In the debut episode of The Littlest Headline: The Bruin Archive, host Yony Marian sits down with second-year neuroscience student Keira Janiga to explore what it’s like moving from the small town of Newcastle, California to the bustling campus of UCLA. From gold rush history and mandarin festivals to homeschooled beginnings and urban overwhelm, this episode offers a glimpse into Keira’s personal journey – and the community she calls home.

Yony Marian: News is just about everywhere. Bruins come from just about everywhere. It’s only fitting that we take a moment to connect those two dots, looking at news from the places that our fellow Bruins are from, and in the process illuminate just what it’s like to move from such a place to the big, bright city of L.A. That’s where I come in. Every episode, you’ll be connected with one Bruin from a small town or county as we explore their life and the life of their home alike. My name is Yony Marian and this is The Littlest Headline: The Bruin Archive.

YM: Hello, my name is Yony Marian. I’m a first year linguistics and computer science student and a podcast contributor at the Daily Bruin.

Keira Janiga: Hi, I’m Keira Janiga. I am a neuroscience major and I am a sophomore here at UCLA.

YM: It’s very great to have you here, Keira. We’re very excited to have you join us here at the Bruin Archive, not a real building, but a very real place in our hearts. This is The Littlest Headline. We’re going to be talking to Keira about where she’s from and what it was like moving here to UCLA from the small town that she came from, and then, at the end, we’re going to look at some news articles from the newspaper that sort of encapsulates the place where she’s from. Where are you from, Keira?

KJ: I’m from Newcastle, California and that is located in Placer County. So, that is basically a good portion of Northern California.

YM: How far away is it?

KJ: I usually like to tell people that it’s about 40 minutes away from Sacramento, which is, you know, the capital. So it’s a good marker. Like, I have to drive 40 minutes away to get to Sacramento.

YM: Before we get into what your life was like back home, we should talk a little bit about what your life is like here now. Tell us a little bit about, you know, what you like to do at UCLA. What do you love about it? What do you like to do around UCLA, like in the greater Westwood/LA area that, you know, maybe you didn’t do a lot of back home?

KJ: I mean, so like in my first year, I really just stayed in my apartment. I was very isolated. I didn’t really get out much. I didn’t really do anything. I just went to school and back to my apartment and I kind of got pretty depressed. And so I was like, okay, I need an apartment change. And so this year I moved to a new apartment. It’s near the Botanical Gardens. And so that place I like to go to a lot. That’s my favorite place to go. Other than that, I really haven’t explored much of anything else. Like … it’s Botanical Gardens and then campus wherever I need to go to classes. So, my social life here isn’t very broad. And it, I mean, it’s just kind of school here for me.

YM: OK. Yes. How does that, how does that compare to what it was like going to school back home.

KJ: Well, that’s the thing. I never actually went to public school. I was homeschooled.

YM: OK.

KJ: So up until I reached high school, I was at home. And then when I reached high school, I was in a charter school. And then the pandemic hit.

YM: Oh, yeah.

KJ: So all my classes that could have potentially I could have met people were all online. So, like, all the way until I got here, I was at home.

YM: OK.

KJ: And so, like, I just never left the house, really. And everything that was around me, you know, that was all I knew.

YM: It was there.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: Yeah. So, then, what’s it like seeing such a big and, I guess, populous place like that? Would you consider it more inviting than intimidating or the other way around or … what does it look like to you, coming from a place where you, like, didn’t explore so much?

KJ: I would say my first year here, it was very scary.

YM: Yeah.

KJ: Literally, I was having panic attacks, going through the crowds. And that’s. I mean, that’s me. It’s just working myself up. But literally, I’ve never been around so many people here. It’s very overwhelming. And I’ve just now been able to get used to the crowds and be like, “OK, it’s fine Keira. No one’s gonna eat you. No one’s gonna, like, grab you or something.” But you still have those fears of, like, wow, there’s so many people and it is really beautiful. You have to learn to appreciate that sort of thing when you come from such an isolated area. Like, there are a ton of people in the world. It’s amazing, actually. And it’s scary too, when you’ve never seen so many people in your life.

