“Can you recommend a novel with a strong female protagonist?”

“Yes, Kristin Lavransdatter,” he said, without hesitation.

Okay…the priest went on to give something like a synopsis. I remember nothing of it. Whatever it was could be nothing in comparison to this 1000-page epic of the life of a … housewife.

Kristin Lavransdatter, written by Sigrid Undset (1882–1949), was published in Norway as three novels from 1920 to 1922: Kransen (The Wreath), Husfrue (The Wife), and Korset (The Cross). We enter the novel in the happy, carefree childhood of a girl beloved by her father. Her childhood is not without shadows, and as she grows, we will begin to understand, as she does, the images in the shadows, gaining a clearer understanding of what she saw as a child, as she matures into a woman and enters old age.

Kristin lives in 14th-century Norway, a Catholic world still with close ties to the ancient, pre-Christian legends and beliefs. As an older teenager, betrothed to another, Kristin falls madly in love and lust for Erland of Husaby, a Knight, um, arrant, who seems to destroy all he comes in contact with.

We follow Kristin through her untimely pregnancy, her marriage, her early motherhood, her widowhood, through seeing her sons make their way in the world and her death.

Why should a woman’s tale make up most of 1000 pages? The story is not without drama; its plot points read like a soap opera, and its subplots like episode summaries of prestige television. Beyond that, Undset takes us into the mind and heart of her characters. They are fully developed personalities, and their personalities are drawn to one another and clash with one another as life circumstances evolve.

Recall The Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames? If Tolstoy’s War and Peace is the magnificent work that it is because of the broadness of its scope in treating Russia’s history and issues, then Tolstoy is that image that takes us by the powers of ten out into the universe. Undset is the opposite. She takes us deep into the heart and mind, and what a visit. No less magnificent for its smallness, as its details are intricate and intimate, and just as hard to catch the aspects we pass by as we travel through.

I have read Kristin Lavransdatter four times since that first recommendation. As a young woman in love with her boyfriend, as an escape while a young mother in crisis, as a middle-aged mother having suffered in the past but now safe within a rhythm and routine, even peace; and as a woman looking at her older children, marveling at their growth and afraid for their future that lies beyond my reach. All these stages, Kristin experiences too.

At each stage, I felt deeply moved and drawn to new plot points I had overlooked before. The earlier scenes became memories for me that I cherish, but am no longer living.

An Introduction to the Translation

The first English translation, and only English translation until 1997, was by Charles Archer and J. S. Scott, published between 1923 and 1927. Kransen and Husfrue were translated from the original Norwegian as The Bridal Wreath and The Mistress of Husaby.

So much time passed between the first and second reading that I did not give the translation a thought. My first reading was a worn-out paperback borrowed from the Catholic Studies library at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. My second was a brown hardback book checked out, using my husband’s alumni card, from California State University, Stanislaus. I purchased my own vintage copy, from 1946, for my third reading. And when I decided my daughter ought to read this book, I bought the 2005 Penguin Deluxe Edition for my daughter, and after a week, I read it myself.

One more reading took me only partway through the second book, the political events being so difficult to follow.

Since then, I have learned:

Undset was fluent in English.

Undset was alive during the translation and saw the English translation.

Therefore, I assumed, Undset approved of the translation.

So I read her in the early English translations as the original. I enjoyed the otherworldliness of the old language. It took my mind to a different place. Olav Audunssøn, or in the English translation, The Master of Hestviken, is treated similarly. Undset’s modern novels were presented quite differently, direct and poetic, but with an elegant simplicity that characterized early 20th-century literature.

The Tiina Nunnally, modern translation of 1997-2000, is a modernized translation, at least, in comparison to Archer. Nunnally explains the problem with the early translations, “the translators chose to impose and artificially archaic style on the text, which completely misrepresented Undset’s beautifully clear prose. They filled her novels with stilted dialogue (using words such as ‘tis, ‘twas, I trow, thee, thou, hath, and doth), and they insisted on convoluted syntax.”

“Beautifully clear prose”

I recognized to what Nunnally referred.

“Nowadays, the role of the translator is different. Accuracy and faithfulness to the original tone and style are both expected and required,” Nunnally explains before elucidating the patterns of Undset’s prose and style, and the major alterations made by the Archer translation.

Now, as a published author, I have learned:

Publishing a novel is collaborative; editors have opinions, and publishers maintain knowledge of their market.

Authors may not have as much say as we expect from our vantage point a century later.

Undset may have been alive, and she saw the Archer translation, but it wasn’t how she herself chose to write the work.

Comparing goods

Below are three excerpts from each book.

(I learned to compare translations passage-by-passage from welovetranslations.com, a website I highly recommend. Buy the best translations! It makes all the difference.)

“When the lands and goods of Ivar Gjesling, the younger, of Sundbu, were divided after his death in 1306, his lands in Sil of Gudbrandsdal fell to his daughter Ragnfrid and her husband Lavrans Björgulfsön. Up to then they have lived in Lavrans’ manner of Skog at Frollo, near Oslo; but now they moved up to the Jörundgaard at the top of the open lands of Sil” (Archer translation, 3)

When the earthly goods of Ivar Gjesling the Younger of Sundbu were divided up in the year 1306, his property at Sil was given to his daughter Ragnfrid and her husband Lavrans Bjørgulfsøn. Before that time, they had lived at Skog, Lavranss manor in Follo near Oslo, but now they moved to Jørundgaard, high on the slope at Sil (Nunnally translation, 5).

We see it is not drastically different, but there is a difference in poetic quality (doesn’t “earthly goods” have a feeling of finality to it?) and note the use of a language to paint a picture for our imagination (“high on the slope”)

“I have said myself – and other have said the same – that Erlend seems not to be fit for aught else than to beguile women. You are answerable in part for such things being said – to that you have now yourself borne witness. Since then, he has shown that after all he was fit for somewhat else – your husband has won himself a good name for a bold and swift leader in war. ‘Tis no small gain for your sons that their father has wone fame for boldness and skill in arms. That he was – unwise – you should have known best of all of us. Best may you make amends for your shame by honoring and helping the husband yourself have chosen –” (Archer translation, 490)

“I myself have said, and others have said the same, that Erlend doesn’t seem to be capable of much else than seducing women. You are also to blame for this being said, according to your own testimony. But since then he has shown he is capable of other things—your husband has won a good name for himself through courage and swiftness in battle. It’s no small benefit for your sons that their father has acquired a reputation for his boldness and skill with weapons. That he is…incautious…you must realize this better than anyone. It would be best for you to redeem your shame by honoring and helping the husband whom you yourself have chosen” (Nunnally translation, 532)

This passage especially demonstrates the difference in syntax between the translations. One simply just reads better. Nunnally gives other examples in her note on the translation. The prose of the Nunnally translation is cleaner, simpler, and communicates better the thorough dressing down Kristin is receiving in this conversation.

‘Twas now well on in the summer of the year 1349; she had dwelt in the Rein convent two years, and ere Yule-tide came she was to take the veil. And the glad tidings came to her that, for her dedication, both her sons would come out thither in Abbot Johannes’ train. (Trans. Archer, p. 1011)

It was late in the summer of A.D. 1349, she had been at Rein Convent for two years, and she was to take the vows of a nun before Christmas. She received the joyous message that both her sons would come to her ordination as part of Abbot Johannes’s entourage (Nunnally translation, p. 1092).

This line stood out to me in my last read. “It was late in the summer of A.D. 1349.” I know the rest of the story. I don’t feel Undset’s writing has ever required me to grasp Norwegian history to enjoy her works. But Tolstoy and Hugo expect us to grasp something of Russian and French history to keep pace in their novels. After enough of them, it occurred to me, this line probably reveals the intensity of the drama that is to come, if you know what A.D. 1349 is the start of.

Per Wikipedia, “the Black Death reached Bergen in Norway by ship from England in late summer (probably August) of 1349, and spread from Bergen North to Trondheim in the autumn of 1349.”

The tranquility Undset creates leading up to this line, the gentle expression, “It was late in the summer of A.D. 1349,” is masterful storytelling, because it’s all about to fall apart in a dramatic, stormy ending to the 1000 pages of life we have lived with this character. The Archer translation is fine, but the quiet simplicity of Nunnally here is better.

What’s more, I look back, and I have four reading experiences to compare.

The first time, as my boyfriend and I rode bikes through Dry Creek in Modesto, I told him scene after scene from The Wreath, like I was sharing the best gossip or television drama.

And then, surprisingly, I found myself doing the same as The Cross. It cried out to be shared; so much did it fill my imagination.

So there you have it. If you are a book collector and nerd out about publication history like I do, buy the Archer, but read Nunnally. And if you are just looking for a good read, read the Nunnally.

I have loved them both, but find the way the new translation gripped me (and not cheaply, but by filling the imagination with images, concern and emotion) reveals something about its quality.

Now once again, but with temperaments

You can read this book with a book on the temperaments and spend a couple of thousand words analyzing their temperaments and how they interact with one another:

Kristin: Choleric-melancholic

Erlend: Sanguine-phlegmatic

Simon: Sanguine-melancholic

Lavrans: Melancholic-choleric

Ragnfrid: Melancholic-phlegmatic

Try it, it’s fun!

