The 4^th of July has come and gone, but the subject of patriotism, the flag and why this country is still the greatest show on earth lingers.

The Daily News recently ran a contest. The subject had to do with why we love our country. The winning entries were well written…and predictable. Whereas most citizens support our government, per se, they often disprove of the way it is run.

The simplistic answer to this question of love of country, is because of the freedom it affords us.  Our form of government allows us, within the confines of the law, to be as great or as frivolous as we like. We are, in a word, compared to other countries, unfettered. However, our self expression can become a liability when it comes to the internet. It is true we are free to speak our mind in this medium without fear of retribution, but our words, or the words of others, can be distorted and manipulated to the extent we may find ourselves being signatory to causes we do not espouse.

If you use a computer, you are often smothered with messages of  interesting viewpoints or inflammatory nature. It is seldom an original thought from someone you know. It is generally forwarded by someone you know who had previously received it and were urged to “pass it on”. But when a statement or a photo is unsolicited and potentially false, readers should question the source and look to Snopes or some such research site, to endorse it or reject it. Usually it will be the latter.

An example is an e mail recently received from a quiz contributor. He forwarded a statement, ostensibly from comedian Bill Cosby. to me. If taken at face value, we would do ourselves and others a great injustice by repeating it.  Cosby has disavowed it, and states it does not reflect his thinking on the matter of patriotism and how he views our country. It is, however, a clever piece and reads as though it comes from Cosby.  Worse, it contains a modicum of truth in that it reflects collective thoughts on how the country is currently being run…and how confidence in our leaders is at an all time low.

The writer of the tract says Cosby is going to run for President as a write- in candidate in 2012. He is not, but the piece says he is, so we start with the premise that he has a platform and  lists his objectives: He will see that the phrase, “Press one for English” is band and replaced with “English is our official language. Speak it or wait outside the border until you can”. This is humorous, but the unnamed author is deadly serious and means it . If some relate to that sentiment,  how about objective # 2: “We immediately become isolationist and we stop all imports and exports. We will adhere to the Wal-Mart credo: ‘If we don’t have it, you don’t need it. All goods will be made and sold here in our own country’.” Once again, good for a laugh, but would anyone aspire to such a credo as a practical matter? Unfortunately yes.

The author of the tract goes on with nuttier ideas…100% tariff when imports are resumed, welfare checks only handed out with proof of education and urinalysis, first time professional athletes testing positive for steroids are banned for life, criminals put death in the same manner as their victims…and all foreign aid stopped immediately with the money saved going to pay off our national debt. Oh…and the Pledge of Allegiance will be said in school and congress every day.

It seems to me that such edicts fly in the face of our democracy. It isn’t a case of love it or leave it…it is a case of understanding how we got where we are, and how to solve the problems we now face with compassion and understanding. We opened our doors at Ellis Island a long time ago. To slam them shut at this late date suggest a miss-reading of our history.

I hope I am not injured when stepping down from my high horse…

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When we saw the land moving equipment going around and around the Vestal property on Antelope Blvd. we feared that a commercial development was under way. But then a call to the Planning Department calmed us down. Apparently a walnut orchard is planned for this coveted site. Hundreds of acres of deep Columbia loam has nourished fields of alfalfa since Hector was a pup and served as a pastoral entrance to our fair city from the east. The majestic Valley Oaks have fallen one by one over the years while the alfalfa harvest has continued. In a few years there should be an orchard of Walnut trees as far as the eye can see.

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Last week’s quiz: Define unfamiliar words describing animals and birds. J. Angelo was first in with, Cervine…deer; Hircine…goat; Larine…gull; Ovine…sheep; and, as a sleeper, Ovaltine …which he figured might be a Swiss cow.

This week’s quiz: B. Kelsey of Burlingame reports the award “Emmy” got its name from “Immy”, but what is that? Two people in music were named Engelbert Humperdinck.  What did they do and what was the real name of one?

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“I am not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I am not dumb…and I also know that I’m not a blonde.” Dolly Parton

(To respond to this website: rminchandmurray@hotmail)

“Break, break, break,

On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!

And I would that my tongue could utter

The thoughts that arise in me.

Oh well for the fisherman’s boy,

That he shouts with his sister at play!

Oh well for the sailor lad,

That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on

To their haven under the hill;

But O for the touch of a vanished hand,

And the sound of a voice that is still!

Break, break, break,

At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!

But the tender of a day that is dead

Will never come back to me.”

Alfred Lord Tennyson 1809-1892

(And, as counterpoint to the above)

“Oh, I should like to ride the seas, a roaring buccaneer;

A cutlass banging at my knees, a dirk behind my ear.

And when my captives’ chains would clank I’d howl with glee and drink,

And then fling out the quivering plank and watch the beggars sink.”

Dorothy Parker  1893-1967

President Roosevelt must have laughed when he read in the papers that former President Hoover was advocating that we should give our President dictatorial powers.

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Twenty three years ago when we arrived in Red Bluff, we purchased 40 acres in the Orchard Park subdivision south of town for $150.00 per acre. Jim Feely, who was in the real estate business at the time, told us that the ground would grow anything under the sun, and he might have been partially right. We ran out of money before we tried everything.

