Originally Posted by
Drew Wiley
Bob, my high school district was larger than six New England states! There were no large towns involved, but kids bussed in from up to two hours one-way.
There was a distance trophy each year. In my class, one student had to walk or ride a bike five miles to the road in the morning, then catch the bus for the two-hour ride across a steep canyon, then do it all in reverse in the evening. During the winter, some had to be dormed there due to the snow depth at higher elevations, at least until more modern versions of the snowplow arrived. I was one of the lucky ones and lived only fifteen miles away. But the way
tax revenues were allocated back then was according to district, and that particular district was extremely wealthy from the taxation of most of the state's
hydroelectric power. Later on, funds were more fairly allocated on a per-student basis, so that kind of infrastructure could no longer be supported. Population
increased and several school districts are now in place. It was a long way from any city, so we were free to climb around the hills or swim in the creek once
we had completed mandatory classes, but unfortunately weren't allowed to graduate early. Mostly cowboys and Indians, plus logging and hydroelectric. The
usual boneheads and bullies; but it was still a rather innocent era, prior to the drug epidemic. The violence of the Rancherias (little Reservations) was kept
to themselves. People just disappeared from time to time. Some ended up in prison, with several escaping and returning for violent clashes. But photographically, those places could also be incredibly beautiful. Life for Indians on their own private ranches was a completely different story, and quite
normal. Some very fine people. Three people in "Almost Ancestors", a book containing some of the oldest photographs of California Indians, I personally knew. Of course, their own pictures were as taken in childhood, and all were quite old when I was young. ..Well, guess I hijacked another thread...
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