YM: Yeah, I’m sure. Yeah. That’s good that you were able to get that sort of double perspective on it.

KJ: Mhm.

YM: Now tell us a little bit more about Newcastle itself. Like, what are the … I mean, besides the size, the amount of people, like, what’s different there? What might people, you know, be surprised by or find there that they would not find here?

KJ: So Newcastle is … it’s labeled the gem of the foothills. I don’t know who coined that term, but it really is. It was an old mining town originally, back in the gold rush.

YM: We have so many of those.

KJ: Yeah, yeah. I mean, there are old mines scattered around the landscape. Like, it was a huge thing. But Newcastle in particular, the landscape, is very … it yields very well for produce. And so the miners were like, “you know what? I don’t really like gold so much. I like fruit.” And so Newcastle became a really big producer of fruit. And that’s really altered our landscape where Newcastle is a huge produce area and you can see it everywhere, especially mandarins.

YM: Mhmm. Oh, yes. We’ll be talking about mandarins later.

KJ: Yeah. I mean, pretty much every ranch that you will pass by has a huge orchard. I mean, everyone makes their business out there with mandarins and fruit because that is what Newcastle is. It’s just, it’s producing everything you can think of out there. So it’s really cool.

YM: But not gold anymore.

KJ: I mean, there are people that go out there and you’re like, “Have you found gold?” I’m like, “No.”

YM: I was going to ask you the same thing. Spoiler.

KJ: No, I mean, you can find trace amounts because I live right on a river that was used for mining, and you can find trace amounts. But they just kind of … the miners just kind of wiped it out. It wasn’t as prolific as, like, some of the other areas they may have found. And another big thing with the mining there is you cannot eat any fish or any sort of animal that comes out of the river –

YM: OK.

KJ: – in those waterways because they use so much mercury to get the gold out.

YM: Right.

KJ: So it’s like you’re basically poisoning yourself if you ate any of the fish.

YM: I’ll be sure –

KJ: Yeah.

YM: – I’ll be sure that when I go to Newcastle, I don’t eat any of the river fish.

KJ: Don’t eat any of the river fish.

YM: That’s not – that’s very good to know. That’s informative. So you have gone … have you gone panning before, like, in your childhood?

KJ: We tried it once, and then our dog got a hold of the panning bowls and ripped it up. So we were just kind of like, “Well, we’ll just use our hands, I guess.” But we didn’t really find anything.

YM: Yeah.

KJ: It’s more crystals, actually, on our property, which I’ve been ripping up a hillside with, and I found a ton of crystals so far.

YM: Crystals.

KJ: Crystals Quartz. Oh, OK. Yeah. Sorry. I’m like – I just say crystals in general, but it’s quartz. White quartz. So that is really fun.

YM: That’s interesting. No, no specificity is appreciated here. We want to, like, we’re really. We’re trying to learn, like, as much as we can about –

KJ: – Yeah

YM: – About, like, your life. Now, what was choosing UCLA like for you? What was the process that … or, tell me about the process that involved, you know, applying to schools, deciding to apply to UCLA, and then, like, getting in, choosing to come here? Tell us a little bit about that.

KJ: I mean, from the application process, like, I think I had maybe two weeks to get the whole application in. And when I was getting my acceptances for all the schools that I applied to, I didn’t think I was going to get into any one of them. I had committed already to University of Nevada, Reno, because I was like, there’s no way I’m going to be able to get into any of the Universities of California. Like, I’m homeschooled. I’m from Newcastle, California. What’s special about me? I was surprised by my UC Davis acceptance. I was extremely surprised by my UCLA acceptance because I was like, “Seriously? I got in here, I…” That night, I committed to UCLA. As soon as I got in, I was like, I’m going here. I mean, I didn’t even think about the dichotomy between living in such a rural area to going to the city. Like, that wasn’t even on the top of my mind. I was like, I’m going to UCLA. I have to go.

