home | tree story | threads story | tell a story | about Jane | go to Jane's blog contact / join email list | links | more stories ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 SAN FRANCISCO CABLE CAR #516 In 1968 Bill and Lora Stephenson traveled from Winterset, Iowa, to Sacramento, California, to visit us -- their son and daughter-in-law, Cliff and Norma Stephenson -- and to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. We looked for places to go and things to do, and one of those ideas was to go to San Francisco for an afternoon and evening. After Dad saw the cable cars, he wanted to ride on every one that was operating. AND we did with much glee and laughter. Fast forward a couple of years. Norma's eldest brother and his wife, Derwin and Elizabeth Myhr, stopped in Sacramento on the way from their home on Orcus Island, Washington, to visit a son in the Los Angeles area. They agreed that a short trip to San Francisco would give them a chance to see "The City By The Bay." While going through the gift shops, Elizabeth bought a deck of cards with a San Francisco scene to send to Mom Myhr in Clear Lake, Iowa. Hit the fast forward again. This time many years have elapsed. Cliff and Norma came back from California to Clear Lake to celebrate Mom Myhr's 100th birthday. While we were sitting in Mom's apartment she tossed a deck of cards on the table and said to Cliff, "I got these years ago from Elizabeth. See if you can win a game of solitaire." I don't remember if I won or not because the discovery I made completely astounded me. The photo on the back of each card was a picture of San Francisco’s cable car #516 with people hanging on the sides. I stared at the scene and even used a magnifying glass. I was looking at myself (in the cowboy hat) and Norma (in her cool weather coat) supporting Mother, and my daughter Karen had her face pressed against the window. My dad, son and eldest daughter were not caught in this picture. Mom Myhr gave me that deck of cards to keep. About six years later I was shopping at a used goods store in Clear Lake and saw a pen and ink drawing of this very same picture. What a great buy for 50 cents! The drawing now hangs on my fireplace wall along with a card from the deck. Cliff and Norma Stephenson - Clear Lake, Iowa Bruce Sanford would really like to see cable car #516 resurrected so he could take his bride, Karen, for a ride on their 30th wedding anniversary. Oh, by the way, Cliff would take his bride, Norma, for a ride to celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary. What a thrill!!! - Cliff Note: Many thanks to Bruce Sanford of Raymond, Maine, who married Karen -- the girl with her face pressed against the cable car window -- ten years after the picture was snapped. His letter (about the deck of cards) to a San Francisco newspaper caught my attention. Bruce put me in touch with the Stephensons who graciously filled in some blanks and provided the photo. You can find some history of San Francisco cable cars and other info links at http://www.streetcar.org/mim/cable/index.html - Jane Allen home | tree story | threads story | tell a story | about Jane | go to Jane's blog contact / join email list | links | more stories ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14