LOOKING BACK From our archives; compiled by Howard Stitt

10 Years Ago April 22, 2010 Undral Khuyag, a native of Mongolia, arrived in the U.S. two years ago and only knew two English words - yes and no. "My family moved here to live in a better economy. Where I come from, there was not enough money to support our country and many people were homeless," Undral said. Thanks to her English Language Development teacher, Robin Amrine, her language skills advanced tremendously and the Loomis School 12 year old was awarded a scholarship to a science and math camp at Stanford University. Amrine worked with Undral, along with 49 other students who speak English as a second language. The languages spoken by the students included Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian and Indian languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, and Tamil. Jennifer Horton helped Michele Hogan and Judy Egan choose iris from the Horton Farm Iris Garden during the Loomis Basin Iris Tour. Other tour sites were Yarda's Ditch Water Iris Farm and High Hand Nursery. Local residents were asked, "Do you worry about crime in the area?" Joyce Kelley - "Sure I do. It's become more and more prevalent." Ellis Thompson - "What? Me worry?" Steve Glashan - "Of course. We haven't been victims but neighbors have." Gerry Nash - "We don't worry as much about it as city folk." Austin Petty - "No. I feel people look out for one another, besides having a great law-enforcement team." Larry Spencer - "Not as much as if I lived in Rocklin or Roseville." The Del Oro High School track and field team has the distinction of being the only school in California with two girls pole vaulting over 12 feet. They are Mackenzie Landry and Vicki Warner. The inaugural inductees to the Del Oro High School Hall of Fame are Tom Cooper, a four-sport athlete, student body president and valedictorian for the Class of 1961; Butch Enkoji, also a 1961 graduate and a great football player; Randy Hansen, the class of 1969, was selected for his cross country and track accomplishments; David Johnson, a basketball standout for the Class of 1974; Kurt Richter, Class of 1978 tennis champion who went on to play at Wimbledon; Jun Takuma, groundskeeper from 1960 to 1986 known for his pride of workmanship; Paul Yokote, proud supporter of Del Oro students (Paul's Kids) and photographing school events; Bob Bonner, chosen for his coaching mentorship and as the first football coach at the school; and Ed Bonner, football and track achievements, Class of 1969. Also being honored were the 1966 boys' basketball and 1969 track teams. 25 Years Ago April 20, 1995 Services were held for James Masanori Sugiyama, 72, a native of Japan and a Loomis resident for 43 years. He worked as a body and fender man for more than 40 years. He was a member of the Placer Buddhist Church, the Nikkei Golf Club and the Northern California Golf Association. Services were held for James Allen Minor, 75, a native of Kansas City, Missouri and a resident of Penryn and Placer County for 35 years. He was a retired machinist at McClellan Air Force Base. Rocklin Mayor Kathy Lund announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for the 4th Assembly District vacated by retiring David Knowles. The Placer County Spelling Bee winner was Mara Gouveia, a sixth-grade student at Ridgeview School in the Eureka Union Elementary School District. The Loomis Basin Heritage Group, Inc. gave a tour and unveiled plans for the historic fruit sheds in town. Information was presented by Gerald Brentnall, Howard Nakae, James Williams, David Piches, "Chip" Smith, Stuart Smith and Dr. Bruce Daniel. Loomis Grammar School "Falcons of the Month" in sixth-grade were Scott Crim, Vic Sneed and Nicole Pahl. Megan Waller was sad at being sent to "debtor's prison" as she played a game of "Mathville," a performance-game with the Motherlode Stage Company at the Red Brick Art Center in downtown Loomis. The Sierra College Music Department's jazz students raised money for a trip to perform at Disneyland. To help with that effort, the Generic Swing Orchestra headlined an evening of dancing. The orchestra played swing tunes from the 1920s to the 1940s. The musicians were Greg McLaughlin, reeds; Ron Cuhna, trombone; Tom Lopes, Bass; Greg Perkins, guitar; Brian Hobson, drums; Dave Metzker, trumpet; and Maggie Metzker, vocalist. 