19 minute read
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Downtown Redding
blending old with new
ONE OF REDDING’S oldest buildings is part of the new mix of changes coming to downtown. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows hall at the corner of Market and Butte streets was built in 1888 when Redding’s commercial core was just a smattering of businesses along dirt streets. It was melded into The Mall in the 1970s and decades later became part of the openair Downtown Promenade. The IOOF building now begins the next chapter in its long history: community gathering space.
The ground floor will be available for meetings, presentations, poetry readings, pop-up art exhibits, webinars, small concerts and … well, pretty much whatever a community group might need an indoor place to accomplish. “I’m not going to limit what this space can be used for,” says Viva Downtown Executive Director John Truitt. “We want people to think about the space and what they want to do with it.”
The nonprofit, devoted to cultural, social and economic development in downtown Redding, is managing the building’s first floor for The McConnell Foundation. The philanthropic foundation purchased the Odd Fellows hall for $400,000 in November 2018 from the IOOF Redding Lodge.
Community vitality is a focus area of the foundation, with downtown Redding the priority. The foundation is leading and partnering on projects to bring new retail, 4 continued on page 24
Photo courtesy of Shasta Historical Society
Photo by Jeremy Robison
Photo courtesy of Shasta Historical Society housing, walkways, bikeways, green spaces and other changes to downtown. It was thrilled with the opportunity to purchase the IOOF Hall – a flagship building in a key location, says Shannon Phillips, McConnell’s chief operating officer. “It’s a solid, beautiful building with great architecture,” she says.
Paying attention to the past is important when moving forward, Phillips says. “It adds rich character to a community when you blend the old with the new.”
The Odd Fellows hall is the oldest brick building in downtown Redding. Its original red-brick identity is hidden under a layer of stucco, as are arched windows on the second floor.
The building was celebrated as a point of pride when completed in 1888. IOOF was popular and powerful in that era. Many civic leaders and politicians were members. The fraternal organization provided charitable services in a time when government social programs didn’t exist. IOOF commands were “to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”
Redding’s new IOOF building got statewide attention in 1900 when the Redding Lodge hosted the Grand Encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of California. Some 500 visitors arrived. The city’s population was only 2,940.
“To accommodate the biggest crowd the town has ever attempted to entertain, every residence in Redding has been thrown open to provide sleeping quarters for the guests,” the San Francisco Call reported.
A temporary arch over Market Street was festooned with IOOF emblems and hundreds of lights. “Redding presents the most beautiful appearance in all its history,” the San Francisco Call declared.
The IOOF building was designed for dual duty – the upstairs for lodge activities and the ground floor for retail space to generate income for the lodge.
The McConnell Foundation doesn’t yet have a plan for the upstairs, Phillips says. That portion of the building has a frozen-in-time feel. There are high ceilings with embossed tinplate tiles, a large meeting room and the Odd Fellows insignia of the all-seeing eye and three-link symbol representing friendship, love and truth on one wall.
The ambiance is contemporary on the ground floor, which has seen many changes over the decades. One of the first businesses in the space was Firth Brothers (later Mark Firth Company), offering an eclectic jumble of merchandise from the 1890s to 1944.
“The stock was placed in big boxes stacked from floor to ceiling and the clerks would climb ladders that rolled on tracks … Horace Firth sat on a platform in the middle of the store so he could watch everybody,” recalled Mabel Frisbie in Shasta Historical Society’s 1972 Covered Wagon.
Thompson’s Clothing Store began its 80-year run in 1926 in the IOOF building. A compounding pharmacy was a more recent tenant. Its laboratory-type workstations and two utility sinks remain. Viva Downtown kept the configuration to see if community groups are interested in using it for activities.
The contract for Viva Downtown to manage the 3,800-square-foot lower level of the building was finalized late last year. The organization then cleaned, painted, installed a large-screen TV, established a WiFi connection and defined areas for small conferences and presentations. The COVID-19 pandemic put a pause on the action, but Truitt hopes to soon bring in community organizations to tour the space and imagine how it might be put into play.
Groups will be able to use areas for no cost or low cost, Truitt says. “I’m pretty stoked about the possibilities,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to what happens next.”•
Viva Downtown • www.vivadowntownredding.org
Laura Christman is a freelance writer in Redding with a degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a long career in newspaper journalism. Contact her at laurachristman14@gmail.com.
