Community Bids Farewell to Local Legend: ED Denson Remembered for His Advocacy, Humor, and Contributions to Southern Humboldt
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Written by Paul Modic:
ED Denson
On a beautiful fall afternoon at the Southern Humboldt Community Park last Saturday, many gathered to celebrate and say goodbye to ED Denson, the beloved and legendary community member who had made an outsized contribution to local culture with his social advocacy, law practice, and civil rights and music shows on KMUD. (“Don’t Get Trouble on Your Mind” every Saturday morning.)
It was a great turnout of love and affection.ED’s sister Helen regaled the crowd with memories of ED’s early years, mostly about how smart he was. (His classmates called him “Eugenius.”) In one anecdote she said he missed only one question taking the SATs, went to the scholastic authorities to lodge his complaint and argue his point, and they gave in to his reasoning. He got the answer changed to correct on his test, and that was the official answer from then on.(Others went up to the stage under the canopies next to the barn to tell their ED stories, while inside the huge barn many conversed around a big redwood table displaying a variety of lunch, potluck items, and many delicious desserts.)ED’s stepson told the audience that ED was a joker, that on the drive up the mountain when he had first come up in the early 80’s, ED pointed out certain landmarks and told stories about how they got their name. It was more than twenty years later when he realized that ED had made it all up.Barry Melton of Country Joe and the Fish at the memorial for ED Denson. ED had been their manager. [All photos except the first courtesy of Bob Doran]
ED Denson memorabilia.
Andy Barnett, a neighbor in the greater Alderpoint area, told about going to ED and Mary Alice’s Fourth of July party and partying on the veranda with a view of the Alderpoint bridge down the mountain below. When the celebrants’ fireworks on the bridge reached its peak, ED took out The Declaration of Independence and read it aloud.
A couple of people told about casually advising ED during his run for county supervisor in 1992, though he had no official campaign manager. ED didn’t go to Fortuna, where most of the votes were, until the last week because he didn’t think they would like him. Finally he was taping an ad in front of the high school in his shirt sleeves and his friend lent him a Seersucker suit to wear. (Fortuna actually liked him, after all, just didn’t vote for him.)
Our current supervisor, Michelle Bushnell, spoke about how ED was “a pain in the ass” for the county government with his advocacy, and acknowledged the good he did for the people, specifically mentioning his work on rolling back Measure S.
Video of Supervisor Bushnell speaking at the memorial by a community memberAnother lawyer, Jay Moller, talked about ED becoming an attorney at the age of sixty, and how hard it was for most people to pass the bar. He remarked how most lawyers specialized in one kind of law while ED took on all-comers.
Peter Childs spoke a few words, then sung a beautiful song he had written in honor of his recently departed wife, which he dedicated to ED and Mary Alice Denson.
(One friend of ED regretted that ED had hauled all his albums to the trash long ago, not anticipating the resurgence of vinyl.)
Others told their stories about working for ED, listening to his music show, and one person told about visiting at the hospital where he found him lying on a gurney in the hall, giving advice to another patient. (ED worked till the end.)
The suit ED wore to court was tacked to the side of the barn along with other ED memorabilia, the stage was festooned with marijuana posters and banners, and folks lit up joints in smoky toasts goodbye to the treasured and departed community member, local hero, really.As the testimonial session wrapped up, before the music started, there was a call for everyone who had ever had a show or been on the air at KMUD to come up to the stage. A throng of broadcasters gathered and each said their name and how long they had been associated with the station.And so the seasons change, winter comes, and for the first time in forty years the community will not have the helpful Eugene “ED” Denson around anymore.It was a very nice sendoff.By Paul Modic(All photos courtesy Bob Doran)ED Denson’s suit [Photo by Bob Doran]
Video by Ryan Hutson taken at ED Denson’s memorial
ED Denson drawing
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He was a great and a good man.
I adored Don’t Get Trouble On Your Mind show. The co-host was an angel.
Never knew him accept through casual contact, but a very good and positive force for justice. His record speaks for him. One of a kind.
God Speed Mr Denson. A true Patriot.
An elder white dude who helped out…
Usually, people like this are not appreciated enough…
Interesting, a lawyer who was beloved…
I don’t know exactly when Ed and MaryAlice moved here, but back in the early ‘80s when he still had Kicking Mule Records they would hold an annual Music Camp on their property, 10 Springs Ranch, that was a wonderful event with music and workshops and, thanks to MaryAlice, a knitting circle.
