A few months after our alumni weekend visit Dale received a call from Harvey Voth to be one of the Bible teachers at Monterey Bay Academy. We would move as soon as the boys were out of school.
Arriving at MBA we learned that we would be living in one of the old army hospital barracks. It had at one time in the past been converted into two apartments, but now it was all one house that had two old, outdated kitchens and baths. Monterey Bay Academy had been Camp McQuade during World War II, and when the Central California Conference purchased it, the army buildings became school buildings. This house was not my idea of an ideal house, but we accepted it without complaining. We were delighted to be back on the campus that held so many sacred memories for us.
Shortly after we arrived, Mike wanted to sleep out side close to the house and under one of the shrubs. We thought this would be OK. We were on a Christian campus where only faculty and staff lived. He made it safely through the night, but the next day he came down with a terrible lung infection, perhaps from the damp, musty air coming from under the house, and he ended up in the hospital. Dale and I took turns around the clock staying with him. We thanked God for answering our prayers for his recovery, and Mike was home in just a few days.
I needed to find employment. We had no house or credit card debt, but we did have a school bill. I had tried selling Magic Wand in Santa Monica, but no one answered their door in that urban area, so door to-door sales didn’t work like it had in Michigan. I thought I would be able to sell in this rural area, but no one seemed to be interested, or perhaps I had lost my passion for selling.
I had been unsuccessful finding employment when we learned that the current secretary to Elder Voth was moving. I immediately spoke to Elder Voth about the position and was offered the job. This family was also vacating a much nicer home that was available to us if we wanted it. Yes, we did! It was on Zils Road, just off the campus on one-third acre. We made the move just before the beginning of school. This home was still close to the campus, and we frequently walked across the road or rode our bikes to work and school.
That summer our family and Dale’s sister Opal and her husband Everett, and sons David and Philip went on a backpack trip on the Rey Lakes Loop of the Sierras. We had gotten a taste of backpacking while living in Rowland Heights. Dale had taken us shopping, outfitting all four of us with boots, sleep ing bags, Kelty backpacks, tent and all the other necessary gear for the trip. Our first trip was up Mt. Gorgonio, about 50 miles from where we lived in Rowland Heights. This was just an overnight trip and not too strenuous, but we had to carry the only water we would have. I did not like the two quarts we were rationed for all water needs for twenty-four hours, nor was I impressed with this sport. I thought it would be something for Dale and the boys to do to bond together while I stayed home. Even so, when we started talking about a trip with Opal and family, I decided I would try it one more time. We always had so much fun when we were all together. Their two boys were just older than our two boys.
We arranged to meet at Roads End at King’s Canyon and take the 47-mile Rae Lakes Loop that would take us about a week. The Rae Lakes Loop is one of the most popular backpacking trails in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It starts at an elevation of 5035 feet ascending to 11,978 feet at Glen Pass. For a period of time the trail joins up with the popular John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. There are over 60 beautiful, crystal clear, icy cold lakes on this trail. Perfect for bathing! Brrrr!
We had not hiked more than an hour or so, when I felt I was at the end of my energy and could not go any further. I sat down and cried. I was so tired. We were still close enough to the cars that I suggested the group go on without me. I would go back to the car and go home until they returned, which would be in about a week. The rest of the group decided we had gone far enough for the first day, so we set up camp for the night. Dale and I, and Bruce and Mike slept in our three-man tent with Dale and I in the middle where it was longer, and Bruce and Mike on either side of us. The group encouraged me, and by the next morning I was ready to continue. I actually enjoyed the rest of the trip, and we had a lot of fun, making many jokes and laughing a lot as we hiked this beautiful trail.
Dale had read many bits of information and visited many backpacking and army surplus stores preparing for this trip. In one store he found a shelf full of gallon jars of malted milk tablets. Since he had read malted milk tablets were good for energy while hiking, he purchased a gallon. This became one of our biggest jokes. Dale prepared a mix of nuts, raisins, and malted milk tablets- all designed to give us lots of energy. We did receive energy when eating this trail mix, but before that hike was over none of us could take another bite of it. To this day we get a lot of laughs at the mention of malted milk tablets!
The real snow cones we made one hot afternoon climbing up Glen Pass, by mixing cool aid with real snow, were the best tasting, most refreshing, true snow cones we ever had. Nothing ever tasted so good or quenched our thirst so well!
One night we heard noises, and I was sure it was a bear! We all shined our lights in the direction of the noise, but no bears could be seen.
Another night we had miscalculated the distance to a campsite. It was after dark and we were hiking by flashlight. The hour was getting late, and we could not find the camp. Finally, everyone was so tired we could not go any further. We stopped, opened our sleeping bags and slept on the ground right by the trail, not bothering to set up our tents. We all instantly fell asleep. Sometime later, no one remembers how long, we were awakened and frightened by a light shining in our eyes. I quickly grabbed my light and shined it on the light shining on me.
“Put your light away!” I was commanded. “I can’t see you!”
“I can’t see you without my light, and I don’t know who you are,” I retorted.
