The following autobiographical sketch was submitted by Rosalie for inclusion in the "Panther Tracks 1995" book of memories published for the 40th reunion.

Well, here goes the story of my last forty years (highlights only, of course):

Upon graduation I was employed as an executive secretary with General Petroleum in San Mateo. I married, December 10, 1955, Roy "Nick" Franchini, and worked until a week before our first son was born. Brian is 38 years old this October. Shortly after his birth we move to San Anselmo where Nick went into the restaurant business with his father. They purchased The West End Villa in San Rafael and, shortly after, purchased The Chateau Restaurant, also in San Rafael.

Our second son, Michael, was born in March, 1961 and is now 34 years old. I was lucky enough during this time to be able to stay home and be "Mom" to our sons and for a break I performed volunteer work as a "Pink Lady" at Marin General Hospital. These were good years and went by entirely too fast.

Around 1966 we started acquiring horses for the boys, purchasing horse carriages for Nick and I to drive our horse to and, basically, horsed ourselves out of our home. We started looking for a home with acreage and found a wonderful place in Sebastopol where we have lived since 1967. Of course, with four acres, we also increased the number of animals.

During the boy's years in school I did the usual room mother, 4H Club, 4H leader things. When they reached high school age we sold Franchini's Chateau and opened a smaller restaurant in Santa Rosa that we operated until 1982. Nick went to work for the Green Mill Restaurant in Penngrove while I worked on remodeling the house (it is 125 years old this year) and landscaping the yard.

I eventually drifted into becoming a volunteer firefighter/EMT/dispatcher with our local volunteer fire department. I loved it and only wish I had been younger when I started it. When I decided I was not physically strong enough for someone to depend on me to pull them out of a fire, I went to work for Brown's Ambulance Co. in "Santa Rasa as an EMT/Dispatcher. I was with them for five years.

Then I decided to go to work for the County of Sonoma Sheriff's Department as a Dispatcher. I decided that it would be nice to have some medical coverage and a retirement plan. I was a 911 operator, teletype operator, and general emergency dispatcher with the County for 5 years. I then transferred to the Patrol side and became a Community Services Officer. I work at the Guerneville Substation of the Sheriff's Department.

I have been here in Guerneville for five years now, and just love it. The station is staffed with myself, one sergeant, 16 deputies, and 3 resident coastal deputies and their K-9 partners. I function as a uniformed civilian and am involved with Community Oriented Policing, Crime Prevention, Neighborhood Watch, and also write reports, keep the station stocked, act as liaison between the Department and citizens and basically do what deputies do except carry a gun and wear a badge.

The guys at the substation call me Mom and we get along very well. Of course, when I do silly things such as fall off my Grandson's Pogo stick and fracture 2 vertebrae in my back, they do lecture me just a little about "acting my age"!

I have two wonderful, beautiful grandchildren whom I adore. Katie is 8 and Danny is 10. Brian, our oldest son, is an electrician, and Mike, the youngest, is a firefighter for the City of Santa Rosa. We added a third home to our property when Brian married and now both boys live on the same property with us, each in their own home, and us in the "big house".

It's been a wonderful and exciting 40 years - I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

A note from Rosalie (Herron) Franchini (September 2002):

Hey - it was good to know that you also are still moving and breathing! How has your summer been? Ours has been more interesting than most.

We flew to San Antonio in August to see my Grandson graduate from Air force basic training at Lackland AFB. Loved San Antonio - especially the riverwalk. My granddaughter has been in two national horseshows for the first time...she took 5th in the first one and 2nd in the second one - not toooo proud! She is 15 and rides our quarter horse, Elliott.

Our youngest son Mike (41!) was invited to join a firefighting Hotshot crew this summer so he has been traveling all over, sometimes by bus, sometimes by helicopter! He works out of Cedar City, Utah and lives in Dubois, Wyoming. We are taking care of his two dogs - a yellow lab and a border collie/Australian heeler mix - both BIG. We have a Jack Russell and an Australian Shepherd - they all get along and have fun - we just vacuum a lot.

Our oldest son, Brian, is an electrician and is more of a traditional job type person - nose to the grindstone, except when it comes to his kids. He still lives here on the property with us in his own home. When Mike moved to Wyoming we rented his home - also on the same property. My kids never Did leave home!!!

We are going to Grass Valley next weekend to see the Draft Horse Show and fair - it is really a nice show. We will take the RV and stay the weekend. The kennel likes it when we ALL go as their income rises dramatically. We will board 4, Brian has 3 Jack Russells and Nik's mom has 2 shelties. Then we have to round up someone to feed the horses! It's difficult to travel with animals.

