From outside the box

I moved to Chico in the late winter of 1972. Things were different then from what they are now, to say the least. After you've lived in one town for several decades, you can't help but reminisce as you drive around, about how things used to be and the experiences you've had at different locations over the years. For me, as for most old timers I'm sure, Chico is rich with fond memories as well as painful ones. I've raised my children here, I've had businesses here, I've had my heart broken here, I've fallen in love here, I've buried my parents here, I've watched it change and grow, for the better and for the worse.

People talk about the special magic, a certain charm, that Chico seems to have. Indeed it does, but to me, the magic of Chico was at it's peak in the seventies. Maybe it was the magic of my youth, maybe it was the experience of a new town, or maybe it was the sharp contrast of moving here from a bland, over populated, crime infested, smoggy, Southern California city. Whatever it was, it was powerful, it was invigorating, it was stimulating to the soul, it was dreamy, it was magical, but now....it's pure nostalgia. And it's not just driving around that brings up the nostalgia and memories, it can also come from hearing a certain song from that time period, walking into a certain building, or running into an old friend from way back when.

If I close my eyes and travel back (which I have to do in between typing sentences), I can remember, I can feel, I can almost see.....

The way the foliage seemed to grow over everything on the Avenues, almost like the avenues were carved out of a thick dense forest of oaks, black walnut, and vines....

The dense haze of cigarette smoke that filled the El Rey theatre as we watched movies....

Standing on the bridge at one mile, holding hands, romance, new love....

Hiking up to Monkey Rock as people down below shot guns at the target range by Horseshoe Lake (that was nuts!)....

Spinning donuts in a four wheeler on the fields just west of Horseshoe Lake when it was muddy from the rain (the phrase "environmentally aware" hadn't been invented yet)....

Naked hippies smoking pot around the various swimming holes in the upper park....

Letting my four and five year old kids sit on my lap and steer the car around the streets at the airport....

Sitting on the bench outside at Big Al's on a rainy day eating an ice cream cone, looking at the same intials carved into the bench that are there now....

Swimming at one mile late at night in the summertime....

The way Bruce Road meandered from Humboldt over to Skyway, thru the fields and along rock walls in the area where the new walking path is off of 20th St....

The twentieth St. bridge that dead ended over the freeway into cow pastures....

All of the old ranch houses and small farms that lined the Esplanade from East Ave. out to where it joins to 99....

Valdez's Mexican restaurant at 1st. Ave. and Mangrove....

Watching "Haley, Dixon, and Myer" (Pat Haley, his sister Kathy Dixon, and friend Larry Myer) play music at the pizza parlor that sits where Bidwell Perk is now....

Playing music in Canal St. downtown and having to stop whenever a train went by because it drownded out the P.A.....

Open mike nights at Nellies....

Having a banana date shake at Health Rite....

The giant pies at Karens restaurant by the railroad tracks....

The awesome homemade soups at Noahs which was where Cold Stones is at now downtown....

How every year somebody would block out the "C" and the "S" on the Canal Street sign (use your imagination)....

Going yard sailing with a pocket full of change and ending up with a carload of stuff....

Walking the alleys in the summertime and finding all kinds of fruit hanging over the back fences onto the alley ways....

Watching salmon wiggle up stream in the shallow waters above the five mile bridge....

Taking my kids roller skating at Spinning Wheels on 7th Ave. between Esplanade and Oleander....

Picking up walnuts all over town to sell for extra money....

Picking wild "minors lettuce" from the side of streets to add to our salads....

Making tea from camomile that seemed to grow everywhere....itstill does....

Going to the drive-in theatre out on the Midway....

Getting a cold root beer at A&W which was over by The Italian Cottage....

The giant oaks that surrounded the corner of W. Sac. and Nord Ave's. There was a flea market there at that time, and across the street was Nord Ave. produce....

The "fifties" style bowling alley downtown on Salem Street between 1st.and 2nd. St, equipped with malt shop and juke box....

Shooting pool where the "Black Crow" restaurant is now....

Watching "The Twilight Trio", a group made up from members of "The eight Ave. string band", playing at Canal St....

Getting stoned and making a late night run to a drive thru bakery that was located approximately where Taco Bell on the Esplanade is now...

Picking black berries in the summertime along the creek in the lower park....

And the memories go on and on, I could do this all day. So many things, so many memories that are gone but not forgotten, and yet, a lot of these places haven't changed that muchl over the years. The Midway, the lower Esplanade, most of downtown, the Avenues, the fair grounds, most of the park, Chapman Town, still look pretty much the same now as they did then. But for the most part, Chico, like me, keeps right on changing. I don't know where were headed, but were going there. I feel very fortunate for the rich memories Chico has given me over the last 36 years just as I look forward to the memories still to come over the next 36 years. To quote an old song by Eric Burdon...."I wasn't born there, but perhaps I'll die there."