High (school) achiever
I will be graduating from Shasta College with my
Associate Degree in Business Accounting before I graduate high school. I am a 17-year-old, homeschooled, high school senior, and I have been attending Shasta College part-time since I was 13. While enrolled at Shasta College, I have served as the Vice President of Leadership for our honor society, Phi Theta Kappa. I’m also working toward earning my Black Belt in Shorin Ryu Karate and my Eagle Scout. I will receive my high school diploma two weeks after I graduate from Shasta College this coming spring. After graduation, I will transfer and earn a double major in Accounting and Engineering. Ultimately, I hope to obtain my master’s in Engineering.
Shasta College has been the best experience for me. Besides my transfer required courses, I have also found a love for glassblowing, swimming, economics, ASL, and history. I have made many friends through different campus activities and have learned so much about what direction I want to follow in my life. Since I am on the Autism Spectrum the P.A.C.E. program has been an invaluable resource. I have had amazing teachers, small classes of all varieties, and many opportunities to make friends. The resources on campus and accommodations for those of us dealing with disabilities are excellent.
Times are different now, as opposed to a year ago. We are now learning online instead of in person. This has been challenging, but the teachers, counselors, and administrators are working hard to make the transition easier. After attending classes at both the Tehama campus and Redding Campus, I would recommend Shasta College to anyone! Shasta College offers something for everyone. I believe that Shasta College has provided me with the best start in my higher education.
Patrick
Shasta College Knight, 2021
ShastaCollege.edu/apply or call… 530 242 - 7650
OLIVE YOU
BEYOND THE OLIVE GROVE
FANS OF quirky roadside attractions have enjoyed taking pictures at what’s fondly referred to as the Giant Olive at South Avenue and Hall Road in Corning for years now. Some find it by happenstance and others follow directions from the popular website Roadside America. This 15-foot sculpture of a green olive skewered with a toothpick doesn’t have a sign explaining its progeny, but it’s a fun welcome to a town that has developed from its inception through olive production.
“Olives have been the capital of Corning for as long as the city has been around,” says Christina Hale, executive manager of the Corning Chamber of Commerce. “The climate is perfect for olives. They’re on the tree almost all year long and our dry summers make for good conditions.” Indeed, the olive heritage can be seen in groves around town now more than 100 years old and still growing strong. Mission and Sevillano are the primary varieties, with both being used as table olives and in boutique olive oils that are winning awards in tasting contests the world over.
Home to Bell Carter, the nation’s largest and world’s second-largest producer of table olives, as well as oil producers such as Corning Olive Oil and the popular I-5 stop, The Olive Pit, the town comes by its title Olive Capitol of the World honestly. The Olive Pit has even perfected a popular olive oil milkshake to give visitors an unexpected taste of its famous fruit. 4 continued on page 28
September and October usher in olive harvest, with hundreds of workers out handpicking the trees throughout the Corning area. While newer orchards have been planted for mechanized harvest – known by their smaller size and tight plantings – the heritage trees that grow large require the delicacy of a hand harvest.
Crops will be processed for cans found in grocery stores across the country. Others are more selectively brined and jarred with flavors such as garlic and jalapeno, or they’re stuffed with almonds. Others will be prepared for martinis while still others will be pressed into oils, sometimes with infusions such as garlic and citrus. While noted most for culinary use, olive oil has also become a popular ingredient in health and beauty products such as soap and lotions, where it can nourish skin.
Since 1947, Corning has celebrated its olive heritage with an annual festival in October. While public health orders have modified things significantly, the show will go on this year as well. A farmers market, an essential service, will anchor the gathering, and safety measures will be enacted. “We’ll be sure to take every precaution,” says Hale, noting social distancing measures and availability of hand sanitizers and face masks for the event.
While popular activities such as the Kid Zone and car show have been eliminated this year, it was important to the community to hold a farmers market, which is allowable under the state COVID-19 guidelines. “We put it on pause, but we’re bringing it back for this oneday event,” says Hale. “Even though this year everything is a real struggle with COVID-19, we want people to know that their community is still there for them. We want to be unified in a hometown spirit.”
In the early days, the Corning Olive Festival was a fundraiser for Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, which was undertaking construction of a new church and parish hall. It was eventually taken over by the Corning Chamber of Commerce and became an autumn tradition. The history of the crop is recorded and presented at the Corning Museum, which shares a building with the Chamber of Commerce.
Odes to the olive permeate the community in the week proceeding, with a search for a golden olive being a highlight. Hidden by an anonymous community member, clues to the location are offered daily on Facebook, the Chamber website and in the newspaper. “It keeps the community on their toes and out and moving,” Hale says of the heated competition to find the olive.
