After 29 Years, McCloud Bids Farewell to a Beloved Neighbor

Last week, people in McCloud got together to give a going-away party for Paula Kleinhans who has been part of the McCloud community family for about 29 years. She is moving to live with her daughter Erika in Spring Creek, Nevada. Paula has been part of the McCloud Garden Club, the McCloud Resource Center, and has helped with the McCloud Apple Harvest Festival along with many other community functions throughout her years in McCloud.

Paula came to live in McCloud with her daughter Kendra and son-in-law Russel Coleman when he got hired to work in the McCloud Mill, after her husband of many years passed. Her son, Kurt Kleinhans, also moved to McCloud and is currently residing in a house he built in town.

“I love looking at our mountain every day and will miss it along with my McCloud family that I have grown so fond of,” says Kleinhans as she sits and reminisces with her long-time friends that she considers family. “Another thing that I know I will miss is our wonderful spring water from the mountain.”

She says that she has loved the years of hiking in the woods around McCloud and Mt. Shasta, swimming in the McCloud Reservoir and at Castle Lake, and helping out with the town’s functions through the years. “I already miss the times I have spent baking pies for the bake sales with Maragot Stoner and Urna Jones who are gone, and the dinner train that used to be here in town. When my daughter and son-in-law moved away, I stayed because I love it here in McCloud. This is the first place I have lived where it snows and I love having the four seasons. But I am looking forward to being around my grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren—I have two great-great-grandchildren, and one on the way.”

The party was held in the Presbyterian Church. Pizza from Siskiyou Brew Works and fancy desserts were shared by all. Some people just stopped in to say their farewells, while others hung out for a few hours to share stories and tears last Friday afternoon.