Aug. 12 - Many Japanese people I meet in Tokyo come from elsewhere. Even if they were born in Japan's capital region, their parents or grandparents may have come from another prefecture. That is also true of my home state of California. Most California natives can trace their ancestors back only one or two generations. That is because this vast state was sparsely populated until the Gold Rush of 1849.

I have always been proud to be a fifth-generation Californian. My great-great-grandfather was one of the young men who came to California in the 1849 Gold Rush. Like most, he did not find his fortune in the gold fields. However, he settled in California's Central Valley and started to farm.

Soon after that, the train came to Tulare, opening vast markets in the East to California's agricultural bounty. One of my prized possessions is an etching of my great-great-grandfather's house outside Tulare, California. The artist drew a stately farmhouse surrounded by a prosperous farm with horses, cows and a train steaming across the landscape in the background.

On our recent vacation in California, Ann and I went to look for that house, which was built in 1876. Using the train tracks to orient ourselves, we soon found it surrounded by cornfields and vineyards. The second-floor balcony is gone, but it is still unmistakably the Zumwalt farmhouse.

Although our family connection is long gone, I was glad to see that this house is still home to a family of farmers growing food for American consumers.

Until next time,

Jim