Round Valley

My brother and new little brother, Round Valley, CA 1951Dad worked for DWP and for a while we lived in Bishop before moving to Round Valley, approximately 10 miles away. As kids we loved everything about living there but mother hated being so isolated. It was hot in the summer and cold with lots of snow in the winter. My sister and I loved picking elderberries so mother could make jam and dad let us earn extra money by catching grasshoppers. We put them in a quart jar with holes in the lid so they could breathe. Dad said he wanted them for fishing but I think he just released them and gave us our quarters, one for every quart jar full. The grasshoppers would spit brown stuff and we thought it was tobacco juice - it wasn't until many years later I learned that was their defense mechanism. We ran free and wild and learned to watch out for rattlesnakes that might be sunning themselves.

Living in the Sierras we were close to lots of lakes and streams and went camping and fishing often. We camped and fished at Convict Lake, Mammoth Lakes, June Lake, Mono Lake, Crowley Lake – all beautiful. Dad was a good fisherman and always caught enough fish for dinner.

Dad and mother were still adjusting to married life and each other and sometimes would have loud arguments. Dad would storm out the door and literally head for the hills. He had gone from being a bachelor to marrying a woman with three kids and shortly after adding another one. Yep, he had an adjustment period.

The last time mother was in Bishop was with DH and me. We were in our motor home, returning from a trip to Montana. She recalled only good memories about when we lived there and was surprised at how little things had changed. We stopped at Schat’s Bakery on our way out of town, a bakery famous for its bread. We loaded up our carts with artisan breads, jalapeno-cheese bread, raisin, whole wheat, rye, sheepherders, sourdough and then stood in line for the cashier. Mother was ahead of me and told the cashier she was also paying for my purchase. I started to protest when the man behind me said, “Hey, she can pay for mine too if she wants.” Then everyone in line piped up, "mine too." She was fun to travel with, shop with, be with. I miss her. And why so much bread? Our family has an unwritten rule: anyone going to Bishop has to bring back enough bread back to share.

History

From left to right: my cousin Lee, Me, Uncle Ernie, brother Steven in front of him, cousin Dennis, brother Pete and sister Camille. This picture was taken in Los Angeles at the home of my Aunt and Uncle, 1951. Lee is almost 6 months older than I am, I am almost 6 months older than Dennis, Dennis is almost 6 months older than Camille. Steven is a couple of years younger than Camille and Pete (about 6 years younger than Camille) was the youngest until our last brother was born. Eric was about 8 years younger than Pete. We all thought he was an "oops" baby but Mother said no, they just wanted another one.My mother divorced my birth dad when she had three children. In those days it was very hard for a single mother to support a family so for a time we lived with her sister and husband and their two boys in Los Angeles. It was there that she met the man we all came to know as dad. They married and she had two more boys.

When Mother knew she was about to die, she called us all together for one last time. She told her sister what a good sister she had been and how good it had been of her to take us all in. My Aunt was very quiet and her eyes filled with tears. It was a very touching moment. Quietly my Mother said, "Okay. It's your turn now to tell me what a good sister I was." Which made us all laugh in spite of the sad circumstances. She left us with so many wonderful gifts and beautiful memories.