Then there’s an Olive Drop sponsored by Corning Rotary, where thousands of numbered olive replicas are dropped from a fire truck onto a marked grid, with the olive hitting closest to a target winning the number holder great prizes. “They all come flying out,” Hale says of the popular spectacle.
From milkshakes to roadside attractions, to historical exhibits and games, the town of Corning is eager to share its heritage and pride in the crop that’s kept it going from day one. However you enjoy your olives – pitted and attached to each finger in childhood delight, as a savory salad dressing or dirtying up a martini at happy hour – the people there are happy to share their passion for olives any day of the year, but especially at their annual festival.
Find a tasty recipe using olive oil from Corning on the following page. Wild Grove Garlic-Infused Olive Oil can be found at Enjoy the Store in Redding. •
Corning Olive Festival and Farmers Market Saturday, October 10 • 10am-4pm Corning Community Park, 1485 Toomes Ave. www.corningcachamber.org
Melissa Mendonca is a graduate of San Francisco State and Tulane universities. She’s a lover of airports and road trips and believes in mentoring and service to create communities everyone can enjoy. Her favorite words are rebar, wanderlust and change.
FRESH GARLIC RICOTTA BRUSCHETTA
BRUSCHETTA INGREDIENTS: 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes 4 cloves garlic 2 T Wild Grove ascolano extra virgin olive oil
Dash fresh thyme
Dash salt and pepper
WHIPPED RICOTTA INGREDIENTS: 1 cup whole milk ricotta 1/4 cup Wild Grove fresh garlic extra virgin olive oil
Dash Wild Grove pink salt 2 T Honey DIRECTIONS: Dice tomatoes, garlic and thyme.
Toss all bruschetta ingredients in a bowl, and chill until flavors mix, about 2 hours or overnight.
Add ricotta, extra virgin olive oil, salt and honey to a food processor and whip until fluffy.
Top your favorite baguette slices, toasted if you wish, with a small spoonful of whipped ricotta and fresh bruschetta.
Find Wild Groves Flavored Olive Oils at Enjoy the Store in Redding
Olive trees are some of the oldest trees ever harvested by humans…
Olive trees love the North State’s Mediterranean climate – but you can also grow them indoors. These fun trees are happy inside or out, so if you’re looking for a unique houseplant, why not give it a try? Here are some tips to help your indoor olive tree thrive.
WHAT KIND: Since they can reach up to 10 feet even in containers, it’s wise to choose a dwarf variety unless you have high ceilings. They’ll grow to be about six feet tall unless you prune them to be shorter.
WHERE: Olive trees, like most fruit trees, appreciate at least six hours of full sun each day, so place them in a sunny, south-facing window.
HOW: Olive trees prefer soil that drains easily. Put a couple inches of gravel or other filler on the bottom of the pot and ensure it has drainage holes. The container should leave at least a few inches of space on each side of the root ball so the roots have room to roam. Let the top inch of soil dry out between waterings – they like dry air, so you don’t need to mist them.
BONUS: If you want your new houseplant to give you olives, be sure you buy a fruit-bearing (not an ornamental) variety. You may need to put your tree outside for a few months in order for it to bear fruit.
Check with your favorite local plant shop to learn more tips for giving your indoor olive tree the best start for your home. Happy growing! •
water feature
LAKE ALMANOR - THE PERFECT NORCAL RETREAT
NESTLED IN the pines at the base of the towering Lassen Peak, the manmade 90-foot-deep Lake Almanor draws anyone interested in a place that offers an abundance of outdoor recreation. It’s where people develop fond memories, whether they’re camping, catching a gigantic trout, standing up for the first time while learning to wakeboard or venturing into Lassen Volcanic National Park to hike up a mountain peak overlooking Northern California or drive past boiling mud pots.
Originally inhabited by the Northern Maidu Native American tribe, settlers arrived in 1820. Back then, Lake Almanor was referred to as Big Meadows and it kept that name for the next century. By the late 1800s, hydroelectric power was gaining in popularity and the Great Western Power Company built a 180-foot-tall wall to dam up a reservoir that gathered rainfall and snowmelt (now much of the land around it is owned by PG&E). When it was finished in 1914, the body of water was renamed Lake Almanor after the lead project coordinator’s three daughters, named Alice, Martha, and Eleanor.
