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Linda Lopez (1967)

Tuni,

It is truely amazing how many place you and I have been idn the same area. Keizar Hospital is where we went for everything. We also lived in Redwood City and Pleasant Hill for a short time after coming back from Texas.

My prime Rib dinners were up in the foothills of Forrest Hill, CA. Went for ribs in Sacramento. Seafood was San Francisco at the wharf all the time looking at the boats and getting fresh crab! We would go to that resaurant that gave you a window view of the harbor where you could watch the seals came up to play on the dock. Shopping was everywhere there. We would always bring home that delicious San Fran sourdough bread.

Dee (Marilee) Damsen (Kindelt) (1965)

The class of 65 is putting another one of their classmates in the memory file.  Early this morning Yolanda (Londi) Martinez Joy lost her battle with cancer.  She fought a good fight.  We will miss you Londi and your positive attitude - you had so much strength.  Our sympathy to Mike, Lisa and Kenney.

Gail Smith (Maxwell) (1964)

Linda Lopez LaBrie - you said you had prime rib in the foothils in Foresthill.  Do you remember the name of the restaurant?

After living in the Bay area for 36 years (31 in Santa Clara), we retired and moved to Foresthill, in the Sierra Foothills.  We absolutely love it up here.  Sort of like being on vacation every day!  When we go on trips, we literally can't wait to get back to our lovely home in the pines.  We are about 15 minutes from Auburn, about 45 minutes from Roseville and about an hour from Sacramento.  Two hours to Reno.  These are some of the reasons we like it so much.

The American River

Our front yard

Our back yard

One difficult thing up here are the fires.  We have had at least one and sometimes more every year we have been up here.  Luckily they haven't gotten too close (some were iffy though) but the smoke we get from them is sometimes unbelievable.  This is a picture of the sunset, taken last summer when we had fires raging all over the county.  Makes for a pretty picture but I would rather do without it!

Tom Stewart - thanks for your help...worked like a charm!

Linda Lopez (1967)

Gail,

Great to see you and your wonderful pics. I do believe the restaurant was Sam's Rancho Villa. It was there before the houses were up. Seeming to be the only stop from Sacto before Placerville. My sister Cheryl Lopez lives in Forresthill. The recent fires in the hills, was it in your area? The news here doesn't give great detail on towns effected.

Hope all is well with you and your family. Have a great one and when I make it back there would like to visit with you.

Gail Smith (Maxwell) (1964)

Tom, we love the Pollock Pines area.  We have friends living there and we enjoy going to Apple Hill to wine taste, buy apples and pears, etc.  When our kids were small, we used to camp at Sly Park on Jenkison Lake.  The area is beautiful, a direct counterpart to where we live.

Linda, are you sure it was Foresthill that you stopped in?  I don't profess to know the restaurants that were here back in the day but I do know that traveling from Sacramento to Placerville would put you on US Highway 50, while we are off of I80.  I looked up your sister in the phone book and sure enough, she lives here!  There is another woman I've met up here, who also went to Woodland High.  It sure is a small world, especially when you consider a small area like this, with just a few thousand people in it.

CA is a beautiful state, with so many different types of areas to choose from.  Another state we love is Oregon.  Our son and family live in Portland and we have come to love the green hills, the beautiful rivers and the beautiful city of Portland with its many bridges and hilly landscapes.  Home is where the heart is!

Linda Lopez (1967)

Gail,

My mistake, it was US 50.  Looking at my map it could be just before Shingle Springs. I was told it closed some years back. Last time I was there was in 1970. 

Like you said, CA offers a lot of choices for just about whatever you are looking for. Looking forward to seeing it again soon.

Mary Cassel (Mailloux) (1967)

To those living in the foothills:    I have lived in the Georgetown area for quite a while - 30 or 40 years.  I do live in Placerville now, before I was near Kelsey.  Yes it is small..."Kelsey used to be on both sides of the road, until the barn fell down".  We were about 3 miles away, and suffered the Kelsy fire in '94.  It burned everything on our 15 acres---except the house.  And it has pretty well grown back!

Linda Lopez (1967)

Mary,

Isn't Kelsey the town you get to by way of ChiliBar Grade road? I believe off of US 50. I drove it to work each day in 1969-70. I believe the house on the hill where I stayed was in Kelsey. That was definitely deer country.

