Shaving Horse, or a strategic weapon.

Quite a while back I put some photos of something that I found, out beside an old blacksmith shop at Dinsmore California. I thought that it might have some thing to do with the making of wagon wheels. It was obviously very old, and the limbs (legs) were almost rotted off of it.

There were some very good guesses as to what it was, and a few wise-guys made up some pretty fantastic stories as to what it was, and I'm ashamed to say that I believed them.(most notably Ekovox's story, who said that it was part of a Trinity gold mining operation) The last laugh is on Ekovox because it may have had something to do with mining in an indirect way.

I have to give Don Orazem credit for sleuthing out that the item is most likely a shaving horse. He was just guessing, but what you see in the photo could very easily be used as a shaving horse. I know you people are all wondering how you shave a horse. But, it is not like that at all. The piece of white oak is the backbone of a clamp that was used to hold a piece of wood while you drew wood shavings off of it, to shape and smooth the wood.

I found some other photos on the Internet so you could get a better idea of how it was used. I went on to conclude that it was a “coopers shave”. A coopers shave was used to shape the staves in a barrel. The reason that I concluded that it was a coopers horse is because it had the shape of a barrel stave carved intricately onto the back of it, and it was probably used as a gauge to make perfectly formed barrel staves.

You can gather which pieces are missing from the photos of the complete horse below. The person carving the stave with a draw knife would straddle the bench, the wood would be held by pushing the treadle below, forward. The clamp on the top would press down and hold the stave firmly in place.





In ancient history clay flasks were used to seal and transport goods from place to place. The flasks were called amphoras ( to the linguists out there, I know that more than one amphora is called amphorae) About the time of the birth of Christ wooden barrels came into use, and became popular. Wooden barrels were much more durable and stood up to rugged handling.


The barrel maker was called a “cooper”. The cooper was a highly skilled craftsman. In order to make a good barrel he had to split lumber radially out of a white oak tree. The lumber had to be stacked and cured for three years in order to dry and stabilize the wood. That was done to make a barrel that would seal and not leak. After the wood was cured he would hand carve the staves of the barrel to form them. As he put the barrel together he would build a fire inside of it to help bend the stave inward at the ends. Metal bands were placed around the barrel and driven down to tighten it. Heads were made to fit the ends. The barrel was made to be liquid tight when finished. A hole was drilled into it and a bung was driven into the hole to seal it. The hole is called a “bung hole”. I'll bet that you always wondered where that expression came from didn't you?

Barrels were used extensively in the early history of the United States. Grain, that needed to be kept dry, was sealed into barrels. Horseshoes, nails, and other goods were shipped in barrels. When the pioneers came to California, they sealed most of their goods in barrels to keep them dry and safe. Wool blankets and yarn were shipped in barrels to keep them dry and safe, and away from wool moths and rats.

The mining industry used many barrels. Their provisions were shipped to them in barrels. Gunpowder and blasting powder had to be kept completely dry. The way that they did that was by storing and shipping it in barrels. So the joke is on Ekovox, because if the old moss covered thing that is in the top photos is a Coopers Shaving horse, it was most undoubtedly used to make barrels that they would  have used in the Trinity County mines.

As I was reading about the history of barrels, and the importance that they had in early history, one story really stood out above the others. The story goes that in 1588 the Spanish Armada was preparing to invade England. Sir Francis Drake learned of the Spanish plans, he knew that England was not nearly as prepared as the Spanish Armada and would most likely be defeated. Drake sent saboteurs that burned the barrel wood that was being cured for the necessary three years. Because the barrel wood is cured in natural weather the stacks of oak were easily accessed and destroyed.

Because the Spanish lost all of their cured oak, they were forced to make their barrels out of uncured oak. Their barrels leaked and destroyed their food, their water, and their gunpowder. As you know there are many factors to a successful battle. But, I found it interesting that Sir Francis Drake would think that Barrel making would be a strategic front.





Video on making a modern wine barrel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjdrTgyWwg

Shaving horse explained.
http://www.bloodandsawdust.com/sca/horses.html

Shave horse Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shave_horse

Imperialism?

Anon said:
"For extra credit - and here’s where the fun begins - here are 2 more questions for those who care:
4. Was U.S. control of these 4 (Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, Mariana Islands.) gained through acts of imperialism?
5. Whether yes or no, has U.S. jurisdiction been beneficial to the inhabitants of these territories?"


Wow anon, you know how to pop open a can of worms. At one time there was some thinking in America that we had to build the “Great American Empire” much as the Brits had done in the world, and Spain before them, and the Turks before them and China and others fading back into history.

Most countries in history felt that they needed to control the world's political influence, for power and gain, in a grow or die scenario. “Manifest destiny”, where we forced ourselves on the West, was part of that thinking. Some would argue that it was colonialism because we were building ourselves a place to live. But, was it really? Why did the phrase “go West young man” pop up? It had to have been partly for political power and to stop Spain from creeping deeper into the Continental Americas and taking over political influence.

Originally “outposts” like Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico and others were strategic for shipping and economic gain. The Philippines were a tasty tid-bit in the Pacific. We wanted the Philippines badly back in the late 1800’s. For some reason we had chosen Spain as our great enemy at that time, and Spain owned the Philippines, We seemed to be anxious to engage Spain in any way that we could, for any reason. We wanted anything and everything that Spain possessed. Some people in America opposed the expansion of American territory for political purposes. Among them Mark Twain, "I have read carefully the treaty of Paris, and I have seen that we do not intend to free, but to subjugate the people of the Philippines. We have gone there to conquer, not to redeem. It should, it seems to me, be our pleasure and duty to make those people free, and let them deal with their own domestic questions in their own way. And so I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land."

So, to say that America took over other countries for pure political gain and influence is not entirely true. As is true today, some of us want badly to gain political influence in other countries, and some of us want nothing to do with it.

But, the question that you asked was, “Was U.S. Control over these four gained through acts of imperialism?”

I guess that you would say that is true, because we gained them when we kicked Spanish butt in the Spanish American war in 1898, and they became ours in the “Treaty of Paris”. But in the particular case of Guam we lost the Island to the Japanese, December 8th 1941, who felt it was strategic to controlling the Pacific.