It was the trail ranger riding a horse and reprimanding us for camping in an unauthorized spot. We explained we had hiked until late and could not find the camp, and we were too tired to go any further. He said we were only a few yards from the site, and he wanted us to get up and move! We persuaded him to let us finish the night where we were, promising him we would not leave any trash.
Dale, Bruce, and Carolyn.
We spent seven years at MBA. Dale was teaching junior and sophomore Bible classes, and sharing the gospel with his students. I was working for Elder Voth during the school year and had most of the summers at home with the boys. Bruce and Mike were going to Virgil Hauselt Memorial Junior Academy (YHM) in Santa Cruz. The YHM school bus picked up all the children on the MBA campus, so transportation was no longer a concern. As soon as Bruce graduated from the eighth grade he began working for Fred Webb at the MBA farm. Fred had previously worked for Dale and Bill when they were in the hay truck ing business, and he was now the MBA farm manager.
Dale and the boys began talking about another backpacking trip. This time it was going to be the 210 miles of the John Muir Trail. The hike would begin on the east side of the Sierras, go up to Mt. Whitney, then would continue across the Sierras, and end at Yosemite. I was sure I didn ‘t want to be part of this hike. The boys, however, kept insisting that it would not be fun without me, and ultimately persuaded me to go along.
This trip took a lot of planning. We would carry all the food and gear we needed for the three-week trip. Each meal of dehydrated food was pre-measured for the four of us, and was then packed in a plastic bag and labeled for its designated meal. Dale’s back-pack was over 80 pounds, mine was over 40 pounds, and Bruce’s was near 40 pounds. Mike carried his sleeping bag, clothes, and the marsh mallows- we teased.
We drove in two cars to Yosemite where we left one for the end of our hike. We then drove over the pass and down to the portal to Mt. Whitney where we left the other car and began our hike. Shortly after beginning the hike Dale had to take weight from Bruce and me, making his already-heavy pack heavier. We had a goal of averaging ten miles a day. The first few days going up to Mt. Whitney, we knew would be shorter than the ten miles, and near the end we figured we could hike more than ten miles a day.
Dale, Bruce, and Mike.
The climb up to Whitney was very strenuous. The higher we climbed, the worse Mike was feeling. He was being affected by altitude sickness wh ich gave him a headache that aspirin would not help. We camped at the junction where a side trail ascended to the peak of 14,505-foot Mt. Wh itney. We were hoping Mike would become acclimated during the night so we could go to the top, but the next morning, because of the way Mike was still feeling, we realized that we needed to get to a lower elevation as soon as possible. We strapped on our packs and continued down the trail. The three to five-foot wide trail going down from Mt. Whitney was treacherous and scary. It dropped off a thou sand feet to our left and went up hundreds of feet to our right. Dale and I prayed for safety for all of us, as we tried to look only at our feet, so we would not stumble and fall. This was Friday and when we reached a meadow at the bottom we decided to set up camp for Sabbath.
I had carried some reading material for Sabbath, and we completed reading the little book I had, Lydia, Seller of Purple, so rapidly we read it twice. We saw several hikers on the trail on Sabbath, and other than a couple of marmots, we were alone in the wilderness. The rest was good and gave us energy to hike again on Sunday.
Bruce had forgotten his hat, and since I had more hair, l thought I would be more protected than he would be, so I gave him my hat. The sun is extremely intense at this elevation and now my lips became badly sunburned. We had Chap Stick, but nothing else to sooth my lips that swelled to over twice their normal size. As we came over Glenn Pass we had the option of continuing our hike or aborting it by hiking down the Bubs Creek trail to Trail’s End. This was part of the same trail we had taken on the hike with Opal and her family. After a long family counsel, we decided we must abort our trip. I had to get help for my lips. Mike seemed the most disappointed by this decision.
When we reached King’s Canyon, we set up camp for the night. The next morning Dale hitchhiked a ride out. He was standing by the road with his thumb out, hoping to catch a ride. The boys and I were off in the woods watching to see who would stop for him. I was praying that whoever picked him up would drive safely. Car after car passed him by. Could it be that since he had not shaved for a week that no one wanted to give him a lift? Finally, we saw a beat-up old van full of hippies stop, and watched in horror as Dale got into the van!
We did not know how far he would get with these people or how he would get all the way to Yosemite. I did not sleep much that night but spent the time praying for Dale’s safety, and also for ours- there in the camp with some not-to-good looking characters.
I tried to keep busy with the boys the next day and was constantly praying. I did not know where Dale was or when he would return for us. About mid afternoon, I heaved a big sigh of relief when I saw our white Pontiac driving into the camp. “Thank you, Lord,” I prayed. Dale told us those people drove him to Bakersfield drinking beer all the way. He also was praying for safety. In Bakersfield he took a bus to Yosemite where he picked up our car, and then came back for us.
We now drove back to Bakersfield and over to the east of the Sierras to get the car parked at Whitney Portal. We arrived there Friday night and Sabbath morning we started driving home. We hoped God would forgive us for traveling on Sabbath. Perhaps because my lips were so sore God would see this as a medical emergency and overlook our traveling on Sabbath- just this one time we rationalized.
