Letters
to the editor from this week's Chronicle:
Redneck Review!
No. 222 - 7/29/2019
This review today might be called "Refreshing pause #2." Last
week a brief description was given here of a weekend spent with sons and
a cousin in the mountains of central Idaho. Our lodge took us back
dozens of years! We survived with no electricity, no inside water
or restroom, no phone service, just a whole lot of "No's" modern people
enjoy.
That review closed with "Stay tuned for the rest of the story!" With
political implications! So what unusual "pluses" did the weekend provide
making the trip a memorable one? First, the realization that early Americans
found their way into a wilderness extremely hard to get to. Then to discover
gold and other valuable metals that triggered mining in the area, where
my father worked and our family lived from 1940 to 1943. Next, to establish
a small community that worked a gold mine for several years, in an area
high in the mountains and snowbound for a good part of each year. Anyone
attempting a trip back to the area today should be amazed at the effort
then needed to discover and work the area under difficult conditions. It
gives a definite look into the character of the people and families who
first moved into the area sometime after Lewis and Clark's trip in the
early 1800's. And the lodge where we stayed definitely gave us a feel of
what life might have been like in those early days.
Second is the realization that our state and our nation is rich in
natural resources which are still of use and being discovered today. In
addition to the gold and other valuable minerals that are still being mined,
we traveled a few miles from our lodge to a "Crystal mountain," where an
entire mountain glistens with crystal onyx outcroppings, with small to
huge chunks of white crystals lying all around. A computer search
shows pictures of jewelry utilizing this amazing mineral. And a list
of the many other natural resources our state has been given, like recently
discovered gas and oil fields, would be too large to include here.
The continuously flowing hot water that flows through the pool at the lodge
and other sites around the state also testifies to the wealth of the natural
resources our area has been gifted with.
Finally, the quality of the people who live in the area, and who come
there to recreate and enjoy the surroundings, is also a big plus for the
future of our country. We personally were invited back in coming years
to this same rustic place or others like it, by people who enjoy the simplicity
of the living conditions found there. At the only eating place, or
"cafe" found anywhere in the area, we found the friendliest owners and
attendants, and the people from the area who travel there and patronize
the place. One young couple there from Texas greeted everyone as
they came into the place, and was noticed packing a big pistol hanging
from a holster on his right hip. Other visitors from all over enjoying
the area could be seen interacting and visiting with others, some local
and others from far off various places.
One piece of information learned triggered the "With political implications"
remark ending Review 221. Many of you have seen older eating places
covered with all kinds of tidbits left by visitors: calling cards,
paper notes, dollar bills, etc., all with names of folks who were there,
and were encouraged to leave a memento behind. This place was covered,
walls and ceiling, some dated back decades! BUT, we were told someone
complained, and that a government agency of some kind had said they MUST
COME DOWN, at least ones on walls, "for health reasons." At this point,
my reaction was, ENOUGH! "Leave us alone!" Peaceful and relaxed
areas like this "Do not need outsiders from urban cities telling them how
to live"! PERIOD!. One gets the feeling that far too
many directions come today from the top down, telling local and peaceful
people how to live and do business! Then or now, are we not able to take
care of ourselves?
Jake Wren |
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