In 2009, 7.8 million children lived with at least one grandparent, a 64 percent increase since 1991 when 4.7 million children lived with a grandparent, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Among children living with a grandparent, 76 percent also were living with at least one parent in 2009, not statistically different from the 77 percent who lived with at least one parent in 1991.

“The people with whom children live affect their well-being,” Rose Kreider, a family demographer with the U.S. Census Bureau, said in a statement. “These statistics give us a lot of detail about the number of parents children live with, as well as whether they live with siblings, grandparents or other relatives.”

These statistics come from the household relationship module of the Survey of Income and Program Participation collected in 2009 and published in the report Living Arrangements of Children: 2009.

In 1991, 5 percent of white, 15 percent of black and 12 percent of Hispanic children lived with at least one grandparent. By 2009, 9 percent of white, 17 percent of black and 14 percent of Hispanic children lived with at least one grandparent, a significant change for white children but not for black or Hispanic children.

Many children who do not live with a parent live with a grandparent. More than half of the children living with no parents were living with grandparents. Percentages for black children (64 percent) and non-Hispanic white children (55 percent) did not differ from Hispanic children (61 percent), but the percentage of Asian children living with no parents who lived with grandparents was lower, at 35 percent.

In 2009, 69 percent of the 74.1 million children under 18 lived with two parents. Four percent (2.9 million) of all children lived with both a mother and father who were not married to each other.

Between 1991 and 2009, children living with only their mother increased from 21 percent to 24 percent.

The percentage of children living with their mother without a father present varied widely among race and origin groups in 2009, from 8 percent for Asian children to 50 percent for black children. Seventeen percent of non-Hispanic white children and 26 percent of Hispanic children also lived with their mother only.

Seven percent of all children lived with an unmarried parent who was cohabiting. The percentage of all children who lived with a cohabiting parent ranged from 2 percent for Asian children to 9 percent for Hispanic children. Falling between these were non-Hispanic white children (6 percent) and black children (7 percent), not different from each other or the percentage for all children.

Overall, 16 percent of children lived with a stepparent, stepsibling or half sibling. Thirteen percent of children living with one parent and 18 percent of children living with two parents lived in these blended families.

By Kathryn Reed

CUSTER STATE PARK, S.D. – Where the buffalo roam, granite presidents dominate, Indians try to assimilate and families reunite.

South Dakota. It’s my home and I’ve never lived there. That’s what happens when your parents are high school sweethearts, your three sisters are born there and family reunions are scheduled every five years.

And I’m OK with that.

Buffalo enjoy the grass inside Custer State Park. Photos/Kathryn Reed

The Black Hills is gorgeous, with a ruggedness and beauty that conjure images of the Sierra and Rockies – it’s all the granite and pines.

And just like the more famous destinations, the Black Hills is a recreation spot for all things outdoors.

One morning is spent hiking to the top of Harney Peak – elevation 7,242. It’s the highest peak west of the Pyrenees. The 6-mile roundtrip trek provides stunning views of The Hills, especially from the lookout tower at the top.

The youngest to complete the trip – albeit with some help from his dad – is my 4-year-old grandnephew. And the oldest is my mom, at age 76.

We’ve been spending several days every five years in Custer State Park cabins since the 1990s.

It’s a bittersweet trip this time. We are burying my dad’s ashes. My parents have had plots in The Hills for years. It makes my connection to this part of the world so much stronger now.

While the family changes – in appearance and numbers – we have a closeness I cherish. Some I see in between these gatherings, for others this is the only opportunity. We are dispersed across the world.

We meet at Mount Rushmore to the see The Faces as the sun is setting and stay for the lighting. (This is a must for anyone who visits.) Five years ago we were there for Fourth of July fireworks – something magical about being someplace so American on that holiday.

I can’t count the times I have seen those four stone presidents. I never get tired of going there. Partly it’s the knowledge environmentalists would never allow something like this to be chiseled again, partly because we could never agree whose faces to carve, and partly it’s the sense of patriotism that envelops me.

Earlier we had visited Crazy Horse, the even larger carving of the Sioux Indian who won the Battle of Little Big Horn over Custer. Although it’s hard for me to tell the change in five years, clearly there has been some. I keep wondering if I’ll see its completion in my lifetime.

Custer State Park isn’t like any state park I’ve been to in California. It feels like a National Park. President Calvin Coolidge considered it his summer home.

