Photos by George L. Winship, Editor

  • More houses await completion in The Vineyards now that an adequate water supply has been connected to the subdivision's network of pipes that had previously been supplied, albeit inadequately, from a construction well.
  • ITS A GUSHER -- Phil Valdez, 52, a supervisor with the City of Anderson's Public Works Department, tests the pressure and volume of water available for firefighting in an undeveloped portion of The Vineyards subdivision.
  • IT STILL FITS -- Anderson Union High School alumnus Vickie (Romero) Adkisson receives the 1966 class ring she lost in October of 1965 from Cottonwood's U.S. Postmaster Beverly Fickes, whose father Walter Hicks found the ring 15 years ago while metal detecting on the Red Bluff High School athletic field where a set of visitor bleachers was being replaced. The initials 'V' and 'R' led Fickes to eventually discover and track down Gib and Vickie Adkisson in Clovis, Calif., near Fresno. The return of the ring ceremony, held 44 years later, took place Oct. 23, 2009, on the campus of Anderson Union High School, which recently celebrated its centennial.
  • Plasterers finish up one of 10 houses left unfinished when The Vineyards was discovered to have inadequate water supply to fight fires or flush toilets. A construction well that had supplied a trickle of water to the subdivision has been replaced recently with a pumping substation and a direct tie-in to the City of Anderson's water treatment plant.
  • Anderson Public Works Director Jeff Kiser inspects a pump station pressure guage following fireflow tests in The Vineyards subdivision last week. Adequate water supplies in the subdivision mean construction and sales of homes can resume as soon as market conditions allow.
  • Anderson Union High School Principal Scott Booth, left, meets with 1966 graduate Vickie (Romero) Adkisson of Clovis and U.S. Postmaster Beverly Fickes of Cottonwood shortly after Fickes gave Adkisson the Class of 1966 ring that Adkisson had lost 44 years ago in October 1965.
  • A Shasta Wildlife Rescue volunteer holds a kestral, the smallest day-feeding raptor common to much of North America. Some kestrals migrate long distances each year, ranging from the Alaskan tundra to South America, and back.
  • During the Return of the Salmon Festival, booths from various wildlife and natural resource agencies, both state and federal, line walkways near the Coleman National Fish Hatchery's rearing ponds. In the background are the actual hatchery buildings where nearly 12 million salmon are incubated until the young smolt hatch. They are moved from small to ever larger holding tanks inside the buildings until they reach a size where they can reasonably survive outdoor temperatures in the rearing tanks.
  • Life Cycle Croquet teaches youngsters as well as parents about the life cycle of salmon -- from the dangers young smolt face from other fish, wildlife and irrigation pumps as they swim downstream to the Pacific Ocean -- to the open ocean dangers and then the many obstacles the fish face as mature adults ready to spawn and their long trip upstream to the native water in which they hatched.
  • A Coleman National Fish Hatchery worker holds a typical adult salmon up for viewers. The largest salmon on the cart weighed 85 pounds, about as much as some of the young children who were touring the hatchery with their parents during the 19th annual Return of the Salmon Festival held Oct. 17.
  • Coleman National Fish Hatchery feeding ponds are always a popular draw for visitors during the 'Return of the Salmon Festival.' The ponds hold various sized immature salmon that are protected from natural predators until they are large enough to survive most of the dangers of Battle Creek and the Sacramento River. As they mature, they are released into the creek to begin their journey to the Pacific Ocean, where they will swim, feed and grow for three to seven years before returning to the hatchery where the milt and roe are harvested for another generation.
  • Sharrah's plaque
  • The bronze plaque bearing Sharrah's likeness is a tribute to his efforts as Anderson's Director of Public Works to 'put the City of Anderson on the map with the initial stages of what would be one of the finest parks in Northern California,' Anderson River Park.
  • From left, Frank Sawyer and John Dunlap share a few pertinent stories about the accomplishments of their partner, John Sharrah, who was honored Wednesday, Sept. 30, by the Anderson Rotary Club for having the foresight in 1965, when hired as Anderson's Director of Public Works, to acquire and begin development of the 500-acre Dodson Ranch along the Sacramento River into what is now Anderson River Park.
  • The boulder bearing Sharrah's plaque in Anderson River Park was erected near the gazebo and barbecue pits, both of which were earlier construction projects of the Anderson Rotary Club.
  • Window detail on Eric Clapton's 1949 Ford Tudor Coupe. Originally made from thin strips of metal, the seamless window frame on this rebuilt car were machined instead from one solid block of aluminum for a better fit and a nicer look.
  • Dan Laughlin, owner of the Anderson shop that bears his name, checks the positions of blocks underneath the raw steel body of Eric Clapton's 1949 Ford Tudor Coupe.
  • Redding Mayor Rick Bosetti congratulates Anderson Union High School on its centennial celebration. Bosetti is a 19?? graduate of the school.
  • Patti and Rick Bosetti, both alums of Anderson High, check out the trophies and sports memorabilia on display in the large gym. The display cabinets, worth $17,000, were custom-built and paid for with donations from the Centennial All-Class Reunion.
