Howard Nakae remembered for contributions to local agriculture

Howard Nakae, who spent almost all of his 87 years of life in the agricultural industry, is being remembered as a loving and inspirational father and the person responsible for saving the Blue Goose Fruit Shed in Loomis from the wrecking ball. Born in Newcastle on October 10, 1918, Nakae died June 1, 2006 in San Francisco."My father was an absolutely extraordinary man," said Carol Iwasaki, one of Nakae's daughters. She said the Newcastle native was 13 years old when his father, Yoshichika Nakae, died. It was left up to Howard to help his mother, Tomeo Nakae, raise his four siblings and run the family ranch, Twin Peaks Orchards, on Highway 193.Nakae would also raise two more families. He married Spring Nakamoto in 1940 and they had three children, Carol Iwasaki, Russell and Glenn Nakae. Spring died in 1967 and he married Barbara Capps, helping raise her children, Jan Lee, Sheila Enriquez, Georgia Wright, Arlie Capps, Reynold Capps, Joseph Capps and Ramona Turbovsky. Barbara Nakae passed away in February.Nakae grew stone fruit, citrus and persimmons on 50 acres he owned on one side of Highway 193 and on an additional 50 acres he leased across the Newcastle/Lincoln highway.Richard Boundy of Loomis, a retired supervising fruit inspector for the US Department of Agriculture, knew Nakae as a grower and friend for over 40 years."He was one of the best individuals,"Bounty said. "He tried to have the highest quality produce, which he sold at his fruit stand and at local stores and in Grass Valley and Nevada City, instead of just shipping to New York. He would pick fruit that was ripe and had great flavor instead of picking it green for shipping."Nakae ran the orchard in partnership with his stepdaughter, Sheila Enriquez and her husband, Raul."Howard continued to farm and right up to the day he became very ill he was still up there on the tractor," said Enriquez. "Howard was such an honest person in everything he did and helped everybody out. He really impressed on us that integrity was the most important thing because that's quality of life and you extend that when you're farming. He taught us all we knew about farming. Because of that, even though he's not here anymore, my husband and I will continue to farm."Enriquez added that Nakae helped everyone in whatever need there was and never said no. That assistance extended to family, friends, and strangers.His willingness to help is evident in the fact that the Blue Goose Fruit Shed is still standing and is now a beehive of activity in Loomis.Local businessman Hamid Noorani said that Nakae was the spirit behind the Heritage Foundation, which renovated the Blue Goose.Noorani, a former president of the Loomis Basin Heritage Foundation (now the South Placer Heritage Foundation), said Nakae encouraged local citizens to form the non-profit group. As chairman of the Blue Anchor Fruit Exchange board of directors, Nakae then convinced his board to donate the Blue Goose and Blue Anchor buildings and the old train depot to the Heritage Foundation instead of demolishing the buildings as had been stipulated in an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad. The Heritage Foundation also got a big boost when Nakae further persuaded the Blue Anchor Exchange to donate the $15,000 that had been set aside for demolition of the buildings to the Heritage Foundation."Howard always noticed our progress and admired and appreciated what we did," Noorani said.Randy Elder is the current president of the Heritage Foundation."I'm convinced that without Howard this whole renovation of the Blue Goose would not have occurred," said Randy Elder, current president of the Heritage Foundation. "He was a great fan of the foundation. He will be sorely missed."In addition to his affiliation with the Blue Anchor Fruit Exchange, Nakae was also chairman of State Board of Forestry from 1968-1976, and was the Fruit and Nut Farming Representative for Placer County.