Looking Back Loomis: 2000 - Women's History Month celebrated

25 years ago Feb. 24, 2000 The Ray Carpenter Memorial Services were held in Newcastle. Carpenter was a 24-year veteran with the California Highway Patrol. Retired officers Keith Arnold and Dennis Joksch recalled the day they approached Ray's slayer, Carl Snyder, who took his own life that infamous day 30 years ago. Joshua Volen and Cameron Ballard-Rosa, 1999 Boys State delegates from Del Oro High School, were special guests at the Cioppino Dinner hosted by the American Legion John A. Stacker Post 775. The Post sponsored the Boys State. Helping prepare the dinner included George Makimoto, Jim Montgomery, Rex Wear, John Anderson, Lamar Markey, Ronald Jarnigan, Charlie Ross and Harry Shipley. Ingrid and Duane Smith of Loomis were among the musicians performing in the annual Banjo-Rama sponsored by the Sacramento Banjo Band. Under the direction of Mrs. Colleen Slattery, an eighth-grade teacher at Place Elementary School, the Student Council organized a school-wide clothing drive with nearly 7,000 items collected for the Placer Women's Center. Helping with the event were students Courtney West, Jayme Jordan, Crystal Tadlock, Jessica Sanders and Nichole Potts. Robin Wolfe of Loomis earned a spot on the Dean's Honor List at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington. The Loomis Basin Congregational UCC celebrated Women's History Month sponsored by the church's Agape group. Jan Brown, a teacher at Loomis Grammar School, was the recipient of Agape's "Standing Among Great Women Award" for her development of the "Bag Buddies" project. With the assistance of family, students and volunteers filled the fabric Bag Buddies with toys for children at eight local hospitals and a women's center. 50 years ago Feb. 20, 1975 Services were held for Sojiro James Terada, 9, a native of Japan. He engaged in fruit ranching in Loomis for 50 years. Placer County Supervisor Mike Lee and Elida Larsen from the Friends of the Loomis Library met to discuss plans for a community center in Loomis. Many local residents expressed disfavor with the plan drawn up by the Loomis Basin Planning Committee concerning the zoning of agricultural land into 20- to 40-acre parcels. Such zoning would restrict landowners from subdividing. James Makimoto said residents should be given the opportunity to cut their land down to 2 1/2 acres. Japanese orchard owners, for example, were in their 60s and nearing retirement, which would be impossible if they were unable to subdivide. Gladys Nelthorpe presided over the Loomis Garden Club meeting. Dessert was provided by Mabel Black and Alma Larsen. A goal of the club was to improve the appearance of the area with garden beautification. Laurie Zech was named Del Oro High School's 1975 Betty Crocker Family Leader of Tomorrow. She was invited to Washington, D.C., with winners from every state. The Loomis Community Nursery School kicked off its 1975 Scholarship Fund. "We have again set $2,000 as our fund drive goal," said Nancy Ernst, scholarship chairperson. Preschoolers working with clay were Jeffrey Peterson, Bruce Florence, Michael Batchman, Erik Hoagland and Eric Wenstrom. Historical note: The Loomis baseball team played on Sundays on a ball diamond next to the Peach Tree Inn owned by Frank Cook. The ball players used to run in the back door of the inn to get a cold drink on hot afternoons. 75 years ago March 1949 Byron Gable, one of the Loomis School bus drivers, was seriously ill. John Parola would drive in his place and hope Byron will be back soon. Rodents and sanitation problems caused an increase in Relapsing Fever in the Lake Tahoe area. The symptoms were similar to a severe case of the flu. The philosophy of the Loomis School individualized instruction was put into action during the basketball season. Each boy was given equal playing time in games. Consequently, the teams took some terrific drubbings, but each boy gave his maximum effort and strived for self-improvement. Rheumatic fever, like tuberculosis, was a public health problem. The Placer County Historical Society's goals included to have a complete file as possible on early pioneer families. The following Troop 12 Boy Scouts advanced in rank: Fritz Kramer, Lawrence Webb, David Brown, Ray Rasmussen, Robert Payne, Carrol Larsen, Robert Rasmussen, Charles Beaver, Jay Townsend, Gene Barlow and Jim Court. The Navy's wartime "C" rations were replaced with more palatable "C-4" rations. The annual St. Patrick's card party given by the Woman's Club of Loomis was a grand success. Commended for their hard work were Mesdames Lorena Laird, Grace Fieser, Lavina Pilliard, Marguerite Webb, Ethel Law, Lucille Townsend, Louise Swetzer, Nellie Bolles, Marguerite Nute, Mildred Perry and Irene Johnson. (Standing Guard-oral histories) Experiencing life in the South left an impression on Roy Uyeda, a young Japanese American soldier. He was a member of the Army Air Corps but not allowed to be an active participant in 1941-42. When taking a bus in San Antonio, Texas, Roy took a seat in the back where he found the only open seats. The bus driver made him move to the white section in the front where he had to stand.