He did so much here in SoHum even before becoming a lawyer or being on KMUD. From his involvement in COG (Citizens Observation Group), to (if my memory serves me right) SHMOG (Southern Humboldt Mail Order Group).
I think a lot of folks became followers of his on Facebook when he was chronicling his treatment for throat cancer… long ago. Always a good story teller, his posts were well worth reading.
He will be remembered. Hugs to MA.
The only unnecessary, discordant note during the speaking time was when an immature person just had to make it about her, tossed a verbal “turd into the punch bowl,” and left some people wondering, “What was that?”
ED might have been amused.
(And that’s what’s known as a “blind item” in the gossip trade…)
ED Denson on his Facebook page circa 2020:
“Well, this’ll be really short. Just pulled off an incredible show on KMUD. Featured the new muckraking reporter, Nichole Norris who has been blowing the lid off the county’s abatement program, and my hero Paul Modic who put together a ballot initiative about cultivation and greenhouses, more or less on his own, paid the $200 filing fee and really stirred things up. The show felt solid to me.”
So wow, I was ED Denson’s hero for a day, okay maybe an hour, well, I’ll take fifteen minutes, and that made the whole ballot measure thing worth it.
(This was odd because ED is usually the hero, but I guess I bought some for $200…)
* * *
ED Denson, reporting for Kmud, described the closing event of Redwood Summer, the 1990 Earth First! march to Fortuna: “It was the Friendly City. They fed us…tomatoes.”
(The Friendly City is Fortuna’s motto and apparently the protestors were pelted by tomatoes, just in case you didn’t get that)
Interview with Ed Denson, Local Lawyer (2015)
Had you always wanted to be a lawyer or did the idea just come to you one day?
I am a from the South. My mother said I should be a lawyer, or a doctor, or in the military. I ignored her for 55 years, and had a career as a rock band manager, and record label owner. I was doing legal support work for a few years, and realized that there was a shortage of lawyers in the civil rights and marijuana fields, if you’ll pardon the pun, which were closely related areas of law. With my inheritance I was able to go to law school and took to the law like a duck to water. At 59 I become a lawyer.
Was it easy or difficult for you to study for and pass the bar?
I studied at home with what we now call a “distance learning” school. It took me a few months to catch on, but once I caught on the rest of the study was easy and enjoyable. I passed the Baby Bar on the 1st try, and 3 years later, the full bar on the 1st try, Distance learning students statistically do poorly, with a bar pass rate around 17%. But I think it helped that I was 59 years old and had the maturity to do the required study on my own.
How long did the whole process take?
Almost 5 years.
What is one major aspect about the legal system that no lay person realizes?
That legal language differs from standard English, and words do not mean what they seem to in many laws. This makes it very difficult for the untrained to read the laws and understand them
Can you tell us what’s the most important aspect to settling a DUI case?
Good facts. Most DUI cases become quite technical, and having a grip on the technical aspects makes assembling the good facts much easier. You asked about settling a DUI case. You can settle any DUI case by taking the DA’s first offer, and these days the offer usually comes very early in the process. The trick, of course, is to get the best settlement, and that usually takes time.
If someone is stopped for DUI do you recommend submitting to sobriety, breathalyzer, or blood tests?
The ideal client refuses the field sobriety tests, and the preliminary alcohol breath tests. After being arrested they take a blood test. The problem is that people get confused about what to refuse, and end up refusing the post-arrest tests which the law requires them to take. This means they lose their license for a year for the refusal, even if they are not convicted of the DUI. So as a rule of thumb if you are confused take the tests. When they ask if you’d prefer a breath test or a blood test, take the blood test.
What’s the most important aspect to settling a cultivation case?
Good facts. Like DUIs, marijuana cases are often technical. With DUIs its all about the breath machine or the blood testing machines; with marijuana its about challenging the investigation, and keeping on top of the ever changing law.
Do you think weed will be legalized in California next year?
Probably
What could derail that initiative?
Infighting, a study suggesting marijuana does serious harm (eg causes mental issues in youth), a scandal involving dispensary shipments out of state.
What specifically do you think will be a big issue that will require your expertise?
What is a reasonable amount for a grower, or dispensary operator, to earn.
Would you venture a prediction about anything in particular regarding legalization?