A look ahead:

I read The Master of Hestviken (Archer translation) 1.5 times. The first time: fascinating, very exciting to see what happens next. The second time: snooze-fest. And the characters irritated me. I couldn’t make it farther in that reading, even though I know the final book is so exciting.

Could Nunnally do for the second book of Olav (aka “Olav broods”) what she did for the second book of Kristin (aka “our medieval Norway history lesson”)?

I checked online again and found that three years ago, Nunnally completed her translation of Olav Audunssøn, published by the University of Minnesota Press. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Also on my reading list

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Trans. Maude. Everyman’s Library

Salvation is from the Jews by Roy H. Schoeman. Ignatius Press.

Magnifica Humanitas by Pope Leo XIV, Vatican.va

Woven Words, an anthology of short poems featuring the work of Stanislaus County youth poets

In the spirit of Women’s History Month and eagerly anticipating a presentation by Hughson High School athletes, Hughson Historical Society President Spiro moved rapidly through the agenda, connecting topics to the month’s theme and celebrating the opportunities available to women.

A new museum window display showcases women’s apparel throughout the ages. While Spiro praised the beauty of the clothing, she said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t live in those clothes. We used to wear shorts under our dresses because we weren’t allowed to wear pants to school.” Spiro graduated in 1972.

Members spoke about the 1970 Hughson High School Powder Puff game. At the time, the girls competed in the boys’ uniform and equipment and played tackle football. “Just think how tough we were, girls!” Spiro said to the students.

The Class of 2024 students were visibly impressed, especially Madison Duran, who expressed her childhood desire to be allowed to play tackle football. In 1971, the girls refused to play in the Powder Puff game when they were required to play flag football instead of tackle. “They thought us too precious,” Spiro said.

Past President Janet Camagna offered a look back at sports in Hughson. Some members present recalled their time in athletics in the 1950s. Some played on the Girls Athletic Association, playing half-court basketball on Saturdays.

Councilmember Julie Strain said that future Olympic athlete Pat Daniels ran on the track team at her high school in San Jose.

Camagna recognized Susan B. Anthony's role in women’s advancement and the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women the right to vote. “My mother was nine years old. She was part of the first generation to be able to vote. You have to ask, why didn’t they have the right?” Camagna said, “Yes, we have made progress, but, oh, how slow it has been.”

Camagna exhorted everyone to get out to vote that day. “Every election is important. Never throw away your vote.”

On Facebook, Camagna posted photos of the first yearbook of Hughson Unified High School in 1914. “Since then, the girls have struggled for more sports and recognition. Over 100 years have passed, and women still have to struggle for facilities, coaches, and school financing to play sports that are equally available to girls. In the 1950s, when I attended HUHS, the girls had ‘play days’ with other schools once in a while as part of our extracurricular sports experience.”

Members noted how progressive the staff at Hughson High School got them into track and basketball games and workout routines with the male athletes. Spiro said, “In Hughson, a small farm community, the women are partners with their husbands on the farm. You get out on the tractor, and you put on the gloves. It shows historically over time.”

Another member said, “It’s also the advantage of a small high school. You get to try many things; you can make the team. If you’re on a huge team, only the developed athletes have the chance.”

Members spoke warmly of a coach from the 1950s who, now in her nineties, still plays golf daily.

The Hughson Historical Society's meetings are a time to share, recollect, and actively work to preserve and promote the city's history. By inviting guest speakers and their families to attend, as in March’s meeting, the opportunity to exchange recollections and hear present-day experiences opens the door to learning what was achieved in the past and how the work of past generations has benefited the future.

Student speaker Madison Jenks said at the close of their presentation, “Because of the work that was put in before us, we’re able to have these opportunities. Many of us, before we started this presentation, took it for granted. Being able to learn history and see where we’ve come from is something that will make us forever grateful.”

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on March 12, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications and is committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

Undset lived from May 20, 1882, to 10 June 10, 1949. She lived in Norway until 1940, when she moved to the United States to escape the Nazi occupation. She returned to Norway in 1945. Her parents were atheists, and Undset considered herself agnostic for much of her life. Like many others, the First World War created a crisis of faith for her, culminating in her reception into the Catholic Church in 1924. Undset won the Nobel prize for literature in 1928 for her epic works set in the Middle Ages, titled Kristin Lavransdatter and Olav Audunsson (titled in its first English printing, The Master of Hestviken in its first English translation)

When Undset writes, she is not merely telling a story. She paints a portrait of a person. What makes her one of the greatest of authors is her ability to peer into the fullness of an individual and share the story from that person’s point of view. Every human being has strengths and weaknesses. Every human person has a limited understanding of himself. Events happen, sometimes very big events and sometimes very small events that awaken in us the truth we needed to know, or they are the straw that finally breaks us to do what we know to be right. Very few of us get it right the first time. We have illusions of what we can do, of what we are strong enough to withstand, and of what we like or dislike. Under these illusions, we may find ourselves in circumstances we never expected.

Undset is capable of seeing the full range of human experience. She causes you to love a rake like Erland in Kristin Lavransdatter. You pity the hard-hearted daughter of Olav Audunsson. You sympathize with the bourgeois bored housewife in Images in a Mirror, and like her, you wonder, is there more than this? Life with four children does seem a drudgery. What took the spark out? These are all questions we ask ourselves in similar situations. Undset saw that even in the most mundane, routine lives, we are still alive, still thinking, breathing, looking about us, and more than anything else, we are still longing.

What will we do with this longing?

The time and period in which Undset writes are pivotal in grasping the magnitude of the questions she asks. She lives in a secularized Lutheran anti-Catholic modern world of artists and writers to whom love, truth, and beauty are ideals of a distant past with no bearing on today. Marriage is nothing. Divorce is nothing. Sex outside of marriage is nothing. It all comes to naught. We do not have even free will, only what we feel.

What a perfect backdrop to place the woman of Images in a Mirror, who married for love, bore children she loves, and is loved by a faithful, hardworking husband who will find a way to give her the rest she needs after an illness.

Undset wrote Images in a Mirror in 1917, six years after the startling and heartbreaking Jenny (1911), two years before her marriage fell apart while on holiday (1919), three years before she published Kristin Lavransdatter (1920), and seven years before she converted to the Catholic Church (1924).

These dates matter when we consider the values that Undset writes about. For the artist who moves from atheism to Christianity, the jump in worldview is considerable. We see her through her characters, searching, responding to that longing that there must be something more. Undset is not afraid to write herself into her characters. What makes her magnificent is that she does not do only this; she also considers and explores the multiple facets of those her characters encounter.

It is not always perfect. I’m not sure Vegard is as clear as he might be in the beginning, the only time the reader is allowed his perspective. I want to go back and see if this man, this salesman, she later calls him, painted as fully as he might have in the beginning? Perhaps not.

Nor are those in the life of Paul, the protagonist of The Wild Orchid and The Burning Bush. In those works, we never see beyond his perspective. The outside characters are flat when compared to the depths of those supporting roles in other works. And yet, Paul himself is a little obtuse when it comes to what he sees in others, so perhaps we simply have a limited narrator because, although written in the third-person, we are always seeing the world from Paul’s perspective.

Like many artistic temperaments, he is consumed by the fire that burns within him, such that he cannot see straight. He is lit from within and pursues the ideas as much as he humanly can.

In Images in a Mirror, Undset also considers the artistic temperament, from how an outsider reads it to how it is truly experienced. With so many competing passions, the artist follows the one that cries the loudest. But that voice must be quieted if we are to do what is right.

Did Undset face these same issues? I have not yet read her autobiography or biographies on her. It can wait a little longer. Exploring and considering the fictional characters created by this remarkable woman is enough for me right now.

I think it’s probably always best to start with what is considered an author’s best work. Kristin Lavransdatter, translated by Tiina Nunnally, may be the best place to start. For a collection of her lesser-known works, check out the selection at Cluny Media.

Stay turned for my review of the Tiina Nunnally translation of Kristin Lavransdatter.

4-H began in Hughson in 1931. The organization was founded by A.B. Graham in 1902 in Clark County, Ohio, as a learning experience for children. In 1914, Congress declared 4-H a national organization through the Smith-Lever Act. It included children ages 9 to 19. It expanded to have a primary program, with children as young as 6 doing primary division.

In 1927, 4-H adopted the 4-H pledge: I pledge my head to clearer thinking,
my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living for my family, my club, my community, my country and my world. Every monthly community meeting, after reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag, children recite the 4-H pledge. In 1931, the logo was established “to make the best better.”

Feucht participated in 4-H in Contra Costa County, where her mother was the sewing leader.

Her two sons joined Hughson 4-H in 1995. Feucht shared that Alan was born with a type of dwarfism and “was in a wheelchair for most of his younger life between surgeries and things.” She said he was completely included in every kind of activity and involvement he was able to show rabbits at the fair.

Feucht’s husband, a woodworking teacher at Turlock Junior High School, volunteered as a woodshop leader. He led the woodshop project for ten years until the boys aged out.

For many students on the college prep course, their courseloads were too full to take agriculture classes or woodshop classes. 4-H offered these students an opportunity they might not otherwise have.

