What Happened?

My sister and I refer to the era when we grew up as a "bubble in time," during the 50's and 60's, where life in our little world was just about perfect. So what happened? I saw this online today, and rather than post it on Facebook, which I generally reserve for babies, puppies, and vacation pics, I decided to think about it a bit. Actually my nostalgia and sense of loss has been building for some time. Last year I wrote a song about it, and believe me, I’m no Mozart! (By the way, why are almost all of the famous composers men?) Anyway, I wrote my song, and sent it off to a guy who wrote a book along similar lines, The Last of the Prune Pickers by Tim Stanley. I guess I’m not the only one who feels that way about our valley. So anyway, here's the song, followed by a bit of family history that will make the story line make sense.

Cuttin’ Cots and Pickin’ Prunes

(A Minor)

Daddy, born on the frozen prairie,

Landed north west down by the sea.

Wanderlust just captured his soul,

Life of adventure became his goal.

Arizona called his name

And things were never the same.

A Kingman girl, oh so fine,

A hidden gem down at the mine.

Just seventeen, he captured her heart

Swept her away, a brand new start.

California, paved with gold

Packin’ their bags, they were sold.

(BRIDGE to A Maj)

To the Valley of Heart’s Delight,

Their new home, oh so right.

Life was simple then, all things right.

Oh, so right, Heart’s Delight.

Chorus:

Growin’ up in a carefree world,

A fifties child in a family,

Workin’ hard, summer afternoons

Cuttin’ cots and pickin’ prunes,

Cuttin’ cots and pickin’ prunes.

Before they knew it, children three,

Brother, sisters, family.

Growing, Scouting, twirling, whee,

Kids on bikes, we were so free.

Cuttin’ cots, a quarter a tray,

Back then, it went a long way.

Bubble in time, perfect day

But that was then, not today.

Chorus

Back to A minor

Seasons passed, the children grew,

Subdivisions made orchards few.

Shopping malls, not county fairs.

The simple life, no longer theirs,

Cuttin’ cots and pickin’ prunes,

Cuttin’ cots and pickin’ prunes.

 My Dad, Robert Austin Janes, Born in Elbow, Saskatchewan, Canada

The only boy, with 3 sisters

My mom, Roberta Harriet Phillips. She captured his heart...
Easy to see how!

The Janes Family, 1957  "Bubble in Time"

My dad was born at the hospital in Elbow, Saskatchewan, Canada, only because his mother had been in town to attend a traveling musical show. Normally children there were born at home. He was the youngest of 4 children, and the only boy. His parents were Ella (Bingeman) and James Austin Janes.  They lived on a wheat farm until the extreme cold winters forced his asthmatic father to move the family to the coast. In 1927, the family moved to Victoria, BC, Canada.

The family came from farming roots, and soon acquired land to begin farming. It was 56 acres, about 40 miles from Victoria, near Duncan. They had to clear the land of stumps leftover from logging about 30 years earlier. My dad did not go to high school, but instead helped his father clear the land. They first lived in a tent beneath a cedar tree, while they built a 12 x 16 foot shed to serve as temporary housing while they built their house. Shortly after the house was built, my dad ended up in a full body cast for 2 years, due to an accident that injured his leg and hip joint. He was told he would never walk again. He proved them wrong. His dad died in 1936, when some dynamite used for clearing stumps blew up in the barn.

In 1939, recovered from the injury, my dad got a chance to go to Idaho to work in gold dredging (photo above). He entered the United States on a temporary visa. In 1940 he got a permanent visa, and the next year he became a citizen. He was sponsored by his sister, who had married an American. In the winter he mined in northern California.  On December 7, 1941, the declaration of war brought the mining to a halt, so he moved to San Francisco where he became an Operating Engineer. He was sent to Kingman, Arizona to work as the foreman of the rock crusher used to build the runways for the army base there. While serving as best man for a friend, he met a beautiful girl who quickly won his heart, and 10 weeks later they were married.  His next assignment was to be in Guatemala, but they wouldn’t let him take his new bride, so he headed back north, where he and his new wife stayed with his sister and brother-in-law in Bonny Doon for about a year.

In 1944 they moved to Marin County, where they owned 2 service stations. They had their first child in 1944, moved several times, and ended up building a home in Campbell in 1951, where they lived until my dad passed away in 2000. My brother was born in 1949, and last but not least, I came along in 1953. The land my dad purchased was part of an 80-acre farm. He bought the 1-acre plot that had the well on it, then later subdivided and sold 1/3 of it to pay off his mortgage. He built his house around an existing shack, using scavenged materials. He began working the soil, and with water available for irrigation, he had a huge garden, and also maintained the existing orchard of apricot & prune trees. Every year he grew massive quantities of tomatoes, corn, green beans (always Blue Lakes), yellow crookneck & zucchini, rhubarb, and various herbs. In later years, he relied on a friend, Angelo Troquato, known as the sharecropper. Angelo mostly grew basil that he sold to local restaurants and grocery stores.

After my dad’s death, the home was sold, bulldozed, and replaced with three McMansions. The well was capped, as required upon transfer of property, and there is no evidence of the lush property that once was there.