The Great Fire at Fryberber Ranch(final)

It was in the evening, sometime near the end of January or beginning of February of the year 1963, when the great fire at Fryberger Ranch took place. It was an event to be remembered by residents of Dayton, Sheridan and all Soldier Creek Road. Harvey and Marilyn Fryberger were the co-owners of the Ranch at the time of the fire. The other co-owner was a married man named Frank who had four kids. At the time Harvey and Marilyn had one kid with the second one only a few weeks away from being born. The fire took place on one of the coldest evenings I’ve ever heard about. It was close to –45 degrees Fahrenheit outside when the fire started. Accordingly the fire was started in the stovepipes a little while before dinner. When Frank saw the fire he called Harvey, said ‘I think we have a fire’, and proceeded to put out the fire. Harvey bundled up and headed over to what is referred to as the ‘old house’. As Harvey was walking he saw a fire coming up through the roof of the house. When he arrived at the old house, Frank and family were sitting around eating dinner thinking that they had gotten the fire out. Harvey informed them that the fire was most definitely not out and he and the family then decided the house was lost and started getting everything out that they could. Meanwhile Marilyn Fryberger called the Sheridan and Dayton fire departments along with as many neighbors as she could to come and help put out the fire. Marilyn probably missed a few neighbors because the phone line burned out because of the fire, being as the lines where shared back then. Harvey was helping Frank and his family move everything out through the door. This was very slow going and Harvey realized that they could move things out faster through the big picture window. “I had a slight mental battle with myself as a person doesn’t just break out windows” Harvey recalled. Harvey did break the window and everything started to get taken out much faster. Because they were in a rush to get things out, a couple things were left behind. Harvey remembers perfectly two of the things which were left behind. The first was a large bag of dirty laundry. The fire happened on a Friday, and as Saturday was washing day, all the dirty laundry had been gathered into a bag. Apparently no one paid much attention to this bag and hence it was left behind. The second was an old broken china cup. Harvey had been gathering things out of the kitchen and he remembers very distinctly seeing the cup, assessing it as old, broken and useless and purposely pushing it aside. That would have been fine except that that old broken china cup was where Frank’s wife kept her very nice diamond wedding ring. Harvey reports that for days after him and Frank’s family dug through the ashes to try and find that ring. They never did and Harvey still believes that it is there somewhere, even though the fire burned hot enough that it burned everything in the house to ashes. By the time that most of the stuff had been moved out the fire trucks had arrived. The only problem was that it was still a –45 out and the fire trucks froze up. After the fire truck froze up the house fire became so intense that the tractor had to be brought out the pull the truck away from the house before damage was caused. Eventually the house burned down completely. Today all that can be seen of it is the concrete basement wall.

This great fire is remembered as the “most exciting and frightening thing that happened while we owned the ranch” according to Mr. and Mrs. Fryberger. Though Marilyn also stated “the birth of my three children was just as exciting.” This was just one of the many events that happened to the Frybergers during the five years that they resided on the Fryberger ranch. Some other fairly exciting and frightening events happened, including a windstorm during one January or February. Harvey recalls that the wind was blowing somewhere over 50mph but below 90mph. However fast it was blowing was fast enough to create a great amount of friction in the air, enough friction that the wind created lightning when there were no clouds in the sky. Harvey said that it was very frightening, though Marilyn doesn’t recall the event. Another event that both Harvey and Marilyn do recall though was one winter when it snowed enough to bury their car right out in front of their house. Other than these two events Harvey remembers the weather as fairly mild.

Much happened during the five years out on the ranch including the step by step building of the ranch house and the raising of various small herds of sheep and cattle. Overall Harvey and Marilyn look back on the time on the ranch as fairly peaceful and happy years. Harvey and Marilyn now live in Green Valley Arizona and are the parents of four children; Carol Myers, Sue Martin, David Fryberger, and Steve Fryberger. Sue Martin, my mother, is now caretaker of the ranch.

The Great Fire at Fryberber Ranch(edited)

It was in the evening, sometime near the end of January or beginning of February of the year 1963, when the great fire at Fryberger Ranch took place. “It was the most exciting and terrifying thing that happened while we owned the ranch” Harvey and Marilyn Fryberger recall. The Frybergers were the co-owners of the Ranch at the time of the fire. The other co-owner was a married man named Frank who had four kids. At the time Harvey and Marilyn had two kids with the third one only a few weeks away from being born. Some other fairly exciting and frightening events happened to the Frybergers during the 5 years that they resided on the Fryberger ranch. Marilyn stated that “the birth of my three children was just as exciting”. Harvey also recalled that an exciting weather event was a giant windstorm, and both recalled that there was one winter when it snowed so much it buried their car. Other than these two events Harvey remembers the weather as fairly mild. Much else happened during the 5 years out on the ranch including the step-by-step building of the ranch house and the raising of various small herds of sheep and cattle.

