THE SONGS OF A NIGHTINGAIL

  The streets are taken over in Copperopolis, CA by a showcase of old time’y cars.  The annual Big Band Street Dance in Columbia State Historic Park, Columbia, CA. A good old fashioned neighborhood block party held on the street with all sorts of good food and kids riding their toys in the street without being scolded by their parents. J Street-side Farmers Market in Angels Camp, CA A race of homemade outhouses in Virginia City, NV takes over the main street through town. Cal band members dancing up the street to the football stadium in Berkeley.  One of my favorite things to do on game day, besides attending the game itself, was to follow the band up to the stadium as they danced, sang, and played some of their more humorous numbers along the way.  What a kick! Bands also march in parades.  This is the Yosemite High School Band marching in the “Pioneer Days” parade in Oakhurst, CA . . .   . . . followed by a quartet of ‘small flag’ girls. (The ‘tall flag’ ...

  I always smile when I see posed standard class photographs.  They don’t seem to change much over the years – the boys sitting cross-legged on the ground or standing on the top row.  The girls sitting prettily in between with their legs together, skirts drawn either to or over the knees, and hands folded demurely in their laps.  My husband’s maternal grandfather, Harry Brasier, in a class photo - front & center.  All boys, no girls! Young Harry My husband in his 1948 3 rd grade school portrait. My third grade class picture with Mrs. Gustafson in 1948.  I’m on the left end of the second seated row in the white top.  I can remember the names of 20 of the 35 students and recognize the faces of a few more. Our son’s Mountain School kindergarten class picture in Gasquet, 1974.   He’s third in from left. His kindergarten portrait. And his 1 st grade class photo – along with 2 nd , & 3 rd grades.  Mountain School was a 2-room school so c...

  My Dad’s senior portrait in the University of California at Berkeley’s 1935 yearbook. My 1958 high school graduation portrait. My husband/s 1958 high school graduation portrait. My husband (far left), the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Forestry graduate, 1963 Our son’s 1988 high school senior year portrait. Here he is (in blue shirt on far end of first row) after 3 years of night classes, graduating in 2000 with his Journeyman’s license enabling him to own his own electrical business. Celebrating his graduation - his wife to his left. Eldest daughter’s graduation from high school in 1991. Her graduation from Fresno State University in 1995 with her younger Sis at her side. Her graduation, Magna cum laude, from Northeastern University in Boston with a Masters degree in Business Administration. She was a little excited about it. J Youngest daughter’s high school graduation portrait in 1992. Celebrating the accomplishment with her older Sis. And graduating from Chi...

A TRIP TO YO-SEMITE IN 1874 – PART 6 Last week we left J.K. and Miss Teegarden in the cottage parlor laughing over a pencil, and J.K.’s odd remarks about a couple of rocks in the moonlight with profiles of a fish and an old man? And we continue . . . Next day our whole party and two others left for our homes.  My venerable friend, Mr. Kidd of New York and myself concluded we would fight it out in that line (at Smith’s Cosmopolitan House) if it took all summer, for mint juleps. Bid goodbye to Hutchings at 8:30 AM, 27th of May, 1874 on horseback.  Lunch at Gentry's, 11:30.  It snowed crossing the mountain.  Rode on a bobsled at Tamarack Flat. Sutton’s little Josh we had a heap of fun over.  Sutton carried a little red satchel and no one could imagine (what) was in it and Mr. Clarke said “Smedley, what has Mr. Sutton in his satchel?”  I said I didn’t know.  “I guess” said Clarke “that maybe it’s his little Josh.”  That set the whole crowd to a regul...