We came from Gabbs in 1984 and stay'd with my dad for a couple of weeks looking for a job. Vern answered an add in the paper for someone to cut wood temporary. So we went to Shingletown and met Rosalee and her then partner Louis, who owned a 600 acre ranch. They lived in LA and had some people working here that left in a hurry after tearing things up and stealing. So when we came up they were leary of us and we were leary of them. But when they found out that Vern was a jack of all trades they put him to the test and if he could fix a piece of equiptment he would have the job as manager and caretaker. He did it and we got the job.

We started out with 3 kids and 2 adults in a single wide 1 and 1/2 bedr trailer. Mike slept on the couch and the girls doubled up in a single bed. Later Vern went to LA and picked up a Monkey and a 6 foot tall cage, and another cage and a cockatoo. So needless to say we were wall to wall for about a year. The monkey and cockatoo belonged to Rosalee. But I took care of them for about 8 years. The monkey is a story for another day. At that time there were cows and a couple of horses on the ranch. years down the road we even had ostriches and emus. Now all we have are two dogs and 12 hens and one rooster. We lived on the ranch for 14 years and because of money problems we left for 5 years and now we've been back for 7 yrs. But I'm getting ahead of my self. so I think I'll quit for now and go fix dinner.