It will create more work for lawyers. Legislators just can’t seem to say marijuana is legal just like tomatoes are legal, no restrictions, no limits, no licenses, no problems. If they could do that we defense lawyers would have to fall back on DUIs to make a living,
Is it chummy at the bar? Does a genial and well-liked (by judge and prosecutor) lawyer seem to get better client outcomes?
The bar is quite chummy. Lawyers are a group set apart from normal society, and often very helpful to each other, even on first meetings. I don’t think that being liked makes better outcomes, but I do think that being disliked makes worse ones. There is a middle area of being neither liked nor disliked which doesn’t affect outcomes. If you are disliked, the danger is that the opposing lawyer gets mad at you and does a lot of extra work on the case which ordinarily they would not do. Their dislike gives them motivation and energy. Of course if you dislike the opposing lawyer, then you get the benefit of the motivation and energy. I have not seen judges influenced by their personal opinions of the lawyers to change the outcomes of the cases.
What is your favorite, most fun, and rewarding part of the job?
Finding and researching the winning argument.
What is the most difficult, least favorite?
I have become less fond of staying in motels than I used to be. The novelty has worn off. Of course losing a trial is the absolute worst thing that can happen. Very few DUI or marijuana cases go to trial, but having the jury come back with a one word verdict is really depressing.
Did you realize there would be so much driving?
No, my mentor came from the pre-Prop 215 days, and advised me to get a 4 wheel drive vehicle so I could get to the back country grows I was going to defend. But Prop 215 changed all that. The grows were much closer to the county roads, and I had clients coming to me from all over Northern California because local attorneys did not understand medical marijuana law. I get fewer distant clients now, but just finished 3 cases in Shasta and Tehama counties, and will be going to Del Norte in a few weeks. Most of my work is in Ukiah and Eureka, of course, and those courts are only a 200 mile round trip from my home. I was most fortunate in getting a used Volvo at the beginning of my career. I’ve driven nothing but Volvos ever since – I think I’ve had 4 of them.
How does your music career, managing John Fahey and Country Joe, as well as running Kicking Mule Records, segue into your law career?
Negotiating was important in the management, negotiating is important in the law. You need to have a feel for it and only practice gives that to you. In that sense the music was a preparation for the law. I think too that it gave me a good sense of victory being possible. Country Joe in particular went very far in the music business. You need to have seen success to understand that it is possible.
What was your best moment in court?
Winning a case is always a best moment but perhaps the best of the best came in the 20th century when I was defending some protestors against trespass charges during the timber wars in Humboldt County. During cross examination I was able to get the prosecution’s key witness to admit that after the protestors were arrested, he had moved the boundary markers so it it appeared they were arrested on timber company land instead of the public right of way. The judge dismissed the case. I felt like Perry Mason. The prosecutor was so upset that she never spoke to me again during her time working for the DA.
Another best moment came during a different protestor defense when I demanded a jury trial for trespass and the Deputy District Attorney told the judge “We don’t have time for the defendants to have their constitutional rights.” As you might imagine the judge was not pleased with that assertion, and the case was dropped.
Scenes from the 1992 Second District Supe Election,
featuring ED Denson
More Scenes from the 1992 Supe election
More election news from 1992
I walked door to door with Heider. The bulk of the votes in the 2nd district are concentrated in the Fortuna area. Ed was virtually unknown up there. Roy had the backing of some of the local players.
Background: There was a rumor that years before the 1992 Supes election, Roger Rodoni had called some hippie (Tally Rand?) “riffraff.”
Another rumor was that on Martin Luther King day someone had hung a watermelon in the big picture window of Roy Heider’s gas station.
Hence the title
The dynamics of that election were interesting. Rodoni was seen as the PALCO candidate. There was an element in Fortuna that resented PALCO’s influence in local politics. Robin Childs mother who owned the property in Redcrest that the Eel River Sawmill was built on said that if a “pot grower” like Rodoni was elected she’d move away. It turned out that the house Rodoni rented from PALCO wasn’t actually in the district so Roger pretended to live in a trailer that he hauled across the district border. Heider had the backing of several of the key factions in town. Roy’s downfall was due to the fact that he wasn’t a politician. When he supported the state’s effort to consolidate the courts or lose funding the folks in Fortuna saw it as giving away one of the few services they received from the county and Roy was toast.
Amazing memory!
RIP Roy Heider