There were approximately 250 homes in Canyon Lake in 1974 out of approximately 4800 available lots. We were really out in the boonies.
I joined the Womans Club that year and Chuck a men's group called CLAMS. It was a good way to meet people and we wanted to become acquainted in our new neighborhood. I was Secretary of the Womans Club in 1975 and have continued as a member of the club (1995). We now have only 900 lots available for building. The community has gone from a weekend vacation type of living to a highly desirable place to live full time.
Once we moved Chuck designed houses for the local contractor who built our house. I spent my time being Chuck's assistant in his many activities.
In February of 1983 Mara told us she was going to be married to Daniel Statnekov who she met in Santa Fe. The wedding was to be a civil ceremony performed at Millie and Lewis' Stat's home in Wilmington, Delaware. We were unable to be with them for the service but planned to visit them in July. We would be returning from a trip to the Passion Play in Germany. We stayed for several days with the Stats and met Daniel for the first time. Daniel's parents had shortened their name from Statnekov to Stat.
In 1981 I was called for Jury service in the Superior Court in Riverside County in the city of Riverside. I was assigned to a murder case. People vs. Steven J. Toussaint, 28. The charges against Toussaint were murder, burglary and arson. The jury found him guilty of all crimes charged; first-degree murder in the death of Edith E. Russell, arson, and second-degree burglary.
Edith E. Russell's body was found burned beyond recognition in her bedroom after a fire gutted her wooden two-story house on Magnolia Avenue in Riverside on May 21. An autopsy showed the 80 year old woman was beaten and choked before the fire was started. She was living alone at the time. Prosecutor Randall Tagami argued that Toussaint killed the elderly woman when she caught him stealing antiques from her house. Two days later he set fire to her house trying to cover up the murder. Toussaint first became a suspect after it was learned Russell had reported to police that he stole her purse, three days before she was killed. Toussaint had visited her house to buy a hospital bed which she had advertised for sale. After he left, she said, her purse was missing. The prosecution theorized that Toussaint's interest in the bed was a pretense for casing the home for the many valuables that she had.
This was my first time for Jury service. I found it a very interesting and rewarding experience. The jury found him guilty and Judge Mortland sentenced him to 27 years to life in state prison.
In 1985 I was again called for Jury Service at Superior Court in Riverside. This time I was also seated on the jury for a murder trial. Potential jurors expressed their feelings about the death penalty in court in the first such case to be heard in the county since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Jury selection must be open to the public. Although both the judge and the prosecuting attorney were the same as on the former trial I had been on, I was accepted on the jury. As we were individually interrogated, I was asked if the jury had come to a unanimous decision on that case, which we had. There were no objections from either side. By this time I was 69. Our pay for both juries was $5.00 a day plus mileage. From Canyon Lake to the Court House in Riverside was about 35 miles each way.
Jeffrey Theodore Sheldon was charged with kidnapping, robbery and first degree murder of Norris Delaney Neblett, 63, September 1983, at Neblett's home in Lake Elsinore. Sheldon allegedly forced Neblett to cash checks for about $l0,000 at several Lake Elsinore banks before murdering him. Sheldon's wife and friend were both accomplices but were not involved in the trial. Mr. Neblitt's body was found the day after his murder at his home. He had been beaten and strangled. A pillow covering his face was weighed down by a couch and a heavy chair. Sheldon was described as the "leader and sole motivating factor" in the murder of a member of a pioneer Lake Elsinore family.
The jury brought in a verdict of "guilty". At least six deputy district attorneys seated in the courtroom waited for the verdict, the first in a death penalty case in the county since the death penalty was reinstated. Seeing them, one of the prosecutors intoned: "The taxpayers are well represented."
Sheldon had already been sentenced to four life terms for his part in similar crimes committed against an elderly couple near Reno, Nevada. This was brought out in the penalty phase of the trial which was a week after the guilty verdict. The judge ordered Sheldon 23, to be executed in the gas chamber at California State Prison at San Quentin. The death penalty, by law, is automatically appealable.
