Trip up Dos Rios Road, otherwise known as memory lane!

Photo by Melissa Carr

Photo by misterkeene

The book that I am currently reading is a book written a relative of mine that was raised just up hill from where I was raised in Laytonville. When I say “related” it always requires an explanation if you are talking to a generational native of Laytonville. So, Vera Snider Teague was related to me through her Snider side, she was the 2G Granddaughter of my 4G Grandfather, who was our last common reative. She was of the same generation of my grandparents. She was born around the turn of the 18-19th century.

While reading her book, I was stuck by how little of the Laytonville culture had changed from the time that she was a child growing up on the Snider homestead, and the time that I was raised in Laytonville. Her whole book is steeped with the culture that I was raised in, and reading her stories is like attending a family get-together in my younger years. Her playmate, as a youth, was her brother Ernest Snider, who I had the privilege of having known when he was an old guy, like me now. The following is an excerpt from Vera’s book. The quote was taken from Chapter 12”

Life With The Old-Timers” By Vera Snider Teague.

“BUSY HAPPY DAYS IN THE HILLS”
Suddenly, it was spring. Each springtime seemed a time of adventure and magic to me. First, one day the fuzzy, soft gray pussy willows were out. Then we would notice the blue and white wild lilac. Each magic day would bring more happy discoveries. Baby-blue-eyes, spring beauties, popcorn flowers, lady slippers, snow drops, star of Bethleham, shooting stars, which we called johnny-jump-ups, wild pansies ands violets, cream cups and butter cups, bluebells, redbells, columbines, (We called these five legged tables), blue stickweed, blue, white and yellow lupine, monkey flowers, larkspur, easter lilies, redwood lilies, and Shasta lilies, Indian paintbrush, sweet William mock orange, dogwood, and the manzanita with it’s clusters of tiny pink lanterns, just to name a few of the wild flowers that makes Mendocino County like a paradise during spring and early summer.

Ernest and I loved all of the flowers, but I think our favorites were the easter lilies. There were beds of these nestled here and there in sunny little spots throughout the woods. We loved the golden poppies too. We believed all the flowers belonged to us by right of discovery; and what joyous competition there was between us! Upon each new discovery with what pride we called the other to view our treasure! We seldom picked any. Our joy was rather in going to behold them from day to day in all their glorious natural beauty.

What glee when one of us found the first firecracker, wild rose or any variety we had not yet found. We did not tire of this game throughout the season.
As spring progressed we extended our game to include the wild strawberries, black cap and red cap raspberries, blackberries, wild currants, gooseberries, plums, salmonberries and thimble berries and later both red black huckleberries and wild grapes. The family often accompanied us to pick many of the above mentioned for use at home”.

I want you to know that I take great joy in knowing about the plants that she named. If you have just recently arrived, you probably have no idea what plants she is talking about. Even if you recognized some of the names that she used, you probably wouldn’t call the plant by that name.

Does anybody know what a bluebell or a redbell is?

“Old-timer” is not necessarily a designation of old age. “Old-Timer” in Laytonville is more of a designation of venerability. It’s like calling a teacher “professor”, or a physician “Doctor”. It is an acknowledgment of ones experience. To be an “Old-Timer” in Laytonville, it is generally accepted that you would have to have lived there for at least 20 years before you opinions would be acknowledged with any great degree of acceptance.

I have often wondered what has happened to my “Old-Timer” status in Laytonville. I haven’t lived there since 1955, but my mother still owns property there, and we visit relatives often that do live there.

My Old-Timer status of the South-Fork of the Eel River goes back to 1858, and 6 generations. The thing that I have noticed is that, my opinions are still questioned… What’s up with that???

© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College.