"Mix 26 Boxes of Lemons with One Ton Olives"
The 21st Century Gold Rush to Jamestown and Sonora

By Shirley Fong-Torres
wokwiz@aol.com

(Wro, above, takes on Jamestown and Sonora)

Railtown: A Grown Up Train Set for Little Boys of All Ages

Because my traveling companion is a precocious bi-polar bear, I sometimes forget that he is just four years old.

So when Wroburlto first suggested that we drive to Tuolumne County, California, "for a lesson in Gold Rush history," I suspected some whimsical ulterior motive.

Since I am more inclined toward five-star amenities than outdoor adventure, the "Gateway to Yosemite" has been dead-bolted in the vaults of my memory, along with life jackets, rock climbing gear, tire chains and hunting licenses.

As a confirmed Chinese driver, I observe a strict rule: I don't drive east of Berkeley except for emergency fixes, I mean business trips, to Reno. But Wro persisted, so what's a mother to do?

The little rascal finally won me over by quoting Tuolumne County's most famous writer on the subject of will power in the face of extreme hardship. While camped in the county during the California Gold Rush, Mark Twain, whose philosophy of life resembles Wro's, wrote:

"By trying, we can learn to endure adversity - as long as it's another man's."

That point taken, I packed an essential survival kit for appreciating the rugged beauty of the High Sierra, without having to worry about things like broken fingernails or sprained ankles: high powered binoculars; a digital camera with a zoom lens; and shoes without heels, for me, plus: a new Build-A-Bear Workshop wardrobe of flannel shirts; Polartec vests; and dark glasses for my style conscious bear.

One hundred and fifty years after the 49er's, Wro and I set out for the Sierra "Mother Lode."

The old towns of Tuolumne County are hot destinations again, this time with whitewater rafters, rock climbers, airplane pilots, historic railroad buffs, plus city folk escaping the rat race of modern times.

We began our adventure in Sonora, which we quickly learned is much further away from Sonoma than their names sound, or the map suggests.

Josephine's Europa Café is itself a mother lode -- of comfort food. It's a place for breakfast, or most any other down to earth meal you can imagine. Long-time waiter "just Dennis" told us that the place had been famous for decades as "a 24-hour joint where you could eat a hearty meal after the bars closed, and where the waitresses could throw you out on the street if you misbehaved."

Then, he said, the restaurant lost its way for a while, as new owners started thinking it should be "more like Sonoma," that chic town in the Napa Valley.

Locals didn't go for the "hautey cuisiney thing," so eventually the restaurant returned to basics. Over our chicken fried steaks and homemade desserts, Wro and I contemplated the Buddhist meaning of full stomachs.

At the Tuolumne County Historical Society, housed in the 1859 jail, Wro learned that Sonora had a reputation as a rowdy town, where street brawls had been common occurrences and strange public fights were arranged, including some between horses and bears.

Neither one of us could imagine why, but then we couldn't figure why anyone would lead the Europa Café away from comfort foods.

Victorian Sonora is a lively, eclectic town these days. You can even find Mexican food there, again. A century and a half ago, the white mining faction of Sonora drove the original Mexican settlers out of town, by implementing a tax of $20 a day on non-native residents.

We found lots of adorable things in shops along the main drag, but after dark, the place rocked in a way that would probably please its rowdy ancestors. Wro began asking about "drive-by horses."

Nearby Jamestown was much tamer and, I began to suspect, the real reason behind Wro's sudden interest in "Gold Rush history." This is where Hollywood goes "Back to the Future."

A mere 3-hour drive from most parts of the Bay Area, Jamestown is home to "Railtown 1879 State Historic Park," an incredible working, antique railroad, with many steam engines and an historic roundhouse.

Almost all the workers there were volunteers, which explained the wonderful enthusiasm of the place. At Railtown, grown-up men got to play with grown-up sized model train sets.

This place exists because a Stockton flour heiress married a European prince, and their mutual interests made boomtown Jamestown lucky again. The train line opened in 1902, to run from a gold mine, in Angel's Camp, to Jamestown -- 19 miles and 2 hours apart.

Volunteer railsplitters taught Wro all kinds of boy things, like the difference between side rod and Shay style train engines.

