Wolf Creek Lodge Newsletter

Cohousing in Grass Valley, CA since 2012

March 2024

In this newsletter we find out how members made the decision to move to Wolf Creek Lodge.

We have new exhibits in the gallery.

We introduce you to Zen Tango.

Suzanne shares our remarkable Valentine's Day event.

From the top of Mt. Lincoln, Sugarbowl, February 27th

As we complete this newsletter, many feet of snow are forecast in the Sierra. Sugarbowl, in the earlier picture, will receive a lot. Here in the foothills they are forecasting mainly rain with less than an inch of snow on Saturday, which may well be washed away. Wolf Creeks Lodge's favorite truck is bundled up ready for the precipitation.

Special thanks to Patricia, Nancy M, and Maureen McN. for the contributed pictures. Thanks to members for their moving stories.

Bob Miller, editor

Suzanne Marriott, columnist and commas.

The Move

How do people find out about Wolf Creek Lodge? What is their motivation to join this community.? How did they make the decision? What was involved in the move?

Some of our members were part of the group that created Wolf Creek Lodge. They were part of the founding group and invested in the project. We may tell the stories of these pioneering members some other time, but in this newsletter we are reporting on those who bought after the project was complete, usually from previous owners.

If you want to be part of a cohousing community we recommend you first try to join an existing one. Creating a new community is a noble endeavor but it requires persistence, skill, and a bit of luck,

We interviewed some members who bought after construction was completed. We often find that members had known about cohousing long before they contemplated a move to Wolf Creek Lodge, but there are also those who found Wolf Creek Lodge and only then discovered cohousing.

There are different motivations but some patterns emerge. Some decide first to live in cohousing and search for a community - cohousing driven. Others want to be near family in the vicinity of Grass Valley - family driven. Some simply want to escape from the Bay Area or somewhere else  - location driven. Each person has their own story.

Lynda

Lynda had always known about cohousing. She led a varied life, often working for non-profits including a six-month stay in Tanzania. She retired and became part of an active community in Healdsburg. Overtime the community became less engaging. She decided to move nearer family in Grass Valley.

She considered Nevada City Cohousing, but then visited Wolf Creek Lodge and immediately knew this was the right choice. She was able to sell her home in Healdsburg and make the move. Recovering from hip surgery she will soon be ready for something new, but still based in Wolf Creek Lodge.

This was a family driven move.

Norma and Steve

Steve had been aware of cohousing for many years and had been a member of a start-up cohousing group in Oakland. That group couldn’t realize its goals due to the 2008 economy crash.

Meanwhile Norma and Steve were living in a single family home and had looked at four different cohousing communities in the Bay Area and also visited Wolf Creek Lodge. None of the Bay Area cohousing communities worked out, and Grass Valley felt too far away from our children who were still in the Bay Area. 

So instead they moved to a large condominium development. They discovered that without the core values and design of a cohousing community the neighbors kept to themselves. So three years later the search was on again. This time when they visited Wolf Creek Lodge, the children had moved on, and Grass Valley didn’t feel as far away. 

After visiting again and meeting the community at Wolf Creek Lodge, Steve and Norma decided to take the plunge and move out of the Bay Area. Their move to WCL was interrupted by the 2020 pandemic lockdown, but they are celebrating four years here. In the end it was the combination of timing and family that helped make the decision to move to cohousing.

This was a cohousing-driven move.

Sue

Sue was living in Silicon Valley with engineering husband, Chuck. Her daughter and son-in-law lived, and still live, in Nevada City. Daughter, Carol, decided to encourage her parents to move nearer. They looked at a continuing care community. This did not seem to be an active community. They looked at single-family homes in an upscale development. Sue was not enamored with having to maintain a yard. "Been there, done that."

Carol had been doing some web design work for Katie McCamant. Katie recommend that Sue and Chuck stay overnight in a guest room at the Lodge. Sue and Chuck talked by phone with Carol on the drive back and decided to make the move. They bought a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home. This had remained available for some months after the Wolf Creek Lodge move in. So they got a new home without being part of the pioneering group. Sue had never heard of cohousing, but now tells us she could not imagine living anywhere else!