Theresa Eve (1964)

Gail Smith, love the picture of your home.  Lovely area.  My sister Mary lives in Grass Valley so I know the area as you presented.  My niece lives in Auburn, a home built by her husband.  Nice to drive up from Roseville and visit.  It is so interesting to see the pictures where people live now.  Gail you have won a prize for the home you now live.  I feel very lucky to live in Sun City Roseville, a lovely area with large oak trees and wild life.  The birds are very lovely.  Don't leave your pets out at night.  My home faces East, just like our family home in Woodland, which allows me to see the lovely sunsets in the evening.  Some things just bring you home.  Planning to plant a foxglove by my fence this year, just like Mother had at 6 North McKinely and everyone asked her about it as they went to the ball park to watch a game.      

Lynn Little (Sullivan) (1966)

Theresa Eve, Even though they are a beautiful plant, did you know that Foxglove is highly poisonous to Dog, Cats and humans.  I would love to have the plant myself but I have 3 dogs and my neigbors have cats, lol, I an not worried about humans eating them, but you never know.

Theresa Eve (1964)

Thank you, yes I know foxglove is poisonous.  I have a spot that few animals travel.  It is a side gate area.  I will not pick these for an arrangement.  Appreciate your note. 

Theresa Eve (1964)

I went  on line to read the details of Foxglove with dangers, and have reconsidered having this lovely plant around.  One lady had to go to emergency with some pollen she inhaled, nothing I want to worry about, or my cat who may accidently go near the plant.  Just have to look at pictures now.   Oh, by the way, my house faces West; must be a direction error in my mind.  Good advise as to skipping this lovely plant. 

Robert Cowing (1965)

Catching up . . . 

(1)  Linda Lopez LaBrine - MI a beautiful state, a 1,000 lakes for sure.  My wife's uncle resided there and had a cabin on one of the lovely lakes.  I don't know if I could take the winters though . . . As to Oppenheimer (J. Robert), he was at CalTech, U.C. Berkeley and  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  The Oakland Museum is more of a Natural and Cultural Musem about California than physics but he might have been there is some capacity as advisor or board member.  It is more likely he would have been associated with the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park or the Hall of Science in Berkeley.  His brother, Frank Oppenheimer, was the founder of the Exploritorium in San Francisco.  He was also a physicist.

(2) Vern Larson - The Fleishhacker Zoo you did what I always wanted to do, cllimb down in the pendulum pit, grab a few pegs and give the pendulum a push !

(3) JoAnn Kergel  Wirth and Theresa Eve - so many great things at Golden State Park.  I did get a chance to slide down the huge wooden slide and walk in and through the giant rolling wooden barrel.  Never cared for the salt water swimming pool either.

(4) Tuni - was the rolling skating rink made out of wood?

(5) Linda and Tuni - I remember mostly The House of Prime Rib in San Francisco, Great food!

Does anyone remember the spitting gorilla at the zoo? Apparently he had a good memory for those who made fun of him or displayed any kind of abuse by throwing his feces at them.

(6) Tome Stewart - beautiful beach photos. Would you identify the locations?

(7) Gail Smith Maxwell - Lovely home area. I used to frequent a restuarnt in Pollack Pines with 3 other lads from work in West Sacramento and we would order the stake dinner family style ie huge tossed salad, all the coffee you could drink, either a steak that covered and lightly over-lapped the edges of the plate or a stake that was a little thicker than your coffee cup, plate of fries for each guy and a choice of desert, usualy an entire apple pie times 2 with ice cream.  All for $15-20 a person. Fortunately we worked hard every day wand were young.

Robert Cowing (1965)

Still catching up . . . Craig Mayfield:

Great photo of Capay Valley Hills (The Vaca Mt. Range).  Local realtors always sold a lot homes and land before the lucious green turned brown and weather hot!  Used to spend a lot of time up in those hills with Jim Owen.  We would ride our bikes from Woodland to the Cadenaso (sp?) Ranch and either Climb Berryesa Peak or wander around the hills until time to get to Woodland before dark.  Two most memorable events were (a) the day Jim got a full frontal case of poison oak after urinating in the bush and (b) having a mounted Sherrif chase us off the range for fear we would get lost or bit by rattle snakes.

Where do you stand as to your Melanoma?  How are you?

Craig, you said "Rabbit Run" . . . John Updike.  Read a few of his books but never made it through the Rabbit series.  Hoped to read his essays on golf, maybe some day.  Although his prose was often exquisite, I found him tedious, trying to work out and release himself from his personal demons and especially his not so well disguised hatred and disgust with the modern average American and the American Christian Chhurch, best typified with the paragraph describing the hero or anti-hero having sex with the pastor's wife as the Reverend was giving the Sunday sermon.  Updike remained a "Christian" until his death or so reported by his biographers.

