Wallen Summers becomes our third guest from the Valley who was born outside the US. He ‘arrived’ in Shanghai, China, in 1932, the second child of Sarci Chen and his American wife, Ann Summers. “My father was a sophisticated, modern guy of the 1920s who had been educated at Worcester Tech in Massachusetts and upon his return to China he became an electrical engineer with his own business. My older sister and I grew up in a middle class household and we were very close. She is a retired psychiatrist in San Francisco who has hung on to her Chinese roots far more than I have. She even changed her name from June back to Mai Long and to this day continues to have very negative feelings towards the Japanese after our experiences in the Second World War, perhaps because she is four years older than me and was a teenager at that time."
Posts published by “Steve Sparks”
With Fred living at one end of the Valley and myself at the other, and no obvious quiet spot in town to meet, we decided to ‘risk’ The Redwood Drive-In on a Friday morning and…
I met Jill a couple of weeks ago and as befits the manager at Brutacao Cellars we sat down to chat with some delicious wines. Chardonnay for her and Pinot for myself. Perfect. Jill was…
I met with Tom at The Boonville Lodge in the heart of Anderson Valley, the bar/restaurant he has owned and operated for the past four years but which has now had to close due to…
I met Bob at his home on Ornbaun Road in Boonville and as we sat down to talk, his wife Sandra offered us some delicious cookies and a nice hot drink, tea brought from China…
I drove into the Rancho Navarro subdivision north of Navarro and turned into the driveway of the home of Judy and Garth Long, the one with the new fire truck parked outside. I was met…
I drove to the south end of Boonville on Highway 128 and turned into a driveway before the Brewery to the home of Bo and Bobbie Hiatt. Bobbie and dog Sammy the Chihuahua greeted me…
I met with Bud at his home on Anderson Valley Way, just north of Boonville, and as I drove up he was practicing his roping on a dummy cow. “I get out here nearly every…
I drove about 1⁄4 mile up the driveway opposite Gowan’s Oak Tree fruit stand to arrive at Pat Hulbert’s home on the Hulbert Ranch. She welcomed me into her cluttered yet very well organized kitchen…