Saturday at North Fork
This past Saturday, I headed back up to the Sierra — to North Fork, my favorite Madera County mountain community.
I had been there only a few weeks before, when I had joined the North Fork History Group for a trip to Central Camp.
This time — on a simply gorgeous late-autumn day — I had several destinations — starting with the Putney Ranch off Malum Ridge Road above North Fork.
I’ve written about that ranch — and about the Putneys — elsewhere on this blogsite. The ranch — and the original house on it — are historic. Charles and Julia Shinn bought all of it from Frank Malum in 1902.
Charles Shinn became the first supervisor of the Sierra National Forest. Their house became the first headquarters of the National Forest.
Decades later — after he had passed away and after Julia had moved to the Bay Area — Marcia Nelson — later, Marcia Putney — bought the house and the land around it.
Marcia became the first female judge in Madera County history. She and her husband George became a true “power couple” in North Fork, long before that term was invented. Together, they were involved in many, many activities in the life of the community.
When Marcia passed away in 1965 — nine years after George’s passing — she willed the house and Putney Ranch — all 87 acres of it — to Madera County for use as a camp for developmentally disabled children.
Years later — Madera County decided to sell the property to a church group, which used it, for about a decade, as a summer retreat for inner-city children.
But the church group could not afford to keep it, and the property went into foreclosure. Now — as of this month — it is owned by a group from California’s Bay Area. Word on the street in North Fork is — they want to turn the property into a yoga retreat.
And the new owners have given the church group until this Thanksgiving to clear out or sell everything the church group can.
That, friends, is why I drove into Putney Ranch this past Saturday. I figured it may be the last time I get to walk the property — 70 years after my first time.
You see, Dad and Mom knew the Putneys. We visited Marcia and George at least twice before George passed away in 1956 — once in the summer and once in the winter.
I remember Dad putting me on his shoulders — on a summer afternoon — and carrying me from the Putneys’ yard at the top of a hill down to Manzanita Lake, where their property ended.
I also remember going to see the Putneys when snow was on the ground.
What with growing up and getting married and moving all around the country, I lost track of Putney Ranch for decades — until Sharon and I moved back to the Valley three years ago and settled in Madera County, next to the Sierra foothills.
I began researching all I could about Marcia and George — and eventually wound up writing a book about them for the Madera County Historical Society. While I was writing it — I had the chance to visit the ranch several times.
This past Saturday, my tour guide at the ranch was Jeannette Pritchett — who worked with the church for years as a supervisor for the summer camps.
Jeannette and I spent an hour, reminiscing about her experiences there and my boyhood memories. Near the end of our talk, we were both emotional.
I walked down the hill to Manzanita Lake and Willow Creek. I remembered the trip Dad and I had taken down that same hill seven decades earlier. I misted up, thinking I might never make that walk again.
The lake was topping the dam, with water tumbling into Willow Creek. It’s a spectacular site any time — but on this crystal-clear, warm November morning — it was simply awesome.
I took photos and would have liked to stay longer, but I had another stop I had to make. So I said goodbye to Jeannette — drove out of the ranch on the dirt Shinn Cabin Lane and the paved-but-rutted Putney Place Road — and drove down Road 274 to the North Fork Town Hall.
The hall — which used to be the gymnasium for the old North Fork Union School (which George Putney helped build) — was being used this day by the Mono Native American tribe for its annual Thanksgiving-time lunch and membership fundraiser.
I had never been there — but Connie Popelish of the North Fork History Group had recommended it. So there I was — and to say it was a fine event and that I had an exquisite time would understate matters.
The gym was packed. The food was outstanding. And the camaraderie was priceless. I met many people — all of whom accepted me immediately, even though I was a “flatlander” from down the hill.
Tom Wheeler — former long-time member of the Madera County Board of Supervisors — introduced me to some of his life-long friends. And it seemed as if everyone in the room was a life-long friend of his.
Tom has meant a lot to the folks in the mountain communities. He’s been a tremendous advocate for them over the decades — and they know it and love him for all he’s done.
I bought several tickets to the raffle that was going to take place later that afternoon, but I did not get to stay to see me lose. I gave those tickets to Connie, and she tells me we were both non-winners on Saturday.
But only non-winners when it came to the goodies being raffled off. Everyone in that room was a winner because of the goodwill that was being exhibited, and I hope the Mono tribe benefited greatly on Saturday. They run the wonderful Mono Museum across the street from Town Hall, and proceeds from Saturday’s event will go to that museum.
My third stop on Saturday was at the North Fork Library. The History Group was putting on a “History Days” exhibit, and I had not been able to make it there on the first two days, Thursday and Friday.
On this Saturday afternoon, there were only a few visitors. Kathy Ellis — the president of the group — had set up a wonderful series of giant photos on easels, and had pictures laid out on a big table in the middle of the library.
Those photos — all black-and-white — showed North Fork from its earliest days. I picked up one of the photo albums and asked Kathy to take me through it. Was this building or that business still in North Fork? What’s there now?
You get the idea. I was curious and asked plenty of questions. Kathy kindly and patiently spent time with me and answered my queries.
The librarian — Sara Comstock — does a fine job, and she has an even bigger challenge just ahead. The library is going to receive much-needed updates, and while construction is ongoing, the books will have to be moved and housed elsewhere. I do not envy what Sara will have to do.
Mid-afternoon had arrived, and it was time to take my leave. It had been an educational and emotional experience that day — at the ranch, at the Mono fundraiser and at the library. Yes, I’m a flatlander, but I felt — on that Saturday — somehow closer to North Fork than I ever had.
For me, last Saturday was, simply, a great day in the life of the world.