Newcastle's strength of community has weathered fires, blight

Through Irish Eyes by Helen BaleThe recent Newcastle Community Day brought back vivid memories. My family came to Newcastle in 1964, seeking escape from the expanding pressures of city life in Sacramento. I had been born on the East Coast, my husband in the Midwest. We knew nothing of rural life in California, especially how to turn our six-and-a-half acres of scrub oak and star thistle into a modern homesite.Nonetheless, we found a warm and welcoming community. At Newcastle Hardware, Royal Wellington helped us plan our water system and brought his ditch witch to our hillside to cut trenches for the lines. We delighted in visiting Quality Market, with the sawdust-strewn floor in the old-fashioned meat section where Louie Brenzo was ever ready with an infectious smile, sharing advice and information and handing out wieners to the small fry. One of the most colorful characters was Scotty, self-appointed guardian of the business district. He was acknowledged as ?Mr. Newcastle,? taking on the volunteer job of sweeping the sidewalks, picking up trash and generally tending the community he loved. Everyone got a kind word from Scotty and children could always count on a piece of chewing gum from him as well.Few knew, until his death in 1968, that Scotty?s full name was Rufus L. Scott. Born in 1884, he lies now beneath a big oak tree in the Newcastle Cemetery, beside his younger sister Docia, who died in 1967. Townsfolk still visit his grave, reliving fond memories of this exceptional gentleman.Widely known was Willie Slade, who combined a shaved head with a generous beard. His tonsorial parlor was decorated with an eclectic collection of old and unusual items, including horse collars and seatless toilets.There were many others who made our early years in Newcastle memorable and who continued the enthusiasm which has made the town survive. Dick Sayles, then principal of the Newcastle School, and his wife Doris were among the leaders of the Newcastle Community Association. There also were Sue Hanson, John and Claris Goulart, Ernie and Julia Mangiaracino, Alice Marshall (for whom Marshall Square in the town center is named) and her daughter, Shirley Silva; Dick Saladana, whose family dated back to the early years of the community; Jack and Carmita Perry, who still live in the big white house beside the Newcastle tunnel; and Farrell Wrenn, a kingpin in local agriculture.George and Ava Beck brightened the downtown area with a huge wisteria vine and a garden of exotic Japanese tree peonies..And from them all we came to know the fascinating history of this small community.We had no idea that this sleepy little town had once boasted several hotels, many local businesses and served as a major transportation hub for early stage lines and later for the railroad.But we learned, tracing Newcastle history back to the days of the famed California Gold Rush and through a zigzag of ups and downs of fortune. First known as Secret Diggings, because cautious prospectors tried to conceal successful claims, the town declined when gold deposits petered out and the miners moved along to more promising sites. A devastating fire in 1854 added to the downslide, wiping out several businesses.But there were stalwart souls who found a new way to survival through agriculture. Miners had planted small orchards and vegetable patches in order to eke out their living, and as Leonard Davis notes in his book, ?Newcastle, Gem of the Foothills,? everything seemed to grow.Thus inspired, others expanded the effort, and before long the surrounding hills were covered with fruit trees, producing peaches, pears and plums in abundance.Delivering this produce to market with horse-drawn wagons proved cumbersome, and this gave impetus to the building of the railroad. Several small lines were established in the late 1850s, but it was the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad which reached Newcastle in June 1864 that brought real prosperity to the town.(A historical marker beside the tracks at the end of Main Street commemorates that event.)New methods of packing and cooling the fruit were developed and hundreds of boxcars left daily, loaded with the foothill produce destined for world markets. By 1890, Newcastle was the center of this growing industry, shipping 9,000,000 pounds of fruit; four years later the figure rose to 20,000,000.Tragedy struck in January 1900, when fire once more raged through the town center, wiping out all the fruit houses, along with most of the business establishments and several residences.Once again, Newcastle rose from the ashes. A new uniform fruit shed replaced the old fruit houses, the business district was rebuilt and the Newcastle Fruit Growers Association was formed to foster marketing of the area?s production.Each spring found the hills blanketed in snow-like white as the fruit trees flowered, and the Blessing of the Blossoms was an annual ritual at the Catholic Church in nearby Auburn.Competition from the Imperial Valley began to cut into Northern California?s fruit market, and by the time we arrived in Newcastle, blight (pear psylla) had devastated local orchards. The heyday was over.Today fruit is once again an important part of a revitalized Newcastle, with Mandarin oranges holding center stage.Helen Bale is editor emeritus of the Journal. Her column appears on Monday.