Although, many of us would like multiple runs and reruns at our life, I believe we only get one chance in this world. The Chinese have a saying, "He who regrets is a fool twice."  One of my favorite atheists was Bertand Russell. In one of his last books before his death, "Why I am not a Christian", he records a questioin a friend asks of him, "Bertrand, what will you say if after your death you awake in God's presence?"  . . .  Bertrand replied, "God . . . you did not give me enough proof." Yes,  . . . humorus, but ultimately so sad.

Craig, I have a spent a fair amount of time in discussion and company with atheists and agnostics (atheists afraid to commit),  especially those of genius intellect.  Not one has ever been satisfied with evidence or proof as being sufficient.  As they continue to argue with me, out of tiredness I usually say,  . . . "Look, if you are right, then neither of us is at a loss, but if I am correct and you are not right, I have everything to gain and you have lost all  . . . . and lost the most important, a current life of peace and an eternal life in the presence of God that not even the most advanced far reaching imagination of Quantum Mechanics can describe, let alone the possible multiple universes, worlds and dimensions available for you to experience and enjoy.  

It can, and does all begin with a first step in the correct direction.

Jenny Johnson (Norman) (1966)

Robert – Regarding your question between 5 & 6 of your post, “does anyone remember the spitting gorilla at the zoo?”  In 1967-9 I lived and worked in SF.  I had a whole weeks vacation and no particular plans so rode the bus out to the zoo every morning very early. I got to know one of the caretakers and he let me accompany him behind the enclosures where they fed and cared for the animals.  I met the gorillas face to face – fed them by hand and even got a kiss on the cheek from the big male.  He was very gentle and had kind eyes.  He never did spit or show bad manners.  But the female gorilla was not impressed with me.  She glared at me jealously and I felt like if she could have gotten her hands on me that she would have torn me to shreds.  When I saw how upset she was at my giving attention to the male I quit feeding him and went over to the orangutans.  

The caretaker said I could shake hands with the orangutan. I put my hand in between the bars and the orangutan put his hand out and grasped my hand/arm. His fingers went all the way up my arm past my elbow!  He was also very gentle until I started to release the shake. The orangutan’s grip tightened and I wanted to pull away but the caretaker stopped me and said to be sure and let the orangutan let loose of the shake first. So, I waited until he had enough of our “shake” (and staring me in the eye), and he did finally let go.  The caretaker told me that he had almost torn another caretaker’s arm off one day because the caretaker became nervous and tried to pull away.  Nice of the caretaker to tell me that AFTER the orangutan had hold of my hand/arm!  Still, it was an experience I will never forget.

All in all, the week made for some great memories!  I learned a lot about the animals and had a new respect for them and their caretakers.

Robert Cowing (1965)

ROBERT: Yikes Craig . . .  I hope you did not loose any function(s).  My sister-in-law contracted a flesh eating virus while gardening, no less! and loss nearly half of the flesh on her arm. Had to re-learn to use it, feed herself etc.  After a year she asked me if I would play golf with her again. A rough ride for her.

ROBERT: Do you still have to take meds for pain?  Did your docs stop with surgery or did they also use radiation and/or chemo?

ROBERT: I translated your abreviations NBD 'no big deal', LOL ' laugh out loud' ,  but what do you mean by "PA" ?  When I did a search on the internet I found over 230 possibilities.

"(Jeez, I don't rate!) will try and check out (and connect) all the other dots in a couple weeks...Hey, we all get/got/been thru sumthin, right?"

ROBERT:  Right. .  . . . . . we all go through defeat in our lives, some more than others.  Pain . . . suffering . . it is part of it.  Yep.

...Rabbit Run ...thought you referred to that phrase earlier here in a response to me...check it...were YOU referring to Cheever?...

ROBERT: I checked my past posts and I didn't see a reference to 'Rabbbit Run'. "Cheever" . . . had to look the chracter up since I tossed my Updike books long ago . . . but I was referring to 'Rabbit Angstrom' the  main character in the Rabbit series. 'Cheever' or John Cheever is a short story writer and also a literary critic, if still alive?

"...as to rebirth...Christ alone...or all of US...well...mebe as many many Religions...or their subsects,including Christianity ...think mebe it is Rebirth on Earth, or another Dimension...but. a rebirth of Consciousness...perceiving, awareness of the Self...Spirit CONTINUING in matter and time, if you will..."