It was a long trip home, and both of us got so sleepy driving. It never entered our minds that a good cup of coffee would have been good life insurance for us. We just kept driving. Every once a while I would pull over, and Dale would pull over behind me. We walked a few minutes in the cold, fresh air, but this only worked for a little while and we would have to stop again. Somehow, by God’s protecting hand, we made it safely home a little after midnight Saturday night.
I did not see a doctor about my lips. They were very sore for a while, but being back in the cool fog of the Pacific Ocean they soon healed. We only took one other family backpack trip after that one. Our Kelty packs sit in the closet begging to be used, but we are finished with that type of sport. Now we enjoy the wilderness by taking day hikes from our fifth-wheel travel trailer!
While the boys were still in elementary school, we planted a field of raspberries for them to pick to earn money. However, as soon as those berries were ripe Bruce began working at the school farm. I had to pick those berries, along with Mike, some children we hired, and occasionally Dale and Bruce. Mike also worked at the farm when he graduated from VHM. Both boys earned their entire tuition at MBA and Bruce learned the construction trade while working for Mr. Eggers.
One day I walked by the large A-frame computer in the administrative office where I worked as it was printing out the grades. As I glanced at it, I saw the name of Bruce Ratzlaff and then Mike Ratzlaff. Both boys had all A’s! I felt very proud of them.
As administrative assistant to Elder Voth, I had the responsibility of doing the daily newsletter that went out to the faculty and staff. This newsletter had the schedule of events and any special announcements. At the top of the newsletter I always included a quote from one of Ellen White’s books. I was reading The Desire of Ages for my morning devotions and usually took a quote from this book. Later our attention was directed to EGW’s book Counsels on Diet and Foods. We had attended a couple of lectures given by the late Dr. Zane Kime, and began trying to follow all of the counsel we heard relating to diet, which included many things from this book . Now my daily quotes would often be taken from Counsels on Diet and Foods. I am embarrassed now as I think of this. I know the quotes I chose not only had counsel we were tryi n g to follow, but I believed the entire faculty should follow the same plan. After all, if Ellen White was the messenger of God, and her writings were on the par with the Bible, should not all Seventh-day Adventists be following this counsel? We began following a very strict, very low-fat, no-sugar diet. It was a horrible diet, and we soon learned that it was not all that healthy, especially the no fat part.
As I look back on those years it seems I was trying to be a “super woman”. I had a nearly full-time job during the school year, and worked some days during the summer at the office. I made most of my clothes and even made a leisure suit for Dale and each of the boys one year. We had a huge garden, and we froze or canned a lot of the produce for winter. We didn’t know about prepared food items in those days (except for some vegetarian substitutes), so all meals were made from scratch. Often I would bake bread, kneading it by hand. We grew our year’s supply of potatoes and onions that stored well in a shed Dale built on an old cement slab that was on the property.
We were sponsors of the graduating class of 1976, working with this group of students from their freshman year (our first year at MBA) until they graduated. This often required many hours of extra time even on weekends. However, these were enjoyable hours, and we loved the students. We were sponsors of the Backpacking Club that took a couple of hikes each year.
Dale sponsored the seminar program and often took a group of students to area churches to sing and preach. Sometimes Bruce, Mike, and I would go along-just to be with Dale. There were the weekly faculty meetings every Wednesday evening where I took notes of the actions, the many school-sponsored activities we were required to attend, weekends when we had campus security duties, and Dale and I had Sabbath School teaching responsibilities.
Friday was always a busy and tiring day, making sure all the preparations for Sabbath were completed. There was the laundry, ironing, cooking, the polishing of shoes, the house cleaning, and yard work. I would get up at about five o’clock on a daily basis to have my devotions, so my days were long. Occasionally by the end of the week I was so exhausted I could not go to church. I must add however, the boys were a great help and a couple of times surprised me by doing the housework by themselves without being asked! Dale usually did the yard work, and would occasionally help with the housework. I really appreciated all their help.
Living at MBA was also a happy time in our life. The privilege of walking or running on the beach in the cool, fresh air was a good, healthy time. Our garden provided an excellent hobby diversion. The boys were happy and had many friends. We enjoyed our relationships with the other faculty and staff. The weekend leaves and summers off gave opportunity for some fu n family outings and vacations. The interaction with the students was both challenging and enjoyable. Never before or since, have we been on such a rigid daily schedule. And, it was at MBA that I caught the first glimpses of understanding the gospel the good news that Jesus saves all who believe in Him, based on His character and performance, not ours.
Dale and Carolyn are at the bottom left corner.
My Cup Overflows. Copyright © 2009 by Carolyn Ratzlaff. All Scripture quotations—except where otherwise noted—are from The New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1979, 1994 by the Lockman Foundation, used by permission. All rights reserved. Life Assurance Ministries, Inc.
Carolyn has always been a positive person enjoying life and outdoor activities such as hiking and gardening, and she and her husband currently raise a good portion of their own food in small grow boxes. She also reads many health journals and is often surprised at the contrast between what was taught through the writings of Ellen White on forbidden items of diet and health, and the beneficial evidence of these same items which is supported by a plethora of scientific studies.
She and her husband Dale Ratzlaff have two married sons and four grandchildren.
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