The speakers this month were Paul and Caroline Lacitinola of Elverta who restore vintage trailers.They brought the trailer they use for camping weekends.

Tonight was the Christmas Hay Ride parade in Rio Linda. Everyone seemed to really enjoy this event, so I’m sure it will become an annual event. There were more than 60 floats.I rode on the Rio Linda Elverta Historical Society float so my perspective was a bit different. The brightly-lit Archway:I think John Todd (former 4th-grade student of mine) was the MC near the judge’s stand:The parade started at Westside School and ended at Depot Park, but the tractor and trailer went back to Dry Creek Ranch House for storage. The ranch house with its Christmas lights:

Because of rain, we moved inside the Dry Creek Ranch House for the meeting. A tad crowded but it all worked out.The guest speaker was Maceo Hart-Kapic. When RLEHS first met him two years ago, he was a junior in high school and managing a farm of about 2 acres at Gibson Ranch as a high school project. Currently Maceo is a freshman at UCBerkeley, living in the dorms, and coming home a couple of weekends every month to keep an eye on his 23-acre farm. His mother, interns and volunteers work the rest of the time to keep things going. Maceo estimates he’s met about 150 people at school so far – just 2 have ever been on a farm. “They just don’t get it,” he said. The Throwdown key ingredient was pumpkin. I won with Pumpkin Pie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

This month was the annual ice cream social.The speaker was Stephanie Davis, a very successful 4-H participant. Allie falling in love with a pygmy goat:The Throwdown key ingredient was tomatoes. Catherine Green was the winner with Tomato Bread.

This was my Tomato Tart #2, NOT a winner with a very soggy crust.

Barbara Longo welcomed everyone to the July Sunday Social at the Dry Creek Ranch House.The speaker was beekeeper Ernie Buda.The Throwdown key ingredients were apricots (gathered from a tree on the DCRH property) and honey (donated by The Natomas Farm). The entries: in addition to my Honey Flakes and Apricot Breakfast Crisp, there were Apricot Thumbprint Cookies, Honey Apricot Cake, and Mini Honey Muffins.Faithful Throwdown participants: Allie Brown and Catherine Green. I won … twice – 1st and 2nd place. It’s been a busy day and an action-packed week. Whew! I need a vacation!

The third Sunday of the month means it’s time for a Rio Linda Elverta Historical Society Sunday Social in the Social Hall at Calvary Lutheran Church. At left are Catherine and Jason Green, the new organizers of the socials:
Joyce Buckland shared the latest RLEHS news:

Speaker #1: Pat Day talked about Elder Craftsmen Helping Others (ECHO) – a large group of volunteers who meet at the Depot Park in Rio Linda once a week.

#2 Speakers: Sharon King, Debbie Crowe, Anna Marie Tomlinson talked about the Rio Linda Elverta Quilt Trail Project and the wildflower garden near the Dry Creek Ranch House.

Throwdown “key” ingredients this month were eggs (from The Natomas Farm) and cabbage (from Food Source). Three of us entered five tastings. Me, Allie Brown, and Catherine Green:

The entries:
On the plate: Arlete’s Scotch Eggs, and Catherine’s Sweet Cabbage Strudel-WINNER. On the table L-R: Arlete’s Fruity Coleslaw-WINNER, Allie’s Cabbage Quiche, Catherine’s Crustless Carrot Mini-quiches.

Excellent speakers this month: Paul & Susan Hanks of Hank’s Hens. The have a 2-acre farm in Rio Linda and are custom growers for Sacramento restaurants. All the eggs from their flock of 100 chickens are contracted.
The Throwdown featured lemons. Allie Brown was the winner this month with Lemon Cheesecake with Berry Glaze.

At the last minute, I decided to make Little Lemon Drops. Once the mini-cupcakes were out of the pan and cooled, a lemony sugar syrup was poured over.

Our guest speaker was Sarah Tomlinson.
Sarah was in my 6th grade class long ago at Westside, then transitioned to Westside Charter School for grades 7-8. These were the first two years of WCS existence, I’d worked for 2 years with a group of parents and the principal to write the charter and start the school. The creation of WCS and its success is one of my proudest professional achievements. And Sarah is a great example of the kind of student EVERY teacher would love to have in her class. Sarah now has a masters in teaching English to non-English speakers at the college level.


The Throwdown featured Blood Oranges:

I won! Thank you Allie Brown and Catherine Green for participating this month.

Ireta Black with her nephew, Norma Horrell:

Harold Horrell, Norma, and Don Thorne:

Shirley Breckenridge, Catherine and Jason Greene:

Excellent potluck dishes:

Phyllis and Allie Brown:

The Music Therapy Singers from Calvary lead everyone in singing Christmas carols:

Joyce Buckland and Jeannie Akins:

The raffle was a lot of fun and made a nice donation to RLEHS:

Allie Brown won the Throwdown for Best Dressing – it was a very traditional version.