co. by Greyhound bus (the ticket cost $50 – a lot back then) to
find a place to rent for the family. He may have stayed with Aunt Mary
Brumwell, in Yreka, when he first arrived. But, I don’t know the answer, cuz I
didn’t think to ask.
I do know he rode with Johnny Cleaver, who drove the Shell
truck and distributed gasoline in 55-gallon barrels to ranches, farms and towns
throughout the county. It was through those travels that Bob learned the
Masterson Ranch was up for rent. But, I don’t think Bob told his family that
there were 2,000 head of sheep still at the ranch!
After the Dillman
family arrived at the end of April 1928, they ended-up living in a small two-room
cabin, because the renters were still living in the big Masterson two-story
house. They were about to start shearing the sheep, which were to be herded
over Scott Mt. through the Trinities and down to Corning in the Sacramento
Valley. It wasn’t until early July that the Dillman family was able to move from
the cabin. Neither home had electricity.
So after that long rendition, how many 19 year-olds would we
expect, nowadays, to make life-changing decisions? There were no cell phones for
discussions. The Dillman’s did not have a hand-crank phone in their adobe in
Tucson, Az. To communicate long distances, it came down to using the telegraph
and letter writing. And, yet, it worked out.
At 18-months of age, Rose Ann’s youngest son, Con, was still
in diapers. Disposable diapers had not been invented, so Rose must have been
washing diapers in a wash tub as well as cooking over campfires during the
eight-day trip.
Dad told me the second-hand 1922 Dodge screen-side pickup
(with no screens) needed mechanic work each evening. The fuel-line seemed to be
a constant problem. Gas was bucketed into the fuel tank using a funnel, so it
was fairly easy for foreign material to fall into the gas. And the eye-strain
of driving all day made my dad’s eyes swell, so grandma doctored them with tea
bag compresses. Nowadays, we have eye drops and sunglasses!
The family didn’t have many belongings, but what they owned
wouldn’t fit in the small 1922 Dodge pickup. Dad traded his horse for a pair of
cowhide chaps and younger brother Charley’s red wagon was given away. Grandpa
George Dillman saved-up $200 cash and after eight days was down to $35, when
arriving in Scott Valley.
As much as the move turned out to be a really good one for
the Dillman family (of which I am truly grateful) it was quite a sacrifice to
get the job done.
April was a good time to move and dad gave his mom the credit
for the lack of big problems along the way. He said her prayers for safety were
answered. His younger sister, Evie at age four, had the most mishaps – usually with
bee stings.
But, I think the biggest immediate difference that the
Dillmans felt was the change in elevation and weather from Arizona to the
mountains of Siskiyou County. It could have been a cold May sleeping in a
two-room cabin compared to the 80-degree temps that would have been in Arizona.
Did they have enough blankets?
One thing I forgot to mention, last week, was the tall
snow-capped mountains that surrounded the green meadow valley at the Masterson
Ranch just south of Callahan. Our looming mountains can be intimidating. After
living in the flat desert, driving up the one-lane road through the steep
mountain canyon was surely very different and frightening.
And yet, so many times when I have traveled in my modern
vehicle from visiting somewhere below Mt. Shasta, as I drive over Forest Mt. pass
and down into Scott Valley it feels like the surrounding familiar mountains are
giant protective arms that gather me up, offering comfort -- and I know that I
am home.
POW
Scott Valley Protect Our Water will hold its next meeting on
Thursday, May 30, 2019 at the Fort Jones Community Center at 7 p.m.
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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