January-February Wave Newsletter

The Office Manager's Mailbag

by Gar Salzgeber, Office Manager

Getting personal notes from our retired members about what they're doing with their lives warms the cockles of my heart and sends chills of joy up my spine. I hope everybody else enjoys them as much. Space limitations prevent me from printing all our letters in one Wave issue. Hopefully people who wrote in June and July will still recognize their letters. Letters are entered as I pick them off the pile.

Dana Long writes: Hi Gar, Bonnie say's Hi also. Glad to see you remaining active with CSPRA and thanks for your dedication and service to our organization. State Parks here in Arizona are suffering from the money crunch and several are closing temporarily to save money. Enclosed is an article from our local newspaper with our local park that is closing. (Tubac State Historical Park, near where Dana and Bonnie live). It's strange ­ the volunteer staff is 10 times bigger than the permanent staff so they save very little by closing. They still must keep a skeleton crew at the site. Please remember us to your mom and dad­we think of them often.

Jim (Sam) Stewart writes: Not much "spare time" this year. We moved our winter quarters from Calistoga to Chico. Chester is still our permanent address. Spring, summer and fall are beautiful in the Chester area. We are sticking close to home this year. Boating, fishing, biking and hiking etc.

Jean Bowdoin writes: I am proud to remain a part of the State Park Family. I have fond memories of your mother and father as well as all the other park people I met and worked with over the years I spent with Parks and Recreation. Shortly after I retired in 1985, I became active in a volunteer organization (the Los Ninos Service League) and was President of the organization in 1989-90. We operate the Casa Garden Restaurant, with all proceeds going to the Sacramento Children's Home. I now spend one day a week in the office. It is a very rewarding effort, and I look forward to many more years doing my little bit to help provide support for the Children's Home.

Inez Cook writes: Sorry we won't be able to come to the Retirees Rendezvous. Gerry's' physical/medical situation is such that we've reached the Hospice stage. Mentally he's at 95%, but pain wise on a 1-10 scale is a 6+ which Hospice is addressing. Please give my love to all.

Chuck Mehlert writes: Thanks for the dues reminder. Check for dues enclosed. Same old address. Jean passed away last month. Haven't been getting around much but will try to get to the Rendezvous this year. Thanks again for "Keeping in Touch."
Mel Tubbs writes: With postage going even higher, why don't we pay for two years ­ or more ­ membership? Every three members would save over a dollar on stamps. ( It is fine to pay for 2 years at a time...Gar).

Carl Chavez writes: Margaret and I can't believe that we're already 4 years into retirement up here in Graeagle. We somehow manage to keep busy. I fly fish almost every day during the season when I'm not reading or puttering around the yard. We have made several trips in retirement. A trip to Hawaii, couple of trips to England, a cruise of the Mediterranean, a cruise to Alaska and shorter trips to New Mexico, the Olympic Peninsula, Yellowstone, and Las Vegas. We will be cruising the Panama Canal from San Diego to Miami in November with Jim and Susan Burke. I do golf on rare occasions, like yesterday, when former DPR employee Pere Williams and his wife Sue were up for a visit. Our grandkids Cody (9) & Hailey (7) live with their Dad Craig in nearby Portola so we see them often. Margaret and I volunteer once a week in their school classes. As for stories, yes I have lots of them. In fact, since I am a journal keeper I have embarked on a major writing project in an attempt to publish a book about my park career. I have attempted to write it more in the vein of Terry Grotz' book "Wildlife Wars" which won an Outdoor Writers award in 2000 rather than the fine compilation of stories that Rosemary Strickler and Nancy Merkle put together for Anza-Borrego. I have sent off book proposals to several publishers and though I have received a couple of rejections I still have several publishers evaluating my proposal. The book is entitled "A Pathway Through Parks" with each of the eleven chapters containing stories about my assignments from Bodie to the Redwoods and on up to Sacramento Headquarters. One of the fun things about the project is that I have been contacting people I have written about in the book to obtain their permission to use their names. Everyone has been very encouraging and helpful in reminding me of events and happenings that I may have forgotten or seen from a different perspective than they recalled. The book is on hold for now while I await word from the publishers and while I tend to the more important task of fishing in the summer. I'll get back to it this winter and publish it myself if I have to!

Gar Salzgeber says: My mother, who many knew as Georgia or Henrietta, passed away this past August. The time and place were her decision. Her comfortable passing was a blessing. I know she would like to let all her park friends know how much she loved them, even to the end.