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Dear Mrs. Schwafel,
In
the February newsletter you mentioned compiling a history of Cascadel,
and l thought the enclosed photocopy might be
of interest to you. It comes from a history of the area which a
history teacher friend purchased when we all visited Mariposa about
3-4 years ago. I will try to get the title from him --it may very
well be in any of your local libraries up there.
For
what they're worth, I'd also like to add my own recollections of
Cascadel from the time my folks first purchased our lot, in 1956/7,
and of the old buildings that were still standing at that time.
The bridge across the creek by the lodge had much taller side-rails,
made of thin logs with the bark still on, in a design of several
large triangles with a long crossbar going along the top of them.
The lodge(clubhouse) had a small lean-to at the right side of it,
as you face it from the creek, in which was a cider press. There
was a lovely grapevine growing over a rounded wooden frame in front
of this little room, making a nice arch to walk under.
Turning,
left from the creek along the road, there was a store building at
the left side of the road, approximately in the area that Dr. Carter's(now
Heisig's) large open lawn and gazebo stands, but more toward the
center of the present road. The road went about 20 feet to the right,
over a small bridge affair, where those two boulders and all the
brambles now stand, then came around the curve as it does today.
Where the Carter(Heisig) house stands was at least one, and maybe
two, of the old ranch workers' cabins, Cabin 14, with the number
still on it. No one regretted its being torn down when Alton Looney
built the house, as it was pretty delapidated at the time.
Cabin
10(Pucci) was the house my folks rented from Basil Robinson while
our house was being built, and though it was very rustic at that
time, it was in good repair. The barn was filled with all sorts
of fascinating 19th century farm equipment, all crammed inside,
and obviously not touched for ages. I don't know what happened to
it, perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Pucci might have heard from Mr. Sibley,
the previous owner; I just recall that there were all kinds of big
and little pieces of equipment all jumbled together in the dimness,
some tools hanging on the walls, some wheeled items, and all very,
very old.
Going
back to the store, it was very weathered, and still had writing
on the front. Looking into the windows, you could see shelf upon
shelf of preserves in glass jars, cans and bottles of other foods,
tools, every kind of thing, and all of it just like a little museum,
not touched for years, just sitting there waiting for cutomers who
didn't come any more. It was there until about 1960, I think.
In
the ravine, quite close to where the intersection of Cascadel Lane
and Cascadel Drive is, were the weathered remains of chicken coops.
There were also quite a few old grapevines along the ravine. The
plum trees, which have been revealed since Mr. Cornett removed the
pines, have now seeded themselves thickly all along the edges of
the ravine. I mention them not because they are so historic, but
perhaps the Association might want to try an experiment with making
a community plum orchard from the seeds of the fruit, or from seedlings,
(with Mr. Cornett's permission, of course), as long ago we used
to make wonderful jam from these little plums. There are red, yellow,
(sort of like Santa, Rosas), and purple (like Damsons), especially
at the tip of the ravine, where the two roads meet, and perhaps
with cultivation, this variety might produce larger fruit. Walking
along Cascadel lane last year, l believe I saw one or two of the
old grape vines again, perhaps something could be done with cuttings,
for these make a sort of concord grape, if I recall.
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