Feucht told the story of Bobby Ehrmann, who was involved in woodworking throughout his years in 4-H. Ehrmann, now Dr. Robert Ehrmann, an aeronautical engineer, participated in a building competition for an aerodynamic vehicle during his time at Texas A&M, competing against colleges throughout the United States. His group won top honors. Ehrmann later told Feucht, “I have to give you credit for a lot of my success because, as a youngster, you taught me how to measure, how to build things, how to put things together correctly and how to sand and sand and sand and how to put the bright, smooth finish on things.”

Feucht said the other students could put the design together and make it work, but “they looked to Bobby for how to finish this. It made my husband cry.”

When Alan Feucht was the only child to sign up for the rabbit project, Ardie Feucht became the rabbit leader. “What’s a mom going to do?” she said. “I didn’t know about rabbits, but I learned.”

Alan continued to show rabbits throughout high school and even in college. He continued as an assistant leader, guiding members in showmanship. He has continued to volunteer for 17 years. The project grew and, in some years, saw over 60 rabbits.

After teaching archery at junior high school, Feucht added archery to their offerings as 4-H leaders. That program continued for 9 years, co-leading with her son Thomas. “My own kids still wanted to be part of it as adults and give back to the community,” she said. “It’s been kind of a family affair for me. We’ve really enjoyed being part of this community.”

Feucht said her children learned public speaking and record keeping. Through the record books, members track their expenses, seek sponsorships to offset costs and sell their animals at the Stanislaus County Fair. “This project is so important because we have the kids track costs so they understand the concept of a budget as they approach and enter high school,” Feucht explained.

The emerald project completed by her son and his peers, creating a Resource Guide for Ornamental Horticulture, is still used by the fair to this day for judging.

Peyton Silveira, Makayla Silveira, and Janet Hill presented. Peyton has been in 4-H for six years, has participated in the goat, lamb, and sewing groups, and is now the communications officer. Makayla has been a member for nine years and has shown rabbits, chickens, goats, and lambs.

When asked what skills they have learned from 4-H that apply to other areas of their lives, Makayla said that learning to take a business mindset to selling and raising animals. Makayla explained, with business-like composure, that she did not sell her two lambs last year. Instead, a wild dog attacked them, but she plans to raise lambs and try again.

Janet Hill is in her fourth year of 4-H. She is now a youth leader for the rabbit group and went from owning one market rabbit part of the year to raising seven breeding rabbits year-round. As youth leader, she helps at primary and youth meetings, passes out papers and helps younger members with their showmanship routines. Her work with 4-H helped her go from a shy, quiet participant to a leader. Hill explained the responsibilities members take on, from rising at 6:30 a.m. to feeding animals before school to exercising them to feeding them dinner before eating dinner oneself.

Children seek sponsorships to help offset the costs of their animal projects. Hill creates a presentation and goes to potential sponsors with a gift basket in hand. She tells them about herself and her animal and asks them to consider supporting her project.

4-H is open to any child in Stanislaus County. Those who plan to attend Hughson High School and want to raise animals but lack the space at home to do so have access to the school farm.

4-H members meet at least twice a month, once for a community meeting in the Hughson Elementary School Cafeteria and again for their specific project, the time and place depending on the project and leader. Members participate in parades, the Hughson Fruit and Nut Festival petting zoo, and Ag Day at Hughson Elementary School. They can also attend Camp Sylvester.

Hughson, with 115 members, is the largest 4-H club in Stanislaus County. The Stanislaus County Fair has more animal entries than even the California State Fair; Feucht said, “If you do well at Stanislaus County Fair, know that you made it.”

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on April 9, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications and is committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

There is a genre of film that attaches itself to a bigger genre, usually a type of romantic comedy. This is the fashion film. It’s the film that fashionistas might not remember the plot; they watch it for the clothes. When the plot itself is also good, along with the acting, perfection.

Like architecture, like furniture design, fashion is one of the decorative arts. It is meant to be beautiful and functional.

We can review the famous cerulean monologue from The Devil Wears Prada, spoken by Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep.

“Oh... ok. I see you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet, and you select out, oh, I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean.”

Blue is blue. If you feel that way, fashion films will not all be for you. Stick to The Women (1939) for its humor and all-star cast; Sabrina (1954) with its fairytale plot, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden; Charade (1963) for is Hitchcockian plot, Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, Desk Set (1957) for its throwback technological revolution, Katherine Hepburn, and Spencer Tracy, Clueless (1995) for its clever retelling of Jane Austin’s Emma, and well, the list goes on.

But when you see blue in all the ranges, suddenly B-quality movies become enjoyable not for their storytelling, but for their beauty. Funny Face (1957), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), Stepford Wives (1975), and Downton Abbey, anything.

Since Downton Abbey (2010) and Mad Men (2007), beautiful sets and costuming have become a common trade in prestige television, so many examples are many, but let us return to the movie that never attempted to be anything else, and yet it was: The Devil Wears Prada.

To consider its sequel, we must consider its original.

The Devil Wears Prada was beautiful to look at and did it lavishly. From its opening moments, this movie was driving itself forward with scene after scene or shot after shots within a scene of a runway of outfits for the viewers’ delight.

Based on a book, it had a plot of an assistant who takes a prestigious yet entry-level job to advance her career, under the command of a woman at the top, who had to be ruthless to get there.

Less intended was the scene-stealing Emily Blunt as Emily the First Assistant, whose ad-libbed lines became part of the cultural canon that followed this film.

The plot and writing had their weaknesses. “I didn’t have a choice” comes out of Andy Sach’s lips one too many times.

On the surface, the movie appears to fault Andy for choosing to put her career above her relationships and personal health. But as the movie celebrated each transformation and fashion step forward, the message did not land with any weight. Like the power-ballad “Let it Go” from Frozen, signaling the character’s freedom, while she freezes up the kingdom she has just been given responsibility over, and she will eventually have to be convinced to leave behind. It’s too exciting to expect us to believe this moment is the wrong path.

At the end, she describes her step away as “screwing up.”

Viewers can never really get a strong hold on the narrative’s perspective.

The Devil Wears Prada is not an effective morality tale, but it’s fun. It’s biting sarcasm, fantastic acting by Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt, endearing presence of Stanley Tucci, and Anne Hathaway’s beauty (performance limited only by the screenwriting material she had to work with) made this a delightful repeat viewing for me.

So now, the sequel.

First things first, how did it function as a sequel?

Like the Gilmore Girls revival, it feasts on giving us the moments when we see our old friends as their original characters again. Unlike the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, you get the abundant sense of how much the director and writer loved and still love the original and its characters. The actors are so good that they pick up the older version of themselves near-perfectly. You can feel the expressive goofiness of Andy, now matured and capable of being a professional. Character development is nearly true to the former characters, but I would argue they push Miranda Priestly too far from her original mold.

She is fragile, as another reviewer pointed out. The fragility is not unwarranted, although ultimately over-the-top here.

The Devil Wears Prada II inhabits the modern world in which most of the world believes print media is dead or dying, cannot rely on the old financing methods and struggles to navigate the online, instant and superficial content world of the internet. The old generation that doesn’t get it. That generation is superfluous. HR restrictions are real and can get someone kicked out, even the likes of Miranda Priestly.

Even with navigating all those actually interesting problems for the characters to face, The Devil Wears Prada II falls into the greatest weakness of sequels. We had a movie that people loved the first time. Rinse, wash, repeat. The sequel takes the same development, pace, and emotions and repeats them in a new form. We have the Miranda-as-vulnerable, which moves Andy to her side; we have Andy kissing and walking backward, cutting the scene before the bedroom scene; we have the all-is-lost moment where Miranda will lose her job, and it goes on. Fans of the first movie will recognize the scenes.

But everything is more. More joy, more at stake, and more emotion.

This is a sappy movie.

I groaned. And more than once. The question “Have I taken you for granted?” had no place in this movie.

So many tears in the eyes. Anne Hathaway’s made-up eyes are burned into my brain.

The bite barely left a mark, and it was the biting humor that made the original so fresh and delightful. It was a comedy. Not a romantic comedy, not a chick-flick BBF (ahem, besties) comedy, but a straight, kind of screwball comedy without being stupid or lewd that we rarely get these days. Everything else the original tried to be, except a fashion film, was eclipsed by its humor, to its benefit.

What’s the moral of the story here?

In the 1930s, the Hays Code existed, but was not fully enforced, as Hollywood’s self-censoring of scenes and morality to keep it out of government reach. Characters who engaged in immoral acts could not just get away with it. There had to be some legal, relational, or personal punishment or conversion.

Was that what we got in The Devil Wears Prada?

In The Devil Wears Prada II, the final message is that some women love to work, and this is the thing they find joy in, and pursuing work above all else can be a really joyful thing. The sacrifice of relationships is part of that path. Miranda, in her line from the first film, is proven right; she and Andy are alike, and this film celebrates Andy’s actions to protect and advance Andy’s career.

Also, you don’t need a man to define you.

Also, it’s okay to make mistakes. We won’t do this relationship thing perfectly, and that’s okay.

And women can help each other.

