Growing up California, Elementary School Years

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Will's Life

Growing up, California, Elementary School Years

Willie drew this in first grade. He loved
to ride the bike he won in an art
contest at Thriftway Foods.
A portrait of "Papazapski's" (Ken)
drawn by Willie at age 5.
Really looks like Dad!

Willie was Baptized and received First Communion at St. John's Catholic Church in Dunsmuir. He took part in many celebrations, always enjoying the "spotlight."

Clockwise from top left:
Willie with Godmother Lupe
and Godfather, Pat; Willie at
Sedar Feast; with Fr. O'Leary
and Ken; dancing with Norma at
the Feast of Guadalupe;
with Mrs. Baca; and hiking at
Castle Crags State Park
after his First Communion.

School days, often started like this, with Afrack and Willie returning together. Summer days, often spent at Lake Siskiyou. Willie, Afrack and cousin Emily.

Willie's grandfather, the Maj, taught him to play chess when he came to visit the house on Castle Avenue from Southern California. Later he moved to Dunsmuir, too.

Sports became a big part of Willie's life. He played t-ball in
Kindergarten and Ken was a coach for many years.

Clockwise from top left:
Willie as the youngest Angel, as an
older Angel, on the Dunsmuir High
varsity, and as one of the Braves.

Willie "flies" with a magic cape from Tui (Mom) and secret help from Dad.
He always loved to "fly."

These are many "flying photos, taken when he was in grade school, and later.

At age 10, in the fifth grade, Will did
this drawing for a report about his life.

Willie and Kevin take a break from the Castle Ave. activities, which according to Afrack Vargas, included, “...neighborhood hide-and-seek, when we would have all the kids in the neighborhood playing, including, Mark Mendoza, Tangi and Tammy Bennet, Kevin and Becky Rinne, Brandy Williams, Megan and Jennifer Arno, Xotchilt and Genia, the home-taught girls that lived at the top of the hill, and any other kid that was in the neighborhood that day because they knew we had the BEST neighborhood in town! Some of those jealous visitors included, Jed Wilson, Sam Sleezer, Jonathon and Carlos Castillo, Lupe Jimenez, Jill and Krista MacAnulty, Adam O’Leary, Simon Gray, Brad Thunborg, Shelly Kirch, Ben Worrell, David Smith, Cain, Collin and Alexis Gillis.....riding and tearing apart and putting back together our bikes as if we knew what we were doing, playing guns, I shot you first, no you didn’t, I shot YOU first, no you didn’t, yes I did, building forts, .....” There were a lot of stories, most of them best kept off this site, but which made for a wild and wonderful growing-up time for the children above. If you ask the people above the might share some --off the record.