Greets,
My Grandfather built the current construction called Elim Grove Restaurant Cottage Resort back in 1949 after his Ice Cream Shop, built in 1947, burned down. I understand some one put their name on it. Anyway, I dug the leach field trench with a pick, shovel, and wheel barrow for the Slattery's summer home, for the old man, a former F.B.I. agent I believe.
I used to hang out at the Forestry office/barracks and enjoyed the canoes that they had there at their gravel dam. My Grandfather's yearly dam was the best tho 'cause you could ride through the spillway on an inner-tube, or body surf, or use the diving platform out in the middle, or jump off the "Redwood Hall's outside dance floor deck, (which was next to St. Elmos stream Like the Slattery's), or jump/dive off of the clift on Hahn's road,(which I poured a lot of french fry grease upon in order to keep the dust down and give a sort of paved effect to it). Elim Grove's dam was the best and deepest. Also the cleanest. Funny, could always catch a lot of trout and crawfish. Some stupid people have put a stop to the summer dams and now I have heard over the years that the fish etc. are hurting. Always world class steel head and a strong run of salmon each year laying eggs. Then when the Dams were pushed up by Cats, the fish and other aquatic life really perked up. Every thing was great until those stupid people showed up whilst I was away serving our country circa 1966-'70. When I came back the stupid people did their damage. My Grandfather also voted for those stupid street lights between Elim Grove and the Forestry..,and beyond. One of the neat things to do on a dark night, walking, was to follow the road by using the starry sky above as a mirror to one's pathway.
What ever happened to all of those rifles hanging from the ceiling at the Sky Room?
In the fifties, the first scout master of all of California and I would walk over-land from the Camp R. to Elim Grove. Sometimes, Slim Jim who was the camp caretaker and horseman and I would ride to town in a two horse drawn wagon.
Sometimes during fishing season, fishing poles would be stacked in the closet area of our two room school..,and at other times, our .22 long rifles would be leaning into the corner behind the front door to our room; 4th through 8th grades. 4th grade was in the other room but since little Mike was on our undefeated baseball and footbal team he was shifted over into our room. LOL. Imagine, US Cazadero Catskinners team members, (a bunch of head/body strong kids at various ages), playing all the other 8th grade teams in Monte Rio, Gurneville, Graten, etc., maintaining the honor of all the players before us. I remember 'timber' It was a bat that you didn't pick up unless you felt that feeling that that bat would make a winning run(s) for the team. We all wore logging boots in all our sports. Well, we all wore logging boots mostly all the time, and often smeared with bear grease during the winter.
Red Slide=Devil's slide? Is that way up East Austin Creek? Once I ran into a hermit who I believe was Black Bart. His poster was posted in the Sky Room near the Register. Remember? I think old man Duffy used to take him some treats from Mackey's General Store.
HI
Nice to meet you. I don't know what happened to all those old rifles that used to hang from the ceiling in the "Sky Room". Unfortunately I was away from cazadero for many years serving in the military then getting married etc. I do remeber the big party they had for Bill Britton senior at the sky room after his wife had died and he decided to sell the place. Unfortunately I was a young child at the time and I just hung around at the doorway seperating the Sky Room from the soda fountain/grocery side. so my memory of that night is only from what I observed.
But that night that gave Old Bill his send off was the night the "Sky Room" died I think.
Speaking of "Elim Grove" and your grandfathers dams there. My brother who is 10 years older than I am built a staircase from the far side of the dam to the cottages at Redwood hall in the 1950s. It lasted for about 3 years I think before being swept away during the winter season.