It’s all fine, although I doubt the main moral of the story is particularly true. Miranda remains on top, but without work, what does she have? When one only fights for himself in life, he eventually finds himself alone, not a part of something bigger than himself that lasts beyond him and can hold him in the fragility that comes to us all. It works for now, but then we die alone, and that reality concerns me when I see it.

The film raises the question, then dodges.

But the clothes!

That’s right, this is a fashion film. It will take repeated watching to know if the weakened plotting and messages can be looked past.

Will the joy at seeing characters hold up if we watch the films back-to-back?

I loved the clothes, mostly. These are the styles we look at now, instead of the time capsule that comes with watching the original twenty years later. So I think more about my personal preferences than just the artistry of textile design.

I wonder if the quickened camera cuts of modern cinematography interfered with my ability to savor the outfits. I’m not sure.

Repeat watching will be necessary to see where it lands.

Last notes:

BJ Novak for the win – always fun to watch.

The reflection on Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” was so weird.

The banter with the contractor was fun, although chemistry was lacking.

They wasted Kenneth Branagh, unfortunately.

I will be rewatching it in the comfort of my own home one day, so it gets a tentative thumbs-up as a fashion film, but not as a film in its own right.

But from someone who gets viscerally angry when a movie is bad, that’s not too bad.

This is a Cinderella story.

What does that mean? The heart of a Cinderella story is that the underprivileged, long-suffering, usually virtuous female protagonist is given a leg up, and all her dreams come true, lifting her from the poverty she knows. The poverty may be material, but many stories reveal it is also familial. In more fleshed-out versions of the story, she is identified and chosen especially for her beauty, both inside and out. The virtues matter.

Flora is a ferret. In many hierarchies, we do not get much lower than that on the mammalian ladder. The ferret’s figure makes a perfect model for the setting and its Roaring 1920s fashion.

This is a picture book.

And the illustrations are lush! Oh my. Personality, humor, depth, color, joy, whimsy, serious fashion gravitas, and the deco, oh, the art deco! I watched a watercolor demonstration at ARCH art supplies in San Francisco, and the artist painted the dining room scene of a grand 1930s hotel. It was just like this.

I want to walk around these illustrations in real life. Art gallery in the lap, check.

The fashion, did I mention the fashion? This is my favorite historical time period. I am an avid old movie watcher. Shekels hit it just right. These are not the stereotypes of the time period; she captures the real thing. The costumes just happen to be draped on a variety of animalia instead of the rougher species of the era: the bootlegger and flapper.

What kind of ferret fairytale is this?

Fractured, or fleshed out, fairytales

The modern criticism of fairy tales, particularly the princess fairy tales, is that the reward comes too easily. Everything works out with the snap of the fingers for the protagonist. The Cinderella story by Perrault, from 1697, is as simple as it gets. As storytelling media evolve, writers try to answer the question: What motivates her? Why does she stay?

Flora is employed in the hotel. This is not a family affair. She is where she is for financial reasons.

“With a song in her heart…” Shekels describes and illustrates Flora’s inner life deftly and beautifully.

I like the newer versions of fairytales that still believe in the original story, but fill in the gaps. Grimm Brothers. The 2015 Disney live-action remake of Cinderella. The 1998 Ever After. Even the musical, Into the Woods, sits well with me for this story.

This is a traditional Perrault-style fairytale, swift in its telling, swift to its close.

I do not know how much this influences my enjoyment of this story, but I am married to a musician. The swift and happy ending came too easily for me.

If good narration brings us to a moment where all is lost, we care about the character and the resolution. I’m not sure I’m buying this retelling.

A well-known band would not be trying to work out a song the night of the performance; they would do a well-rehearsed set. They might add in new songs, but not that new, not so new that they did not realize vocals would be just the thing.

She has a song in her heart, but no vocal training, so it is unlikely that she would be such an immediate sensation, so much so that they are ready to sign her, then and there, and take her on tour.

There could have been more.

There could have been more. Maybe a little more of a backstory, so we know from where that experience came. Even the Phantom of the Opera wasn’t training up a blank slate.

Does Shekels know this, I wonder. Did she know she was bringing it in swiftly, and that’s part of the fun of a familiar story?

Some time has passed since our initial reading. There are books you read through, delighting in the language, holding your breath until that wonderful finish (An Orange for Frankie). There are books you read without interruption, ready to catch any joke (My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis). There are books you sing and laugh through, of which any interruption would spoil the rhythm (The Gruffalo). But there is another class of picture books. They are good. They are classic. They are in the canon of books I would not want to have missed. But they are strange. They are incomplete. They invite the commentary and the interruption and, dare I say, the humor of those reading them irreverently inserted.

My husband reads The Runaway Bunny as a horror story. The jokes are endless for us as well with Guess How Much I Love You. And yet we love these stories. As our oldest children entered their teens and new babies came again, we happily purchased them again.

They become part of us as we become part of the story. It’s a bit like The Neverending Story, I admit, but it becomes a beautiful shared secret among those who read it, with a chuckle and a sidelong glance that we know the real story —the story our silly parents read to us, the story our children tolerated as we read it aloud. They loved the picture; we loved the unity of an inside joke.

The illustrations: 100%. I would own this book for this reason alone.

The story: it fills the last category for me. I know there will be jokes, comments, insertions, and, hey, even some important conversations with my older children about how success and/or fame do not come easily.

Life is not a fairytale, although it speaks of the dream. It speaks to the truth of the dream. Sometimes, for a story, that is all we need.

This book is for:

The family led by a hopeless romantic who reads Jane Austen.

The family led by the artists.

The family looking for a simple, enjoyable read-aloud with beautiful language, that does not require long discussions, but invites it, the readers so wish.

I came to My Type of Holiness: Striving for Sainthood with the Temperament God Gave Me as an interested-in-the-subject person of the book. I learned about the temperaments in college, immediately found it applicable to my life and in seeing the comments, - finally a book on holiness for phlegmatics – I thought immediately this is the book for my husband, ahem, me!

In all fairness, when it came, my non-reader husband immediately wanted to take a look at it. I first encountered Rose Sweet through a divorce ministry an acquaintance asked me to volunteer with, leading small group discussions following video segments. She struck me as intuitive, intelligent, rational, and on the money as to people’s wounds. When I saw her name attached to this title, I was hooked.

I have never read anything by Rose Sweet.

Like many self-help style books from Our Sunday Visitor, the tone is conversational, but this one comes as well-informed. There are the obligatory reflection questions and speculation about saint temperaments at the end of each chapter, but they are ancillary to the meat of the chapter.

I wanted a book on the path to holiness as it applies to temperaments. But much of the book is really an introduction to the temperaments.

Such an introduction is needed, I grant you, and a well-balanced update to the archaic literature we might be using.

Sweet hits all the important points. And she actually hits the psychological literature, too.

What a temperament is.

And what it isn’t.

And how these other factors influence how we present. The temperament is the thing we’re born with. The personality is the nature/nurture thing that develops early on. Spot on.

Life circumstances bring out particular aspects. Life circumstances lead us to mask certain aspects.

Family systems.

Rose Sweet gets it in a modern, updated way.

She gives it as a life and relationship coach who is clearly dishing out this information regularly.

And that means, she has very few sources.

This is my great lament of books like this. There are some references, but for the most part, her information is very much integrated in her own mind so as to flow out as easily as a coaching session, but the reader does not have the benefit of the sources from which she first learned it.

Nevertheless, this is the absolute best introduction to the topic. And by the last third, she really does touch on holiness in an enlightening and remarkable way.

I wish there were more.

Personally, her balanced, well-rounded, all circumstances explored look at the temperaments was personally enlightening for me, a person well familiar with the theory.

I have a child who is a sanguine.

As a no-nonsense, let’s get this done choleric/let’s be quiet, read, and think deep thoughts melancholic, his personality has been a challenge both in parenting and during the homeschool day.

Many a behavior we thought, Why is he like this? What is wrong with him?

It turns out, a great lot of us are temperamentally… quiet.

And he is not.

So she has my interest piqued.

But it isn’t a deep dive by any stretch of the imagination. And I’m left wanting more.

The other revelation is her articulation of the weaknesses each temperament will fall into, and their strengths when living a life of virtue.

I said to my husband, whose advice on holiness has always been pray more, lead more, attend mass more – what if you just tried to focus these God-given abilities towards patience, kindness, peacefulness to God, and asked him to guide you in them? And there was silence.

Because when we hit on this path, this is something about the way God made us, and maybe he loves us and wants him for himself, but maybe we’re also okay, just the way we are, there isn’t much response except silence – wonder and awe.

So I recommend this book. Wholeheartedly. To all who will read it.

Attendees shared recollections of scouting campouts, cooking, service projects, Cub Scouts attending in the basement of the Hughson Baptist Church, bike rides down the Oregon coast, and the many efforts to earn those badges, including a few mishaps.

Special guests Richard Worley and Melissa Worley spoke about local Scout troops and their history with the programs.

Richard Worley leads the Hughson Scout Troop 27. Worley shared his recollections about Troop 27 and their projects, and showed his Scout uniform, explaining the meaning of various badges and symbols.

“I started at eight years old, and I'm now 72. It’s taken a long time, but I've had a lot of fun and enjoyed meeting many people. I'm an eagle, class of 1965, my son's an eagle, class of 1993, and my grandson is now a Cub Scout,” he said.

