The La Honda Voice

And She’s Off!

Jane's Gone AWOL

By Karen Christian

On Friday, May 24, the “A Team”, the “Creme de la Creme” as Jane calls them, gathered to celebrate the culmination of months of planning and to send Jane Sullivan on her way to take the American Walk of Life.

Who are these people and what were they thinking?

As a result of a New Year’s Day chat, Will Johnson, Adda Quinn, Karin Bird, Trudy Schoneman, Bill Bishop, Lisa Chupity, Karen & Rob Christian, Neil & MaryPanton were brought together by Jane to help execute her goal of walking across America. From our very first meeting, there was no doubt this goal was going to become a reality. The perfect storm was created by combining Jane’s enthusiasm and passion with friends who were dedicated to working out the details.

Hard at work for the past year, the A Team has been gathering data and information, researching places to stay, oddities to see and people to meet as Jane makes her way across America. Each of us with our selected states searched high and low for the best coffee shops, the diveyest dive bars and the most unique American experiences we could find. We’ve had meetings about safety, communication, travel logistics, insurance and packing lists. We’ve met with the architects of the American Discovery Trail and contacted authorities on all sorts of subjects.  And now she’s on her way.

After treating us all to a full English breakfast, Jane and Tim headed off in their RV, the Mary Joyce. They will take 10 days heading east to her starting point in Lewes, Delaware. From there, on June 3, she begins the adventure walking and biking across the United States.  Members of the A Team, family and friends will be hopping on and off the trail to meet up with Jane on her journey, sharing the fitness challenge and helping drive the Mary Joyce. This trip is sure to be full of amazing experiences for everyone involved, particularly for the Americans that encounter Jane along the way!

From a New Year’s goal to the realization of a dream - Jane’s Gone AWOL!

Keep track of her progress on Instagram (janesgoneawol) and You Tube (Jane Sullivan).

La Hondans Support “Jane Goes AWOL”

by Adda Quinn

In the last month’s Voice, Neil Panton interviewed Jane Sullivan about her upcoming great adventure walking, biking, and driving across the US to inspire, motivate and encourage others to live life to the fullest.  A number of La Honda residents have volunteered to help her realize this dream.

JANE AND TIM

Tim and Jane Sullivan will be driving East in their rig, the Mary Joyce, across country the end of May, following portions of the American Discovery Trail (ADT) that she will be using on her trip returning West. Her trip starts in Delaware where local La Hondans Karin Bird and Will Johnson join her.

JANE AND KARIN, THE LA HONDETTES

Karin is a friend who wants to bike ride with Jane part of the journey and who undertook all of the planning for the first two states:  Delaware and Maryland. You probably know these friendly ladies as the La Hondettes, who perform with our local bands. 

WILL JOHNSON

Will Johnson is a local La Honda fixture frequently found grazing on bagels and coffee at the village market when he’s not knee deep in ranch chores or playing with his ham radios. He is one of the instigators of Jane’s decision to make her epic trip, along with Neil Panton.  Both gentlemen said they would help her with logistics if she would make the trek. Will is the designated driver for both Delaware and Maryland.

Will Johnson and Adda Quinn were the planners for the next two states, West Virginia and Ohio.  Mary Joyce will be driven across West Virginia by Jane’s brother Bill. Her nephew Reuben will accompany Jane on the trails in West Virginia.  We want Jane to have as much company while on the trails as possible for safety sake. There are two or three states for which we still need hiker/bikers and drivers.  We have potential driver volunteers for Ohio but nothing confirmed yet, and hoping to find some hiker/bikers for this scenic leg of the trip.