“During the occupation, the people of Guam suffered terrible atrocities, including torture, beheadings, and rape, and were forced to adopt the Japanese culture.”(Wikipedia)

America took it back July 21st 1944 because it was strategic to controlling the Pacific.

Your second question was: ”“has U.S. jurisdiction been beneficial to the inhabitants of these territories?”

Well, if our control of Guam is better than being raped and beheaded, I guess they are better off.

As you might have guessed by now, I'm no tower of wisdom when it comes to world politics. I'm more of an expert when it come to the foibles of the common man. If you want great detail on “foibles” I can expound in detail and accuracy. I will say, for the most part, America has been a positive influence in the world for people that yearn to be free.

One other thought in closing; it was once said that “if you control the land, you control the people”, and world dominion was achieved through controlling land and territories. In the new world, we live in cyberspace, and the new control and “Impirialism” is wealth. It might be said nowadays “if you control the wealth, you control the people”

While we were clinging fiercely to our guns and territory, with the attitude that “By God, they'd better not mess with me our my ground”, they quietly slipped our wealth and control away from us. The shipped our jobs, and our means to provide for ourselves to other lands. So, here we are clinging to our guns with nothing but ideology to shoot at. We live in a world where corporations are declared to have the same rights as people. We are fighting a war for survival, that us rabble really haven't caught onto yet, and it already may have been lost. But, as I said, world politics aren't my bag.

I was raised in a physical world where you made your living with your hands, and your job provided something real and tangible, “that you could hit with a hammer”. Now you make your living by out-smarting the other guy in the stock market. I was raised in a world where arguments were settled by a poke in the nose. Now we hire lawyers to do our fighting, in a world of made up of hot-air. Our control of our lives has been stripped away from us by, not taking our wealth, but by eliminating our chance of gaining it in the first place. How can you defend, with your gun, the things that were taking before you even got them. We are playing a shell game, thinking that we might win, when there is nothing for us under any of the shells.

Other counties own our very soul at this point. I don't have the power to change things, none of us rabble do. Our politicians have sold us out, lock-stock-and-barrel. The people that control the wealth, control our political puppet politicians. Nobody can get elected without the backing of the wealthy. We put all of our hopes in Obama, and we can see how all of that turned out.

My hope just like Lincoln's was at the end of his Gettysberg address: “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Now,after having exposed myself as a crazy ranting old man. I need to go to work.

Would you qualify to be a U.S. citizen?

I was over at Eric Kirks blog a while back and he had a post about the fact that only 2.8% of Oklahoma high school students could pass a basic citizenship test. I got curious about what the test was like, so I looked it up. The complete test is listed below. Apparently, you get ten questions selected at random from the test, and you are require to score six questions answered correctly out of those ten.


If you want to take the test fairly, write down ten numbers between 1 and 100, look through the list and find the number that have written down and answer the questions. Again to be a good citizen you must get six of the ten correct.

You show-offs can go ahead and take the whole test if you want to, but you will probably score better that way than if you chose ten out of the 100, because some of the questions are related to each other in a way that makes the answers obvious. I listed all of the answers at the bottom of the post so you can grade yourself. Good luck! If you fail we might have to deport you!


Current USCIS Test Questions
(Answers below)

1. What are the colors of our flag?
2. How many stars are there in our flag?
3. What color are the stars on our flag?
4. What do the stars on the flag mean?
5. How many stripes are there in the flag?
6. What color are the stripes?
7. What do the stripes on the flag mean?
8. How many states are there in the Union?
9. What is the 4th of July?
10. What is the date of Independence Day?
11. Independence from whom?
12. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?
13. Who was the first President of the United States?
14. Who is the President of the United States today?
15. Who is the vice-president of the United States today?
16. Who elects the President of the United States?
17. Who becomes President of the United States if the President should die?
18. For how long do we elect the President?
19. What is the Constitution?
20. Can the Constitution be changed?
21. What do we call a change to the Constitution?
22. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?
23. How many branches are there in our government?
24. What are the three branches of our government?
25. What is the legislative branch of our government?
26. Who makes the laws in the United States?
27. What is the Congress?
28. What are the duties of Congress?
29. Who elects the Congress?
30. How many senators are there in Congress?
31. Can you name the two senators from your state?
32. For how long do we elect each senator?
33. How many representatives are there in Congress?
34. For how long do we elect the representatives?
35. What is the executive branch of our government?
36. What is the judiciary branch of our government?
37. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?
38. What is the supreme court law of the United States?
39. What is the Bill of Rights?
40. What is the capital of your state?
41. Who is the current governor of your state?
42. Who becomes President of the United States if the President and the vice-president should die?
43. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
44. Can you name thirteen original states?
45. Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death."?
46. Which countries were our enemies during World War II?
47. What are the 49th and 50th states of the Union?
48. How many terms can the President serve?
49. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
50. Who is the head of your local government?
51. According to the Constitution, a person must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become President. Name one of these requirements.
52. Why are there 100 Senators in the Senate?
53. Who selects the Supreme Court justice?
54. How many Supreme Court justice are there?
55. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?
56. What is the head executive of a state government called?
57. What is the head executive of a city government called?
58. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by the Americans colonists?
59. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
60. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
61. What is the basic belief of the Declaration of Independence?
62. What is the national anthem of the United States?
63. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?
64. Where does freedom of speech come from?
65. What is a minimum voting age in the United States?
66. Who signs bills into law?
67. What is the highest court in the United States?
68. Who was the President during the Civil War?
69. What did the Emancipation Declaration do?
70. What special group advises the President?
71. Which President is called the "Father of our country"?
72. What Immigration and Naturalization Service form is used to apply to become a naturalized citizen?
73. Who helped the Pilgrims in America?
74. What is the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?
75. What are the 13 original states of the U.S. called?
76. Name 3 rights of freedom guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
77. Who has the power to declare the war?
78. What kind of government does the United States have?
79. Which President freed the slaves?
80. In what year was the Constitution written?
81. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
82. Name one purpose of the United Nations?
83. Where does Congress meet?
84. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
85. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?
86. Name one benefit of being citizen of the United States.
87. What is the most important right granted to U.S. citizens?
88. What is the United States Capitol?
89. What is the White House?
90. Where is the White House located?
91. What is the name of the President's official home?
92. Name the right guaranteed by the first amendment.
93. Who is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
94. Which President was the first Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
95. In what month do we vote for the President?
96. In what month is the new President inaugurated?
97. How many times may a Senator be re-elected?
98. How many times may a Congressman be re-elected?
99. What are the 2 major political parties in the U.S. today?
100. How many states are there in the United States today?





