Winton Old Timers

The committee for the Winton Old Timers met yesterday to plan the upcoming 49th reunion. It will be held on September 27, the last Sunday in the month. No reservations are needed or taken. The cost of the lunch has not changed; $7.00 for adults; $4.00 for children under 12 years old and children under 4 are free.
The menu will be chicken breasts from Rizzonellis in Atwater, (I hear their chicken is delicious) this will free Randy from having to cook the chicken outside on the grill. He will be able to mingle with the people and enjoy the day.
The Cole Slaw will be from KFC (no one can duplicate their recipe) and Agnes will fix her famous baked beans. (I missed her beans last year.) For dessert, apple pie from The Jantz Cafe will be served, along with a cup of ice cream.
Now, how great is that? Sounds delicious to me. Coffee, iced tea and punch will be self served.
Registration starts at 10:00 a.m. and dinner is served at 1:00 p.m. Come early and visit with old friends.
There will be a prize for the oldest man and oldest woman and also for the one who travelled the greatest distance. All those 90 years and over will be given a gift.
(The first Winton Old Timers reunion was held in 1961 at the Winton Hall. The original hall building, pictured, was burned down in 1957.)

The Winton Historical Society will have a table set up for people to pay their annual membership dues in the society. A newsletter is sent out every other month with historical articles and stories along with reminiscing tidbits. An old picture or two is always included. Six issues a year, a bargain for $10.00 per household. Where else can you revisit the good-old-days in Winton?
We look forward to gaining new members. A meeting is held the first Tuesday of each month in the C.L.E.O. office in Winton. Everyone interested in the history of Winton is welcome to attend.
The Winton Historical Society had coffee mugs made with a picture of the old Winton Depot on them. They will be sold at the Winton Old Timers reunion. Cost is $7.00 each.

Don't forget to bring your recipes for the Winton Centennial Cookbook. Or email them to wintoncookbook@aol.com Or mail them to Winton Historical Society, PO Box 554, Winton, CA 95388.

The Winton Old Timers reunion is held each year in the Winton Middle School on Cypress Avenue in Winton.
Pictures from the last 3 years of the reunion can be seen here. Click on the set of your choice. Old Merced post cards can also be found there.

Good Ole Summertime

My Morning Glory vine is finally getting a decent amount of flowers. I'm still hoping for a lot more.
The piano tuner was here on Monday. It hadn't been tuned in years, but still it was not in too bad a shape. So, right away, I got out some very easy arrangements and pretended I could play AND sing!! Wow! Sure hope the neighbors didn't hear me. I enjoyed it though, so what the heck. It was fun.
Then on Thursday, the air-conditioner went out. I had it set on 79 and it seemed so hot in here. Well, it was up to 87 degrees by 5 p.m. Sure glad we had the whole-house fan put in. After it cooled down a little outside, I was able to get the house cooled down to where it wasn't too bad in here. The next day, someone from Bob's Refrigeration came by and fixed it. A part needed replacing, so I was relieved that it only cost $104. to fix it.
July and August are the months when the Iris plants are dormant and the perfect time to dig them up and separate them. I decided to move my Irises from around the patio to another area and plant them in rows. I started digging them up yesterday. I want to keep track of the names, so got big grocery bags, the paper ones, and wrote the name of the Iris plant on it. There are 25 different ones, so don't have quite enough bags. I'm giving the duplicates away, so I'm putting the names on slips of paper and stappling it to a leaf. I thought that was the easiest way to do it.
Tomorrow we're having a committee meeting for the Winton Old Timers. Can't believe the time is almost here. We have the hot month of August and then summer will be over.

This Week

This is my daughter, Sandy, taking pictures in Paris last week. What does this picture have to do with my week here in Merced? Nothing.
I just like this colorful picture. Sandy, hope you don't mind.

