Sunday, April 25, 1999

County abounds with sites to uncover region’s past

Most of these organizations have a membership service and welcome volunteers.
Following is a listing of these centers, sites and resources:

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Sunday, April 18, 1999

Orchardist prospers after early struggle

Buss family works together on Vaca Valley prune ranch

Both my parents were born in Iowa and grew up within five miles of each other, but they didn’t meet until they were almost grown. In Iowa we had a farm, 230 acres. The crops were corn, oats, barley and soybeans. I think they’re still raising mostly those same crops back there. Starting in 1932 or 33, we weren’t doing that well there. Things just didn’t work out and my father lost the property to the finance company in 37. I was just out of high school. The family moved out here that year because we had friends in Suisun.

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Sunday, April 11, 1999

Ranch work: Hardest job a family ever loved

Samuels women continue working Blue Ridge ranch after father, husband lost

‘We have bobcats. Foxes on and off. I’ve never had a problem with the coyotes. I don’t know why, everyone else does. The raccoons eat walnuts and so do the squirrels, but Shad just didn’t believe in poison. At one time, he bought a spray rig because the walnuts were getting husk fly. Then he saw a bird go into a tree and fall down. He never sprayed again. The spraying couldn’t be safe.

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Sunday, April 04, 1999

Ranchers carve homestead from wilderness

Samuels family built heritage of hard work and respect for wildlife in Solano County

‘‘In 1892, William Henry Samuels homesteaded this ranch, which is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Part of the ranch is in Napa County. When they first moved up here it was mostly brush and rocks and they raised sheep. The sheep were slaughtered right here and the meat taken down to town. Deer meat was also something you could sell. The Samuels men liked horses and cattle, but the fencing is really, really hard to do here and the cattle became very wild. They got into the brush and were almost impossible to get out.

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