Coincidingly, Lassen Peak became a national monument and a park was created around it, beckoning visitors. Commercial and private development lots on Lake Almanor’s western shore opened up for sale and a family built one of the area’s longest standing establishments, the Plumas Pines Resort, in 1932. It changed hands a few times over the years, but it is currently owned by the Geer family who has managed it since 1999. 4 continued on page 34
“I’ve heard we’re the longest tenured family,” says Plumas Pines Resort Owner and General Manager Todd Geer, whose father Glenn bought the resort when Todd was 13. While running a family business can be challenging, he thinks it helped being interested in his dad’s new venture at such a young age. Born and raised in Chico, Todd studied small business and entrepreneurship at Chico State University to get the experience needed to take over the family business.
Since being in the Geers’ control, Plumas Pines Resort has made small upgrades that add up to a lot while keeping its simplistic charm. In the last decade, the owners started managing their own restaurant instead of leasing it out to an outside restaurateur, and they launched an online reservation system to easily book rooms and cabins. They also recently renovated their restrooms to be ADA-compliant.
Greenville Rancheria HEALTH WISE Breast Cancer Awareness Month, marked in countries across the world every October, helps to increase attention and support for the awareness, early detection and treatment as well as palliative care of this disease. However, justifiable concerns during COVID-19 has prompted many people to delay or skip normal preventative health measures, • There has been a notable drop in childhood vaccinations since COVID-19. The HPV vaccine can prevent up to 93% of cervical cancers. • One in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. • Cervical cancer is almost 100% preventable with proper October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2020 including annual screening mammograms. While it makes sense screenings and early detection. to take precautions during COVID-19, delaying a routine screening • Screenings for breast and cervical cancer can find abnormalities mammogram can come with potentially dire consequences. early when treatment is less invasive and the chance of survival is
Here is some very important information from Every Woman increased.
Counts: • Every Woman Counts offers FREE screenings to those who
DID YOU KNOW? qualify. Call (530) 717-0010 for more information. • The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented drops in If you have any questions, or would like more information, find her cervical & breast cancer screenings at 83% and 87% respectively contact information here. as compared to a 3-year average.
“A lot of people say that they’re the nicest bathrooms in Northern California,” Todd says. Future plans include expanding the resort and making improvements to its rooms and cabins, like adding electricity and modernizing room amenities.
However, there haven’t been a whole lot of changes to the Lake Almanor area in general over the years, which is great for the people looking for a quiet mountain retreat away from the hustle and bustle that is common of neighboring cities. “Lake Almanor is the heart of the Shasta Cascade because it’s central to everything around us. The young and old can come and enjoy; there’s an activity for everybody,” Todd adds.
From Memorial Day through Labor Day, places like Plumas Pines Resort help keep surrounding areas like Chester alive by offering accommodations for those who want to stay on the lake or visit Lassen Volcanic National Park, but the best times to visit are in the shoulder seasons, like right now.
“Winter is kind of a ghost town around here. We’re closed April and November (because those are the area’s slowest months); it’s tourism that keeps this place alive. We get the most benefit from people coming up here in the fall. September is the best month to be here because the water’s still warm and the weather is still nice. In October the weather is a little iffy but hunting season starts and the German Browns (trout) start running,” Todd says.
“We get a lot of people who come up here and are blown away by how much space there is and how affordable the food, drinks and cabins are. And at Plumas Pines, we’re right here on the water with the best view. We’re kind of the party spot with total facilities and amenities,” Todd notes. And as the Almanor Recreation and Park District continues to drum up more fun events and connect major hiking trails, Lake Almanor will appeal to more people.
“The spirit of this place is strong. Maybe (Lake Almanor) is hidden away for a reason. This is a place that’s truly special,” says Lassen Volcanic National Park Ranger Kevin Sweeney. •
www.plumaspinesresort.com
Kayla Anderson is a freelance writer, marketer and action sports enthusiast who grew up wakeboarding on Lake Shasta and learning to ski at Mt. Lassen. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Chico State University and loves to visit her parents in Redding.
Greenville Rancheria
Peggy Krumwiede Bartley, Health Educator
Pronouns: She, Her, Hers. Every Woman Counts California Health Collaborative 25 Jan Court, Suite 130, Chico, CA 95928 (530) 345-2483 ext 203 (530) 717-0010 cell Facebook: @EWC.northerncalifornia Instagram: @everywomancounts_norcal
HEALTH PROGRAMS Family Practice Pediatrics Medical Facilities Dental Facilities Medical transport within Plumas and Tehama Counties Community Health Representatives Indian Child Welfare Worker Diabetes Services Mental Health Services Drug, Alcohol and Family Counselor Addiction and Medication-Assisted Treatment 8 Sub-specialties:
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Psychiatry, Cardiology,
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