Currently, the scout troop has five boys and four adults. “Our troop is, as little as it is, probably one of the more active units in the district right now. Last summer, with summer camps closed, a family member had a cabin, and the boys went down there. They planned their own campout, did their cooking, went fishing, hiking, did all the stuff they would normally do at summer camp and had a great time.”

Worley shared Boy Scout books from several decades, “When you first join, you get a book you go through different steps. Each book has all of requirements that you need—the requirements of changed over the years. For instance, I think in one of these, you’re are supposed to know how to stop a wild team of horses. They also had to know Morse code, which I had to know from scouting, but that has been discontinued with the GPS situation in cell phones.”

Service forms an important component of Scouting. Worley shared, “We're down to a little bit smaller amount of scouts, but we're still doing service projects. We've helped Tammy Lee with the Christmas baskets for the last couple of years by counting out rice and beans and doing whatever to fill the baskets that they give out at Christmas. That's been a joy for us to do, as well, in the future, we're still talking about going to Hawaii for summer camp. We're going to try and start our tri-tip barbecue Fundraiser dinner again on the 29th of April. Be looking for that if you would, and we would enjoy serving you.”

He said, “There are over two and a half million eagles in the United States. If you average a hundred hours of service hours for each project, that adds up to a few. It's a wonderful program.”

Melissa Worley’s presentation focused on levels within Girl Scouts, the various badges and Girl Scout Cookies. When the Girl Scouts first began selling cookies in 1917, scouts made the cookies themselves. Troops receive the cookies during President’s Day Weekend and sell them during the next four weeks outside local stores and door-to-door. For every box sold, $4 goes back to Girl Scouts supporting camps and the local troop itself.

She explained the troop votes on what they will do with the profits from cookie sales. For one service project, the girls purchased books, went to a local preschool, read the books to the students, and then they donated the books to the preschool. They recently toured and donated to Hope’s Chance Horse Sanctuary, a local nonprofit that rescues horses.

Melissa said, “I love hearing all your stories about it. The rewards are not always seen. Hearing your stories and your memories of it helps me know that I am making memories with the girls.”

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on March 2, 2022. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications and is committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209-358-5311.

Stockton Diocese Bishop Myron Cotta celebrated the mass. A reception followed with food provided by parish ministries. In the background, a slideshow displayed photos from the parish directories over the years.

Portuguese and Italian immigrants founded the parish in 1922, naming it after a saint beloved by both cultures, St. Anthony of Padua. He was a Franciscan friar, doctor of the church, patron of the poor, born in 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal, and died on June 13, 1231, in Arcella, Verona [Italy]. St. Anthony was canonized in 1232.

According to the parish, “In January 1918, Father James Delahunty celebrated the first Mass in Hughson, in the home of Mrs. A.J. Serpa. Catechism classes followed. For two years this mission community moved from home to home celebrating the sacraments until Father James Galvin rented Northway's Hall in Hughson for Sunday Masses and a Sunday school. This generated enough enthusiasm among residents that they began planning for a church. The mostly Portuguese community pledged enough money for a new church, where the first Mass of this young parish community was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1921.”

Phillips served as the first pastor of the parish.

The church was dedicated on Christmas Day 1922. Designed by Phillips it was an “A-frame building with stucco exterior, metallic sheeting and wooden wainscoting interior, it measured 90 feet by 42 feet.” The parish occupied one acre. On the remaining space on the property, there was alfalfa for sale.

Janet Camagna, the President of the Hughson Historical Society, remembers attending mass with her grandfather at the old St. Anthony’s. Camagna and her grandfather walked from their ranch across the high school to the church and attended mass. “I remember doing this, everybody was so big and I didn't quite know what was going on.” Afterward, they walked to a neighbor’s house. “They would have donuts or they would have various pastries and you would walk in the back door and there was this wonderful room.”

That tradition continues with coffee and donuts after Sunday masses today, although instead of a house down the street, it takes place in the Hughes Hall on the parish campus.

“For people who lived in Europe,” Camagna explained, “if there had been wars if they had been uprisings, famines, whatever, big families they had nothing to give the other children in the family, you had to look for something else. In the case of my own family on my father’s side, my grandfather was one of six children. There were no jobs. Father was working two different jobs and so then they had to look to see what else was going on. He heard land was being given in Canada to people that would make the trip like we did in this country giving land to people who would come across settle and work the land. That was very intriguing so that people would pull their money together. The appeal of getting land, getting a start was something that was irresistible.”

In 1967, the church building was completed along with a church hall with kitchen facilities and three classrooms where the Holy Family Sisters and lay people gave religious instruction to the children. Other facilities have been added since. In the 1990s, a chapel for daily mass and adoration was added to the parish rectory. After the COVID-19 shutdown, daily mass moved from the chapel to the church to allow for more spacing between people.

On May 29, 2022, Cordeiro opened a new chapel for prayer within the parish office. The chapel was designed by Cordeiro with a tabernacle from Mexico and artwork made from wood to represent a mountain range referencing Mount Sinai and the three Persons of the Trinity, Cordeiro said. Those who would like to visit the chapel may contact the parish office, 7820 Fox Road Hughson, Ca 95326, for more details.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on June 13, 2022. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications and is committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

Though much of the Starn family history is recorded in a 1971 booklet created by the family, the delay in holding the dinner due to COVID-19 has allowed additional time to gather information. Starn has acted as contact man and historian as his family pieces together their family story for the presentation at the annual dinner. Starn shared with the Hughson Historical Society a collection of documents he found in the process.

Starn opened his presentation with a brief overview of family dates. Most family members began immigrating to the Central Valley at the beginning of the 20th century. Starn held up a picture postcard of Swanson’s in Hughson in 1911. He pointed out that there were “not too many buildings that make note of. In fact, there's not too many trees either. It's kind of barren.”

Attendees were unable to identify the location of Swanson’s in Hughson as one of the earliest buildings.

Starn then handed out a history of the Women’s Improvement Club written by his grandmother, Lula Starn, in 1959 for its 50th anniversary. “There were Women's Improvement Clubs in a lot of towns up and down the valley. They had a statewide association, which they belonged to,” Starn explained. He said the clubs disbanded in 1971, but from the time of their founding until then, they were integral to the City of Hughson. Historical Society members agreed.

“When you read the history, it's really interesting because from 1909 through 1959, the history of the Women's Club parallels the growth and development of Hughson, and you can see exactly how important this club was to Hughson's development,” Starn said. “You have to remember, in 1909, the government wasn't giving out money left and right. It was up to the community themselves to make all the improvements and raise all the money to do all the work. And, of course, who does all the work in most communities?”

Attendees answered, and he agreed, “The women.”

Starn pointed back to the original photo he showed, “Do you notice in this picture it’s devoid of any trees? One of their first projects in 1909 was to plant trees.” Members recalled town events surrounding Arbor Day. Trees were planted and watered by hand before irrigation was in place along the town's main streets.

Carrie Shrader, a member of the Women’s Improvement Club, advocated for tree planting in the park now named after her.

Other activities in the club included aid toward school equipment, school embellishment, school sanitation, school and community library, a community center home, home gardening, holiday celebrations. “The women took on more and more responsibilities in their plan for a more desirable home place.”

Women’s Improvement Clubs still exist around the county and began as part of a national Women’s Club Movement based on the idea that women had a responsibility to help transform public policy and improve social conditions where they lived. In the 1960s, membership waned as women found other opportunities for socializing. According to Martin E. Comas, writing for the Orlando Sentinel, longer work hours and children’s extracurricular activities continue to impact the ability of young women to participate in such organizations.

Hughson continues to enjoy the benefit of fraternal organizations including the Odd Fellowes who recently opened membership to women, the Young Ladies Institute for Catholic women or Knights of Columbus for Catholic men, the American Legion and Sons of the American Legion, the Hughson Lion’s Club chartered in July 2018, and Citizens for a Healthy Community.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on July 20, 2022. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

The Tractor Rodeo and Implement Show began in 1950 through the efforts of Hughson's young homemakers and young farmers. The young farmers went as delegates to a convention in Oregon in 1949. They returned with plans to bring such an event to Hughson, the peach capital of the world, to help the farmers find equipment and learn about new equipment.

Frank Patterson, a former chapter advisor, suggested the Tractor Rodeo as a possibility. Implement and truck dealers brought equipment to the show and added a “rodeo” demonstration. The rodeo was open to all persons, male or female, high school age or over.

The Hughson Tractor Rodeo featured tractor implement dealers. Farm implements were placed along the football field.

A parade was held down Main Street.

It started as a one-day affair and grew to two days. It included a free “bean feed” donated and cooked by local farmers and homemakers in enormous pots purchased from a Portuguese dealer in a nearby town. The beans were baked and served with canned peaches and whipped cream. During the Hughson Tractor Rodeo, four giant pots of beans served the community meal to 2000 people in 20 minutes.

According to Hughson Historical Society Members, people looked forward to the community meal. Some came with their pots to take beans home. After getting through the line, some visitors took their full plates right to the back of the line and ate in line while waiting to go through again.

