LOOKING BACK From our archives; compiled by Howard Stitt

10 Years Ago Oct. 1, 2009 Tom Aguilar will help host "Family Day on the Farm" at Mandarin Hill Orchards. Frank and Bernice Aguilar grew pears, peaches and plums in the 1940s on their Penryn property. After disease wiped out the pear trees in the 1950s, they turned to mandarins, along with Valencia oranges. Del Oro High School tennis player honored as "Eagle of the Week" was Bryn Bacharach. When asked, "What do you like most about high school?" she replied, "Doing lots of activities and joining different groups." National 4-H Week included honoring the 13 4-H Clubs in Placer County and the 800 members. A former 4-H member and current FFA member at Del Oro, Jaime Chinn said, "4-H helped throughout my process of leadership." Despite the theft of 44 panels during the installation, Del Oro High School became the first school in Placer County to get outfitted with roof-mounted solar panels. As part of "Mad About Science Day" at Placer School in Loomis, Todd Wright had his students involved in many activities, including the use of an electrostatic generator. Among the seventh- and eighth-graders being electrified were Philip Murillo, Brice Aiello, Georgia Neuman, Zachary Sattler, Carl Colina, Jordan Mann, Zachary Seeling, and Taylor Schumann. "It makes your hair stand up," explained Paige Smotherman. If you travel through Loomis, you use Taylor Road. In the early days, it was a wagon road until 1912 when there was a push to build a transcontinental highway, the Lincoln Highway, from coast to coast. At the same time a state highway was planned to piggy-back the Lincoln Highway going from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe. In 1916, Portland cement was being spread on the State Highway 4 inches thick and 5 feet across. A numbering system meant the loss of the Lincoln Highway moniker and the name changed to Highway 40. When Interstate 80 replaced Highway 40 in 1960, the Placer County Board of Supervisors named the road for Porter Lee Taylor, a fruit farmer and manager of the American Fruit Growers fruit sheds, including the shed now called the Blue Goose. 25 Years Ago Sept. 29, 1994 Services were held for educator and community leader Howard Noy. He taught school in Danville for years. During the summers, he served as a fruit inspector at the Blue Anchor and Loomis Fruit Growers Association sheds. After retiring from teaching, he became a permanent resident of Rocklin. Seeking a way to serve the community, Noy joined the Loomis Lions Club in 1986 where he was active in every community program the club offered. Noy truly enjoyed his dinners out with his son, Gary, and his good friend, Paul Yokote. Placer School's "Students of the Week" (kindergarten to sixth-grade) were Scott Walter, Vanessa Morris, Paul Haneline, Al Garibaldo, Jeff Walters, Kevin Culpepper, Jeremy Leak and Erin Dudugjian. The Loomis Crocodiles soccer team defeated the Loomis Llamas 6-1 with goals by Nicky Barnum, Robert Ash, NIck Johnson, Ben Harrison and Ben Miller. The defense was led by Layton Smith, Stephen Wyatt and Garrett Frank. Margaret Brentnall was the featured writer in the Loomis News column, "Del Oro Outlook." In her recent article, she suggested students change their regular routine that seemed to be scheduled out to the last second. One idea was to talk to different people and make new friends. Lila Sasaki, Fusai Miyamoto and Barbara Chilton encouraged participants to make reservations for the California Retired Teachers Association, Division 67 meeting. The event will feature a presentation on long-term insurance in partnership with the state. The cooking crew barbecued delicious chicken during the Placer Buddhist Church's 30th annual Chicken Teriyaki Festival in Penryn. The popular event, held every September, drew a large crowd who enjoyed the food, the flower arrangements, taiko drumming, bonsai and more. The Soroptimists International of Rocklin/Loomis, along with the Friends of Loomis, celebrated a successful Celebrity Chef dinner. Masters of Ceremonies were John DuPriest of Penryn and Kitty O'Neal of KFBK Radio. Paul Yokote, who seems to be at every event in town or at the high school, took photos of all the chefs. The event's activities director was Melanie Keller. 