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1. What are the colors of our flag?
Red, White, and Blue.

2. How many stars are there in our flag?
50

3. What color are the stars on our flag?
White.

4. What do the stars on the flag mean?
One for each state in the Union.

5. How many stripes are there in the flag?
13

6. What color are the stripes?
Red and White.

7. What do the stripes on the flag mean?
They represent the original 13 states.

8. How many states are there in the Union?
50

9. What is the 4th of July?
Independence Day.

10. What is the date of Independence Day?
July 4th

11. Independence from whom?
England

12. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?
England

13. Who was the first President of the United States?
George Washington

14. Who is the President of the United States today?
Currently Barack Obama

15. Who is the vice-president of the United States today?
Currently Joseph Biden

16. Who elects the President of the United States?
The electoral college

17. Who becomes President of the United States if the President should die?
Vice - President

18. For how long do we elect the President?
Four years

19. What is the Constitution?
The supreme law of the land

20. Can the Constitution be changed?
Yes

21. What do we call a change to the Constitution?
An Amendment

22. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?
27

23. How many branches are there in our government?
3

24. What are the three branches of our government?
Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary

25. What is the legislative branch of our government?
Congress

26. Who makes the laws in the United States?
Congress

27. What is the Congress?
The Senate and the House of Representatives

28. What are the duties of Congress?
To make laws

29. Who elects the Congress?
The people

30. How many senators are there in Congress?
100

31. Can you name the two senators from your state?
Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein

32. For how long do we elect each senator?
6 years

33. How many representatives are there in Congress?
435

34. For how long do we elect the representatives?
2 years

35. What is the executive branch of our government?
The President, vice president, cabinet, and departments under the cabinet members

36. What is the judiciary branch of our government?
The Supreme Court

37. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?
To interpret laws

38. What is the supreme court law of the United States?
The Constitution

39. What is the Bill of Rights?
The first 10 amendme of the Constitutionnts

40. What is the capital of your state?
Sacramento, California

41. Who is the current governor of your state?
Arnold Schwarzenegger

42. Who becomes President of the United States if the President and the vice-president should die?
Speaker of the House of Representative

43. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
William Rehnquist (or whoever is next)

44. Can you name thirteen original states?
Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, and Maryland.

45. Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death."?
Patrick Henry

46. Which countries were our enemies during World War II?
Germany, Italy, and Japan

47. What are the 49th and 50th states of the Union?
Alaska and Hawaii

48. How many terms can the President serve?
two

49. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
A civil rights leader

50. Who is the head of your local government?
Humboldt County Board of supervisors.

51. According to the Constitution, a person must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become President. Name one of these requirements.
Must be a natural born citizen of the United States; must be at least 35 years old by the time he/she will serve; must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.


52. Why are there 100 Senators in the Senate?
Two (2) from each state

53. Who selects the Supreme Court justice?
Appointed by the President

54. How many Supreme Court justice are there?
Nine (9)

55. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?
For religious freedom

56. What is the head executive of a state government called?
Governor

57. What is the head executive of a city government called?
Mayor

58. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by the Americans colonists?
Thanksgiving

59. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson

60. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
July 4, 1776

61. What is the basic belief of the Declaration of Independence?
That all men are created equal

62. What is the national anthem of the United States?
The Star-Spangled Banner

63. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?
Francis Scott Key

64. Where does freedom of speech come from?
The Bill of Rights

65. What is a minimum voting age in the United States?
Eighteen (18)

66. Who signs bills into law?
The President

67. What is the highest court in the United States?
The Supreme Court

68. Who was the President during the Civil War?
Abraham Lincoln

69. What did the Emancipation Declaration do?
Freed many slaves

70. What special group advises the President?
The Cabinet

71. Which President is called the "Father of our country"?
George Washington

72. What Immigration and Naturalization Service form is used to apply to become a naturalized citizen?
Form N-400, Application to File Petition for Naturalization

73. Who helped the Pilgrims in America?
The American-Indians (Native Americans)

74. What is the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?
The Mayflower

75. What are the 13 original states of the U.S. called?
Colonies

76. Name 3 rights of freedom guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
The right of freedom of speech, press, religion, peaceable assembly, and requesting change of government.
The right to bear arms (the right to have weapons or own a gun, though subject to certain regulations).
The government may not quarter, or house, soldiers in the people's homes during peacetime without the people's consent.
The government may not search or take a person's property without a warrant.
A person may not be tried twice for the same crime and does not have to testify against him/herself.
A person charged with a crime still has some rights, such as the right to a trial and to have a lawyer.
The right to trial by jury in most cases.
Protects people against excessive or unreasonable fines or cruel and unusual punishment.
The people have rights other than those mentioned in the Constitution.
Any power not given to the federal government by the Constitution is a power of either the state or the people.

77. Who has the power to declare the war?
The Congress

78. What kind of government does the United States have?
Democracy

79. Which President freed the slaves?
Abraham Lincoln

80. In what year was the Constitution written?
1787

81. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
The Bill of Rights

82. Name one purpose of the United Nations?
For countries to discuss and try to resolve world problems, to provide economic aid to many countries.

83. Where does Congress meet?
In the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

84. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
Everyone (citizens and non-citizens) living in U.S.

85. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?
The Preamble

86. Name one benefit of being citizen of the United States.
Obtain federal government jobs, travel with U.S. passport, petition for close relatives to come to the U.S. to live.

87. What is the most important right granted to U.S. citizens?
The right to vote

88. What is the United States Capitol?
The place where Congress meets

89. What is the White House?
The President's official home

90. Where is the White House located?
Washington, D.C. (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.)

91. What is the name of the President's official home?
The White House

92. Name the right guaranteed by the first amendment.
Freedom of: speech, press, religion, peaceable assembly, and requesting change of the government.

93. Who is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
The President

94. Which President was the first Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
George Washington

95. In what month do we vote for the President?
November

96. In what month is the new President inaugurated?
January

97. How many times may a Senator be re-elected?
There is no limit

98. How many times may a Congressman be re-elected?
There is no limit


99. What are the 2 major political parties in the U.S. today?
Democratic and Republican

100. How many states are there in the United States today?
Fifty (50)


e

Town Characters, Coca-Cola Earl.