May 5, 1994 I received a telephone call from a Mr. Clarek Brown in Oakland regarding the Sheldon murder. He was calling all members of the l985 jury he could reach. He wanted to know my opinion now of the sentence. I told him he probably didn't want to hear it because I felt Sheldon deserved the death penalty. As you can see ten years from the original trial Sheldon was still on death row and the appeal for clemency was still active. What a waste of money.
In 1983 we sold the house in Citrus Heights. Pam had sold her Pet and Grooming Shop the year before and she wanted to move down to Southern California to be nearer us. We acquired through Pam two American Shorthair cats, Daryl and Toni, who are brother and sister. They were a year and a half old at the time. They are now almost 13 years old and our very dear companions and sleeping partners. They are both in excellent health.
Mara and Daniel gave us our first grandson Jacob August 24, 1985. They were living in Santa Fe.
Isaac was born the 29th of May, 1988 also in Santa Fe. We were not able to go to Santa Fe to meet our second grandchild as I was in the hospital. I had a problem with high blood pressure which also made us aware that I had a heart problem. Before I was dismissed from the hospital they inserted a pace maker.
We have fortunately been able to visit the Statnekov family or they with us at least twice a year. Most of our trips have been by car as our trips usually continued from New Mexico to Colorado, where we have visited Grace, my cousin, in Colorado Springs and Chuck's brother Bob and wife Doreen in Denver. Chuck's brother Bob died December 10, 1992.
When Rosie died February 17, 1990 her ashes were buried in the Masonic plot in Evanston, Wyoming. We had a graveside memorial service with family and friends that summer. Following the service Judy and Ken Myers had all of us to their ranch where we were able to visit and have refreshments.
In 1994 we took an Amtrak trip to Santa Fe. The train stopped at Lamy, just about twenty miles from Santa Fe. Mara met us there. Later in 1994 we drove to Santa Fe and spent Thanksgiving with the Statnekov family.
Chuck has covered our travels in the past few years and other activities which we have done together, so I am concluding my family history now. I will be 81 years old this month and that is a good time to finish my writings.
Our life since retirement has been as partners in most of our activities. We sold our motorhome in 1993 after many years of happy motor home traveling. As driver, cook, etc. I was ready for more leisurely recreation. We are still active with ham radio, using the computer, gardening together and sharing some household activities. We look forward to more trips but probably within the United States.
April 16, 1994 Chuck celebrated his 80th birthday. We flew to Hawaii and took a cruise thru the Islands.
In July of 1994 when I was having my glasses checked the Opthomologist diagnosed a cancer on the lower left eye lid. It was removed with no problems.
In 1995 while having a routine check on my Pace Maker the Cardiologist gave me an electrocardiogram and he sent me by ambulance to the local hospital. I was later transported to another hospital where an angioplasty was performed with a stent. Chuck and I have both been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation but with the aid of medication seem to be doing okay.
Because of health problems we were not able to attend the dedication of the Farm House in Cottonwood as a State Monument. The farm house and a small area around had remained in the family until recent years. We had several family reunions there over the years. We were all pleased to have the old home given this recognition. The owners are John and Shawn Hart as of 1995. The address is 5000 South Thirteenth East, Salt Lake City, Utah.
We flew to Santa Fe in April to celebrate Chuck's 82nd birthday with Mara and family .
As of July 1996 we now have a population in Canyon Lake of approximately 13,000 people. The community has changed from an anticipated weekend community of older people to a very desirable gated area with three fourths of the population being young people with children. Most homes now being built are over 3000 square feet and some in the half million price range.
We have had our home at Canyon Lake up for sale but the economy is such that there is very little action in the real estate business. We are looking at a small gated area in Sun City where they have a lodge, swimming pool, craft rooms and other amenities. We want to stay in close proximity to Pam.
As it is now 1996 we are looking forward to Dorothy's 81st birthday July 24. We are also looking forward to more Golden years with a little "Lead" thrown in. We are still living in Canyon Lake where we have been since 1974. We are also still traveling, driving, being active and enjoying our time together. We have been happily married 55 years. What more could we ask?
Return to the Dorothy Walton Bishop page, or
Return to the Lewis Family page.