This was a family-driven move.

Judith and Jimmy

Judith and Jimmy were living in San Pablo. He was CEO of a credit union. Some friends introduced them to the concept of cohousing and suggested they form their own community. This did not work out. Judith and Jimmy started searching for "cohousing" on the web. They found an announcement of a book reading by Chuck Durrett in the Book Passage Bookstore in Corte Madera and attended.

They visited Wolf Creek Lodge and another cohousing community. Preferring Wolf Creek Lodge, they visited again staying overnight. Jimmy was still two years away from retiring, but after doing a spreadsheet-based financial analysis they decided to buy. They visited the Lodge each month on the weekend of the General Meeting and associated potluck, before moving in after Jimmy's retirement.

This was a cohousing-driven move.

New Season at the Wolf Creek Lodge Gallery

Once again our gallery was cleared of exhibits and new ones displayed. We gathered for a reception to view the new items in the collections.

The "Book of Twinkie" was among the exhibits. This hand crafted book included a collection of essays by Twinkie.

Here is an excerpt from the preface, with permission from the author.

It's hard to say when my mother decided to call me Twinkie. I believe it had something to do with wanting me to remain a little girl forever. And in that, she may have succeeded to some degree. On the other hand, the name may have been due to my family's penchant for giving ridiculous sobriquets with unfortunate sticking power.

Until I was 8, a painful introduction was typically met with, "Oh, how cute. You look like a Twinkie." (egads!). I believe the result of the name left me with an overwhelming need to hide. I had to travel far to find a place where Twinkie did not follow. And travel I did.

But the wheel has done its 180 and I have become reacquainted with Twinkie. Now the name gives license to be goofy. Twinkie can turn mistake-making into art. In this Serious Work, Twinkie has pretty much let it rip. And to that I say, "Finally!"

Zen Tango

Kate invited her neighbor, Shirley, from her previous home, to visit Wolf Creek Lodge and offer a class in Zen Tango. In this form of art, you shut your eyes and draw some lines on a page. Opening your eyes you examine what you have and then create your picture using colored pencils. About a dozen members participated. 

Quote of the month:

"Avoid risk of a heart attack when shoveling snow - ask your wife to do it."

Gossip Column

Grandma Nancy set off to Club Med in Mexico and sent us this photo of an iguana. Then Kelly announced she was off to Australia and New Zealand.- we requested a photo of a Koala Bear. Then Bob Branstrom told us he was setting off on a camera trip to Africa - maybe lions and tigers. Your editor is off to the Empire Mine State Park - maybe a squirrel photo.

This February 14^th Vicki organized a super fun day for the community. Before our common meal, we gathered in the Common House for a guessing game. But not your usual guessing game. In this one, we had tags on our backs that named a famous person, fictional or real, from the 1950s. While 50s music played in the background, we wandered through the group, asking others Yes or No questions to determine who we were. Much laughter ensued as we tried to figure this out. I eventually discovered that I was the lovely Miss Kitty from Gun Smoke.

When everyone knew their identity, our next task was to find our partners, because we were all one of a pair. So we went around lifting other people’s tags to discover their names. It didn’t take me long to find Matt Dillon, who turned out to be Kelly. Richard and Gayle were Mickey and Minnie Mouse, but which one was which? And Steve and Nancy M. found each other as  Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Keeping in character – each pair posed for a picture.

When we finally settled down, we were treated to a delicious meal of squash soup, salad, and desert complements of Vicki, Patricia, Kate, and Mo. In keeping with Valentine’s Day, our tables were decorated with candy hearts, and Maureen from our Social Team provided the elegant spring flowers.

Tags creatively made by Vicki.

It was truly a Valentine’s Day to remember, and one I hope will become a tradition.

Cohousing Resources