These were the words of Larry Chaney, posted on Facebook at about 4:46 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24, just hours after a fire destroyed his trailer in northeast Willows.
At approximately 10:45 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23, the Willows Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 860 North Plumas Street.
At first, it was described as an outbuilding that was fully involved, but it soon became apparent that it was a trailer.
At 10:54 p.m., the Orland and Artois Fire Departments were called to render mutual aid.
Then, at 11:17 p.m., the Bayliss Fire Department was contacted for its water tender.
At 1:08 a.m. on Saturday, the Willows Fire Department posted on its Facebook page, “All Willows Personnel released, incident terminated.”
About two hours later, Larry Chaney posted on a Willows Facebook page that it was his trailer that burned.
At 4:46 a.m., he posted that he lost everything he owned, then he added, “And [it] looks like someone did it intentionally.”
He ended his post with, “Hopefully my trail cam is salvageable to get [the] SD card from it.”
Longtime Willows resident Milford Colin (Mel) Boggan died on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Tacoma, Wash., while visiting his daughters. The eldest of four sons, he was born in Willows to Milford and Margaret Boggan on March 28, 1935.
He had a great childhood growing up in Willows and had many friends whom he cherished his entire life. He attended schools in Willows and was on the Willows High School football and boxing teams.
He became the father of his first daughter on Oct. 19, 1952, in Willows.
He moved to Redding California in 1953 and attended Shasta College, getting a degree in engineering. He played on the Shasta College football team and was employed by the Redding Truckstop.
While living in Redding, he met and married the love of his life, Le Ann, on Nov. 24, 1955. Together they had three daughters.
In 1961, he moved his family back to his hometown of Willows and began his career for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, for the Mendocino National Forest. He loved his career and all those he worked with in the engineering department and enjoyed helping with their annual Buck Feed held at the Elks Lodge.
He was affectionately known as Boggie by his colleagues and friends. In later years, he chose to be referred to as “Mel.”
In 2019, his wife Le Ann died after 64 years of a fun and loving marriage.
He was a member of the Elks Lodge for 45 years and served as a commissioner for the Willows Rural Fire Department. He loved road trips with his family, hunting, fishing, golfing, woodworking, playing his guitar, the Great Outdoors, and hosting barbecues.
He was known for his good looks, great sense of humor, teasing, joking around, and always telling a funny story about himself. He was someone you could always rely on to drop everything he was doing to come help out a friend or family in need.
He was a fan of all sports, especially the San Francisco 49ers.
He retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 1990 after 30 years of federal employment. He was then employed by good friends Squeaks Whitney and Don Lampe as a surveyor.
He also worked for his sons-in-law John and David during spring tractor driving and fall rice harvest. In full retirement, he enjoyed spending time with his family, maintaining his large yard and cutting up wood with his chainsaw.
For years he enjoyed his morning coffee with his buddies, often joking, “We are solving the world’s problems.”
On March 5, 2019, he attended the 49th Northern California Sports Association dinner, where his 1953 Willows High School football team was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The team won 53 consecutive games during the 1951, 52 and 53 seasons.
He loved his family immensely and will be missed by them and so many others.
He is survived by his brother, Joe Boggan (Ralphene) of Willows; daughters Debra (John) Jackson of Graham, Wash., Peggie (John) Amaro of Willows, Diana (David) Corriea of Glenn , and Patsy (Gary) Dietz of Vashon Island, Wash.; grandchildren Jasmine Burtner, Jarvell Jackson, Tonya Farnam, Casey Moore, Lucas Corriea, Nicholas Corriea, Juliann Agbisit, Jason Boggan, Brandon Dietz, and Justin Dietz; 25 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and many cousins nephews and nieces.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Le Ann; his parents; brothers Russ and Brad Boggan; and half-brother, Harold Boggan.
A Celebration of Life is planned for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15, at the Willows Elks Lodge. In Lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Willows Elks Lodge, P.O. Box 646, Willows, CA 95988, or to your favorite charity.
The Glenn County Observer 