The annual Thanksgiving Day dinner was a highlight in the lives of the enrollees of Company 5478, Civilian Conservation Corps at Camp Gasquet as an elaborate spread of turkey and all the trimmings was served to the 150 young men and officers at the camp.

Arriving at Gasquet about two years ago, the company, originally organized in 1936, has aided in organizing and reconditioning the territory surrounding this district. In the three years that the company has been in existence, it has contained from time to time members from every state in Dixie, with only a few members actually from California.

Digging wells

When I was a junior at Del Norte High School in 1949 Doris’s husband, Mike Whalen, joined the Warrior staff as a teacher and coach. At the same time, Doris joined the teaching staff at Crescent Elk, where she taught second, fifth and sixth grade for four years.

In 1953 Doris moved to the high school. It amazes me that she was teaching here when I was in school and was still teaching here when I came back in 1980. She was still teaching at the high school in 1992 when I retired.

She went on for seven more years before retiring in 1999. During my 33 years as a teacher, coach and school administrator I never met a more dedicated, more respected teacher than Doris.

She always made her English classroom a very special place. 

In explaining his opposition to city participation in local tourism promotion, Dennis stated that “We (city government) don’t benefit the most ... I’m not in favor of it.” I would remind Dennis that this is a nation where the government is supposed to serve the people, not the other way around where “government benefits the most.”

Dennis explained in the article that if a visiting family of four spends $500 during its stay in our community, the city gets “only” about $23 in sales tax and Transient Occupancy Tax. Continuing, Dennis complained that the rest of the $500 goes to the hotel, restaurants and retail shops.

In response, I remind him that the balance goes to the businesses that earned that money, with no help from the city if it does not fund tourism promotion.

The balance goes to the business owner and his family and to desk clerks, housekeepers, gardeners, grocery checkers, baggers, produce workers, butchers, security, janitors, waiters and waitresses, dishwashers, bar tenders, cleaning crews, gas jockeys, mechanics, drivers, insurance brokers and their families.