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DAVIS When the Gray- sing Cattle Company needs to diagnose pregnancies in their cows and determine the fetal sex of the unborn calves, they call on the Live- stock Herd Health and Re- production Service from the UC Davis Veterinary Medi- cal Teaching Hospital. Their small operation (about 20 head) raises beef cattle, specifically club calves, and has used the Service for more than ten years. Fetal sex determination offers Graysing valuable in- formation that can be used for herd management. By knowing whether the calf will be male or female, especially in smaller herds, they can plan for the next year of replacement an- imals and animals to be sold. Graysing likes to bal- ance growing the herd and selling steer calves to 4H and FFA students for livestock projects, and this technique al- lows marketing of those calves even before they are born. Many of Graysing's cattle have gone on to win awards at county fairs throughout California. Using transrectal ultra- sound (performed by UC Davis veterinarians with a portable unit at the client's ranch), the pregnant uterus and fetus can be identified. The livestock veterinarians look for the genital tubercle, a structure that will go on to become the external gen- italia of the calf. Based on the location of the genital tubercle (near the tail for females and near the umbilical cord for males), they are able to de- termine the sex. UC DAVIS Vets help rancher determine sex of calves The following accounts are those of my mother, Anne Willard McNabb. Going to town in 1937 meant going to Red Bluff shopping at Zuckwei- lers, Pennys, Montgom- ery-Ward, Lyon & Garrett, Storms Hardware . Our grocery stores: Fishers, Minches, Safeway, Pggly Wiggley, Purity, Kil- patricks. Lyman said Cone & Kimball, earlier, had a grocery store. Meat was charged at Vestals, while groceries were charged at Minches, Bosse, Fishers by our family. The first super market was Wentz on West Wal- nut Street. Meat market, vegetables, canned goods, and frozen food depart- ment in late 1940s. Mari- lyn "Miss Tehama County" was their hostess at the grand opening. In 1937, Lyman and his mother's partnership changed the money oper- ation from credit at stores to cash. They still charged at Lyon & Garrett, Storms, the feed mill, but paid bills once a month instead of when the wool or lambs were sold, usually about twice a year. Our furniture store was Fickerts, 600 block, Main Street. Three drug stores, Brooks with a soda foun- tain, Elmore's, and Nor- vells. Flower Shop on West Walnut. There was a 5-10- 15 cent store on Walnut. Two hardware stores. Storms Hardware on Wal- nut Street, Lyon & Garrett, 700 block, Main Street. I remember a Mangle Dem- onstration in Lyon & Gar- rett. A woman came in with a basket of clothes and linens. She would "iron" Mangle press the flat sheets, pillow cases, dish towels, mens shirts. We bought an Aladdin lamp at Storm's for $7 to use in the mountains dur- ing summer, in about 1935 or 36. In 1931 I drove the cook wagon (Ford stakeside truck) when the lambs were shipped at Westwood Junction. We got up early, like 2 a.m. by the alarm, to start the fire for hot bed of coals. I made the bis- cuit dough. Lyman or the herder got the bed of coals just right. Heated the Dutch oven and the lid. It took about 15 — 20 min- utes to bake the biscuits before sun rise on that lamb shipping day at the dusty railroad corrals. When I went to Dur- ley Flat, I used the Dutch oven to make hot biscuits. I thought (so stupid), why not buy bread instead of having to bake over a camp fire. Farm life depends upon the weather. Plans can be made and broken be- cause of rain storms. Snow storms panic stockmen. Droughts panic stockmen and farmers. The big purchases in 1936/37 . Electric refriger- ator $225. Twin bedroom suite $125. Cabinet radio $46.45. Floor lamp $9.01. 1937 Ford sedan $619.81 plus trade-in. In 1939/40 a front loading Bendix washer $82.80. Wethers were butchered at home, and other meat was deer and salmon. Dur- ing the winter, sometimes, we made corned beef in the large crocks to use during the lambing sea- son. Beef was a treat since we raised sheep. Another meat was chicken. In the 1930s our eve- nings at home were read- ing, sometimes sewing, lis- tening to radio and later in the mid-'50s, television. It was always to bed early, get up early. We subscribed to Red Bluff Daily News, Sac- ramento Bee, Califor- nia Farmer, Successful Farmer, California Wool Growers, Saturday Eve- ning Post, Life, McCall's (my mother before me), and children's magazines. The children and I bor- rowed many books from Tehama and Lassen Li- brary. I remember the mince- meat pies I could make from the little scraps of deer meat. Lyman would save the small pieces and I would grind them with the food grinder. Add apples, raisins, cider, spices. His brother Hillman always suggested it needed liquor to make it real good, tasty. The first Coca-Cola I ever had was a bottled Coca-Cola at a Chester dance with Lyman and a couple of friends from Susanville. We went to a dance there one sum- mer evening in 1931. The Coca-Cola seemed bitty and caused an unladylike belch. ••• Monday "Wash day" in Lassen County along Hwy. 395 in early 1930s. Lyman and I visited his Uncle Lyman and Aunt Mae one Sunday. (A fried chicken dinner — mid day.) Later that afternoon Aunt Mae began to draw water from the gravity spring to fill the big cop- per color boiler on the stove. Uncle Lyman said it was the usual Sunday evening ritual for Aunt Mae got up early and was the first, or tried to be the first to have the family wash on the line, on Monday morn- ing for neighbors to see as they rode in cars or drove in wagons along the main road; Susanville, Milford, Doyle , on to Reno. The gravity spring was on the hill above the house. It was piped into the kitchen, to the lawn most of the time, then on to the meadow, and live- stock. ••• Our blue 1942 Ford 4 door sedan was pur- chased in December 1941 for $810.87, with li- cense $16.30 and stamp $2.10. Jean and Marilyn used their "bummer lamb money" to buy, and have installed, a heater for the car. Once while the car was being serviced at Hobson's Ford Garage, someone stole the cigarette lighter. ••• Baker's Cabinet was a practical cabinet for the kitchen. Many companies made them and were of- ten called Hoosier Cabi- nets. The top shelves behind glass doors held the ev- eryday dishes. There were small drawers to hold spices, string, small gad- gets. Then a metal cover- ing the bottom part of the cabinet held cans of cereal, coffee, tea and etc. Two big drawers held flour and sugar. Some cab- inets might have a door, behind it held linens or small pots, pans. ••• During the Depres- sion, ladies groups from church or sewing clubs quilted quilts at $1 a spool of thread. Sheep herders were paid $1 a day and board, to- bacco, and slept in a tent. Farm labor was 25 cents an hour, for 10 hour day, mowing hay with a team of horses. Haying season, if there wasn't a hired man on the ranch, I would be enlisted to turn the grinding wheel while Lyman sharpened the knives on the cutter bar and sickle. JeanBartonhasbeen writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbarton2013@ gmail.com. JEAN BARTON More notes and memories from my mother COURTESYPHOTO The ewes and lambs were "nooned up" on a meadow on West Branch of Willard Creek, Lassen County, June 1942. They would graze in morning and late a ernoon, and rest in the shade in middle of day. PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thank you! 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