Savor the little things, like homemade marmalade

Postcards from Mariposa

By Margaret Hartley

(Updated: Wednesday, May 07, 2008, 6:21 PM)

Mariposa has our stamp of approval

Bill Evans says he never runs out of things to say about Mariposa when he writes letters, even if it's just the color of the sky -- and I agree.

In a given letter, you can write about the steep-sided valley that cradles our town, redbud blossoms, panning for gold flakes in the creek and the frog choruses that perform daily behind the old house that was once the old Mariposa brewery.

And the early summer sky, of course, variously blue during the day and star-filled at night.

For correspondence I love to buy individual sheets of writing paper and unusual single envelopes at the stationery store, and dress up the envelopes with commemorative stamps.

Tim Abbott, the Mariposa postmaster, tells me that first-class postage rises by a penny on May 12, so we'll soon be seeing a new selection of commemoratives, and, for a while, buying lots of one-cent stamps to augment the old ones. The Mariposa Post Office has 40,000 one-cent stamps on hand to see us through the price rise, Abbott said. The "Forever" stamps reduce the pressure, "but it's amazing how many (one-cent) stamps it takes" for customers to make the change-over.

Learning the value of a dollar

Joe "Bubba" Lang is soldiering on, after the planning commission and the fire department mandated he remove the sidewalk-sale component of his Mariposa thrift store, giving the shop a new minimalist look.

Lang is the former Oklahoma state trooper who was sidelined after being viciously stabbed with a butcher knife and beaten with a hoe during an arrest.

He and I frequently converse about the value of a dollar, which he learned as a boy saving his allowance in discarded Prince Albert tobacco cans.

When he was 5 or 6 years old, he received five cents a week, and at that rate he needed three weeks to save for the movies, and another two weeks for a hamburger.

"Money was so precious then," that he'd count his stash 10 times a week, he said.

Last Christmas I spied a handsome, slightly wobbly bookcase at the thrift store and offered him $15 for it, but he held his ground at $20.

Of course I am happy to pay full price as a matter of journalistic ethics, since I often write about him.

And every purchase helps to underwrite those situations in which he gives items away free to people who badly need them and can't afford to pay. As any good philosopher will tell you, the value of a dollar is all in what you do with it.

The bookcase joins a coffee table, a child's desk, a fine set of shelves, and other items of "Bubba" provenance that will remind me always of conversations with this good-hearted man.

"The World's Finest"

When the price for 12 ounces of imported marmalade rose to $4.99 at the supermarket, I went on a consumer strike. Marmalade is a staple at our house, and we've been buying the British kind that advertises itself as "The World's Finest." We prefer it because it is made with sugar, not corn syrup, and the taste is akin to homemade. But the price stuck in my craw.

One of the easiest preserves to make at home, marmalade does not require added pectin, if the right cookbook recipe is followed. For the price of a few oranges and lemons, plus eight cups of sugar, jar lids, and some recycled canning jars, you can wind up with about a half-gallon of this golden treat.

As you cook and stir it, the liquid turns to jelly before your eyes, and you feel like an alchemist.

(As as you know, home canning presents a number of food- and kitchen-safety issues. So read the literature before attempting it the first time, and be careful around the hot liquids and the sterilizing process.)

We recently put up four large jars of this miraculous golden homemade jam. Modesty prevents us from comparing it to "the world's finest," of course.

Celebration slated

The public is invited to Mariposa's 15th annual Pow Wow, May 10 and 11, at the fairgrounds, where gates open at 10 a.m. both days. The brilliant grand entry is scheduled for noon on Saturday, and 11 a.m. on Sunday.

If you don't already know, you can learn about powwows and powwow protocol, on the Web, at visit mariposa.net/powwow/.

"Seen by outsiders as entertainment due to the singing, dancing, and colorful regalia, the Pow Wow is a spiritual legacy which should be treated with respect and honor.

It is a time when Indians reflect on their traditions. It is a time to honor the past and celebrate the future."

No tobacco, alcohol or drugs are permitted at the powwow. Admission at the gate is $3 for adults and $1 for kids under five and elders. Free camping is available in the specially-designated camping area.

I've marked my calendar for the electrifying and important play, "Twelve Angry Jurors," to be presented May 16 and 17 at 7 p.m. by the Mariposa County High School Drama Club in the Fiester Auditorium, at the high school.

The PG-rated play is a critically-acclaimed stage adaptation of "Twelve Angry Men," which began as a 1954 teleplay and later became a 1957 film recognized by the American Film Institute as one of America's 100 greatest movies of all time.

Tickets are $7 for general admission and $6 for students with A.S.B. cards, and seniors.