A herd of about 1,300 bison call the 71,000-acre park home. They are best viewed along the 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road.

Mom has to tell us not to get out of the car – yes, even at our age.

Burros, prairie dogs, antelope and deer are other animals along the route.

One of the things about this part of the Midwest is there is so much to do – from touristy sites that take your money, to paddling on Sylvan Lake which is walking distance from our cabin, to checking out Rapid City.

Maybe I should have voted to return in three years instead of five.

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Jon Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, will present “Solutions for a Cultivated Planet: Learning to Feed 9 Billion People While Sustaining the Global Environment” on July 28 from 6:30-8pm at the North Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach.

The world population is growing by 75 million people each year. That’s almost the size of Germany. Today it’s close to 7 billion people.

The lecture costs $10.

For more information, email info@squawvalleyinstitute.org or call (530) 581.4138.

Children are invited to spend Aug. 13 with scientists learning about the unique ecology, function, restoration and preservation of Lake Tahoe.

The 12th annual Children’s Environmental Science Day is a free event sponsored by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center.

More than 20 interactive science activities hosted by organizations around the region will be available for children ages 6 and up. The day will include interactive science demonstrations by UC Davis scientists, local agency and nonprofit organization staff, and AmeriCorps members. Hands-on activities are designed for the whole family to enjoy.

Get up close and personal with fish and microscopic zooplankton from Lake Tahoe, learn about invasive species in the Tahoe basin, test the water quality of a stream and observe mosquito fish eating their prey. This exciting event will bring together many of our community partners who are committed to protecting Lake Tahoe and its watershed.

Children’s Environmental Science Day is at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences in Incline Village. The Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences is located on the Sierra Nevada College campus at 291 Country Club Drive in Incline Village, off Highway 28.

For more information, call (775) 881.7560, ext. 7474.

The Squaw Valley Community of Writers brings an Extraordinary Evening of Poetry to Squaw Valley on July 21. The night will consist of a poetry reading by the five award-winning staff poets: Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Hass, Brenda Hillman, Cathy Park Hong, Major Jackson and Sharon Olds.

The Squaw Valley Community of Writers has been considered among the country’s most renowned literary conferences, along with the Sewanee and the Bread Loaf writers conferences. The literary troupe has three genres of workshops every year: one for screenwriters, one for fiction, nonfiction and memoirs, and one for poetry.

This year’s poetry workshop in Squaw Valley are July 16-23. The 60 participating poets will write one poem every day in a boot-camp-style regimen while working with staff poets. The Community of Writers’ renowned fiction and screenwriting workshops will convene in August.

The July 21 poetry night begins at 8pm at Bar One in Olympic House at Squaw.

The cost is $15 general, $10 students.

For more information about the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and the annual writing conferences, go online.

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – It doesn’t matter that Jack Yoder wasn’t alive when Mike Eruzione was making a name for himself as captain of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Getting the player’s autograph – again – was a dream as good as gold for the Sacramento youth.

Yoder ran under the rope as Eruzione was walking toward him on the 18th hole at Edgewood Tahoe on Thursday. Yoder learned about Eruzione’s accomplishments from his parents while attending previous American Century Celebrity Golf Tournaments.

His younger brother, Tommy, not long after, was boasting about having gotten Boston Celtic’s Ray Allen’s signature.

Action at Edgewood Tahoe on July 15 starts at 9:30am with Jim McMahon, Bode Miller and Robbie Gould teeing off. Photos/Kathryn Reed

Some people, though, don’t even know who some of the most popular celebrities are. Two girls in their late 20s asked who Michael Jordan is. The guy they were with promptly informed them Jordan “is the greatest basketball player ever.”

Someone else asked who the guy in red is. “Tim Brown – future hall of famer,” came the response from a woman walking by. The wide receiver played for the Raiders for 16 years, earning the nickname Mr. Raider.

July 14 was the celebrity-amateur round of the tournament at Stateline. People who have enough money can write a check to play with one of the celebrities. And some of them have a sense of humor.

When Brown was introducing himself to the four guys he was about to tee off with, they said something about their birthdays. Theirs, they said, was the same as Brown’s. Brown was so intrigued he turns to those he knows in the bleachers on the first hole to tell them. Then the guys start laughing and say they were kidding – they had just been reading Brown’s bio the night before.