  • One of the many returning alumni from Anderson Union High School has his or her car decorated for the Centennial All-Class Reunion bash, Sept. 3-5.
  • Anderson Mayor Butch Schaefer, Class of 197?, presents a City Council resolution congratulating his alma mater Anderson Union High School on its centennial observance Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. The first day of class at Anderson High was Sept. 13, 1909.
  • Part of the crowd, estimated at 1,300, that enjoyed an evening in Anderson River Park to kick off Anderson Union High School's centennial reunion Sept. 3-5, 2009.
  • Anderson Centennial Serenade 'Rocking in the Park' on Thursday, Sept. 3, with 1,300 in attendance, current students and faculty joined with alums and grade school children to present a musical history and revue of '100 Years of Excellence.'
  • Some of the $17,000 worth of new display cabinets in the foyer of Anderson Union High School's large gymnasium. The cabinets were a gift from the Centennial All-Class Reunion committee and all those alums who donated to the project.
  • Teachers and students give up a Saturday, Aug 29, to replace sod in front of the Performing Arts Center on the Anderson Union High School campus in preparation for the 100-year-old school's Centennial All-Class Reunion Sept. 3-5, 2009.
  • 100 Years of Excellence display board at the Anderson Union High School library.
  • An 18-wheeler prepares to haul away debris from the defunct Golden Room bar and former City Grill restaurant that was destroyed by fire in September 2004. Leckey Land Clearing of Redding was awarded the demolition contract based on a bid of $19,738 several months after the City of Anderson purchased the property for $300,000. The city hopes to eventually construct a new police department facility on the property.
  • 'Mario's Golden Room' was still on the mail box as demolition crews cleared out the building's interior prior to pulling down the decorative concrete block walls, all that remained of the burned restaurant and bar on North Street in Anderson.
  • The 'claw' or 'thumb' attachment on an excavator crunches through decorative concrete block walls like a parrot's beak on a soda cracker. It is the skill of the operator that allows portions of the building to be pulled down and separated into component parts without causing the entire structure to fall apart in an uncontrolled manner.
  • Jack Johnson gently squeezes the hydraulic claw and thumb attachment on an excavator to tear an access hole in the building's east side shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday.
  • Sharon Leckey directs water from a fire hose on any clouds of debris dust that billows up as laborer David Olsen of Redding separates scraps of metal from the wood chip pile while Troy Leckey clears the concrete pad for loading and eventual removal
  • Troy Leckey, owner of Leckey Land Clearing, deftly operates a 52,000-pound track loader equipped with both a rear ripper and a front clam-shell bucket, converted the former City Grill's kitchen and food preparation area into a pulverized mass of wood, particle board and shredded carpet in a matter of hours.
  • Old technology -- A reader board sign like this one outside Anderson New Technology High School still serves a function, but a driver's eye is naturally attracted to a large banner stretched across the street and can miss the sign amid other clutter.
  • Finishing up, the banner pole system across North Street in Anderson will allow non-profit groups and service clubs to promote their events for a $150 hanging fee and the cost of creating the banner.
  • A pulley system extends the banner across North Street as Public Works Director Jeff Kiser, center below, directs the operation.
  • Anderson Public Works maintenance worker James Seabolt attaches the first 40-foot street banner to the pulley mechanism prior to extending it across North Street. The banner, visible on both sides, promotes Anderson Union High School's centennial Sept. 3-5 on one side and the city's downtown demonstration block street fair on the reverse side. Non-profit groups will pay a hanging fee of $150 and can keep their message visible for up to 30 days at a time. Banner specifications and pole reservation forms are available in the Public Works office on the second floor of Anderson City Hall.
  • ACTION HERO: Carly Rosen, 18, is Healthy Shasta's Youth Action Hero for advocating healthy snacks and exercise activities at the Anderson Teen Center.
  • PROMOTION: Large posters such as this one promoted Anderson's parks and trails at the Healthy Shasta booth during MarketFest. Anderson booster Kim Chamberlain, left, helps hold one side of the banner.
  • FIRE MUSEUM: Anderson's historic first fire hall has always been on East Center Street, but thanks to a downtown redevelopment project and the tireless efforts of many volunteer firefighters, the fire hall will soon see new life as a museum for the Anderson Fire Protection District. Two old engines are currently housed at the fire station, but other displays are planned as well.
  • Decorative rock work and a wrought iron fence will add character to the park-like landscaping along portions of East Center Street, Anderson's downtown demonstration block.
  • ACTION HERO: Carly Rosen, 18, of Anderson was honored twice by Healthy Shasta. First, as a Youth Action Hero for promoting healthy foods served at the Anderson Teen Center. Second, she was a member of Anderson Union High School's Cub L.E.A.N. that promoted healthy snacks and food choices in the school's cafeteria.
  • HEALTHY SHASTA -- CUB L.E.A.N. members Carly Rosen, 18, Rosemae Geronimo, 17, and Oliva Robertson, 17, receive recognition from Shasta County Supervisor David Kehoe during MarketFest for promoting healthy snack choices and cafeteria meals at Anderson Union High School.
  • Brandon Tenney, resident engineer for OmniMeans, checks the asphalt surface in Anderson's downtown demonstration block.

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