1949: No more horse race tracks; $2 bet he disappears

75 years ago June 1949 Fruit farmers should leave prunings under an inch in diameter on the ground, as they will not do damage during cultivation. It will also help build a mat of organic material to help hold in moisture after irrigation. The fruit sheds of Placer County were busy with Beauty plums. Early reports on the season's fruit crop indicated a good yield. The dairy cow was the "queen of the pasture." When it came to using grassland crops like pasture, a cow could eat large quantities of feed and convert it into milk with high efficiency and use less grain and concentrates. Assemblyman Francis Lindsay of Loomis opposed a bill to add more horse race tracks in the state. "If this bill were to become law, there would be no limit to the number of new tracks in California," he said. Livestock hauling was offered by F.E. Shaffer at the G.F. Cane Ranch on Road 75. Playing in the theaters was "Jungle Jim," starring Johnny Weissmuller. Collier's Magazine observed that the horse was not disappearing as rapidly as predicted when the Tin Lizzie became popular. Maybe not, but put $2 on one at the races and watch him disappear behind the other horses. Standing Guard - oral histories: Florence and Benji Takahashi chose to return to Placer County after living in internment camps during WWII. Many stores had signs that read "No Japs Allowed," but the couple was able to open their store, Loomis Mutual Supply Company. When asked if the discrimination was hard on Benji as reopened his store, Florence said, "Well, gradually it got better." 50 years ago Aug. 7, 1975 Services were conducted for William Scott Bennett, 29, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Bennett of Loomis. William passed away as a result of an auto accident. A 1964 Del Oro High School graduate, he was a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Del Oro FFA member Lori Tucker and 4-Her Chuck Petrie raised pigs for the Placer County Junior Livestock Auction in Roseville. Dominque Law and Janice Fast had champion lambs also at the auction. Historical note: The Rasmussen Ranch grew Lovell, a drying peach. However, there were no dry yards in the area so they hired Pat Dunn, who had a Fadgal truck with hard rubber tires, to haul the fruit to a dry yard in North Sacramento. The cost was too high so eventually they grafted the trees over to plums. In later years, there were several dry yards in the community, including Quong's on King Road across from the old Chinatown. There were also "Chuck and Bing" dry yard on Laird Road and later one on the old Clark place on Swetzer Road. Loomis Frostie offered hamburgers three for $1. A destroyed PG&E truck billowed with fire after the driver drove off Brennans Road in Newcastle. Karen Hirota, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Minoru Hirota, received a nursing scholarship from the Loomis Women's Club. The Del Oro graduate was attending Sierra College. Former Vietnamese Chief of the Corps of Engineers Nguyen Van Chuc was responsible for overseeing the safe evacuation of nearly 1 million refugees from Vietnam. He and his family were now among the refugees living in Weimar's Hope Village. Nguyen purchased the Penn-Sierra Tire Store in Loomis from Frank and Virginia Rowley. His entire family of eight would operate the tire shop, which included a gas station. His wife, Nguyen Thi Phanh, five years younger than her 47-year-old husband, would take care of bookkeeping along with their oldest daughter. 25 years ago Aug. 10, 2000 Graveside services were held for Mildred Mary Hummer, 80, a native of Prague, Czech Republic. At the age of 3, she came through Ellis Island with her parents. A resident of Rocklin for the past 10 years, she was a homemaker and a member of the St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Local youngsters, all of whom had juvenile diabetes, were recruiting sponsors for the "Walk to Cure Diabetes" fundraiser. The young people were Kurt Lawson, Ian Mitterholzer, Michelle Lawson, Emily Rhoades, Briana Webb and Tara Lawson. A fire destroyed 10-12 units of lumber, causing $50,000 worth of damage at the Penryn Lumber Company. Penryn Firefighter Supervisor Roberto Padilla said the sprinkler system helped stop the flames from causing more damage. An earlier fire destroyed a home on Rippey Road, leaving a Penryn family displaced. A drawing by Kristen Takemoto was selected as the winning entry in the 2000 Loomis Eggplant Festival logo contest. Kristin, a 1999 Del Oro High School graduate, was a student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. A burglar entered a McAllen Drive residence in Loomis. The Sheriff's Department issued a composite drawing of the suspect, which resembled a transient seen in Newcastle. Under the direction of Club Pro Patty Snyder, Indian Creek Country Club held its Little Linkers 2000 Club Championship. Winners in each age group were Max Magleby (7), Cody Lum (8), Mason Magleby (9), Tyler Deary (10), Kyle Coultas (11) and Billy Sherman (12). Joyce and Ted Hinkey celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The couple moved to Loomis in 1965. The Loomis Basin Dolphins swimmers were awarded for another successful season. Earning awards in the 6 & Under Girls category were Megan Atkins, Kaitlyn Lee, Allison Bates, Emma Farrell, Macie Burkett and Morgan Callahan. In the 6 & Under Boys were Aaron Knapp, Collin Johnston and James Corbett.