My home town.

[Redoverfarm]

Just to be interesting I thought I would start this thread to just let some of you know exactly what is here.  So as the first news worthy article has to do with the Radio Observatory that is located just north of the house in Greenbank.  It is a radio free zone and only one of a few in existance in the United States covering the area that it does.  That is why there is only limited cellular service away from the site.  They do not use gasoline powered transportation within the site because of interference and only use deisel. 

The observatory apparently is playing a key role in the Mars landing scheduled for Saturday.  They will track and monitor it's decent and determine if it was successful.  If anyone is interested the site is enclosed.

Maybe you too have a place of origin that is nationally know or of intrest to the rest of us.

http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2008/phoenix/

[MountainDon]

I have two home towns; Winnipeg where I was born and Rio Rancho where we've lived since 1985.

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Pop 600,000+.  Av High, Jan 9, July 78, Av Low, Jan -9, July 56.   Record Low -49, record high 105, 27" annual preip,  Crime rate 4 or 5 highest in Canada

Claims to fame: near the geographic center of the North American continent...  largest rail yards in Western Canada...  Winnipeg Jets hockey team (72-96) won the finals (WHA) 3x prior to joining NHL... Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Canadian Football) winner of 10 national championships... First Canadian Province to give women the vote (1916)

Famous people born there, &/or origin of:  Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman (The Guess Who), Bachman-Turner-Overdrive (BTO) Fred Turner was a high school friend and partner in early automotive mayhem,  Charles Thorason (designed and christened Bugs Bunny), The Crash Test Dummies, Ken Ploen, football player QB, Billy Mosienko & Terry Sawchuk, hockey players extraordinaire, Monty Hall - tv host - Let's Make a Deal, Sir William Stephenson, WWII spy; the real Intrepid, Doug Hennings (magician)

Rio Rancho, NM (NW of Albuquerque. pop 80,000 July average temps - 91 high 62 low, January high 50 low 25. 9" av precip annual, Crime rate, quite low about half the US average for personal crime and 1/3 for property crime,

Claims to fame/infamy:  Hmmm, Home of one of Intel's largest wafer plants, Fab 11X (plant opened as Fab 7 in '81), City was started by Amrep Corp, seller of Florida swamp lands and vacant dry desert to unsuspecting people in the 60's & 70's, First garbage pickup service started by two New Yorkers with stolen NYC garbage truck, home to the New Mexico Scorpions minor-league ice hockey team, at least two former mayors are or have been under investigation for financial irregularities, first U.S. city to offer citywide voice-over-WiFi (VoWiFi) service... now defunct.

35 miles south of the Jemez Mountains, our summer retreat from the heat. (66 by road)

[ScottA]

Mine is Salina, Oklahoma Pop 1800 nearly stable for the past 40 years or so. Oldest town in Oklahoma, founded in 1796 by a french explorer. Salina is located next to lake Hudson (10k acres of water) on the Grand river. Salina is famous for absolutly nothing and I hope it stays that way.

[peternap]

I was born in Shenandoah County and later moved to Bridgewater (Via a few other stops). It was a small town at the based of the mountains and a good place to grow up. I'm sad to say, it's changed. It's become a Yuppie paradise while the nearest city, Harrisonburg, has been overrun by gangs and drug activity. I81 is just too good a pipeline between the north and the south.

If you've seen the movie Shenandoah, that's the area I'm from.

John, that's interesting. The observatory can't do anything but improve and preserve the quality of life there.

[gandalfthegrey]

Born in Niagara Falls NY.    Raised in Potter county PA.  Stint in Army.  Moved to California 42 years ago.  Lived in So. Cal, moved to No.Cal, Middle Cal (Fresno), Met DW , moved to SO. Cal. Hmmm seem to be going in circles.  Been married 35 yrs 8 mo. 5 days and loved every minute of it.    

[Redoverfarm]

I thought I would wait and post this and I am about half ashamed to admit that the National Alliance Headquarters are based here. William Pierce the author of the Turner Diaries lived here until his death about 4 years ago or so.  You never really knew who came and went but Timothy McVey was known to have frequented the compound on occassions. They never really caused any problems but as they say a hog will not s$*& in his own bed. It has toned down dramatically since his death but they still have there annual Adolf Hitlers Birthday celebration.

I just wonder how the ATF, FBI and CIA communicate high tech in that area that has no cellphone reception. I forgot they have the money thanks to us to have satelite phones.

[sparks]

Ronald Reagan was born in a small town south of where I live. He went to High School just up stream from where I live.

Wahl Clipper has their corporate HQ just across the river from where I live.

I'm still here. 

[Sassy]

Famous people born there, &/or origin of:  Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman (The Guess Who), Bachman-Turner-Overdrive (BTO)

I lived down the street from Randy Bachman for a couple years.  He build a large mansion on "H" Street Rd along the US/Canadian border (Lynden/Blaine, WA)  Watched it being built - of course, I lived in a little old 500 sq ft home with the asbestos siding - the bedroom had a shed roof - could just fit a queen size bed - couldn't walk in the room except near the head of the bed because the roof went down to 4 ft at the foot of the bed...  no I wasn't in the same league as Randy 

[Redoverfarm]

Hillsboro in Pocahontas County was the birthplace of the first American woman  Nobel Prize winner in 1938.  Pearl Buck  was born here in 1892. The house remains restored.

[ScottA]

John the last time I was in WV we road on the Cass RR steam train. Was a great October day. That's one of the highlights of WV IMO.

[glenn kangiser]

I was not from a town. 

