What is this page and why have you found it? This page is meant for me to find you!
I've been involved with a web site that lists my ancestors. The site gets visited by people from all over the world who find the site through web search engines. I wondered if the same thing would work to help me get back in touch with people I haven't seen in a long time. So, I put together a few pages of the names of people I knew at different times in my life. If you found this page, I'm hoping that you are one of the people listed here.
This list page is for my summer job working at the Napa Valley Ranch Club in 1974. I worked the snack bar, flipping burgers and serving frosties with my good friend Jeff Frye. It was a great summer.
August 5, 2006 Update - More emails about NVRC show up from time to time. Today Bill D. wrote to say that he went by the current R-Ranch and asked to take a quick drive around it. They told him non-members could only enter the property on a pre-arranged tour.
July 18, 2004 Update - Many people have written to tell of their own memories of NVRC and to wonder what has become of it. I remember NVRC as close to Moskowite Corner. Mapquest is silent on this place but I found another reference that puts it at the intersection of Rt121 from Napa to Winters and Rt128 from Rutherford to Winters. Mapquest shows the Moskowite Reservoir near there, but it does not list the place. It looks like there is now a winery to visit there - Croze.
Last I heard, it had morphed into R-Ranch, a homonym of "Our Ranch." A reference to the timeshare, community ownership nature of the deal. A little Googling led me to the current R-Ranch web site!
http://www.rranch.net 1962 Capell Valley Rd. Napa, CA 94558
The site gives several photos and information on ownership. Click here to read the Owners' Newsletters. It looks like people are still having fun there!
I found a site offering to sell memberships:
Many of the Sellers enjoyed using the Ranch in the past but are no longer visiting the Ranch and would like to sell their deeds. R-Ranch sells only a limited number of deeds in total so the availability fluctuates.
R-Ranch had 12 deeds for sale as of April 9 for $4200 each. Sellers willing to sell for less than the Ranch price would consider offers. Please consider buying from a private owner first.
Recently I found one share sold for $3550 on eBay.
In addition to buying a share, I believe each owner has to pay a yearly assessment to cover operating costs. Their Q1 2004 newsletter offers in the lead paragraph: The highest increase in the annual assessments in the history of R-Ranch. [bold in original] The November 2003 BOD meeting minutes offered this:
Assessments of $750 are to low. Where are we going to get the $200,000 to run the ranch?
For history, I found a web site that you might find interesting. Here's a short quote from it:
R-Ranch in the Sequoias, opened in 1989, became the fourth R-Ranch developed by Jeff Dennis. The other three are:
The original R-Ranch in Siskiyou County, seven miles from the California-Oregon border, adjoining the Klamath National Forest.
R-Ranch at the Lake near Lake Berryessa in Napa Valley
I wonder why None of these operating R-Ranch sites mentions the Lake Berryessa one?
Another web site (ilovenapa.com) had a mention of NVRC, but it is dated July 2002:
West of Moskowite Corners lies ranch-filled Capell Valley with new vineyards and a few homes reflecting current development. Capell Valley Elementary school serves children of the Lake Berryessa area. Lakeside Market and gas here has been closed for more than a year, a depressing sigh, but dude R-Ranch offers meals and ice cream to the public.
Why not drive up there, have dinner, and send me some photos and info to post here?
If you used to know me, why not email me ... and say hello.
Names from these times:
Debbie Dillberg, Jeff Frye, Kathy Fullalove, Kristy Gibson, Chuck Leonard