Auburn Christmas ornament captures poem 'A Cabin on a Wall'

The Christmas in Auburn Committee, part of the Downtown Business Association, has reached out to a local artist each year since 2016 to capture and put their spin on a city landmark for an ornament. The historic courthouse, of course, was the subject one year. In 2020, it was James Geddes' "Chana Claus" ornament. Last year's ornament featured the façade of the Auburn State Theatre, created by Patty Pieropan Dong. This year's ornament is based on the poem "A Cabin on a Wall," written by CE Pond in 1895. Pond lived on the high knoll and Grand View Heights. The poem tells of his experience building his log cabin for his family and warmly characterizes the sights, sounds and smells of Auburn near the turn of the 20th century. The poem was published in the Placer Herald on May 16, 1895. Local artist Nancy Hakala used the poem's vivid description to bring the 49er-era cabin to life for the ornament. Her studio is in one of the historic log cabins on the knoll in Auburn. Hakala is known for doing acrylic murals in homes, but the ornament is a watercolor. The ornament includes the cabin, male and female quail and a robin eating holly. "I'm delighted with it," she said. "It was nice to be asked." The ornaments will be on sale at both Roper's Jewelers locations, 2288 Grass Valley Highway and 818 Lincoln Way; 360 Auburn, 852 Lincoln Way; and the California Welcome Center, 1103 High St. Ulrich expected to deliver the ornaments Friday. The cost for this year's ornament is $20. A copy of the poem and a photo of one of the cabins on the property will be included with the purchase of the ornament. Past ornaments are available for $10. Kimberly Ulrich said the Christmas in Auburn Committee has had to reprint ornaments from the early years. "Everybody's favorite is the courthouse (in 2016)," she said, adding the courthouse has been reprinted onto a ceramic ornament like the others. "I love it. I'm really happy we started this. We've had requests from people who don't live here." "A Cabin On A Wall" Beside the yerba santa We plant the climbing rose, And build a rustic cabin Where manzanita grows, We build it on a foothill That earthquakes seldom shock, And rest it on a basement Of rough volcanic rock. Not very large or handsome, Not very wide or tall, But very plain and cozy - A cabin on a wall. Sixteen by four and twenty With room for two or more, With very easy stairway To reach the cabin door. We store our trunk and boxes Within its roumy loft, So full of light and sunshine, The air is pure and solt. Its cool and rocky basement We use in various ways, Its lean-to for a workshop On hot and rainy days. From every door and window From o'er the garden wall Our views are so enchanting, We share them with you all. Our seven acre hilltop, Not quite one year ago, Was all a mountain jungle Where quail and rabbits grow. With axe and pick and shovel We clear the very dome, And grade a winding roadway To this, our chosen home. We love the native thickets Of ever living green, And over all the bushes We crown the holly queen. Its bright ad scarlet berries, That cling the winter long, Are a winter food for robins That cheer us with their song. We love the rocky ledges Enduring as they cross, So beautiful when rainstorms Rejuvinate the moss. Our neighbors in the valleys Are rich in fruits and flowers; We often see them walking Amid their fragrant bowers. We hear their chickens cackle, Their younger children cry, Their cheerful call to dinner, Perhaps to chicken pie. One mile down the valley, Amid the shady trees, We view our Auburn city So full of things that please. We bless the noisy railways That labor night and day, That roll their heavy burdens Along their winding way. Old Sacramento River A dozen leagues away, With broad and fertile valley Gleams onward toward the bay. Those Buttes beside the river, So sharp and smooth and high, Are ever pointing upward To mansions in the sky. That "signal mount," Diablo, One hundred miles away, Might well be called Mount Jumbo, So great and grand and gray. Those snowy robed Sierras, Full sixty miles from here, O'er-topping timbered foothills, Inspire us all the year. We turn out thoughts at evening Byond this "vale of tears," And often catch the music Of o her rolling spheres. With glass to aid our vision We mount the worlds on high, And sense the every motion Of whirling thro' the sky. High over hill and valley We see such wondrous sights, Young ladies name our hilltop And call it Grand View Heights There's comfort on the ocean And in the city hall, There's comfort in a Cabin, A cabin on a wall. Chester E. Pond Auburn, Cal. May 16, 1895 Published in The Placer Herald