As for the windstorm it happened during one January or February. Harvey recalls that the wind was blowing somewhere over 50mph but below 90mph. However fast it was blowing was fast enough to create a great a mount of friction in the air, enough friction that the wind created lightning when there were no clouds in the sky. Harvey said that it “was very frightening”.

The great fire took place on one of the coldest evenings I’ve ever heard about. It was close to –40 degrees Fahrenheit outside when the fire started. Accordingly the fire was started in the stovepipes a little while before dinner. When Frank saw the fire he called Harvey, said ‘I think we have a fire’, and proceeded to put out the fire. Harvey bundled up and headed over to what is referred to as the ‘old house’. As Harvey was walking he saw a fire coming up through the roof of the house. When he arrived at the old house, Frank and family were sitting around eating dinner thinking that they had gotten the fire out. Harvey informed them that the fire was most definitely not out and he and the family then decided the house was lost and started getting everything out that they could. Meanwhile Marilyn Fryberger had called the Sheridan and Dayton fire departments along with as many neighbors as she could to come and help put out the fire. Marilyn probably missed a few neighbors because the phone line burned out because of the fire, being as the lines where shared back then. Harvey was helping Frank and his family move everything out through the door. This was very slow going and Harvey realized that they could move things out faster through the big picture window. He had a slight mental battle with himself as a person doesn’t just break out windows, but as the house was lost already, it would be okay. Harvey did break the window and everything started to get taken out much faster. Because they were in a rush to get things out, a couple things were left behind. Harvey remembers perfectly two of the things which were left behind. The first was a large bag of dirty laundry. The fire happened on a Friday, and as Saturday was washing day, thus all the dirty laundry was gathered into a bag to be washed. Apparently no one paid much attention to this bag and hence it was left behind. The second was an old broken china cup. Harvey had been gathering things out of the kitchen and he remembers very distinctly seeing the cup, assessing it as old, broken and useless and purposely pushing it aside. That would have been fine except that that old broken china cup was where Frank’s wife kept her very nice diamond wedding ring. Harvey reports that for days after him and Frank’s family dug through the ashes to try and find that ring. They never did and Harvey still believes that it is there somewhere, even though the fire burned hot enough that it burned everything in the house to ashes. By the time that most of the stuff had been moved out the fire trucks had arrived. The only problem was that it was still a –40 out and the fire trucks froze up. After the fire truck froze up the house fire became so intense that the tractor actually had to be brought out the pull the truck away from the house before damage was caused. Eventually the house burned down completely. Today all that can be seen of it is the concrete basement wall.

Overall Harvey and Marilyn look back on the time on the ranch as fairly peaceful and happy years. Harvey and Marilyn are the parents of 4 children; Carol Myers, David Fryberger, Sue Martin, and Steve Fryberger. Sue Martin, my mother, is now caretaker of the ranch.

