ForeverMissed
Large image
Stories

Share a special moment from Harlan's life.

Write a story

Summer trips to Calistoga

February 27, 2016

On our many drives to Redding, Harlan would reminisce about his summer trips to Calistoga with his mother during his childhood in Alturas.

Early morning they would start out in their car with lunch packed and a boda shaped bag of water.  No air conditioning, of course,  in those days so the windows were  rolled down.   They would stop at the fountain on Highway 299-E (now a Fountain fire marker at Hillcrest Rest Area) to refill the bag with cold water.

After a long, hot and slow drive to Calistoga they would arrive at Grandpa Muller’s farm with orchards, farm house and red barn where they would spend a month or more helping with the harvest … he picking plums for prunes, helping Aunt Martha gather eggs from her hen house and also feeding the dogs.  They were hunting dogs and always kenneled until fall when the Grandpa Muller and Uncle Frank would go hunting for deer.  Grandpa M and Uncle Frank would work dusk to dawn always wearing long woolen underwear year round, even in the summer heat.

He remembered his mother and Aunt Martha canning fruit in the hot canning shed and filling the car with the jars for the trip back to Alturas.

Walnuts, pears and  table grapes were also grown on the farm.  Strict Methodists, they would never think of grapes being grown for wine.

He remembered sleeping on the screened porch each night.

Another highlight was riding his bike to the Calistoga library where he discovered his love of reading.  His favorite then were  Zane Grey books.

These trips were fond memories for him.   He always looked forward to them each summer.  The trips ended when he was about 13 when he started driving truck for Moyer.

- Carol Moyer's rendition of the version told by Harlan on their drives from McArthur to Redding 

Share a story

 
Add a document, picture, song, or video
Add an attachment Add a media attachment to your story
You can illustrate your story with a photo, video, song, or PDF document attachment.