Bhí mé ag gcónaí cúpla míle siar i gClaremont ansin. Is cuimhne liom ag fhéiceail bhfíongoirt ag imeall an cheantair thoir. Ith mé uair amháin ag Ósta Seiceamar d'aois ag bunaoídh ag bhlian 1848, in aice leis an fhíonghoirt síos an príomh-bhóthar sin of Foothill; is breá ag ithe ar an sean-"barbeque" Fraincis ag ainmithe Robaire leis an boladh deathaithe an-iontach.
Mar sin, rúg mé is luaithe leis an grá le oidhreacht áitiúil ó Impireacht Intíre. Bhí maith liom ag dul a imirt leis spraoi ina úlloird taobh thiar do mo theach. Bhí crannaí agus fhíonghoirt i mó blianta múnlaitheachaí.
Anois, níl beagnach aon láithreacht talmhaíochta ann. Tá an-áit seo ag insint scéal seo. Is é seo an túr mar chuid oifig pháirc.
Ar ndóigh, tú ábalta chuir cuairt cúpla bhfíonghort seo caite. Maireachtáil siad ach faoi línte leichtreachais. Timpeall orthu, líonann an talamh lom agus tirim an stórais agus títhe.
Searching for Virginia Dare.
When I was very young, I saw a photograph like this of Virginia Dare Winery [vineyards] in a book about my native region. Over a century ago, it produced 2500 barrels of wine annually. It was at the corner of Foothill and Haven in Cucamonga.
I was living a few miles west in Claremont then. I remember seeing the vineyards around the eastern district. I ate once at the Sycamore Inn founded in 1848, near the vineyard down that main road of Foothill; I loved eating at an old French barbeque called Robaire's with a wonderful smoky smell.
Therefore, I grew up at the earliest with a love for the local heritage of the Inland Empire. I liked to go to play in orchards. There were trees and vineyards in my formative years.
Now, there's almost no agricultural presence there. This very place tells this story. This tower is part of an office park.
However, you're able to visit a couple of the last vineyards. They survive only under electric powerlines. Around them, the dry barren land fills with warehouses and houses.
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