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Recently I had to replace my 11-year-old PT Cruiser with a new car. It caused some grief to relinquish my little red friend, but she had barfed up her power steering fluid on the garage floor and given up the ghost. I decided to purchase a hybrid because a Tesla is right out of my [...]
SPOUSAL BOSS REIGNS: John Chapman forwarded the following T-shirt statement: “Retired: Under New Management – See Spouse for details.” BISCUITS AND GRAVY TIME: The Placerville Elks Club is offering breakfast on Sunday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to noon, at their clubhouse, 3821 Quest Ct., Shingle Springs. Adults pay $7.50, and children over 3 years [...]
I’m writing this from ground zero: My childhood home in Orange, Calif. To get through my job here I need smelling salts and a bulldozer. Eight months ago my elderly parents moved out of the single-story ranch they tended for years into a home that tends to them, I hope as well. I have parachuted [...]
I recently attended the 90th birthday party for Gloria Smith, the widow of Tom Smith. Tom, of course, was known as the man who owned half of Placerville. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration but it is not far from the truth. Attorney Mike Petersen, who was Tom’s nephew, told some good stories about working for Tom [...]
Nov. 29, 1964 — Sept. 29, 2012 Craig William Pittman was born Nov. 29, 1964. He went peacefully to our Lord on Sept. 29, 2012, at the age of 47. Our family moved to El Dorado County 30 years ago. Craig attended El Dorado High School in Placerville, Calif. He also completed Criminal Justice Program. [...]
On Saturday evening, Aug. 4, Railtown 1897 State Historic Park is sponsoring an upbeat and festive “Singing Rails” musical event that reflects America’s longstanding love affair with trains and the railroad through the magic of music. Known for iconic songs such as “Way Out West,” “Last Cannonball” and “Ghost Train” to name a few, the [...]
TARDINESS IS TEDIOUS: Review the “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” calendar, and you will find the following suggestion: “If you’re constantly running five minutes late, or 30 minutes late, and this is creating stress in your life and stress for other people, you need to make a real effort to start five minutes earlier, or [...]
“Came … up to the forks of the road, one goes to Placerville and one to Weaver Town (Weberville), Took our right hand road to Placerville or Hang Town, and came to what is called Johnson’s Ranch” — Journal entry of Milo Stannard Baker, Aug. 13, 1850. Such was the journal entry of Milo Baker, one [...]
One of the ways that long-shot candidate Ron Mikulaco won the District 1 supervisor seat last month was his tireless canvassing of neighborhoods. Between dog bites, bee stings, sun burns and blisters he heard some recurring complaints, including several over school boundaries.
The easterly Oak Ridge High School boundary has drawn the ire of some Serrano parents who bought homes assuming their kids would attend the local high school, but later learned that their neighborhood is outside the school’s boundaries. Their freshman attend Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs, eight miles east, rather than Oak Ridge …
It’s been three years since Oak Ridge High School graduate Jackie Greene brought his unflappable cool to El Dorado County. The uber-talented singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bluesman and hipster anchors the Coloma Blues Live! lineup on Saturday, June 9 at Henningsen-Lotus Park. Greene and his band play at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 at the door [...]
If ever California had a heroine that history overlooked, it was Jessie Benton Frémont. You won’t find her name memorialized on peaks, streams or towns. Yet, if not for Jessie Benton Frémont, the west may not have been settled as it was, slaves may not have been freed as they were or Yosemite preserved as [...]
Clarksville Day 2012 attracted an estimated 4,000 people on May 5 to the ghost town that predates El Dorado Hills, including a record number of ranch family descendants. Serrano’s original ranch residents, the Walker clan, were out in force to celebrate the 85th birthday of Mazie Carnell, who attended Clarksville’s one-room schoolhouse in the 1930s, [...]
YOU WILL SURVIVE: A glance at the “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” calendar reveals the following thought: “The best and most effective way to maintain a grateful spirit and to keep yourself from being overwhelmed is to remember that all things — even the hard things — will pass.” • • • BOWLING FOR A GOOD CAUSE : The [...]
Caldor was a small, but very important, town near Grizzly Flat that was built by the California Door Co. Located on Dogtown Creek (also known as Dog Creek), a tributary of the Cosumnes River, it was the center for the lumbering operations of this company and ultimately, the eastern end of a narrow gauge railroad [...]
Placerville duo The Method will be performing at a special tribute concert to the late David Rea at the Alberta Rose Theater in Portland on Sunday, Jan. 29. Rea, who many in El Dorado County remember from his performances at the Placerville Folk Festival and from a series of house concerts, died the day after [...]
The 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the nation’s greatest celebration of the American West, its people, culture and traditions, will take place Jan. 30 to Feb. 4, in Elko, Nev., a high desert community where ranching has been a way of life for more than a century. The poetry, music, workshops, films, discussions, exhibits and [...]
Book: “Tales of Placerville: Bradford and Norris, Booksellers to the Savage West” Author: Perry Bradford Wilson Publisher: November 2011 by Storyteller Press, 275 pages Cost: Soft cover $15.95, e-book $4.99 If you like history, good stories and a wallop of humor, you’re going to like “Tales of Placerville: Bradford and Norris, Booksellers to the Savage [...]
EDITOR: Last week I was up in Placerville for a memorial service for Nancy Grove, longtime resident of Placerville. Before leaving town we decided to stop at The Sequoia Restaurant for coffee and dessert. Mike (the bartender) was absolutely wonderful with a tour and recent stories of the ghosts haunting the place and all the mishaps happening. However, upon driving [...]
LIQUID ADVICE: Thanks to John Chapman, I give you the following “Advice from a Lake” T-shirt statement: “Be clear – Make positive ripples – Look beneath the surface – Stay calm – Shore up friendships – Take time to reflect – Be full of life! … GEORGETOWN AREA HIKE: On Saturday, June 25, from 8 [...]
Bumper to bumper traffic, jockeying for a parking space and finding they’ve run out of something by the time you arrive — a familiar experience for American commuters, including those who traveled overland to California by covered wagon. Pioneer wagons shared the road, and the resources of the trail, with freight wagons, stage coaches, mail wagons, [...]