2001: 5 Franks donate to Loomis' first blood drive

25 years ago May 10, 2001 On May 10, 1951, the first blood drive was held in Loomis. To commemorate the occasion, five Franks were donating blood. They were Franks Kageta, Konrad, Nute, Fujita and Bailey. Frank Kageta recalled when he was a young donor, a pretty girl took his blood pressure. "Mine was always high when she was working." Frank Fujita started giving blood in the 1950s. A 21-year-old was arrested for burglarizing a Granite Bay residence and stealing $300,000 worth of jewelry. Placer Detective Bob Franz was able to identify the jewelry when the suspect tried to pawn a $150,000 necklace in Reno. The Sacramento Kings were playing the defending world champion LA Lakers with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Local residents Nicole Bergstrom and Emily Reed performed as Nubalance Equestrian Vaulters, which could be described as "dancing gymnastics on horseback." The horses came from large breeds such as Clydesdales, Percherons, Shires and Thoroughbreds. Loomis Grammar School's seventh-grade girls and boys were battling it out to see who was more intellectually and physically talented. Students worked on math problems and if a difficult problem was solved, the opposition had to shoot a basketball from a further distance. A final contest was to design a device to drop an egg from 20 feet up without it breaking. Reminiscing during the Loomis Fruit Growers Association's 100th anniversary celebration included Bea and Bill Tudsbury, Peggy Bonner, Mary and George Coleman, Bobby and Kobea Tudsbury. LFGA President Bob Hansen talked about the beginning and the charter members. Rudolph Nixon grew up at Doten's Bar Mining Camp on the American River. T.T. "Pete" Caya came from Canada by ship. The spelling of the name Caya was changed to Kayo since that was the way it was pronounced. W.H. Tudsbury was born in Centerville, now known as Pilot Hill. John Ferguson was born in Rio Vista and came to Loomis in 1878. George Brown came to our area in 1891 from the stony soil of Massachusetts. Several charter members were born in Denmark, settling on Dane Lane, now called Leak Lane. They included Niels Jensen, James Rasmussen and Rasmus Hansen. 50 years ago May 6, 1976 Funeral services were held for Cleveland Jackman Woodward, 83, a native of Troy, Texas, and a resident of the Rocklin-Loomis area for 55 years. He had been hospitalized since suffering a serious auto accident, which claimed the life of his wife, Bessie E. Woodward. A young 18-year-old sailor from Newcastle, Seaman 2nd Class Bishop Manes Jr. drowned at sea near Yokuska, Japan, while serving aboard the USS Brussell. Longtime resident Ruth Confer was recuperating from a fall. She was a teacher at the old Loomis School. Thanks to an alert neighbor, Jessie Whetmore, Ruth was taken promptly to a hospital. A two-car collision sent two local residents, 18-year-old Belko Yovenovich and Rhodelia Smith Bailey, 38, to a hospital for treatment. Three Del Oro High School instructors, Saul Wiseman, Jack Sanchez and Dick Reimer, ran in a marathon as members of the Ophir Prison Inmates Track Club. Saul finished ahead of the other two but failed to place in the top 250 runners. Dog packs killed 14 sheep belonging to two Penryn livestock owners. John Franin, owner of the Valencia Club, lost three sheep in one night. The heaviest losses went to Judson "Skip" Wright of Swetzer Road, who found 10 of his sheep killed. Any dog found in the act of attacking livestock or poultry may be killed by the property owner. Karen Leak, Pam Niesley and Mary Lou Steuer, Franklin Elementary School parents, were excited to be chairwomen for the school's carnival. The old chapel of the First United Methodist Church of Loomis was relocated and remodeled due to the completion of a new sanctuary. Church member Garvin Jabusch supervised the project done mostly by volunteers. The old chapel was consecrated on Nov. 12, 1916, under the stewardship of the pioneering Japanese residents. The Griffith Quarry in Penryn was dedicated as a Historical Landmark. The quarry, founded in 1864, employed 250 men by the 1870s. The granite could be seen in most of the important business buildings and private mansions in the state. 75 years ago November 1949 America's "skid row" population was said to be increasing rapidly. As many as 200,000 men now live in the dismal world of flophouses and alleys. A new roof was put on the old post office in Loomis. Floyd Shupe, owner of the building, reported Tony Wyler of Roseville would open a new business there. Mrs. Mildred Perry of Penryn and Mrs. P.D. Barnes of Loomis won Thanksgiving Baskets given by the Woman's Club. Playing at the State in Auburn was "The Girl From Jones Beach," starring Virginia Mayo and Ronald Reagan. Festive ashtrays could be made by folding aluminum foil around little paper plates from the dime store. Mrs. Louise Swetzer and Mrs. Dena Martynse were guests at the Poppy Club meeting hosted by Mrs. Esther Woodworth. The new 1950 Mercury had a restyled front end by tying in oblong chrome parking lamps with the grille. Taken up-black mule, owner may have same by paying for this ad and keep. Fred Adge, Rt. 2 Loomis 2541. Red fryers-dressed to order. Makabe Brothers-turn east at Placer Fruit Bowl and follow the fryer signs. A national survey taken by Woman's Home Companion showed a majority of the women polled said divorces were the fault of both the husband and the wife. One out of 18 were the odds that you would be killed if you were in a motor vehicle mishap. Most accidents occur between 5 and 6 p.m. As might be expected, the percentage of deaths was higher at night due to lower visibility. Standing guard - oral histories: James Makimoto's family was sent from Tule Lake to the Amache War Relocation Center near Granada, Colorado. His brother, George, was allowed to leave Tule Lake for a job with Curtis Candy Company near Chicago. His sister, Midori, also left camp to work for the War Relocation Authority. James got permission to visit them in Chicago. While there, he had back pain so bad he stayed in a hospital for a year, diagnosed with osteomyelitis. (continued)