Ode to Yesteryear
I grew up on 40 Mile Road on a cattle and rice ranch next to the Hoffmans. The folks would get together every Saturday night and play Canasta. I attended the Notre Dame grammar school and endured the wrath of the nuns because I was such a constant talker. They would sneak up behind you and hit you on the head with their clickers. Then it was on to MUHS where I graduated in 1958 with many of the current residents as classmates. High school in those days was much simpler in the old brick building that is now the district offices. Yuba College was across the street as it was just beginning to grow. We always played in the top league in sports and every year the big rival game was with the Honkers of Yuba City. We all fought hard on the baseball diamond or football field but remained friends then and still do to this day. Those were the years of the floods that devastated Yuba City when the levee broke. We all pitched in to help our cross-river friends, which I’m sure we would do again today if that occurred.
Ellis lake was a water ski haven with Rich Mcpherrin who had an old wooden Chris Craft. Later we would enjoy a day at the pool at the corner of 10 th and “B” street and have French fries from a “pop- up” stand along the street. On the weekends we could get a six pack of malt liquor from a Chinese store by going through the alley and putting our money through a sliding window. That was the most trouble you could get into in town, where everyone knew everyone else. Not that we all got along but it was simple and quiet for the most part.
After graduation I attended University of Nevada with John Jelavich as a roommate at the ATO house for one year, and then went to the U S. Naval Academy in Annapolis MD, graduating in 1963. My date for June Week at graduation was the now Sondra Lanza. I spent 3 tours on ships ending with a posting to a
Polaris Missile Submarine the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER, where I qualified in submarines.
I never thought I would miss Marysville, as it has changed dramatically over the years; and not for the better! Ellis lake is a mess most of the time and the downtown can use some touch up and quality businesses like the Rubel drug store and bakery, along with Jcpenney, an active Marysville Hotel, and Lex Daoust and Gavin Mandrey who operated the Chevrolet and GMC franchise in town and the Washburn family running Bradley’s department store. All the Chinese restaurants were alive and well and for a family meal you could dine at the Uriz hotel. At least Cotton’s Cowboy Corral has stayed the course. Cotton Rosser, my former brother-in-law, is quite a character and famous in his own right.
All of the above, however, I feel a pang of nostalgia in returning home, where I spent much of my formative years as a young man. My wish is to see the town grow with the addition of some industrial/commercial endeavor that would bring jobs and life into an old and proud city. I wish you all the best life has to offer.