The Tractor Rodeo included farm clinics, welding clinics, farm safety demonstrations, horse-pulling contests, a street parade and more. The day closed with the presentation of the Dairy Princess Contest Winners.

As one of the youth involved in the Tractor Rodeo, Former Mayor Dave Spears said to the Hughson Historical Society, “The beautiful thing about the Tractor Rodeo was the young farmers. The young farmers developed us as young people, and it put a lifetime tie between all of us.

“I was a peach picker. They were the peach growers and owners, but we were still all family. They taught us a lot of skills and a lot of things to do in and around the community. They taught us skills that the school didn't know how to teach us, but they did it from the ranch: how to communicate and how to come along and work together. They hired a bunch of us because they saw we were willing to get up early and stay late to work and help because we were willing to learn. A lot of the success that went into the Tractor Rodeo goes to all of you people because it was you, as your husbands, your sons, who came alongside us and supported and helped us.”

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on April 24, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

Leticia Cavazos presented, representing the Carranza family, who opened Carranza Pharmacy in 1986, to share about the family.

Cavazos said she comes from a family of 13 children, “My younger brothers and sisters have been very successful, and I think that we couldn't have done it if it wasn't for the older brothers and sisters. We stand on their shoulders.”

The Carranza children of Rosa and Ignacio Carranza are Dolores, Maria de Jesus, Martha, Amador, Ignacio, Maria Luisa, Flora, Amparo, Rosa, Jose Luis, Javier, Leticia, and Alida.

Cavazos described her mother as a firecracker, 4’ 4”, and widowed in 1961 when Cavazos was only four years old and her youngest sibling was nine months old.

According to Cavazos, Rosa said, “We need to go to America to get a better future to give my kids an opportunity.” And so she packed up 12 of her children and one daughter-in-law, and the family went to Tijuana to arrange for their papers to enter the United States. Cavazos recalled the different jobs held by other family members and spoke of their strong work ethic. "Everything you do, you do well. Be proud of the work you do,” she said.

The last of the siblings were able to enter the United States from Tijuana in 1963.

With family in Redwood City, the Carranzas tried to find jobs in the Bay Area, but not everyone could find work. A family member recommended they pick peaches in Hughson. When they arrived, Charlie Bogetti helped them with housing. She recalled that Ignacio worked with Martin Pohl and recognized the roles of Ed Little, Heraldo Chiesa, and Floyd Zeiger, who helped the family get established and find employment. "It was a very welcoming community, for the most part."

Two of her sisters left school to work, giving the younger siblings a better chance. A teacher named Mr. Williams encouraged Jose, the founder of Carranza Pharmacy, not to give up his education to work. "Don't give up on me," he said. Williams found a job for Jose with Bud and Verna Vierra at the pharmacy sweeping up or running the register.

Cavazos said her brother observed what the pharmacist did and realized it was something he also could do one day. People in his life thought it impossible but his response was always, "I'll find a way." Jose attended classes at MJC, starting his day at 4 a.m. to work in the fields and then go to school. He dreamed of opening a bilingual pharmacy. That dream became a reality after graduation and ten years of working at Long’s when Jose opened Carranza Pharmacy in Hughson in 1986.

Cavazos attributes the family’s closeness and successes to what their mother did for them and taught them. "We were the poorest of the poor, but we never felt it," she said. Rosa emphasized the importance of family, a strong work ethic, pride in your work, and always doing your best.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on June 10, 2023. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

And so, in place of the first Tuesday of the month Historical Society Meeting in November 2024, the Hughson Historical Society joined together with the American Legion, Hughson residents, and family members of Howard Hiram “Hi” Hughson in the Pioneer Cemetery at Lakewood Memorial Cemetery and Funeral Home for the long-delayed headstone dedication of Hughson.

Danee Hutsell, pre-planning advisor at the Lakewood ceremony, led the service. In 2023, Hutsell joined the cause and researched how this could have happened. Through their research, Hutsell and Camagna discovered Paul Memorial in Pacific Grove, with Hughson’s niece, Hetty Eddy, handling arrangements for Hughson’s burial in 2006. Hughson’s will expressed the desire to be buried at Lakewood. When Paul Memorial could not reach Eddy by phone to approve the headstone, the design and placement went unapproved. Eddy returned to her home, away from the town, and was told by a family member that the headstone was in place. Over time, the grass began to grow.

When Ken and Carol Lundell discovered Hughson’s uniforms in an antique store in Monterey, they contacted the Historical Society to donate the uniform, a memorial book of photos and other memorabilia from Hughson they found in the shop. This set Past President Janet Camagna on the hunt for more information. She visited Lakewood Cemetery to photograph the gravesite and discovered that for 18 years, no headstone marked the grave.

“It was the Lundell family’s donation of military artifacts and photos, which they gifted the Hughson Historical Society, that sparked my interest in finding his gravesite which led me in a quest to put the wheels in motion to accomplish the goal of giving him the headstone he so richly deserved,” Camagna said.

Howard Hughson was born on September 15, 1918. He was a Navy captain during WWII, and he survived 29 battles in the South Pacific, including Pearl Harbor. He received five silver stars, four bronze stars and a Purple Heart. For 44 years, he lived in Pebble Beach and worked as a banker in Monterey prior to retirement. He died of complications related to cancer on March 26, 2006.

Hughson Historical Society President Cindy Spiro said, “His life journey took him all over the world, and yet he desired to remain in eternal rest in Hughson, California, named after his grandfather. Hiram Hughson. Perhaps he has fond memories of being a young boy visiting his grandparents on the farm. Or maybe he fished at the river, just down the hill. Nobody knows the reason for his decision, but for 18 years, his presence here was unknown.”

Hughson’s cousin, Melinda Garratt Nichols, offered a history of Hughson and his great-grandfather, interweaving the historical narratives that link these two men together across generations in war, injury, and wisdom.

Hughson grew up in Woodland and Piedmont, California, before attending UC Berkeley and law school at the University of Oregon. On February 28, 1941, Hughson was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He was assigned to the destroyer, the USS Maury, in Pearl. Harbor, Hawaii. On the Pacific, Hughson was “a true example of superb leadership,” she said. “Howard had the ability to use his talent, skills, and emotional intelligence to mobilize people to a common cause and make a difference in their lives.”

But it was Eddy’s testimony that highlighted the heart within the man.

Without his own children, Hughson had a warm and kind relationship with his niece. With her and others, “Uncle Hi” was jovial, kind, friendly, and lit up a room with his presence. When he corrected employees, he did it in such a way “that made them strive to do better. He was a person that he could get along with anybody.”

His legacy was passed on to another generation. As Eddy’s son came into adolescence for the first time, Hughson began to share the stories of the battles he had seen and the experiences he had. “My son was very grateful for that,” she said. Time does heal some wounds.”

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on November 19, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications and is committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

The Boggeri Family

Sandro and Arolido Chiesa came to the United States in 1903 from Selvangassi, Italy, encountering New York City and culture shock. According to their great-granddaughter, Angela Pajaro, the two brothers were amazed at the number of churches…and at aerosol cans, subsequently covering the backseat of the car with shaving cream.

Victoria was known for her kindness and compassion, still talked about generations later.

The family worked together to dig out the basement in the Boggeri Hughson farmhouse, leading to legendary stories of family gatherings in that basement centered on food in true Italian tradition.

But on ordinary days, the women worked at the cutting shed. The men worked tirelessly. “Every success they accomplished, they accomplished together.”

Of the 13 descendants of Louis Boggeri, eight still live on the original acreage purchased in 1918.

The Pohl Family

Deronda and Alice Pohl, along with her brother David Pohl, moved from Prussia to Missouri, to Texas, and finally, to Hughson. One move was motivated by neighbors who threatened violence against their dry-goods store during World War II because of their German accent. The family survived the depression by sewing sacks for beans in exchange for free beans each week.

Deronda Pohl played piano, even on the rooftop, while another well-known Hughson resident, Sam Vaughn, played bass.

Martin Pohl designed a peach grader and made other advancements for large-scale farming. Janet suspected her ancestors might look at the advancements and say, “My goodness, son, what have you done with our farm!”

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on August 27. 2019. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

To subscribe to the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch, a print-only weekly newspaper, call 209-358-5311

The Hotel Hughson is not to be confused with another hotel in Hughson’s name built by Luella Hughson, the widow of Hiram Hughson, who opened The Hotel Hughson in Modesto.

Hughson Hotel’s history begins in 1907, when the Gillette Hotel was moved from Ceres to Hughson by Charles Flact and Charles Minniear. The two-story structure was cut in half for the five-mile move along Whitmore Road. The first half was moved by two 65-horsepower island engines and 60 two-headed mules over three weeks. The second half was moved by mules alone and took half a week.

An additional floor was built under the hotel after it arrived on the northwest corner of Hughson Avenue and Third Street. In 1908, the $25,000 three-story Hughson Hotel opened. “It housed drummers traveling through the area and provided lodging for teachers, salesmen, etc. Every room had an outside window view, with the coast range on one side, snow-capped sierras on another, and the endless sweep of the beautiful San Joaquin Valley in front and back.

