Roy's Postcards: 1987/05/23

Inscription:

We all visited Angels Camp after staying over night with Frances' uncle Richard & Gail.

Postcard back:

ANGELS CAMP, CALIFORNIA
In the heart of the Mother Lode. For almost 50 years, the home of the famous re-enactment of Mark Twain's "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calevaras County" Contest. Now expanded to a full fledged county fair with a horse show, carnival, beauty pageant, etc. Angels Camp itself began as a trading post in 1848 when miner Henry Angels decided that outfitting the gold seekers would reap as much profit as the hunt for gold itself. It grew from a few tents to a hustling community in 3,000 in 1917. Today, Angels Camp is a modern town of 2,000 with every needed facility, still offering the tourist a chance to step into the past in an instant.

Pictured:
Left - St. Patrick's Church
Upper right - Part of a famous collection of old mining equipment.
Lower right - The main street.
Photos: Wolfgang Kohz

Leonard's comments:

They mean "bustling community"... OR DO THEY?

Tragically, the contest was originally to see who could pour the most buckshot down a frog's gullet. (I am making this up, but this page says that a 'Frog Welfare Policy' was only adopted in 1995.)

The name of that "part of a famous collection of old mining equipment" is "Ol' Beth".

See also: california

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