Al Lehr, the railroad blacksmith, set off a "Ring of Fire," a spectacular photo op for Wro's new digital camera. According to Al, this was how trains used "to change tires." He showed Wro how to blow heat around the rim in order to make the metal expand, so that it could be set back on a wheel, where it would fit snuggly after cooling.

Our guide, Joe Stier, told Wro that Al has been here smithing here "longer than the dirt."

Wro was more interested in the train engineers than the blacksmith shop. A jolly, bearded engineer named Warren Smith let my bear ride on his lap, reminding me of Santa Claus with a little kid asking for a train set.

Wro also got to ride with George Swift, an engineer of a different working steam engine. George even let him blow the steam whistle.

Railtown has the only surviving original roundhouse west of the Mississippi, which is why it has been featured in more than 200 movies, television shows and commercials.

We strolled through the set of "High Noon's" railroad station scenes, not realizing that elsewhere in the county we would later visit the set of High Noon's entire town. I overheard Wro telling people that he was "frequently mistaken for Gary Cooper."

Our railroad park guides kept mentioning that "Back to the Future II" had been shot here, but Wro was ticking like a grandfather clock and singing like Frankie Laine,

"Oh, to be torn 'tweenst love and duty
S'posin' I lose my fair-haired beauty."

In downtown Jamestown, a new kind of gold rush led us to Alan Thoburn's Jamestown Olive Oil company.

The former chef and manager at Pebble Beach resort now ranches olive trees five miles east of town.

"I imported 1200 Frantoia and Francino root stocks from Italy. It took me seven years to get a good harvest, but now I am producing about fopur tons of olives, which yield about 55 gallons of oil to the ton," he told us.

Alan markets his unique, high-altitude oils exclusively in his Jamestown shop, and he specializes in infused oils. One recipe read "Mix 28 boxes of lemons with 1 ton of olives."

Alan is probably the first person I have ever met who can actually follow that recipe. His store has a bi polar personality, too.

"We have a blue collar section," he said, pointing to his hot sauces and habanero lollipops, "as well as a gourmet side," he added, pointing to yellowtail tuna and bamboo cutting boards.

Norbert Mede, owner of the Jamestown Hotel and Restaurant, also used to be a chef. He makes sure his kitchen uses local products, including beef, and wines from Stovenot in Sierra Foothills, Murphy's and Chantom from Calaveros.

We noticed lots of organic farmers' market vendors in Tuolumne County, and chefs like Norbert use their fresh local products whenever possible. In the historic dining room, our Jamestown luncheon was wondrously 21st century, featuring crab cakes that tasted far too young and fresh to be allowed to get so high.

Because the hotel, built in 1919, was once a hospital, it is also innkeeper to ghosts. The most famous spirit here is that of Mary Rose Sullivan, an Irish daughter of a gold miner, who returned here from Ireland and never left, at least according to the legend.

Lots of hotels in these hills protect ghosts. Wro found another one at the nearby National Hotel, where his Mommy found an extraordinary wine cellar, with many local vintages from the Sierra foothills.

I also discovered that the Jamestown Post Office had stamp machines that, with a little frustrated imagination, behaved like slot machines. After another post office visitor noticed this Chinese woman jumping up and down and celebrating as the machine dispensed pretty stamps, he informed me that there was a real casino just a few miles down the road.

Wro was so exhausted from his day of flirting with handsome engineers while hiding from ghosts and horses, that he didn't even notice when Mommy slipped out of the room that evening for another history lesson.

At the Black Oak Casino, I made an in-depth study of the industry that has been redistributing gold miners' money since the first nugget was discovered in these hills. I was feeling quite well educated when I returned to our room.

I put the 'do not disturb' sign on our door, just in case there were any ghosts, or horses lurking.

IF YOU GO...

Railtown 1879 State Historic Park
5th and Reservoir
209-984-3953

Jamestown Hotel, A Country Inn and Restaurant, 18153 Main St., Jamestown, CA 95327, 209-984-3902, 800-205-4901,www.jamestownhotel.com

Best Western Sierra Oaks
19551 Hess Ave.,
Sonora, CA 95370
800-446-1333
www.rimcorp.com

Josephine's Europa Café
275 S Washington
Sonora, CA, 95370
(209) 532-2111

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