The Great Fire at Fryberger Ranch

It was in the evening, sometime near the end of January or beginning of February of the year 1963, when the great fire at Fryberger Ranch took place. It was an event to be remembered by residents of Dayton, Sheridan and all Soldier Creek Road. Harvey and Marilyn Fryberger were the co-owners of the Ranch at the time of the fire. The other co-owner was a married man named Frank who had four kids. At the time Harvey and Marilyn had two kids with the third one only a few weeks away from being born. The fire took place on one of the coldest evenings I’ve ever heard about. It was close to –40 degrees Fahrenheit outside when the fire started. Accordingly the fire was started in the stovepipes a little while before dinner. When Frank saw the fire he called Harvey, said ‘I think we have a fire’, and proceeded to put out the fire. Harvey bundled up and headed over to what is referred to as the ‘old house’. As Harvey was walking he saw a fire coming up through the roof of the house. When he arrived at the old house, Frank and family were sitting around eating dinner thinking that they had gotten the fire out. Harvey informed them that the fire was most definitely not out and he and the family then decided the house was lost and started getting everything out that they could. Meanwhile Marilyn Fryberger had called the Sheridan and Dayton fire departments along with as many neighbors as she could to come and help put out the fire. Marilyn probably missed a few neighbors because the phone line burned out because of the fire, being as the lines where shared back then. Harvey was helping Frank and his family move everything out through the door. This was very slow going and Harvey realized that they could move things out faster through the big picture window. He had a slight mental battle with himself as a person doesn’t just break out windows, but as the house was lost already, it would be okay. Harvey did break the window and everything started to get taken out much faster. Because they were in a rush to get things out, a couple things were left behind. Harvey remembers perfectly two of the things which were left behind. The first was a large bag of dirty laundry. The fire happened on a Friday, and as Saturday was washing day, thus all the dirty laundry was gathered into a bag to be washed. Apparently no one paid much attention to this bag and hence it was left behind. The second was an old broken china cup. Harvey had been gathering things out of the kitchen and he remembers very distinctly seeing the cup, assessing it as old, broken and useless and purposely pushing it aside. That would have been fine except that that old broken china cup was where Frank’s wife kept her very nice diamond wedding ring. Harvey reports that for days after him and Frank’s family dug through the ashes to try and find that ring. They never did and Harvey still believes that it is there somewhere, even though the fire burned hot enough that it burned everything in the house to ashes. By the time that most of the stuff had been moved out the fire trucks had arrived. The only problem was that it was still a –40 out and the fire trucks froze up. After the fire truck froze up the house fire became so intense that the tractor actually had to be brought out the pull the truck away from the house before damage was caused. Eventually the house burned down completely. Today all that can be seen of it is the concrete basement wall. This event is remembered as the ‘most exciting thing that happened while we owned the ranch’ Mr. and Mrs. Fryberger recall. Marilyn stated that the birth of her three children was just as exciting though. This was just one of the many events that happened to the Frybergers during the 5 years that they resided on the Fryberger ranch. Some other fairly exciting and frightening events included a wind storm during one January or February. Harvey recalls that the wind was blowing somewhere over 50mph but below 90mph. However fast it was blowing was fast enough to create a great a mount of friction in the air, enough friction that the wind created lightning when there were no clouds in the sky. Harvey said that it was very frightening, though Marilyn doesn’t recall the event. Another event that both Harvey and Marilyn do recall though was one winter when it snowed enough to bury their car right out in front of their house. Other than these two events Harvey remembers the weather as fairly mild. Much happened during the 5 years out on the ranch including the step by step building of the ranch house and the raising of various small herds of sheep and cattle. Overall Harvey and Marilyn look back on the time on the ranch as fairly peaceful and happy years. Harvey and Marilyn are the parents of 4 children; Carol Myers, David Fryberger, Sue Martin, and Steve Fryberger. Sue Martin, my mother, is now caretaker of the ranch.

Book Review: Redwall

Are you looking for a good book, filled with adventure, fantasy and a tinge of romance? Then pick up Brian Jacques bestselling book, Redwall. This book is the beginning of Brian’s best selling Redwall series. And it is certainly the most classic book in the series. Redwall is a classic story done in a new way. One thing that makes this book different than most is that all the characters are animals whom act like humans. In fact the only reason that this makes these books so different from ones written about humans is that the characters have a very different diet and the differing size and abilities of the characters are very evident. Despite the classical air of this story, the message is still very clear and good. The main message of this book is this: that good always triumphs over evil, and that the underdogs can become the greatest people. The story begins with a clumsy little mouse, Matthias, dwelling in the great fortress of Redwall Abbey. He and all the other abbey dwellers are living a peaceful, laughing, loving life until a dreaded rat is sighted in the area: Cluny the Scourge. Cluny is a notorious conqueror who is undefeated, even at sea. The abbey then unites in preparation to defend itself while Matthias sets off to find the lost sword of the first warrior of Redwal, Martin. Matthias along with the help of his friends, goes through a series of adventures, ridden with riddles, to finally discover where Martin’s sword is. But it’s not that easy. While Redwall suffers unceasing attacks form Cluny, Matthias must fight another dreaded enemy to ensure that he gets the legendary sword. But does Matthias have the strength, and will the sword be enough? There are many turns and twists in the story with a final surprise at the end. All of which helps to make the message of the book that much better. Redwall was amazingly well written and extremely enjoyable. The book is actually split up into three smaller ‘books within a book’ which are split into easy to read chapters. The pacing of Redwall is nigh unto perfect, always keeping the reader intrigued. The ‘edge of your seat’ action is sometimes clumped but spread out enough that it keeps you excited but doesn’t give you a heart attack from too much ‘non-stop’ action. The book also is written in such a way that it appeals amazingly well to one’s emotions, in an almost simple and realistic way. The story line is also very well thought out. Its classical story redone feel adds to its intrigue. The new twists and turns make it feel almost like a completely new story idea. The animal characters help to make the story unique. They help to entertain and yet also impress the reader. Brian Jacques also has a good hand at riddles. The few that he throws in, which the characters must decipher to reach their goals, are well written and yet simple enough that they hold great sway over any reader who is even slightly interested in riddles. The way the riddles are answered are unique, though sometimes aggravating, as quite often you know the answer before the characters do. One item of note is the great detail which Brian puts into describing the food selections at Redwall. In fact he can sometimes fill up a whole page describing just one meal at Redwall. This makes for a good detailed story but can also have the downside of making one incredibly hungry. For me the book was incredibly and thoroughly enjoyable. The mix of adventure and true emotions of the characters was perfect. I would highly recommend this book for just about anyone, unless you hate animals in which case you shouldn’t even look at this book. Redwall shows Brian’s unique and well studied writing skills, making Redwall a bestseller for me.

