Dusty Windows and a Faraway Look

Kids' Impressions and Reflections

The Casa

by Megan

I go past the casa every day. I see the dusty windows, the porch, and the old chairs. Sometimes I see DIbblee Poett sitting in one of those old chairs. His face has a faraway look on it, as if he is trying to remember something. He has his dog with him, and his dog seems to be watching everything. It is as if the dog is protecting Mr. Poett. When I go into the casa, I see the dusty books and book shelves in the hallway. When I walk into the kitchen, I see cupboards and neatly put away dishes. I love the casa.

Dibblee Poett

by Lizzie

As I walked in to the 125 year old house, I became terribly nervous, like I feel the day of a dentist appointment. The smell was like picking up an old rug with mold all over it. It was cold and dark in there. There were cracks in the wall like cracks in a bowl, which nobody seemed to want to fix.

The Old People

by Oscar

These people are special. These old people are special because without them we would not know what ranchers did around our area. If we did not talk to people who lived around here for a long time, the ranch history would be forgotten. But when we talked to the old people we learned more about the old days and how they would farm and do their ranch work. They told us how they would burn signs on the cows. What would we know about the old days without the people?

People

by Juan

These people are old, but they are special. These people have great stories to tell to kids. These people have to tell their stories before it is too late. These people are very special to us.

A Morning at Arroyo Hondo

by Brooke and Adele

It was a chilly Wednesday morning on Arroyo Hondo Ranch. We stepped out of the bus to be greeted by two dogs and a man named J.J. Hollister. He had very little hair, but big curious eyes. He came up to the bus and said, in a joyful voice, "Hi! I'm glad you could make it. Please come in." As we walked into the old crooked house, he began to tell us a story.

When a friend of J.J.'s lived in the house, there was a big earthquake. When J.J. walked to the house he asked his friend if he was okay. He said, "Yes, but the buck almost got me." J.J. said, "What buck? " As he looked out the window to see if there was a buck, his friend replied, "The one on the mantle. That buck on the mantle almost shiskabobbed me!"

That was one of our favorite stories. Another was when a big sea monster beached on the shore of Santa Anita beach. Here it is:

One day, J.J.'s father went down to the beach, and he saw a sea monster. He called up his family and told them what he had found. In those days everybody that had a phone could listen in, so in about an hour, everybody in town was there to see the sea monster, including the man from the museum whom he meant to call in the first place. Later, J.J.'s family found out from the museum that what they thought was a sea monster was actually a giant boa constrictor. Later they found out that it had died on a trading ship from Africa and they threw it overboard.

There are many other stories he told us that you will find in other pages of our website. But getting back to the rest of our day, we then walked down to the orchard and picked avocados. Then we ate lunch, and got on the bus, and went back to school.