I’ve traveled a little, here and there. I spend a lot of time “people watching”. Wherever I go, I always notice the similarities in people, and especially in the town characters.

The last post about The Garberville Theatre reminded me of a town character that we all knew back in the fifties thru the seventies. His name was Earl Berry. He was a regular at the Garberville Theater. I always liked Earl, but if you talked to him for just a few minutes, you would know that he was “different”.

When we were cruel little kids we used to call him “Crazy Earl”. When we grew up a little, and became more P.C. we started calling him Coca-Cola Earl after his penchant for Coca-Cola. He was kinda’ like the guy in the movie “The Rainman”. He was a lot more functional, but he didn’t have that quality that people would accept as “smart”. I have always liked to build things, or invent some new tool, or some useful item, so I was particularly impressed with Earls ability to built many things out of cardboard and masking tape. You would hardly ever see him downtown without the special pouch that he had made for himself to carry a full six-pack of 8oz Coke bottles. He had made his own hat and at one time he even made a vest out of masking tape and cardboard.

As you might have guessed by now, he did many things on a very tight schedule. He would walk to town to get his Coke several times a day. You could set your watch by his regularity. He wouldn’t talk to you unless you engaged him first. I always liked to take a few minutes to just talk to him, and watch him smile. He liked for people to ask him how he made his cardboard stuff. He got so he would start grinning as soon as he saw me, because he knew that I was going to ask him about his precious “stuff”. He always knew exactly how many rolls of tape went into his inventions. He would go into great detail about his hinges, and lids, and latches, or how he made the straps out of pure masking tape. I always thought that if Garberville had a museum, it would be great to have some of Coca-Cola Earl's stuff in it.

Earl was a good looking guy, clean, and neat, and under other circumstances he would have been a great ladies-man. His mother made him stay clean. She made sure that he would shave and wear clean clothes. His hair was always neatly trimmed. That’s how he was when I was young. As his mother’s health failed, he let himself go a bit, and he looked like a vagabond. But, for most of his life he was spiffy and neat.

As I said, the post below about the Garberville Theatre reminded me of him. Anybody that ever attended the Saturday matinee back in the fifties and sixties knows what I mean. The theatre was the central source of entertainment back then. It was a very well run and organized place. The theater had ushers. One in each isle. Just like parking attendants, they would ask how many in your group, then they would seat you row by row as you filed in. During popular movies, or the first day of a movie, the theater was quite often completely filled. No empty seats. Also, the theater had many more seats than it has today.

The back quarter of the theater was the loge (hard o, soft g) section. The seats were red velvet, and no child under twelve was allowed to sit in them unless they were accompanied by and adult. So, the Saturday matinee was filled up front, but the loge section was mostly empty. In the evening seating, the section on the right was the smoking section. Sometimes the smoking section was full and a few smokers would have to sit in the center section. It was obvious why they wanted the smokers to sit at the side. As soon as somebody would light-up, they would exhale a large cloud of smoke into the projection beam. That was back before the cigarette smoke was reduced. Cigarettes were extremely smoky back then. Even while being held in a persons hand, they gave off a stream of smoke. We are sooooo lucky today, that smokers are not allowed inside, for a variety of reasons.

The theater had a nursing room behind the smoking section. It was a glassed in room with speakers inside. Mothers with squeally babies were not tolerated, whatsoever, in the audience. But, they were given every convenience in the nursing room.

As you know, I’m fascinated by tools and gadgets, so the usher’s flashlights were interesting to me. They had a tube out in the front that focused the light into a tight little spot. If you went to the restroom or the snack bar during the movie, they would escort you back to your seat with the light discretely shining on the floor, so you could find your way. If you made any noise, or laughed too loud you would find the light shining on you. You got one warning, the second time the light was shined on you there would be a come-hither finger wiggling in it. Then you were escorted to the lobby where you were required to stay until the movie was over. At least that’s what they tell me… It never happened to me… Unless somebody was there.

The second hand store, down the hill by the union oil company, had a female urinal that Burl Keating told me came out of the Garberville Theatre. He said that back when women wore dresses it was more convenient to use, but women started wearing slacks, and they removed it because it was unusable if it could not be straddled. Of course my curious mind went nuts with wonder over the urinal. How…. Oh, never mind!

Let’s get back to Earl. Anybody that went to the Saturday matinee knew that the isle seat in the third row of the general seating was reserved for Earl. The ushers would tell you not to sit there. If someone unknowingly sat there, Earl would stare incredulously at them until the usher came to ask the person to move. Earl was at every Saturday matinee with his large Coca-Cola and bag of popcorn.

As soon as they got Earl seated the lights would slowly dim and you could hear Woody Woodpecker start his familiar song in the background and it was “Showtime”.

Garberville Theatre

My friend Chris Brannan stopped by my office the other day. He was understandably proud of the new website for the Garberville Theatre. A man by the name of Ed Truthan developed the website. We have many great website designers in our area, but this post happens to be about the Garberville Theatre, so I will give credit where credit is due. I was very impressed with the user friendliness of the site. I wish all web sites were as user friendly. Ed has “air-brushed” the images to the point that you feel like you are entering fantasy-land, which is exactly what you are doing when you enter the Garberville Theatre.


As you know, theaters are struggling with the new competition of DVD's that are so readily available. Some of the theaters in Eureka are closing, as indeed most of the classic old movie-house theaters across the United States are closed, and bulldozed to make room for shopping malls or retail stores. We are indeed lucky to have retained some of the slower pace that the good old days had here in Garberville. One of the great things about our slower pace is the movie theater is still open, it is still a classic theater. You can take a trip down memory lane, if you want to, and still enjoy a first-run modern movie.

When I was a kid I used to go the the Saturday Matinee. First, my cousin Jim Newland and I would walk down the street and bang on the side of the parking meters until enough coin would shake back out the coin-slot to buy our way in. On lucky days we would get enough coin to buy a root beer and some of the sweet little chocolate covered mints. Then, I would get a big bag of popcorn. Just as the lights were dimming, Jim and I would get a seat. The movie always started with a cartoon. “The Roadrunner” was our favorite. I liked to mix my popcorn with the mints. Were else can you find such a delightful flavor?

