Rural Festivities

[rejectomorph]

This weekend is the culmination of Johnny Appleseed Days, one of the two local events intended to draw tourists to this isolated backwater. The other, Gold Nugget Days, commemorates the gold rush era discovery of the Dogtown Nugget, the largest single lump of gold ever found in the United States, which was found not far north of the town, on the west fork of the Feather River. Johnny Appleseed Days is a relic of the time when the ridge was a fairly important apple growing area. The orchard at the end of my block is one of only a few that still remains.

I did not attend the events. I went the first year I lived here, and found it rather depressing. There was a brief parade, mostly of old cars, a few music groups on flatbed trucks, groups of kids in farmer costumes, and a high school band imported from one of the valley towns, since the local high school does not support a music program, in spite of its having over 1000 students. The parade was followed by a gathering in a small park, with an arts and crafts show featuring things made from pine cones and paintings of the type displayed at shopping center art festivals; weathered barns, ducks, puppies, vases of flowers- the sort of paintings that people buy to match the upholstery on the couch. I think there was an apple pie bake-off, and there were local music groups on the small bandstand, most of them playing bad renditions of country pop music.

In fact, the only thing I enjoyed that day was watching the beat-up skateboard punks doing tricks in the parking lot, until they were run off by the police. On the whole, I had to compare the experience quite unfavorably with any afternoon hanging out in Pasadena or Santa Monica. Since then, I have avoided all of the local festivals, preferring to enjoy the quiet which falls over the rest of the town when the population is busy with the festivities. Just me and the raccoons and the deer, undisturbed by lawn mowers and leaf blowers and chain saws. I wish we had more of these events.

Comments

[elmoosh.livejournal.com]

You write so beautifully.

I'm glad I found your journal -- it lends some complexity and color to my otherwise usually boring and mundane friends page.

(:

[rejectomorph]

Thanks. :-)
I noticed that you live in Alhambra. I lived in the area (Rosemead) for many years, and actually spent one month living in an apartment above a Main Street store building, near Second Street. I'm now rather nostalgic about the place. Has the Main Street shopping district entirely dried up and blown away yet?

Johnny Appleseed

[(Anonymous)]

You are describing "Tustin Tiller Days" perfectly except they add a carnival which always adds an interesting twist in the form of the prople who operate the rides.

Santa Ana

[elmoosh.livejournal.com]

Interesting you should mention that. When I moved here two years ago, I spent a whole day walking up and down Main Street to get acquainted with the town, and found it extremely depressing. So many little shops (most funky Chinese furniture shops) had shut down or were going out of business. I remember one in particular where the only thing left in the display window out front was a lot of hand-carved ducks covered in dust, with all the various prices crossed out and lower and lower ones until they were all 99 cents. Someone had put a crude cardboard sign in the window with the words "WE TRIED" in magic marker. Very sad.

But they're totally re-vamping Main Street now. Some really cool new restaurants, new shops and they've got this wall up near Garfield and Main with a mural of a street with people on it. It looks very Americana, very Norman Rockwell. You should visit!

So never fear, Alhambra shall rise again (like we were holding our breath)!

;-)