Two Obituaries: Emil Francis Ikola & William F. Colombi

C&M Automotive, Simi Valley, CA.

    Rudy Gargiulo, owner/operator of C&M Automotive & Transmission, was able to get my camper refridgerator working on LP-Gas; but the selector switch for changing from LP-Gas to electricity is the wrong one; hence, I'm waiting until this afternoon for that switch to arrive and be installed.

    While looking through the papers for instructions on my carbon monoxide detector I discovered several obituaries I transcribed in late November 2010 when I was at the library in Fort Bragg, CA. Here are two of those obits.
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    Emile Francis Ikola died 29 April 1968 in a Fort Bragg hospital.
    Born at Albion on 19 June 1897, he was a woodsman who worked for the Union, Willits Redwood and Aborigine Lumber Companies.
    His widow, Emma Ikola, survived along with two daughters, Sylvia Gustafson and Lillian Lemmon, all of Fort Bragg.
    Rev. Willis J. Forsyth led the funeral on May 1st.
    Burial was at Rose Memorial Park.
        [Source: 2 May 1968 Ft Bragg Advocate News]
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    William F. "Bill" Colombi of Fort Bragg died Saturday 22 April 2006 at home after a long illness. Born 29 May 1926 in Fort Bragg to Emmanuel and Sarafina Colombi, he was 79. A memorial service was held on 26 April with arrangements made by Chapel by the Sea.
    Mr. Colombi grew up in Fort Bragg, graduating from Fort Bragg High School in 1944. He was a timber faller for most of his life. He started his own lumber company at the age of 58 [and it] grew to 35 employees. He was a sergeant in the U.S. Army, serving in Europe in WWII as an MP. He was a member of the Association of California Loggers and a 60-year member of American Legion Post #76. His hobbies were spending time with his family and friends. He loved dogs and cooking.
    He was preceded in death by his grandson, Andrew Colombi, in 2000, sister, Celeste Colombi in 2002, and brother, Edward Colombi, in 2005.
    He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Jean Colombi; children: Sandy Colombi and daughters Emy Lund and Alissa Lund of Novato, Janice Davis and husband Keith and daughter Brittany of Jackson, Steve and Arlene Colombi of Fort Bragg and daughter Kristene of Citrus Heights. He is also survived by his brother, Robert, of Fort Bragg, and numerous nieces and nephews.
    In lieu of flowers, memorial to Mendocino County Hospice.
        [Source: 27 Apr 2006 Ft Bragg Advocate News]

T 8 Feb Route: Simi Valley - Lancaster - Mojave
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Early Feb Extended Route: Simi Valley - Lancaster - Mojave - Red Rock State Park - Wildrose CG (Death Vy NP) - Tecopa Hot Sprs

Abstract of Velma Dunlap Lemmon Death Certificate

Riverside Library, CA.

    Here's a recap of information gleaned from a death certificate obtained yesterday at the Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana.
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    On 10 April 1976 Velma D. Lemmon was walking in the 1300 block of E. Chapman in Fullerton, CA. About 11:10 a.m. she was struck by an automobile and suffered fractured ribs and injuries to her spine (T-11) and pelvis. She died at 12:50 p.m. with the cause of death listed as hemothorax and trauma associated with the above injuries.

    She was a resident of 510 N. Raymond Ave, Fullerton, according to her daughter, Mrs. Irene Hanna of 734 S. Walnut Ave. in Brea. She had been a resident of both Orange County and California for 42 years.

    She was born on 2 Aug 1902 in Arkansas to Mose and Maude Langham Dunlap, both natives of Arkansas. She owned her home on Raymond Avenue in Fullerton as well as the home on Walnut Avenue in Brea she had shared with her late husband, George Calvin Lemmon.

    She was buried in Memory Garden Park in Brea next to George on 13 Apr 1976.

