The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1912-01-09
CALIFORNIA LETTER
Frost and Windstorms for the
Christmas Season Former
Redwoodites Discovered

A happy New Year to my old
friends in the Gazette family! This
Christmas day am moved to write
to them few experiences we have
had in California the past two
months, and of few former Red
wood County residents we have
found here.
The most strenuous expert ence
happened last Thursday, when the
weather clerk mixed up an ante
Christmas surprise that made the
boosters of the finest climate in the
world crawl into cover. 1t was one
of those northers, brewed some.
where in the Arizona deserts,
reckon, and poured out by Old Bor-
cas- as rude joke on the land of
perpetual sunshine. Somewhere in
the early morning hours it reused
everybody from their slumbers with
a bang and roar that could not fail
to waken everything alive. Peering
out one could discern an atmosphere
darkened and permeated with flying
dust which soon entered every crack
and opening in our dwellings and
there are plenty of them in most
California dwellings. The tall and
wllloWy eucalyptus trees bent their
tops to the blast like grass, and
when ventured out in response to
the nickering of Minnesota Jim, out
in his corral. the flying dust and
gravel fairly stung, much as the icy
particles do in the old-fashioned Min
nesota blizzard. The redeeming
feature was that the temperature
was rather warmer than usual at
that hour of the morning about 3
O'Clock. After vainly trying to get
Jim into his stall. we left him paw
ing the ground on the lee side of the
barn, rejecting that he might be
showing horse sense in preferring to
be out in the open rather than take
the chances of having the building
blown down upon him. Meanwhile
there was some CONSERVATION in the
family, the fine dust making itself
odious to the sense of smell and fore
shadowing the two days house
cleaning which was the worst out
come of the storm, which persisted
for nearly "a hours. with only an oc-
casional lull. AS there are no crops
to be injured at this time of the
year except oranges and lemons, in
this vicinity, the damages have not
been great. Some loss must have
been sustained in places from wind
falls and broken branches, and the
drifting sands that secured the high
way to the hard-pan in places prob
ably made good deal of work me-
cessary in the way of repairs, in
some places. The brunt of loss fell
upon the women folks, who were
pretty generally obliged to hang
out rugs and bedding, and renovate
t e entire contents of their dwell
ings. These northers are liable to
prevail in the neighborhood of the
mountain passes several times dur
ing this time of the year, but oar
neighbors say that nothing like this
has been experienced since memoir
able Christmas storm six years ago.
This reminds me of the familiar re-
frain- it never was so before"
Yes, there are some disturbing
elements in this Paradise. Flies, |
fleas and dust stationary and port
able are with US. more or less. at
this time of the year. though the in
sect pests are abating lately Yet. |
with all her faults, we love Southern
California. To be surrounded with
green trees and flowers. to be able |
10 work out of doors in short sleeves
and to write in sunny room with
out a fire at Christmas time, as I