Talk of the Town

 

Talk of the Town

Bill Barksdale, Columnist

I don’t know how many times I can say in this column how much I love Willits.  I don’t know why, but it’s such a good fit for those of us it fits.  It’s the people really.  Like this morning, I had just gotten up, was wearing my sweats and opening the blinds when I saw my dear old friend Norma Hanson walking past.  I opened the door and called out to her and she stopped and we chatted and laughed for quite a while.  That’s kind of the style of our friendship. 

Years ago Norma and I decided to take a ceramics class at Mendocino College.  As I recall it was two evenings a week.  Our first teacher was the late, great Bob Kirkpatrick.  Bob used to be the Superintendent of Schools I think.  He was a wonderful teacher.  Once he taught us the basics we were pretty much left on our own to create whatever we could.  Norma and I became attracted to throwing pots on the wheel, so we each have lots of bowls in all shapes and sizes. This was back in 2001. 

We would chatter all the way down to Ukiah, all through the class and all the way home.  The thing about throwing a pot on a wheel is, you have to concentrate.  That lump of clay has to be centered and stay centered as you delicately lift it and shape it into a bowl or vase or whatever.  The problem Norma & I would have is sometimes we would start laughing over some story or person we were talking about and suddenly, in an instant, both partially-formed pots would go wonky and sometimes even flying off the wheel.  I still use the bowls and plates I made in those classes every day.

My first job in Willits, back in the 80’s was being the maintenance crew at Brooktrails Lodge along with Joe and with Bill Wilson, who eventually became the head of the City’s maintenance department.  We remained friends throughout Bill’s life until his all-too-soon passing suddenly.  Rosemary still managed the Lodge but it was in transition and eventually she lost it.  It was a favorite vacation destination for many people who would plan their yearly vacations there.

We met Verda Campbell there, who was a long time waitress but also raised horses on the ranch with her husband, Peck.  Joe and I would go to their ranch every spring to get horse manure.  At the Lodge, there was Don whose hair remained an unnatural jet black despite his age, and his wife Millie who worked in the kitchen.  All became friends like an extended family.

We met our beloved friends, Marilyn McNair and Jeanne Hargraves at the Lodge.  They played Bridge there on a regular basis.  Joe and I started a deck refinishing business called Deck Savers, after we left the Lodge.  Marilyn was our first customer and Jeanne our second.  We all became very close.  Jeanne like a second mother, Marilyn like a sassy, flippant older sister.  We went to Jeanne’s house for almost every holiday or birthday for dinner.  We often played poker together, for cash.  Jeanne’s mother was still alive at the time and was a shark of a poker player. 

I learned real estate from my still good friend, Lee Persico at Coldwell Banker.  Well into his 80’s, Lee is still at it.  I’ve met almost every old rancher in Willits through Lee.   His wife, Evelyn, taught me how to peal garlic.  I only made the mistake of talking about politics with Evelyn once!  She’s a champion canner and I always enjoyed the jam I got from her every Christmas.  Now I’ve become a pretty good canner myself and make way too much plum jam every year.  This year I’m going to grow jalapenos and make some nice “hot” jam.

When we first came to Willits the place to eat was Mom’s Place, which became the second location for Ardella’s which Kathy & Lorrie owned.  Now it’s the Cafe’ 77.  Mom’s Place was the most entertaining place it town.  Always crowded.  The most engrossing   aspect was that the waitresses always had an ongoing conversation, completely oblivious to who was listening, as they gossiped about the most intimate details of the lives of anybody who they had a bit of dirt on, while they worked the room.  After a meal at Mom’s you knew just about every salacious detail of the “life of the day” being discussed as they waited on tables, never stopping their very loud conversations.

One of my beloved friends is Emmy Good.  At 84 Emmy is still my yoga teacher.  She amazes me with what she can do!  Much more flexible than me.  Her stories about her first yoga teacher in Beverly Hills, who wore fishnet tights and had a very large bosom, are hysterical - especially when Emmy really does the unidentifiable accent.  Emmy is a prize-winning raconteur.  We can, and do, talk for hours with story after story.  So glad those conversations have never been recorded. 

I could go on and on about treasured friends.  So much gossip.  So much love and friendship.

Bill Barksdale was inducted into the 2016 Realtor® Hall of Fame, and served as Chair of the County of Mendocino Assessment Appeals Board settling property tax disputes between the County Assessor & citizens and businesses.  Read more of Bill’s columns on his blog at www.bbarksdale.com