Who was it that said: “You can never go home again”. Who ever in was doesn't live in Garberville. The theater is still here, They still have a snack bar, and plenty of seats. Enjoy!

Oh! The parking meter coin slot thing was a closely guarded secret! If it had ever gotten out that that's how we went to the Saturday Matinee, every kid in town would have been doing it. I wish that I had a movie of us “being secret” while we were harvesting our “coin trees.”

Brigette Brannan owns and runs the theater and Chris does what he can to keep her happy there. They are doing a great job and preseving a valuable asset for Garberville.
 
The link below will open on the history section of the Website. Hey, this is my blog, and I'll start with the end if I want! I spent about an hour looking at the site, and I haven't finished finding things on it yet. Click below (you will see where) and enjoy the Garberville Theatre. Or, type in your own URL. Most misspellings of theater will work. You can almost smell the hot buttered Popcorn!

http://www.garbervilletheatre.com/history.htm



North Coast Graphics is owned and operated by web designer and graphic artist Ed Truthan from his studio in the Southern Humboldt County hamlet of Garberville, California. As a member of the Garberville Chamber of Commerce we are proud to play an active role in this vibrant community.

For more information contact:
Ed Truthan at (707) 932-1135
or email: ed@northcoastgraphics.com

Should we be greatful to China for carrying us?

The Photos are three Gorges Dam, China.
I justified this rant by putting a little real history into it!

I was over at Eric’s blog recently. I know that the people that live over there are way smarter than me, so I like to go over there to see if I can learn anything. Sometimes I only get a little over my head, and sometimes, like now, I get way over my head, and I feel that the only people that might agree with me are ME. So, I came back to my own blog with my tail between my legs and decided that I wanted to say something about the way that I think, without taking up too much of Eric’s intellectually abundant space. That, and I can edit my mistakes on this Blog, like “a free take back, it never happened” thing. I don’t think that we are “intellectual” over here, but I think that we are pretty smart and wise.

Eric said, and he is probably right about what he said, but if people would have listened to me years ago, we wouldn’t have to be kissing China’s economic rear to survive.

Eric said:
“If any country has the right to complain along your lines it’s China, who may be saving the world from global depression by shouldering the burden for everyone, including us.”

It's important to remember that we are all friends here, and anything that we say has little import, nor will it change the world. So, if I point out where I think that America went wrong, I’m not doing it to disagree with anyone, or try to make them look foolish. I’m just putting my opinion out there for folks to ponder. So, why am I not grateful to China?

First ponderance; Back in the early days of the “silk Road” between China and the Roman empire there was a brisk trade between the two. The Roman women coveted the smooth luxurious filmy cloth. They liked every thing about it. It was sheer, and revealed their bodies without going naked. It felt good against their skin. And most of all, it gave them a strong feeling of self-worth. If they were wearing silk, it cost someone a fortune to buy it. Back in those day, fortunes were defined in gold.

Second ponderance: The Roman rulers figured out that if the Romans kept sending all of their durable gold to China in exchange for something highly expendable, they would soon be out of gold with nothing real to show for it.

Third ponderance: The roman rulers passed a law against buying Chinese silk, thus keeping the gold in Rome. Thereby keeping their economy strong.

Fourth ponderance: Recently America sent most of it’s gold to China. We bought their wonderful goods, and brought them to our shores. We provided well for our families, with the inexpensive Chinese ware, which were much more wonderful than we could afford to have made on our own shores.

Fifth ponderance; Wealthy business people saw the opportunity to bypass American worker unions that demanded fairness and equality for their workers. It occurred to them that the only thing that was stopping them from getting wealthy by sending American jobs offshore was the elected officials that demanded “balance of trade” between counties and imposed tariffs on goods from countries that were pulling ahead of America by exploiting child labor, and disregarding pollution, and the health of their people. So, the wealthy business people bought the media, and financed the political campaigns for politicians that would help them achieve their goals. If you don't like that, buy your own politician. What do you mean, you can't afford that without a job?

Sixth ponderance: Some counties (China in particular) have wiped out their rivers, some that no longer contain fish. They have flooded the antiquities that existed in the valleys by building enormous dams and using almost the entire world supply of steel rebar and ALL of the quality cement that can be manufactured. They have stripped their forests, and done things that NO American would allow to happen on our OWN shores. They have polluted their rivers, their oceans and their air. Their air is so dirty that the only time that they see blue sky is when the wind is strong enough to blow some of our fresh air into their countries.

Seventh ponderance: They say that “if you don’t learn from history you are condemned to repeat it”. One could only wish. The Roman Empire was wise enough to not spend all of it’s gold. It wasn’t out of hate for China, they were simply being prudent. As individuals, when we are out of money, we just simply don’t buy those things that we wish we had. We know that the retailers won’t hate us. They just know that we are out of money. That is… the prudent among us stop spending money when we are out. Others keep spending like drunken sailors, they keep borrowing to float their debt, and hope that tomorrow will be better, sometimes it is. We not only did not learn from history we bypassed it completely. The people in history were wise enough to stop their economic bleeding before they were dead.

Eighth ponderance: The next time you have someone look down their nose at you, and tell you that “We live in a world economy now”, and how they can’t help it that you don’t have a job, because our crooked business people sent all of our gold to China, because they got a cut out of it that made them very, very, wealthy. Would you tell them for me, bullcrap!

Ninth Ponderance: I know this post won’t change anything, I hope that it doesn’t cost me any friends, because my political views are not nearly important as the friends that I have. So, please don’t take me personally. It’s just that I see so many things that I wish that I could change for us, but sadly, I feel that it is futile to try. We all lead lives of quiet desperation.
Tenth ponderance; Do you know that there is no such word as ponderance?

Photography, travel, history.

A Vicarious trip to Taxco. Thanks to Pernel S. Thyseldew. (Nom de Camera)

I’ve always admired great photography. Great photography starts with an artist’s eye and finishes with a technician’s ability. As you know, if you read this blog, I seek reality. (Things that you can hit with a hammer). I like machinery, and things that always work the same way, if treated the same way. I especially like big machines, and I like big scenes in photography. So, you can only imagine how much that I appreciate the photo’s that Pernell S. Thyseldew sent me from Taxco Mexico.