If you have not traveled much, you would be in for a treat if you can join Jane for portions of her odyssey. The planning has been a trip in and of itself. We are all learning so much about our country.  It has really been an educational experience.  Below follows some of the highlights Jane will be seeing in her first four states:

Delaware June 3-6, 2019

The journey begins after we rendezvous on June 3^rd in Lewes Delaware, the farthest Eastern point of the American Discovery Trail.  The following morning, Jane will walk about 15 miles to Milton, Delaware. Milton is an important ship building town first settled in 1675 by English colonists.  As it turns out the local pub in Milton has Karaoke on Tuesdays so watch out Milton… the La Hondettes are coming to town. Day 3 is an 18 milewalk to Bridgeville, Delaware.  That evening they will drive to Stevensville on Kent Island to stay at the home of acquaintances.  Stevensville is another town of historical note with over 100 historical structures in the downtown area.  The last day they will head into Washington DC to spend a couple days touring the nation’s capital.

Maryland June 7-14, 2019

After DC, Jane heads to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, also known as the C&O Canal or the Grand Old Ditch.  It operated from 1831 to 1924 along the Potomac River and runs about 185 miles to West Virginia.  The canal served as the main form of transport in the area providing food, mail, building materials, booze… you name it, to the towns along the way. 74 locks were built to accommodate changes inelevation.  The canal and towns along the way have a distinctly European character.  Jane and Karin will be riding bikes along the path adjacent to the canal for about a week before they reach West Virginia.

West Virginia June 15-21, 2019

On the Allegheny Front, Jane will be in the Monongahela National Forest, 3500-4000’ where
snow might fall any day of the year. This segment is the highest elevation that the Discovery Trail will reach east of the Rockies.  Here she will find out why West Virginia is called the Mountain State. Beautiful waterfalls, lakes, canyons, and forests to be explored. It also has Abe Lincoln’s mom’s homestead to visit!

They will then drive to Wolf Summit where they will bike the next 60 miles to Walker. The Discovery Trail follows the North Bend Rail-Trail, a National Recreation Trail through one mountain valley after another, with 10 tunnels and 37 trestles. Along the route are cottage industries of hand blown glass, old asphalt mines which produced material for many of Europe’s first paved roads, and nice parks. They drive to Parkersburg at the Ohio border for a side trip to the Blennerhasset Island Historical State Park to visit the mansion and to take a stern-wheeler river boat ride.

Ohio June 22-30, 2019

The Discovery Trail route is in the southern part of the state which has spectacular scenic attractions. In 1803, when Ohio was the first state to be carved out of the Northwest Territory, first settlers discovered that 95% of the land was covered in hardwood forest.  Much of the area the Discovery Trail passes through is still heavily wooded.  The Appalachian Plateau in eastern Ohio has narrow valleys, steep hills and many caves. The Hocking Hills State Park alone sounds like a 2-3 day stay for its activities and natural beauty.  There are parks about every 30 miles on the route with lakes and hiking.

Heading south and west from there are numerous forest parks in the Little Smokey Mountains to be explored.  The Discovery Trail will be driven the last leg to Cincinnati where the trail crosses into Indiana.  The Indiana leg is being managed by La Hondans Bill Bishop and Trudy Schoneman from whom you will be hearing in the future, along with other La Honda volunteers for this project.

JANE SULLIVAN. AS HERSELF

If you want to be part of this great adventure, email [email protected].  Follow Jane on Instagram @JanesGoneAWOL; Facebook at JanesGoneAwol and YouTube: Jane Sullivan Janes Gone A.W.O.L..  Even if you are unable to join Jane on any part of the cross-country venture, we hope you will join us all August 31, 2019, on the very final leg of the trip when we will be hiking from Sears Ranch Road down into La Honda.  Hold that date and let’s make it a big party in town! Enjoy being part of Jane’s epic odyssey!

 

When the church was new...

Hidden away as it is, up Sears Ranch Road, a person could live in Cuesta for months and not realize there is a church in town if they never drive up the road to the school. The church you see today was built in the mid-20th century, but the church community has existed since before 1883.

Someone recently came across pictures of the 1954 dedication of Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church. Along with St. Anthony’s in Pescadero, Our Lady of Refuge is a mission church of the parish of Our Lady of the Pillar in Half Moon Bay. The following is adapted from a portion of a booklet published in 1968 for the celebration of the centennial of Our Lady of the Pillar parish.