Players participated in another “sport” between holes 17 and 18. Each was handed a bottle of Korbel Champagne, told to shake it and then see how far they could send the cork.

It’s a good thing Allen is still playing basketball. His initial attempt fizzled.

As he walked by the markers of better cork poppers, he joked, “See, those are all the alcoholics in back.”

Actor Oliver Hudson was leading at that time with about a 70-foot rip of the cork.

Several of the celebs were out on the putting green and driving range in anticipation of the real event that begins today and concludes Sunday. Based on where some of the balls were on the driving range, more practice is needed.

Each day fans are out seeking autographs. Former NBA all-star Penny Hardaway was signing whatever was put in front of him – including a basketball shoe.

Despite the high water of Lake Tahoe, plenty of boaters found a slice of beach to anchor on along the 17th hole. A bar closer to the clubhouse caters to the people on that side of the rope.

This is the third trip to the tournament for one guy from Kansas City who was with friends on a boat. He had autographs of every player from KC. He, too, is a Eruzione fan.

“I watched the 1980 Games. I cried during that game,” this grown man said. Then he smiled. “I watched (Eruzione) putt in.

“They have some of the top dogs playing here.”

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Tahoe Arts Project is having auditions for Missoula Children’s Theater production of “King Arthur’s Quest” on July 18 on the lawn at Valhalla at the Tallac Historic Site from 10am-noon.

Approximately 50 roles are available for children 5 to 17.

Auditions are free, and no advance preparation is necessary.

If cast, there will be a charge of $50 per child to participate. A limited number of scholarships are available.

Contact Peggy Thompson at (530) 542.3632 for information.

Rehearsals will be July 19-22 from 10am-2:30pm. The performance will be July 23 at 2pm at the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater at the U.S. Forest Service Taylor Creek Visitors Center.

By Kathryn Reed

Super-sized golf balls are cropping up around the South Shore.

The first two went in Tuesday at Edgewood Tahoe and Zephyr Cove Resort, with a third to be installed late Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. Two more will appear this weekend – one at Lake Tahoe Golf Course and the other at Heavenly Village.

South Tahoe artist Carole Beller is using her skill at creating artwork that looks like granite to dress up town for this week’s American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament. She’s so good the balls even feel like granite.

Carole Beller's golf art is popping up around the South Shore. Photo/Kathryn Reed

“You can’t use real granite because it would be too heavy,” Beller told Lake Tahoe News as she was still working on the third ball.

Still, they weigh about 400 pounds. They are made out of cement, steel and foam.

The whole contraption is 9-feet-tall, with the ball being 5-feet in diameter. Instead of sitting on a tee, the balls are atop what looks like a tree trunk.

Being the only house on the street allows Beller the space to spread her project out. A group of friends has been helping her get everything together so the artwork coincides with this week’s tournament in Stateline.

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority commissioned the works of art.

“We think that the ‘promotional’ art achieves several objectives: celebrate and increase awareness of a specific event through an artistic interpretation, (and) promote one of our passions,” LTVA Executive Director Carol Chaplin told Lake Tahoe News. “

This artwork is a work in progress, is how Chaplin described it. The first pieces were the oversized bicycles that cropped up as the Tour de California was about to start on the South Shore. More is likely at different times of the year for various events.

By Whitney Mountain, Sacramento Bee

Tucked away near Lake Tahoe, a small town with a big history holds one of this country’s worst-kept literary secrets: the Squaw Valley Community of Writers.

Since 1969, the Community of Writers has been considered among the country’s most renowned literary conferences, along with the Sewanee and the Bread Loaf writers conferences. The literary troupe holds three genres of workshops every year: one for screenwriters; one for fiction, nonfiction and memoirs; and most important to Sacramento, one for poetry.

On Friday, the Crocker Art Museum will serve as the location of the annual Community of Writers Poetry Reading Benefit.

For more than 20 years, the benefit was held in San Francisco, but this year the organization opted for a change.

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Scott Lankford, author of “Tahoe Beneath the Surface”, presents an illustrated talk on the stories of some of Tahoe’s most notable residents and visitors over the years.

The event takes place on the lawn at Regan Beach in South Lake Tahoe on July 15 at 7:30pm.

Bring a blanket, lawn chair, and picnic dinner or buy a specially priced meal at Regan Beach Lake Taco. There is no admission fee for the event.

For more information, call (530) 542.4637.