Have been fighting some back trouble lately - find it hard to walk without a lot of pain. Finally had it diagnosed as degenerative scoliosis. Have 6 weeks of physical therapy to strengthen my back, then back surgery to insert a rod down the spine. If it works I will be so happy to be able to take walks again!

Nik had some cardiac problems last year and now has a pacemaker, but still hasn't slowed down at all - he is a dynamo.

This summer we didn't have to travel any further than out our back gate for a Beach Boy's concert/party. The gentlemen who owns the vineyards in back of our property has a large birthday party each year - this year it was the Beach Boys...with beach balls, leis and 4 different caterers. Being a very good neighbor, he invited all the neighbors to join him and his guests. We started out with drinks at his home adjoining ours, then to a harp concert in a grove of trees in the vineyards, then on to the party held in a HUGE double size circus type tent! Needless to say we had a fantastic time, lots of requests and dancing until midnight. Took me back a few years.

It was good to read about everyone on the web site and Grey's story about Mr. Chappell touched me very much - I remember him with such fondness also - especially all those afternoons with the tumbling team in the auditorium! He was a rare man, but then I think all our teachers at that school were also.

Hope you and all your family are in good health and happy and contented. Haven't heard much from anyone else in the class except what I find out from the Blingum newsletter. Read that Marilyn Dickman died - too bad she was a hard worker for the school and Alumni Assoc. Well, this chair is getting hard so will say good bye for now....really good to hear from you - if you know any news about anyone, pass it on!

Love, Rosalie

(October 2002) The following interchanges of e-mail between Rosalie and Mike Johnson are included with permission. They are included because they provide snippets of interesting facets of our lives. Ed.)

To: Rosalie
From: Mike

I certainly enjoyed reading your letter to Grey (now posted to your Senior Photo page on our class website). Our lives were once very involved with horses. When we lived in Kansas we lived on the KSU Konza Prairie Natural Research Area. It was a beautiful old ranch where Custer boarded the 7th Cavalry horses and the first Marlboro Country ad was photographed. We had a quarter horse and an Appaloosa for my two oldest daughters. The ranch had many Prairie Chicken booming grounds and deer and coyotes passed by the house daily. There was an incredible old horse barn with the counter weights on the doors 6' x 3' x 6" slabs of limestone. The kids used to ride their tricycles in the hayloft. My wife's Uncle Bill raised and trained draft horses in Colorado. The famed Belgian pair June and July were his. He is memorialized on a commemorative plate made from a painting that was done of him and one of his teams.

What is not clear from your letter is where you live.

Hope to see you at the 50th reunion.

(end)

To: Mike
From: Rosalie

To answer your e-mail, we live in Sebastopol, in the middle of a number of vineyards. You probably know that it is in Sonoma County. Your previous location sounds wonderful - steeped in history. I hesitate to say it and don't often admit it to many people, but we are (maternal side) related to George Armstrong Custer on the Armstrong side. Poor Uncle George - never stood a chance between his ego and the Indians!

I'm still with the same husband - going on 48 years! We have lived here in Sebastopol for 35 years and still love it. The perfect weather and location - between the ocean and the shopping malls! I've been retired from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department now for 3 years and am enjoying my time. I recently took some stained glass lessons and have plans to do our front door and the window over it. Everything physical is taking a back seat right now until I have some back surgery - have developed degenerative scoliosis, so will have to do the metal rod, screws, wire thing. But I should be as good as new (almost) after a few months.

When I can ride again, we will probably be taking some short trips to Oregon, which we love, so will give you a holler before we do. Am also hoping to get to drive to Wyoming to visit our youngest son - last winter we went on a dog sled ride - what a GREAT tip!! I hope all is well with you and I'm looking forward to the 50th reunion.

(end)

To: Rosalie
From: Mike

Thanks for your newsy reply. It was great to hear from you. My mother's family is from Petaluma and I visit cousins and an aunt and uncle there occasionally. When I was young we used to drive to Sebastopol and buy boxes of gravenstein apples. We took them back to Petaluma and my grandmother made out of this world applesauce and apple pies in her old wood stove. With those memories I planted a gravenstein tree in our yard here and now my wife makes out of this world apple pies. We have a bunch in the freezer now. It was interesting to hear that our paths cross in an odd way via Custer. I hope that your back surgery goes well and that you will again be able to make trips to paradise here. Do let me know because I would love to have you visit here. We always have a spare bedroom. The best path to Wyoming is through Oregon. If I don't see you sooner, I'll see you at the 50th.

Please keep in touch.

(end)

Rosalie and Nik Franchini at their Sebastopol home-August 2003