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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT – The first Lake County serviceman to lose his life during World War II was honored in a ceremony Saturday morning.
The United Veterans Council, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, family and friends gathered for the military tribute at the graveside of Staff Sgt. Thomas C. Ferron in Hartley Cemetery.
As Lake County News reported last week, local veterans decided to honor Ferron after learning more about his tragic story.
Ferron, a radio operator, died at age 22 in a B-17 bomber crash that occurred during a training mission on the night of Oct. 15, 1942.
He and eight other Army Air Corps crew members were killed when the plane, traveling at full speed, hit North Baldy peak near Magdalena, New Mexico.
A plaque to commemorate the crash is being dedicated in early July in Magdalena, New Mexico. Rick Webster, who grew up in the area, spearheaded an effort to have the plaque placed. It was his contact with Kelseyville's American Legion Post No. 194 in March that placed new attention on Ferron's story.
A news report at the time of Ferron's death explained that the plane had circled low over Magdalena before heading toward the mountain, where the plane's tail hit the peak causing “a terrific explosion,” in the words of Forest Ranger Arthur Gibson.
Gibson, who was among the rescue party, said parts of the plane could be found over an area of 200 to 300 yards on one of the peak's sides.
Ferron's parents, Thomas and Serena Ferron, had been planning a visit to see him in New Mexico at the time of the crash, the news report stated.
At the time of his death, Ferron had been in the service less than a year, joining the Army Air Corps on Nov. 13, 1941, according to the 1942 news report.
He had trained to become a pilot but couldn't pass the pilot's exam physical, so he instead went into training as a radio operator and gunner, the news report explained. Ferron graduated from Harlingen Army Gunnery School in Texas as an aerial gunner on Aug. 17, 1942, and was in his final test flights before combat when he was killed.
United Veterans Council Chaplain Capt. Woody Hughes eulogized Ferron, recalling how “woefully unprepared” the United States was when it entered World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
Honoring veterans, Hughes said, is important. He recalled George Washington's admonition that the future of the military depended on the appreciation shown those who have served.
“All veterans gave some, and some – like Thomas Ferron – gave all” to preserve the nation's freedoms, said Hughes.
Ferron's cousin, Paul T. Ferron of Nice, attended the Saturday ceremony and accepted a flag from the United Veterans Council.
Paul Ferron told Lake County News that Thomas Ferron had studied to become an electrician after high school, and had spent time living in Salinas before entering the military. The news report on Thomas Ferron's death also reported that he had attended Salinas Junior College for two years and the University of California for one year.
According to Paul Ferron, his cousin grew up in a small house on Main Street, which today houses Lake Vacation Rentals.
Thomas Ferron had two sisters, one who died as a child, Elizabeth, and an older sister, Florence, who later moved to Salinas and became an English teacher, Paul Ferron said.
Saturday's ceremony also brought out two schoolmates of Ferron's – Bob Anton of Lakeport and Harold Haas of Scotts Valley. Haas brought copies of the original news clippings of Ferron's crash.
The men remembered Ferron as an active and popular student who was student body president at Lakeport's Clear Lake High School, where he graduated with the class of 1938. They also said Ferron played all the sports and was center on the football team.
Haas, who was in the military stationed in Oregon at the time of the crash, was given leave to come home for the original funeral, which included full military honors and a plane flyover.
Anton said he couldn't attend Ferron's funeral in 1942 because he, too, was away in the Army Air Corps.
Haas said he and members of his family plan to attend the July dedication ceremony.
Ferron's death made him the first World War II-era casualty among Lake County's servicemen, according to early news reports.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Ken Petz said the fire destroyed the Everglade Boulevard home of Evelyn Stone.
The modular, one of the older homes in the neighborhood, was reported on fire at about 7 p.m., said Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Pat Brown.
Brown, who was the first fire official on scene, said he arrived in just under six minutes, shortly followed by a total of four engines from Northshore Fire's Clearlake Oaks and Lucerne stations, along with mutual aid from Lake County Fire Protection District.
Twelve firefighters responded to fight the blaze, which was located at the back of the house, said Brown.
But firefighters struggled to make entry into the house, because Stone had an organ and a bookcase up against the front door.
