I just read of the plans for the new park in Clearlake Oaks. Mr. Nylander”s donation is just one more example of how the apple doesn”t fall far from the tree. I would hope in naming this park that consideration would be give to naming it, “The Cora Nylander Park.”
For those who may not know of this special
lady, and to all of us who remember her from year”s past, Ms. Cora was known as the “Godmother of the Oaks” dating back to the early 1930s. She, along with her husband Ed, built from scratch a business that has lasted to this very day. That, in itself, is remarkable in this day and age.
I remember Ms. Cora in the early 1940s as a visitor to the Oaks on vacation. Mr. Ed was still alive then, and they greeted their customers
as friends with smiles on their faces, and giving those who they touched a sense of being family.
Each year would pass, we all grew older, Mr. Ed passed away in the early 1950s, and Ms. Cora stepped up to the plate, taking charge of the Red & White. The Red & White has been a landmark to this day. Ms. Cora, strong and smart as she is, kept up with the changing times, and the old store has reflected this. Some of us still remember the fountain caf? that used to be in the front triangle of the building.
It was a gathering place for many years for the locals to have coffee and breakfast with tales and gossip to be enjoyed, just as it was in so many small towns of the era. The store had a scent, coming from the oiling of the old wood floors, combined with the caf? and the chickens moving steadily around on the rotisserie
in the back.
For many years whenever you came into town, Ms. Cora could be seen at the store with her crew, Ada White, her son Bud and his wife, Fred Meyers and his son, Paul. She also gave jobs to so many young high school kids. There were summer jobs that helped them learn solid business practices and hard work, which so many carried on to their adult jobs later in life.
Ms. Cora was tough and wise, and she had a soft heart that those close to her knew well. She took pride in herself and her town. As for the town, she watched over its health and well-being like a tiger watching over her cub. Something few folks knew at the time was that she carried many folks on the books during hard times, a practice that few businesses do these days.
For those of us who remember her special smile, you know the kind a warm, friendly, meaningful, smile we hope the new park will honor this fine and wonderful lady for being “the Godmother of the Oaks.”
Jim Hall
Clearlake Oaks