ROBERT:  I'm sorry Craig but I didn't mean to talk about "rebirth" of body and/or mind and/or soul and/or spirit  . . . but relationship.  Not a "new" relationship with one's self but a reconnecting, a renewal of relationship with a personal real living  God. I apologize for  the confusion.

ROBERT: After the beginning of our relationship with God, the "rebirth" or "born-again" process takes place where mind, soul and spirit and, sometimes body are transformed/changed and very often an experience is one of "life anew". Thus, there is a new way of seeing reality and our perception and experience change accordingly, a "rebirth of personal conscioiusness" but not a "rebirth of Consciousness. This does lead us into a new way of perceiving our personal self/ego/personality.  Our spirit, not "Spirit", continues as it would if we had the realtionship with God or not. "The Spirit" or as I like to relate to Him is eternal, in and outside of our 4 common dimensions ie length, width, heigth and time.

"I have nothing against fairly ignorant (comparatively) Jewish Peasants of several thousands of years ago...But, even the Jews don't see Christ as THEE SOLE SON/DAUGHTER of GOD...maybe we all are HE/SHE...I am THOU...Thou being the most Holy...our existence"

ROBERT:  Any Jews in particular or all Jews several thousand years ago? 

ROBERT:  Craig, "relligious" Jews, as a rule do not accept Christ Jesus as their Messiah. They are still waiting for Him to arrive.   However, there is a growing Jewish population who do accept Christ Jesus as the one and true Messiah.  In the states we call them "Jews-For-Jesus". The aformentioned Jews refer to "God" as "Him" and Jews-for-Jesus refer to Christ as Him and as Son.  The usage of "HE/SHE" to God and "SON/DAUGHTER of God" is a through-back to animinsim and pagan demigods and the corruption of "feminism" prevalent in our society that is obsessed with sex, sexuality and gender.

ROBERT: Craig, you said . . ."maybe we all are HE/SHE . . . I am THOU . . . Thou being the most Holy . . . our existence." If I read you correctly you mean to say that our personal "self" is God/THOU  and our "self" is the Self and it is the most holy of all existence.

ROBERT: If what I have concluded/deduced is correct then you have described the foundation of "Evil", the total exclusion of and separation from God. For a secular definnition of evil I have found the following in theory and experience to be most accurate:  Evil is composed of an unholy trinity of (1) ego/self, (2) arrogance and (3) intellect, all with the power and opportunity to express and actuate their goals together in the world/reality around them.

Melanie McKinzie-Petersen (Rued) (1967)

Why does this conversation have to even be on this forum? It's a personal choice. No one is right and no one is wrong when it comes to your own beliefs. Stop the battle of the egos and just let everyone be themselves.

Linda Lopez (1967)

Robert,

Thanks for helping me get my memories in order. It was The Exploratorium where I met Mr. Frank Oppenheimer. He and Bob had a wonderful talk being two scientists getting together.

Craig,

I hope you better health and the best doctors to help you. Comfort and Peace to you.

Enjoy the comforts of CA. 

Tim Tucker (1965)

Here's a thought ! Why don't you guys just let it go ? Or better yet, go to message center. It's private and you can agree to disagree all day long. I'm guessing there are more than just a few of the alumni that would prefer that.

Janet Long (Levers) (1966)

YESSSS, Tim Tucker!!!! Great idea; thanks. (Melanie, too) Let's focus on the positive, in the now. I see in the (what passes for a) local newspaper that Gary Wegener led a group of Rotarians in building a chicken coop for the Sci-Tech school in Knights Landing. Nice work, Gary. I know the kids will really get a lot out of that, and that school is well worth supporting.

Paul Lieberum (1968)

THANK YOU TIM AND MELANIE!I was about to never look at his forum again! No wonder there's religeous wars going on everywhere. Can't we all just accept our differences?

Justene Manchester (Lipphardt) (1963)

Back to a more light hearted subject -  I remember that poop throwing gorilla.  Was fun to watch people with those knowing what  was going to happen staying in the back of group and just watching the new comers standing in front and waiting for them to get hit with the poop.  That is one of the memories I have along with the hippo who would start moving his tail like a propeller and then pooping and spraying it all over the place.  Funny memories from  S.F. Zoo.