Once inside, “It was hard for us to save anything,” said Brown, with firefighters at one point trying to get items out by going through walls.
The older modular had paneling inside rather than sheetrock, which caused it to burn more quickly, said Brown.
Petz said the fire appeared to have started in the bathroom. “It was a total loss,” he said.
Brown estimated the total damage at about $300,000.
Stone, who has suffered from health problems due to cancer, lost almost everything, except her yellow Lab, said Brown.
The dog got out fine, said Brown, adding that the whole neighborhood had been worried about him and his owner.
Petz said the fire district called the Red Cross and they're helping Stone with temporary housing, food and clothing, and trying to help her set up some kind of refinancing on her property.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Ross A. Christensen
So I started driving around looking for somewhere to eat, getting hungrier and hungrier. After a while I started getting a feeling of anxiety, like when your gas tank is on empty, and you passed up the last gas station thinking the next one would have better prices, but that was a long time ago and now you’re not sure if you’ll even make it to the next station before your engine sputters out and you’re stranded on a desolate stretch of highway waiting to be rescued ... OK, not quite that anxious.
I finally decided to stop in on Andie’s Hickory Smoked BBQ in the Oaks. I had never been there before but I’d heard good things about it.
It’s a very small place and the menu is quite concise. Ribs, wings, links, cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, and you can have a couple different combinations of them, but essentially that’s the menu right there. That’s the way I think barbecue ought to be, simplicity at its finest. You know what they say, why guild the lily?
The staff is friendly and was immediately ready to take my order, and the food was ready within a couple of minutes. When I got my food served so quickly, I thought that this is the perfect place to head during a lunch break. You can pop in, get your food and zip back to the office in no time.
I got the combo with a little of everything, but I didn’t select the baked beans. Trust me, you don’t want me to eat baked beans. Avoiding them is my contribution to helping reduce the global carbon footprint. (Hmmm ...was that TMI?)
The ribs, wings and links are all great. The barbcue sauce isn’t one of those ketchupy, thick, artificially smoky, supermarket-type sauces. This is an amazing sauce! And the heat! The spiciness is fantastic and doesn’t stick to your tongue like napalm. This is more like a baseball bat hit: the spiciness whacks you full in the face, but then after a few seconds the burn turns to a tingle and then is gone. Some sauces have a burn that wraps around your tongue and masks any other flavor that comes along for the next fifteen minutes, but not this sauce... You ordered ribs, you get to taste ribs; you ordered wings, and you get to taste wings!
This was true about the smokiness of the food also, it was just right. Too often you eat something that is “smoked” and all you taste is a forest fire. Here it was just enough to accent the overall flavor of the meat. The ribs and chicken wings are tender and pull from the bone nicely with some resistance; they don’t fall off of the bone like they have been over-cooked all day long.
The cole slaw, potato salad and couple of slices of wheat bread included were decent, just the side items you expect to come with barbecue. They weren’t remarkable or exciting, but then again most people aren’t combing the streets looking for a good side order restaurant. “Honey, let’s go out to dinner, I’m really in the mood for cole slaw,” is not an often-repeated sentence in America.
I’m glad my search for someplace new led me to Andie’s. I wonder where I’ll wind up next time.
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Known by many as "the largest catfish derby west of the Mississippi," the event features an Adult Derby and a Kids Derby for those under 16 years old. Barbecues will be held on Saturday and Sunday.
The grand prize winner of the Adult Derby will receive a new boat, motor, and trailer plus cash prizes and the winner of the Kids Derby will receive a four-wheeled ATV.
Derby headquarters will be located at the Clearlake Oaks Fire Station, 12655 East Highway 20, and will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Derby headquarters also will be open for pre-registration from noon to 11 p.m. on Thursday, May 15. No registrations will be accepted after 11 p.m. on Friday.
Registration for the Adult Derby is $45 ($40 for those who pre-register on Thursday). Registration for the Kids Derby is $10.
Barbecues, which are included with registration, will be held both Saturday and Sunday, with a Saturday breakfast planned. Sunday will feature live music.
Proceeds from the event benefit community projects. For applications, call 888-CL-DERBY or 998-1006; for more information, call 998-3795.
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