Last Saturday I attended the funeral for Cindy Butler, wife of David Butler and daughter-in-law of Lorrell Wolfsen Butler Seidlitz, my friend and classmate. Cindy was one of the sweetest, well loved young ladies that I have known and to have passed at the age of 49 is beyond grief.
Cindy Butler married into an extended family. David's grandmother was Daisy Peterson Wolfsen. Daisy's brother Wilber was married to Edith Elliott, related to the Hiltons. Even though we knew Cindy as David's wife, we were pleased to learn of her activities while the family lived in Half Moon Bay. A group of her contemporary friends came to the memorial and showed how well she was loved and respected.
For some reason, upon the death of Jack Kirk, who lived near the Wolfsen ranch on Buckeye Rd, I called David to ask a question. I got Cindy on the phone. Although we had not visited in a long time, she was still the sweet, bubbly young lady that Ellie and I knew when we photographed their wedding many years ago. It doesn't seem quite right. It has been a rough winter for many.
More thoughts: Presiding at the Cindy Butler memorial was Johnnie Hilton, a school mate from the past and a valuable member of a number of pioneer families in Mariposa. Johnnie left Mariposa before High School graduation, moving to Merced and becoming a minister. The Hilton family home was on Chowchilla Mountain Road and the land was part of the Elliott Ranch. Elliott's Corner earned its place in history as being the last source of gasoline as early vehicles started over Chowchilla Mountain to Wawona. Bootjack Road went from Mariposa and intersected with Chowchilla Mtn. Rd. at Elliott's. Then Bootjack Road continued southeast over Miami Saddle into Madera County. Hwy. 49 So. intersects Chowchilla Mtn. Rd. at Elliott's Corner although sections of Bootjack Rd. still exist.
Johnnie spoke about the family connections that make Mariposa County so special. Until the 1960's, the majority of residents of our county were from generational groups. When we moved to Mariposa in l943 we were one of the first new families in years. Family names such as Preston, Ashworth, Westfall, Wass, Elliott, Peterson, Meyer, Cathey, Scott, Chapman. Probasco, Gordon, Trabucco, Mcauley, McCready, McElligott, Hogan, Rhoan, Johnson, Oliver, Wills, Cavagnaro, Milburn, Fiske, Greeley, Converse, Shimer, Mentzer, Cuneo, Greenamyer, Pendola, Reynolds, Lawrence, Starns, Adams, Barcroft, Kocher, Williams, Carter, Appling, Bauer, Bertken, Bondshu, Branson, Castagnetto, Dexter, Dulcich, Farnsworth, Gallison, Grosjean, Jones, Laird, Lord, Lind, Lewis, Morrissey, Meagher, McNally, Palmer, Peterson, Smithers, Tresidder, Turner, Varain, Weston and Zimmerman, were all family names that carried through from the 19th century.
There are more, and as time goes on, their lives and times will be explored. There are common threads that run through these family lives. Hard work and subsistence agriculture in one form or another was common, as was the lumber industry, mining, the Yosemite Valley Railroad, Yosemite, cattle and hogs. Small family businesses in the towns, and maybe a county job, although there were few. How times have changed.
Strangely enough there were a few small manufacturers. Bookie Ashworth built wagons; Lowry's did rock work and made head stones; the Clark's ran saw mills at a number of locations, Trabucco and Pendola had commercial gardens. Who made bricks? One very interesting by product of the collapse of the Trabucco Warehouse is the fact that most if all of the brick buildings in Mariposa County were built without mortar. Lime and sand filled the gaps in these walls that were as many as five bricks thick, emphasized how important it is to keep moisture out of the walls. You may notice the caulking that is being done on many of the old buildings downtown.
Many members of these families married members of the other families, thus creating the network that formed the foundations of the county. They were and are hard working, honest, enjoying great humor, trusting to a degree, much in the tradition of mountain people. They understand wood craft, vegetable gardening, livestock rising, tractor fixing and how to have a good time. They loved Saturday nights at Timber Lodge or Bootjack, and revere the past. They find humor in the difficulties that we all shared. When a family looses a member, the others rally around with food, comfort and love. John Hilton knows exactly all these things and this is what he spoke of.
Any new citizen, who accepts what is found on arrival, easily becomes a part of our family right away. I always have felt sorry for those who want to change what they find here. They are changing the reason that they moved to Mariposa. It is not long before they realize what they might loose by poorly thought out change.
A lot of pressure comes to us from the outside in the form of new laws and policies imposed. I recall that we used the old jail on Bullion St. long beyond the time that the state told us to close it down. It worked just fine for our culture. There was a time when Justice Court Judges were not lawyers. They were lay people who ran for and operated this level of justice using common sense more than earlier decisions from some court far away. The Judge knew those who came before him or her. They also knew, from having lived in the community that their greatest responsibility to those to be judged, was to impose a level of personal responsibility. A commodity in short supply these days.
So, although we have only been in Mariposa for 64 years, and can count five generations living here, and dying here, this is home. We try to be good citizens, sharing as we can with our neighbors and friends. So when we loose one of our family, as Johnnie Hilton says, we share the grief.
Mining and gambling seemed to follow parallel courses. So did disputes over cards that ended in one or another's demise. A.B. "Shorty" Carrel was shot to death by John W Reed. It is not that Shorty did not try to dispatch Reed but he missed. Constable George Bertken attempted to interrupt the gun play but was unable to do so considering that he had to duck flying bullets. (I own Constable Bertken's house these days). Coroner David E. Bertkin impaneled a jury and held the inquest. As you can see, some families were able to place more than one member in a county job. Since Reed was considered to not be a man of quarrelsome disposition, the case was dismissed based on the need for Reed to protect his own life.
So life goes on in Mariposa. The wounds heal but do not disappear. We are resilient people who miss the generations who passed before us. I often say that I can visit many of my old friends any time I want because I know where they are.
To learn much more about Mariposa County along with
historical photos:
A signed copy of "Images of America" - Mariposa County,
By Leroy Radanovich can be purchased at his web site:
Radanovich Galleria & Books
This is a early day photo of the Mariposa Mine in
Mariposa County
that is mentioned in the article to
the left by Mr. Radanovich.
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa in 1920
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa County Courthouse written by Leroy Radanovich and
Scott Pinkerton is a book about the oldest courthouse in California that is still in use today.
The book is signed by Leroy Radanovich.
To purchase the book:
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa in 1860
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books