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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