The Panorama of Taxco was “stitched together” out of nine different Photos. In has enough pixels to make a 30 inch photograph, and still remain sharp. (Don’t try this at home folks, Pernel is a trained professional)




I’m more of a technician than an artist, but, just like any critic, I don’t know diddley about photography, but I know what I like. A photographer’s job is to tell a story. These pictures do the job well. The church was built during a time when “Big” was a difficult job. The labor, detail and artistry in the construction of the church is made apparent by the photo.

The construction of the church started in 1751, nearly one-hundred years before the California Gold Rush. You’re probably wondering what that has to do with anything. But, the connection is, that it was built by the wealth gained from mining precious metals. The church was financed by funding from a silver mining tycoon by the name of José de la Borda, who had already made his fortune in mining by 1751. Mexico was already “civilized” by European influence for two-hundred years by then. That is three hundred years before Northern California even became a blip on the civilized map.

One rather humorous fact to me, is the legend of the construction of the church. The legend goes that during the early days of the church’s construction that a thunder storm gathered above the church site. All of the workers fell upon their knees and prayed to God for safety from the wicked lightning. “Suddenly, Santa Prisca shows up in the heights, holding his hands to prevent lightning from harming the people that were there. Then gradually disappeared. A painting in the temple honors this legend.”

The thing that I found so humorous about that legend, is that back in the Eighteenth Century, they prayed to God for protection from the lightning. Today, they probably still pray for protection, but my technicians eye noticed a lightning rod protruding from the top of the cross at the apex of the church. A humorous juxtaposition between faith in God, and a wise application of modern science, “that you could hit with a hammer“.

The Spanish influence in Taxco is almost complete. No building is seen that couldn’t have been built in Eighteenth Century Spain. Scenes like this make my mouth water to travel. I’ve not been to Mexico. I’ve been to a few places in the world, but unfortunately, not Mexico. I’ve never been comfortable with bartering for the things that I need, which I understand is part of Mexican life. Some people enjoy haggling, I don’t. I like to hear a price, and I take it or leave it. I don’t like feeling like “prey” if you get off the beaten path. I guess that is true of Humboldt County also, but I know where the paths are here.

Taxco is off the beaten tourist path, deep in the heart of Mexico, which in many respects makes it more appealing to me. But, the fact that I don’t have a good handle on the Spanish Language would make it very difficult for me to travel there without an interpreter. So, I find it hard to decide to go there. That, and the fact that I can stay interested in things while locked in a bushel basket. I could spend the rest of my like exploring things within a gas tank away from me. And, the more things that I know, the more things that I find to investigate. Life is an interesting condition for the curious!

Some Required links!
Old pictures of Garberville. On Pernel S. Thyseldew website

Places To Visit In My Virtual World. Pernel S. Thyseldew.


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"The Cave!!!"

ROSS SHERBURN said...
ERNIE,if my bearings are correct??? just down the hill,from where the first photo was taken??
there was a CAVE we used to go into! it went back in the hillside about 50-75 feet,may have been man made?? a spring came out of the cave and a water line was put in there ,"I GUESS" to furnish water to a house farther down the hill!
EVER been to it?? i went over there several times with the Fulwilder kid!!!his mom was Peggy Clifton!!
OREGON???
HA!HA! yeah i've been to the back also! Fulwider showed it to me,of course. i also had nite mares about it for quite a few years!!!

On the right side of the photo about the post about Garberville below, and up a little canyon that is now behind the Scown Trailer Park, is the spot of "The Cave".

..."THE CAVE"...
Ross I remember the cave well. It was the source of many nightmares for the Garberville kids back in the '50's and '60's. It was about fifty feet long. The bottom was filled with water because the front of the cave had caved in several times. You had to have hip boots to get to the back. We dug out the front a few times to drain it enough to go all the way back.

When we were kids, we thought that the cave was natural, and we had made a great discovery. Actually the cave was dug by some old-timers looking for water. Somebody must have used it at one time because there were pipes leading away from it. Somebody bladed dirt over it to seal it off. The must have decided that it was an attractive nuisance because so many kids played in it. Go Figger!!!

As kids, we would go up to the cave and sprinkle red food coloring around it. Then we would mark up the trees and limbs around it. Then we would go find a kid and tell them that we found were the “Monster” lived. One of us would get in the back of the cave. When the “brave” new kid would approach the cave, see the opening and all the broken brush and trees around it. They would slow their approach way down and get real cautious. As the brave ones, that got all the way up to the cave, and proclaim that; “There’s no monster lives here!”, the kid in the back of the cave would make monster sounds. A lot of kids wet their pants getting out of there.

We told so many spook stories about “The Cave” that we had ourselves scared. And, we would always approach the cave cautiously… In case a bear or mountain lion had taken up residence there. You never know…..

We didn't have electronic games when we were kids, but I'm sure that we had more fun!

Old Garberville Explained

I ran across this old photo of Garberville. (below)I recognized it instantly and didn't think much of it, until it occurred to me that most of those buildings have been replaced. About the only thing that is the same is Bear Buttes in the background. The big long building near the center of the photo, on the right side of the road is Speed DeVee's garage. The rear of the building was Erwin Foltz's shop. The building was torn down to make way for what is now Ray's Food Place parking lot.

Just over the roof of Speeds garage, you can see the old Redwood Inn. The Redwood Inn was torn down to build Phase-1 of what is now Ray's.

On the far right of the photo you will see a white cone shape. The cone is actually a stone fireplace on the front of the presbyterian parsonage. Thefire place and the building that it is attached to are still there. They are on Maple Lane, just east of Radio Shack. The building just to the right of the parsonage is the old Wool Growers Association warehouse. That is where my shop is today. There was two buildings built this side of the warehouse, and it would not be visible in this photo today. Those two buildings are Radio Shack and the Gift Shack, our stores on Maple Lane.

Just to the left of the Wool Growers Association warehouse, and bordering Redwood Drive, is is a large concrete building that is the North Valley Bank. It is still there. Across the Redwood Drive and a little further away (long dark roof) is one of the oldest buildings in town. It was built as the Garberville Mercantile Company and it is now where Alsports is located.

The turn-off to Sprowel Creek Road can be seen between the two trees covering Redwood Drive near the center of town. If you look at the far side of town on the left of the photo, all of those houses were removed for the freeway to be built.

