A Short Visit

John and Mandy drove in last night from Chico on their way to Pasadena and other Southern California cities. We had a short but nice visit.
They will be back in about a month and will be able to stay a little longer. I always enjoy seeing my granddaughter and her husband.
I think they brought the rain with them from Chico, it rained all day there, but not until evening in Atwater.
I have been lucky to find a couple of very pretty flowers the last couple of days. At Home Depot I found a "Rouletta" look-alike Ivy Geranium. This one is darker and is really prettier than Rouletta. Then yesterday I stopped at Lowes, looking for the Perennial Aster, which I didn't find, but was surprised to see Portulaca (Moss Rose) in the 6-packs. I looked for this flower earlier and couldn't even find the seeds. So, I was very happy to find them. I'm sure they will re-seed themselves in this sandy soil.

Last Saturday

The Winton Church of God in Christ Mennonite celebrated their centennial this past weekend. It started Friday night with a supper for the out-of-town (and state) visitors and the locals. They rented a large tent, shown in the picture above, round tables and lots of chairs. The tent was set up on the Mennonite School grounds on Central Avenue in Winton.
Saturday was an all day affair beginning at 9:00 a.m. with registration and the program beginning at 9:30. Rosalie, Carolyn and I were there with the "Memories of Winton 1911-1950" books, the Winton Historical Society's Winton Centennial recipe books and the souvenir mugs. We stayed until 8:00 p.m., so it was a long day, but a very good one. Carolyn and I got to see some relatives from out-of-town and met some other people for the first time.
Three people were given prizes for having traveled the fartherest, one was from Canada and the other two from Southern States and South Carolina. People also came from Kansas and Wisconsin. Probably other states as well. I don't remember what the other prizes were for. The prizes were: A Winton Centennial recipe book; 3 mugs and a membership to the Winton Historical Society.
On the back wall were pictures, stories and articles depicting the past 100 years in Winton with the focus on the Mennonite Church. Several committees were set up with a 20-year span to report on. I understand they are going to make up a booklet with all the information that was posted on the wall and maybe more.
In one corner was the "museum" with old kitchen utensils and other tools, also hanging up were wedding dresses from the past usually sewn by the bride or relative.
In the opposite corner a long table was set up for Rosalie, Carolyn and I. When there was a break in the program, people would come up to our table and buy books and mugs. It was a very good day for the Winton Historical Society.
The program consisted of the main speaker, songs by various groups, which was very good; the committee members for each 20 year span got up to tell about their time period. Many people talked about their memories of Winton.
It was a very interesting day and I'm glad we were invited to be there.

Former Neighbors

Today I caught a ride up to Mariposa to see former neighbors who used to live on Fruitland Avenue. I wouldn't have recognized them because I haven't seen them for 60 years. It was a nice day; warm when the sun was out and a little chilly when it went behind a cloud. I kept taking my windbreaker on and off.
Building the fire is Jerry Hawksworth. He is actually wearing a pair of sandals, but usually he is barefoot. When he goes into town (Mariposa), he is recognized as the "man who is always barefoot."
Jack wanted Jerry to guess who I was. Even with lots of hints, it took several guesses to get it right. I was probably the last person he expected to see.
Sitting beside Jerry's car is his mother, Alice Hawksworth. She is 96 years old and stills drives her car to Mariposa twice a week to buy groceries. She had her drivers license renewed last year with no problem.
Alice married Bill Hawksworth in 1932. Bill was working in the shipyards at Mare Island. They first lived in Vallejo and then in 1940 they moved to Mariposa. There they nearly starved to death, so in 1945 they purchased 30 acres on Fruitland Avenue and moved to the Atwater/Winton area. They were in the Atwater School District, but their mailing address was Winton.
On Fruitland Avenue they had a herd of goats with a Grade A dairy setup and also raised 20 to 30 pigs. Bill built the milk barn for the goats out of rocks that he hauled over from Snelling. The building was quite large and it took many, many trips to Snelling and back before it was finally done.
They later sold the animals and grew sweet potatoes and watermelons. It was about 1950 when they purchased an additional 20 acres to the east of their farm from John Giesbrecht. Then around 1980 they moved back to Mariposa.

Cooking the hotdogs over the open fire is Jack Boesch. He brought up a pickup and trailer load of almond wood for the Hawksworths. It's been a cold wet winter this year and they used more wood than usual. Jack hauls wood up to them several times a year, which Mrs. Hawksworth appreciates very much.
Bill and Alice had three sons, Jim, Tom and Jerry.
Bill died in February in 2002 and Jim a few years later. Alice continues to enjoy living in the mountains of Mariposa. She cooks for herself and does yard work. Jerry lives on the yard, close to his mother's house. This last picture shows Jerry doing a "wedge" kicking up dust in his Ford car.