(Editor’s Note: The family consisting of an invalid poet father, hard working mother, 5 sons and one daughter, spread out looking for work wherever they could find it. Dave, the oldest son, worked 6 days and 1 night for Standard Oil and 6 nights and 1 day as bartender at the Elks Club even though he did not drink…and sold Collier’s Magazines in his spare time.)

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You may have read in the papers about the money a San Diego jury awarded to Clarence Bates’ daughter. Clarence was working for us at the time his daughter was hit by a car while they were visiting in southern California. Soon after the accident, an insurance adjuster offered to settle the case for $2,500. As long as it was not known how long it would take to rehabilitate her, I didn’t think they should be in any hurry to settle the case. Last month the insurance company made a final offer of $7,500. Then, while the trial was underway, they upped it to $10,000. The company put it up to the mother whether she would rather accept this amount or take her chances of getting nothing. The mother replied that she would rather leave it up to the jury and she was certainly right. The jury awarded the girl $20,000. After paying all the doctor’s and lawyer’s fees, Clarence and his wife still had $12,000 left to try to bring their daughter back to health. She will have to have at least 3 operations to repair her broken neck.

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From the number of men called up by the draft in Tehama County for the month of June, it would appear that nearly a million men throughout the country will be inducted. Which also means that as many will be released from training camps for actual combat. We are certainly moving faster than we did in the last war.

Dave Minch 1900-1964

President Roosevelt must have laughed when he read in the papers that former President Hoover was advocating that we should give our President dictatorial powers.

* * * * * *

Twenty three years ago when we arrived in Red Bluff, we purchased 40 acres in the Orchard Park subdivision south of town for $150.00 per acre. Jim Feely, who was in the real estate business at the time, told us that the ground would grow anything under the sun, and he might have been partially right. We ran out of money before we tried everything.

(Editor’s Note: The family consisting of an invalid poet father, hard working mother, 5 sons and one daughter, spread out looking for work wherever they could find it. Dave, the oldest son, worked 6 days and 1 night for Standard Oil and 6 nights and 1 day as bartender at the Elks Club even though he did not drink…and sold Collier’s Magazines in his spare time.)

* * * * *

You may have read in the papers about the money a San Diego jury awarded to Clarence Bates’ daughter. Clarence was working for us at the time his daughter was hit by a car while they were visiting in southern California. Soon after the accident, an insurance adjuster offered to settle the case for $2,500. As long as it was not known how long it would take to rehabilitate her, I didn’t think they should be in any hurry to settle the case. Last month the insurance company made a final offer of $7,500. Then, while the trial was underway, they upped it to $10,000. The company put it up to the mother whether she would rather accept this amount or take her chances of getting nothing. The mother replied that she would rather leave it up to the jury and she was certainly right. The jury awarded the girl $20,000. After paying all the doctor’s and lawyer’s fees, Clarence and his wife still had $12,000 left to try to bring their daughter back to health. She will have to have at least 3 operations to repair her broken neck.

* * * * *

From the number of men called up by the draft in Tehama County for the month of June, it would appear that nearly a million men throughout the country will be inducted. Which also means that as many will be released from training camps for actual combat. We are certainly moving faster than we did in the last war.

Dave Minch 1900-1964

We will research the family in greater detail in a later article, but for now, there have been 4 salient features of the Vestal clan in Tehama County.

They once operated a slaughter house on Paskenta road at a time (1940’s) when Minch’s Wholesale Meats was gaining prominence as the meat packer in Northern California.

Rolla Vestal, who died on 30 July 1952, age 75,  was head of the family in my day. In addition to a slaughter plant on Paskenta Road, he  operated a meat market (established 1868 by his father George Vestal) on the southwest corner of Walnut and Washington which featured sawdust on the floor and huge metal racks along the back wall on which hung cuts of beef, pork and lamb. All this was out in the open air until he later installed refrigerated meat cases.

One of the boys, Dareld, Robert or Raymond, was an exceptional athlete who participated in the Olympics many years ago. Rolla and his wife Mabel also had two daughters Elizabeth and Patricia.

The family owned some of the most beautiful land in the county…a large tract extending from Antelope Blvd. on the north to the Sacramento River on the south. In addition, they still own a prime 100 acres along the river just north of town on Adobe Road which I once tried to get them to sell to Shasta College…long before the present college site was selected on the south end of town. As a sidebar to that failed effort, I had long talks on the phone with one of the Vestal daughters who I believe, at the time, lived in Santa Rosa. I thought I was making headway when I suggested the family might have a lasting relationship with the proposed college and probably get their name on a campus building. But then, as often has been the case in my life, I went a step too far and jocularly suggested the college cheerleaders might be called the Vestal Virgins. That unfortunate remark probably caused a break in our negotiations and the idea died aborning.

Today the 100 acre parcel on Adobe Road is still in the family whereas their original holdings on Antelope Blvd. to the river have been parceled out to family and non-family representatives. However, it is encouraging to see the land continuing in agricultural pursuits. This is where we are In agreement with some of the Green movement.

(more in next week’s issue)