YM: Interesting. Yeah.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: Well, we’re very happy to have you here as a. Well, I guess you came here before me, so I don’t know who “we” is, but the school is very happy to have you here. Wait, so you just said that it didn’t really cross your mind how different the environment would be here than it was back home?

KJ: No, it didn’t. I mean, it crossed my mind like, a couple days after where I’m like, mm, “UCLA is in the city. How am I gonna do… –

YM: “I am not.”

KJ: “– in the city?” I don’t know. Like, you have these kind of ideas of grandeur where you, like, you see those shorts where it’s the small town girl returns back home from Thanksgiving to the city. I’m like, will that be me? And that was actually my worry when I came back home the first time for winter break. I’m like, has everything changed? Have I lost my old self? I didn’t. But it actually took the entire summer break for me to realize, like, nothing was changing. It was going to be fine.

YM: Yeah. I mean, that was going to be. my next question, basically, is what it was like coming home after having been here.

KJ: Yeah, I mean, I had a lot of anxiety about coming home because there was a lot of worry about how things were going to change because just about a year and a half before I got into UCLA, we had a house fire.

YM: Oh. I’m sorry.

KJ: And, you know, when … when something like that happens to you and your house is completely gone, you have really no stability whatsoever.

YM: Yeah.

KJ: You’re like, I think it was perfectly valid for me to feel worried about the home situation, because what I was leaving was, we were living in trailers when I was applying and so – on the property – and so I was like, OK. We had just moved to trailers to renting out our neighbor’s house, which was luckily, like, literally up the road. And I’m like, I feel like so much is changing because we’re rebuilding, and I don’t know, you know, if things are gonna – what things are gonna look like when I come back home, because so much was up in the air after that.

YM: Mhm.

KJ: So that was a big part of me moving here, where I was like, I don’t know if the world back home is gonna wait for me when I return.

YM: Mhm.

KJ: So, yeah, that was a big source of anxiety for me.

YM: And then you found that it did.

KJ: It didn’t. And, like I FaceTime my parents every day, several times a day. I’m like, they’re gonna tell me if something catastrophic or groundbreaking occurred. But I needed to see that. I needed to convince myself that nothing was changing. Not in, like, you know, a big way. Like, we’re rebuilding right now, and that’s change, but not in a way that’s gonna make me super distraught.

YM: Right. Yeah. Yeah, that’s understandable.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: Just one more thing before we get into the, you know, the news side of this semi-news podcast. What do you think – And, you know, maybe you don’t know the answer to this, because I don’t – after you graduate, do you plan on going back to live in Newcastle?

KJ: Yes, I’ve told this to my parents several times. I’m like, “I am coming back to you.” I, as much as I’m very grateful for this opportunity to be here, I don’t see myself living here in the city anymore. I am working to get back home because that really is my home. I’ve been there for 14 years. I don’t want to leave. It’s such a beautiful place. And I’m like, I don’t want to leave. It’s the perfect place.

YM: Yeah, that’s great. It’s good that you know that about yourself.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: Some people, you know, takes them a while to get sure. So that’s comfortable, knowing that place is, you know, where you belong.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: That’s good. Would you like to read some fun news from your newspaper?

KJ: Yes.

YM: Cool. Let’s get into it.

KJ: OK, so the first article is, “Mountain Mandarin festival sets up for first event at new Roseville home.” So it says “31st annual event runs from Friday through Saturday at the grounds in Roseville.”

YM: Sunday.

KJ: Sunday. Okay. Sorry, I. It said Saturday. I guess it’s Sunday.

YM: Wait, my copy says Sunday. Does your copy say Saturday?

KJ: No, in my mind, I. –

YM: Oh, in your mind –

KJ: Yeah. Okay. So it’s written by Mike Bush. It was on November 19, 2024 at 12pm. So, it says, “If Auburn and Placer County residents can smell mandarin in the air, that means one thing: Rain or shine, the 31st annual Mountain Mandarin Festival is around the corner. However, there are some changes for anyone planning to attend the festival that runs from Friday through Sunday,” November 22nd through 20 – 24th, not 2024.