F 4 Feb Route: Prado Regional Park - Corona - Riverside - Rancho Jurupa County Park
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Early Feb Extended Route: Riverside - Chino - Pomona - West Covina - El Monte - San
Gabriel - Pasadena - Burbank - Sun Valley - Simi Valley - Acton - Lancaster - Mojave

734 S. Walnut Ave., Brea, CA and A Near-Disaster

Ontario, CA, City Library

    I arrived at the former home of George Calvin Lemmon and his third wife Velma about 2:30p.m. yesterday afternoon hoping to find Velma's daughter Irene Hannah still living there. Instead I found a young fellow named Sergio who's likely in his late 20s or early 30s.

    He told me that his parents bought the house from Irene in 1999 and that it was vacant at the time; he also indicated that Irene had another house in the area. My guess is that Irene rented the house in which George and Velma Lemmon had lived since shortly after the latter's death in 1976 and finally tired of renting it in 1999.

    Since the house did not look like what I had expected I asked Sergio if it had been remodeled. He said that his brother had done the remodel to add more rooms. He also indicated that the original house had been built in 1955. He said that he worked in construction as an electrician and had noticed that older houses were built of better material with better craftsmanship than more recent houses.

    Also explained why I had hoped to locate Irene, someone who might explain what George did between the end of his stint as the Copperopolis copper mine superintendent near or after the end of WWII until his death in Orange County in 1973.

    I thanked Sergio and asked him where the Brea Library was. He replied that it was on Birch St in the Civic Center. It was only a short distance and I followed the signs to parking alongside the combined library, art museum, theater, city hall, and Chamber of Commerce HQ to near disaster!. The signs to parking lead underneath the building -- and I don't recall seeing any "No RVs or Campers" signs until I was almost trapped. Let a women in a small vehicle exit B4 I executed a quick 3-step turn-around. Fortunately no one came speeding out from beneath the two buildings which use the 2-lane access and egress road!

    Henceforth, there'll be no following signs to parking within cities unless I can see that the parking spots are above-ground sites. (As I drove around the complex I found more underground parking -- and their clearances were such that most NBA power forwards would have had to duck: 6-6 or 6-8.)
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    Had a beer with dinner last night for the 1st time in several months; while I could use another now after this afternoon's near-mishap, will stick with Trader Joe's "Two-Buck Chuck."

W 2 Feb Route: Prado Park - Ontario Lib - Canyon RV Park

Prado Lake County Park

Anaheim Hills, Orange County, CA

    It's easy to think of Southern California as sunny beaches. Indeed, that was the case from Seal Beach south to San Juan Capistrano. However, as I drove toward the NE on SR91, the Riverside Freeway, it became clear that there's more to Southern California than just beaches.

    There are also mountains -- and some peaks are over 10,000 feet, which is considered a significant height even in the Sierra Nevada. As you can see in the photo to the right [click once or twice for a better view of the mtns in the background], there is considerable snow on the western-most mountain in the mountains which run from San Bernardino on the right to near San Fernando on the left. And the mountains are part of two national forests: Angeles NF and San Bernardino NF.

    In fact, more than half of the campgrounds in Tom Stienstra's West Coast RV Camping, Los Angeles and Vicinity, are in national forests. And very few of them have even partial hookups (usually water & electricity); they usually have a somewhat level parking area for one's vehicle, RV, trailer, etc., a fire ring, and a table/benches combo.

    But Prado Regional Park has something many other RV parks lack: solitude or peace and quiet. Many RV Parks are developed near highways and freeways, which provides potential paying customers; but as those roads become more heavily-traveled, the background noise level grows louder. For most of us seniors, the increased noise is not a problem, but some young whippersnappers with fairly good hearing might have trouble sleeping on hot summer nights.

    And Prado's prices are somewhat lower than most: $30/night regardless of the type of RV you drive. Prices at some state and county beaches range from $45-75. The only cheaper full-connection parks I've encountered have been Woodward Reservoir near Oakdale in Stanislaus County and River Park on the NW outskirts of Lompoc.
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    While I'm working on my route for February, the main priority today is to drive to Brea to see if George C. Lemmon's step-daughter, Irene Hannah, is still alive and, if so, what she can remember of her step-father.

