Sam the Goat

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Sam the Goat 1973 - Roseville Ca.

Loomis California 70s - Post Card photo

 Loomis, California December, 1973 – 

Our Father / Uncle and us three boys – Older brother Jody - Me and my twin brother Todd moved to a 5 acre piece of land in Loomis California on Delmar Avenue with a very old small house on one end - I was 13 or 14 years old back then and this seemingly rural life was fairly new to me and my brothers –

And to be honest - little did we know the changes that would make or break us because of the work involved getting the property in ship shape. I can still hear our father tells us how “We” needed to do this and or “We” need to do that and “We” this over there after “We” that… and then… Our father would go back into the house while “We” Us three boys slaved -er did all the “This & That” “We” Work! - LOL –

 Looking back now – I would not change a thing or that part of our lives – Hard work taught us boys something you would never learn in school and that’s what got me / “We” through hard times and why “We” can hold our heads up and be proud of what “We” accomplished in life, because of the work ethic it taught us / ”We”

The Loomis Town, including the surrounding areas population back then was around 1,200 citizens.

We were moving from a semi-rural part of Roseville California and we didn’t have much at that time, just a few items and belongings and that was basically it, well plus our "Pet Goat" Sam, who our Father purchased from Denio's Farmers Market & Auction.  The day he brought Sam the Goat home from Denio’s, he instantly became a part of our family - We never had a pet goat before but it didn't take us long to figure out what he liked to eat, which was anything and everything and how much he loved chasing after us and you could tell he thought it was the best thing ever and would get all Goat excited and stuff!

Unfortunately when we tried to teach him how to play hide & seek – he just didn’t seem to understand the concept at all, and wasn’t very good at hiding and also when it was his turn to be the seeker, close his eyes and count down from 25 backwards – there was just no way – So we compromised and played tag your it, and I have to admit, he was a natural and really, really fast! – It was like he had played it before? Well he did have an extra pair of legs, so that was a huge advantage.  But playing “Tag your it!” was very exhausting, and Sam was just too much! And would not let up? So we switched to playing Freeze tag and well, we wasted 20 minutes trying to teach Sam the Goat how to stay frozen and we finally gave up!

Sam the Goat on Sams Rock Challenging the dogs for "King of the Rock" Loomis Ca.

Sam loved the (new to us) Loomis property and quickly discovered the very big rock out in the garden that had a flat spot on top that we later found out was originally made for a statue at one time. We boys soon discovered also that anytime anyone got on top of that rock, it became a king of the Hill one on one or even 2-3 on one match with Sam the Goat! There was no doubt in his goat world brain that he was… “King of that Rock” and he proved it every time.

We honorably named it Sam's Rock after that.

Sam challenged anyone who climbed on top of that rock - The only time you were safe from a challenge / match was when he was out in the pasture mingling and or laying down with the cows or other critters like the dogs, cats, and chickens.

Sam was a big, but gentle goat and also fun to have shoving matches with - As soon as you grabbed his horns with both hands, it was game on! Trying to keep him from pushing you backwards past an imaginary line and the inevitable agony of defeat - It didn't take long before he would overpower you - Sam was very strong but like I mentioned before he had an extra pair of legs to his advantage, but also he was very gentle and also never tried to head butt you too hard.

Sam remained with us for several years after we moved to the property in Loomis - Our father actually sold him to another family with younger children who fell in love with him. I'm sure Sam lived out the rest of his remaining goat life happier than most Goats could ever dream of.

Every so often when I drive by the old place and see "Sam's Rock" once again – I’m reminded of the “One Time Ago" and our pet goat named Sam.

 

Tom Stover – Author Nov 1 2026