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OH, BABY! – Having been in the ink business as long as I have, I know people love pictures of kids, kittens, puppies and their neighbors. They also love to see photos of babies, so here’s one for you. As I mentioned in last week’s column, Sydney Claire Hodge was born on Feb. 1 to proud parents Kristina and D.J. Hodge of Auburn.OLD TOWN TALK – To quash rumors that rambunctious youngsters are taking over Old Town, a meeting of that district’s business association was held in the back room of Marybelle’s on Thursday morning last week. For an association that was on the brink of bankruptcy a few years ago, conservative money management (which included some controversial decisions, such as canceling the group’s contract for the billboard on Interstate 80, which used to cost them about $24 grand annually) has brought the organization into the black. Auburn City Manager Bob Richardson had high praise for the merchants. “You’re on a real successful track right now,” he said. “You’ve completely turned the train around.” Setting up committees that handle issues separately from the general membership (returning to them with proposals for approval), closely watching expenses and trying to turn decades-old festivals into vibrant revenue-generating events for the association and its members has been difficult. One of the “apparent” wedge-driving issues was the decision to move Country Christmas from Saturday to a weeknight. I say apparent, because when it was brought up at the general membership meeting, 16 of the 17 voting members in attendance were in favor of the change. Gary Lord pointed out that Country Christmas used to be held on Tuesday evenings and was only moved about a dozen years ago to Saturdays so the new Holiday Inn could market the event for weekend packages. When the whole thing was said and done, only one member voted against changing the day of Country Christmas to a weeknight. The committee will be meeting to discuss the new day of the week, how many times the event should be held (once, twice, thrice?) and how close it should be to Christmas. They will then report back to the general membership in two weeks.
PLOT PROBLEM – As I reported last week, a longtime Placer County
family was shocked when the matriarch of the clan passed away. Terry
Farinha tells me her mom Mary was up and around the night before she
died, still in good spirits and apparent good health at 105. As readers
may recall, Mary, due to her remarkable longevity, was recognized by
the Placer County Board of Supervisors just a few months ago. When the
family began making funeral arrangements, they discovered that the plot
they believed belonged to their mother (next to her husband, Frank, who
was buried in Lincoln’s Catholic Cemetery in 1947) had been sold in
1948. When the Lincoln Cemetery was handed ownership of the Catholic
Cemetery in 1954, the new cemetery was given a map indicating who was
buried in what plots, and which plots were owned by other families, but
were awaiting occupants. Frank’s headstone has a place for Mary’s name
and information (since, according to Terry, those coming from the Old
Country believed it to be bad luck to put someone’s name on a headstone
if they weren’t yet deceased) on the right side. According to Sandra
Calise, the manager of the Lincoln Cemetery, it is traditional to put
the man’s name and grave on the left. The map indicates that he is in
area 18, first row. Unfortunately, the plot that would logically have
been Mary’s (in area 17), was sold in 1948, before the Lincoln Cemetery
ever assumed ownership of the Catholic section, according to Sandra. A
point of contention for the Farinha family is the fresh grave on the
other side of Frank. Area 19, row one, seems to have been split in
half, with two in that section, and the person was buried there just
last year. When I asked Sandra about this, she said that it is
unfortunate that there wasn’t a spot for Mary, but if the Farinhas had
simply checked to make sure they actually owned a plot for Mary a few
years ago, they could have purchased it. “But, it would have been on
the wrong side,” she said. And she’s right. Mary would need to have
been buried on the right, not the left, to be under her name and in the
traditional location. Since the Farinha family can’t prove they
purchased two plots in 1947, they’ve buried their mother in the New
Auburn Cemetery, and hope to move their father in the future. Somehow,
I doubt this is the last we’ll hear of this issue. HISTORY CORNER
– The Placer County Courthouse Museum hosted a grand opening reception
last Thursday for a new exhibit titled “A Tapestry of Lives.” According
to museums chief Melanie Barton, none of the artifacts or photos have
been on display before. I tell you, I’ve got to hand it to Jason Adair
for the great job he did arranging and lighting the display. Admission
to the museum is free and it’s open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Some
of the items in the display include the Excelsior menu printer used in
the Auburn Hotel around 1914 and a photograph of the Sheridan “school
bus” from 1900 (horse drawn, of course). Plenty of locals turned out
for the reception including Auburn Vice Mayor Mike Holmes, Betty Samson
and Michael Otten. The exhibit is semi-permanent, meaning it most
likely will be up for a few years. DOWNTOWN HAPPENINGS – It was a
full agenda for Auburn’s Downtown Business Association on Thursday
night last week. The general meeting’s two dozen attendees approved of
the Auburn Chamber of Commerce’s date change for the Black and White
Ball to Aug. 16 (a date that should keep the event safe from rain).
Architect Michael Kent Murphy pitched the final design of the Reamer
Street monument sign to the merchants and it was warmly received. The
design will be 30 feet tall and be visible from I-80. The last hurdle
is to get approval from the Auburn Planning Commission and City
Council. Lastly, the group unveiled their new website designed by Craig
Graham (who also owns and manages AuburnBuzz.com) and the very talented
Rebecca Toedter (vice president of the merchants group and owner of All
About Design). President Harvey Roper said they’ve done a wonderful
job. Check it out for yourself at www.downtownauburnca.com. WATERING
HOLE MUSINGS – Capping off a rather long week, I headed to the Club Car
to hear the boys play (that would be The DoubleShots) and meet my buddy
Steve Conklin for a few cold brews. Even KAHI’s Dave Rosenthal dropped
by for his “medically prescribed glass of red wine.” Throughout the
evening, the establishment was also graced by Auburn Mayor Keith
Nesbitt, Umpqua Bank’s Monique Krafft, Ophir Wine’s Paul Burns, Grass
Valley Union Features Editor Carol Guild, Dan and Karen Hancock, Steve
Brown and Donna Arz. * * * Since I’m out of room, check
back next week for an update on last weekend’s “Taste of Chocolate”
fundraiser in Old Town Auburn and other local happenings. Don
Chaddock is the executive editor of the Sentinel and may be reached via
e-mail at
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His column, “Biscuits & Gravy,”
publishes every week.
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