May 2023 Newsletter

All events that were scheduled in the next few months at the Conservancy Yard and Camp Nelson Meadow have been cancelled due to road conditions/closures. However, the Community Picnic will occur on Saturday May 27. Look for flyers with additional information at the Camp Nelson

store and Pierpoint.

The building that Slate Mountain Saloon occupies was once the bar and the coffee shop in the 1950s and up to about 1964-5. There were two entry doors, with the bar on the left half of the building and the coffee shop on the right half of the building. A wall separated the two businesses.  You can imagine how small each business was. There are still holes on the floor where the bar stools were installed. There was usually adult type live music on the back patio of the bar during summer months. The coffee shop had a small counter with stools and two or three small tables and a juke box near the front door. The bar and coffee shop were relocated across the street when the lodge was expanded in the mid 1960s. The building was then gutted and the wall removed to accommodate a dance hall for the teens. There were live bands and dancing every Saturday night, with no food or beverage service.

The Meadow Trail begins at the gate by Nelson Drive and Smith Drive. Go inside the gate and follow the signs around the meadow for a half mile stroll.
The JMNC Live Streaming Webcams with views of the meadow and conservancy yard can be accessed on the Conservancy website.

We invite you to check the current weather conditions in real time by using the Weather Underground app on your smart phone or go to www.wunderground.com on your computer. Our station’s designation is “KCACAMPN10”.

The Camp Nelson RV Park will not be open until the Hwy 190 opens to normal traffic. Call 559.542.2471 for information. The USFS Belknap and Coy Flat campgrounds will be closed as well.
It will be a slow summer for the community businesses. When cabin and property owners are on the mountain, we encourage you to visit the local businesses.

Visit our website to volunteer, make a donation, read the monthly Conservancy Article, buy a memorial brick, or purchase a copy of “The Tule River Middle Fork and its People” written by Malcolm Sillars. Read about the Tule River communities on the middle fork and see for yourself the history of this wonderful mountain home for many people.

Here is an excerpt from Chapter Eight of the book for your enjoyment: Chapter Eight; Nellie Marshall, Les Bailey and Cedar Slope.
”On the east side of Tract 119, Les Bailey gave Bud (Calvin) Champlin seven acres in exchange for building the roads through the tract. His brother Carl with a young Dick Dooley riding along did the roadwork. The Chaplin family developed Hopkins Creek that is little more than a spring, but provides them with adequate water. With a cabin and a bunkhouse it has been a family gathering place. The Champlain family is an extended family that includes the Hanggi, Mauser, and Dooley families in their clan and they all use it. A memorial marker is there to Ted Hanggi whose family ranched in Springville and early ran cattle in the back country by way of the Jordan Trail.” “Les also sold six acres so Spud (Albert) and Grace Pinnetta on the edge of the property that was used as horse corrals by Monty Reedy and Blue (Lambert) Schott since horses were not permitted in the development. The corrals are no more and since the 70s, the land has reverted to its natural state. Les sold seven more acres to Lloyd and Lois McCravy who also built a cabin on Lot# 52 in 1954. Bailey kept a three-acre parcel that the later owners called “The Baileywick” and is now owned by Ed and Shirley Black.” Page 112.

As members of the conservancy, our common interests include the Meadow, Conservancy Yard, buildings and RV Park. It takes the dedication of volunteers who serve willingly to insure that we preserve and maintain these areas for the enjoyment and use of the community and visitors.

Thank you to everyone that continuously serves. If you are interested in helping, contact any JMNC Board Member. Please look forward to the community spring cleanup day in May.  Such purposes for why our corporation was organized are to acquire, preserve and maintain for public enjoyment those natural and historic features of the Upper Tule Region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We work closely with the Communities of the Giant Sequoias, the Volunteer Fire Department, Camp Nelson Ambulance Association, Camp Nelson Chapel and the local businesses to promote the communities. Please support your Conservancy and Museum. Donations from community members are one of our sources of funds. The John M. Nelson Conservancy is a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation and your donations are tax deductible. We want to express our sincere thanks to all those who have donated to the Conservancy and thank you for your continued support.  You may send your contribution to 801 Highway 190, Box 110, Springville, CA 93265 or log-on to the JMNC website. Thank you.

AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible items to a charitable organization selected by the customers. Your purchases can benefit John M. Nelson Conservancy. 

We invite you to attend our monthly Board meetings on the second Saturday of each month at 8:00AM in the Conservancy building; 388 Smith Drive, Camp Nelson. The next meeting will be May 13th.
Check-out the web page at;
www.johnmnelsonconservancy.org
Mailing Address is; 801 Hwy 190, Box 110, Springville, CA 93265
Respectfully Submitted, (May 2023)
Dan McFadzean, Director; JMNC
Email; mcfadzeand@yahoo.com phone.661.978.4679