Midpines 2002

In the summer of 2002, Helen’s two daughters, Laurel Lee Martinez and Cheryl Dominianni, made a trip to Merced and Midpines. The following is a letter they sent to extended family after they returned.

July, 2002

Dear Family:

Laurel Lee (LL) and I wanted to share our recent vacation experience in Merced, Mariposa, Midpines and Yosemite with the family. We both contributed to this letter, and hope you find it of some interest. For our part, we had a dream of revisiting Vyborny’s Haven for many years to find out what had become of it. There are so many emotions associated with that place – just the name conjures up memories of childhood, fresh mountain air, happy family times, and a mythic grandmother with a Czech accent straight out of the story books. We took a number of photos along the way, some of which accompany this letter.

Our story begins on Saturday, June 30, when we flew to Fresno and rented a car to use for the remainder of the trip. From there, we drove to visit Jyme and Kathleen (#1) where we pored over old photo albums and asked questions of Jyme about her recollections of the early years. Jyme was nice enough to let us take any photos that were especially meaningful. When we expressed interest in seeing the fig farm where Mother grew up, Jyme graciously offered to drive us out there the next morning. We were both surprised that it was so close to town and really enjoyed seeing where the creek was that served as a swimming hole during those hot, dry summers on the farm. The house was still there, albeit with a fresh coat of paint (#2). The area was still fairly desolate – when you looked across the street from the farm you could follow where the creek ran by seeing where the trees grew (#3). We were also very surprised to learn that Lumie, Jyme, Kathleen and Lee had lived in the very same farmhouse for a couple of years after World War II. On the way back, Jyme stopped so we could see the cement plant (#4) where Grandpa, Lumie and Bill had worked.

On Sunday, it was on to Yosemite. We had rented a cabin in Wawona (by the south entrance to the park) for three nights to serve as our base of operations. It was really nice, everything we’d hoped for and more (#5) - thanks to Vlasta for remembering those cabins. We spent Monday doing the grand tour of Yosemite and decided Tuesday would be our day for Midpines. We stopped in Mariposa first to take pictures and try to figure out where the market had been where Grandma had her stroke. LL remembered there was a step-up sidewalk by the market, so that narrowed our search. None of the stores looked familiar, so we started asking questions of the shop owners and finally determined the market’s location (#6), which is now part of a restaurant. It took us about 20 minutes of browsing and looking around town to find where the market had been, and we were both amused to discover it was, in fact, directly across the street from where we had parked our car.

From there, we traveled to Midpines, stopping to take a picture of the welcome sign (#7). We passed a little store that we figured to be the old post office/store and stopped to speak with the owner. It was the old post office (a new one has been built since), and it turns out he was only the second owner since the ’50s. He brought out some old pictures he got from the former owner to share with us (#8). We knew Vyborny’s Haven was on Colorado Road, so we continued on and made the familiar turn over the bridge. We approached the area and were relieved to find some of it as we remembered (#9), although the trailer and used cars by the garage certainly seemed out of place. Also out of place was a gate across the former driveway. We debated going in, but decided we hadn’t come this far to settle for some exterior photos, so LL called up from the gate and, lo and behold, this little lady, Sandy, appeared.

Sandy turned out to be 62, but looked at least 10 years younger (#10). She was wonderful about our unannounced visit and spent the next three hours with us - reminiscing, listening and sharing! She has lived there for the past 18 years. She knows that the previous owner was a retired Navy man (the Commodore?), who filled Grandma's cabin with much memorabilia from his world travels. Sandy lives, with her husband, in the location that used to house Helen’s cabin (#11). She brought us in and showed us the only remaining part of the original construction – a part of the bathroom. She and her husband have rebuilt/remodeled twice on the site and it is now a lovely home on three levels. It’s still knotty pine on the interior, but it’s white, without the honey stain.

Sandy used to rent out the main house but it was empty now; rather, no one lived there. Sandy uses it for storage. Her washroom is the same place that Grandma had her wringer washer, remember? The wall between the two step-down bedrooms has been removed. The stove pipe from Grandma's old stove is still there (#12), as is the kitchen sink where she used to wash our hair (#13). The old claw-foot bathtub (#14) is still there in that bathroom where we both remember meeting up with a lizard one day!. The step-down pantry is no longer there, as Sandy made more room for a laundry area. Remember where Grandma would keep those great Czech cookies and the stale potato chips - in big glass jars with lids in that pantry?

The living/dining area sure seemed larger then than it does now. We saw parts of the old floor in the main room, we think. It was dark browns, kind of a plaid fashion. We were so in awe of all of this, as you all can well imagine. A really eerie thing was when we looked on the wall to see a picture of two little girls – one with brown hair and one with blonde. For a minute, Cheryl actually believed it was us. Turns out it was a picture of Sandy’s two girls when they were little – this was a pastel from Knott’s Berry Farm, of all places. And, believe it or not, one of Sandy’s daughters lives in Whittier. Both girls come up frequently for visits.

Sandy keeps a great garden, but it’s much more “natural,” spread out quite, a bit and not in "rows", as we remember Grandma's. Sandy commented that she continues to have flowers pop up all the time that she never planted! Even the blackberries are still there (#15), in exactly the same location! What special ground that is, and it’s great to see that Sandy enjoys it as Grandma used to. The old well is also there, but the building around it is gone. Remember when Grandpa would open up that door and all those little frogs would jump?

Whinny's doghouse was still there, but now has a flag painted on the side of it. Remember the screened cabin? It's still there too, as well as Grandpa's garage (where he kept some of his wine and "girlie" pictures). We reminisced and told Sandy of our summers there and how things were so many years ago. We have Sandy's home and email addresses if anyone is interested or wants questions answered.

This last part is from Laurel Lee, unedited:

There is one more incredible story to this blessed trip! Sandy said, "Let me call a neighbor of mine, Carol Davis. She has lived here since 1954 and knew your grandparents!" (Carol Davis had moved there when she married Mr. Davis. She was in her twenties then and is now 75.) Carol was home and agreed to come see us and talk. We were thrilled to meet her and I will share two of her stories with you now: Carol said that Grandma was famous for her flowers and often won prizes for them at the County Fair. Carol said that her family bought a pig for $15, which was very expensive for them in those days. She also said the area was "open range" for animals, however she didn't want this pig out. This pig got out all the time no matter how hard Carol and her husband tried to pen him in. He seemed to delight in escaping. Well, one day he got out and went right to Mrs. Vyborny's prize petunias. Carol said Grandma was upset, but so gracious. (She said Grandma was a lovely, wonderful lady who did everything since Grandpa was sickly from the cement plant in Merced. We know the mountain air is what attracted them to Midpines). The pig thereafter was known as "Petunia Pig" and when he was later slaughtered, at 250 pounds, Mr. Davis brought Grandma and Grandpa some "pork chops."

When Carol was talking about Grandma, she mentioned her headache the day before the stroke. Upon questioning her, we discovered that it was this very lady sitting across from us, Carol Davis, who made the appointment for Grandma to see a doctor. She picked her up the next day and drove her into Mariposa. Before she could get to the doctor, she asked Carol to stop at the market so she could shop for food. It was there and then, with Carol present, that she fell to the ground when she had her stroke in the market.

Do you all have some recollection of this story, and isn't it amazing that we were able to actually speak with Carol about this day in our Grandma's life?? Carol said when Grandma became conscious she was concerned for Mr. Vyborny and the sheriff assured her he would be notified. All in all, it was an incredible day for Cheryl and me. It was a blessing and we feel that our Mom was with us all along the way.

Love,

Laurel Lee and Cheryl

2002 MIDPINES REVISITED