Forward
by Mrs. Betty Goldstein

It's a pleasure to be here working at the Records Office. This job once belonged to Linda Martin, who held the position for over twenty years; I'm sure you all know her. With Linda's recent and unfortunate passing, I, a close friend, have taken her place. I can't promise to do as good a job as Linda, but I do intend to do my very best.

If there is any information - past or present - that you need on La Roche families, or any of the lands that make up La Roche Parish, please feel free to contact me anytime at betty.goldstein@skatoolaki.com. You can also stop by or drop a line to me at the Record Keeping Building at:

La Roche Parish Record Keepers Office
105 Old Farm Road
Riverblossom Hills, SL
50623

If you would like to contact the main record-keeping office or get in touch with any other parish record keepers, please visit the Skasimlaki State Records Office page.

Cities & Towns

Riverblossom Hills is the parish seat of La Roche Parish, in the US state of Skasimlaki.

There is also the small town of Iota and small city of Ida, named for two of the parish founder's daughters. The rest of La Roche Parish is farmland.

Young adult sims wishing to continue their education may do so at the state university's satellite college, SSU-R, which is Skasimlaki State University at Riverblossom Hills.

History

Riverblossom Hills was founded by farmer Armando Martin, who settled here after moving from France. Eventually, small areas were carved out for living by Julien Charrier, who moved to the area from Quebec, Canada. Julien named these communities after his two daughters, Iota and Ida, who both succumbed to illness before Julien and his wife, Emeline, left Canada.

The areas, and the surrounding miles of farmland, were eventually combined into the small parish of La Roche.

Important Sims

Mayor Morty Roth

Not long after moving to his family to Riverblossom Hills, Morty Roth decided to run in the upcoming election for a new mayor. He was already well-liked in the community, and he had his roots here - Morty's parents Cassidy Roth and Sara Hickey, along with both sets of grandparents, hail from Riverblossom Hills.

"As a child, I couldn't wait to get out of Riverblossom Hills," Morty says. "I wanted the fast-paced life; things move so slowly here."

As soon as he was old enough, Morty sought out that "fast-paced life", enrollling in SSU-E and eventually transferring to Skasimlaki State University itself. After college, he moved to Downtown in Wright Parish and started a life.

"With a wife and two kids, and nearing 40, I realized I didn't want life to zoom by anymore. I wanted to enjoy my children and watch them grow; something I didn't have much time for between a job, traffic, and social obligations."

Morty also admits he wasn't keen on his newly-turned teen daughter going to school in the city.

"Already she was way more advanced in some areas than I wanted her to be, and she'd just gotten out of junior high. The first week of her Freshman year in high school, her best friend got pregnant and some kid brought a gun to school. Within the month, I found myself driving back home - family in tow."

Morty bought a beautiful, old farm home near the park and started to get settled. Though his teen balked at first, both kids now love their quieter and more simple life.

"Stella is still adjusting. She comes from a long line of city Sims, so the change was most difficult on her. Sandra," he says with a grin, "got over her moping as soon as she met Jacob Martin. He's a good boy and I couldn't be happier about that. Her boyfriend in the city had a nose ring, skipped school, and played in a punk band. Yes, we all love Jacob."

One of the reasons for running for Mayor, according to Morty, was to help Stella. "She loves people - loves social gatherings. As First Lady, she's constantly surrounded by friendly folks and always busy planning social events. She's much happier now."

"I made the right decision," Morty concedes. "Bringing the familiy here was great, and being mayor of my old hometown has been more fulfilling than I ever could have realized."

Betty Goldstein, La Roche Parish Record Keeper

"The Goldsteins have been here a long time," Betty tells me, "as have I."

The aging spinster, who considered her two best friends, Linda and Catherine, her family needed another way to spend her time - so she applied for the position of La Roche Parish Record Keeper, a job that opened up when close friend, Linda Martin, passed away.

"When Linda died, things changed," Betty tells me. "Cathy and I realized our time was coming, too. Linda was sort of the leader, always thinking of things for us to do. Without her, we were lost."

Catherine Viejo and Betty Goldstein now live together, and share the home with Linda's grown son, Andrew, and his own child, Jacob.

"Having Jacob around is a big help - there's life and youth in the house, and that helps," says Betty. Still, it wasn't enough to silence the clamor in Betty's mind; worries of her own mortality, her age, and missing Linda. That was when Catherine suggested she apply for Linda's old job.

"Linda loved doing this," Betty explains, "so it gave me some closure to continue on with something she loved. It would make her happy to know it's all still in order, all still being looked after and taken care of."

On days when gardening isn't taking her full attention, Catherine comes in and helps Betty out.

"We laugh, we remember fun times with Linda, we make some new memories of our own," Betty says with a smile. "Sometimes, sitting at her desk, I feel Linda is right there laughing with us."

Further Information

All information on this page was compiled and written by La Roche's official record keeper, Betty Goldstein. The article on Betty was written by Patricia Wan and appeared in the La Roche Times. No information on this page may be reprinted or republished without the consent of Mrs. Goldstein and/or Skasimlaki Hosting.

Any queries about La Roche Parish and its areas, must be forwarded to Mrs. Goldstein at betty.goldstein@skatoolaki.com.