YM: Well, it was also in 2024.

KJ: It was.

YM: So this is every November, this festival?

KJ: I would assume so. I’ve never actually gone. But mandarins are such a huge thing in the Newcastle and just general Placer County area because you just … like I said, you have ranches everywhere you turn with mandarins everywhere. Like, mandarins really pop up around the November through December time. And everyone’s like, “Take my Mandarins from me, I have so many, I don’t know what to do with them.”

YM: Oh, really? Wow.

KJ: Yeah, yeah. And then they’re like – throughout the summer – they’re like, “Oh, I’ve got some chicken eggs. You want my chicken eggs?” I’m like, “No, not really.” I’ll take the mandarins, though.

YM: So the mandarin to chicken egg ratio is enormous in Placer County.

KJ: It’s huge because people … everyone has their own set of chickens. Not everyone has their own set of Mandarins.

YM: Oh. OK.

KJ: So the people who produce them, produce them.

YM: And I mean, already in these first couple lines … so can you … can you smell mandarin in the air? Like, do you ever remember actually smelling mandarin just like, standing there?

KJ: I mean, I think they kind of meant that figuratively because –

YM: I know they at least meant it figuratively, but just with the amount of mandarins, I was curious if also, it is a little bit literal.

KJ: No, not really. Not at least from where I am at, because –

YM: That’s disappointing.

KJ: – because we’re located literally down in the valley. So all you smell is river. So, like, I would assume –

YM: Mercury and fish and gold.

KJ: Yes. So I would assume if you live next to the ranch, you would smell the mandarins.

YM: Sure.

KJ: They are fragrant, but not where I’m at. So. Yeah. But I bet some people who live there could.

YM: OK.

KJ: Yeah. “First, the festival will take place at the Grounds in Roseville. The event was held at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn for many years.” And the Gold Country Fairgrounds is, like, a huge place for events to take place. Like, it is the place – if you want to have an event, it’s at the Gold Country Fairgrounds, but I’m surprised they moved it.

So, “It is a great family fun for everyone to attend, young and old,” Mandarin Festival executive director Gary Gilligan said of the new location. “It’s a larger facility.” Oh, OK. That’s why.

YM: Even larger than the Gold Country Fairgrounds.

KJ: No, the fairgrounds is huge. So. OK, –

YM: Then, “The Grounds” –

KJ: – then it really expanded then. Yeah, yeah.

YM: Wow. Also, by the way, just a side note, “Mandarin Festival Executive Director” is a … that’s a huge aspiration.

KJ: That is a huge title. I mean, that’s something that you need to put on, like your LinkedIn or something.

YM: I would.

KJ: That would be awesome. And he has an awesome name, like Gary Gilligan.

YM: Gary Gilligan is a great name.

KJ: Yeah, that’s a really great name. OK, so it says “There will also be 300 vendors at this year’s festival. Gilligan pointed out there were 214 vendors in 2023. All vendors at this year’s festival, as it has been over the years, must have at least one item that has mandarin in it. There are 12 area mandarin growers who will set up shop at the event.” They make literally everything that you can imagine out of mandarin. I think one of the biggest things. There’s a ranch nearby us where I live. They make these sauces.

YM: Sauces?

KJ: Yeah, like barbecue sauce with mandarin. I’m like, we should definitely try those, because that sounds really good.

YM: That’s very comforting because when you said “ranch,” I thought for a moment that someone … you were going to tell me someone made ranch dressing out of mandarins, but that would –

KJ: I hope not, because that probably would be pretty gross.

YM: Yeah. I mean, if there was any place to try it, it would be at this Mandarin Festival.

KJ: Yeah, well.

YM: But a wave of relief washed over me when you said they make barbecue sauce and not ranch.

KJ: Yeah, they just make barbecue sauce. Not ranch. For now.

YM: For now.

KJ: OK. It says, “A cooking stage will be on one of the four stages, along with a mandarin chef who will cook up various meals with – what else? – mandarins. Fans of the 1994 animated movie ‘The Lion King’ who attend the festival are in for a sweet treat. The Tokens” – I think that’s probably how you pronounce it – “who performed the 1961 hit song ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ – which was also popular in the movie – will be on hand.”

