Ode to an Orchard

Woodlake resident Stan Sanchez has always enjoyed the rural lifestyle so it's not too surprising that when a change in his surroundings took place his emotions kinda took over.

The change was the removal of five acres of mature Valencia orange trees to the north of the Sanchez' home on Road 206. The grove owner, Bill Jessup, a longtime neighbor and friend of the Sanchez pulled out the trees which have been there since 1956, Stan and his wife Toni, still are semi-sourrrunded on three sides by groves but the missing five acres have created a scenic and emotional void which is a little hard getting used to, Stan says.

So much so that he mentioned it to fellow Kiwanian Linda Hengst, well known in the Woodlkae and Elderwood area for her multipal creative talents. She sings, paints. writes songs, does crafts and writes poems in her spare time on the Hengst family ranching operation. Linda was more than happy to create a poem for the Sanchez' although she noted she had never tackled the subject of an orchard as the focal point of a poem.

Although the now vacant five acres may someday again become a grove or orchard, the next several years will pass minus that five-acres of oranges.

During that time Sanchez, a retired U.S. Postal Service worker and active community member, and his wife likely will often turn to Linda's poem to remind themselves of the friendly Valencia grove which was their friend for a quarter century.

Here is Linda's tribute:

ODE TO AN ORCHARD
By
Linda Hengst

I saw your limbs pointing to the sky,
Full of promise for the years to go by.
I tasted your fruit so very sweet,
And wondered just how many I dare to eat.
Each spring I looked forward to blossoms in bloom,
With bees sipping nectar, then off with a zoom.
From flower to flower they went with one thought,
Making honey so sweet whether gathered or bought.
But now, I can scarce believe my eyes,
Your once green branches are the brown I despise.
Trees heaped in great piles
seem to go many miles.
Waiting for chipper's or a fire with a flame,
A farmer is hardly the one you would blame.
The reasons are many but really don't matter,
The profits weren't there, no wallet got fatter.
When prices are low, and people don't eat the fruit,
The farmer's actions must follow suit.
The trees must go, no matter the pain,
Going in debt is really a strain.
So trees that are living must surely go,
We all are the losers you really must know.

BRANCHING OUT TO ANOTHER SUBJECT, we turn to the report of the Woodlake Lions Club members who had another successful golfing trip to Reno.

For those of you who somehow missed the last AROUND (and we know who you are) the trip has been a tradition for lots of years, coming the day after Labor Day. Tradition also calls for the winners on each day of the two-day golfing extravaganza to place their cash winnings on the crap table and try to double their money. Winnings go to pay for a group dinner. A loss means everyone buys his own meal. Well pholks, this time the first day winners were losers but the second day winners made their point and won enough to feed the whole gang and pocket a few bucks.

Individual betting results and golf scores were not available, and probably won't be.

---

Return to Archive

The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.