50 Years Ago April 16, 1970 Services were held for Jack E. Herr, 46, a native of Roseville and a veteran of the U.S. Army in World War II. He was employed at the Farm and Home Advisory Office for the University of California Extension Service. He formerly taught at Elk Grove High School and was a member of the Tahoe Cattlemen's Association. Private Robert Neuhauser, Jr., son of Mrs. Melba Duarte of Loomis, completed the Pay and Disbursing Specialist Course at the U.S. Army Finance School at Fort Benjamin in Harrison, Indiana. Physically-handicapped pupils from local schools enjoyed a field trip to Southern California. Flown by Western Airlines, they visited Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland and Marineland. Small greenish worms called the Fruit Tree Leaf Rollers are infesting local oak trees. The larva can easily be recognized by the web they spin as they drop from the oak trees to the ground. Rocklin residents Charles Lucas, Phillip Freer and Mrs. Laura Hice, along with Mrs. Betty Barber of Loomis, were winners of Sunset Rotary Club's second-annual Community Service Awards event. The awards banquet was held at the Whitney Ranch National Country Club. Frank Law of Loomis delivered five boxes of tools to Mr. Larry Ellyson's Auto Lab Class at Del Oro High School. Law had spent six cents on a letter to one of his suppliers, Thorson Tool Company of Oakland and the company responded by sending the five boxes with 65 tools in each with a value of $135. The Placer High School Jazz Band would be a feature attraction at the 22nd annual Placer County J.A.C.L. (Japanese American Citizens League ) community picnic. Mrs. Lucille Harness of Loomis was the publicity chairman for the International Travel Trailer Club of America's sixth annual rally. The event was held at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. Carolyn Thomas had successful experiences as a 4-H member. She was a medalist in the Foods and Nutrition program sponsored by General Goods Corporation. "At first, I didn't know how to cook very well," Thomas said. "Even though I measured the ingredients as accurately as I could, the meal just didn't turn out right." Learning how to sew, she added, "I didn't know how to thread a machine but now I make practically all of my school clothes." 75 Years Ago April 1945 The nation and world were shocked by the news of the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He died at Warm Springs, Georgia from a hemorrhage on April 12, 1945. Vice President Harry Truman was called to take over the duties of the nation. With the war in its final stages, the President's death came at a very inopportune time as he was highly respected and looked upon as a competent leader by all our Allied nations. Mr. and Mrs. Fenn Laird of Loomis received word from the War Department that their son, Army Major Robert Laird, was seriously wounded in action over Germany. He was a pilot on transport planes in the European War theatre from the beginning. Major Laird had been earlier classified as missing in action. Private John Smith, 19, received severe wounds in action in Belgium during the breakthrough of the German armies. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. I.Z. Smith of Loomis. Navy Lt. Dean Laird reported that the quality of Japanese pilots was getting worse as evidenced by a pilot he was chasing who flew right into the side of a hill. Captain Ernest Thomas, a pilot with the Army's "Black Widow" night fighters, shot down a Japanese "Betty" bomber as it approached Iwo Jima. As the Betty's came closer to within bombing range, he said, "We had to close fast and shoot quick." Capt. Thomas was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Dick Thomas of Loomis. A car driven by Martin Brooks of Loomis was crashed into from the rear, sending it over a 10-foot embankment. Along with Brooks, three other Southern Pacific machinists were in the car en route to Roseville for their midnight shift. Leon Juarros was the most seriously injured. The $10 bounty on coyotes created a deficit in county funds, resulting in the bounty being reduced to $5. Residents were reminded of taking care while canning vegetables. A farmer in Folsom and his wife died from food poisoning from home canned beans. Naomi Takahashi is a new student in Mrs. Brace's Levels 7 and 8 class at Loomis School. Her family has just returned from an internment camp where they had been sent in 1942.