It seems like something was going on every day this week. On Monday, my sister and I had appointments with Miguel in Turlock. I told him my hairdresser asked if I was still going to the Reflexologist and that she said she can see an improvement in my face each time she sees me. (Only once every two months for a hair cut.)
After the usual treatment, Miguel used the green crystals on me for the first time. The crystals were such a dark color that I thought they were black. They are attached to a board and Miguel holds the board over me without touching me. I was amazed at what I felt. First my jaw line felt a little warm with some movement, like twinges. Miguel moved this board around from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. The bottom of my feet got much warmer. But what really surprised me the most was the spot on the inside of my left knee, it was actually hot. The spot was about the size of a silver dollar. This is the spot that used to be so sore. Miguel said as the blockages are removed, the area gets warm with the blood circulating. I'm going to ask him to use the crystals every time. I thought they were great!
We go every 6 weeks for a treatment.
Tuesday was a stay-at-home day.
Wednesday was my volunteer day in the genealogy room in the Merced County Library. It's only from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Every Wednesday afternoon, members from the Merced County Genealogical Society volunteer to offer help to anyone who would like some assistance. I go every 3rd Wednesday and hope I will be of help to someone. It wasn't busy, spent some time on the computer (Ancestry) and then read some interesting local history and some Mennonite history.

Today, my sister and I attended the Mature Drivers class in Atwater. It started at 8:30 this morning and ended about 4:00 p.m. The day went pretty fast as it was interesting. We should get our certificates in the mail next week and I will give my insurance company a copy. I hope this will help lower my car insurance.
Tomorrow, it's lunch with the "Golden Girls" a couple of friends from work. We never talk about work anymore, it's just about our current lives, the wonderful days since retirement.
Saturday is the Merced County Genealogical Society meeting. Sunday is a big watering day, front and back yards. Monday the piano tuner is coming.
And so it goes.

Alice Hare

In 1911, Alice and husband, James W. Hare and family moved to the community of Winton, in Merced County, California.
They were the second family to move there. In February of the following year, Mrs. Hare photographed the Winton bell ringing, marking the founding of Winton's first church. Later that year she exhibited her photographs, oil paintings, and pastels in a fair celebrating Winton's founding. After photographing historic moments of Winton's beginnings, there is a significant decline in her photographic activity after 1912. This may have been the result of her demanding involvement in establishing many of Winton's first institutions and participating in many community activities. In addition to helping found the Winton Improvement Club, she also helped establish the community's first grammar school and school district, planted trees, wrote articles such as "Winton Wants Rural Outdoor Adornment", and became the area's first librarian. It is not known to what extent she practiced painting, or if any of her work in paint media survives.
After her husband's death in 1920, Mrs. Hare resided briefly in Concord and Oakland, California. In 1924, she moved to Berkeley, California. She remained a librarian, and gave evening readings at patrons' homes. She also attended classes at Berkeley High School and wrote romance and adventure stories, some of which she hoped would become Hollywood screenplays. She also began to compose her autobiography. Mrs. Hare died on July 20, 1942.
Her son, Carson Hare was the architect for the original Winton Grammar School.
LOOKING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS OF WINTON, TAKEN BY ALICE HARE.
E-mail me at WintonCA@aol.com Thank you.

Finally!

I finally tried that recipe for Cole Slaw that is supposed to taste just like KFC's. I went to Raley's to buy the Tarragon Vinegar that I couldn't find at Save Mart. Also bought Miracle Whip for the recipe, which I never use.
I had visions of doing a 'blind test' by buying some of the Real Thing and letting people have a taste of each.
Well, that wasn't necessary!! It just doesn't taste the same. I think I am through buying ingredients I don't usually use just to try out a new recipe.
Good news though, we now have 350 recipes!! Only 150 more to reach our goal. But if we go over that, so much the better!! No, I didn't submit the Cole Slaw recipe.
We're a little heavy on the sweets, but don't let that stop you from submitting your favorite dessert or candy recipe.

Another Finally here!! Maggie's litter box is no longer in my bathroom. I had cat doors installed about a year and a half ago, so I could put the litter box in the garage. I kept putting it off, thinking Maggie might forget where I moved it to and would go somewhere else in the house.
Then, one day I noticed she wasn't using the litter box any more. She prefers to go outside!! Wow! what an opportunity. I put the litter box in the garage and she still doesn't use it. Hooray!
She's a great cat! Here she is, in a playful mood.