 

The chapel of Our Lady of Refuge in La Honda, built in 1953, was dedicated on May 16 1954, by Most Reverend Merlin J. Guilfoyle, Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco.

In the 1880s, when La Honda was a summer resort destination, Catholic services in La Honda were held in various places until a suitable building was found. But with a shift in population, the original church was later sold and the property on which it stood reverted to the owner. Parishioners then attended St. Gregory's in San Gregorio. Later on, when the La Honda congregation built up again, the priests from Half Moon Bay began offering Mass at La Honda--in the pre-1953 days in available halls. (Editors note: the banquet room at Boots and Saddles Lodge was one of those places).

General construction of this church is wood frame and concrete. The main frames which span the structure are of reinforced concrete and weigh about 10 tons each. The interior of the church is simple. The altar is executed in walnut and the focusing of attention on the altar is facilitated by carefully planned lighting. The finishes are creosote stains and natural oils. The wide overhangs are designed for protection of the structure in an area where considerable rains fall in the wintertime. The structure is heated by a forced warm air system. The cost was $67,295.25.

The propane heater was replaced last year. We believe that it was the original from 1954.

Spider Webby part 2

Last month I suggested readers be on the lookout for that spider webby stuff. Did you see any?

Unfortunately, during the month of September I didn't see any at all. But there's still time in October, before the rains come. Usually I look for a warmish night with a wind from the northeast. The next morning is when I would expect to see a few (or many) short (or long) strands of webby stuff lodged in the dry grass or on a good year, festooning trees and fences.

The photo accompanying this article is not the webby stuff! What you see is a long staple of sheep's wool and in the background you see thistledown stuck to tarweed plants. The green plant with the purple flower is the thistle plant itself.

On the Internet you can find many images and accounts of this mysterious fluff. Just do a search on floating spider webby stuff or angel hair. As I pointed out last month some of the images do not look at all like our local webby stuff. And some of the accounts are...interesting.

UFO proponents claim that this material is of alien origin--perhaps a byproduct of spacecraft propulsion--and that it disappears completely if you try to gather it to study it. A few years ago I mustered up the courage to collect some in a plastic cup. You can roll it into a ball and it does compact, but it does not disappear. My sample gathered dust until I threw it out.

The scientific explanation that this fiber is produced by spiders using the wispy threads of spun silk as transportation seems most plausible. But I wonder what kind of giant spider makes those yards long webs made of many fibers that can be seen every so often? (Scary thought!) Why have I never seen any trace of spider or other creature in any of these webs? Did they spin them, float off and then abandon them without a trace?

I suppose we can look back at the thistle plant in the picture and think about this. Who would expect the downy fluff to be the mode of seed dispersal for the thistle plant if you didn't know where it came from? The thistledown gives enough lift to the seed to get it up and away from the plant before the seed drops to the ground and the thistledown floats off on its merry way!

If for some reason you don't see any of the spider webby stuff this year there's always plenty of thistledown!

Spider webby stuff...?

 

 

Although this photo was not taken locally this is what the local webby stuff looks like.

It's September! Although we might be enjoying our warmest summer days, fall is in the air. But there's more than fall in the air. At this time of year when the wind and weather are right you might notice strands of what I call "spider webby stuff" clinging to fences and tree branches or floating freely in the air. This webby white stuff is more than a single spider web—it's like a fuzzy group of fibers (see photo). The strands can be long or short and most often they appear thick and thin or puffy.

I first saw these webs as a youngster with my grandfather at San Gregorio. Overnight, strands of material floated in, the long waving streamers lodged on the barbed wire fence. My grandfather grew up in the mountains of Monterey County and he recalled the sight of these spider webby streamers in the fall of the year when he was a boy. He was impressed by their size and number that year. I have been watching for them ever since, seeing some almost every year.

My dad was fascinated by UFOs and he shared a book with me that claimed the webby material was of alien origin and that it often disappears without a trace when gathered for study.

