Many favorable memories come back to me and I hope I can share them with you as I get time. I hope this short walk down memory lane is as pleasant for you as it is for me.
The six pictures below were all taken between 1957 and 1962.
From Left to Right: My Uncle, Andy Anderson, My Mother Belle Penland, My Father Bill Penland, and Me in the Basket at the 4th of July Rodeo in Taylorsville, California
L-R George Wess, Unknown, Mrs. Esther Kap, Unknown, Mr. Clarence Kap at Rich Bar, Feather River Canyon, California
Richard Penland in the house at Rich Bar, Feather River Canyon, California on Christmas Eve, 1958 (age 2 years)
The Penland's, Back Row L-R - Michael, Wilton (Dad), Fairabelle (Mom), Tia, Allen, Roberta, Front Row L-R Connie, Richard
July 24th 1961 - Feather River Shortline Railroad, Quincy, CA, Taken by Bill Penland
L-R - Tia, Connie and Richard Penland at The House on Rush Creek, CA on Christmas Eve
The California Zephyr
One of my most fond memories was seeing and watching the California Zephyr as it came through the Feather RiverCanyon in Northern California. I do not have any pictures of it but I was able to find some "YouTube" clips and will do my best to find some pictures of this very special passenger train as it ran the Western Pacific (now the Union Pacific) Railroad that runs through the Feather RiverCanyon.
This YouTube Clip is the California Zephyr at two locations on the Western Pacific Railroad in the Feather River Canyon, California. One is at Pulga, California and the other is as the Zephyr comes out of Tunnel Number 9 on the Western Pacific Railroad in the Feather River Canyon, California.
I hope you all enjoy these memories as much as I have.
Another YouTube Video of the California Zephyr.
This is a little more romantic video.
My younger sister Tia and I actually got to ride the California Zephyr from Stockton, California up through the Feather River Canyon to Keddie, California. Our Parents (Bill and Belle Penland met us at Keddie, after we had spent a week with our Grandparents (Ed and Pearl Anderson, our Mothers Parents) in Manteca, California, during summer vacation in 1965. I was 9 years old and Tia was 7 years old.
The picture below, taken in 1957, as described by my Mother, Fairabelle Penland:
This is a little fuzzy but maybe will give you some idea what Rich Bar looks like. The foreground is where they mined.
They were supposed to have taken around 23 million dollars worth of gold off it. They were allowed 10 feet square of ground per man. One pan was said to have had 15 hundred dollars worth of gold in it. It was said to have been the richest pan taken from Rich Bar. You can see why they called it "Rich Bar".
The two buildings in front are ours. The one on the left is the bar and restaurant. The other one is where we live. Then, the railroad tracks in the background. Some of the buildings above the tracks are ours and some are the railroad property.
Fairabelle Penland, 1957.
July 27, 1958 - The Penland's Bar, Restaurant and Home at Rich Bar, California
