Included in this years ski group from Truckee are Alan, Alice and myself; Pat and Bill Johnson; Chris and Sherlyn Nelson; Gregg and Cindy Bashford and their baby Bodie; and long time Truckee resident Matt Williams (son of Bernie and Linda Williams of Northstar) visiting from Denver. Matt and Alan have been friends since they were little through high school. They had classes together, skied together, played baseball together and always had fun together. When they chose colleges, Alan headed south to UCLA and Matt headed to the University of Colorado in Boulder. After college, Matt moved to Denver; and, Alan worked his way back to Truckee after nine years in LA. They usually get together a couple of times a year normally to ski and to catch up on old times. We were all extremely pleased that Matt brought his fiance, Rebecca Ronk, with him this year. She came as his girlfriend last year. Congratulations also to you, Linda and Bernie!By the way, the skiing and coverage here is about the same as Truckee. We skied in 20 degree temperatures in the morning, and sat out on our balcony in shirt sleeves in the afternoon

It saddened me to read a recent obituary about the passing of Ed McMills.Everyone who lived here during his years in Truckee knew him you had to know him because he was everywhere. Ed was an excellent example of a true Truckee local (I mean resident). He was highly visible, belonged to a lot of organizations and loved the spirit of Truckee. His newspaper column was always amusing. You had to love the man.The first time we met Ed was not here in Truckee, even though he had been living here full-time for a couple of years, but in Salt Lake City. I believe it was in 1983 or 84 when our family traveled to Salt Lake City to attend a huge family reunion. My father-in-law was from a huge Mormon family and one of his brothers had helped organize this reunion that drew a couple of hundred people at least.At the time I was a smoker and liked my beer, so I had some cigarettes and beer in the car. Since we didnt want any of the gathering to see me and my vices, we parked in the furthest parking lot from the party.Around midday I quietly slipped away and headed to the parking lot. When I got to my car I noticed that the car parked next to ours was from California and had a license number just one digit different than ours. I figured the person must be from Truckee since I had picked up my plates at the Truckee DMV just a couple of weeks earlier.I no sooner lit my cigarette and opened a beer, when a tall slender man approached. Sure enough it was Ed McMills, and he had his cigarettes and beer in the trunk of his car. We formally introduced ourselves, determined that he was a distant cousin of my wife, Alice, and from that day on every time we saw each other he called me cous.

I (Norm) was very sad to hear that someone lost their life in the icy waters of Donner Lake last week. I was equally mad at the Sierra Sun and the Reno Gazette for glorifying the recreational opportunity that the newly formed ice afforded, and yet made no (or little) mention as to how dangerous it could be. Shame on the Town of Truckee for not putting out a couple of their message boards warning people not to venture out on the ice. Yet, signs dont seem to do any good around here. Look at the no sledding signs and no parking signs by McIver dairy that are constantly ignored. What an absolute shame and needless loss of life. I hope lessons were learned.

The answer to last weeks question: For years there was a small forest service campground in the area northwest of the Glenshire Bridge. What was the name of this campground?Early bird winner, Ron Rettig, identified the Polaris Campground. The area burned in the summer of 1978; I remember the fire well as it was the day I arrived in Truckee to interview for a position at Tahoe National Bank, said Ron.Other winners included Dennis Stewart, Margaret Perea, Dan Seaborg, Keith McCauley, Tom MacDonald and Keith Mickelson. We also acknowledge Bill Mullins for suggesting the question and Rick Maddelena for historic support. All will have their names put in the pot for our 2007 drawing. Norm and Alan Nicholls of the Nicholls Real Estate Group, are affiliated with Dickson Realty at 11500 Donner Pass Rd.

This weeks questionWho was the original Manager of Longs Drugs when it opened in Truckee in the late 1970s? Call us at 550-5035 or e-mail us at nnicholls@dicksonrealty.com with your answer.