The webs have been seen in various parts of the world. They have been linked to chemtrails and supernatural events. A more down-to-earth explanation is that spiders spin the threads and float away on them as a method of dispersal.

My present location, in a basin below a ridgeline, is the ideal place for wind currents to deposit floating items—you would be amazed at the number of deflated party balloons that have found their way onto our rural land, lodging in tree branches or finally resting right out in the grassy field. So during the webby season I know just where the currents are apt to deposit the webby stuff and when the time is right I may spot some on my morning walk.

Take time to look around this month and see if you can spot some of the webby stuff. Then stay tuned for part two of this article...

Photo from museumvictoria.com.

Sleepless in La Honda

 

SC4 Amateur Radio Club welcomes all to Field Day

This June, La Honda’s fearless ham radio operators once again pulled an all-nighter in the name of emergency communications.  You may have noticed the gigantic antenna in the field next to the firehouse, or bleary-eyed operators stumbling into the Market for coffee Sunday morning, but this dedicated group worked all weekend to prove that La Honda is not as isolated as it seems when it comes to emergency communications.

Mobile 40’ Crank-up Tower with antennas

Field Day (seems like Daze) is an annual event, and La Honda’s Amateur Radio Club proved once again that we have some of the most innovative and accomplished individuals around.  Some achievements this year include:

-       Rigging a 40 foot mobile tower with four very different antennas, controlled with remote switch by radio operators to enable contact with other stations across the United States.

-       Using a homemade pneumatic tennis ball launcher to raise other antennas high in the trees.

-       Constructing an antenna made from a tape measure and PVC pipe, and using it to contact the International Space Station as it passed overhead.

-       Using computers and software connected to the radios to make contacts using digital modes such as RTTY, PSK-31 and CW (Morse code).

-       Operating entirely off the grid using generators and solar power.

Tape Measure Antenna built by Jennie KK6DNX at Field Day

An entire village was set up in one day at La Honda Gardens (thank you Charlie C.!!!) that included a radio tent, eight antennas, a food tent, overnight accommodations, a public information booth, and a radio station allowing visitors to “get on the air” and try out ham radio.  Then, radio operators worked 24 straight hours making contacts with as many other stations as possible. This is a radio contest, so logging contacts and keeping score is part of the fun.  Equally important is to share information with the community about emergency preparedness and communication, and to encourage new hams. It also keeps La Honda’s club in practice for setting up communications quickly in case of an emergency.

Pneumatic Antenna Launcher built by Mike, KJ6VCP

Getting an amateur license is easy, and the cost of your first radio can be quite low.  Hand held radios starting as low as $50 allow you to communicate from La Honda to Skyline to Pescadero and even Half Moon Bay and Pacifica from some locations!  That can come in handy on the trail or in areas where cell phones don’t reach. La Honda’s radio club offers classes each year to help prepare for the license exam (35 multiple choice questions, 26 answered correctly) and provides training and resources to help you become an effective part of the area’s communications network.

Keep your eyes open for upcoming ham radio events, and get involved!  You can also visit the website http://www.sc4arc.org for more information.

Bundy and the La Hondettes at AJ's - Saturday March 29th

La Honda - The Band???

Did you know there is an English(?) band named "La Honda."

The naming of the band was explained, according to information at http://www.morpheusrecords.com/Pages/lahondaframe.htm : "In 1966 Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters set off from ranch La Honda, California in their psychedelic bus intent on liberating the minds of a generation and opening the doors of perception via the medium of LSD… Jump aboard their magic bus…. they released their debut single '27 Women' in 2001 on Morpheus Records...The song was subsequently chosen as the theme tune to the highly successful Tic Tac advertising campaign on TV and the cinema."

A 30 second excerpt of the Tic Tac song, 27 Women, can be found here:   http://www.morpheusrecords.com/Sound/27women.mp3 "…27 women never made a man outta me…" The Hammond organ gives the song a 60's sound.