YM: Oh, the actual –

KJ: Yes.

YM: – the actual band, The Tokens.

KJ: Yes.

YM: Wow.

KJ: The actual people.

YM: Wow, what a get.

KJ: Which I think is hilarious because of like, OK, you have a very niche festival here in Placer County. And then they’re like, you know what else we have? The people who sing the famous song in The Lion King.

YM: The real Tokens.

KJ: Yes.

YM: Wow.

KJ: Aren’t we cool?

YM: Yeah, that is cool.

KJ: Yeah. In addition to that, it also says, “A family stage will feature a science wizard,”

YM: Even better title.

KJ: Yes. “Who Gilligan said will do all types of science projects with children?” Which I’m just like, with oranges. They better be with oranges.

YM: With – not with oranges.

KJ: Mandarins.

YM: With mandarins. How dare you.

KJ: Wait, okay. Mandarins are not oranges. Right? They’re not.

YM: I don’t –

KJ: They are orange.

YM: They are orange-colored. I don’t think they’re oranges.

KJ: No, I don’t think they’re oranges.

YM: I won’t tell anyone you said oranges. Don’t worry, I won’t rat you out to the entire community of Newcastle.

KJ: Thank you. Thank you. It says, “Mandarins grow well in Placer County, mostly due to climate and soil conditions,” which is true. We’ve got very nice soil. It says, Gilligan said, “We leave it on the tree until it’s ripe.’” Mandarins are hand picked come harvest time. ‘“It’s sweet and juicy.’ Gilligan said. He noted he had a conversation with someone last week about the taste of mandarins. ‘You can’t stop [sic] at eating one,’ joked Gilligan.”

YM: “‘You just can’t stop.’”

KJ: “‘You just can’t stop at eating one.’”

YM: So tempting are the mandarins.

KJ: They are. They’re very good. They’re very tiny and they’re super fragrant and they don’t have like the annoying little stringy bits that like bigger oranges or like, they’re very good to eat. My dad will bring home like a huge bag of them. They’ll –

YM: Yeah, I bet.

KJ: – be gone probably within a week. Like, that is a big thing to have around December, around Christmas time, because there’s one stand that pops up right where we’re at and they will sell just huge bags.

YM: That sounds awesome.

KJ: I would say maybe like three foot bags.

YM: Three feet tall?

KJ: Yes, very large bags.

YM: Oh, wow. Yeah, that’s a lot of mandarins.

KJ: But it’s like a tradition. You have to get the bag of mandarins.

YM: No, listen, I would. If I was there, I 100% would buy the 3 foot tall bag of mandarins. But –

KJ: It’s really big. But they’re really good. It’s worth it.

YM: One has to marvel at the size, whether or not one is going to buy it, though. That is an enormous bag of mandarins.

KJ: Yes.

YM: No wonder they’re making barbecue sauce out of them.

KJ: No, because we don’t really know what to do with them. They’re so good. But you’re also like, guys, we’ve got an abundance.

YM: Yeah. Wow.

KJ: So, Let’s make it into barbecue sauce.

YM: Yeah. Awesome.

KJ: OK. And it says, “There are many products that are made from mandarins,” … he said. “We have mandarin barbecue sauces,” Gilligan said. “Mandarin olive oil. Balsamic vinegar. Cakes and cookies.” So we got the barbecue sauces.

YM: Just everything.

KJ: Everything. I mean, except for the ranch dressing, hopefully. Everything –

YM: For now.

KJ: Yeah. “There are mandarin milkshakes and cocktails for people who want to sample by drinking instead of eating,” which, OK.

YM: You don’t want to get, like, full too early. So that makes sense.

KJ: No, you don’t. You just want to, like … you gotta try the mandarin in all of its different forms.

YM: Yeah.

KJ: “There is even a taste of mandarin and ice creams at the festival,” which arguably is probably one of the best places you could put the mandarin. That probably would be really good.

