Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1905-04-21
J. W. Carr Writes an Interesting
Letter TO His Friends
in Alma.
A TRIP ABOVE THE CLOUDS
Visits "Ye ALPINE Tavern" 5000
Feet Above the Sea, and Tells
of Old Mission and Big
Grape Vine.
EAST PASADENA, CAL.
April 10th, 1905

April lOtl, lyOD.
EDITOR ALMA RECORD
want TO tell some of my old friends in
Gratiot something of what winter is in
Southern California Some of the "old
timers" say we have had the hardest
winter they have seen for several years,
but don't think it is hardly fair TO call
it winter, it is simply early in the fall,
or late in the spring. We lived in a tent
until the l4th of March, and there were
more DAYS that we had no fire at all.
than that we kept fire all day. There
was only one frost that hurt anything
february 18th. and then only the
tenderest plants, and in the most exposed
places.
We have had over twenty inches Of
rain this season while for several years
past there has been only six to fifteen
inches so every one feels sure of good
crops this year.
Gala lilies, geraniums etc, grow and
blossom in the open ground all winter,
tomatoes grow the whole year, with only
lattice of lath TO protect them from
sun in summer and frost III winter.
planted garden in January, and we have
all kinds of truck 10 use now. except
potatoes and cabbage, they are not quite
fit to use yet.
Trees that shed their leaves, are getting
green again. "Oat hay has been cut,
and l saw some new crop alfalfa hay on
the market. Roses are at their best now
and they are indeed sight to behold.
1t is not uncommon to see lot sur
rounded by a hedge of roses. or house
almost entirely covered with them.
Mr. l.. II. Hayt, formerly of Alma.
has bought ten-acre ranch just east
of town. Everything is called ranch
here, if one has land enough 10 tie dog
on, they call il a ranch, but the Baldwin
ranch, Lucky Baldwin,, seems worthy
of the name; il is six miles east of here.
and is said 10 contain $4,000 acres.
stopped at the tool house on this
ranch, and saw two harvesting machines
with cutter bars 30 feet long They were
taken apart for storing, so | could not
get much of an idea what they would
look like III running order
San Gabriel seems TO attract more
attention than any other small town
around here, on account of "Old Mis-
sion" and the big grape vine.
"Old Mission is a Catholic church
built in l77l, think il is about 90 X 125
feet, besides the bell tower, in which
hang five large bells. The walls are of
adobe, three feet thick. the floor is level
with the sidewalk and the seats remind
one of those in the old log school house.
We were there one Sunday morning
before church time, and three of us
stepped inside TO see what il was like,
but the priest said we would have TO be
seated, or go out-we got. The big
grape vine divided just above the ground
into three trunks. each of which are
nine inches in diameter at about seven
timber. covering a space 60 or 20 feet
square. This space is used for dining
room and bowling alley.
am getting this article rather long,
but want TO tell of trip above the
clouds.
Three of us had arranged for a trip up
Mt. Lowe one Sunday. The valley was
full of dense fog. which made the boys
anxious, so we started on our bikes" at
$50 and wheeled to Altadena four miles
and had to leave them and go "by hand. "
Two miles walk brings us to the foot
of the trail and above the clouds, 2, 200
feet above the sea. Here is the foot of
the incline railroad up Echo mountain,
+ il is run by cable, and the steepest place
is go per cent. but we took the trail, and
after about an hour of hard climbing,
reached the top of Echo mountain. Here
is a large hotel, big observatory, and
/ the largest search light in the world
/ so they claim The lense is five feet
across. il is the same one that was in
Chicago at the Worlds Fair. There we
look back over the valley, but not thing
could we see but clouds. which in the
bright sun are indeed beautiful. We
could hear the train whistle which seem
TO come from the bottom of the sea.
This point is 300 feet above the sea.
From here we followed the Mt Lowe
Electric railroad toits end az ''Ye Alpine
Tavern" 5000 feet above the sea, and
"bit the trail again for the summit of
Mt. Lowe. 500 feet above the sea.
where we arrived al 1890 in good shape
( for our lunch. Think it was the bright
est and most beautiful day mp there
that | ever saw, but in the valley il was
fOggy all day.
From the summit we can see mountain
peaks in four states, we started down at
I l2 O'Clock reaching home 900 feet above
the sea at five. and felt that il was day
well spent.
Wages for common labor is ~ to a.. 90
carpenters $3.50 TO 800, plasterers and
bricklayers $500 TO 800 per day of
eight hours.
J. w. CARR.