Groveland, California | April 1979 & May 2015
Excerpt
from my grandmother’s travel journal on April 23rd, 1979: “Groveland –
and the Iron Door Bar, 1849. And down towards a big lake ‘New Don Pedro
Reservoir’ in steep and sharp curves.”
When
I entered the Iron Door Saloon, which happens to be the oldest saloon
in California, I came across a man sitting at the bar who told me he was
in 11th grade the year my grandfather’s photo was taken. He went on to
tell me that he and a few seniors used to park behind the bar and enjoy a
few beers inside the bar after school. I believed him. I also had the
chance to show the current young owner what his bar looked like in 1979,
which he loved. When I offered him a copy of the photograph, his face
lit up and he declared “That’s badass!”