YM: Mhm.

KJ: Gilligan has noticed the growth of the festival since the pandemic ended in 2021. The festival had a different look in 2020. It was conducted as an outdoor marketplace where distance between people was observed and the festival continued. “It was a much smaller event,” said Gilligan at the 2020 gathering. ‘It was a horrible thing to produce because everything had to be spaced 10 feet apart. People had to pick times on when they were going to arrive. The mandarins don’t stop growing because of COVID.”

YM: That’s powerful.

KJ: Yes. Yes. “Last year, we had people from 38 states attend the festival in six international countries,” Gilligan said.

YM: Wow.

KJ: “‘I think it’s because people are traveling around Thanksgiving.’”

YM: Oh, Gilligan said that.

KJ: Yes, he said that. Yeah. Yeah. “‘People who plan to attend this weekend’s festival can ship products to family and friends from the festival. People can ship Mandarins all over the country, and they will receive it before Thanksgiving. All they have to do is buy the Mandarins there at the festival. … They box it up, and they ship it right from the festival. That’s a really fun thing if you can’t be with family for Thanksgiving.’” Okay. So, skipping down a little bit, “‘The weather keeps changing,’ Gilligan said. ‘We’ve had a great response. We’re expecting 20 (thousand) to 50,000 people.’”

YM: That’s … that’s a lot of people.

KJ: It’s a ton of people. And they’re –

YM: That’s, like, way more people than are in Newcastle.

KJ: Yeah, I mean we have like 1500 people here.

YM: Mhmm.

KJ: That’s a ton of people coming into Newcastle or the Roseville area because they said this was in Roseville, but Roseville’s pretty small too, so it’s, it’s a lot of people.

YM: That’s a really great thing to hear. And like, like you could just go. Anyone can just go come November.

KJ: Yep.

YM: If you’re in, if you’re near, if you happen to be 40 minutes away from Sacramento.

KJ: Yes.

YM: Then you can, you can hit up the, the Mandarin Festival in the, in gold country.

KJ: Even if you’re not 40 minutes away, you can still come down.

YM: Well, yeah. Even if you’re not.

KJ: It would be worth it because they’re really good.

YM: Yeah. Wow, that sounds awesome. I think we have one more article and then we will wrap it up.

KJ: OK.

YM: This article is called “Lincoln community volunteers pitch in to clean up Auburn Ravine.” It was written by Richard Pearl for the Lincoln News Messenger on September 26, 2024. Are you familiar with the Auburn Ravine?

KJ: Yes, that was actually the river that I live on.

YM: Ah, OK.

KJ: Yes. So, this article actually is a big deal, cause –

YM: OK.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: Well, we wouldn’t be reading it if it wasn’t a big deal.

KJ: No, no.

YM: How far is Lincoln from Newcastle? About.

KJ: I would say it’s like a 15 minute drive. It’s not that far actually.

YM: Okay, cool. “The Auburn Ravine is a beautiful 34-mile valley stream that flows from the city of Auburn through Lincoln, ending in the Sacramento River. Its water nourishes farms, ranches, orchards, and fish and wildlife. It’s also a collection point for trash people have carelessly and sometimes illegally disposed of in” – is there a way to legally dispose of trash inside a creek? I feel like it’d always be illegal.

KJ: Yeah, it’s always illegal. There’s no like permit. You can be like, well, I’m just gonna throw my toys in here.

YM: Yeah, my littering permit?

KJ: Yeah, littering permit. You go to Fish and Wildlife, you’re like, “can I get my annual littering permit please?” Like, here you go. No, you can’t legally –

YM: Yeah, I don’t think so. So, “It’s also a collection point for trash. People have carelessly and sometimes illegally disposed of in or near the creek. This negative is offset by area volunteers who devote one day per year to be part of the 40th annual California Coastal/Great Sierra River Clean-Up, locally under the direction of the Lincoln Friends of Auburn Ravine. [10] Saturday, Sept. 21, dawned clear and temperate, much appreciated by the 160-plus volunteers who met at McBean Park to be assembled into teams for collecting debris along the Lincoln section of the Auburn Ravine.”

