1975: 'Lump-Lumps,' and other Del Oro band awards

25 years ago Dec. 21, 2000 Private services were held for Rae Allen Elliget, 73, of Loomis. During WWII, he served with the 59th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron as an airplane mechanic. Rae had a 39-year career with Sears, which included opening the store at Sunrise Mall. Navy Airman Cory Barton, a 1998 Del Oro graduate, was deployed to the Arabian Gulf aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. He had the opportunity to visit Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. Retired Judge George Yonehiro and his wife, Koko, will travel to Japan in February when their son, Navy Commander Marcus Yonehiro, takes command of a U.S. warship. Graduating from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo were Michael Kimbrough of Granite Bay and Kevin McSorley of Newcastle. Students at the new H. Clarke Powers School in Loomis enjoyed special holiday activities. Among those were Kelly Edwards, Maryann Good, Cecilia Campbell, Brandon Marshall, Bud Jensen, Sean Stoyanowski, Celia Jocey, along with Kyle, Alex, Tyler, Owen Ditmars. Kellen West played the role of Head Shephard and Katie Wood performed a dance solo during the First United Methodist Church of Loomis' Christmas Pageant 2000. For 11 years, Sean Cotten had been a victim of identity theft. He discovered a traffic ticket in 1997 that was not his and in 1992 someone used his name during an arrest for burglary. A suspect was finally arrested on Dec. 5 of this year. The Loomis Lions Club Visions discussion group, facilitated by Russ Kelly, met for its regular breakfast meeting at the Harvest Grill (now Mug and Co.). The group discussed local issues such as road signs, parking, improvements to historical buildings, etc. Placer Elementary School in Loomis showed its holiday spirit with several projects. Among the students who donated jackets for the "Coats for Kids Sake" were Kirk Middleton, Austin Brown, Zach Turner, Tyler Tassinari and Brett James. Mrs. Debbie Clark's fourth-graders assembled cosmetic bags for the Auburn Placer Women's Shelter. 50 years ago Dec. 18, 1975 A Mass was held for Rebbeca Josephine Lopes, 50, a native of Canada and a resident of Loomis for 29 years. She was a secretary at Placer Elementary School. Several residents of Golden Hills Estates, located four miles out Horseshoe Bar Road in Loomis, told of unusable water causing illness and a sickening odor. Robin Kennedy, owner of Golden Hills Water Co., didn't deny the poor quality of his water but did not have the funds for improvement without a giant rate increase. Del Oro High School football coach Robert Bonner was master of ceremonies for the Golden Eagle Band's potluck supper. Among the band awards were the "Lump-Lumps," given for such things as piling band clothes on top of one's car and driving off, losing shoes in the mud during a performance, falling face first on top of one's drum in the mud, and flag girls' dress falling off due to trusting velco, etc. Del Oro's Ski Club hoped to have a very active year, according to Club President Kelly Osborn. Rolf Moeller and Hal Dugger were retiring from coaching football at Del Oro. Rolf coached the varsity squad for the past 10 years and had successful seasons as a JV coach for six seasons. Hal enjoyed coaching football but decided being varsity baseball coach as well was too demanding. A probable replacement would be a man Rolf once coached, JV coach Steve March. After many, many years, Earl Gates asked the Placer County Board of Supervisors to up the rent from $160 to $180 a year on his parking space land at Memorial Hall in Loomis. Yesteryear by Vivian Rasmussen: In 1908, Thomas and Elizabeth Sippola with son John August, all natives of Finland, bought 47 acres on the Auburn-Sacramento Road. A fine fresh water spring on the property had also been ideal for the Maidu tribe before settlers moved in. In 1921, John August married Anna Johanna Rytkonen of Finland and they raised a family: Anna, Aune, John, William, Joann and Thomas. The ranches, such as the Sippolas, that didn't have access to irrigation water, had to rely on deep plowing and cultivation. In the 1940s, John had been called to serve his country and gave his life. 75 years ago August 1949 Earning ribbons at the Placer County Fair included Marge Crossley, Ruth Hogeland, Joanne Wickman and Naomi Takahashi (Canned and Preserved Food); William Crossley, Wilson Makabe, A.C. Larsen and Mrs. F.E. Woods (Horticulture); Marie Rasmussen and Marge Nute (Floriculture). The Placer County TB and Health Assn. met at the home of President Dorothy Oakes in Loomis. The Labor Day picnic had become a familiar part of the American scene with ball games, horseshoe pitching, sack races and more. Teachers at Loomis School for the 1949-50 school year Kg-eighth grade were Breeze Newcomer, Fay Adams, Lillie Clover, Dorothy Watson, Ruth Confer, Mary Brown, Theo Brace, Frances Morgan, Jacqueline Wood, Charles Gardner and Harry Burcell. Teaching instrumental music was Duane Newcomer. Entries from Placer County for the State Fair Horse Show were F.W. Stables, Marge Preisser, Louis Garino, Marian McAnally and Louis Jones of Roseville, along with Clay Carter of Penryn. With seven returning lettermen, Coach Kendall Arnett believed his football team at Placer High School would have a good season. The first game will be against El Dorado County High School, played under the lights at the 20th Agricultural Fair in Auburn. Betty Grable starred in "The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend." Delegates to the 4-H Club Convention in Davis included Joan Rhoads and Marie Laster (Penryn), Bucky Fiddyment (Dry Creek), Charles and Hazel Beaver (Loomis). Standing Guard - oral histories, cont.: Steve Fujioka was drafted into the U.S. Army while living at Topaz Relocation Center. He was assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington, in charge of a battalion of black soldiers. He interacted with them during the day but bunked with white soldiers. It was uncomfortable, as many of the white soldiers treated Steve as the enemy. Steve had a cousin serving in Europe with the 552nd Field Artillery, part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. That unit came to a place where they saw a lot of emaciated people wandering around. It was their first experience with Jewish prisoners.