Charlie McNab’s Birthday Cake

        Charlie McNab cowboyed for the Marble Ranches during the years Dad was the general manager at the headquarters in Deeth.  We moved back to Elko in 1956, but I don’ t know how long Charlie had been a boarder at the Star before Dad became reacquainted with him.

    My folks loved the Star, well, who didn’t?  They were particularly fond of Marguerite and Domingo Ozamas, the owners during those years.   My guess is that sometime when they went down to the Star for dinner,  Dad spotted Charlie sitting among the retired Basque herders and a few old ranch hands in that area between the bar and the dining room, as they waited to hear Marguerite ring the dinner bell. 

     Somehow, they found out that Charlie had his ninetieth birthday coming up.  When the day arrived,  Mom baked a birthday cake, covered the top with ninety candles, and they went down to the Star to celebrate.

     Here’s the story behind the picture.  The ninety lit candles created a funnel of flames and the frosting went up in a blaze of light.  Everyone had a good laugh and that’s the story.