Melanie McKinzie-Petersen (Rued) (1967)

Thanks. Is there anyone that went to Woodland High that remembers me at all? My Family, Purrington and Rueds have been in Woodland/Winters and River Road Hop growers for many years. I attended Woodland in 1964 for about a year and in 1966 for about 6 months. We lived on the River Road and took the Bus in to Woodland with the Amens, Mattos', Plumbs, Hayes, Kanes, McCrays, Peabodys etc. Was in the Choir, not a scholar or a 600. Came from LA with bleached blond hair and wore make-up. (OMG) Dad was a Sarg in the CHP and Jeanie Tillman lived with us until her accident with Anita Malcolm R.I.P both wonderful ladies. My best friends were Barbara Shinn, Carol Defoe, Trish Hartman, and Glenna Thornburg. I have always had a great sense of humor and I didn't realize it then, not bad looking. David Hughes was my boyfriend and Ron Vanucci a pal. Crushed on David Dodd. (no clue). I actually graduated from Mira Loma, however, many good memories from Woodland. Worked and Loved Quacky Tucker at the Hospital. My favorite person ever back then.

Tuni Gravink (House) (1964)

I remember the goriila that tossed his waste out at the crowd. But i also remember Monkey Is. We would sit there and watch them for the longest times. My mom and dad thought they were funny to watch. In a way they were. I remember the carosuel (sp i know) with the ring that you had to sip on the pole or take. I just liked the ride.

The roller skating was on a wood floor yes, but also in the 70's they closed off part of Golden Gate Park, and one could roller skate there from 8 am till noon. Many rounds there, and we would head over to the entertainment stage, with picnic lunches and listen to whatever entertainer was there that afternoon. I was lucky enough to hear Pavarotti then, and it was really cool.

San Francisco has many draws to many of us from Woodland. Mine was mostly due to my surgeries at the hospital there, and i memorized as i stated before the city from my room, but also the big play room at the end of the halls. One time Sue  Beeman  (the one who was in the bad car wreck with her mother), and Bobby Geer and i were the local Woodland kids in that wing. I got a ticket for racing my wheelchair up and down the hall. I was bored by then, and wanted go home to Woodland. I did not lay in bed long at the hospital before they wheeled my down to the school classroom at the hospital. My teacher was kind enough to send homework assignments for me to do while at the hospital. I did enjoy getting all the pictures the students colored for me, and sent to me. That was nice. In a way i felt they were with me in the class. But that hospital became my tie to the city. I still love it, and i went there after leaving the Woodland area. Remained in the area for some 20 years, and went to the city regularly. I was at home in the city. Still am when i go there, only i do not drive into the city, i just stay at a friends house take the train/BART and the 35 c to the area's i want to go, and catch all the different transportation in the city, or i do a lot of walking while in the city, which i love to do anyway.

To the gal who dad was a hop farmer, i remember you somewhat due to Glenna Thornburg. Our families knew each other, and Greg and i were close like brother and sister so to say. I do remember your face. You probably could go back and look in the year book and find me too.

Did any of you go to the Ocktoberfest in Sacramento with your families?   Tuni

Alan Aoki (1968)

If you do a GOOGLE search for WOODLAND California and look for a list of famous people, you get a list to which you can probably add some, I'm sure.

Scott Brant, 2003 U. S. Speedway National Champion

Jillian Camarena, Chapion Shot Putter, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics

Thomas Haden Church,Actor

Bobby Cryner, Country songwriter, singer 

John Didion, Professional Fotball

Vicente Escobedo, Boxer in Summer Olympics

Loreto Garza, Boxer

Dustin Pedroia, Baseball

Craig Penrose, Football

Neil Roberts, Former Petty Officer 1st Class Navy SEAL

Charles R. Schwab, Broker

Mungo Thomson, Visual Artist

Larry Walker, Basebell

Paul Wulff, WSU footbal Coach

Jack Lloyd Yerman, 1960 Suumer Olympics

and Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels, Rudy Lucero, Gary Traynham,Steve Andrade, artist George Herms and many more. I am sure you can all add to the list. I heard at one time that Mother's Day was started by Harriet S, Lee, but that was something that her relatives had thought up, I think. And let me add that the co-valedictorian of my 1968 class is David Winn, who is CEO of NextraOne. Do a Google search on that one and it is pretty impressive. And I was at a museum one day looking at some assenblage work from the Beat Generation, and the famous artist George Herms was described as growing up in Woodland, California. I wonder if he is related to Diana Herms, who ent to school when I was there.And what happened to Jerry Mosher, who I think was the Grand Marshal at the Homecoming  parade, I think? And Lisa Robinson, who was Marian the Librarian in the WHS production of The Music Man when I was a senior. I saw her in a featured role in Annie at the Shubert Theater in L.A, one year.

In an attempt to change the subject to more possitive things, more about thost school plays..... What ever became of that little girl who played Anne Frank in the WHS production?