In its first decade, the town showed outdoor movies projected onto the hotel's wall. James V. Date, Hughson’s first fire commissioner and manager of the Hughson Hotel and next-door livery stable, sponsored the movies to promote local shopping. He built an annex to the left, connecting it to the hotel. The annex housed a barber shop, real estate office, pool hall, and soda and snack concessions.

After 117 years, the Hughson Hotel is still standing. It is now the Odd Fellows Hall at 6943 Hughson Avenue.

The IOOF was chartered in Hughson on April 28, 1922, 102 years ago. Today, you’ll see their mission, “to improve and elevate the character of mankind,” carried out by philanthropic projects and social activities for the entire community to gather and form relationships.

The IOOF was organized in Hughson in 1944. As an international fraternity, the Odd Fellows have existed for centuries, with the earliest documentation from 1730. It exists as one of the oldest fraternal societies. Internationally, its membership totals millions.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on August 4, 2023. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

Vernon and Lawrence “Bud” Vierra shared the family's known history with humor and nostalgia, painting a portrait of the heart and strength of their success, especially from their mother, Eathel. The family legend shares that Frank Oliver's father immigrated from the Azores as a stowaway in a boart. "By the time he got here, he was captain of the ship," they said. The family ended up purchasing land on Clinton Road, though how they arrived in Hughson, the brothers could not say.

Their maternal grandmother lived in the Midwest with her husband and five children. He sent her and their children to Humboldt County and told his wife, "I will follow you in two weeks," Bud said. "They never heard from him again."

From Fortuna to Patterson, the family moved and settled until Eathel met Frank and convinced him to sell the ranch and settle on 6th Street. Vernon was born in 1938, and Bud in 1940. Bud's actual name is Lawrence, but he earned the nickname Buddy when Vernon could not pronounce "brother," so he stayed until he shortened Buddy to Bud in college.

Camagna asked the brothers if specific teachers inspired them to become pharmacists. Bud responded emphatically, "No teachers inspired me," before relaying several stories of his experience at Hughson High School.

"Who inspired you?" Camagna persisted.

"It was Eathel," Vernon said.

The brothers shared that after the owner of Hughson Pharmacy would not allow their mother to purchase a prescription on credit, she determined her two sons would become pharmacists.

Describing life and mischief in Hughson, Bud said, "We knew everybody, and everybody knew us." Those connections down the line impacted their family and the town for generations. In college, Vernon roomed with Ronny Clements, who planned to open a pharmacy. After graduating from UOP, Vernon bought a share of Ceres Drugstore and used the money from Ceres Drug to open Vierra Pharmacy in 1968. Seven years after making his first offer, he purchased Hughson Pharmacy. The Vierras hired Jose Carranza and employed his siblings after he left for college. Carranza would later open Carranza Pharmacy, which still operates in Hughson today.

As the pharmacy landscape changed and health insurance companies heavily impacted the ability of independent pharmacies to earn a profit, the brothers decided to sell the pharmacy and work for larger chains until retirement. They closed the pharmacy in 1992. Bud worked until he turned 80. Vernon worked for twenty years in north Modesto.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on August 4, 2023. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

The Hughson Institute was chartered on May 15, 1949, and remains an active and vibrant part of the parish. Its members range from age 14 to 95.

YLI was founded in San Francisco on September 5, 1887, by Mary E. Richardson, Emily Coogan and Annie Sweeney. Sweeney lived with another young woman who contracted tuberculosis and had no other support than her friends.

The women rallied together to help her.

That decision led to the idea of a society of young Catholic women who could provide material and social assistance to other women. Under the guidance of Fr. John J. Prendergast, Vicar General of the Archdiocese, they petitioned their friends to meet at Washington Hall, 35 Eddy Street in San Francisco. One hundred fifty women came.

Soon, eight institutes were erected in San Francisco, Grass Valley, Nevada City and Benicia. Twenty-five delegates attended YLI’s first convention in St. George Hall on Market Street in San Francisco in April 1888.

Small-sized institutes facilitated members’ ability to provide personal care and service to one another, caring for sick sisters and even assisting with funeral expenses. YLI ran a relief station following the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, utilizing the funds held by the Institute until banks reopened. They helped women with clothing and other material goods. During World War I, members joined the Red Cross and formed the largest unit in San Francisco. They established Catholic centers in neighborhoods of large military camps.

YLI institutes spread to Central California, where the largest concentration of membership exists today.

In Hughson, Mary Pimental, Hazel Genzoli and Doris Mays were among the charter members of Antoinette Institute #193. The local parish priest initiated it, seeking out Pimental to present the idea. He recruited more women from the parish. The group of young women met twice a month and pursued those same ends, material and social support, as the charter members of what is now known as YLI Grand Institute.

Institutes follow Robert’s Rules of Order for their meetings and are led by a president elected annually and officers. The same structure is mirrored at the national level. In the early 1980s, the Grand President initiated the first Grand President’s Program to create ways to address the needs of the local church.

Genzoli’s daughter, Dyan Hollenhorst, is an active member today. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch spoke with Hollenhorst, who said, “It was all founded on the idea of women helping each other.” Today, as during their founding, the heart of their work was to ask, “What does father need? How do we support the community? How do we support each other?”

The Institute produced a monthly newsletter called the “Yak Yak,” which included pregnancy announcements and other news.

Hollenhorst grew up surrounded by that social network. Recalling “a childhood of Christmas, swim parties, and family picnics hosted in conjunction with Knights of Columbus.” She said, “That was where our parents socialized.”

While a branch of YLI exists for Catholic Men, called the Young Men’s Organization, at St. Anthony’s, Hollenhorst said YLI has always been linked with the Knights of Columbus. Wives joined YLI, husbands joined the Knights of Columbus, and the families supported parish life and Catholic action. With this partnership, the women’s only organization did not feel like a group that excluded men because they were “men and women working together for a common mission.”

Hollenhorst joined at 16. “I remember, as a teenager, one of the women having cancer. The other women came together and helped her. I was so young I just knew what YLI was. It was always part of my world.”

When someone died, or a baby was born, other members brought food. “That’s just what you did in their time of great need.” She said, “I knew that’s what we did, but I never understood the impact until it was my mother we were burying, and this group of women just came together and carried me through this life event.”

As a young mother, she said, “It was the idea of experiencing an evening out with women friends that attracted her back to the institution.”

Charter member Mary Pimental drew Hollenhorst into serving as an officer. “One of the beautiful things about YLI is the leadership and opportunities for leadership and growth that it gives.”

As Hollenhorst’s children grew, she returned to college and graduated from California State University Stanislaus in 2002. She earned her masters from the Franciscan School of Theology in 2008 and became Chancellor of the Stockton Diocese in 2018. Without the leadership skills she learned in YLI, Hollenhorst said she would not be where she is today.

The women’s organization, where “We can be wholeheartedly unapologetically ourselves,” started as a sisterhood of young women and has evolved into an intergenerational organization. You can have sisters, aunts, surrogate moms or grandmas; we span all the generations. The young ones keep us young and can help with some of the activities we used to do but, physically, maybe we can’t anymore. We share the wisdom that we’ve gained. We’ve learned from each other.”

YLI Grand President Esther Vasquez attended the anniversary celebration in Hughson.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on May 21, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

The Hughson Post boasts over 220 members. Roy Santiago, Past Post Commander and Charter Member of the American Legion Scranton & Qualle Post 872, described the American Legion as ”a community within a community.” Because it was chartered east of Santa Fe Avenue, members include those from Denair, Salida, Riverbank, Coulterville, Waterford, Hickman, and beyond.

The four highlighted the service of many of Hughson’s heroes. “People today might be indifferent because it wasn’t high profile. We go where we’re sent. We do the job we’re tasked with, and we try to provide honor to our community and family,” Santiago said.

The American Legion was founded in 1919 by an Act of Congress by World War I veterans in Paris, France. It is open to all branches of the military regardless of combat experience. “One day of service makes you eligible,” Santiago said.

In Hughson, September 11, 2001, inspired the gathering of 22 veterans at the home of Bank of the West manager Janice Pimentel. The post was chartered in May 2002 as the Scranton and Qualle Post 872. While other names were suggested, those of Scranton and Qualle, who came from Hughson and served together in the army in World War II, fought together in the Philippines in the Battle of Bataan and survived. The two returned to Hughson and owned businesses in town. “They were totally committed to the town itself,” Santiago said. “Other names were brought up, but the two combined because they were so well-known together. It was a no-brainer that the membership voted that way.”

When chartered, John Taylor was the first elected Commander, followed by Roy Santiago, Stephanie Early call me, Steve Severn, Roy Simmons, Steve Bridgeman and Craig Cook. Taylor and Santiago would go on to be elected as 12th District Commander. In 2007, The American Legion Rider, a “club within a club,” was formed for motorcycle enthusiasts. In 2015, Keith Early made his historic ride on his motorcycle from Hughson to Baltimore, Maryland, to raise money for legacy scholarships.

Stephanie Early was one of the first female members and quickly became the first Vice President to represent Area 3. Early now resides in Florida.

The Sons of the American Legion Squadron was founded in 2007. In 2015, the Squadron was nationally recognized for donating more than $2,500 to child welfare foundations.