Starting on the far left of the photo, you will see a roof with a coupola on the top. That is a Chevron gas station. Wally and Ruth Nichols owned it. The two story building to the right of the gas station was Dinnell's Redwood Burl Factory and gift shop. Wally and Ruth sold the service station and bought the Burl Factory. Both were torn down to expand the Garberville Motel and build the Waterwheel Restaurant. The motel was owned by Ron Olson's folks. Ron Olsen now owns Southern Humboldt Building supply. Both Ruth Nichols and Elsie Olson (Ron's mom) still live here.

In the foreground is the White Motel. Motels were the modern rage back then. As you can see, all of the cabins are neat and tidy. All had kitchens and bathrooms with an attached garage for the smug people that could afford to own a car and travel. The row of cabins that extend to the right of the photo were on both sides of Melville Road. When I was a kid the motel was owned by Don Buxton. I went to school with his daughter Shirley. The Motel had a swimming pool then, and we had a few parties there. It was a nice place. It was torn down before it's time to make room for a Standard service station that last for a few years then was torn down. The lot is still empty. The cabins in the foreground remained for quite some time. KMUD was in them for a while. Anybody remember that?

At the top of the Motel, on redwood Drive is a “Flying A” service station. Just next to that on the far side the Garberville Groceteria was built, and it doesn't look like it was there yet. This photo was taken some time in the forties???

Whew! Questions?
 

The Photo's below are of Speed DeVee and Erwin foltz. I did a story previously and someone asked if I had any photo's. As I often do, I found some that I shamelessly swiped. I got these from the Garberville Fire Department.

Earthquake!

As you know, because I've said it before, I can sense earthquakes before they happen, that's why I put the "most Recent Local Earthquake" link over there on the left side side under "NOAA Weather Benbow heading. That, and there are volcanoes acting up all over the world, plus earthequakes and sunamis. Can we be far behind? Certainly not!

I understand that ferndale had substantial damage and the power is off. The Bayshore Mall closed because of structual damage. The Bear River Casino in Fortuna had a gas leak. Feel free to add any info that you have here.
Please?

The earthquake  was 6.5 and was located 25 miles west of ferndale and about five miles deep.
The power is out in Ferndale, Manilla, Trinidad and parts of Arcata.
There has been at least five minor aftershocks.

I had just waked in the backdoor of Radio Shack in Garberville, as I grabed the door knob I felt it tugging and pulling and moving around. I though that somebody inside was messing with me. After I openned the door and there was nobody there I was a little confused, but the power back up to the phone system was beeping. We have had trouble with it last week and was unable to determine what happened. So I thought, "Ah Haa, I caught it". I went over to the table that it was on and it was moving all around. EARTHQUAKE!

I assumed the same mode that everybody goes into. I stood in the doorway. I concidered going outside, but in was too much fun watching everybody elses reaction. Why is it in California that everybody bails for the door, then as soon as they get outside the yell "EARTHQUAKE" then they grin like fools. Darn! That was fun!

Drug test

If you are completely free of any drug residue in your system the artwork below will be perfectly stable. If you are stoned or on acid in will look like it is spinning. If you are emotionally unstable it may spin even if you are drug free. So, this is a good all-around test. If the patterns are not stable, and solid, don’t leave your house! Especially don’t submit to any drug tests!

I though it was just time for a little fun. Some people will recognize this as “Gods Work” others will look for scientific reasons for the wheels to spin. Myself? I’m just amazed by it and let it go…

Do the wheels move for you?

P.S. The wheels are NOT moving.

Abalone Woman, Transcribed by Ben Schill

Abalone Woman and Eagle
As told to Pliny Earl Goddard by Briceland Charlie July 15, 1908. at Briceland, California.
Transcribed and interpreted by Ben Schill, Phillipsville, CA. Jan 1, 2010 for the Eel River Nation of Sovereign Wailaki



He was lonely
He was looking for a woman

From the East, from Hayfork he came, they say
Eel River, he came down, they say
South Fork, he came down, they say
No woman. Woman he did not see, they say
Mattole, he came down, they say
No woman. Woman he did not see, they say
He went west. West only, to the coast, they say
He came down. Came down the coast, they say
Coast, he came down
Abalone, this woman, he saw, they say
She sat and combed her hair, they say
"I don’t want to marry.” she said
Eagle stood behind her, they say
Abalone didn’t look at him, they say
 She did not listen to him
He went back
West facing, she stood, they say
He went back to duk kun dun on the ridge, they say
Eagle came to duk k’an, he came up
West, he looked back, behind himself, they say
Facing west, he went back, back to the coast, they say
Eagle came down the coast, they say
He came to where she was, facing west she sat, they say
Eagle whipped her with fire, they say
He went back. Back to the ridge he went, they say
Then he looked back, looked west, they say
Eagle saw her sitting there still
He thought: “I go home”, he started home
He came back, Mattole.
He came back di kok creek
He came back to South Fork
He came down to Eel River
Eel River he went back
He went back to Hayfork
Hayfork he came back
There he made flint
He made white kind
He made blue kind
He made red kind
He made black kind
Then he put the flints in a sack
He carried the sack to the Eel River
He camped there, the sack was heavy
He came to the South Fork, he camped there
He carried the sack to the Mattole, he camped there
The sack was heavy
He carried te sack to the coast
There Abalone Woman sat, facing west, she sat, they say
Eagle brought his sack of flints, they say
Abalone Woman said nothing, she sat facing west
Eagle got mad, he went back
He went back to Mattole
He gave out, the sack was heavy
He went up nel ash kuk ridge
He sat down, he was mad, he gave out
He was mad, he tore the sack
Flints he threw north to Dance House Ridge
He picked some up and threw them east to Big White Rock
He took some up and threw them west to White Striped Rock where bears go
That will be its name, he said
He took some up and threw them downhill east sen tel tchun butte will be the name, he said
He threw some away to nah del yah
That will be its name, he said
He took some up and threw it away down hill to sey nah tah.
That will be its name, he said
The flints were all gone, his burden light
No longer will I be a person, he said
Women don’t like me squirrel only, I will eat
I will be Eagle, he said.
He flew around This kind I will be.
Eagle they will be called, He said.