Born in McMinnville, Oregon - at the hospital where a few years later, Larry West Shipley  was a nurse taking care of my dad after a logging  accident.  He casually mentioned to my dad that he felt like killing somebody and that night casually went out and killed a girl to see what it felt like.

I read that he was freed through some technicality in the "justice" system and was suspected of killing again later.  Still free as far as I Know.

Widow Creek Road, Rose Lodge, Oregon was where I grew up because my grandparents homesteaded there and it is mainly famous because I came from there.

[Sassy]

I was born in Houston, Texas, stayed there 2 weeks, my grandfather had a massive heart attack so we drove to Nebraska at the end of July - got heat rash all over - no air conditioning at that time, the doc told my mom to put alcohol on the blisters - bet I wasn't too happy about that...     then moved to Ohio for 5 yrs, Dad was stationed at Lockbourne (sp) AFB - lots of good memories...  then to Castle AFB at Atwater, CA for 3 mo, then to Massachusetts -  Westover AFB for 2 yrs, then back to Castle AFB until I was 21 - moved to Lynden, WA for 12 yrs, back to Atwater for 3 yrs, then to Fresno for 3 mo, Clovis (right next to Fresno) for 10 yrs, met DH in 1996, got married June of '97 - moved to Kerman, CA - bought property in Mariposa, CA in 2002 so have been living between Mariposa & Kerman since then...  guess I moved a few times...

[glenn kangiser]

Guess I should put our current Hometown information also.

Currently around 1700 population - 17000 in the entire county as I recall.

About 43 miles from Yosemite, we are on the Highway 140 entrance, which was the main one until the rockslide.  The temporary bridges have taken a bit of the pressure off but buses cannot cross them. They are planning new temporary bridge construction to start soon to allow the buses to cross then later a viaduct is going to be built I think.

http://www.californiaconnected.org/tv/archives/450

I am not the only claim to fame this area has. 

It is also the south end of the Mother Lode which was one of the main reasons the West was settled.  The 49er's were crawling all over this area both making fortunes in gold and going broke.  Still tons of historical interest here and a very great place to live.

[Redoverfarm]

ScottA that is only about 30 miles from the house.  Still operating with the old Shay engines.  Did ya get soot in your eyes.  Nice ride to Bald knob about 5 hrs I think.  They have a shorter 2-1/2 hour ride to Whitakers Station.  That is Leatherbark country.  Pretty rugid in it's time of the Timber industry.

[ScottA]

I'm hoping to make it back there someday before the old shays wear out.

[Redoverfarm]

About 10 years ago they bought another one to repair and put inservice from CA I think.  Hauled it in pieces.  Too heavy and big all assembled.  If you get back let me know. They have a complete shop to make parts and repair.   I am thinking they have about 4 or 5 now.

[Redoverfarm]

Just another little thing in our county.  The movie "Patch Adams" was based on the real life of Hunter Doherty "Patch" Adams who bought a 310 ac farm near Droop Mountain, Hillsboro and started which still remains and operates as the "Gesundheit Institute". 

[cholland]

Are those narrow guage shay's?  We had some nice ones here at the Westside Lumber Company, but they sold them a few years back.  Might be one of them over there, I know one is in Fulton, CA at Roaring Camp Park.
We still have a standard guage shay (#2) at Railtown in Jamestown.

Home town is Sonora, CA.  Tuolumne County.  I am fifth generation.  Similar to where Glenn lives, this place was put on the map during the gold rush... then logging.  Not quite the small town it used to be, but I still love it.  Other than college, I've moved away twice for work.  Once to Idaho and once to Plumas County, just North of Truckee, CA.  But I can't seem to stay away for more than a couple of years.

[Redoverfarm]

cholland not real sure.  When I was there it appeared to be the standard width track.  They were a workhorse in the rough mountain terrain here during the timber age.

[Redoverfarm]

In Barbour County in 1914 Anna Jarvis founded "Mothers Day" which was signed into law in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson to be the second Sunday in May.

[Redoverfarm]

Sort of Unusual for this neck of the woods but a really nice place to visit.  They say there is vegitation there that only exist in the norther regions of Canada and Alaska.  It is also the natural habitat for the Eastern Black Bear which can be seen daily in the dusk and dawn times.  Being adjacent to a protective Black Bear Sanctuary helps also.


http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/sp/cranberry_glades.html

[glenn kangiser]

Interesting area.

Sassy an I went to a boardwalk in the Everglades.  It was wheelchair accessible.

The mosquitoes would pick up the wheel chair along with it's occupant and carry them through the Glades.

[Redoverfarm]

Not so much with mosquitoes here it's just the bears that like to take you for a ride.

[considerations]

I was born in McCleay Oregon, about 8 miles east of Salem.  We moved to Monterey, Ca when I was 6, went to a year of community college there, then to Oakland for college.  Dropped out, drove long haul for Iowa Beef Packers for awhile.  Ended up in Orange County, south of LA for about 3 years.  1975 moved back to Salem.  Major culture shock after Southern Cal.  In 6 months I was living in Portland Oregon, where I stayed until 2000.  Moved to Sequim Washington (sort of) for 5 years, then out to the Joyce area.  That's where I am now, and happy to stay put, thank you very much.  I'm just a West Coast kid. 

I went back to McCleay last fall just to see what was there.  I didn't recognize the old property, its covered in McMansions.  But the 2 room school house and the general store were still standing and in use.

[glenn kangiser]

I was born in Oregon, lived in Lincoln City area, Mill City, Gates and Mehama east of Salem - daughter's in Salem - relatives buried over half the countryside and I have never in my life heard of McCleay.

You hauled swingin'meat, considerations?  I did some long hauling - mostly unregulated but a few hot loads in a 45 foot refer.