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Caring About Truckee: Gas is pricey, fathers are priceless

Norm and Alan Nicholls

Its great to be back home in Truckee. Alice and I had a great vacation in Myrtle Beach, So. Carolina, and enjoyed our stay with our daughter, Christy. It went from tolerably hot and humid, to almost terribly hot and humid while we were there. Alice used blue ice in places on her body that most people might not think about, just to stay cool on the golf course. We also spent time in Christys condo complex swimming pool, and across the street on the beach. The last day we were there, the water temperature of the ocean was 80 degrees!When we arrived at the Sacramento airport last Monday, it was 95 degrees … actually felt cool! Then, next morning in Truckee 26 degrees!

While we were back in South Carolina, I filled up Christys Chevy Tahoe twice and her boat once. These three fill ups cost me nearly $300 in 10 days! The cost for regular gas at the pumps was $3.79 per gallon and $4.09 a gallon for the boat fuel. Then we come back to Truckee and see gas at $4.49 a gallon and rising. Wow.I do consider myself a young senior and have been around awhile. During my 45-plus-year association with Truckee, the price of gas has always been a topic of discussion. I remember in 1986 we took a family trip that took us from here to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and back and the most we paid for gasoline was right here.I can also remember in the late 60s when gasoline up here was around 27 to 30 cents a gallon versus 23 to 25 cents a gallon in the Bay Area. I also fondly remember the gas wars in Sacramento in those days.Interstate 80 was not yet connected through Sacramento. You would enter Sacramento from the west across the Capitol Bridge, go down I Street and turn left on 16th Street where you would pick up I-80 again around the Watt Ave. area. Anyway, the gas stations along 16th Street had regular gas wars with prices as low at 16 and 17 cents a gallon.

When I graduated from high school in 1965, my Dad presented me with a Standard Oil (now Chevron) credit card and a commitment to help pay my gasoline bill while I was attending San Jose State. He explained how important it was to establish good credit and he wanted to contribute some financial assistance while I was in college.I believe that it was in late 1966 or early 1967 that the following took place. I had met Alice and one of her friends at San Jose State and the three of us used to commute back and forth to Boreal (Ridge) on weekends, vacations, and holidays to work. My Dad was great and rarely did he get upset about anything. However, I remember the telephone call that went something like this.. Son, we need to talk about your gas bill. Apparently you have been doing a lot of driving back and forth with the girls from the mountains and your last gas bill was excessive. It totaled a little over $40!!!!



This past weekend there was plenty to do in Truckee. The airport district held their 50th Anniversary bash on Saturday, the Optimist Club had around 850 attend their Brew Fest, and the Speak Easy held at Sugar Bowl (put on by the rotary) was a great success. With gas prices going up, it makes a lot of sense to stay closer to home these days. Summer events in Truckee used to be pretty much confined to the Fourth of July parade and picnic at regional park, and the rodeo in August. Now, on any given weekend there are events similar to those listed above as well as the Lake Tahoe Music Festival, Shakespeare at the Lake, and much more. The Village at Squaw Valley and Northstar Village have some sort of entertainment every single weekend. If you stay at home bored, it is your own fault!

The Sierra Sun is reorganizing the newspaper once again, and at the moment this column is coming out every other Tuesday. There is a chance it will remain as such, or back to Wednesday, or even Friday. Stay tuned.



Prior to moving to Truckee, Village Pizzeria was located in Tahoe City. Our early bird winner was Wally Nidzieko (a friend and client of mine from San Diego) who emailed in his answer at 10:55 p.m. on Monday night after reading our column on the Sierra Sun Web site. Our next winner was Dean Litchfield who called in at 6:07 a.m. Tuesday morning. He identified the former location as downstairs in the Roundhouse Mall in Tahoe City.Other players with correct answers: Carla Beebe, Betty Boop Carmichael, Mary Bennett, Gwen Licklider, Mary De Lisle, Norm Justesen, and Keith Mickelson. Norv Ayers (from Maui), and Pete Kolp emailed asking where the column went.

Hamburger Tradition was a long time hamburger joint in Truckee. Where was it located? Call us at 550-5035 or e-mail us at nnicholls@dicksonrealty.com with your answer.

Norm and Alan Nicholls of the Nicholls Real Estate Group are affiliated with Dickson Realty at 11500 Donner Pass Rd.


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