50 Years Ago Sept. 25, 1969 Under colorfully-decorated Oriental atmosphere, the entire membership of the Placer Buddhist Church in Penryn welcomed food lovers to the fifth annual Chicken Teriyaki feast. Teriyaki specialist Kay Hamasaki was prepared to serve more than 8,000 dinners. "Just come with a big appetite," he said. "We will take care of the rest." Side Japanese dishes were prepared by Fujinkai (women) members of the church. "Just come and try them," encouraged Mrs. Kiyoko Takimoto. Serving aboard the USS Bennington were Electronics Technician 3rd Class Steven Duff of Rocklin and Fireman Apprentice George Neal of Loomis. The anti-submarine warfare aircraft carrier carried 1 1/2 million gallons of fuel and was capable of steaming for 60 days without refueling. The ship was as long as three football fields and as tall as a 15-story building. Local residents of Swedish descent were preparing a delightful meal in typical Smorgasbord style to welcome Del Oro exchange student Ulf Tedgard of Sweden. C. Lee Lowry, Jr., head of a civil engineering firm, was chairman of the Construction Division for the United Crusade fundraising campaign. The Rocklin resident served in World War II with the Navy in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Larry Suzuki, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Suzuki, entered the School of Physical Therapy at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. The local Bank of America Branch is offering a special stereo record album featuring Herb Albert & The Tijuana Brass entitled "Music Box." Manager W.S. Turner said the record will be sold for $1.30 instead of the $4.95 it is valued at. Saul Wiseman teaches speech and debate at Del Oro High School after transferring from Placer High School. He helped organize a debate team and Del Oro will sponsor a debate tournament. During the summer, Wiseman taught at the College of the Sisters of Mercy in Auburn. Roseville will host the second annual Placer-Folsom United Crusade kickoff parade, which will include the Rocklin "Rattler Train." A luncheon, chaired by Gene Ragle and Al Simonet, at Pietro's on Vernon Street will follow the parade. 75 Years Ago October 1944 Local boys leaving for the military from the Freeman Hotel in Auburn included the following: from Loomis - Kenneth Vicencio, Louis Khan, Elwyn Houx and Suey Quong; Rocklin - Frank Alva; Penryn - Wally Jong; and Newcastle - Robert Sparks. Lt. Charles Nassi of Rocklin was able to visit his mother, Mrs. Amanda Nassi, after 10 months overseas. He survived 30 missions while flying over Europe. Mr. and Mrs. W.S. (Doc) Williams purchased a house lot from Bill Koberlein. The property adjoined the Williams' station on the north side in Rocklin. Henry Sahota has rabbits for sale on the old Smyth ranch 6 miles east of Loomis. Frank Rogers received word that the Suguasawa family expects to return to Loomis before the war is over. The Japanese family was still residing in an internment camp in Colorado. That was the first indication that any of the Loomis Japanese expect to return to their former homes. Judging from reports on the street, that would not be a good idea. Mr. St. Louie is the new manager at the California Nursery in Loomis. John Webber is preparing for duty in Avalon, California at the Merchant Marine Training Station. The Maritime Service is open to men 16 to 50 years of age. High winds caused concern about two fires, one at the foot of the hill in Penryn and the other in the Hobo Jungles west of Loomis. The Pacific War requires more cotton, which is in short supply, whereas wool is more heavily used in the European theater. Cotton fabrics such as denims and chambrays are needed, and cotton duck is on the urgent list. After the fall of Germany, there will be a need for 300 million yards of cotton for the civilian population. The food industry will also depend upon cotton bagging, due to a shortage of Jute from India. (Standing Guard-oral histories): In 1944, James Uyeda, a resident of Loomis prior to evacuation to an internment camp, received a draft notice. Being a man of strong principles and deep convictions, he wrote back explaining that he was still incarcerated against his wishes in the Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Wyoming. He could not see why he should fill the draft quota for Placer County, which was so many thousands of miles away. Consequently, he became one of 85 Japanese Americans from Heart Mountain to resist the draft. However, James respected those who did get drafted out of camps. He felt they served under difficult conditions. James was transferred from Heart Mountain to McNeil Island Federal Prison in the state of Washington. Because he had experience with a family cow back home, James was assigned to the dairy at the prison. More than 3,000 gallons of milk were produced at the dairy each day, enough for the guards and inmates. James considered the job interesting since one of the things he learned was how to pasteurize milk.