Neighbors

Shonnie Brown
We all know that Healdsburg abounds with creative people of all
persuasions and passions. But what some folks may not know is that
our little town is knee deep in talented senior age writers.
On the first day in February a dozen men and women gather around
a large table at the Healdsburg Senior Center. They are here as
part of the Healdsburg Senior Writing Project to put pen to paper
in writing their personal memoirs. Aging from mid forties to late
eighties, they all come with a yearning to write about their varied
and interesting lives. Any one of them is worthy of an entire
column, so it is quite a challenge to write so briefly about each
one.
Paul Taylor, who’s only lived in Healdsburg for two weeks, has
already found his way to the Senior Center. He says that his being
here is a case of serendipity.
“I recently came from Kansas City. My oldest daughter’s
boyfriend’s mother’s father, Earl Cook, ran Cook’s gas station in
town. Healdsburg’s rolling hills and scrub oaks remind me of other
places I’ve lived in California. It makes my heart sing because
this is home. I’m amazed and blessed to be here.”
In contrast, Fern Naber has been an active part of the
Healdsburg community for 68 years. Her husband once worked at
Basalt for Jim Kennedy. Fern’s in-laws, Clara and John Naber, ran
Merryland Auto Camp (like an auto court with cottages for rent),
near Memorial Beach from the mid 1930s until 1943. Fern lived in
the old Pine Ridge School house before moving into town. She taught
for 22 years at both HES and Fitch Mountain Elementary. Since 1982
she has been known for her ongoing work at the Healdsburg
Museum.
Daphne Tanner grew up in England during World War II. Still on
rationing in 1951, many of Daphne’s friends were emigrating, so
Daphne came to California. She arrived in San Francisco with only
$300 to her name.
“I had so much to learn about how to get a job,” Daphne tells
me. “I was sharing a room at the YWCA until I got work at a woman’s
clothing store in Union Square. I then became a TWA airline
hostess. I married Healdsburger Russ Tanner in 1957 and we moved
here in 2000.”
Cliff Brothers is retired from the Department of Corrections. He
and his wife, Thelma, lived in Hawaii for five years while their
grandkids were being born in California.
“We soon decided that family was more important than Hawaii,”
Cliff says. “We moved here in 1987-88, returning to three
granddaughters. Thelma, a nurse practitioner, died four years ago.
I feel so blessed to have had such a good life with her for 62
years.”
Ann Carranza grew up in Sonoma County knowing she was a writer
since childhood.
“I wrote for the Geyserville newspaper and wanted to go to
journalism school when I was at SRJC, but was highly discouraged by
people around me. Not following my heart, I gave up and quit
school. But I returned to college at age 50 and ended up being true
to my creative passion after all. I am a part-time journalist, a
poet and a photographer who chases little things with my camera. I
just have an insatiable curiosity.”
Dawn Lyell considers herself “well entrenched” in the Senior
Center. From South Africa, Dawn began traveling at age 21. She and
her husband lived in both Canada and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) before
returning to South Africa to educate their two children. After her
husband died suddenly in 1996, Dawn decided to meet up with
daughter Kim, a travel journalist, in the United States. A South
African wine enthusiast suggested they check out Healdsburg. And
the rest is history.
Anne Berry moved to Healdsburg 20 years ago from a homestead in
Siskiyou County where she and her husband made their living as a
carpentry team and music duo. In 1987 a forest fire burned down
their hand-built house and property and a year later her husband
died of a sudden heart attack, leaving her a young widow.
“The homestead had too many sad memories,” Anne tells me. “I
moved to Healdsburg and loved it at first sight, slowly building a
brand new life here. Happily remarried now, I enjoy teaching piano
and am writing a memoir of my early twenties when I made my living
gold mining in northern California.”
Barbara Tuscany lives in the old house on North Street which
once belonged to her husband Tim’s Great Grandmother Grace Perry
(Freshour). Realizing that the home’s many stories had never been
recorded, Barb decided to take on the task. Besides dealing with
post-chemo neuropathy, Barb is an active mother to her eight
year-old son, Massimo. A graphic designer, Barb is well known as
Healdsburg’s “Queen of Networking” and is a staunch supporter of
all things Healdsburg.
Mary Safranski and I first met at the sacred Flakey Cream Donut
Shop in 2005. Mary and husband Lenard retired here to be near their
son who needed special care at the Sonoma Developmental Center.
Mary, a loyal member of the Senior Center, also loves everything
Healdsburg and especially loves getting hugs from Senior Center
Director Lea Black.
And I first met historian/writer June Maher Smith when I did a
Neighbors column on the HHS Class of 1940 64th reunion. I am now
sad to see how many of those wonderful Healdsburgers have since
passed on. June’s dad, Bill Maher, had the harness shop downtown
when harnesses and leather goods were enormously important because
horses still plowed the fields.
June recalls, “Dad had a wood stove in the center of the shop
and the old men would sit around it and talk. My dad really liked
that.”
Mary Castellini, age 88, moved here in 2000, but is by no means
considered a newcomer.
“We had a cabin on the Russian River near Hacienda Bridge and
came from San Francisco every summer beginning in 1949,” Mary tells
me. “The kids and I loved coming up Westside Road and swimming at
Memorial Beach. I still swim every day when I can get to the
pool.”
At age 89, Francesca Trouette is perhaps our eldest. Francesca
has a fascinating history as both a writer and book lover. She grew
up during the Great Depression, served in the Navy during World War
II, spent many years as a librarian, and, with her husband Victor,
taught school at Stewart’s Point Rancheria during the 1950s. In
1960, she and Victor moved to a home on the Russian River where she
still lives. Francesca served as Healdsburg’s librarian from
1962-72. She has been a writer all her life.
Shonnie Brown is a local author and memoirist who is interested
in fostering connections between people and their community.
Shonnie writes personal and family histories through her business,
Sonoma LifeStories, and is also a licensed Marriage and Family
Therapist. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or on the web at
www.sonomalifestories.com.