The State has reduced its demands for much more housing in Napa County, in recognition of the county's economic and environmental philosophy to preserve agricultural land and open space. It has reduced its requirements to 25% of what it was demanding in 2000. Much credit for this action goes to District Three County Supervisor Diane Dillon.

What does that mean for Angwin? It means that a developer cannot rely on any help from the State to obtain approval of projects which mean conversion of ag. land to more houses.

The Angwin community already provides an exceptional number of affordable rental apartments, and the County has already given the College approval to build 192 units on two of its parcels. That effectively takes care of the College's housing needs for many years in the future. The "Save Rural Angwin" committee has drawn the line there. They do not see the need for any more additional subdivisions.

Dr. Sherman Nagel, 91, is typical of a generation of Seventh-day Adventists who served as missionaries in foreign lands. His story is fascinating.

Shermans parent's were missionaries in China, pioneering the work there in 1909. Although he was born during a short furlough in California, he spent his early childhood with Chinese playmates and learned street Chinese from them and formal Chinese from listening to his father preach. At an early age, he could read the Bible in Chinese and knew 1, 000 Chinese characters. He was home-schooled by his parents and never sat in a classroom until he came to Angwin as a 14-year old.

He took pre-med at PUC and was graduated from Loma Linda University of Medical Evangelists in 1939. Thereafter his life has proceeded through through three stages, all spelled "Service."

Stage One: the Surgeon

Sherman's medical career began in WW2 in the U. S. Army where, under General MacArthur, he patched up American soldiers in the Philippines. He worked in battle conditions, in make-shift hospitals, sometimes under Japanese fire, for five years. "I saw death on every hand," Nagel remembers. "It was a cruel experience for a young doctor."

Nagels foreign service began as a missionary doctor in Nigeria, and he served there for 23 years.As a member of the team at the Adventist Ile-Ife Hospital he saw bed capacity grow from 40 beds to 150, facilities from nine buildings to 30, revenue from 150 pounds a month to more than 7000. The institution was completely self-supporting, with no help from the government.

It was during this time that the Nagel's were trapped in the Nigerian civil war. Bloody fighting between two sections of the country killed thousands of innocent civilians, as well as young men. The conflict drove a large portion of the population off their farms, leading to widespread food shortages. At one time, Nagel said, people were dying at the rate of 4, 000 a day. He worked night and day for months as the only physician in his hospital. Near exhaustion, he and his family were finally lifted out, and the Red Cross brought in three doctors to take his place.

Nagel performed 750 major surgeries a year at Ile-Ife. He helped establish a School of Nursing which provided hundreds of nurses for a country badly in need of nursing care. He was on the committee that purchased land for an Adventist university which opened with 100 students and has grown to 4,000.

Stage Two: The Educator

Dr. Nagel's career as a college teacher began in 1969 when he brought his family back to Angwin. Dr. Floyd Rittenhouse, president of Pacific Union College, persuaded Sherman to teach biology here, and for the next 26 years, he taught pre-med students and others. A number of times, he was elected Teacher of the Year because he could teach from such a rich life of experience in the medical mission field, doing good work under difficult circumstances.

Stage Three: The Health Evangelist

The third stage of Dr. Nagels life took him back to missionary work in foreign lands. When he retired from education, Dr. Nagel began going back to Africa, preaching good health principles in public meetings. He and John Staples, another long-time Angwinite who was born in South Africa, teamed up for trips to eight different countries including Tanzania, South Africa, and South Korea.

Although he looks back on a life as a surgeon and an educator with satisfaction, the missionary evangelism trips as an ordained minister bring him the most satisfaction. Surgery is exciting, and education is fulfilling, Sherman says, but they do not compare with the joy of seeing how the story of Jesus's love can transform peoples lives.

Terence Ford, a resident of Angwin for nine years, was born into a family of actors. His father, Christopher Ford, was an actor, and his grandfather, Johnny Ford, was a vaudeville performer. So by the time he was in his 20's, Terence was performing in Chicago's famed Second City improv. theatre.

He entered his career in photography at age 21 by attending the London Film School in 1969, and earned his professional, stripes assisting top-notch photographers. He helped to produce more than 400 television commercials.

In his 40's Ford returned to acting, performing in "every single soap opera ever shot in L.A." including The Young and Restless, General Hospital, Falcon Crest, Hotel, and Santa Barbara. He distinguished himself as assistant director to Ridley Scott on the movie, Blade Runner.

Terence moved out of the hectic L.A. world to the tranquil Napa Valley where he has distinguished himself as a creative and successful commercial and fine art photographer. He has become active in Angwin civic life. He created the film program at Pacific Union College, which has become a popular curriculum.

His photographs have been exhibited in numerous California fine art galleries, and have been purchased for the prestigious collections of the Robert Mondavi family, Graham Nash, Ann and Arnold Kopelson, Pejo Winery, Merryvale Winery, Chalk Hill Winery Peju Winery, and Auberge du Soleil.

Angwinites can see Ford's newest series at the Robert Mondavi Winery during November and December. It will then move to the Deborah Page Gallery in Santa Monica. This particular collection is titled "1/8th Second. Slow Speed in the Fast Lane."

All artists have an inner vision of what they want to communicate, and Terence presents his images in unique and beautiful ways." I have always been fascinated by the potential that photography promises to influence our vision of life," he said. "Are all these captured moments, the images recorded, reflective of reality, or do we alter these moments by changing them from nouns to verbs? Exploring these moments of uncertainty and intuition are the cornerstone of this particular exhibition."

To see some of Terence's works, go to his website: terenceford.com