A Calaveras County resident recalls the 1930s “fruit tramp” days, moving into and through California following the harvest, in this excerpt from her autobiography.

Writer Darlene Hutchins is the granddaughter of the late Wilma and Mirl Andersen. For more, read Managing Life’s Losses.   By Darlene Hutchins Reading sympathy cards sent after my grandmother’s death, I was not surprised how many people loved her. She made everyone she met feel special. My grandma was the youngest girl in a
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VIDEO: Scroll to page bottom to hear Mr. Kennedy describe liberation of Gunskirchen Lager concentration camp By James Kennedy As told to Celeste and Bill Boyd Like those of most World War II veterans, my experiences in the service changed me forever. I was part of the 564th Field Artillery Battalion, 71st Infantry Division, and
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By Clare Hicks Think about a time when you helped prepare a special meal for loved ones. You may have scoured cookbooks looking for the
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By Peter Carrillo A good night’s sleep is harder to come by as you grow older. Although you used to be able to sleep for
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When FAN learned that Alan O’Neill was planning to retire, we asked him to keep a diary of his thoughts on one of life’s biggest transitions.

My wartime story began in Berkeley, California in 1942, where I was living with my mother and two siblings. Both of my parents were born in Norway. They met while on board a ship coming to the United States. My father died of pneumonia when I was 6 years old, leaving my mother to support us. She was not confident in her ability to speak English, although she spoke quite well. She worked in a school cafeteria, which was right around the corner from our home. This was during the Depression, and times were hard. She would bring home leftover food from the school, seems it was always baked custard. To this day I have not acquired a taste for it.

By Deanna Maurer and Suzy Hopkins A few months ago Joe and Amy Haratani, seated next to 26 empty chairs, were stunned to find themselves receiving a standing ovation from a Modesto Junior College graduation crowd. The thunderous applause was part appreciation, part apology. It came 68 years after Joe and Amy’s late sister, Nobu,
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Jack Glass, 86, looks back on his two years of service aboard the USS Enterprise during World War II, including the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, one of many he feels fortunate to have survived.

On  March 28, 2010, thousands of people gathered in downtown Sonora for the nation’s first “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans” parade, organized by Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 391. Here is one veteran’s view of the emotional event. By George Eldridge On September 29, 2009, California became the first state to make March 30 Welcome Home
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