T 1 Feb Route: Prado County Park - Anaheim Hills - Brea - Prado County Park

Canyon RV Park

Yorba Linda Branch Library, CA

    The canyon RV Park is next to the Santa Ana River, or riverbed. [It may have some water in it now, for there were a bunch of mudhens (aka coots) feeding on things they found on the lawn, but I suspect it is dry most of the years.] In any case, despite the closeness to a big-time freeway, SR91, which is known as the Riverside Freeway, the noise at night was not bad unless it were the middle of summer and one had to leave everything open to cool an RV down.

M 31 Jan Route: Yorba Linda - Brea - Canyon RV Park

Mission San Juan Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano Library, CA.

    I almost gave up on finding the San Juan Capistrano Mission after driving by it last night and then spending over an hour trying to find it again this morning. [One of the maddening things when you take a wrong turn is that you often have to drive 3-4 miles before you can turn around; and, of course, there are the ever-present on-ramps (some of which are down-hill) onto the numerous freeways here in Southern California.]

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    Don't know if the original mission merely had a painted dome as the current version appears to or a copper roof when the term "basilica" is used. Let's see what the Wikipedia article on this mission at this link tells us. (The Wikipedia article is exceedingly long; will see if I can find a shorter history.)

 

Su 30 Jan Route: S.J. Capistrano - Fullerton

Ventura: City & Mission

Simi Valley, Ventura County, CA

    Note that Ventura is actually a contraction of the official name of the city and mission: San Buenaventura. But that's a mouthful to put on a sign. [However, I'm getting some of my own medicine, for it took me several days to realize that Cyn on road signs meant Canyon; my siblings complain that I use too many abbreviations and acronymns in my e-mail....]

    Unlike Santa Barbara, where the mission is about a mile from the the downtown area on a hill, Ventura's mission is on Main Street. While I did walk up to stairs to the right of the mission, one was required to walk through the Gift Shop to access the gardens. The walk from the main branch of the Ventura Library was longer than a librarian had estimated -- while she was thinking, I ventured "three blocks" -- so she agreed. It was actually 7 or 8 blocks. My right foot held up well and it was comfortable walking on the west, or shady, side of the main drag.

    The first photo was taken over a fountain with some very attractive blue tile; in fact, you'll see more of that tile around a planter on the mission-side of the street in the 2nd photo. Note that the mission was founded in 1782; here's Wikipedia's article on the San Buenaventura Mission. The water from the fountain ran through the above-mentioned blue tile toward the ocean.
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    Note that in both photos the mission has only one bell tower rather than the usual triple-node tower as at the San Juan Bautista and San Antonio Missions -- among others.

    As I walked back toward the Library Parking Lot I decided to eschew the main drag and cut up Palm Street. An old brick building, being used as a playhouse or comedy venue and called "The Improv" caught my eye. After taking the photo you see to the right, I crossed the street to read the plaque on the building.
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    The building has functioned as a stable, carriage house, and/or garage from c1875 until the early 1970s. And the brick facade replaced the original wooden front in the early 1900s. [Click once or twice to read the plaque.]

 
    As I walked the street which is to the east of Main Street I happened upon City Hall. The little cherubic faces just below the window sills on the 2nd floor caught my attention. [Incidentally, there is a great deal of free parking, clearly marked, off of Main St -- something which no doubt is strongly supported by local merchants; as I walked by some people eating at tables on the sidewalk, I resisted the temptation to ask, "How does it taste?"]

    Finally, here's a photo taken from in front of the statue of Father Junipero Serra looking toward Venture harbor. [Have you ever noticed that many padres used walking staffs? Is that so they can support themselves after stubbing their toes while wearing sandals. Presumably they didn't use the Anglo-Saxon terms my sergeants used to exhort the troops on to greater levels of performance. Nay, being men of the cloth, they probably vowed to watch their steps more carefully.]

W 26 Jan: Simi Valley - ?? Having refrigerator repaired - Tapo Canyon County RV Park