Thank you.

Life sometimes hands you little miracles, things you could never foresee.

When I established the Mountain House Estate website and decided to add some history, I never had any idea on the path it would take.

Instrumental in finding historical information was Val Hanelt of the Anderson Valley Historical Society http://www.andersonvalleymuseum.org/  Val helped direct me to find historical photos and information that was the genesis of the Mountain House Estate history page. https://mountainhouseestate.com/history

Then the next miracle happened – Marilyn (Hiatt) Hietz saw the history on the Mountain House Estate website and contacted me in 2016 asking if I wanted more.  Marilyn was born on the property in 1932 and had many recollections that are included on the website.

Marilyn (at 85 years young), and her children made the trip from Concord to Mountain House Estate wedding venue in 2017 to present her recollections to the Yorkville Historical Group, and to tour the property where she grew up.

And then, another miracle – Michelle Turner and Ron Lipp, former property owners, and founders of the Mountain House Winery contacted me from their home in New Mexico.  When they established the winery in 1980, they did extensive historical research, part of which was provided by Marilyn’s sister Mabel (Missy) (Hiatt) Iverson.  The information they provided filled gaps in the historical record from 1979 to 1994, and provided the foundation of the history included on the Mountain House Winery history page https://mountainhouseestate.com/history

I’m forever grateful for the little miracles in life, and how caring people wanted to be sure that our history wasn’t lost.

John Alden

Mountain House Estate

Mountain House Winery

3/1/2020