KJ: I just want to note that this is just one day. So the river, especially the Auburn Ravine – I know it happens to all rivers – especially after a storm, it will overflow, and it will take down so much trash, like everything that you can think of. It’s shoes, it’s tequila bottles, it’s toys, it’s PVC pipes, it’s bamboo, it’s fence posts, it’s everything. And so every time the river overflows, my sisters and I, we will all go down to the river, like, “yes, treasure time.” It is so much fun. We’ve gathered so much stuff from it. Our favorite stuff is like the tequila bottles because they still got like the cork on it so they float. And you’re like, don’t drink the alcohol in it.

YM: Definitely don’t.

KJ: But still fun.

YM: Especially not river alcohol.

KJ: No, don’t drink the river alcohol.

YM: It’s the most literal interpretation of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” You go treasure hunting.

KJ: Yes, it’s very fun.

YM: But trash is bad, unfortunately. And so these, the Friends of the Auburn Ravine have undertaken this task to clean it up. The article continues, “Friends of the Auburn Ravine President Jim Haufler welcomed the volunteers and thanked all the sponsors. Board member and Friends Treasurer David Wilson described the actions needed for the day’s effort and sent the troops into action, complete with trash bags, gloves and trash pickers. Scott Boynton, the city Public Works Department’s facilities director, reported” – Ooh. Do you want to guess how many pounds of trash it was? We could play a fun little game.

KJ: I’m going to guess 200.

YM: No. Way over –

KJ: Way over?

YM: Try again. You get one more guess.

KJ: OK. I’m gonna go around the same amount as the people who attend the Mandarin Festival, 20,000.

YM: OK, that’s a – thankfully, it’s not 20,000.

KJ: OK.

YM: But somewhere in the middle there. “Scott Boynton … reported 1,060 pounds of discards were collected from the creek areas.” “Wilson summarized the day’s efforts, saying, “It was extremely satisfying to witness so many citizens show up with interest and eagerness to make a difference in keeping our creek area and city parks free of trash and debris.” I agree. I bet that was, I mean, don’t agree. I wasn’t there, but I imagine it would be extremely, extremely satisfying to witness that. And I mean, and you said you did your part too. You collected the treasures from the trash overflow.

KJ: Yes. I think there was one year where this guy found, like, this giant rubber ducky, and that was hilarious. They also found tires, too.

YM: That’s so weird.

KJ: I don’t know who dumps tires in the river. Or maybe someone, like, lost their car.

YM: In the river.

KJ: They find, like, a car someday, but, yeah –

YM: I hope not. Wow. That’s probably terrible for the already-poisoned fish.

KJ: Yeah. I volunteer for these people, and that’s why I’m like –

YM: For Friends of the Auburn Ravine?

KJ: Yes. Yeah. I’m their website manager.

YM: Oh, that’s awesome.

KJ: And so I put all these pictures together. I’m like, that is an awesome rubber ducky. I want it.

YM: It’s a good incentive. I mean, if anything, you know, if they’re not so, you know, hot on doing it just to take care of the environment, at least they know they can find some treasures.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: They can get cool toys and huge rubber duckies.

KJ: Yes.

YM: OK. Wait, that’s awesome. So you’re familiar with the organization?

KJ: Yes, I’m very familiar with them. They do a lot of great work. Their main focus is to protect and restore the Auburn Ravine watershed. So they work with the local Nisenan tribe. They work with Fish and Game. They work with NID. They do everything they can to make sure that waterway is preserved. And especially the keystone species, the chinook salmon, which –

YM: Mhmm.

KJ: – historically have had a very hard time getting up the river because we’ve had dams up there. And I think just a couple of years back, they were able to successfully remove one of them.

YM: That’s awesome.

KJ: And so now their next topic – not next topic – but their next challenge is to get down the second dam that blocks up the river. And right now we’re doing surveys where we’re like, how far can the salmon get up? Because if they can reach the dam, got to take it down. They have to get back up so they can spawn.

