LIVING HISTORY SCHOOL DAYS

AT WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS RANCH

The volunteers at White Sulphur Springs Ranch (WSSR) hosted 3^rd graders from Quincy and Portola, on two successive days, October 23 and 24, at the historic ranch site in Clio. On Wednesday the group from Quincy Elementary toured the site. On Thursday it was the students from C. Roy Carmichael Elementary in Portola. A total of 95 kids, accompanied by 5 teachers and 20 parent chaperones, gave the children a look at what life was like in Plumas County in the 1800’s.

Students rotated through 5 learning stations. First, they were treated to a tour of the historic ranch house by docents in period costume. Then they were rotated through 4 outdoor stations that dealt with homestead cooking and washing, branding, Maidu life and fruit box building. The activities ended at about 1:00 PM with a group picture on the new deck that overlooks the Mohawk Valley.

Some highlights included the discovery of new Maidu grinding stones. In the course of preparing for the students' arrival, Hillary and Bob Hughes moved some brush, scraped off some dirt and uncovered grinding holes that hadn’t be seen in years. At the fruit box station children could make miniature fruit boxes by nailing wood slats together and gluing on labels to illustrate the activities of the old fruit exchange in Graeagle.  In 1919 the California Fruit Company purchased land along Graeagle creek in order to cut and mill lumber for fruit boxes they provided to growers across the State.  The noise of dozens of hammers pounding nails caused a volunteer’s Apple Watch to declare an emergency. One of the kids at the fruit box station had such a good time he asked Tim Buckhout to shake his little hand….it was a highlight of the day for WSSR volunteers. The kids got to take the boxes they had put together home with them along with wooden plaques that had brands burned into them at Jan Tew’s livestock branding station. The homestead cooking and washing station was presented by Cathy Danielson and Janine Wolcott. Brian Martinez managed the fruit box station.

Living History School Days is partially funded by a grant from the Safeway Foundation. The Foundation is dedicated to bettering the lives of people in the neighborhoods and WSSR is very fortunate to have their support.

The organizer for this year’s event was Jim Maul. School Days is an important outreach of the Mohawk Valley Stewardship Council, stewards of WSSR. A veteran schoolteacher remarked that this year’s event was the best field trip she had experienced in her 25 years of teaching.

Successful restoration depends on fundraisers, contributions and grants. 

SUMMERFEST 2024 DRAWS A CROWD

     The conditions were right. The heat had not arrived yet and the grasshopper swarm didn’t reach the stage area. The last day of June saw over 250 guests enjoy the many features of this year’s outdoor celebration at the historic ranch site in Clio. It was the 14th annual summer event and an army of volunteers offered food, drink and entertainment at the single biggest fundraiser of the year for the Mohawk Valley Stewardship Council, (MVSC) stewards of White Sulphur Springs Ranch.

     A highlight of the afternoon was the musical entertainment supplied by Matt Axton and the group he calls Bad Moon. He brought a five piece band consisting of 3 guitars, a drummer and a keyboard. After three hours of music Matt finished with a rendition of “Jeremiah and the Bullfrog”. That song was written by Matt’s father, Hoyt Axton, in 1971 and made famous by the group named “Three Dog Night”. Matt’s mom, Donna, was the artist on the keyboard.  She lives in Tahoe and continues to add to the local music scene.

The live auction is always a big attraction at Summerfest.

     This year one of the premium items offered was a week-long stay on the North shore of Kauai at Hanalei Bay Villa. It was quickly snapped up by an enthusiastic bidder. Golf, wine, Reno baseball and local dinners completed the other offerings.

     The restored ranch house was open to visitors, and many exclaimed about the dramatic improvements. The volunteers of the MVSC put many hours into the restoration of this historic site and are delighted when they hear that residents appreciate their efforts.  Some important improvements to the grounds are scheduled for the rest of the summer.

     Interested parties should check the website for all kinds of ranch activities, ranch history and the opportunity to join and be a part of this community effort.

White Sulphur Springs Ranch

is excited to announce

the Grand Opening of our NEW

RANCH STORE

Our first products include our new clothing line featuring men's and women's comfortable shirts and heavy blend zippered hoodies.  Each shirt and hoodie come with our famous White Sulphur Springs Ranch logo or name on it.

Click the image on the right to visit our clothing selections.