Norma Jane (Johnson) (McMurry) Holt was one of our last fourth-generation Yreka residents. Her great grandfather, Charles Herzog, settled Butcher Hill in 1852 and opened Yreka’s first meat market on Miner St. Her beloved grandfather, Albert Herzog, owned the Franco American Hotel and served as our mayor for most of his life. Norma Jane was born January 15, 1931, in Yreka to Margaret “Aldeane” Herzog and Eric Johnson, and grew up in the yellow ranch house (with the cypress trees) at the North Yreka I-5 interchange. Norma Jane couldn’t sing, draw, or sew, but she drove cattle with the ranch hands, learned to drive in the hay truck, and rode her horse “Flash” through the mountains and riverbeds of Siskiyou County. She was an excellent musician, playing the piano and organ in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, and sitting first chair clarinet in the high school band. She was also Yreka High School’s class of 1948 graduating valedictorian.
Norma Jane attended the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in English. She lived in the Sigma Cappa Sorority House, acting as its treasurer. She had a soft spot for the girls who snuck in post-curfew after a date, and often flipped quarters with them to avoid their late fees.
After graduation, the local grammar school principal tried to convince Norma Jane that she would make an excellent teacher. She didn’t believe him, but took the job – and a miracle happened: Norma Jane discovered she LOVED the kids! Not much older than her seventh and eighth graders, they became fast friends. Early in the first year, “Miss Johnson” opened her desk and found a snake! Little did the pranksters know that she loved serpents. She draped the creature around her neck and visited the desks of each suspected perpetrator, letting the viper dangle down over their reading materials. Following the incident, no discipline issues ever occurred in her classrooms. She taught and coached the girls’ softball teams in the Weed and Yreka grammar schools for several years, until she entered into matrimony.
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I am a granddaughter of Bill Holt. I miss them both terribly. I loved shoe shopping with Grandma Norma, and I fondly remember her letting me use her makeup, and being highly impressed with how I used it. I always thought she was the most positive person on the planet. Never, ever saw a frown on her beautiful face. Rest in heavenly peace sweet, sweet Norma❤️