Saturday, August 23, 2008

Centennial Monument


Situated at the center of Bud Snider Park (sometimes called City Park), this marker was set in place in 1988, the 100 year anniversary of the official cityhood of Willits. I suppose the wide ring of railing protects it, a bit, from casual vandalism. With the current drought, and mandatory water rationing, I suppose flower beds would be impractical. At the far boundary of the park, you can see the Farmer's Market at full thrust on a hot summer afternoon.

I'll be out of town for a few days - Mom's 80th birthday today!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. That farmer's market looks like a funeral procession for a president or something. Nice photo and explanation of the marker too.

I will put the Deer Hunting story on the Brookville Blog for Sunday (or tomorrow). I sometimes wonder if I could still walk through the woods without making a sound.

Jane Hards Photography said...

The framer market in the bakcground reminds me of those markets you get France. Itis asuch a shame when plaques and stautes need to be ringed in for fear of vandals.

On closer look this really does have a feel of Montpellier, and I love that place.

Petrea Burchard said...

I've been hearing talk of irradiating (is that the word?) supermarket vegetables. Lovin' my farmers market more and more.

Meead said...

Thanks for the nice photo and information. So today, Willits supposed to be 120 years old. Where were your mom born? Willits?

USelaine said...

Abraham - That's a very funny and imaginative interpretation of the picture, especially since it comes from you! The market is indeed set out in a long line along the far sidewalk and trees. The vendors can pull up their vehicles on the street, out of the way.

Babooshka - Well that makes me more curious about Montpellier. We do have a Mediterranean climate here.

Petrea - I thought the mega-agro-distributors already did that. It kills bacteria, and given the way they cut costs by removing human care, I guess it's the only thing for them to do. As you know, I'm all about local and organic, but if you can't yet get that, I don't think irradiating harvested food harms the food. It just represents a system out of control.

Meead - My mom was born in Ukiah, the larger town south of Willits, all in Mendocino county. Then she grew up in a tiny village called Albion, on the Mendocino county coast. Her father, my grandfather, was the village schoolteacher there. When my mom got married and had a family, we lived in other parts of California, but when she retired in the 1980s, she moved back to the land her father had bought in 1930, near Albion. That's where I visited her this weekend for her birthday. I remember very well visiting my grandfather there while I was growing up. He taught me how to drive a jeep on his land starting when I was nine years old!