LOOKING BACK From our archives; compiled by Howard Stitt

10 Years Ago Oct. 1, 2010 After a year off, the Placer Farm & Barn tour was back. Venues in the Penryn and Newcastle areas included Mandarin Hill Orchards, Forster Ranch and Damiano Vineyards. In Loomis, the tour included the Twin Brooks and Golden Pond Nursery. At Twin Brooks Farm, home of the Thompson family and owners of Newcastle Produce, visitors picked their own squash and sample products of Newcastle Produce and Snow's Citrus Court. Robert Larson of Granite Bay knows how to grow giant pumpkins. According to Larson, the world record pumpkin was from Canada and weighed in at a whopping 1677 pounds - a size he hopes to emulate this year. He never misses a day tending his overgrown babies. "I wake them up every morning and cover them up every night using blankets," he said. Loomis voters will have an opportunity to choose from five candidates running for three Town Council seats. They are Jo-Carol Arisman, Sandra Calvert, Vic Markey, Walt Scherer and Miguel Ucovich. Hunting season disrupted the peace in Loomis as deer hunters made a kill off Laird Road just yards from where two horses were grazing. John Shank, Indian Creek Golf Course foreman said, "The deer out here don't run from us, not even the bucks." Some high school students found the senior projects a daunting task but not Del Oro's Tyler Bittaker and Vince Legaspi. They are working together to organize the 2010 MandaRun, a benefit for the Loomis Union School District. A "Jazz Tribute to Doris Day" is planned at Williams Pond in Loomis with vocalist Laura Didier and the Jim Martinez group being featured. From the sandlots of Loomis, the Under 11 Dirtbags baseball team rose to the Number 1 ranking in California after winning the Harvest Classic in Sunnyvale. The term "Dirtbag" took in a special meaning since it was introduced in 1989 by the Cal State Long Beach 49ers. It refers to giving 100-percent effort. The Dirtbags players include Zach Thomas, Colton Schaffert, Alex Fong, Cody Oldwin, EJ Vasquez, Ryan McComb, Kody Hall, Reese Stant and Aiden Bomgardner. 25 Years Ago Sept. 28, 1995 Jim Williams, a Roseville architect and a third-generation Loomis resident, announced he is a candidate for Placer County Supervisor in District 4. He is a founding board member and chair of the South Placer Transportation Management Association, chair of the capital campaign for the new Sutter Hospital, a charter board member of Crime Stoppers and president of the Roseville Chamber of Commerce. Among the large crowd enjoying the Chicken Teriyaki Festival at the Placer Buddhist Church in Penryn were Wendell and Jackie Witt. Jackie Witt is a 1973 Del Oro High School graduate. Also enjoying the food was the Winters family: Jacque, Paul, Amy and Kathie. Cow Chip Bingo has been a Save Out Sports fundraiser at Del Oro High School since 1990. A lucky winner will be the one holding the deed (ticket) where a cow deposits her chip. Terry Koberlein and John Crabtree, Jr. are chimney sweeps reminding people to have their fireplaces and wood stoves inspected. Julius Thompson, a junior running back on the Del Oro football team, touched the ball four times in the first seven minutes and scored three touchdowns in a 48-0 win over Lindhurst. In the Jv's 42-0 win, running back Andrew Floor played a consistent game for the third straight week. Kathy Dombrowski earned low gross, 44, and Norma McCallum low net, 27, during the Indian Creek Golf Tournament. Closest to the pin honors went to Joan Costello and Mary Ann Horton. Ron Wedlake, invited by the Loomis Basin Historical Society, gave a talk on the history of the Chinese in the Gold Country. "After San Francisco, the Chinese moved inland headed for the gold," he said. "Blood Rails and Bad Women," a murder mystery, premiered at the Red Brick Art Center in Loomis with the Motherlode Stage Company's student interns. In the play, a group of famous (and infamous) women from the Wild West were brought together on a mysterious railway. The conductor, Horace Greeley, was played by Brian Rodda. Guests included Lola Montez (Crystal Lawson) and Calamity Jane (Sarah Price), along with the legendary Queen of California, Califia (Carly Bourne). 