YM: Yeah.

KJ: So.

YM: That’s really great. That’s an awesome thing they’re doing.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: This final section here says, “Jerry Johnson, helping the ravine clean up again this year, remember the Rotary Club of Lincoln started doing clean-up work in 2006 and removed 8,000 pounds of debris from the creek area that year. He, and all the other volunteers, went home knowing their city is better from their efforts.” And that is how the article concludes. That’s really cool.

KJ: Yeah. I’m very proud to serve this organization because you’re like – I live by the river every day. And you’re like, you see what builds up on the shores and you’re like, why are we dumping all the stuff in the river? It’s good that we have one recognized day where the community can get together and be like, OK, let’s try and clean up what we have contributed to. Because it’s ultimately from humans. Like, the fish didn’t ask for the shoe to be floating past there.

YM: The fish did not lose their car in the river.

KJ: No, no, they didn’t. So you’re like, we, it’s one day to give back for the community and it’s nice to be supporting this organization overall, so. Yeah.

YM: That’s really awesome. That’s really great to hear. And that’s so cool that you are the website manager, that’s awesome. How long have you been involved with them?

KJ: I think I know my parents got us involved probably in 2019, but I became their website manager probably about two years ago. I inherited their old website. I’m like, I think for us to grow as an organization, we’re going to need a bigger social media, just an overall Internet, a better Internet presence. So, I helped redesign their website and now I’m their website manager. So, yeah.

YM: Super cool.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: Okay. Well, I’m very happy to have gotten like a little glimpse into the, you know, the goings-on in Newcastle. Those were two, I think, very … what’s the word I’m looking for? Like…do you think those articles checked, all the – most of the boxes of Newcastle life, would you say?

KJ: Probably not. I think it just scrapes the surface because it really is the gem of the foothills. It’s like, there’s so much cool niche stuff that you can find there and this stuff is very exemplary. But it’s – Newcastle is such a cool place. It’s really amazing.

YM: So like, this, you’re saying like this is, this is just like the, the cool stuff everyone sees, but –

KJ: Yes, this is just the tip of the glacier

YM: I see.

KJ: Yeah

YM: Yeah, yeah.

KJ: Yeah. It’s a really cool place.

YM: Okay, so this wouldn’t – this checks a couple of the boxes, but there’s still much, much more to be explored and learned.

KJ: Yeah.

YM: That actually, I would say, brings us very nicely to like the last question that I’m going to ask every guest on this podcast, which is, what things would you say to us to convince us to come check out Newcastle in person?

KJ: Well, number one, if you love mandarins, Newcastle is a great place to get mandarins. Just in general, if you love an old-timey, rustic, rural feel, Newcastle will tick all those boxes. Like, it is the quintessential countryside place and it has a ton of history. If you’re like a history buff and you really want to go out there and be like, “I love the gold rush,” Newcastle is a perfect place for that. So, I mean, it’s a really beautiful area. It’s something that you should experience. It’s very nice.

YM: Mhmm. I just want to add on. I mean, I’m not from there, but I just want to add, even if you don’t like mandarins, you should probably try again there.

KJ: Yes. Yeah –

YM: Like, if there’s ever a place to like, re –

KJ: They will make you a mandarin lover.

YM: Yeah, they will.

KJ: Very good.

YM: There’s gotta be some sort of mandarin preparation method that you would be into, and you’re going to find it in Newcastle.

KJ: Yes. You definitely would.

YM: Okay, I think that just about wraps it up. Keira, I want to thank you for coming on here, for braving the first episode of The Littlest Headline: The Bruin Archive. It’s been really great to hear your story and hear a little bit about Newcastle, and I had a lot of fun. This was really great, thank you for being on here.

KJ: Thank you for having me. It was a lot of fun.

YM: I’m glad to hear that. My name is Yony Marian.

KJ: And my name is Keira Janiga.

YM: This has been The Littlest Headline: The Bruin Archive, and I will catch you all in the next episode.

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