The following is an article by Fran Thiercof. It originally appeared in The Carlin Express newspaper. It is being reprinted here with permission from the editor-in-chief, Ruth Hart.
We sure used to go on a lot of picnics. Church groups, lodge members, neighborhood friends, families, scouts and school groups.
Arthur’s and the Canyon were great places to go, because the tall willows offered a little shade and there would be the river to play in or keep food colder, and there was room for a ball game. When the freeway was routed through the Canyon, the topography was drastically changed. It’s hard to imagine a picnic next to the River now. The road bed is much higher than it used to be and cuts straight through, rather than following the curve of the Canyon, and of course, no access to the River. Arthur’s is now Chinese Gardens and the willows are not as big as they were.
We used to have picnics at Palmer Dam and swim below the Dam. For years, it was a summer thing to have at least one “watermelon bust” at Palmer. These were High School Days. The boys would collect tires to burn, the smoke detracted the mosquitos. One or two of the boys who worked on the railroad would scout for an open refrigerator car carrying watermelons to the west coast, when they found one, they’d take out a melon and take it down to Palmer and stash it in the River. Often seals were broken to check on the car’s contents for Spoilage or temperature, but it was generally illegal to cut the seals.
That evening we’d gather at Palmer with hotdogs, buns, and marshmallows, all the good stuff, build a fire, swim, and eat. The watermelons would be the last thing and it was always the best one of the season.
At least 20 years later, a group of us were having dinner together in reno and we were remembering and laughing about all the crazy things we used to do. One of them told us his dad used to leave one of the reefers, refrigerator cars, open for us, so we wouldn’t be tempted to cut one of the seals. All those years we thought we were really getting away with something!
In High School we had to earn points to get our Letter Sweater. That is, the girls did.
The boys had to be on Varsity, etc. to get theirs. The girls, however, didn’t have a team for anything. I don’t remember ever playing outside school, but we had a lot of intramural games. So to make points for our sweaters we hiked, and played as many sports as we could, and didn’t miss any gym days.
Five or six of us would hike to the Hole in the Wall, about five miles then, and giggle all the way. But it was a good way to earn points.
The “C” was a Freshman chore, but there were so few of us that usually, it was the entire student body which showed up to paint the C. It was an all day affair, but again, we got G.A.A. points for participation. I still have my C sweater in my cedar chest.
Our three kids went to Covina High School in southern California and guess what their colors were? You betcha, red and white! Both of the girls were cheer leaders and wore my C sweater as proudly as I did.
Another place where we did a lot of walking was down to the Iron Bridge and back, and to the ice houses. We had a little ice every day during the summer. That was one of my chores to earn my $.25 cent a week allowance. I pulled a wagon to carry the ice and when I was 12, I got a bike with a basket and that was fun, too. Can you believe that quarter enabled me to see two movies a week?
There used to be a road that took off the Tuscarora Road on the left as you head toward Newmont Mine. It circled north around Carlin and came in a little north of where the Chinese Gardens are now. I’ve looked for it, but with the mine road and freeway, it has disappeared. Alberta Brown and I used to walk that a lot and solve all the problems of the world. She visited us this past spring and we giggled again, remembering.