50 Years Ago Oct. 1, 1970 Services were held for Norman Dean Hill, 35, of Old Orchard Lane in Loomis. He passed away following an automobile accident with a wrong-way driver on I-80. An Oregon native, Hill was employed at McClellan Air Force Base as an air craft sheet metal worker. Navy Seaman Apprentice James Tate of Brace Road in Loomis graduated from basic training at the Naval Training Center in San Diego. Robert "Bob" Hansen plans to reorganize the sprinkler irrigation system on his fruit ranch located 3 1/2 miles southeast of Loomis on Horseshoe Bar Road. He first became a cooperator with the Placer County Soil Conservation District in 1949. Residents on Saunders Avenue in Loomis are excited about a proposed 4,000-foot-treated water extension line to an estimated 75 home owners in the area. An extensive water service is also planned for Bankhead, Del Mar and Citrus Colony roads. The first Loomis Garden Club meeting was held in the Woman's Club House. The tea committee of Mable Black, Fern Martin and Dolores Navas served a dessert luncheon. Mrs. Carolyn Barnes, president, called the meeting to order. Myrtle Hamberg, Grace Butler and Tressie Miller were the committee members in charge of the first Woman's Club of Loomis meeting. More than 9,000 persons attended a successful Penryn Buddhist Church Bazaar the last weekend in September. A total of 18 juniors and seniors were placed in grammar school classrooms as part of the Work Experience program at Del Oro High School. Deborah Thacker, Ross Lopez, Lynn Anderson, and Pam Petit were working at Loomis School. At Placer School were Melinda Huff, Marion Mortenson, and Pamela Collelley. Getting experience at Franklin School were LuHan Betti and Vicki Knutson. Penryn School had Pamela Moore, Janis Garland, Janet Chapman, Susan Lull, and Jeff Walters. The Newcastle School for the Orthopedically Handicapped were blessed with Khonda Solomon, Becky Woodbury, and Robin Morrell. Amy Wright was assigned to the Newcastle Special Education School. 75 Years Ago September 1945 War Relocation Authority officials said no mass return of former Japanese American internees to the West Coast is expected because of the difficulty in finding employment and living quarters. The order granting full freedom for those in the relocation centers was issued on September 4, 1945. However, closing dates of the camps have been staggered from October 15 to December 15 so the entire group will not be forced to immediately seek new homes. Pfc. Leffel Hicks, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Hicks of Loomis, was home with his wife after serving in Europe. Lt. Richard Howard, a Loomis resident, was discharged after serving with the U.S. Air Force. Placer College in Auburn will be the site of a week-ong workshop for all teachers in the county. Among the leaders are Earl Gates of Loomis devoted to the Teaching of Upper Grade Arithmetic and Roy Reese of Penryn directing a session on Child Guidance Services. With flareups of sleeping sickness, health authorities reported that chicken mites have been added to the list of carriers of the killing disease of horses. The season of poison oak is here and area residents attempted to stay away from the 3-leafed pest. Poison oak did not have the sinister reputation among the Native Americans that it had on most white settlers. Not only were they immune to its poison, the native people used the juice of the plant to remove warts and ringworm and also as a black dye for baskets. The leaves were used to wrap acorn flour for baking. September 9 marks the 95th year since the wilderness and the roaring mining camps that were California became the 31st State of the Union. (Standing Guard-oral histories) Susan Hiromoto's family returned from a hot Gila River Relocation Center in Arizona. Her father and two brothers pooled their resources to get back into farming in the Clarksburg area. Prior to the evacuation order in February 1942, the family had grown asparagus on 400 acres they leased. While Susan was interred at Gila River, she spent endless hours in the camp's school library reading a lot of books. Upon returning to the Delta area, Susan continued her education at Rio Vista High School.