An American Legion Auxiliary Branch was created in 1919 for the male and female spouses, grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and direct and adopted female descendants of members of The American Legion. As its membership in Hughson waned, the Auxiliary merged with the Ceres chapter and now meets in Modesto.

The American Legion's foundation is called the “Four Pillars”: Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation, Americanism, Children and Youth, and National Security. Having established the US Flag Code, the American Legion helps to educate citizens on the appropriate handling of the American Flag. The organization has presented on Americanism in Hughson schools.

In 2015, Roy Santiago received the National Veterans Advocate of the Year award.

The American Legion donated State Caps from awards won to the Hughson Historical Museum and invited members to attend the Laying of the Wreath at the Hughson Veteran Memorial at 8 a.m. on May 27. “We lay a wreath just like they do at Arlington. We will honor the veterans from our town as long as there are people to remember,” Santiago said.

“It’s a labor of love to do some of these funerals, burials, and the ceremonies of Memorial Day. Some of us still live with a lot of issues,” Santiago explained, including spiritual, mental, and physical disability, and “survivor’s guilt over those who died on our watch.”

The Legion advocates for veterans and their families. Although nonpartisan and nonsectarian, its speeches and memorials display a strong religious emphasis; as Santiago said, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”

While material support and policy advocacy are important parts of the work of the American Legion, each presenter spoke movingly of the “brotherhood” that arises when veterans gather together, whether or not they speak directly about their military experiences.

“It’s a brotherhood you can call on. I’ve been the recipient of phone calls in the middle of the night when someone is at their darkest moments. I’ve been fortunate to talk some people out of that scenario,” Santiago said.

“I’ve seen things that I wish no one would have seen,” Ball said. Simmons and Ball spoke of the experience of living with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and the help of other Legion members and volunteer work to help them keep going. “We all have our issues, and we all come together and talk to one another, and that is what brotherhood is all about. We’re there for each other,” Simmons said.

And despite the challenges, members expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to serve and their willingness to do it again for the sake of their country.

After the presentation, Historical Society President Cindy Spiro said, “Thank you so much for your dedication to the service and to Hughson. This has been very meaningful for all of us who have family who served—for what you’ve done to protect our country to protect our way of life.”

For more information on the American Legion Scranton & Qualle Post 872 or to donate, contact Roy Santiago by phone at 408-891-6835, email at prhman@yahoo.com, or via PO BOX 178 Hughson CA 95326.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on May 21, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

Presenting the life of their mother, Barbara and George connected the details of Jo Eda Harcrow’s life to historical information, adding richness and vividness to their presentation. The eulogy, written by Ada Maria Harcrow and read by George Harcrow, conveyed the deep love and affection felt by many family members. “She had been Nana to more than we can count,” George read.

Harcrow was born in 1920, the year that women were given the right to vote, as one of five children in Texas. Her father was a working cowboy. To pay the doctor following their baby’s birth, her father bartered to break in a new horse for the doctor.

At age 14, Harcrow met Shands Harcrow, a friend of one of her older brothers. He said to her, “Don't pay any attention to the other guys because when you grow up, I'm going to marry you.” And that he did. In 1938, the two eloped when she was 18 years old. They were married for 53 years before he died.

The couple, with their first child, relocated to California, driven out of Texas by the severity of the Dust Bowl. Harcrow would live in Hughson for 70 years before her passing.

Together they had five children, Ada Maria, Don, Joe, George and Shands.

In 1942, Hacrow joined the “millions of Rosie the Riveters,” supporting the war effort and working in a shipyard as a chipper burner. George recalled seeing scars along her shoulders and chest where shards of hot metal fell from the area of a ship she was cutting.

George and Barbara recalled Harcrow’s rocking chair where she sat and hummed “Jesus Loves You” or “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” When you heard the “de dum” of the chair, they explained, “you knew you were loved.”

Harcrow was a founding member of the Southern Baptist Church in Ceres. “She did everything but drive the bus — and I did that!” George said.

“Nana’s family were her friends and her friends were her family,” Barbara said shared how she could hear her mother on the monitors in the weeks before she died praying for the family by name and friends she encountered.

Harcrow was a pioneering spirit who never stopped taking the initiative to learn new things. To learn piano, she studied through a mail-order program. She took up the organ and volunteered as a church organist for 32 years. She taught Sunday school to three generations.

Barbara highlighted “Twenty interesting things about Jo Eda “Nancy” Harcrow” and displayed the different facets of her life as wife, mother, musician, cook, maker of greeting cards, cake decorator, Sunday school teacher, seamstress, quilter, crocheter, and traveler.

Barbara played three short recordings that illustrated her mischievous and adventurous childhood and playful humor in her final days. These recordings, photos, memorabilia and colorful, dynamic stories introduced Jo Eda “Nancy” Harcrow in a personal and striking way to those present who may never have met her. Barbara concluded, “She was my most unforgettable character.”

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on November 15, 2022. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.

Each year, the dinner honors prominent or longstanding residents of the City of Hughson. Honorees create displays of family photographs and artifacts and present their families' history in Hughson. Sarah Cunningham presented a longer version of their history at the dinner.

Ham Cunningham was born on August 6, 1930, in Knob, Arkansas, the eighth of nine children, to sharecroppers Jess and Lee Cunningham. There, they grew row crops on 40 acres with two mules. The farm is still there, although the house is no longer. Dick recalled his grandmother spent time canning, preserving. They had livestock: cows, pigs, and chickens. Whatever cash came in from the crops was used for the bare necessities.

In 1937, the Dust Bowl “drove them all out.” The family moved to California in a truck owned by Lee’s brother, Owen. Lee did not know how to drive, and Owen drove the Cunninghams and some neighbors to Waterford, California.

There, Ham attended grammar school until the family moved to Empire, where his father went to work at the Lucksinger farm. He then attended Modesto High School. In his spare time, Ham worked at the farm with his father, especially during the summer, harvesting fruit. He also worked for Max Foster, then a turkey farmer, before Foster Farms entered the dairy business.

In 1946, while traveling back to California after visiting family and friends in Arkansas, Ham drove. According to Dick, Ham must have gotten tired, and Lee took over. “He probably was not a good driver,” Dick said since Lee had little experience of it. Lee and one of his daughters died in a car accident. Ham and his mother survived with injuries.

To help support his mother, Ham quit high school as a senior to go to work. His first job was at Borden's Creamery in Modesto, stacking milk cans in boxcars, earning $0.60 to $0.90 per hour.

Lorraine (Willson) Cunningham was born March 9, 1932, at home in Empire, California, to Louie and Lena Willson. Louie farmed and raised turkeys and chickens. Lena worked in the Empire School cafeteria. Lorraine attended elementary school in Empire and then graduated from Modesto High School.

Ham and Lorraine married at The Church of The Brethren in Empire on February 12, 1950, and lived in a one-bedroom house on Scenic Drive in Modesto on a farm leased by Lorraine's father.

Ham worked at Olsen Brothers Eggs as a truck driver, picking up eggs from the farm and then later delivering the eggs to stores. Lorraine worked as a secretary at the Pontiac dealership in Modesto. In 1952, Ham and Lorraine bought their first home, a three-bedroom house on Cloverdale Avenue in Modesto. After their sons, Kenneth Stephen and Richard Paul were born, they moved to Service Road in Hughson, where Ham and Lorraine leased a one-bedroom house and a chicken barn to raise chickens for JS West.

“We couldn’t wait until we got out of the chicken business because we were all in it as kids. We got to gather eggs,” Dick said. “We didn’t have the privilege Dad had of shoveling manure.”

Cindy Elaine was born in 1957. Three years later, Ham and Lorraine became full-time almond farmers and started an almond shelling business.

The kids attended Gratton School. Ham and Lorraine volunteered for the Gratton PTA and the Gratton Pit BBQ. “They were both very proud of the success of the Pit BBQ,” Dick said.

The family moved to 11131 John Fox Road in 1967, where a new almond huller was built. Ham planted almonds on the former dairy on John Fox Road and managed the farms of others, including George Foster, who farmed all of Foster's almonds.

Ham would spend many hours helping to expand and improve Hughson Youth Baseball. Dick remembers his father coaching some attendees at the meeting before he was young enough to play. Ham continued to coach, even after his children outgrew the program. Dick and his father coached one team side-by-side. Sarah Cunningham, Dick’s daughter, is current the president of Hughson Youth Baseball/Softball.

Ham was a founding board member of the California Almond Hullers Association, now known as the Almond Alliance. Ham served on the Board of Directors of the Sierra Vista Family and Child Services for 25 years. Lorraine was involved in the Hughson Methodist Church and was a founding board member of the Hughson Family Resource Center and the Hughson Historical Society.

“My mom was dedicated to her family most of all,” Dick said. “For 70 years, the Cunninghams have been part of Hughson.”

Historical Society founding member Jean Henley said to Dick at the close of his presentation, “One thing about your mom, Lorraine, if you lived in a community, you got involved in the community, and that was Lorraine.”

“Yes,” he agreed, “that was mom.”

Lorraine died in 2011. Ham now lives in Missouri.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on July 9, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is a weekly, print-only local newspaper. To subscribe, call 209–358-5311.