Based on the Goddard notes from the American Philosophical Society, Boas collection, Reel #47, pdf 22, pg. 1 to pg. 11.

A few comments on the story: (From Ben Schill)
The first two lines are mine, to set the mood and explain Eagle’s motive to the reader. To increase the drama, the storyteller does not identify Eagle until later in the narrative.

Remember that these stories are oral and repetition is a dramatic element as well as introducing changes in mood and form which are too subtle to be understood by the recorder (Goddard) or by me. The story teller links his tale to the physical places familiar to the listeners.

The frequent element “they say” is heard in many local Native languages. It gives the story the quality of lore rather than the in-vention of the teller.

When Abalone Woman is whipped by fire, she gets the red marks seen on the abalone shell. There is considerable work on the Abalone Woman group of stories which the interested reader can find. It is sometimes considered a warning against the abuse of women.

At the end, Eagle chooses not to be a “First Person” any more, but rather the eagle familiar to us all. This transformation is a fre-quent theme in local Creation stories. The First People were cre-ated before human beings (Indians) arrived and were transformed with the coming arrival. Loneliness and longing are frequent themes in these stories and the teller might sob with emotion. Eagle names the chert quarries on the ridges around Salmon Creek.

I’m sure that I have made many mistakes but I have stayed pretty close to the text and I feel priviliged to have found these stories from our own locality.
Ben

A few comments on the story from Ernie:
We are very privileged to be reading, for the first time, a true local Indian legend about how and where we got our local flint. The very simple story has a very complicated story line, that bears reading many times over with a very open mind. We are lucky to have someone like Ben that is interested enough in local history to actually learn the Local Indian languages. Many of the old recordings can now be interpreted. Many stories can be revealed due to Bens hard work. There is no definitive book on the local languages, so we should all be grateful to Ben.

Just like many languages, the Indian language has some words that have many different meanings. For instance, the English word “cool” can have many different meanings. If you don’t have a very good understanding of the language, you could miss-interpret “Cool” many ways. So, you can only imagine how hard it is to translate a dead language.

I have had the privilege of hearing some of the old Indian legends from My uncle Ben Branscomb, who was much like Ben Schill. Only just like the Indians, he passed the stories on by word of mouth, so my version of who Whiptalli was (Indian Spirit God) is probably much changed from who my uncle Ben thought he was. So goes legendary tales, but the basic truths always remain. From that I know that Whiptalli was an Indian Deer Spirit. He was mean, he hated water and noise. I get that from every tale that I have ever heard. So, if Whiptalli is ever after you, make a bunch of noise, or swim away from him. I get that from ALL of the stories about Whiptalli. Whiptalli appears in many different legends. Much as Ben Schill’s “Abalone Woman” and “Eagle”.

I am hoping that Ben will chime in here and tell us more about where these places are. I think that he probably has a pretty good idea. At least now I know how flint got here.

My uncle never laughed at the Indian legends. He knew that they all contained a basic truth, or an explanation of knowledge that could be, and should be passed on. If you put enough of the old legends together, you can get a knowledge of how to get through life easier, because they all contain a “lesson”.
Ernie

No news is good news.

First, I'm going to do a clean-up post with all of my “explanations” and a few apologies. My computer at home is not working right. It has become more and more cumbersome to use. I’ve been working-around all of it’s minor glitches, but the latest one is like somebody is holding down the “ctrl” button. Everything that I type goes to a control point. I changed the keyboard and it does the same thing. I’m not used to Windows Vista so I don’t know where to start fixing it… But I will!… I’m using the computer at my office now. It has a Windows program that I understand, XT, and it works so quickly and smoothly that it is refreshing to be using it again. In fact, it works so good that I find myself getting comfortably windy again.

I digress…. I’ve been gone from posting for awhile, because my home computer became unusable. I was home Thursday, because it was New Years Eve. It was also it was my wife and my anniversary. Then Friday was New-Years day. Of course Saturday was a regular day off… and Sunday. It probably sounds like a life of leisure, but as anyone that is married, and is a home-owner, knows that there is always a “Honey-do” list, and mine has become quite plump and well-rounded this fall, almost as long as this run-on sentence. My wife saw a grand opportunity to get some much-needed chores around the house done. Those chores removed me from blogging for awhile, because I was too far away from a working computer. There I go again, enjoying a good smooth-working computer, and getting too windy.

Back in 1843 Henry Ellsworth from the U.S. Patent Office reported to Congress. In his report he states, "The advancement of the arts, from year to year, taxes our credulity and seems to presage the arrival of that period when human improvement must end." Thus implying that everything had already been invented, and that there was no need to keep the patent office open anymore, because, everything had already been invented. I told my wife the other day that my blog is really slowing down lately, because everything that I’ve wanted to say, or was important, had already been said. I told her that I was considering not making any more posts, because I’ve run out of things important to say. In her great wisdom she said “Since when has that ever stopped you?” I’m still rolling that around in my head. My “credulity” has been taxed. I’m sure that there must be a compliment in her statement somewhere.

Anyway, thanks to some of my blogger friends, I have tons of “new” history. If there is such a thing.

Sam Gitchell, Jade gatherer, made a comment here. I wish he would do more. Then it occurred to me that maybe I should have more things that interests the “Rock hounds” out there. We have some pretty amazing rocks here in the Eel River drainage, for a variety of reasons. I intend to delve into rocks in a post. Sam is from Anderson Valley, which is one of my “Node Points” which I will also post about.

I miss Ol’ Man River. He recently came out of his self-imposed retirement to place a comment here. I understand that he burned himself out researching my family history, and that of the Indian People, but I know that he would not exchange the knowledge that he gained by researching our local history for anything in the world.

Robin dropped by again to “peep” hello. She always has something interesting to say. Oregon made a “punny note” that she stops by once in a Blue Moon… Last Dec. 31st being a Blue Moon. HAHAHA.

Most of all, Ben sent me a copy of some very great research that he has done on interpreting an old Indian legend on how flint came to the north coast. I will be posting it here as soon as I can get it all together.. So stay tuned. It is seminal. (I know that I promised that I would not use big words on this blog, but I wanted to impress Ben with my linguistic ability.)

....And… I have a whole bunch of stuff about the Eel River, and some local town stuff. Janis is right, when has not having anything to ever say stopped me???