Yesterday was the car show, tomorrow is a parade and I’m going to drive #7. This is quite the experience for me. #7 is a 1947 fire truck hand-built by Les Crane for the Rio Linda Fire Department. It was (logically) the seventh fire vehicle in our community. This morning Tom Ray taught me how to drive it. I can drive a stick shift but had to learn how to double-clutch and turning corners was arm muscle-building. I was assured that the slight grinding of gears was quite normal. Tom also warned me about slowing down in plenty of time before a stop sign or light. I took every lesson to heart. On the way from Rio Linda to E Nicolaus, I had to stop at Grandpa Bob’s and take Kellen and Odin for a ride around the block. A couple of cousins and a neighborhood friend came along. Thank you Doug for standing on the back bumper and watching for very good behavior.

6:30 am – Yes, I was ready to greet vendors at Dry Creek Ranch House (yawn). A few classic cars were already in place.

Vendors setting up.

Cars arriving up to register – 147 paid registrants – the most ever!

The Rio Linda High School Jr ROTC practiced for about 2 hours before the actual flag raising ceremony.

The flyover was a highlight.

I don’t know everyone in this picture, but Ray Antonelli is holding the cane, Charlea Moore and Shirley Breckenridge are to the right. They exemplify the happy people we worked with all day.

Lloydene Wilden Cook stands beside her Ford Fairlane. Lloydene and I graduated from RLHS in 1966 and went off together to UCRiverside.

Bob Perryman had two cars in the show.

Ralph Hants took Joyce Buckland and me up to 30 feet in the lift to get some great shots of the entire venue. At the end of the shoot, I homed in my favorite vehicle.

At 3 pm, the awards were given out, vendors began packing up, cars began heading home. By 4 pm, only a few remained, our day was over. Well almost. We had a little barbecue for ourselves. It was a very good day.

This has been my personal story of the Classic Car Show. If you to see more pictures, you can see the RLEHS blog post at

… well actually, blogging on the RLEHistorical.org site is not as easy as it is here. Therefore I will put the link here as soon as there is something ready.

Tomorrow is the 9th Annual Classic Car Show, but lots of people were at Dry Creek Ranch House today getting ready. Tom Ray and Al Akins consulted while Emmie Makishima went back to work in the Memorial Rose Garden.

The main pathway for car registration was coned first.

The first vendor arrived a day early.

David Marquette pounded the post into the ground while Bill Antonelli, Dick Phillips, and Jim Griffin supervised. They told me it was a county job.

I volunteered to speak to this advisory commission about the accomplishments of the Rio Linda-Elverta Historical Society over the past year. The meeting took place at the Effie Yeaw Activity Center

which is also a California Indian Cultural Demonstration Center.

Phyl with Commissioner Bob Bastian.

I was so happy a few friends came along for moral support, including Emmie Makishima and Jeanne Akins.

Thanks to all RLEHS board members and committee heads who provided me with a year’s worth of information. You made this task easy and fun.

I talked to my dear friend Paula in Alabama the other day. She loves the blog, especially pictures of family and friends. She knows and remembers all of you who appear here. She grew up in Elverta and Rio Linda, and also likes seeing pictures of the town and its events. She and her husband Tom are members of RLEHS. On the phone she told me, “Enough with the Sudangrass!” When I told Justin the story, very seriously he said, “But they haven’t baled it yet.” This is the final post, Paula, I promise. Over the past three weeks:




Justin roughly figured Jaime got 3.7 tons/acre.

The second growth has begun, it won’t be as productive as the first.

I’ve been walking around the block from Justin’s house, 4 miles. Hwy 70 to Marysville is on the left. I never see any people and only a few cars go by, sometimes a tractor.

In the morning, I have a 65-degree rule, the perfect temperature to start, no jacket needed and I’m back before it gets too hot.

On the far side, I walk on a parallel dirt road, rice fields on one side,

a water-filled ditch on the other side. The road is littered with crawdad body parts. Birds and other wildlife are feasting.

I cross the same railroad tracks twice.

I grew up with the sound of passing trains. Cornelius Rd crossing:

View from Pacific Ave one afternoon:

When I walk in the evening, I try to time it so I get back just before dark. The llama was very alert, his owner was oblivious to my presence.

Adrienne, Linda, and I met at Starbucks. It’s amazing how fast 3 hours of talking goes by!

On the patio at Atria El Camino Gardens.

The kitchen staff put out a great spread.

I got to babysit tonight. When Sophia and Avery started chasing each other in the living room, Carter came to stand in front of me and keep an eye on things.
Part of the time, Avery watched Dora and Friends on TV. Competing sounds came from Sophia’s iPad – rather dramatic classical music. I wondered what new interest she was discovering. I was prepared to be impressed. She was watching makeup being artfully applied.

The other funny moment happened when I was measuring Sophia so I could start on her Halloween costume. She assured me she already understood the need for measuring. “My mom has inched me before.”

Last Friday, Uncle Fernie in Regina passed away. He was 97, my mother’s brother, and Justin’s godfather. VERY early this morning I drove Justin to San Francisco so he could attend the funeral tomorrow.
Uncle Fernie was loved by everyone, a kind and generous man. He will be missed.