Car Raid

It is amazing what you can discover about a person from questions based on an observation exploration of their vehicle. In the case of Mr. White and his tan 1982 land cruiser, there was a lot to be discovered, as was learned at a press conference on March 3rd. All questions asked of Mr. White were based off of observations of his vehicle. The first of these observations had to do with the fact that White’s vehicle was parked in front of a ‘no parking’ sign. When asked about this White responded by saying that since he was the principle of the school it is his right to decide where people can and can’t park. He also concluded that he would have to take the sign down. The uncleanliness and distinct scent of the vehicle was of much interest at the conference. White explained he never really cleans his car, and the stench most likely comes from the various dogs he has in the vehicle at times. When asked about his dogs Mr. White had quite a lot to say. He told us that he had owned to favored Blue Heelers whom died of cancer a while back. The last array of questions came concerning the outside condition of White’s vehicle, which was battered. He blamed this condition on one of the only two tickets he has ever received. He got this ticket from running a red light which resulted in him hitting another vehicle, which thankfully only caused minor damage. Mr. White recalled that he did have to pay for some repairs to keep his vehicle running but getting the dents taken out would have been way too expensive. Much can be concluded about White’s character and history from a simple press conference about his vehicle.

News March 5

Snowstorm Causes Delays and Closes Schools in Northeast
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/nyregion/03storm.html
A huge snowstorm has swept across the northeastern coast of America. The storm has stretched from Virginia to Maine and into Quebec. Then whole New York City public school system, which is the largest in the country, had to announce a snow day for its 1.1 million students. This is the first time in five years that this has happened. Staten Island Ferry had to delay service for an hour because of white out conditions. Their spokesman said “We can’t remember the last time,” that they had to delay. Varying amounts were received across the coast, going from 14 to18 inches with blizzard and white out conditions. And at least six deaths are being blamed on this storm.
Impact lede

U.S. offers $900 million to Palestinians
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/02/mideast.clinton/index.html?eref=rss_world
"By providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza, we also aim to foster conditions in which a Palestinian state can be fully realized." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated Monday. She said this about the U.S. offer of more than $900 million to help the Palestinian people, particularly those in Gaza. This U.S. aid package has yet to be approved by Congress. This package has been designed in coordination with the Palestinian Authority to make sure the money does not end up in the wrong hands. This package has caused problems with the ruling Hamas who are bitter rivals of the Palestinian Authority. Though President Obama has not ruled out peace talks with the Hamas, he says they must renounce violence, recognize Israel, and abide by previous agreements with the Israelis, which may be harder than he hopes.
Quote lede

‘Tidal wave’ of homeless students hits schools
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29356160/
How many school students are now homeless in San Diego California? According to a recent poll the area about 35 miles north of San Diego the population of homeless kids is almost 2,542. This is about 9 percent of the student body and nearly 10 times the number that it was just two years ago, according to Rebecca Benner, the district’s homeless liaison. “It was supposed to be one small piece of my day,” Rebecca said of her role as the homeless liaison, “…Now it’s almost insurmountable to get to the bottom of the phone messages.” This rush of homeless students has been labeled a “tidal wave” which is overwhelming many California schools.
Question lede

Is it finally time to use the dreaded D-word?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29469826/
Lots of people have confirmed that America is in a recession, but is it a depression? No one seems to be able to decide. Apparently a recession has set standards and definite terms. But depression seems to be just about anything corporate America says it is. Drops in economic output and rises in unemployment help to define just exactly what is depression and what is not. So far one definition is that it’s a downturn of three years or more, with a 10 percent drop in economic out put and unemployment above 10 percent. So far this has yet to happen. Though we are not in a depression yet many people fear that it is inevitable and will soon be upon us.
Question lede