My Hometown - the California Edition

Please excuse the length of this post, but after all it is my 100th!!

I have to be honest and admit that I have never appreciated the city of my birth as much as I should have. Even though I was born there and my family lives there and I have spent many happy days, weeks, and months there – I have always thought of it as either hot in the summer or foggy in the Winter and not much else. The last few years I have tried to spend more time exploring the history of the area and in particular how my family fits into that history. You’d be surprised at the beauty you can find if you just take the time to look. So here is my tribute to the Yuba City/Marysville area, I hope you like it.

Yuba City Water Tower.

This is the house my Great Grandparents lived in back in the day. It is near the old High School in Yuba City. I like it; it looks like it can tell a story. I wish that it was still in our family.

This is a view of one of the old Yuba City movie theaters. It is a shame that it is no longer in use. Or is it? I seem to remember a very frigid outing to this theater one Christmas to see who knows what, what I do remember is the heater was broken. That is love people – willingness to sit through freezing temps in order to see a film. On a side note, I think the perspective in this picture is kind of cool.

Ahh, now isn’t this lovely? No really, it is so lovely that I think you should print it out and frame it. This, my friends, is a picture of the Sutter Buttes taken from the back porch of my Great Aunt’s house. The Sutter Buttes are a circular mountain formation mostly consisting of lava deposits. I think the highest peak is just over 2000 feet high, so not super imposing, BUT…wait for it…the Sutter Buttes are the world’s smallest mountain range. How do you like them now?

This is a picture of the High School in Marysville. It is beautiful. I love how the bricks have mellowed with age and how they lend a distinguished look to the school. As a side note, Marysville is named after Mary Murphy Covillaud, one of the surviving members of the Donner Party. There are many gravestones in the cemeteries of both Yuba City and Marysville of surviving members of the Donner Party. I don’t have any pictures of those this time around, but here are two of the old Marysville cemetery built in 1850. I love old cemeteries.

Ellis Lake is a centerpiece to the city of Marysville. It is man made and has been around since the 1930’s. I think it is pretty. But be ware of the crazy geese that troll around the lake looking for food, they can be quite aggressive. And I am sure for those of us who are not so fond of birds in general; it might be a good idea to stay away from the lake. Oh, and it is amazing what you can learn on Wikipedia. Apparently this lake was designed by the same person who designed the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

Catholic Church in Marysville - I think it is quaint and looks just like what you imagine a post card perfect church should look like.

This is the Mary Aron museum and I am told there are family artifacts on display in this museum. I sheepishly admit that I have never been inside.

Just a cool doorway, it really has no purpose in this post, but I like it and this is my Blog. So there.

Another old Theater which is also no longer in use, and in which I have also seen a movie – isn’t it a shame that these gracious old theaters have lived past their prime? I am the first one to admit that I would rather see a movie in a theater with stadium seating (preferably reserved stadium seating); because after all I am short, but I think I could muster up the patience to see a movie in some of these old beauties if they could keep them around.

The Silver Dollar Saloon which I am told serves nice steaks, but which I am also told used to be a...shhhh…come closer…brothel.

The next few pictures are of the Bok Kai temple, the only one of its kind in America. The original temple was built in the 1850’s as a place of worship for the small Chinese community who had come to help build the rail roads. The god that they worshiped was Bok Eye, or the God of water who had power to control the rains. That temple burnt down and what stands in its place today was built in 1880. I have wondered about this temple my whole life. In 38 years I had never been in it because for many years it was in disrepair. Imagine my delight and surprise when we found actual people outside the temple this December – actual people who in fact let us in to look around. It is a tiny, tiny little temple, but oh so cute. I wish you could all see it. They have done an amazing job of restoring the temple to its former glory, and they open it by appointment to worshipers who come from around the state.

In this picture you can see the restoration work that they are attempting - one side is restored and the other not. This mural is the oldest existing mural depicting this story in America.

Yuba City and Marysville are surrounded by rivers. This contributes to the fog but also to the flooding. In the 1950’s, my grandparents had to flee the oncoming floods which eventually filled their house and destroyed many of their family heirlooms. They left so quickly in fact, that I believe the story is told, that my Uncle only had one shoe on. Since then there have been other floods, but it has always been other parts of the levees that broke. Still I worry about my family every year that there is a heavy rain and swollen rivers.

Another old theater – I promise this is the last one.

One of my favorite places to eat in Yuba City since it reminds me of being young. I don’t know how long my family has been eating here, but I can remember it from way back.

These little houses are where my Grandma and Grandpa lived when the first married. Aren’t they cute?

These wagon wheels have lined the circular driveway leading up to my Grandparents home for as long as I remember. When I was in college, my roommate was dating someone from Yuba City, he asked me where I lived, and I said well you probably know my Grandparents house from the Wagon Wheels. As soon as I said Wagon Wheels he knew exactly what I was talking about.

Something I obviously love about this area (I say obviously, because if you know me, you know I love anything to do with India) is that there is a large community of Indians. This Hindu temple is down the street from my Grandma's house. There is also a Sikh temple but I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it.

Orchards – if you are from my area of California you know of what I speak.

Sunsweet is headquartered in Yuba City, just a hop, skip, and a jump away from my house. They manufacture dried fruit and juices, but what they are probably most famous for is prunes. And may I say…umm…ick. And according to Wikipedia, Sunsweet controls more than two thirds of the prune market worldwide. Congrats I guess.

Anyway, there you have it – my hometown. What do you think? Would you like to visit? If so, I would be happy to take you on a tour.