Personal Information:
My name is Debbie. I was born 9/13/52 in San Mateo, California. I moved to Southern California in the 70s. I am a fourth grade teacher in the California High Desert. In the winter I live in Palmdale at the foot of the Eastern side of the San Gabriel Mountains, about 65 miles North East of Los Angeles, but it's very different from Los Angeles here. I do like the desert area though. Of course living only 1 1/2 miles from the San Andreas fault makes me pretty nervous. I'm also a vegetarian.

In the summer and during winter and spring break, I live in my husband's family's cabin in Northern California in a town called West Point. I'll tell you more about West Point below.

I grew up in San Mateo in the Bay Area. I went to Saint Timothy's Catholic School through eighth grade, graduated from San Mateo High, and got my B.S. from San Jose State. I moved South in my twenties and got a teaching credential from the Antelope Valley Regional Center of Chapman University and a graduate degree in Curriculum and Instruction from California State University Bakersfield. I'm also a thesis shy from a graduate degree in sociology that I'll probably never complete. I may get that Ph.D. someday though.

I'm an animal lover. My golden retriever, Husker, was born on the fourth of July, 1993. My little mutt is Pepper. We rescued her from under a car. I imagine that someone dumped her here in the desert like so many other animals who are left to die. She got lucky though, and she has a very loving family now.

I really enjoy history. My favorite periods of time/people are 13th century Europe and Peter the Great. I also enjoy California history and the rich history of the Calfiornia Native Americans, who are nothing like you see on TV. California's climate is mild in most places and food was plentiful. Therefore, some tribes didn't even have a word in their language for war. They also didn't have horses or live in teepees. They were farmers among other things. I'll have lots more on the MiWuk Indians that live in the West Point area. I have a history site at Geocities and it will eventually be there. My California History page was just included in an intranet system of a large school district. I also have a site for the kids and parents in my class where I post all the doings in my classroom. About 1/3 of my class have internet access at home and it's a real help for them and their parents (at least I hope so :).

One of my very favorite interests is design. I'm really into Photoshop and have a free graphics site called the Grafx Gallery. I also use Photoshop a lot in creating the themes I do for my theme site. Themes are really just a hobby, so it's amazing this site has gotten so popular.

When I grew up in San Mateo there was space between the towns. This is a picture of the Half Moon Bay I remember as a teenager. We used to climb down little footholes in the cliffs to get to the beach when we were in high school. Many of the beaches in Northern California don't have easy access. One of the little local alcoves had a clothes optional beach, and a friend and I used to dig for clams there since no one there was interested in clams :). And we weren't the least bit interested in the sun bathers. We thought they were rather weird. Of course, I can't remember it being this clear. There was usually a little bit of fog somewhere.

My favorite area in the whole world is where the redwoods meet the sea in several beautiful far Northern California towns. The towns there remind me of how the coast used to look at Half Moon Bay over twenty-five years ago when there were no condos and the only houses were beach houses that were more like shacks. Even though the redwoods start around Santa Cruz, they get bigger the farther North you go. If you've never seen a California redwood tree you can't even imagine the size. They are the tallest trees in the world and the biological parent to all trees. Because they are sheltered by a costal climate, they have survived the ice ages. They are fire resistant as well and termites won't bore into them. Redwoods were around when dinosaurs walked the earth. I'd love to live in far Northern California.

During the summer I live in Northern California in a little town named West Point in the Blue Mountains of Calaveras County, made famous by Mark Twain's story. Mark Twain was a newspaper reporter in this area during the Gold Rush. This is a picture of some of the flooding in the '96 storms. The link will take you their local online newspaper where I got a larger version of this photo. This town used to be a Wells Fargo stage stop in the late nineteenth century. It's really close to Sutter's Mill where gold was discovered in 1848. It's thickly forested with Pine and oak with Mesquite and Madrone thrown in here and there. There are lots of year round streams and lakes, wild blackberries, and mosquitos!

Nearby is a town called Pine Grove. There is a wonderful state park there called Indian Grinding Stone State Park. Most people don't know this, but California has the largest Native American population in the United states. Prior to the Gold Rush, California had more Native Americans that all the other states combined. The Miwuks used to grind acorns in a large rock slab in the park, and it is sprinkled with grinding holes and petroglyphs. There is a ceremonial roundhouse there that is used by the native population, and a recreated Miwok winter village. You can walk through the park and see remnants of the sluice mining where miners diverted streams looking for placer gold.

The area I live in during the school year has around a quarter million people now. Lots more than when I moved there! The area I live in in the summer has only about 500. The closest supermarket is 20 miles away. The rumor is that West Point was given its name by Kit Carson and John C. Fremont when they were looking for a passage through the Sierra Nevada range. Jedediah Smith, who was hired by Fremont and the "Big Four" is the one that found the passage that made the Transcontinental Railroad possible.

Right now I teach public school at an Air Force Base in the California desert.

Having grown up in the Bay Area and seen its swift changes, it is clear that there are vital environmental issues in some far Northern California towns. Our old growth forests are under attack right now by a Texas millionaire who is zeroing in on one of the last old growth redwood forests here in California. I can't understand the almighty dollar being more important than the future. This is a picture of a redwood grove. Since they are several hundred feet high it's hard to get it all in the picture :)

There are lots of good environmental organizations addressing what is going on up near Eureka. Specifically, the problems with the Pacific Lumber Company and its new corporate owners. Please support those organizations that are taking an active role in bringing public attention to this crucial issue.

I'm an only child, but I come from a very large family. I have more first cousins that anyone I know. Unfortunately, I don't know them. For those of you with close families, count your blessings. I never even received a birthday card from my grandparents.


� 1996- 1998 - Graphics by Deborah Rutkowski